I sincerely apologize for the delay in my postings. I will report on Venice and other occurrences in Europe after I sort out my own existential crisis. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Friday afternoon, after surviving my first art history exam, I spent two and a half hours at the Museum of Art and History of Judaism. It was really quite interesting, and since I had nothing else to do, I just took my time and learned as much about Judaism as I could retain. It was cool, because there were personal narratives of people from all over the world talking about what it's like to be Jewish where they live. So there were a lot people from France, but also Jews from Israel and Northern Africa and Eastern Europe. Some of them talked about how they're very religious and some are more spiritual and some are more cultural. Others define themselves as Jews and others said it was just a minor part of their lives. There were some expositions on Jews in Jerusalem and how they deal with daily conflicts and racism, and it was very eye-opening. It reminded me of my dear friend Alex, studying in Jerusalem for the semester.

Later that night I went to a bar called Footsie, which is where drink prices change like the stock market. It's kinda cool, but it was a tad disappointing, because the prices don't change that much, and they didn't have a lot of variety. I was hoping to have to really gamble for things, but I totally didn't. Oh well. I learned that Porto is good.

I may have stayed out a little too late, because the next morning, I missed my train to Strasbourg. Oops. Go me. I was literally stamping my ticket a few feet from the train when it pulled away. Sigh...

But good news! The next train was less than an hour later, and I actually made 9 euros, because the next train was 12 euros cheaper and there was a 3 euro charge fee. Woot! Don't know how I lucked out on that one... but I'll take it!

Also, on the metro on the way to the train station, I had a very interesting confrontation. A man asked why I was in such a hurry at 7am on a Saturday morning. He didn't seem too creepy/homeless, so I answered. I said I have a train to catch. And he said, oh... where are you going? I said I was on my way to Strasbourg, and he said, that's great, will you send me a postcard? And I laughed and said sure. He chuckled too and pulled out a pen. He took my metro map and wrote his address on my map! Then he kissed me and said, I can't wait to hear from you, and walked away. What in the world??? Oh, French men.

So I took the two-hour TGV to Strasbourg, and I arrived at about 10:30am. It was only about a twenty-minute walk from the train station to the center of the old village, so I started there. I went to the tourist office which is right next to the cathedral to see if they had any good information. They kindly informed me that the astronomical clock in the cathedral would not be viewable on Easter, so if I wanted to see it (which I did), I would have to do it today. So I immediately went back to the cathedral to buy a ticket. I walked around inside the cathedral for about twenty minutes or so, and then I went back to the clock to wait for a short twenty-minute film to start. It was not that informative/necessary, but it did tell us what to look for when the clock struck 12:30pm. The clock is huge, and it has little angels that ring bells and a rooster that crows and the twelve apostles are blessed by Jesus. It's about a five-minute shindig, and I think that's why they only do it once a day, so as not to run down the mechanics on the really, really, really old cathedral. It was cool, and I'm definitely glad I saw it. Then I climbed up approximately eight billion stairs to go to the top of the cathedral. My legs are still sore. And then the view was ultimately disappointing. The view from the Duomo in Milan was way cooler, and I definitely didn't climb up as many steps. Oh well. C'est la vie.

Then I decided to try a Strasbourg specialty for lunch, so I had a tarte flambee. It's kinda like a croque monsieur with a layer of cream... except that this layer of sour cream is at least one centimeter thick the whole way through. It was absolutely abominable. I couldn't eat it. But then I made myself feel better by going to this biscuit place, where they had specialty biscuits (cookies). I tried about six different kinds, and I went back the next day to buy my favorites (raspberry, almond, and chocolate) for my host family. Delicious!

Then I decided it was freezing, so I was gonna spend the rest of the afternoon inside. I went to Palais Rohan, where there are three museums: Decorative Arts, Archaeological, and Fine Arts. I spent about an hour in each, and I got in free, so of course it was worth it. I actually learned a fair amount in each. Ask if you wanna quiz me.

Then I took a bus to a park called l'Orangerie, which was actually very small, and again, it was freezing, but there was a miniature zoo there. I randomly stumbled upon ostriches, wild goats, lynxes, monkeys, peacocks, chickens, lemurs, parrots, parakeets, cockatoos, flamingos, ducks, and geese. I'm really not sure why they're there, but it was something to do. I also witnessed a very happy wedding from a distance. I heard all these cars honking, like crazy mad people honking, and they didn't stop, so I figured it was a procession of some kind. Then they all pulled into the park, and a band got out with drums and brass, and they played all kinds of funky music, and they all seemed to be having such a great time. Then I saw the bride in her beautiful white wedding dress, and she seemed so happy. And I thought, that's gonna last.

So I went back to the town, and I found a cute place called l'Epicerie, and I had an aperitif (a kir) and a bowl of beef broth. I was freezing at the point, so it was very necessary. Then I went to dinner, and that was the first time that it really sucked to be traveling alone. In French, when you wanna ask for a table for one, you say 'toute seule,' which means 'all alone.' So that's a depressing reminder that you're eating all alone. Oh well. I had an amazing dinner. I started with grilled vegetables, and then my main course was beef with mustard sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans wrapped with bacon, breaded cooked tomato, and fries. I'm not sure why everything comes with fries in France (especially when I already had mashed potatoes), but I ate them! It was amazing. Then I had apple tart for dessert, and I drink a local white wine, which was a little sweet, and I always like sweet. I was quite satisfied.

I took a bus to the hostel, and when I arrived at my room, I couldn't get the door to open. It took me awhile to realize that whoever was in the room probably had bolted the door. So I had to knock and wake her up, but I didn't feel that guilty, cause she should know not to do that. Anyway, I started speaking to her in French, cuz that's what I do when I'm in French, and she just stared blankly at me. So I thought, okay, maybe she speaks German, since I was so close to the German border, and everyone seemed to speak only French or German. I discovered the next morning that she speaks English! Blahh... oh language barriers... nonexistent ones, that is. It was very interesting though that all the French people thought I was German instead of American. In Paris, everyone knows I'm American, but I guess I'm blond enough that I can look German, too. Also, at restaurants, I could overhear families who were clearly speaking German the whole dinner, but they spoke fluent French to the waiters. I was like, I wished I had grown up in Europe, because I would know like at least three languages. Lucky ducks.

The next day, it was snowing! I hadn't seen snow since I left Boston in January. So I decided I wanted to be inside again, and I went to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art for about two hours. It was cool. I saw a lot of trash, quite literally, and plain white canvasses. I just love modern art. I think my favorite was an exposition called Empty Space, and it was quite literally a room with nothing in it. I was like, right on, man, love empty space.

Then I went to a cute little area called La Petite France, which is kinda like a little Venice, because it has lots of little canals and waterways. The streets were cute little cobblestone paths with sidewalk cafes and a few accordionists. (Not many, recall that it was both snowing and Easter.) I wanted to explore, but my hunger and the thought of dying as a frozen ice cube convinced me that going into a restaurant to eat might be a better choice. So I ate at an adorable little French-German place. I had a delicious duck salad, and I even drank coffee... which, you know, never happens. It was kinda sad to see all the big families having huge Easter brunches while I was sitting all alone. Oh well.

Then I took a long walk back to the cathedral, because I was going to the Easter music concert at 3pm. That was fun. There were two pieces by Haydn and one by someone named Buxtehude. It was very nice.

Then I took an earlier train back to Paris, because there was nothing more to do, and I was cold. Also, I wanted to eat Easter dinner with my family. They made me foie gras, which is apparently duck liver smashed into a nice pate. Mmm. It was actually very good, and I didn't ask what it was until after I finished eating. Which was good, because I asked for more, and they told me to finish it all. So I did. Excellent choice.

Now I have a ridiculous amount of work to do this work, but I'm going to Venice this weekend with five of my friends! It's gonna be awesome! Wish me luck!

Last Wednesday, I saw a violin and piano recital with Yura Lee and Dina Vainshtein. It was amazing. It was a small, intimate performance hall, and Tufts paid for it, so of course I liked it. No really, they played Mozart, Prokofiev, Ysaye, Debussy, and Tchaikovsy. It was really nice, and the violinist was really quite marvelous. I don't know a lot about violin technique, but it was still amazing. One of the best parts of the performance was before the show when an usher asked if I would give flowers to the pianist at the end of the performance. I was told it was because I'm blond. (I'm still not sure why that's important, but c'est la vie.) So I said sure, why not? So I sat through the performance with a wicked large bouquet of flowers, and then I got to present them at the end of the concert. 'Twas quite random, but fun.

Friday night when I was waiting at the St. Michel fountain with Kelly, some guy asked where we were going and if he could come with us. And we were like, sorry, we're waiting for someone. And he asked, are you lady friends? And Kelly started to say no, but I took her arm and said yes. And he looked at me and said, oh, so you like girls? And I nodded, and he walked away. Good times.

Also, I saw a man coming from the grocery store, and all he had in his bag was cheese and cigarettes. How French, eh?

Saturday, Tufts took us on a short day trip to Fontainebleau where there is a lovely chateau. They also gave us 10 euros for lunch, which is always welcome. We even managed to eat a good sandwich with a pastry for only 5 euros. Mmm... chocolate eclairs. The castle was nice. I guess Napoleon lived there, and there are these huge entrance stairs where he descended and ascended. Good times. There were apartments inside, and it was nicely furnished, and there were lots of spectacular pieces of furniture and paintings, like most castles. It was cool to go, and I'm glad to say I've been.

Then that night was also technically St. Patrick's Day (some mumbo jumbo with the Roman Catholic Church and Holy Week...), so we went out to an Irish pub... what else? It was great! It was crowded and drunken, and they were playing great American 80's music. Kelly has a great video of us singing Tainted Love. Good times. Then I was the only one who had to take three metro lines to get home, and of course, I missed the last one. Ugh. So I had to borrow money from Chantel to take a cab. (I still owe her money for that.)

Sunday, Kelly and I went to see an opera by Stravinsky called The Rake's Progress at Palais Garnier. I didn't know that Stravinsky wrote operas, and now I know why. It was pretty terrible, but at least we got to say we saw a show at Palais Garnier. We even had our own private box in the nosebleed, can't-get-enough-oxygen section. It was great. However, I did have two extra tickets, cuz people flaked on me. So I awkwardly stood outside the theatre holding up the tickets, hoping someone would buy them off me. Some Spanish-speaking people came over and asked, but I think there were four of them, so that didn't work. Then some random dude came up to me, grabbed the tickets, peered at them, and handed me a 20. And I was like, sweet, fully reimbursed. Pure luck! I think he sold them to someone else for a higher price. Fneh. I was just happy to not be broke. Anyway, show was not so great... with a wicked random story about making deals with the devil... kinda like Damn Yankees.

Then Monday was a repeat of Saturday night cuz it was like real St. Patrick's Day. So we went to another Irish pub and did flavored vodka shots. Mmm... vodka caramel. It was pretty sweet, and the bartender was totally cute, so it was worth it.

I would also officially like to announce that I am finished planning my spring break. We have finished booking flights, trains, buses, hostels, hotels, and apartments. Phew! It's two weeks, and we're going to Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. I'm so stoked, cuz it's gonna be awesome! We leave one month from today, and also today, I've been here exactly two months! I guess it does go by pretty quickly. Be home in two and a half months.

So I was in Milan for the past four days, and I had an absolutely great time. I arrived late Wednesday night, and my friend Stephanie picked me up where the buses dropped us off from the airport. I stayed in her apartment for the weekend, and it was really great to not spend money on a hostel. She's studying in Milan for the semester doing a music program, and she has five other roommates in her apartment. It was huge, and I had a really comfortable bed and pillows.

Thursday morning, we walked down Corso Buenos Aires to the Duomo, which is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. It was absolutely amazing. It was so finely decorated and sculpted. There are 3400 sculptures on the outside. It's totally crazy. Inside was also a sensory overload. From the floor patterns to the ceiling designs, everything was so ornate. It was incredible.



Then we walked into the galleria, which is an indoor shopping area with such brands as Prada and lots of other ridiculous designer brands. The floor is also a cool mosaic, and apparently if you spin three times on the balls of the bull, you get good luck! So I certainly did that.



Then we got tickets to La Scala! Cheap ones, mind you. We stood in line the day of, and we got tickets for 12 euros! Woot! It was for 3 Puccini operas.



Then Stephanie fed me this amazing food called Panzerotti. It was deliciously scrumptious fried food. Who doesn't want that, eh? Then she went to class, and I went to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. It has lots of really cool old Italian paintings, like the first ever still life, Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit and the sketch for Raphael's School of Athens. And other cool stuff that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Then I went back to the Duomo, and I climbed the stairs up to the top. It really wasn't that far, but I got to wander around on the roof, and it was such a nice day that I could see the Alps!


Then I walked all the way across town to the church next to where The Last Supper is. Apparently, you need reservations one to two weeks in advance to see that. Whoops. Too bad. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be back. Then I went inside the museum of La Scala. It was kinda interesting. There was an exposition on Maria Callas, so that was pretty cool.

Then I met back up with Stephanie, and we picked up our tickets for the evening with her roommate Jamie. Then we met a man named Billy Ray, who is about 24, wearing a spiffy Italian suit, who was a math major from Colorado, and now works as an engineer in Siberia. He bought us dinner! It was amazing! Then we went to La Scala, and it was absolutely wonderful. I missed singing so much. It was three one-act operas by Puccini, and I can't get over how great it was to be in La Scala seeing Puccini! We were in the very top and back, and we had to stand the whole time to see anything, but it was sooo worth it! I gasped during the first, cried during the second, and laughed during the third. They were so fantastic. Even though they were really long, and we were there for four hours, it was still uber-cool. Then we met up with our buddy again, and we went out for gelato and then dancing! It was awesome... again. Great first night in Milan.



Friday, we slept a lot. Necessary after such a long day. We went back to La Scala to get 10 euro tickets for the ballet Romeo and Juliet! Ahh!!! Then we went to a castle, and we went inside it's museums. They were cool, especially the museum of musical instruments. There were sooo many old instruments, and they were all so cool and interesting. I was amazed with their collection. Then Stephanie fed me the most amazing cannoli ever in the world. I don't know how I'm going to survive without them in France. I'm sure I'll be able to find them. Then we showered, also very necessary, and we went to the ballet! It was just as gorgeous, and it made me miss dancing. It was also dramatic and sad and funny. I loved it so much. I was so happy to go to La Scala twice for 22 euros total and see such amazing works. Now I'm jealous of Stephanie for being in Milan. I'm gonna have to get down to the Paris Opera and see something cool.

Saturday we decided to take a day trip, since there's not as much to do in Milan. I randomly decided to go to Mantua (Mantova). It was actually quite fun, and it was an adorable little Italian town. Round trip train tickets were only 17 euros, but it was 2 hours each way. We slept a lot. The town was soooo old, the palaces and cathedrals were all from like before the 10th century. Everything was brick and falling apart. But there were small remnants of the beautiful frescoes, and it was really great that we went. We also tried this Mantovian delicacy called a chocolate tart, but it definitely didn't look like one. It looked like the amazingness of the top of an apple crumble, but it did not taste nearly as good. Not that it wasn't good at all, but we were expecting more. Furthermore, everytime we ate it, people stared at us. So we wondered if we were eating it wrong or something. Oh well.

Then today, Sunday, we finished up Milan by eating pizza in the canal area. It was nice, but the canal seemed really low on water for some reason. Then we went to Basilica Sant'Ambrogio. It was equally as old as other stuff, and it was very cool to see. Then we had another cannoli, and we walked through the Golden Rectangle, where all the designer shops are. And that was basically it. It took me forever to get home, cuz the Paris metro sucks late at night on Sundays. Oh well, I survived.

Now I'm home. I really will post pictures soon. It was a great trip, but I'm really happy to be back home in Paris!

First of all, Mother, you would love the Musee Marmottan. It's basically just a museum of Monet and friends. It has so much of his waterlilies and other stuff he painted at Giverny. It was really fun, and there's a lot of neat stuff there.

Okay, about the trip to Lyon. It was wonderful! Lyon is a gorgeous and surprisingly uber-historic city, and I would highly recommend a trip there, if anyone's thinking of random places to go in France. ;)

I was supposed to meet Kelly at the train station on Friday at the ticket window; however, we quickly learned that Kelly has trouble following signs. Sooo... we had to cut in line, just like I did two weeks ago when I went to Reims, and I made a lot of French people very angry. I really need to try to not let this be a trend. Anyway, we made the train, and we found seats together, and that was good and all. Cheese and crackers and Bueno bars are excellent snacks on trains.

(Have I talked about Bueno bars yet? They're these amazing candy bars that are kind of like large kit kat bars in that they have a wafer-like middle covered in chocolate, except that they're also filled with hazelnut cream. I think they're the best candy bars in the world. No joke.)

Anyway, we arrived in Lyon around 9pm, and we decided to go eat dinner first so that the restaurants wouldn't close, and I am glad we did. We learned, when we finished dinner around 11 or 1130, that it's a freaking half-hour walk all uphill, very steep uphill mind you, on windy cobblestone road that's dimly lit, while we're carrying all of our stuff, and my cell phone has no battery and Kelly's cell phone has no minutes. Good going, us. Luckily, we weren't attacked (which is good, because we wouldn't have been able to run anywhere), and we did manage to make it to our hostel safely just after midnight. It was a nice hostel, we were in a six-person room, but no one was there when we arrived. Some old French lady arrived shortly after us, and the only problem with her was the window wars. Kelly and random French lady had a good time silently arguing over whether or not to keep the window open.

The next morning, we learned the fun of the shower. It was a random button on the wall, so you had no control over temperature. You just pushed the button, and the shower turned on for about 20 seconds or so. Then you had to push it again... and again. It was odd, shall we say. It had uber-high water pressure, which was wonderful for washing your hair, but really terrible for washing your face. Also, the sink in the bathroom had similar water pressure and pretty much gave you a shower every time you used it anyway. Also, we were basically-virgin hostelers, and we didn't realize we needed to bring our own towels. However, in my own defense, previous hostels either have had towels, let you rent towels, or tell you to bring your own. This hostel had none of the above, we so kinda air-dried. Yum.

Then I discovered my new favorite thing for breakfast: French bread with nutella and honey. Mmm... good. Then we set out to discover the city. We started at the tourist office, which is always a good idea, and we purchased city cards, just like we did in Reims. They're cheap, and they get you everything free, including transportation, for 2 days. It was great. We started with a walking tour of La Croix-Rousse, which is the silk industry area on the north hill. It was really cool. We learned a lot about the history of silk coming to Lyon from Italy and China before that. We also just learned about the basic history and geography of the city. It was surprisingly really interesting. We also got to see a silk-printing workshop. It was really cool how they have to use different frames for each color, so if they have a pattern with 38 colors, you need 38 frames. And the frames have to be placed exactly. It was neato. They also showed us these passageways called "traboules." It's a Lyon-specific word, and it means a passageway that leads you from one street to another, if it goes back to the same street then it's not a traboule. So Lyon has a lot of these, and they were created because they live on wicked large, steep hills with two huge rivers at the bottoms, so they decided it would be easier and more efficient if they could cross through people houses to get up and down the hill. So yea, they were really neat.

To top off our visit of the silk-making industry, we visited the Musee de Tissus, which was a cool museum showing all the different fabrics from different cultures, focusing on those from Lyon, mainly silk. It was pretty cool.

Then I ate the largest sandwich of my life. Correction: I tried to eat the largest sandwich of my life. It was delicious, but it was ginormous. There were French fries inside my sandwich! It was like a huge panini stuffed with like Greek seasoned chicken kebab and French fries! Whoda thunk, eh?

Then we moved on to our second walking tour of the day: Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon). It's at the bottom of the west hill, and it's... some centuries old? It's pretty cool. We started in the Place Bellecour, which has been a really historical place throughout many centuries again. I think a bunch of people were shot there, particularly during the Resistance in WWII. Then we crossed la Saone river on Pont Bonaparte to get to the Cathedrale Saint-Jean, which has a cool astronomical clock. My guidebook said that it reenacts the annunciation every hour, but it definitely did not. Some things moved and it rang, and it was very unexciting. However, the clock itself is cool, because it does everything. It shows you the time, plus where the sun is in the sky, and the date, and all the Catholic holidays from now until eternity. I was like... I bet I could make the mathematical equation to figure out all this stuff, and then I felt smart.

Then we wandered through a ton more traboules, and it was fun. Then we decided to go to the top of the hill, called Fourviere, where the old Roman ruins are. Yes, Lyon is that old. There are some old Roman amphitheatres that we wandered through, and then we went to the Musee Gallo-Romain and saw even more really really old stuff. It was cool, mostly because I didn't know that Lyon had that much coolness surrounding it.

So then we wandered back down the hill to the center of the peninsula and went to happy hour at a place called the Tavern of the Drunken Parrot. It was nice and sketchy, and we were the only ones there, but the drinks were cheap. They specialized in flavored rum shots, and they had tons of flavors. It was awesome... until really crazy man started harassing us. At least he didn't hit us like he did one guy. Oh crazy people. We were so full from lunch that we didn't want a three-course meal for dinner. So we had pizza and Haagen-Dazs. We were tired. Furthermore, we wanted to get back up the hill before the funiculaire closed at 10pm. And we did.

However, by the time we got back, shortly after 10pm, our room was full, and everyone was asleep! Imagine that. Young people asleep at 10pm on a Saturday night! What a lame place, eh? So we hung out in the lobby and checked our email for about an hour. Then we woke everyone up when we went to bed. Oh well. It happens when you're in a dorm.

Next morning, we headed all the way across town (across both rivers to the east side) into modern Lyon, to see the Centre de la Resistance et de la Deportation. It was a really cool museum about the Resistance movement in France, particularly in Lyon, during WWII. Apparently, Jean Moulin was arrested in Lyon, and it was a big center for a lot of the Resistance. It went through the history of everything, and it talked a lot about other stuff too, like the concentration camps and the sociologies of people and why they did what they did during the war. It was really interesting. I think the most disturbing part of the museum was a book with initial blueprints for the gas chambers. It had several different versions, each explaining the pros and cons of each before they decided on which one to use, reasons such as this chamber camouflages better as a shower room, so people won't revolt before entering, etc. I can sometimes understand how a few people, like Hitler and a few others could have been so crazy and demented to do this. However, I can't wrap my head around the fact that so many of these people, including architects and builders who were probably sound of mind went through this process so rationally. It was a heavy museum basically. It's overwhelming even now as I think about it.

We had pastries for lunch to make us feel better about life. Then we headed over to the Institut Lumiere, which is where the Lumiere brothers basically invented cinematography. There's a whole museum inside their old house with the first video camera they ever made and a film screening room where you could watch some of the first movies every made. It was really cool, and I really didn't know that much about them, so I definitely learned a lot.

Then we headed back over to the top of the Fourviere to see the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourviere. It's a huge 19th century church, with lots of amazing mosaics inside. It has one mosaic depicting the life of Jeanne d'Arc. I really don't even know how to describe the amazingness of this church. It really was unlike anything I had ever seen. Italian churches are gorgeous with all of their sculpted marble and paintings from the Renaissance and earlier, but this was just stunning. It was cool. And outside, there was a gorgeous view of the city, because we were so high up. Right near there, there is also a random TV tower that sort of looks like the Eiffel Tower. It was... random. Then we wandered down the hill through a large rose garden. Though it wasn't very cool, you know, cause it's winter and all, and everything's dead. Oh well. We went back to the hostel to pick up our stuff before we left. I hung out with the hostel's cat, named Callie, for awhile. She was absolutely adorable and the friendliest cat I've ever met. I walked up to her, and she jumped into my arms. I guess you gotta be friendly if you live in a hostel.

Then Kelly and I managed to not miss our train home, and we ate more cheese and crackers and Bueno bars. Yum. Some kind lady switched seats with me so that I could sit with Kelly. And it wasn't like I was a few seats away. She moved two whole cars away to accommodate us. I wish I could have expressed my gratitude better. Damn French language. Ugh.

Anyway, it was a good time. My host parents were also gone this weekend to St. Jean-de-Luz, which is near the Spain-France border. They didn't get back until Monday night, but they brought my macarons from the area. They're really good.

This week I have a lot of work, so it's probably not going to very exciting, so I'm probably not going to update. Wish me luck with my first papers and exams. I'll definitely need it.

Sunday was a necessary lazy day. I slept for about 14 hours or so, and it was absolutely wonderful.

Monday was Ivy's birthday, so we had a lot of things planned. We started at the Musee Picasso, which was really cool, but it was also the world's smallest museum, I believe. (I later learned, from my friends who were in Madrid this past weekend, that a lot of stuff they say there was on loan from the Musee Picasso in Paris, so that explains some, I suppose.) It was interesting, but we did all of it in less than an hour. Fneh.

Then we had the most delicious lunch at Breakfast-in-America. It's an all-American diner, where the waiters speak English, and it is sooo refreshing. (Not that I don't love French food, but I need a break occasionally.) I had a bacon cheeseburger with a Coke, and I felt wonderfully American. Mmm... mmm.



Then we went to a place on the Champs-Elysees called Laduree, and they have the best macaroons. They're not the same as macaroons in the US, but they are a delectable treat. Kinda expensive, but worth it to try at least.



Then we went to the Musee de l'Erotisme. That was a trip. Seven stories of... well, basically porn from all different cultures and time periods. My favorite part was watching other people go through and examine things and the placards like they were in the Louvre, completely seriously. Meanwhile, my friends and I are giggling and pointing and just totally getting a kick out of how ridiculous it all is. Oy.



We ran out of time to go ice skating, but maybe next week? The rinks close March 9th, so I gotta fit it in soon!

Then Tuesday night I tried out my new dance class. It was a Modern-Jazz class with a really hippie-style teacher. He was much kinder than the last one, and he didn't treat us differently than anyone else in the class (which means he neither ignored us nor pointed us out a lot). It was a little contemporary for my liking, meaning he was really uber into breathing and contractions and really using the ground as your tool. But it was generally good. I'm definitely going back. It's Tuesdays 530-7, so I can still get home in time for dinner. Also, it was slightly cheaper than the other class. It was more difficult to understand than the ballet class, because all ballet is in French in the US anyway. However, I found that I really don't know the parts of the body, especially really specific things. So I had to watch and learn a lot more, but still, it's totally doable. And I'm glad I'm taking class with a good friend, too. It's much more comforting.
I ate with my host brother alone again that night. It was somewhat better. He smiled at me and asked me how my day was. So I talked for a little, but he didn't really respond. So then I asked him about his day, and he said, "I worked, and then I worked some more." Then he turned on the TV, and I was like, I guess that means this conversation is over. Oy. Boys.

Yesterday, my plan was to ask some French people to eat lunch with us, but the opportunity didn't really arise, and I was tired as crazy anyway. It's so hard to get up the courage, but I have to do it. I was talking to French students in my class the other weeks, but I didn't know how to talk to them more. Then someone gave me the lunch idea, but it didn't work out this week. I'm a little mad at myself. I really wanna make some French friends, so I can hang out with them and speak French at bars and stuff. (Especially since my host brother doesn't seem to be very helpful.) We'll see. I'm REALLY going to make an effort next week.

Then I went to the Benjamin Franklin exhibition at the Musee Carnavalet with Kelly. It was not as cool as I wanted it to be. There was a very informative 10-second video demonstrating the two possibilities of when lighting strikes a house: one with a lighting rod, one without. I much preferred the one without then the house just exploded. That was cool. It even had sweet sound effects and cool two-dimensional graphics! Anyway, I'm still glad I went, but I wanted more.

Also this week, Ivy showed me a 4 euro lunch deal with a huge panini of your choice and a nutella crepe! What a deal! And it's the most delicious thing in the world. I was in love! Now i've been told about a 3 euro deal with a slice of pizza, a cookie, and a water bottle. Must check these out! Love cheap lunches, then I can eat well for my 2 dinners a week that I don't eat with my family.

Last night was terrible dinner-wise. Not at all because of what we ate. But because it was the day I was the hungriest that I've ever been here. I got home at 645, and I was starving. And I knew we wouldn't eat til 8, like usual. But then I remembered it was the night that my mother has Spanish class, so we weren't going to eat until 830. But then she was late, and she didn't prepare the meal in advance, so we didn't eat until 9! It was the most terrible 2 hours of my life. I thought my stomach was eating itself. It was death.

Also, I lost internet connection on Monday night for 10 hours! Also the worst 10 hours of my life. It's amazing how addicted I am to this thing. I lose connection, and I feel like I'm lost, completely disconnected from reality and people and life. Oh man, I also thought I was going to die then. I lost sleep over it. I almost broke my computer because I threw it on the floor, I was so angry. Eventually, things worked out. But I definitely learned it's never good to go to bed angry.

Today after class, I went to Angelina, which has the best hot chocolate in Paris. But also the most expensive hot chocolate in the world. Granted, it was worth it, but I wouldn't do it again unless I really really really needed a super-awesome chocolate mix. They also looked like that had amazing pastries, but I just couldn't spend 7 euros on hot chocolate and another 7 on a Mont Blanc. Oh well... another time. Or another place that has reason... or just a heart.

I swear I'm gonna pull a Jean Valjean and steal bread because everything in this city is so expensive. Oy.

Tomorrow my art history class goes to the Musee Marmottan. Then I leave for Lyon! With Kelly! We're gonna have a blast, yo. See ya when I get back.

So today I slept late... 'twas very necessary. Then I went to La Comedie-Francaise to see Le Misanthrope by Moliere. It was great. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than L'Ecole des Femmes. I think this was better directed and better acted. Don't get me wrong, Daniel Auteuil was great in the last show. But this cast was a great ensemble. They were ALL good. And all of their characters were wonderful. They were so theatrical, and their physical humor was absolutely magnificent, especially for those of us that couldn't understand all the French. I really enjoyed myself. Granted, it was over three hours long, and I may have slept through part of it, but overall, it was an excellent show. Also, the set design was really interesting. (This might be hard to describe, since I actually don't know the correct theatre terminology, but I'll do my best.) They used white sheets/scrims/backdrops to form a triangle with the front of the stage. They were lightly decorated with squares and rectangles to make it look like French walls... you know what I mean by French walls... very classical... very Moliere. And then there were cut outs for the doors, one on each side. Then the cool part was that, depending on how you light the stage, you can see through the sheets, right? So there were more sheets behind in patterns to make it look like hallways and other rooms. So without any actual construction, they were able to create the effect of a giant French mansion. So that was awesome. Also, the French take longer bows than in the US. They have like five encores... it's a little repetitive. Oh well. Gotta love the French.

Then I spent the rest of the day in that area, which is the Louvre area. I walked down the Rue de Rivoli and had a chocolate crepe. Then I walked through the Tuileries. Wandered down the Seine to the Hotel de Ville, and crossed a bridge to Notre Dame. I had dinner at Le Quasimodo. Haha. Then I took the bus home. I like taking the bus home, because I don't have to change metros 3 times, and it doesn't smell, and I get to see Paris by night. It's wonderful.

Tomorrow I have nothing planned. So I'll wander. Maybe go to the Bois de Boulogne. Maybe go to Angelina's (best hot chocolate in Paris). Maybe see Victor Hugo's house. Who knows?