Au Revoir!!

Well despite being a bit sick earlier this week and he big internship report and presentation being due, I still managed  fit a few fun things in! The final exams for the french classes were on Tuesday and the internship reports and presentation were on Thursday, but we had the BU farewell party Thursday night. Most people on the program could make it, which was nice! There were tables set up with an assortment of snacks, wine, and little Paris keychains for each of us! Three comedians performed and then we watched a slideshow of photos that the BU staff took of us at the group activities (the boat ride, Versailles, the wine museum, etc)

All in all, it was a very nice evening, not to mention I won a picture frame for submitting the best photo taken during the trip! After dinner, I went back to the room and started packing a bit. 

The next day, Friday, I went to my last day of internship! I bought my supervisor a couple flowers as a little thank-you. I was also sent on  little delivery run to drop off the company's book to the boss's daughter!! I got out early and met up with a friend for lunch at Cafe de Flore, which is one of the oldest and most well known cafes in Paris! it is known to attract many famous clientele within the intellectual community; it's very similar to Les Deux Magots and the Brasserie Lipp cafe, which are located right next to and across the street from this cafe. 

The adorable dog next to us kept giving us this face...

Then we stopped by some places to pick up sweets!!! I got some interestingly flavored macarons from Pierre Hermé, a competing patisserie to Ladurée, and a beautifully put together gelato! 

Raspberry, pistachio, and hazelnut gelato

Rose/ Velouté Ispahen: (Rose, raspberry and yogurt)/ and Les Jardins- Ha Long Bay (coconut, ginger, lime and coriander)

After the sweets and a bit of shopping, We went up to the top of Montparnasse Tower, a skyscraper located in the 6th Arr., for one of the highly acclaimed views o the city. Although no longer the tallest skyscraper in Paris, as of 2011, Montparnasse tower is the 14th tallest building in the EU. 

That night, almost everyone from the BU group got together for some snacks and wine on the champs de mars, right by the eiffel tower. It was a bit sad saying good-bye to everyone, but since most of the group goes to BU or a school fairly close by, I have a feeling we'll all be seeing each other again some day

Happy 4th of July!

Just thought I'd say a little be-lated Happy Fourth of July and show you how the Fondation has shown some American spirit:

A Home Cooked Meal and A Taste of a Foodie's World

Well the big boss lady finally left for New York on Monday, so it was a bit hectic at the office in the morning, but things slowed down in the afternoon. After work, I headed over to where a couple girls on the trip live with their host family, in the 16th Arr. Their host mother was kind enough to have had invited me and another girl from the dorms to dine with them! I wish i had gotten a picture of the whole meal! We have these little tartines with melted goat cheese and honey on top with salad for our appetizer. For our main course we had this potato dish with cheese and tofu. It was delicious. And for dessert she prepared single serving cups of yogurt with fresh berries and peaches layered in between.  That home cooked meal hit the spot! 

Chevre Chaud- Our Appetizer

The view from the Metro on the way back to the dorms

The next night, after the internship workshop and literature class, I went to dinner with a few girls. We went to Neva Cuisine, located in the 8th Arr, which turned out to be a highly rated/reviewed/ raved about restaurant. The prices certainly showed for it, but the presentation and the taste did as well. Before we got or appetizers, we were given these little glass of creme fraiche, sliced beats, crouton and seasoning. It was so light but rich in flavor: the perfect thing to tease one's appetite! For appetizers, I ordered white asparagus, which was serving in a steaming hot stone bowl with spring onions, shavings of lettuce, cured ham, cherries, and flower petals! 

And for the main course, I ordered Ris de Veau. Now, I must have been very tired, in fact, I know I was very tired, because little did I know that after placing my order, I was going to be served a calf's brain... I'll let you think about that for a minute. I certainly did. I received it and just thought it was some sort of chicken or beef. It was delicious, but the texture was a bit different. 

Paris in the Rain with the Blog's #1 Fan.

This past weekend, Roman, a big fan of this blog, came to visit me! It rained all weekend, but that didn't stop us from having a good time going around Paris. It was quite pretty walking through the city and gardens in the rain. 

Le jardin des Tuileries

Before going to the Musee de l'Orangerie, we walked through the Tuileries and picked up some gelato to eat while waiting in line for the museum.

After the museum we ventured along the street toward Notre Dame and made a quick stop at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. 

We ventured further into the Latin quarter and found a cute restaurant for dinner. And afterwards, we grabbed a nutella and strawberry crepe and caught the end of the Brazil v. Chile football match along the street. 

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The following day, we visited the Musée d'Orsay, which is one of my favorite museums!! You may be able to tell why... For starters, just look at the building it's in! It was an old train station, Gare d'Orsay, built between 1898 and 1900. But by WWII in1939, the station started being used as a mailing service centre. A few decades later in 1970, The Minister of Cultural Affairs, proposed to have the building demolished and replaced with a hotel. It was declared a historic monument in 1978, in an act to stop its planned demolition. Then, in 1986, it was transformed and re-opened as a museum!

Roman and I in front of the musée, by the Seine

An evening back in Conord and La Belle et La Bete

Last wednesday, I got the chance to meet up with my friend, Leigh Ann, from Concord!! She was in Paris for a few days with her family staying around Opera Garnier. We had dinner at Au Petit Riche, then we went out to a nearby bar with her brother and parents to catch the first half of the France v. Ecuador World Cup match. It was so nice to catch up with everyone and get a little break of home!

Last thursday night, some friends and I went out to see La Belle et La Bete (Beauty and the Beast) at Theatre Mogador in the 9th Arr. It was such a fun show!! A bit raunchier than I remembered it being when I saw it in NYC 11 years ago, but the costumes and acting were great! 

Fête de la Musique

Last Saturday, the first day of summer, was fête de la musique in France! Each year,  live music fills the city streets and restaurants and transportation stay open all night to kick off the start of the summer. Some freinds and i decided to get a little picnic together (winc, cheese, bread, chips, and fruit) and hang out in the Tuileries for the afternoon. 

The Latin Quarter

Got out of work early today and headed over to the Latin quarter. I stopped by a cute little store called, The Abbey Bookshop. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but that shop was jam packed with books. There were so many piles of book all densely packed next to each other; it felt as if the walls of the shop were built with books! I only stayed in for about 10 minutes, since it was tough to maneuver through the narrow aisles and the selection of books was a bit overwhelming, but planning to go back sometime! 

An old edition of one of my favorites! 

Then afterwards, I headed to the closest crepe stand to pick up a savory crepe, also known as a galette. I started talking to some other people from Boston while I was in line! They were from Lasell College and they were fashion design students here on a program to help out with Mercedes-Benz fashion week, next week in Paris (I almost died when they told me that...haha). One I had my crepe I just strolled around the area, past the restaurants and bars, until I was finished and then headed back to my dorm to work on my paper and watch the France v. Switzerland football (soccer) match..... which ended with a French 5-2 victory!! 

Cette Semaine à Paris

Last monday was another Catholic holiday, la pentecôte, which meant another day off of work! Although I had some assignments to finish for my classes the next day, I figured I could squeeze a quick trip to the pompidou in with some friends. We also got in free with our BU IDs!

Sacre Coeur in the distance

This week, work was a bit more laid back, as my supervisor was away in New York at the Company's trade show. There were only three of us in the office! Here's the desk I sit and work at every day (behind stacks and stacks of magazines)

A little later on in the week, BU organized a group dinner at the Restaurant l'Entrepôt, which was located in the same arrondissement as my dorm, the 14th. It was a cool place with live music and a pretty garden and veranda. We had a three course meal: raw salmon, a choice of beef or fish, and lava cake (Moelleux au chocolat).

Friday night I went out to a pretty cool club called The Showcase. The music wasn't exactly our taste (very electronic...), but the location made the night. It's located right under the Alexander III bridge (Pont Alexandre III), which is the bridge located between Les Invalides (the french military museum where Napoleon is buried) and Le Grand and Petit Palais. 

On Saturday, I went with eleven other BU people to a chocolate factory, which was the last planned group event of the program. During our visit, we got to have a hand at making some chocolates! This place is actually located a couple blocks away from where I work, which may end up being quite a dangerous thing...

 Right after the chocolate factory, I planned a little rendez-vous with some friends, whom I kept in contact with, from the french exchange program in high school. It was so nice getting to see them again and the weather was great so we just spent a while walking down along the seine and chatting! 

On Sunday, I made some more plans to meet up with another old friend of mine. We met up at the Musee d'Orsay and walked around there for a couple hours, then walked over toward the Latin Quarter and into the Jardin du Luxembourg. 

A view of the Louvre from the Tuileries, on my way to the musee d'Orsay

Le Marais Pour Toute La Journée

 Today was a beautiful 82 degree day! It's been feeling a lot like summer here lately. My friends and I took advantage of it and decided to have a picnic at Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris! It got pretty hot in the direct sun, but that didn't stop us from having a nice time sipping wine with our baguettes, cheese, grapes, strawberries and box of palmier cookies! 

My friend and I wandered around the Marais some more. It's known as the jewish quarter of Paris, although it has also become quite the trendy part of the city (like the Brooklyn of New York), containing lots of galleries and high end stores, such as Zadig & Voltaire, Maison Scotch, and The Kooples. We picked up dinner at L'as Du Fallafel, which is one of the best according to the guidebooks! 

'Midnight in Paris' et Les Champs Elysées

Our first "Atelier de Stage" was on tuesday before classes, where we all split up into groups to have a professor go over the internship course details. It was a bit overwhelming! lots of work ahead...

And on a happier note, half of our group attended the play 'Le Malade Imaginaire' at La Comedie Francaise! (It was a scheduled event by BU and the other half will be seeing the play next Thursday) It was a bit tricky to follow all the dialogue, so depended greatly on the body language and the rest of the audience.., but had a nice time overall! 

The play got out around 10:45-11 PM and we all decided to head over to the Eiffel Tower. The weather was so nice that we decided to walk. We went past the Louvre and through part of the tuileries where big groups of college students were sitting down drinking, eating, and listening to music. At 11, we could see the Eiffel Tower far away in the distance as it started sparkling. Of course, this only made us more eager to get over there. We walked down along the Seine for a while, where there was a similar scene of groups of kids hanging out. The atmosphere was so relaxing and romantic! My feet didn't quite enjoy our decision to walk, but every other part of me did! We finally reached the Eiffel Tower just at it struck midnight, when the sparkles went off again. It was so cool looking up at it twinkling, a sight I had only ever seen from afar. 

The next day, a few girls and I decided to be super touristy and check out the Champs Elysées. The sky cleared up just as we got there! 

We did a little shopping and grabbed lunch. Then, of course, we had to make a stop at Ladurée, the famous macaron shop. Yum!

Orange Blossom, Salted Caramel, Strawberry Poppy, Lime Basil, Pistachio, and Rose macarons