Paris: the city of romance and crêpes

I was doing my early morning browsing of the internet for the latest news and gossip (like ya do) and something suddenly sparked. I remembered my blog has gone three whole weeks without word nourishment!

Where to start, where to start. Ah yes, midterms. Who could ever forget midterms? Despite having a terrible cold, I managed to complete all of my midterms to the best of my ability. The easy part was over... the hardest part for me is waiting for the results. Every lecturer (or teacher) is different. Some like to be organised and mark them all in time for next week's class. Some are the complete opposite and have to prioritise which exam papers to mark when. And there are some who literally mark them in class a week after the exam. This happened for my 5th midterm. I was astonished... And I got 100%! Admittedly, there was a little party of Gabrielle's dancing around in my head.

During the days of having a cold, I had to give a 5-minute informative speech about Daisaku Ikeda, President of SGI (the Buddhist organisation I belong to and the author of most quotes on my blog). It took me about a day to write, including gathering research. It was quite hard to condense one amazing man's life down to 5 minutes, but I think I did a pretty damn good job considering! I received a better grade than the last one. I just need to work on slowing down when I speak. It can't be that hard, can it?

While preparing to go to Paris, which includes packing, unpacking and then packing again, it was announced that the Halloween party that my university was hosting had to be postponed, leaving it up to the international students to find an alternative. I was told at the last minute that my house was being used for the emergency venue. I wasn't planning on going to the original party. I had no costume. I did what any girl would do and smothered red lip gloss all over my chin and chest (I don't own red lipstick) - how to be a vampire in 10 seconds. I would just like to advise anyone going on holiday to never ever have a party the night before. Ever. Just for the sake of being full conscious when you reach your destination. It was fun though!

I was an innocent vampire.

So I managed to wake up in time, finish my packing (I'm getting better at it) and meet my friends on the bus to the airport with my housemate. As I got on the bus, I noticed that one of our friends was not there - hence my prior advice. That was the first thing that went wrong. The second was even worse. We'd found a brilliant apartment to stay in through a very reliable website. Us being us, we waited until the last possible moment to collect our money together and book one... sitting on the bus, our booking was rejected. So we were packed, on the bus to the airport and HOMELESS. Despite freaking out inside, we couldn't help but laugh at the situation. No matter what was going to happen, we were going to Paris. We sent quite a few emails to some apartment landlords and eventually got a response! We were happy again.

She made it to the airport!

As soon as we landed in Paris, the cold and rain hit us. Thank goodness I brought my big coat with me. We eventually made it to the apartment, after asking the local residents and trailing our suitcases behind us a few miles. We met the landlord, were given a quick tour of the apartment, dumped our bags and went hunting for food. The boys did some heavy-duty grocery shopping. The girls, on the other hand, decided that since we were in Paris, we'll go out to eat every night. We were on holiday after all! Plus, we were living on a great road for food. It was lined with cinemas so there were crêpe stands everywhere!

My first photo in Paris.

Guess what my first meal in Paris was? Can't guess? It was Chinese. We really should have eaten something French but we vowed that we eat something French before we left Paris.

It was an amazing 4 days and 5 nights...

My first sight of the Eiffel Tower.

Tourist pose #1: Place de la Concorde.

The Pharaoh and I.

One of the most famous streets in the world.

Tourist pose #2: Arc de Triomphe.

Tourist pose #3: Eiffel Tower.

Inner thoughts: "I'm so excited!"

My best experience of Paris was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was freezing cold, we had to queue for just over an hour but we met some interesting people and saw some beautiful sights of the city.

Going up...

Watching the sun set from the Eiffel Tower.

Red nose!

The lights came on afterwards.

Eiffel Tower aglow!

Dinner #2: Italian (we are naughty tourists!)

After seeing the main sights in the centre of Paris, we took a trip to the Palace of Versailles. The sun came out just for us!

There it is!

Le chateau.

The famous Hall of Mirrors.

One of many gardens.

In awe at art and the garden landscapes, we hopped on a train (we paid, of course). Some were more eager than others:

A photo had to be taken.

The next day, the touristic spree continued - the Louvre Museum. The queue was horrendously long. My friend and I and two of the boys decided to have a race. First one to the Mona Lisa wins. My friend had been before so she knew a quicker way to get in. After pushing through the crowds and taking pictures to prove we had seen the Mona Lisa, we made our way out with glee written all over our faces.

The largest Louvre pyramid.

We beat you boys!

We entered the main hallway, looked up and the boys were standing in front of us. I felt like screaming "noooooooooooooo!" but I just smiled sweetly and said "have fun in there!" instead.

Notre Dame Cathedral.

After sightseeing, we decided to play a game. We got on the Metro, said a number (8, for example) and we would get off at the 8th stop. We ended up in Vincennes, a town in the suburbs of Paris.

But then the game got a bit more serious. We got on the RER (the overground train in Paris) and, without saying a number, ended up going to Disneyland "by accident". We didn't actually pay to go in the park but did have a nice little wander around the store.

Proof!

Just kidding.

As I said before, one of my main goals for Paris was to try some real French cuisine, not just croissants and baguettes, but the hardcore stuff!

Either escargot or cuisses de grenouille - or in English, snails or frog's legs. We were roaming the streets, looking at the menus in every restaurant window to find the suitable meal. Eventually, we found one. It was 11pm. We were the only customers left. My entrée was escargot. My friend grabbed my camera and documented every move I made.

Snails covered in garlic.

Gradually realising that I was about to eat snails.

Now I've done all the touristic stuff, I will return to Paris to experience the true Paris. The Midnight in Paris experience.

Voilà! Midterm madness, Halloween hangovers and Parisian paradise. What else could possibly happen in my last month and a half here? We shall have to wait and see...

In the words of Audrey Hepburn, "Paris is always a good idea".