Paris with Bailey

This week is Innovative Learning Week at the university which basically means a week off school! I got back yesterday from Paris where I had been from Sunday to Thursday with my friend and roommate from Kingston, Bailey. We met in Charles De Gaulle airport and it was very surreal seeing her for the first time in 6 months. It definitely made my life in Kingston seem more real. We met a very nice couple in the airport who gave us their metro passes to use for free on Sunday which we then topped up for another week on Monday. We passed on the deed by giving our passes to two guys when we left on Thursday. We rented an apartment near Montmartre. Our host Aurelien was away in the country for all of our time in Paris so we had the place to ourselves. Normally his cat is there but it was staying with a friend much to my disappointment! We met Aurelien briefly on Monday night when he stopped by to pick up some things. He was very friendly and sweet and recommended places for us to visit.

View from the apartment

View from the apartment

On our first night we wandered around Montmartre, stopping in at a cafe for a chocolate and pear tart, hot chocolate and to catch up. I realized that my French was not as good as I remembered and we weren't too sure of the French restaurant etiquette at first. By the end of the week we got the hang of it though and especially perfected "l'addition s'il vous plait"! We walked up the mammoth steps of Montmartre and saw Sacre Coeur at night and the Eiffel Tower lit up in the distance. There was a man playing guitar to a crowd of people and lots of cute shops.

We met up with my godmother Liz and her daughter Tara on Monday. We had delicious and very filling crepes at a creperie and got to have a crash course in French culture which was very helpful! We caught up over the meal and then went to the Musee National du Moyen Age. The museum was really interesting and I particularly liked the stained glass. After the museum we went in Notre Dame and to the bridge where couples attach padlocks with their initials. We parted ways then and Bailey and I went to Place des Vosgues, a beautiful square that Liz had recommended. For dinner we had a cheese plate and vin chaud and then went to see the Eiffel Tower.

On Tuesday we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it in the daytime after having crepes with jam for breakfast. We had an interesting experience with a really rude waiter who, after giving us back our change, walked back over and flipped open the little black book to see if we'd left a tip - while we were still sitting at the table! After the Eiffel Tower we went to the Musee D'Orsay. The Picasso room was very busy but was probably my favourite part. We returned to the apartment before dinner and watched Casablanca. Our rude waiter experience was improved upon by an excellent waiter at dinner that night. We went to a restaurant at the bottom of the steps at Montmartre where I had a croque madame and we both had creme brulee for dessert. The waiter was very friendly and very patient with our terrible French. When we left he said "Goodbye. Obrigado" and we later realized he hadn't charged us for our desserts!

We went to the Louvre on Wednesday which I managed to get into for free, being a student in Europe! We saw Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa, amid crowds of people. I really liked all of the statues we saw. We walked through the Jardin des Tuileries and along the Champs-Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe. It was a long way but worth it to see all the fancy shops and the pretty fountains. We had dinner that night at the top of Montmartre. The restaurant played loud club music which didn't really suit the atmosphere but later they set up a stage and had two men playing guitars. It sounded very French until Bailey realized it was a cover of "Toxic" by Britney Spears! We ate Boeuf Bourguignon and vin chaud and creme brulee for a second time. It was extremely creamy and delicious.

Arc de Triomphe - shame about the construction

All in all it was a great time in Paris with Bailey! I'm really glad that we got to see eachother because I won't see her now until September.

After getting back last night I hung out with Emma for her 18th birthday and then went to see Breach and Route 94 at Liquid Rooms. The music was really good and I had a great night. Thankfully I have the weekend to finish up some work before school starts back on Monday.

Superbowl & Six Nations

It's a challenge to find something to write about these days. Hopefully some of my upcoming trips will liven things up around here! Tonight I'm signing up for a trip to the Lake District on the weekend of March 1st. We'll be visiting Cockermouth, Keswick, Glenridding and Grasmere and staying overnight on Lake Windermere. We're also stopping off at Gretna Green on the way home. I will be in Paris with Bailey in exactly one week! I've been researching things that I want to see and do while I'm there so if you have any recommendations, let me know.

Some friends and I have started going to the pub quiz again. I look forward to it all week. It's been really busy lately so we have to book a table in advance. I went one week with Emma and Saiman and Saiman's friend and it was so packed we had to sit at the bar. That turned out OK though because the bar staff helped us out with some of the questions.

I went to two new pubs this week. The Peartree which is near The Blind Poet and has a great outdoor patio. I hope it warms up enough before I leave Edinburgh so I can sit outside! I also went to Finnegan's Wake in the Grassmarket. It's an Irish bar and that night they had a live band playing songs like Galway Girl and Irish Rover. People were dancing and swinging around arm in arm. It got me excited for St. Patrick's Day.

I watched the Superbowl with Shannon and Ken in the student union's Library Bar. Unfortunately the fire alarm went off part way through forcing us all to evacuate the building. After standing out in the rain for a bit we decided it wasn't worth it and went home. I was cheering for the Broncos so I was disappointed to hear that they lost so badly. I was supposed to be watching Scotland vs. England in Six Nations yesterday but I came down with a really bad cold and had to stay in bed. I kept up with the game via a live feed though. England won 20-0 so I was in a better mood than after the Superbowl!

My group project course is going well. Our ethics application has been sent off and next week we'll be practicing running the experiment on each other. We had hoped to get things started a bit earlier but unfortunately some of our equipment wasn't working and we had to send off for some new ones. My other courses have essays and assignments due within the next two weeks so I'm working on getting those done, hopefully before I leave for Paris.