Merci Beaucoup!

I have been receiving a lot of feedback recently from both family and friends about how much they enjoy reading my blog, so I wanted to take the time to just say THANK YOU!  Thank you for supporting me, encouraging me, and listening to me babble on about my experiences in this wonderful city/country/continent.  It has truly been an amazing year so far and I am excited for the next/last few months of my adventure.  In the meantime, here is a little update on my life recently...

First up, Gretchen and Devyn Cotter's visit in mid-April.  While they were only here for a couple short days, we made the most of it by essentially spending every waking moment together.  These 2 women are the closest thing to family that has visited me yet, besides of course my parents and brother.  For those of you who don't know, Tim and Gretchen moved in down the street from my family when I was just a year old, and their son David was just a few months younger than I.  Devyn is the same age as my brother, and their little Scotty (9 y.o.) is my future husband ;) I have essentially known them my whole life and therefore consider them family, along with the rest of my Rockledge neighbors (miss you all)!!  Anyways, having them in Paris was a treat and it was so fun being able to show them around my new city.  I took them on a walking tour of my favorite areas in the Marais, we ate falafels, Dev and I shopped till we dropped, we went on (my first ever) Seine River boat cruise at dusk (a MUST for anyone visiting Paris), ate at my favorite neighborhood bistro, Les Deux Singes, where we befriended the manager and got free shots, and last but not least, we spent quality time with quality friends.  They left me after just 2 short days to continue on with their trip to Nimes and Nice, but I know they enjoyed their time in Paris the most...right?!  Unfortunately, I let Gretchen take all the pictures during their trip so I have none to show of us together, but here are a few I captured during our walk and river cruise...I lovely reminder of just how beautiful this place is, in case you forgot!

Random passageway that I happened upon one day.  Amanda and I sat in those very seats the other day to enjoy I wonderful mid-walk glass of white wine :)

Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris.

Tour Eiffel in all it's glory.

Earlier this month, Jaimie, Ally, and I attended our first real concert in Paris.  I suppose it was more of a show, as it was just a man and his instruments, but it was great nonetheless.  The musician was Alexi Murdoch, whom Ally is a big fan of and henceforth I am as well.  His specialty is acoustic guitar, but he also whipped out an electric guitar, as well as a violin, sans bow.  He was truly amazing, and if you'd like a sample of his music, listen here.  The opening act for Alexi was a French cellist who was...a bit odd.  Let's just say he molested his cello more than he actually played it, plucking random chords and stroking the back of it to see what different noises he could get out of it.  The audience was not too pleased, as they turned into a bunch of 5th graders talking and laughing quite loud.  I'm not sure who I was more blown away by: the audience and their behavior or the "musician" "playing" "music", if that's what you want to call it.  Needless to say, all was redeemed when Alexi stepped on stage, and he proceeded to blow our minds for the next hour and a half with his oh-so-soothing voice. 

Not sure if you can tell here, but this is the cellist, using his bow, playing on the backside of the cello.  freeeeak.

The picture is horrible, but this is Mr. Dreamy himself, Alexi Murdoch.

Now that springtime in Paris has arrived in full force, we have taken ourselves to the streets, daily.  This includes new walking adventures to areas we've never been, picnics and drinks along the Canal St. Martin, walks along the River Seine, and drinks at outdoor cafes throughout the city.  The weather has been amazing (70+F, 20+C), which puts everyone in a better mood.  The only downside is that it means tourist season has begun, and there is no end in sight.  Paris is a completely different city in the spring/summer, and as much as I want to experience all it has to offer, I find myself getting very annoyed, very quickly, with all the crowds everywhere.  However, with Ally's boyfriend here, we have taken advantage of being tourists ourselves.  Yesterday, Ally, Jonny, Jaimie, and I embarked on a journey to discover Les Égouts Paris, better known as the Paris Sewers.  Yes, you read correctly, the 4 of us willingly descended into the infamous Paris undergrounds to catch a glimpse of one of the most remarkable sewer systems in the world.  Leave it to us to wait for the warm weather to come, so the wonderful stench waiting for us below can have time to boil and really get itself going.  Yes, the smell was quite bad, and it some areas almost unbearable (to the point where, if I really thought about it, I could have easily puked), but we remained focused, camera in hand, and continued on to see all there was to see.  This particular section of the sewers was made into a museum essentially, that tells the history of the sewers and water systems in the city, the relation to Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, and the changes it has experienced throughout the year.  So because of this, it was quite clean in most areas and there was nowhere to come in contact with raw sewage, unless you really tried.  There were a few areas where we walked alongside rushing rivers of poopoo, over grates covering the rushing rivers of poopoo, and under pipes containing rushing rivers of poopoo.  It was in these moments that I thought to myself, death would be a more appealing option than falling into these rushing rivers of poopoo.  Literally, it was quite foul, but also very interesting, and something not many people would add to their list of things to see in Paris.  However, the sewer has played such an integral role in the development of the city, that I encourage people to make this out of the ordinary pit stop just to experience such a thriving "pipeline" of the city. 

Is that excitement or trepidation on Jaimie's face?

Now I know why I see so many workers in all blue roaming the streets!

I will spare you all the truly graphic pictures...

Last but not least, I too watched the Royal Wedding last week, and it was wonderful!  I originally was indifferent to it, but I realized that this quite a big deal in the scheme of things because so many people say the Monarchy system won't survive another potential 30 years to witness the nuptials of the next successor to the throne.  Luckily, the host mom of my friend Amanda was throwing a big tea party at her house to watch the wedding, so Amanda invited me to come along.  Nothing like watching the biggest wedding to take place all year, surrounded by about 20 women (and 4 men, randomly), while eating tea sandwiches, shortbread, and pims.  Definitely a memorable experience (not memorable: the measly kiss(es) they gave to appease the audience and the lack of smiling throughout the entire ceremony...c'mon Kate, you just snagged the most eligible bachelor in the world, show the rest of us that you're at least somewhat happy/proud of that)!  I must now also take a moment to express my condolences to my cousin Kelly, who has been waiting over 10 years for her chance to woo Prince William and steal him as her own...Kelly, this is just a minor bump in the road, keep trying!

Blowing kisses to Prince William in front of Amanda's outrageously decorated house.