Explorations

Bonjour tout le monde,

Today I had my final immigration appointment. It was right in the middle of my one class today, so I basically had a free day. I thought I would wake up kind of early and go catch a movie before my appointment. I headed downtown but couldn't find the theatre, so I ended up just walking all around Paris. I stumbled across all sorts of really cool things. There was this huge church called Eglise St. Eustache. Didn't go in, but in front of it, there was this big beautiful square and garden and playground that kind of overlooked the whole city. I'll have to go back tomorrow and take pictures.

It was such a nice day to walk around the city. It's still pretty cold here in Paris (in the mid 40s on a good day), but the sun has finally started to come out, and the weather is just nicer all around.

After discovering that little gem of a park, I thought I'd go back to the Louvre. It was around 11:30 on a Wednesday morning, but the Louvre was crazy crowded. I'm not sure why, but there seem to be more tourists than usual in Paris this week. Right outside the Louvre (actually in the same building), there's a little mall-like thing. I really haven't been hanging out at cheesy places or American places, but after I saw how crowded the museum was, I just went to the Starbuck's in the Louvre. It wasn't too crowded, so I just sat there for a while and got a lot of homework done. That's how I usually do my homework in the states, but I hadn't done homework in public yet in France. It was really nice, but I'm not going to start frequenting any Starbuck's.

After that, I took a little detour on my way to the Metro and strolled through the Jardin de Tuleries, which I think is possibly one of my new favorite places in Paris. Again, I'm going to have to go back with a camera and take pictures, but basically, it's a huge garden right in the center of Paris in between all the famous sites and the river. It has all these beautiful fountains, ponds, famous statues, a playground, and little cafes everything. It was just so so nice. Since the weather is finally starting to get a little nicer, Parisians are really coming out more and just relaxing outside like they're known for. This definitely might turn into a homework spot as the weather gets warmer.

Then I had to go to my immigration appointment. It consisted of a quick medical exam, including an X-ray, but apparently I am healthy enough for the French. After a bunch of silly paperwork, I am now officially a French resident.