Day 2

Hey everyone! I'm feeling 100% better today after a full night's rest. I didn't even make it to the Eiffel Tower last night because I passed out before our group left. But I definitely made up for it today. We woke up bright and early and went to Notre Dame for mass. Mom, you were right. It really was incredible. The detail on the outside of the cathedral was breathtaking, and the inside was even more beautiful. The stained glass, the chandeliers, and the ceiling were spectacular. The singing and the organ were so moving. I'm really glad I went. And sorry Mom, I didn't get you a Madonna relic, but I did get you a program and a surprise. I also lit a candle for you and Momo, but I accidently lit it under St. Denis instead of the Mary statue. I don't know anything about St. Denis besides the fact that he was a martyr and I think he may have been a beheaded pope...so sorry about that. It's the thought that counts, right?

Mom and Momo's candles.

I took a lot more pictures of Notre Dame and the surrounding areas, but it takes a really long time to upload all of them, sorry.

After mass, Alyson and I went to a great little cafe' and people watched. I had the best coffee I've ever had and my first Parisian crepe. It was so delicious. It was a little pricey, but definitely worth the experience.

Cafe' Saint Severin

People watching 

Sorry it's sideways, but this is my cafe' noir and Alyson's pretty Evian bottle.

Banane et Nutella crepe. Delicious.

After our lunch, we got lost...really lost. We tried to use the metro and the RER to get back to the FIAP and I'm not sure how, but it was a disaster. It actually got scary at one point when this guy with a weird shaped head started to kind of follow us and say just random curse words followed by "Americans." Alyson decided she will carry her taser from now on. I know, I can't believe she brought one! Smart girl. Anyway, so after hours of going all over Paris, we finally made it back.  It was really frustrating, but I'm glad it happened. We figured out the system and we did it on our own. I really feel comfortable getting around now.

When we finally made it back to the FIAP, it was time to go on our scavenger hunts that the professors prepared for us. We were split up into groups of five, and it was with people I didn't really know. We had an amazing time. We were the last group back because we really explored the city. We only had three places to go (take a picture of Sully Statue, go to a certain cafe', and visit a really old arena) but we took four hours and ended up visiting a museum, walking along the Seine, eating incredible paninos, and getting to know each other better.

Statue Sully and my group

Sully was in front of Assemblee Nationale.

Medals at the Napoleon museum (I know it's stupid, but I really don't remember the name of the museum).

If you can't really tell what this is, it's a big cape for a King. Pretty awesome in person. Definitely better than Mardi Gras costumes.

I thought this guy looked like Steve Buscemi.

And I thought this guy looked kind of like Mr. Bean. 

I just thought he was really, really good looking. And had some really nice hair.

More medals...it was really cool to see the actual medals/sashes that were painted in the portraits right above them. I know it seems like I didn't get anything out of the museum but I have a ton more pictures and stories.

This was the restaurant we had to find. It was SO hard. We asked so many people and we ended up not even wanting to eat anything they had...

...because we had already passed this delicious looking pizza/panino/pasta/salad place. We definitely made the right decision. It may have been better than Italian Barrel...AND it was cheaper than eating at the FIAP (which has pretty terrible food).

Our last stop was this arena. It was pretty boring, but just as we left...

...we noticed this guy. He was alone in the arena, way up high, just juggling some balls. Weird.

Today was so amazing, and I learned so much about the French people!

-Parisians dress their babies/toddlers like grown ups and it makes them 100 times cuter.
-Paris is absolutely a dog lover's city. There are dogs everywhere...as well as their poop.
-For being known as "super cool" people, Parisians have yet to find out that roller blades are absolutely not cool.
-I made a friend with a Parisian toddler today while eating my panino. He didn't speak English, but he did make adorable sweet eyes at me when I asked him about his mini crayons.
-I saw an actual French bulldog today...so that was neat. He almost bit Alyson.
-There really are a lot of people wearing stripes here. I can't tell if they are actual Parisians or if they are tourists who assume the French wear stripes.
-I cannot wait to go shopping (most stores are closed on Sundays).
-For the first time in my life, I actually felt left out because I don't smoke cigarettes.
-Sugar in packets isn't like in America. It looks like little pills.

This experience just keeps getting better and better. I feel so grateful and lucky to be here. I just wish everyone was here to experience it with me!

Love and miss y'all,
Allie