Joyeux Noel tout le monde!

How on earth is it already Christmas?! We've had a lovely Parisian Christmas -- a bit more low-key than usual, but quite nice none the less.

Last night, we actually had a Christmas Eve dinner of frozen pizzas -- oh well. It was bound to happen at some point. With dinner, we began watching one of my all time favorite movies -- White Christmas, which my dad had brought with him. Apparently, it was the first time that Dan had seen it!

We had heard that going to a Christmas Eve service at Notre Dame isn't really a "French" thing to do. Well that may be, but every tourist likes to go to Notre Dame for their Christmas Eve services. We got there around 10:40 for the 11pm service...which was a bit too late. We found ourselves near the end of a very long line that began moving shortly after we arrived. When we had made it about halfway up, two men came rushing up, briefly flashing an armband reading "POLICE", and told us to follow them...which seemed fairly suspicious. My dad was quick to follow them which was surprising. Some how, by following them, we ended up getting right into Notre Dame which, indeed, was PACKED.

We stood on the right side and watched the service on a tv screen that was behind an enormous column -- we could still hear fairly well though. It was a great experience, but for whatever reason, the majority of the music that was sung or played wasn't familiar. It was only at the end that they sung "traditional" Christmas songs. It was a little disappointing, but it was still Christmas Eve. At Notre Dame.

Today, we tried our best to recreate Christmas a la francaise. We had our usual sausage breakfast casserole - where we substituted ham chunks (or bacon) for the sausage! Not bad at all! A bit "breadier" than usual, but still pretty good. The grits that my mom makes all the time tasted delicious, but the consistency was a bit different than what we're used to....oh well. And of course, we had some French pastries from the boulangerie just up the road.

After our late brunch, we watched Love Actually, which is always amusing. And that was followed by a lovely stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens! There was  a surprisingly large of people out and about for a Christmas day. I am now sitting on the couch watching Holiday Inn with everyone -- Mom, Dad, Dan, Becca, and my friend Louisa who came to spend the day with us! It's kind of hodge-podge of activities -- trying to clean up for our departure tomorrow morning, cooking various things while having a tiny oven, blogging, etc.

A few highlights from the past couple of days:

Monmartre : quite an incredible place. We went for the first time on Thursday, and got off at the Chateau Rouge metro station off of the Ligne 4 -- warning to those who approach Sacre Coeur from this metro -- it's quite a different place.....But we had a fun time wandering through the Christmas markets and through the square that was full of quite the variety of artists...

Le Ribouldingue : Friday night, Dan found this restaurant called Le Ribouldingue which was not too far away -- just across from Notre Dame -- which specializes in dishes that aren't terribly common....They claimed to have had a selection of "normal" options, but were mysteriously out of all but one helping of the scallops....My appetizer was delicious -- it was a puree of pumpkin and bacon with a layer of white foam on the top. Really yummy. I had the lone order of scallops that was left which was good -- not incredible, but good. And then for dessert, I had a rice pudding that was flavored with vanilla, and then there was a little pot of thick caramel sauce to go on top -- soooo good.

That's all I can think of right now -- lamb and potato gratin dinner being served up soon! Tomorrow we're off to Normandy, Brugge, and then Budapest for New Year's! Should be a fun week.

Here are quite a few pictures courtesy of my wonderful father:

Band playing on the steps of the Opera Garnier:

Laduree decked out for Christmas:

Tree in front of Notre Dame:

Me and Dan in front of the Louvre:

A bientot! J'espere....Joyeux Noel a tout le monde!

Ma familly, Une compet de natation, VACANCES!

Apologies for the lack of blog entries....my family's been taking up quite a bit of my time -- how dare they! I'm going to make this quick, but I thought that I'd just give a quick update....

We just got back from a wonderful steak frites dinner at Le Relais de Venize in the 17th arr. Absolutely superb. It's the only thing they serve there and they just come around with big plates of french fries and steak in this buttery sauce and even come around to give second helpings! We got an assortment of desserts -- profiteroles for my dad, my mom and I split this tower of meringues with ice cream in between smothered in hot chocolate sauce -- delicious. And Becca, my brother's girlfriend got the chocolate cake which also looked delicious. We're all somewhat over-pleasantly full, but it was definitely worth it.

Over the past few days -- I swam in a swim meet this past weekend where I qualified for the "meetings nationaux" which as I understand, are a series of national meets? But I'm still kind of working on what exactly that entails...

We've been to the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, walked ALL OVER the place -- Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Opera Garnier, etc. And also eaten lots of delicious delicious food!!

Here's a picture of the Swett family reunited last night at dinner chez une amie!

Hope everyone is well, and a bientot! (Maybe....)

Finis, Finis, Finis, Finis....Kind of...

Sooooo it's vacation! I wish that meant that I was done with the semester, but I suppose I'll live...

But I spent the last few days really working on this report on the Nigerian economy which I am actually moderately proud of. It was supposed to be a minimum of 15 pages and a maximum of 30...and with the bibliographie and all of the introduction pages, I got to page 20! Not too bad. I'm pretty sure it's relatively coherent, has a thesis, and hopefully the format isn't completely wrong....

So now I have off from classes until the 3rd of January! Which for me, seems like an ETERNITY. I'm so excited! And my parents get here tomorrow!

Here are some photos -- one is the Christmas tree in the Opera Gernier gift shop that's covered with little ballerina mice...and the other is Pastel helping me with my paper the other day! He's so thoughtful...

A bientot!

AHhhhhhh

I was so busy working on this 18 PAGE PAPER ABOUT THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY that I almost forgot to post a picture for today! Which would have been TRAGIC.

Ok, so this isn't necessarily a "Christmas" picture, but I'm considering it one! These are the candles that were at ND de Fourviere in Lyon this past weekend. They were just so pretty, I couldn't resist!

More tomorrow -- I promise! This is the last last last thing between me and my vacation! And there are less than 36 hours before I see my parents! How crazy is THAT!?

Bon nuit a tout le monde!

Photo du Jour!

I'm busy trying to finish this last paper that stands between me and my vacation! So here's today's picture:

This is the Christmas tree that's in our lobby! Quite a nice way to be greeted every time I come home.

Bon nuit!

Le photo d'aujourd'hui!

Christmas market in Lyon!

Lyon!

So of course, I'm a bit behind with my photos, but hopefully today's will somewhat make up for that!

Let's see..Friday night, I went to see Cedric Andrieux at the Cite Universitaire Theater which was for my theater class. It was actually really interesting -- it was this dancer (Cedric Andrieux) who told the story of his life and career, in particular when he was working with choreographer Merce Cunningham in New York City. Throughout, he did little demonstrations and solos so that we could see what he had been doing when in NYC, and then what he's been doing after his return to France.

Yesterday, we left to go to Lyon for the Fete des Lumieres last night -- let's just say that it was an interesting experience....The train got there around 3pm, and we took the metro into the old part of the city -- the entire place was completely mobbed the entire time. From the metro stop, we took the tram up the side of the hill Fourviere so that we could see some of the Gallo-Romain ruins and then go to the Notre Dame de Fourviere cathedral, which is really incredible. It was finished at the end of the 19th century, and then inside in entirely covered with mosaics. It's really beautiful.

From there, we descended into the old part of town and walked through the streets while listening to our history lesson. Lyon really was just incredibly crowded the entire time. Martine had told us that we probably wouldn't be able to find a place for us all to eat dinner together, but we actually did! We asked at this one little restaurant which was advertising that they had 50 seats downstairs if they could take us...at first they said no, but when we offered to eat right away (at about 6pm), they showed us downstairs. We all got the entree-plat-dessert option which was quite lovely. I chose the onion soup to start which was very good -- the only negative was that we all had to share this one small bowl of cheese to put on top....For my second course, I got the sausage which was fairly large, and came sliced on my plate in a red wine sauce and some potatoes gratin on the side. All very delicious! Even though the specialty dessert of Lyon is a praline tart, I decided to go for the gooey chocolate cake which came sitting in a little puddle of cream sauce -- yum!

From dinner, we all split up and walked all over the city to look at the displays of lights. There were bridges that were decorated, buildings that were all lit up, lots of displays in front of restaurants -- who were all serving cups of hot wine, which smelled heavenly. We wove our way through the streets and finally arrived at this adorable Christmas market which was near where we were supposed to meet the bus. We spent a while there -- lots of different things to buy -- everything from crepes to roasted chestnuts to santa hats to you name it!

This is when things started to get interesting. We all arrived in front of the Brasserie Georges to get on the bus, and amazingly were all there EARLY, and so we left around 10:45. Martine had warned us that our "hotel" would be a bit different than our other excursions, but I don't think we really knew what to expect. We pulled into the "F1" about 20 minutes later and went in to check into our rooms. F1 is the lowest level hotel in the Accor family of hotels - apparently you can come at any time of day and give them your credit card and they'll give you a room.

Well, first of all, the lobby was more like the lobby of a rental car place. The guy behind the counter was actually incapable of using the computer and had NO idea what he was doing. Martine and Madame Stevens went back and forth with him for quite some time -- lots of "there's no problem here" and "yes, there's a big problem", and the like...we were all pretty tired, and as frustrating as it was, most of us couldn't help but find it a bit entertaining.

Finally, we got little slips of paper with our room number and code (yes, code, not key), and went up to find our room. Well it didn't take us long to realize that yes, he had given us 11 slips of paper with codes on them, but about 4 of those slips were duplicates of other slips...so I found myself sharing two twin beds (small beds) with 3 other girls....wasn't going to work. So it took us about another 15 minutes to get new rooms assigned and figure all that out....finally, my roommate, Cynthia, and I got a room to ourselves -- no bathroom in the room, just a bed, sink, and a tiny little tv.

I don't think anyone slept particularly well, but we got up and went to the "breakfast" they were serving in the lobby. Again, an interesting experience. You truly do get what you pay for....

The bus picked us up at 9:30, and we took a little driving tour around Lyon before going to the train station -- where we almost got stuck in some major traffic and missed our train -- but luckily, we made it. The train ride back to Paris was fairly uneventful - I worked on my expose on Cedric Andrieux which I have to present tomorrow. And then there's this 15 page report on the economy of Nigeria which is due on Thursday.....which is SLOWLY coming along. Emphasis on the slowly. It's hard to focus when it's Christmas, and lights, and PARIS.

Here are some pictures from Lyon and then one of Pastel who was hiding in a bag last week, and I just find it too funny to not post....

Above -- they were playing pinball in lights on the side of this building which was very cool...

One of the main plazas in Lyon.

A bientot!

Xmas Photo Numero ?

Here's the entire Christmas Tree at Institut Catholique -- all those days where I posted more than one picture were mistakes....I should have kept them in storage! Oh well, I guess I need to work a little harder at finding some good Christmas photos.

Bon nuit!

Et la saison de Noel continue....

Here's today's Christmas-y picture...it's me and my friend Jennifer in this little plaza near where our France/Afrique class is held -- very upscale and quite beautiful. Which can also be seen with the storefront of the Chanel store....(minus the random woman who got in my way).

A bientot!

Fatiguee...

Ok, I'll admit that I'm not in the most stellar mood as I sit down to write tonight. It's just been a stressful few days, and I've found it difficult to de-stress myself.

Yesterday, I had my architecture final -- which I suppose I should just be happy that I'm done with that class! It wasn't that bad, just lots of dates, names, buildings, years, etc. Lots to retain in my tiny little brain. Just after that class, I had to meet Martine in front of the Pantheon to go meet an economics professor who teaches at a private school called FACO -- a smaller university in Paris. We discussed certain courses that I might be able to take next semester to fulfill my economics credit requirement...but he was pretty intimidating. I also had a paper due for my theater class which I foolishly didn't revise until the last minute, and as a result, I didn't really get a chance to revise the whole thing...lesson learned! But both were steps closer to Christmas break and to the end of the first semester. Crazy.

Today was a fairly normal Tuesday -- well, kind of. Normal in that it was my "busy" day. I swam from 7 to 8:30 this morning which was pretty difficult. My coach has started to give me sets like 6x200s backstroke, holding a fairly quick pace -- and then only giving me 15-20 seconds rest. So for example, this morning he wanted me to hold a 2:50 pace, and had me going on the 3:10 -- which to put into yard terms -- holding about a 2:25 and then leaving on the 2:45. Backstroke.

After that, I ate my yogurt as I walked to the metro station and took the 12 line to Rennes and then walked to Institut Catholique. Of course, because today's class was technically a make-up class, it was not in the normal classroom -- and I could only find that out minutes before class was to begin by looking at the big television screen in the entrance which shows all of the classes happening on campus at that moment, who's teaching it, and where it's being held. I saw that it was in B27 today -- luckily, it was in the same building, just up two floors and through a Harry Potter-type maze. But I found it! My professor also offered me the choice of writing a final paper instead of taking the final oral exam....and I happily chose the former.

I came home to drop off my swim stuff and to have some lunch with Marilu before heading off to my medical exam appointment which is a requirement because I'm here with a long-term stay visa. Just about all of the students from my program had the same appointment time(s), and after taking the bus across the city, I finally found this building where I was greeted by burly security guards who asked me why I was there. I made my way up to the first floor and found the waiting room overly full with people from just about every ethnicity you could imagine...and then the long line of Hamilton kids out the door.

We ended up being there abour 2.5 hours in all. Or I was there for about 2.5 hours. After the first waiting room, we were called into a second waiting room where we were called individually to get our eyes tested (20/20 vision! I don't think the nurse believed me when I said I didn't wear glasses...), height and weight taken, etc. Then it was back to the waiting room. And then it was in to take a chest xray (WHICH, I do indeed have with me now -- just in case you were wondering. I'm sure I could arrange to have some copies made if you're looking for a creative piece of art to give as a Christmas present). After the chest xray, back to the waiting room, and then finally, I was called in by one of the doctors to ask me general health questions....and then after that, I had to wait AGAIN to be called to hand in some paperwork and proof that I had paid the 55 euro fee online. It was exhausting.

From there, Emily Heckman and I took the metro back to Institut Catholique for our last Economie du Developpement class -- which I could have sworn lasted about 7 hours (although it was only 2). I dined alone this evening as Marilu and Alain were out at a friend's house. I made myself a piece of chicken, and then finished up some leftover corn and green beans. Seemed like quite the summer meal....

ANYWAYS, Christmas seems to be in full swing here which is always nice to see. Here are some more Christmas pics -- the trees being put up in front of the Pantheon yesterday, and then the decorations on the tree in the courtyard at Institut Catholique!

Bon nuit!

Photo de Noel a Paris Numero 1....

A quick Christmasy photo before heading to bed -- here's the street that I cross en route to and from the pool! Very pretty this time of year -- not sure I really understand the jellyfish shape of the lights, but maybe it's a French thing....

Bon nuit!

DECEMBRE! Comment est-ce que c'est deja decembre?!

Ok, well this might be a brief one -- I have my architecture final exam tomorrow which consists of lots of names, dates, facts, etc., and I've finally finished my study sheets -- now I just need to study them! Along with all of the Powerpoints that our professor has showed throughout the semester. But at least then I'll have one class down -- and no more class on Wednesday! (Until next semester).

Anyways -- this past week was fairly hectic!

Wednesday night, we had our next play for my theatre class, which to put it mildly -- was extremely bizarre. It was called Ex Vivo/In Vitro, and was about making babies, and the roles of parents and surrogates, and definitely went into more detail even though I couldn't understand the entirety. There was even a naked man wearing a pregnancy belly! Who would have thought...My architecture visit was cancelled for the day because our professor was sick -- so I went to the market with Marilu instead...

Thursday, I began preparing for the Thanksgiving Partie Deux that took place at my house on Friday night (an event that Marilu and Alain do every year with the student that they are hosting). I made my chocolate cheesecake, grasshopper pie, cornbread from scratch (one to put into the stuffing, and one to eat), and oatmeal bars (my dad's favorite)! Busy morning, but I was pretty efficient....We had an interesting class discussion about the movie we had watched on Tuesday evening (L'ennemi Intime) -- it seemed that everyone was pretty shocked about how things went while France was occupying Algeria...and also, that France didn't recognize it as a war until 1999.  Thursday night, I swam with the younger kids so that I could meet MADDIE GIEGOLD (Amherst '13) and have dinner with her. I met her at the metro station at around 9:30, and we came back and ate some cheese tarts and had a wonderful time catching up.

We both went to swimming early on Friday! It was really fun for me to show her where I'm swimming, who I'm swimming with, and introduce her to my coach! I think she'll be pretty much the only one who will actually see the comparaison between my experience at Amherst and my experience here in Paris.

To make up some classtime that we missed, my architecture class met at the Musee Carnavalet at 11 for a visit and a basic overview of everything we've learned this semester. It's a really cool place -- it takes you through the history of the city of Paris. We had a break for lunch around 12:45 and went to our professor's favorite falafel restaurant -- L'As de Falafel -- where we all ordered the Falafel Special and some frites to share among us. Well. I've decided that I really don't like falafel. I don't know if it was the sauce filled with coriander (or cilantro) that made it difficult to eat (well, I'm sure that didn't help) -- but it wasn't one of my more favorite things I've tried in Paris (or elsewhere). We went back to the museum, via a really neat used book store, and spent about another hour wandering around until about 3 when he said that we had finished.

From the museum, I headed back home and began to cook for my Thanksgiving dinner. I made the same stuffing that I made last week -- with bread, apples, onions, sausage, and pecans -- and added the cornbread which only made it better...And then Marilu started on the turkey (which came in a box...?), and as we got closer to dinner time, I made mashed potatoes, and green beans with some melted butter and toasted pecans. I had about 10 friends come -- and they did quite a good job with leaving us with few leftovers. The cornbread was a big hit, as was the stuffing -- and actually, the green beans! Then we had the cheesecake, pie, and oatmeal bars for dessert. It was a lovely evening, and we all sat around the living room chatting afterwards until we were all tipping over from being so sleepy....

Maddie stayed with me both Thursday and Friday nights which was wonderful, and so we both crashed soon after the guests had left on Friday night...Yesterday, she woke up to go meet some friends, and somehow (I still can't figure out how), I slept until noon -- and was still tired...so that kind of threw me off a bit. I spent the rest of the day beginning my theater paper for tomorrow, studying some architecture, going to swimming, and then having some leftover stuffing and green beans for dessert while watching the Election of Miss France 2012 -- Miss Alsace won, just in case you were wondering.

Today has been a pretty peaceful day as well. Both yesterday and today have been fairly blah outside (interpret as you wish) -- I met up with Maddie and two of her friends around 5 this evening and we walked to the Ile St. Louis so that they could get Berthillon ice cream -- I tried a spoonful, and it was indeed heavenly. I recommend the salted butter caramel...and I think they would say the same. But the island was beautifully decorated and lit up for Christmas -- and we had a nice time wandering through the streets. From there, I followed them to the book store Shakespeare & Co. which was also just as wonderful. It's not a big place, but it's filled to the brim with all sorts of books -- mostly in English, some new and some used. I found two that looked moderately entertaining and bought them for some upcoming bedtime reading -- I'm about done with the one English book I have, and it's difficult for my brain to relax when I'm reading French...

I have quite a few pictures from the past few days -- it's difficul to choose which ones to show! Here are a couple of my favorites...

 As opposed to imitation chicken clothes?

Alain, Me, and Marilu after Thanksgiving Partie Deux!

Berthillon decorated for Christmas!

So I guess that wasn't the shortest entry, but oh well. Lots of fun stuff going on here! My goal is to find at least one Christmas-y thing per day to take a photo of and post it -- I have a few saved up just in case....

A bientot!