Adventures and Misadventures

Before coming to Paris I received many suggestions and city guides, and one place that was on almost every list was Sacre Coeur. So, yesterday my mom and I hopped on the metro to check it out. The view was spectacular. Hopefully my photos can give you some semblance of how amazing it was!

On our way back I learned another valuable lesson for my time here: mind the gap. As I was nudging my way onto the subway, someone stepped on the back of my shoe and "flat-tired" me, and my shoe slid right off and down the gap next to the metro. Fortunately my mom gave me her sock, and I had to maneuver my way around 3 more subway transfers with one sock and one shoe (see photo).

When we got off the subway at our next destination we ran into a patisserie, and after a botched "franglish" conversation and a lot of laughter, the woman working there gave me her extra pair of shoes. We then found a fabulous pair of plastic gladiators "2 for 5 euros" and returned the other shoes to their owner.

We then met Maddy, a friend from Hopkins who is doing my program as well, at the Rose Bakery in the Marais for lunch. Later, the city proved to be smaller than it currently feels when I ran into 3 more Hopkins students before the day was over.

I saw my 5th fellow Blue Jay at a scheduled meeting. My mom and I met up with my friend Taylor and her mom for dinner. We had a lovely dinner that reassured all parties concerned that this is going to be a fabulous semester!