Linda and me at the Sacre Coeur, Basilica of the Sacred Heart! Linda and I have to go halfway across the world to see each other! its not DL but its the next best thing!

Mom and me at Harrod's for afternoon tea with scones (my fav), desserts, tea sandwiches and champagne! Best afternoon EVER!

... survive a huge riot of Algerians

So this past weekend and week was pretty amazing and eye opening! 1) I got to go to London and see Mom which was the best thing I could have wished for halfway through the trip 2) I got to see Linda in Paris for two days and all her high school troupe 3) it was my last week of cinema class and we actually got to watch movies I found funny 4) the US soccer team beat the Algerian team and hundreds of Algerians fans rioted outside my American dorm causing gendarmes in full on riot gear (think tear gas and shields) to push them back and guard our dorm 5) The metro workers decided to go on strike the day of my cinema final so it was a wonderful time trying to figure out which lines were working and when we had to walk. Over all it has been a fantastic week and I cannot believe my trip in France in halfway done! This weekend I am going to Ireland and and SUPER excited! Jane is not too happy about it but thats okay because I will be better than fine I will be amazing! Think leprechauns, the blarney stone, 'time of troubles' and GREEN! I mean what country is more Katherine than the one that is synonymous with the color GREEN!

... learn how to dance like a Parisian

Tonight we went to a comedy show "How to become a Parisian in one hour" and he taught us how to 1) be Parisian in a restaurant "Umm what is your job? A waiter, so you can wait right here" 2) how to be Parisian in a store "Umm if we dont have your size its not my fault your body is shit" 3) how to be a Parisian in the metro *laugh at old woman who wants your seat but you're not going to give it to her* 4) have you know what like a Parisian ... no details... 5) how to talk like a Parisian "Oh la la!" or "Oh la la." 6) How to dance like a Parisian. This is where I volunteered and was brought up on stage in front of 200 people. You swing your hips in a sensual but not sexual way, have your mouth slightly open and if you like a guy stare at him for 3 seconds and according to the guy you will get a drink right away. So pretty much hilarious and now I can add French dance to my repertoire of jazz, hip hop, ballet and lyrical! It was a hilarious show and if you ever come to Paris you need to go to the show!

... spend the day in the Sun while its Raining

So the Palace of Versailles is the palace of the Sun King hence I spent the day in the sun while it was raining... cool yet still dreary! The pictures are HERE , they also include pictures of the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde. Versailles is amazing and we also went around the Gardens which were amazing and then we went to the Grand Trianon which was the royal family's vacation house, which is still larger than the Zeta House, and then we went to the Petite Trianon which was Marie Antoinette's personal house, which is still bigger than the Zeta House. everything was beautiful and, excuse this vomit worthy sentence, the presence of history was tangible. The Sun King's residence was an awe inspiring sight and I do not think I could ever get tired of seeing it, what I could get tired of seeing is the horde of Asian tourist in the same outfit wearing SARS masks and pushing you to get a picture in which they rock the peace sign...

... find the house she wants to live in

So my new abode is this tiny little place called Chennonceau, Kings and Queens might or might not have lived there in earlier days, and by might or might not I mean they did. It is a beautiful chateau built over a river, the castle is built on the bridge and the main gallery spans the river, which was the dividing line between occupied and unoccupied france in WWII and people used to sneak the resistance through the line in the gallery... cool? I would say so yes. We saw the gardens of the beautiful castle and then had a wine tasting at a wine sellers business along with goat cheese, which is actually good and does not taste like it sounds. Then next day we went to visit another castle, Chambord, which is amazingly beautiful and very intricate. Fun fact (although all these facts are fun) The town of Chambord is where the alcohol Chambord is made, did we have some? yes we did! Leonardo Da Vinci designed the main staircase which is a winding one but each floor has two entry/exit points so if I took one and you took the other we could climb all the way to the top and never cross each other's path. It was very interesting! We got to see the 'bed of france' where some Kings and princesses ad princes of France were made. Then we had a cookie tasting and I bought some gallettes, think cinnamon teddy grams but better. This week has been not too interesting, it has rained almost everyday which makes for a very depressing place and then I saw this woman get almost groped on the metro by a homeless guy.... yeah creepy. Oh and all the homeless people here have the cutest dogs and cats, seriously where do they find them because I want to ask one of them if I could borrow their animal for two months so I could have some one to come home (in my dorm) to! Seriously the cutest animals EVER! I booked all my trips for next session and my free long weekend between my two sessions this week so that was pretty exciting! Pictures of the castles are HERE!

... get mooned on the metro

Yep totally got mooned on the metro. Apparently it was a game where the guys jump on the train, drop the pants, waddle to the wall, touch it and then run back on the metro butts showing. They did this as we got on the metro so of course being the quick thinking always ready person I am, I got out my camera, Anna held my stuff and Hunter was ready to open the door. I jumped out with the camera on multiple shots and snapped away. Perfect and hilarious. Besides getting mooned on the metro we took a boat ride from the Bateau Mouches along the Seine and we saw many incredible historic buildings! It was amazing! Its been two weeks and I have seen so many things! Tomorrow we are going to the Loire Valley and going to see all the Chateaus and Castles!!!! I AM SO EXCITED! Pictures from the river cruise and the mooning incident are HERE!

... wear jeans, sneakers, a fleece and a scarf in June

So the past weekend and today and yesterday have been soooo cold here in Paris. I have been bundled up even in my classes, because of course no central heat/air/anything. This past weekend we went to the beaches of Normandy and Mont Saint Michel. There are pictures HERE ! It was amazing! the beaches were so powerful and it was so interesting to realize that the beginning of the end of WWII started there. They were getting ready for the anniversary of DDay which is on the 6th so the American Cemetery was getting a major clean up. It was nice to be back on US soil for a little bit! Everything was in English and the guards spoke perfect English; it made me a little homesick for America and Austin! We went to the Museum off the coast which was very sad and graphic. We spent the night in a small town called Caen where I finally got an extremely hot shower and a bed more than 5 inches off the ground. In the morning we drove to Mont Saint Michel which is a beautiful island off the coast that you can only get to when the ocean is not at high tide. Th entire town was gorgeous and we had fun walking through the town and church. After driving back to paris everyone was exhausted and we had a placement test the next day (Monday) so we all went to sleep. Monday was an OK day since my placement test sucked. My professor I was talking to never looked at me when she was speaking and since I am basically deaf that was not good. Then she asks me where I go to school and I saw College station and she looks at me and say "College Station? C'est une ville faux" Which means, thats a fake city. Yeah awesome so I said I lived in Austin and then she asks how many people live in Austin. I DONT KNOW WOMAN! So after the test Hunter, Anna, Tyler and I went out to the French open to see if we could get a grounds ticket so we could take some pictures. Nope, all sold out. So we had lunch and then I went back to my cinema class which was good we watched a neo-noir film The beat my heart skipped, which was very good! Today (Tuesday) we went to the University to see where we had been placed for our test and I was put in the wrong class and they might not be able to get me out of it... awesome, and since I will not get credit for that level of class it is a big problem. BIG problem but I have contingency plans so it will all work out somehow. Then we walked around our University and had lunch. Then we walked around some more and came home where when it started to rain we all just sat around and talked. After dinner I started my french homework (stupid) and am about to go finish it! Bon soir!