trop fromage et mal a gorge.

i am in paris. i now officially speak franglaise. i happen to be very good at it.

while it has definitely taken me a day or two to not feel like a lost little puppy in this big bad city (i have a cold, it doesn't help things), i am now here and loving it. paris is soooo beautiful, but also totally rough around the edges, which allows it to be both the silly fantasy paris of my dreams and a raw and complex city. people who say paris is an amusement park have no soul.

things i have done of note:
-bartered at the pharmacie for cough medecine
-bought an overpriced sim card
-eaten cheese
-climbed the eiffel tower
-picnicked in the jardin de luxembourg and at the pantheon
-climbed to le sacre coeur to watch the sunset and paris light up at night (twice)
-eaten a life changing falafel (fanny i happened upon l'as du all on my own then realized it was one of your tips. thanks!) in the "jewish quarter"
-pompidou-ed
-found out the catacombes were closed for renovations (?) after circling the intersection for half an hour
-eaten more cheese
-les puces de st. ouen - 5 hours of flea market heaven
-watched adorable french enfants play in the park by my hostel
-caught up with old friends
-made new friends (i know. cheesy but true)
-slept with a kitchen knife under my pillow and one eye open. just in case.
-bravely chose to stay in my fairly shitty hostel room with a cement hole in the wall they call a washroom because i am no pussy.

and yet, there is still so much to do.

i am convinced that the french know something we don't about life. and i'm determined to figure it out before i leave. perhaps the cheese + wine + chanel + baguette + cigarettes + amour + histoire + beaute = a happy life. for the sake of research i'll play with those variables and let you know what i come up with.

bon soiree,
sammi