The First Few Days

Bonjour!  Comment allez-vous?

Okay, so maybe it isn't a good idea to start my first blog in France in French, as I am sure that many of you reading it would not understand it.  So, I guess this first non-French blog entry goes out to mes amis americains.

So I arrived at Charles de Gaulle on Monday, at approximately 6:00am (keep in mind, that's the time in France).  I did not sleep on the plane due to the two children beside me coughing for nearly the entire time, so I was a bit too tired to completely fathom everything.  It didn't hit me that I was in France until much, much later. 

So during the first few days, I would like to dispel a few misconceptions that people have about France:

      ~ Not all French people wear berets.  I think that since I've been here, I've seen possibly at most one or two people. I haven't seen anyone walking around Paris wearing a striped shirt, canvas in hand, wearing a typical black beret.

      ~ Parisian people are not always mean to Americans.  I can't count how many times someone told me before I left that everyone was going to hate us because we're Americans.  Well, The majority of the people in Paris were very kind, and a woman in a shop actually ended up giving me a few free magazines!  If you make an effort, most people will appreciate it.

      ~ That badly impersonated French laugh.  Do I even really need to talk about this one?  I can assure you, they laugh just like us.  Who knew?

And now, it's time for some pictures!

Notre Dame from afar.  This is before the Gypsies decided to go after us.

Notre Dame close-up.  We climbed to the top and got to see the bell!  If you don't like stairs or enclosed spaces, I do not suggest climbing it.

A view of the River Seine from my first day in Paris.  A bit overcast, but still impressive nonetheless.

The Eiffel Tower, as viewed from the Bateaux Mouches.  At this point, I was so exhausted from lack of sleep that I don't understand how I managed to take this picture.

The Chateau de Versailles.  Probably some of the most incredible artwork I have ever seen in my life lies in this building.  If I had time, I would post all of it.

Outside of the Louvre.  It's amazing how massive the Louvre actually is.  It would take many days, perhaps months to see the entire collection of art which it possesses. 

Napoleon's bed.  Short bed for a short guy, huh?

L'Arc du Triomphe.  The sheer size of this monument rendered me speechless. 

And finally, a close-up of the Eiffel Tower!  It is truly massive; 600 stairs to climb to the second level, and then an elevator ride to the top.  Not bad!

 

 

 

A view from one of the upper levels of the Eiffel Tower.  This rendered me speechless.

 So as you can see, I think the amount of sight-seeing I have done over the past few days is nearly unhealthy.  Finally, I am settled in with my host family in Grenoble, which is yet another beautiful city which I will have many days to describe.  I take my placement test next week to see which language classes I end up taking.  Well, I better get studying!  I'll talk to all of you soon!

Au revoir, mes amis!