S'il Vous Plaît-ing in Paris!

Sorry for the hiatus - I literally took one when I went to Paris this weekend! (Hence the pun in the title!). Also, this week has been super busy, but more on that later.

Ben (a friend from Mac who is also in Copenhagen) and I left on Thursday night and arrived in Paris at around 10:00 PM. We then took the RER to get to Lizzie's stop (after getting lost and very confused in the airport) and met with Lizzie and Elle (who was also visiting!). We pretty much hung out and went to bed that night since Ben and I were pretty tired.

Friday, we woke up really early (8:15 OMG) and went to the Eiffel Tower! The weather was absolutely AMAZING - almost 60 degrees and gorgeously sunny. We took pictures with the tower (duh) and thanks to my bright idea and great odd-object spotting skills, we were able to take these gems...

Bonjour!

Just being French

After that, we went to the Arc de Triomphe, took some more pictures, and walked down the Champs-Elsees to the huuuuge ferris wheel (which we rode on, of course!) and took some sweet pictures. Then, because it was so beautiful, we sat outside at a park and people-watched until it was 3PM and we could go to Laduree (a really swanky restaurant known for their macarons and delicious sweet things). We got mini macaron (an almond paste cookie type thing) and tea, and pretended to be really sophisticated. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and the food was definitely worth the price tag!

Arc de Triomphe!

Lizzie and Ben in the ferris wheel

Yeah!

So good I accidentally took a bite before taking a picture.

I want to live here.

Friday night Lizzie hosted a birthday party wiht some of her program-mates in her dorm room, and then we went to a club that was underneath the Seine. WE DANCED THERE. How cool is that? I danced BENEATH the Seine. Okay, enough boasting, but it was really awesome.

Saturday we went to An American Diner in Paris! (exclamation point is actually in the title) to get some real American breakfast since we'd all been craving it pretty badly. Then we did the Louvre, and then the Musee d'Orsay (a more modern museum). I loved loved loved the Orsay. It was filled with Impressionist paintings and cool sculptures and artsy fun. Afterwards, we went to Montmartre to see the entire view of Paris. After climbing a tonnn of steps, we made it, and saw the nighttime skyline. It was one of the most breathtaking sights I've ever seen. I kept thinking to myself (and saying out loud) "I can't believe I'm in Paris. I've always wanted to be here. I cannot believe this." It was truly one of the most special moments of my life.

This doesn't give the view justice.

After a long day, we grabbed some dinner, went back to Lizzie's dorm and passed out. Sunday morning we grabbed some breakfast and then Ben and I set out to the airport for the worst experience regarding travel of my life (but I'll spare you the frustrating details). Basically, if you plan to fly out of Paris-Orly, be prepared to be really confused, spoken to extremely rudely, and eternally searching for someone who actually knows the layout of the place of their employment. But I digress.....

Other than the land of baguette and romance, I've been pretty happy in Copenhagen. I actually even missed it while I was in France. I joined the most amazing gym (facilities are fantastic, plus taking a shower that feels like you are standing in a thunderstorm doesn't hurt either!), and have been working out every day since I joined (minus my vacation). This week has been busy! Yesterday was my floormate's birthday so we had a delicious Mexican-themed potluck and went to a few bars to celebrate. Today, I had 2 field studies (basically field trips) and still have one to go! For my public health class, we visited the UN's Population Fund, an organization focused on giving everyone reproductive rights - it's a really amazing organization! Then this afternoon, my Danish class went to the Danish Resistance Museum (from WWII) which was AMAZING and then we watched  a really intense movie about 2 of the resistance heroes. I'm still a little shaken from it. Tonight, for my History of European Ballet class, we're going to see the Royal Danish Ballet perform A Midsummernight's Dream. I am BEYOND excited - I grew up watching the RDB and now I'm actually getting to see them live. Life is good.