Staying True to my New Resolution and Mary's Visit!

As I stated in last week's blog, my new resolution is to do something cultural every day to remind myself that I am here, in Paris, to immerse myself in this culture and take in all that this city has to offer. And as you will see in the following photos, I was able to accomplish this goal by visiting museums, strolling through gardens, tasting new dishes and treats, and simply taking pauses to watch the world around me. In addition to these excursions, I was so fortunate that my good friend from high school, Mary, came to visit me this weekend! She is currently studying Renaissance Art and Italian in Bologna,  Italy, and we truly had a wonderful time together. 

WEDNESDAY (MARCH 11th)

Eating a Nutella and banana crepe
while passing by St. Augustin Church on Rue Haussmann 

MUSEE JACQUEMART-ANDREE
The home of the most beautiful private art collection in all of Paris

The Entry Room

The Salon

One of the Studies

Another angle of the Salon

The ceiling of the dancing hall

The dance hall

The Home's Most Famous Room: the Spectacular Winter Garden

The Dance Hall from Above

The Ancient Greek and Roman Collection Room

The House's Exterior

 THE 8TH ARRONDISSEMENT AND PARC MONCEAU

Walking along the ritzy apartments of the 8th arrondissement

Parc Monceau: the quintessential Parisian park

So many kids were here with their nannies or mothers, and
this darling little boy happened to look up when I was taking a photo of him!

The children and their nannies

The main gate open to the Arc de Triomphe

The two demographics:
Classy, cool, well-dressed Parsians meeting to talk on the left
and some school children on your right

THURSDAY (MARCH 12TH)

In between my internship in the morning and all my afternoon and evening
classes, I decided to stroll along the Tuilerie gardens and profit from all of this sunshine. 

Place de la Concorde

FRIDAY (March 13th)

CENTRE POMPIDOU
While waiting for Mary to arrive, I spent some time in the Centre Pompidou and was in awe of all the artwork and creativity this museum has to offer.

We enjoyed a wonderful, traditional French dinner in the heart of the
Latin Quarter
Entrée: French Onion Soup
Plat: Duck Thigh (Mary) and Black Peppercorn Steak (Natalie)
Dessert: An Assortment of Local Cheeses
And a great bottle of wine that we shared throughout the night
And last, but not certainly not least, I want to personally thank Mary's grandfather
for giving Mary the money to pay for this meal. As I mentioned above,
I spent a truly great evening with Mary (whenever is it not a great time?),
and the toast pictured above is in your honor.

 SATURDAY: (March 14th): My day with Mary

When I asked Mary what she wanted to see and do during her time with me in Paris, she had two wishes: visit the parks of Paris and walk along the left bank in the Latin Quarter. Thus, I created an itinerary to meet those wishes, and let's see if I was able to meet them! ;)

 PARC BUTTE-CHAUMONT

WALKING ALONG THE CANAL SAINT-MARTIN

After enjoying a quiche lorraine, Mary did what all Parisian girls do:
take a moment to reapply a lush shade of red lip stick 

Jules Ferry Square

The other end of the Canal Saint-Martin

STROLLING THROUGH LA PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE

And watching all the boys attempt skateboard tricks...

LUNCH AT A SMALL CAFE IN THE LATIN QUARTER

Mary's lunch: Kir (White wine sweetened with cassis berries)
and a ham tartine sandwich

Little streets of the Latin Quarter

 VISITING THE EUGENE DELACROIX HOME AND MUSEUM

Per my host mother's recommendation, we decided to visit the tiny Eugene Délacroix Museum and Home and then buy some "choux," from a small pastry store that faces the museum. It was a fabulous recommendation: the museum was great, the pastry was delicious, but the fact that we ate them while sitting in the Luxembourg Gardens made them even that much better.

His private and quaint garden in the middle of Paris

His studio

Taking in the garden

The little pastry shop

Admiring the clothes in the trendy boutiques of Rue Boneparte

Saint Supplice

Saint Supplice Square

Inside the Church

THE LUXEMBOURG GARDENS

Eating our chou

A Chou: A light pastry dough that is filled with the filling of your desire.
Fillings we tried included: plain, chocolate, and caramel
A truly light and sweet dessert!

Deciding to be European and not smile in this photo

WALKING ALONG THE SEINE

WALKING THROUGH THE LOUVRE, TUILERIES, PLACE DE LA CONCORDE, UP UNTIL
THE GRAND AND PETIT PALAIS ON THE CHAMPS ELYSEES

The Louvre

The Tuileries at sunset

The Pont Alexandre III and the Eiffel Tower in the background

I said goodbye to Mary Saturday night before she joined up with her
college friend, with whom she would spend Saturday night and Sunday. After that,
I went back to the Latin Quarter to meet up with some friends from Pomona
who are studying abroad at Cambridge and visiting Paris for the weekend!