Today started with more orientation followed by a 3 hour break during which we could do whatever we wanted. We chose to get lunch at La Croissanterie and bring it to the Louvre and eat on the lawn of the gardens. While the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, a fun fact we learned once we arrived there, we were able to appreciate the beauty of the gardens and buildings that make up the exterior of the museum. While eating I learned a valuable lesson that the Parisian birds have evolved past fearing humans. These birds literally flew into the head of one of the girls on the trip. Someone (not me because gross) needs to scare these birds into being afraid of us again.
After lunch at the Louvre we crossed le Pont d'Art which is the bridge with all of the locks on it. For anyone who doesn't know, couples in love put their initials on locks and then throw the key into la Seine as a sign of their undying love (until the next year when all of the locks are cut off the bridge to make way for new ones). It makes for a very beautiful bridge and we were even able to watch a young Parisian rap artist filming his music video on the bridge, one of the more awkward things you could watch happen.
We then went to Notre Dame de Paris and took a couple of pictures and decided the line was too long for us to go inside today. Next we toured the old Jewish neighborhoods in the 4th arrondisement which is my favorite part of Paris so far. The buildings and streets all look like movie stills. It's still hard to believe that most of this is real when you see these streets. If I were a better photographer you could probably appreciate it more. The 4th arrondisement has great boutiques, cupcake shops, cafes, and falafels. Supposedly L'as de Falafels has the best falafels in the world. Of course every shop claims that title, but it seems that all Paris residents agree that L'as de Falafels is the best.
Once our feet were sufficiently sore we turned back and after stopping at la marchee for some food, we made a wonderful dinner of spaghetti and salad. Everything was so fresh and what could have been a bland dinner in America was so flavorful and fresh. After we had digested our dinner we ventured out to the village where we had crepes in the park. One great thing about Paris is that the sun doesn't set until around 10:30. Unfortunately today that meant that after crepes, I was so tired I got ready for bed and decided I would get some sleep before the sun even started to set.
Tomorrow classes begin and I will be taking the French Intermediate III class which starts at 9:30 every morning and is 3 hours long so I will be getting more sleep tonight than usual which is an exciting prospect.
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