A quick note...

Just to say what an amazing week I've been having!

I went for one of the best runs of my life yesterday through the Tuileries in front of the Louvre. I cannot believe how beautiful it was, even with no leaves on any of the trees and not a flower in sight! It was just a beautiful park, with kids playing everywhere and people visiting on the benches or reading on the big green lounge chairs. It was the afternoon, so the sky was beginning to turn purple behind the clouds, and the Eiffel Tower (only a few blocks away) was just kind of illuminated in the sky, even without its lights on. I know you're supposed to keep your "guard" on in Paris, and not show emotion or anything on the street, but I don't think I stopped smiling the whole run!

Of course, today I had to take Lauren on a similar run, once again through the Tuileries. We played on the French playground afterwards (SO much cooler than ours. They have these weird circle things that are tilted so you just spin around and around until you feel sick. Excellent.) We also grabbed a coffee in a cafe that Liz and I went to the morning we visited the Louvre a few years ago, and once again, the croissants there were delicious.

And then TONIGHT! The group went to see Madame Butterfly at the Opera Bastille. Man, Puccini knew what he was doing. The orchestra was magnificent- I'm pretty sure I counted about 9 cellos, 6 stand-up bases, 5 French horns, and a trillion and one violins/violas. There weren't too many flutes/clarinets, and (of course) the percussion only had 3 members (but talented ones at that).
My point is, it was beautiful. The opera itself was simplified, with basic black/tan/beige costuming and little movement across the stage, with almost no set. Even said, a glamorous stage wasn't necessary- the music definitely did the talking. There was about a thirty minute instrumental section with just a little boy moving around on stage, and it was beautiful.

There are so many more things to write about..... I went to a Raclette party last night! Raclette is an amazing cheese that you cook in little pizza slice shaped pans on a special heater, and eat it with potatoes or meat. It was at my friend Danielle's boyfriend's house, so naturally there were 10 or 12 French people there. CRAZY! I can't believe I'm actually interacting with people in a different language. I didn't think it would ever be this possible, but I guess when food is in the mixture, anything can happen. Especially when it's raclette.

Oh right, and I started school this week! I actually tested into a class way below my level, so it kind of felt like starting over a beginning French class. I talked to the professor and got to move up a few levels, so in my new class tomorrow hopefully it will be better. They're decent sizes though- I'm pretty sure no one has a class with more than 12-15 people. The other classes I signed up for don't start for a few weeks, so right now it's just Grammar from 8-10 every day. It's great, because then I have the rest of the day to do other things! (Like sit in cafes and eat bread... very important on my to-do list.) Being up that early is also really cool- you get to see all of the students going to class/people going to work without all the tourists around. It's kind of like a secret window into the "real" Parisian world....

Bonne nuit!