First week of classes.... hoping things will slow down a bit!

Things have slowly started to calm down a little bit after the start of classes today. I had a great weekend sightseeing and taking it easy after going out Thursday and Friday night. Saturday Adrianna and myself went to Montmarte with 2 guy friends that we made through ABS (American Business School.) After having a delicious panini sandwhich we went to visit Sacre Coeur, a giant basilica on top of the Butte de Montmarte

Some friends for breakfast: John, Adrianna and my self.

The Sacre Coeur was beautiful..... It was a huge hike to get to the top though which was not fun at alll but was worth it once I saw all of Paris once I was at the top. Montmarte is famous for its bohemian  and artist culture, especially through the early 20th century. There were a lot of tourists because it was a Saturday, but we able to avoid some of the tourist areas and even do some shopping.

The bottom of Montmarte.... Sacre Coeur is huge!



Sacre Coeur was amazing.... You aren't allowed to take pictures inside because it is such a holy place but I literally got goosebumps as soon as I walked in. The stained glass, different praying areas with saints and just the aurora was incredible. I would recommend going if you are ever in Paris! I would love to go to Mass there sometime.

While sitting outside Sacre Coeur, we witnessed our first Paris dance street show.... very entertaining! After doing some sightseeing and shopping at this crazy department store called Tati, which literally was a dollar store/jc penney/walmart all mixed together. In France, they only have sales in January and in June dictated by the law, so we got some great deals. After having a crazy week, we decided to stay in and chill Saturday night.

The view from Sacre Coeur of Paris.

Sunday we decided to do some more sightseeing, starting with the Champs d'Elysee and the Arche de Triomphe. It has been freezing in Paris, so after bundling up we were off. It was crazy how the cars drive around the Arche, with 12 different roads coming into one circle. I really don't know how there isn't 100 crashes a day!

It was a beautiful day however and it was awesome to walk around the differnt shops on Avenue Champs d'Elysee... there was a Lambourghini paris, Louis Vitton, Cartier, and some other rediculous stores. They also had an H & M but it was much more expensive than the one in the US. It was great to see so many different stores, people and also history at the same time.

For dinner, we met up with some friends that we met in California for this really neat fondue place in the 18th arrondisement. You had appetizers, cheese or meat fondue, and then desert.... Another weird thing was that your meal was served with wine, in baby bottles!!!

Very strange but a refill is only 2 E which is very cheap in Paris. When I went out with friends on Friday night, the cheapest beer that they had was 6 Euro, which is about 9 dollars!!! It was very fun, authentic French, and of course delicious.

Today was my first day of classes. After staying up too late the night before, waking up at 7 was difficult. My french class was okay, our teacher knew that we were all exhausted and luckily was pretty overexcited to compensate. My global marketing class was great, I will be doing a semester long project and I was put in a group with a Frenchman, a Bosnian, a Lebanese, and a Lithuanian. It was be interesting to work with all of these different cultures. After class, the Frenchman asked us all out to drinks and it was my first encounter hanging out with the French outside of school. It was fun to get their advice on places to travel, tips about Paris, and just what is like to be European vs. American. Only 2 more days of class left until I can enjoy my weekend!

Louis Vitton!