In Which I Admit Defeat and Create a Blog

Although I’ve had a lot of pressure to create a blog, I finally decided to start one when I realized that there is absolutely no way I can keep up with so many people at once. This doesn’t mean that I’ll stop e-mailing and facebooking, but it means I can stay in touch more easily with a lot of people without having to write variations of the same e-mail. I will make an effort to update a couple times a week with both observations about France and my adventures.

At the present time, I have an internship at the École des Ponts, which is just a little outside of Paris. I am staying at La Vigie, a foyer on the Île Saint Louis, right in the heart of Paris. I haven’t gone to any of the well-known places, but I have wandered around Paris quite a bit, so I’ll devote this first entry to sharing some initial impressions.

As of now, my favorite places I’ve been to in Paris are:

1. Jardin Luxembourg
2. The walkway along the Left Bank of the Seine
3. Jadin de Plantes

The natural parts of Paris aren’t the ones you always see in postcards, but they are the areas where there aren’t as many tourists. The Jardin Luxembourg is especially gorgeous and has statues of the queens of France, which I found particularly thrilling. A friend and I made sure to visit all the queens. Even though they have the most famous, there were still some I didn’t know. I’ve also taken to walking along the Seine, because it’s actually quite calming. I can see the historic buildings, such as Notre Dame, without having to deal with the crowds.

At the same time, I love that Paris is so bustling and that there’s so much to do here. It’s so much more alive than Princeton and even San Francisco. Just crossing the street is an adventure. The cars don’t always stop at red lights and you have to be on your toes at all times.

Most least favorite place: San Michel

After growing up in San Francisco, I have a rather low opinion of tourists. One of the reasons why I have so few pictures is because I want to experience Paris as a resident rather than see it through a camera like a visitor. I also don’t particularly want people to know I’m a foreigner, but between my ever-present map and my bad French, I think it’s quite evident. I do want to want to visit the Louvre, Notre Dame, and all the other places that make Paris so special, but I don’t really want to spend too much time in the areas just geared towards tourists. Saint Michel is about the worst. The whole neighborhood is full of shops selling t-shirts with the Mona Lisa and toy Eiffel Towers. There was even a shop that sold berets, but I have yet to see a French person wearing one. The restaurants with ornate decorations remind me of Fisherman’s Wharf. I know it sounds clichéd, but I’d prefer to discover the real Paris, but it’s difficult considering the glitz and glamour are part of the city.

The biggest difference between the French and American that I’ve noticed so far: the French eat way more yogurt.

I told this to someone yesterday and they laughed, but it’s actually true. I have yet to see a French person drink a glass of milk, but they will eat yogurt after every meal. Of course, cheese is more prevalent here than in the United States, but both at my foyer and at the house of the family I visited, a number of people ate yogurt almost as an aperitif after the meal.


I promise, I will update in the near future. I do plan to actually go somewhere interesting this weekend, which I will of course share here, but I will also share more details of my life in the foyer. Stay posted for Miranda’s weak attempts at trying to cook dinner.

The picture is of a store for bears in the Marais. I had to take a picture considering my interests.