Semaine 1

Bonjour a tout!

So we've landed in the City of Lights. After a long layover in London Heathrow, we finally made it to Charles de Gaulles on Monday afternoon. Collecting our luggage (the majority of it being mine due to my incompetence in ability to make decisions...) was by no means easy but we managed. A 30 minute taxi ride left us staring up at the 18th century building we would be calling home for the next four months on Rue Saint Jacques. We live in the shadow of the Sorbonne...not too shabby!) Conveniently, the one day the skies opened up to pour since being here was this day at the exact moment we were struggling to haul our bags into the apartment. Our bright and cheery landlord greeted the wet and weary travelers with the exciting news that our apartment was 4 floors up! (at least we will be getting our daily exercise to balance out the amounts of bread, cheese, and wine that shall be consumed...)

Our humble abode is adorable...very Parisian. No space is left to inefficient use. It's comfortable, cozy, and perfect...C'est charmant. We are constantly reminded of our foreign status as the most wonderful aromas drift through our open windows morning, day and night. I can only hope one day to be invited to one of our neighbor's apartments for dinner...Or better yet, maybe I've finally found a source of inspiration to learn how to cook, a skill to which much time and effort have been dedicated to avoiding. We also realized we have a music teacher living somewhere nearby as we are often times serenaded with lovely melodies each evening.

Our home is only about 2 blocks from the river (we reside on the Left Bank). I have already found myself passing by the grand bell towers of Notre Dame on a daily basis...consequently I feel as though i've already grown accustomed, perhaps even jaded, by it's presence and no longer stand below it in awe. We have spent a great deal of time roaming the streets around our neighborhood. We are also only about 2 blocks from the Luxembourg Gardens, a wonderful place to spend Saturday afternoons lounging about doing absolutely nothing (easily falling into the French lifestyle). Last night Jen and I watched in amazement as Weston cruised around the pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre on his rollerblades (yes...he's now mobile so watch out Paris!) Standing in the illuminated Louvre with the Eiffel tower sparkling in the distance, we all had the realization of plain awesome it is to get to call this magnificent city our home for the next four months...

Well there is much more to tell but I think this will do for now as the primary purpose of this post is just to prove to Chlo and AJ that yes, I can suck it up and learn how to do something on a computer all by myself...I'm growing up so fast! Next post I will probably talk about how Jen and I spent over an hour completely mesmerized by the street dancers break dancing next to the Pompidou Centre (not kidding, the would have given Michael Jackson a serious run for his money) or one of the many markets one can find here in Paris, including the "Bird and Flower Market" which we dedicated a good hour this morning in finding...

A bientot,
Sarah