"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

I know, I know, and I'm sorry. The weekend following my last update was rather uneventful. Sara and I joined some other Americans from API on Thursday for salsa dancing. She and I bonded a little that night so we're comfortable together now I suppose. And it's cool because when we go out she's like my hall pass or something because she's Spanish, so I'm okay by association. It rained all weekend and most of my friends went on trips, so I basically moped around and watched movies and ate with Sara. I had her watch Old School which she loved, "funny american comedies!"

Then I went to classes Monday through Wednesday which is never fun. Suffice it to say that I have a whole bunch of papers/presentations due in the next two weeks and I really should have started a lot of it but I haven't. Thursday I went to Paris on the API trip, so with at least 50 or so other American kids studying in Madrid and Granada. The flight attendants pretty much hated us... I would hate us too: all loud, and some kids were belligerently drunk, no one was quiet for the safety spiel. We arrived in Paris at 9ish, and on the plane flying over the city we could clearly see the Eiffel Tower in the city! I took a picture, we'll have to see how it turns out. We checked into our hotel rooms and a couple of us walked to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up. We got some crepes on the way, mine with Nutella, it was okay. I'd rather just have chocolate than chocolate and hazelnut. Well it was all lit up and gorgeous and breathtaking and we took millions of photos.

Friday API organized a bus tour of the city for us. It made 3 stops for us to get out to take some photos, and I got some good pictures of the Eiffel Tower with the sun still low in the morning sky righ behind it. They let us off at Notre-Dame and all my friends wanted to go up it, but I didn't so I split off and walked through the Left Bank through the University area to our hotel. I stopped here and there, it was really nice. I felt like I belonged so much more in Paris than I do in Madrid, maybe because I'm not Spanish at all but I am a little French. Maybe because Madrid's fashions are outrageous and trendy (and expensive), whereas Paris' are classier (and expensive). Maybe because I'm so pale and have relatively light hair and eyes and I'm larger than a size 2, and that actually happens sometimes in Paris but not in Madrid. Whatever it was, I didn't feel like such an outsider until I had to speak. How painful it was not to know the language!! I tried so hard. One semester with a bad professor is not enough French. I understood them okay, but then I stood there mute because I could not think of anything and couldn't decide if it was better to answer is Spanish or French. I ended up switching off, but I never got any bad looks, comments, inconsiderateness from French people. Either they couldn't tell I was American, or unless you act like an asshole (as per some of the males in my program) they don't mind you. I even got asked for directions by French people twice!!! We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa among other things. Friday nights 6pm-10pm students under 26 get in free! The place is an insane maze. And did you know it used to be the royal palace? Kings just kept building onto it so it's ridiculous. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant where they were very nice to us, and then we walked around the Latin Quarters. It was kinda cool, but we went back home pretty early. Laura and I watched a German sitcom on TV before bed.

The next day, Saturday, we went to the Palace of Versailles. After my Western Civilization class freshman year that was taught by a French history obsessed olf man, I was quite excited to see the relic of opulence and royal self-indulgence. It's probably the biggest building I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it. Saturday was Armistice Day, a holiday, so it (along with many other things) was closed. We were allowed to go into the gardens though, which was enough for me. BEAUTIFUL! BELLE! BONITA! HERMOSA! MAGNIFIQUE! SPLENDIDE! It had rained the night before and was cloudy all day, so I can't even imagine how amazing it is on a pretty fall or spring day. I wanted to walk the whole length of the gardens, but there was a tiny matter of hunger, thirst, and lack of toilettes. I took a lot of pictures of course, but they can't possibly express what I felt walking through there. Louis XIV walked through there with Marie Antoinette. So cool. I will return. That night we went again to the Eiffel Tower and it was still pretty. We also talked to a homeless German man with a guinea pig. Actually Courtney talked to him and I sat there a little freaked out with Laura and Gisella. He ended up being rather harmless, and I really think his guinea pig was keeping him alive like a dog does. We were really careful and the police were watching us like hawks, before anyone gets their panties in a bunch. I got a crepe avec chocolat et banane which was ok except the chocolate dripped everywhere. We went back to the hote and Laura and I watched an Italian "Dancing with the Stars" show. Multicultural television.

Sunday we checked out and went to see the Moulin Rouge, took a picture and moved on to Montmartre. Montmartre is a little neighborhood sort of north in Paris. It's also the part of Paris in which the movie Amelie takes place!! There's a big hill at the top of which is Sacré-Coeur, and an amazing view of Paris. I made everyone go to Montmartre and then I made them climb the hill to the top. I think they appreciated my stubbornness. We ate at a restaurant near the hill and then went back to the hotel to take the bus to the airport. I got home last night at 1am. Unpleasant. But all in all, I only ended up spending about €60-70, which is amazing because Paris is so much more expensive than Madrid. However, I only bought food, so it's also a little pathetic because I spent that much money on food in 3 days.

This weekend, Laura is coming to visit. Next weekend, I have tickets booked to Amsterdam. I'm considering cancelling the Amsterdam trip because I have a 10 pg paper, 5 pg paper, and a presentation due the Mon and Tues I come back. We'll see. I put photos up.