From mimes in Montmartre to picnics on ponts...

It was my last Sunday in Paris, and before I left, I HAD to see a mass in Sacré Coeur. It's one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Paris, one of the most well-known, and it's on top of an enormous hill in the Montmartre quarter, making it, in my opinion, the best view of the city.

This was my way to say my farewells to everything at once, so to speak.

I took the Metro to Montmartre and walked up the thigh-muscle-burning hills to get to the church and meet Monica and Catalina before the mass started.





We weren't the only ones dressed in our Sunday best. Check out this very posh lady (the one in black and white)- even in Paris she stood out.




So I went to mass! I was actually surprised by how small the service was. There were maybe 100 people in the pews, and for such a large church, this number only made the ceremony seem empty. Plus, we were outnumbered by tourists. They had to keep to the sides of the cathedral and they weren't allowed to speak or take pictures during the mass. Honestly, it was a little eerie trying to focus on the service while there is a constant flow of people circling you, staring attentively, curious to see how Parisian Catholics behave. But before we knew it the mass was over and we were on to visiting the rest of Montmartre around the church.






As I've said before, Montmartre is basically the artist's part of Paris. Almost anywhere you go, there will be someone there who is capable of sketching a decent portrait of you or your friend, usually depending on who is the girl in your group or who looks the most likely to buy a portrait. Yes, these talented artists are mainly there for the tourists, but to me it's still very charming.





The nice thing about the tourism is that the area really comes alive to accommodate them all. They set up more outdoor seating for the cafes, there were more artists walking around, more music... it was worth the crowds just to see Paris so lively.

And look how adorable the waiters are! I don't care if it's cliché, it's cute. :)

And oh my god, I found a mime.

It's actually a cute little story: on this particular day, Paris was sweltering, so when I saw this mime performing his act with his white makeup forming sweaty droplets on is forehead, my heart went out to the guy and I decided to use my fan (that I bought in Barcelona a while back and that I still use to cool myself on hot days and look fabulous doing it) to bring a bit of cooling relief to him too. The mime, in his 'mime language', expressed his gratitude by engaging me in a silent flirtation. I was twirled...

I had sweet nothings silently whispered in my ear...

I was silently kissed... (ok not quite- he couldn't ruin his already melting makeup!)...

And I was flattered to no end. It was absolutely amazing! What better experience than to engage in a silent fliration with a mime in Paris?

Then we all bought some gelato to cool off a bit more. There is probably nothing more refreshing than gelato on a hot day, and yes it was all gone before you can say "I'm sweating." By the way, that skirt Monica was wearing is cute, isn't it? :)

How about some pictures on the famous Montmartre steps?

Some artsiness in a artsy quarter.

Monica's sister is so precious!

We ended up walking around Montmartre for most of the morning and afternoon, so by the time we had seen everything one final time, we were all pretty hungry. We went to this Chinese restaurant by my apartment and ate outside watching the busy Parisians racing by.

Then, we bought nutella crepes and brought them back to my apartment to enjoy some dessert with tea (it was imperative to eat at least something totally French).

Preparing the tea on my stove.

Dividing up the crepes. And yes, it was so very good.

Later that night, our friend Alejandra was hosting a small get-together at her apartment by the Jardin de Luxembourg for all of us who were leaving Paris soon, including herself.

The next part involves Pont des Arts! I've already mentioned this bridge before, but it's been a while so here's a recap: there is a bridge in the center of the city called Pont des Arts. It's a pedestrian bridge, and it's where all the young Parisians go to have picnics. Most of the time, these picnics are purely for drinking (Parisians and wine go together like cheese and crackers), but don't let this fool you into thinking that this bridge is like a bar late at night... people bring guitars to serenade other pedestrians, there are couples sharing romantic moments, and sometimes even artists humbly sell their work to passers-by. My friends have been there several times for picnics. I have not (I know, what's wrong with me???). So on this night, when Alejandra and everyone decided to go for one last picnic, you can imagine how elated I was.



It was just as I imagined- we all huddled around on the ground with our 'picnic' and reminisced about the past year.

Hanging with the girls!

Me and Monica wanted to lay down on the bridge to get the full effect.

Then we left Pont des Arts to go to another bridge. And we stayed on that new bridge until sunrise. Until sunrise! I know it seems like a ridiculous thing to do for those of us who cherish our full nights of sleep, but honestly, it was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Even the small parts about it, such as listening to Catalina's ipod with impromptu dancing as a good reggaeton song came on (we were attached by the ears with one headphone for her and one for me), running off the bridge to find a bush when we realized the effects of too much crème de cassis on our bladders, and jumping up and down to stay warm over the Seine. It was fabulous! It was like a dream! Really, it was like a romance with the city. I don't know any other way to explain it. If you've seen Paris, Je t'aime, it's kind of like that. Like realizing that you can love a city the same way you love a person. I just feel lucky to know how it feels to love both.

And like a true lover, Paris gave me the courtesy of a bike ride home. I hopped on a Velib', got back to my apartment, and fell fast asleep until the next afternoon.

Bisous XOXO

Un dîner operesque

Since my Spring Break trip, a lot of interesting things have been happening in Paris. Many involve my opera class and various events, but the point is that I'll be posting a lot in the next few days, so try to keep up!

As I said before, my opera class has a few outings scheduled for the semester, mostly including visits to the two main opera houses (one of which we've already done at the Opéra Garnier). On this night however, we all met up for a nice little dinner just to get to know one another.

We went to this cute restaurant called Chez Gladines, where the atmosphere is cozy and the menu is Basque, a style of cooking from a region in the southwest of France bordering Spain. So that means it's like French food with some Spanish elements like beans and rice. Oh, and sangria! I can't forget the sangria... you can see an almost empty carafe on our table. :)




I had a great time getting to know some of the people in my class. Not everyone came, but our two professors stayed up until the food arrived. I think everyone shares the same opinion about our professors: first, there's the more reserved, older man, who is very passionate about opera, but comes across a little stern and intimidating. In fact, whenever he talks to me, I somehow forget how to speak French, and I'm not the only student who has that problem. We also call him 'hairline', based on the fact that the front of his hair looks like it's receding but he makes it fluffy enough on top so you can't really tell. (ha ha)

The second professor is known as 'the cute one', obviously because he's younger, handsome, and he smiles every now and then. I think a couple girls in my class were trying to flirt with him at this dinner we had too...


As for the students, I found out that almost everyone in my class is from abroad, and we're a pretty diverse group in general. The majority of my class is either from Asia or the US, but then there are people from all over Europe. It makes me wish that my classes back at Georgia Tech organized dinners like this because we barely ever get to know the people in our classes, unless there's a group project. And I think it's definitely a lot more fun going to class when you know most of the people there already.

So it was fun! I ate a huge Basque salad, lots of sangria, and now I know everyone in my class. Pas mal.

Bisous XOXO

P.S. pas mal (PAH MAL) = not bad. French people say that when they mean "oh my god that was awesome!" but still want to sound cool. :)

O mio MILANO caro!

Final stop: Milan, Italy!

First off, we flew into Milano Bergamo airport around 9:30 Friday evening, so we couldn't do much the first night except find the hostel and get some food. Not so bad considering the fact that Italian food is amazing and we were incredibly tired from flying all afternoon.


After Monica and I settled in and put our things down at the hostel, one of the ladies there was nice enough to take us to a restaurant around the corner that she goes to a lot for pizza. Here's a picture of us at the restaurant!




It was definitely a nice place- think white table cloths and a lobster tank at the front. Aaand the pizzas were huge and cost about 4-6 euros depending on the pizza! We were really happy about that.





I've been to Italy before with my mom, and I remembered from the last time that the food portions were pretty big, so I suggested we split a plate. It was definitely a good decision to do that because the calzone we ordered was huge!






Here's a size comparison: to the left is Monica's pointer finger. And it was about 2.5 Monica's-pointer-finger-lengths wide.

Oh, and it was delicious too! Ham, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes... it's making me hungry again.





Ok, now about our "hostel" (if you can call it that)! Picture this: you walk into the main office, say you have a reservation, take care of the paperwork, and then they send you with someone to take you to your room.
You follow them down the stairs.
Then outside.
Then into the next building.
Then up about 7 flights of stairs.
Then into some older lady's apartment who just happens to have some free twin beds in her place.
And then you find out that this is your room.

Wait... what?

Yep, this was probably the strangest hostel we've stayed in so far. When I think of a hostel, I usually think of a smaller version of a hotel, almost like how 4-H camp was when I was younger. Bunk beds, community areas, toast for breakfast. Modest, but good for a few nights stay. But in Milan we ended up at Grandma Italia's house! I think this will be a story for my kids (ha ha).

Here's Monica passed out on her twin bed. I'm glad we got the good beds- the one on the other wall had this weird dip in the middle that looked like a morning back ache waiting to happen!

This is just an educated guess, but I think our 'house mother' was catholic. :)

And if the pictures of the Virgin Mary and the Pope didn't give her away, it was probably the intense smell of incense in the apartment.

But we can handle anything! Just another adventure to remember when Monica and I meet again after study abroad is over.

Here's the apartment complex where we stayed.

And here's one of the several flights of stairs and the broken elevator in the middle!

Hmm no windows either...

I'll admit the place was a little sketchy, but at least it had character! Whether we were coming or going, there was this one apartment nearby that always had music playing:






The next morning, we decided to spend the day walking around the major areas of Milan going window shopping and exploring.

One of the first things we saw was this beautiful park by an area called Porta Venezia. The building, we think, is a museum of natural history.

I saw this sign advertising for the Milan Opera and had to take a picture!

I guess we got lucky with a gorgeous day too (but I think we deserved it after the rainy days in Ireland).

Here we are in front of the museum!

Then we found a little outdoor café inside the park and got some cappuccinos!

How Italian do I look with my cappuccino? :D

Look at those blue skies! We were so so happy about that.

Now on to the window shopping. Here's one of the busy streets: Corso Venezia.

Here we are enjoying the stroll!

Porta Venezia!

Walking towards another central area called Duomo.

This amazing structure is the Milan Cathedral, and it's in Duomo!

Here's the front of it.

It's in the middle of this huge piazza (square) where there were a ton of people just walking around doing their shopping.

Here's another view from the side and towards the piazza.

And here we are in the middle of the piazza!

The day we were there must have been a day when everyone else decided to come outside too! Here's another view of the area.

Here's a panoramic view of the piazza. I think Monica was lost.

On one side there was this immense shopping hall called the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It had the best of the best shopping in Milan- Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc.

Here's what it looks like inside.

While we were there we discovered a mini piano concert in the center of the galleria. I filmed a little segment of the music:



And here's some more of the galleria itself:

Here's one of the windows for the Prada store!

And here's one of the back entrances to the galleria.

After we checked out the galleria, we decided to find a seat in a central location in the piazza so we could do some people watching and check out the fashion!




In case you're not familiar or haven't realized by now, Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world, and I got some pictures to prove it!

No matter what your age is, anyone can pull off a high fashion look in Milan!

Here are some signatures of the Italian man: tight pants, popped collar, and dark hair with lots of gel!

Look at the guy on the far left- I think he was ready for his photo shoot.

Louis Vuitton man-purse!

By the way, we noticed that the people here seem to be really into labels, especially when it comes to accesories. So the Louis Vuitton man-purse guy blended in well with all the other designer bags and shoes and belts and shades and so on.

Cool shades.

Purple shirt!

I figured we could be featured in this fashion look out too!

Stylish dad.

Hot stilettos!

This is what Italian teenage rebels look like. :P

More designer shoes!

We saw a lot of this style of pants too- where it's baggier between the legs.

After the fashion stake-out it was time to try some gelato!


We found a popular gelato shop in that same piazza (I told you it was huge- you can see the cathedral behind us).




Monica tried the coffee and chocolate flavors and I tried a cream and flower flavor (I forgot the type of flower).

Mmm delicious and refreshing! :D

That was pretty much it for that day. After we had the gelato, we grabbed some dinner and walked around a little more before heading back to Grandma Italia's apartment to get some sleep.




The next day, we went to go see a soccer stadium and a castle!

The stadium is called San Siro, and apparently it's where David Beckham plays.

The bad thing was that we had trouble finding anywhere close enough to see the field. We knew we probably couldn't go inside anyway, but this is as close to it as we got.

But here's what it's supposed to look like inside! (I can always pretend I've seen it up close.)

And it was raining again. I wasn't happy but Monica took it very well!

I think we looked a little crazy wandering around the edge of the stadium with our broken umbrellas. A few cars actually slowed down so the people inside could ask us if we needed help finding something. Ha ha..

Here's Monica giving a solid effort to get a good shot of the stadium.

This was the result! Yea go team!

A little better!

Then we took the metro to the castle. I must say, their metro system was pretty efficient.

Here we are waiting for the next train.

Then we made it to the castle: Castello Sforzesco!

We didn't go inside because there was an entrance charge, but the outside was beautiful enough!

And here's a little blurb I found online after our trip about the history of the castle:

• Sforzesco Castle. Historical background
  Along with the Cathedral - Milan's most famous and much beloved monument - the big Castle is linked to the vicissitudes and dramatic events that the city has been experiencing over the past centuries. For many years, in fact, it has represented a symbol of the power in the hands of the Dukes, as well as of the foreign dominators. Only at the beginning of the 20th century the Castle assumed its distinctive role, becoming a place of culture, which hosted numerous Lombard art collections. The Castle was named after Francesco Sforza, who transformed it into a ducal residence in 1450. But its origins date back to the second half of the 14th century, at the time of Galeazzo II Visconti.

Click here to go to that website!



And here are some pictures I took:

Front of the castello.

Happy to see a castle and no rain for the moment!

Corner tower.

Courtyard.

Statue pieces on display.

Through the gate to another courtyard.

Side courtyard.

Another corner tower.

Me and the castello in sepia!

After the castello, Monica and I had some pasta for lunch, headed back to Grandma Italia's for a quick nap (we were exhausted), and then took the bus back to Bergamo airport.

Here we are on the bus!

We had a blast exploring all these new cities over the week break, but I have to admit that we were happy to get back to Paris. We were both exhausted from walking around all day for 7 days straight, and the best thing about going back was that it wasn't raining in Paris!

But then again, it was back to school... oh well.

Ciao XOXO