Discovery of the Latin Quarter...ole!

Tonight my new little posse (Christy and Kyndal from UCSB, Chrissy from UCLA. There are 3 Christine's, 2 Chrissy's, 2 Kristin's, 2 Ashely's, 2 Estellas (wtf!), and 2 Kims in the program. The other Kim is black though, so we don't get confused that often) ventured to the Latin Quarter. We strolled down Henri IV Boulevard to the lovely little Seine. We then crossed to the island in the fork of the Seine (it probably has a technical name, but I like to think of it as home to Quasimodo! aka Notre Dame Cathedral). We ended up on Quai O'rleans. I thought, "HEY they must have named it after New O'rleans!" Then I thought, "HEY, kim. you're a dumb ass! Why do you think it's NEW O'rleans?! This street was probably built before the Native Americans even got to America." Or something like that.My point being, Paris is olllllld. Oh if those cobblestone streets could talk...

Next, we came to the backside of Notre Dame and daaaaamn she looked good from behind. Even though we were seeing the epic butt of the world famous Cathedral for the first time, I found some sweet playground equipment. Obviously a photo shoot on the swings trumped pictures of the Notre Dame.

Post playing around the Cathedral we entered the heart of the Latin Quarter, struck by the many Lebanese and Vietnamese restaurants. After failing to find the restaurant in the guide book we settled at a quaint little Russian restuarant. TRES BON. 3 course meal baby. and they had English menus. TRES BIEN. Started with tasty vegetable soup, beef stroganoff, and lemony cheese cake. TRES BON.

Next, we walked back along the left bank of the Seine some how stumbling into a hang out for young French people on the banks of the river. It was like the quad at lunch...only with French cliques. The cool kid were sitting under the lights on blankets with their typical wine, cigarettes and baguettes. I swear all the guys look like Rob Pattinson. And I'm not complaining. The weird, scene type kids were perched on playground equipment puffing away at their cigs. There was even a large harajuku Japanese posse eating noodles (I SWEAR) and speaking in their native tongue. The only thing that was missing was the group of sassy Latinas eating their flaming hot cheetos. C'mon Latin Quarter, I expected more from you.

Don't worry though - we found French salsa dancing. And as soon as we stepped up to watch the large group of attractive French dancers, two late/ middle aged black men swooped. The first asked if I would dance, I am trying to think of a way to respond without being a snatch, the first thing I manage to say "umm, no thanks. I just ate." Yes, I actually said, "I just ate." GOD I'M SMOOTH. by smooth I mean completely and utterly unattractive. Since I was trying really hard to impress the creeper. ANYWAY, he replies "so you don't know how to dance?" Needless to say, both Christy and I weaseled out of that one. And I made a mental note that saying you're bloated will not stop a middle aged man from shamlessly hitting on you. Damn.

All along our stroll down the Seine there were little cove type things with a different genre of music and dancing. Salsa, ballroom, and, polka. I'm pretty sure they were busting out a chair for hava nagila (sp?) as we walked by the last cove. Really exciting to watch, it almost had a High School Musical vibe as to how coreographed it was and everyone knew the moves. Sadly, there was no special cove for the ensemble "We're All In This Together" dance. But I'm starting one next time. I think this is why the French haven't told Americans about this hang out yet.

The fun 4 mile jaunt (I love mapmyrun.com) ended when we tried, pretty unsuccessfully, to sneak into a bar mitzvah. It was almost over anyway.

SHALOM and au revoir until next time (expect stories about the French peasant life themed satire ballet we're going to see tomorrow. Sounds breathtaking, right there with Swan Lake)

xoxo,
goyim girl


HISTORY SIDE NOTE: Henri IV is one of my favorite kings. known as the "Father of Urban Planning" in Paris, plus I think he got the country out of debt. Not bad. In fact, he was so popular that he didn't have body guards. Unfortunately, his trust also got him killed by a Catholic fanatic. He was stabbed in his carriage while stuck in traffic. Talk about traffic jam (get it, like he got a knife jammed into his ribs?!?) Anyyyway, he kept converting back and forth between Protestantism and Catholicism. He even got a divorce at some point. Bad Catholic. You'd think his wishy washy religious preference would have made him unpopular. But, no, the Parisians loved their Protestatholic. Oh and he tore down the Paris border walls Philippe Augustus (I'm pretty sure thats how you spell it) erected to show that Parisians couldn't keep Henri out (because he was Protestant at the time he inherited his kingdom, they wanted a Catholic) and that they didn't need protection from foreigners. Paris was the shit and even though the political climate has changed drastically since then, it still is!

Bohemian Montmarte

A trip to the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur...invaders! (okay, so the line is something like "Sacre bleu, invaders!" from Beauty&theBeast as spoken by Lumier, I believe)...I couldn't resist.

On to the adventure...
The day began with an epic metro ride to Sacre Coeur, the white church with a spectacular view. After the climb to the church, complete with a level 8 stairmaster workout to get rid of those crepes, we did level 10 stairmaster up to the dome (worked off some of the baguettes with that one) and saw the most incredible 360 degree view of Paris. Still a little foggy but we managed to find the ferris wheel by the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, of course.


After our cardio workout we ended up at lunch. Moules frites (mussels and fries) followed by French onion soup. And an entire baguette. Fantastic, obviously.

We then continued on our walking tour, past the vineyard that produces undrinkable wine (they have a festival for it every October. Hey, at least its cheap!) some charming restaurants and a gaggle of artists who were painting or drawing everything from silhouettes and caricatures to entire landscapes of Paris. We kept wandering by the creperies, boulangeries, mimes, and tourists to rue Lepic No. 54, the house where Van Gogh lived. We ended at another church (the first brick one I've seen so far) and went to a garden with a wall that says "I love you" in 311 languages. I think some hooligans may have added a few more languages to the wall, but their additions definitely didn't say "I love you"...

Anyway, we concluded our trip with the Red Light District. A tranny gave us directions for the last leg of the journey complete with "porno shops", the erotic museum, and more "live shows" than I could count. The Moulin Rouge itself would have probably been cooler at night, but we got some good pictures. It's celebrating its 120th year in business (I hope none of the original dancers are still dancing...its a topless show, I'm just saying gravity might be cruel...)

We took the metro to le Cafe Angelina, the favorite hangout of Audrey Hepburn. We ordered the most fantastic hot chocolate, literally melted chocolate in my mouth. So good. We also got the Mont Blanc, a cupcake type pastry but it was really light and had an indeterminable taste to it. We were undecided on if it was good. The hot chocolate- no question, it's amazing.

All in all, a productive sightseeing day, I know not very exciting yet but there's still plenty of time and wine for the rest of the trip.

SIDE NOTE: there have been countless cars passing by and apartment windows blasting Michael Jackson. The French are definitely mourning his loss. I started my day with "Man in the Mirror" and "The Way You Make Me Feel". What an inspiration to us all. RIP.


xoxo,
- The (wo)Man in the Mirror. Well, my mirror at least.

The Prince who was reincarnated as a horse.

Class field trip to Chantilly (pronounced shant-ee-ee) chateau, castle, and stables. and yes, Chantilly also means whipped cream in French. But sadly there wasn't any of that on the field trip.

Side note: Apparently it rains here in France (I somehow missed that and failed to bring closed toed shoes or anything beyond a sweater) so the field trip began with torrential downpours, thunder, lightning and me - in a bright yellow cardigan, dress, and sweet gladiator sandals looking like the biggest dumbass in France. Did I mention I forgot an umbrella too?

Don't worry though, the day cleared up and my outfit was appropriate (after an hour or so of wading in the mud)...anyway, on to the chateau!

Chantilly consists of a ginormous horse stable, split level castle, and amazing gardens. The original owner from back in the day thought he was going to be reincarnated as a horse so he made his stables into a palace type set up. Yes, the stables are twice the size of the actual castle. It's also more luxurious than most barns, and mansions, I've seen (from the 17th century at least) It can house 240 horses and 500 hunting dogs. It's my kind of establishment. The castle part isn't a total bust, it's actually the second biggest museum in France (second to the Lourve) but it's set up in the old style of museums (when art was a private collection, where people were already supposed to be educated and have previous knowledge of what they are looking at, so it doesn't have labels or a specific pattern of arrangement) soo basically it's just art thrown on the walls. There were Raphaels just randomly hung on the walls. Pretty sweet actually.

The day mostly consisted of walking (or wading) around on our own. After lunch 3 of us went to check out the stables, which were closed for a horse show that cost 10 Euros and we'd have to leave early from because of our bus departure. Instead of wasting that money on half a horse show in French, we walked around the stables...and ended up accidentally sneaking in to the horse show. Honestly, it was an accident but ended up working out quite well. We left with some of our teachers and apparently as we walked out the ticket lady stopped one of our teachers and accused us of sneaking in. The kind pregnant teacher covered for us, having no idea herself we hadn't paid.

All in all a successful day, complete with baguette sandwiches for lunch aaand a night time adventure in the Bastille bars. but that's a story for another day.

Tomorrow I'm headed to the Moulin Rouge and if you don't hear from me by Monday that means they spotted my talent and I've become the head dancer. I'm bringing my corset to show them what I've got.

xoxo,
gossip girl

i wish.

xoxo,
kim.

sigh.

So it begins...

Bonjour from Paris!

Just wanted to send some updates to all you lovely people back in the States (and Israel) but I thought I would do it in a blog (not because I'm that cool, but this way I don't impose my stories on anyone and spam your inboxes!)

First of all, this city is wonderful. Too good for words actually. By far the most charming place I've ever been (yep, it even beats Rosarito. except I can't get a wrestling mask here). I could probably keep raving about the fabulous churches, adorable streets, and even how getting catcalled in French sounds so much nicer than English and Spanish - but that could get boring.

ANYWAY, for those of you who've been lucky enough to visit this lovely place I'm living in the 11th arrondissement near the Bastille (about 3 miles south of the Lourve, Notre Dame etc). It's a semi-seedy area but is known for it's farmer's market type set up, opera house, and furniture galleries. woo! Of course I think it's beyond charming. And the metro makes getting around SO easy it doesn't really matter where you live.

As far as the schooling aspect goes (I know, I forget I'm supposed to LEARN) it's pretty intense. Class from 9-4 Monday - Thursday and field trips about every other Friday. 9-12 is language intensive and 2-4 is Social Science (I LOVE THIS CLASS. Our first day we took a field trip to the Lourve) The professor is very Trelawny-esque (for those of you who know the reference) and I've never been so excited to learn. Yay for a history class that isn't all athletes!!!

Food: everything is as good as you've heard. If not better. Blogging for that to come.

I WANT YOUR ADDRESS. If you give it to me I can almost guarantee a cheesy postcard. You can request a naked lady (those are very popular here) if that suits your fancy.

You cand send stuff to my school if you so desire:
Kim Burnell
c/o Accent
89 Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine
75011 Paris, France

Be sure to write "no commercial value" and "personal use only" on it or it can cost me to pick it up. You can't send drugs or electronics. So those of you who were gonna send me cocaine and a new iPod, I appreciate the gesture but hold off until I get back.

Last but certainly not least PLEASE update me about life in the states, I really do want to keep in contact! Keep me in the loop no matter how mundane it is. Even if you had a particularly good fiddys experience, a celeb sighting, or so & so hooked up with whats his name...I'd love to hear it!

Ciao for now (yes they say that in France too),
Kim "American as apple pie" Burnell

p.s. if you happen to be raving about my blogs because they're SO entertaining and someone complains about not having the link, let me know and I'll get it to them. I'm happy to share my life with anyone but again I don't want to force this on anyone. I still feel like a tool having my own blog.