je voudrais acheter ses chausurres ..

oh my god i am in love with paris.

i can't even tell you how amazing a weekend i had in paris visiting two of the loves of my life. j9 and i got to paris late thursday night and just crashed on mary's floor. the next morning mary had class but clarice took us to our first boulangerie where we got the largest baguettes of life and this amazing tartelette aux fruit (orgasmic). then she took us to the musee d'orsay, where we saw lots of pre-impressionist art. the top floor was closed, which was poop bc that was where all the impressionist monets and all that were, but it was all good. we saw some cool paintings and sculptures. then clarice went to class and mary met us for lunch where i had my first paris crepe!! it was so yummy and full of chocolate. then she took us to notre dame, which was absolutely GORGEOUS. i love gothic architecture. we went in and it was just amazing. then we climbed up to the top top (it was like 250 steps or something - i was dead by the time i got there). we had the most awesome view of paris - we could even see the eiffel tower from the top! we hung out with the gargoyles up there, then climbed up the bell tower where quasimodo would ring the bell! the bell was so huge. but it was pretty cool being up there. afterwards we did a little souvenir shopping (got parisian scarves!) and walked over to musee de cluny, but it was closing so we didnt go in. we did a little shopping around that area, saw there was a riot going on (lots of french po-po with big helmets and large guns) so we just headed out of there. we walked to the louvre and met clarice there, because mary had her first talk for her art history class that night. while mc prepped, j9, clarice and i walked around the louvre. it is the most gorgeous and breathtaking museum i have ever been in. the walls were lined with so many paintings and the rooms filled with ancient greek and roman sculpture. we were there for over 2 hours and we barely covered one wing. it was redic. we got to see the mona lisa though!! it was pretty, but they have it roped off so far away from it so i couldnt really sudy the details because i couldnt get close. but it was still cool. then we heard mary give her talk on "st michael trampling the devil" by rafaele. it was pretty awesome, and its so cool she got to talk about a painting IN THE LOUVRE. i was so excited for her. im so excited i know someone who could even do that. its such an amazing opportunity. thats why study abroad is the shit lol. afterwards we got dinner at "mary and clarice's place" and i tried escargot for the first time! at first i was like ew its chewy but its actually really good! i love it! and then i had duck with peaches which was to die for, and this amazing apple tart yummmmm. all in all it was an excellent meal.

the next morning we headed out to montmartre so we could go to the museum of eroticism and get fondue but because of the metro strike we didnt make it to the museum and the fondue place (with wine in baby bottles!) was closed. we were mad disappointed, but found another place with fondue which was pretty good. i had creme brulee for dessert and it was sooo yummy! i love french food lol. then it was riverdance time!! the show was sheer perfection and trading taps was soo sick!! i think it was even better the second time aroundd - im so glad j9 found out it was going to be in paris when we were there! after riverdance we headed back and went to visit the most amazing and gorgeous part of paris - the eiffel tower! we climbed all the way up to the top!! and it was sparkling when we were up there! it was so beautiful! and someone got engaged up there - that basically made my entire life it was so adorable! i wanted to eat them. i so want to get proposed up there now ahhhh. i love the eiffel tower so much. clarice conquered her fear of heights and came up with us - i was so proud of her! 2 hours later, after freezing our asses off, we walked back to the apartment, got amazing nutella and banana crepes and j9 cooked us chicken cordon bleu for dinner yummm. then we passed out because we were mad tired.

the next morning it was time to hit up the champs elysees!! we started off at the place de la concorde, then walked all the way down to the arc de triomphe. i got the backstreet boys cd (finally!) which i am currently listening to right now lol. then i got a little makeover in the biggest sephora of LIFE. it was soo hugeee and they had EVERYTHING. i was in heaven. then we got starbucks!! i had forgotten how much i missed their coffee. i got a creme brulee latte which was tres delish. we stopped in the louis vuitton and the bag that i saw that i wanted was prices at 1,150 euros. yea no thanks. but it was pretty to look at lol. all the big brand names werent even on the champs but on a street right off it, and since it was sunday they weren't open poo. so luck for my parents i couldnt get into chanel and buy the black bag ive been dying for since i was 16. no worries though. then we walked back to the apartamento and tried to defrost for a while bc it was sooooo cold! we watched youtube for a bit because we're cool like that, then i dragged the girls out again to the eiffel tower for more pictures (because i didnt get to take any at the champs de mars before). it started raining but we got good pictures, then we headed to dinner at mary and clarice's place again, and i got more escargot. obvi. i cant get over how good it is lol. clarice and i got some bordeaux, which i had never drank before, but it was very good and im a fan. i got more creme brulee (because i'm obsessed with french food) and then we went back to the apartment and fell asleep early because j9 and i had a 4am wake up call. gross.

we flew back to rome monday morning and the rest of the week has been all papers and readings and lots of work and its yuckie. i'm not a fan. wednesday i spent the day in firenze and met up with gracie for lunch. it was great seeing her! i got so much done there - the accademia (the david is the most AMAZING thing i have ever seen. i spent a half hour just staring at him), the duomo, under the duomo, piazza san lorenzo, piazza della signoria and the basilica there, basilica di santa croce, the uffizi, museo della storia di scienza and the ponte vecchio. the duomo was pretty cool and awesome looking inside. i loved the accademia, basically because of the david. shopping in san lorenzo = to die for. the outside market was great - got lots of souvenirs for fam and for me. piazza della signoria had lots of copies of michelangelo's sculptures which were cool to see. the basilica was being restored so i didnt get to see much of it. the basilica di santa croce was also under resoration which was poop. but michelangelo, dante, machiavelli and galileo are all buried there, so it was totally awesome to be there. the uffizi is huge - i saw lots of sculptures of roman emperors and military men which was cool because i was like hey i know this guy! lol. my favorite part though was the museum of the history of science!! i know im a dork and i dont care. they had galileo's first telescope and ocular lenses and all of his instruments it was so cool! and i got to see surgical instruments from the 16th and 17th centuries and chemistry beakers from the 18th century. it was soooo awesomeee! and they had globes used for mapping and the countries on them were so weird and not even close to what it known now. it was really interesting to see how far we've come in science and technology but also cool to see where everything started. the ponte vecchio was pretty and filled with lots of jewelry stores that made me happy lol. then i went shopping a little and got really cute clothes. then i took the train home. all in all it was a good day, and im really glad i got to see gracie. it was fun reminiscing about mary louis and gossipping about stuff. =)

now it's friday and im so unproductive. j9's been churning out papers like whoa this week and i feel so stupid because its taking me forever to do everything lol. im slacking i know. i dont even care anymore. i have only two weeks left (which makes me cry i dont even want to think about it) and i cant be worried about work. im gonna go out and stay up all night and drink wine and eat gelato and pastries and pasta until i throw up because i'm never going to be able to do this ever again. this is the most amazing semester of my life and i just dont want it to end yet. it went by way too fast.

elise and rachel should be in rome right this second and me, j9 and laura are meeting up with them and we're going to tony's gelateria (its been TOO long) and then il caminetto. then we're going out in trastevere tonight. then tomorrow we're going to see the 23 new cardinals in the ceremony led by the pope and then we can go into the pope's palace to congratulate them!! im so excited for that! i hope we can knock out things i havent seen in rome this weekend so i can check them off my list and not feel completely useless. lol. cant wait to have lisey and rach here this weekend!!

pace fuori. <3