'there's one in all of us.'

living on my own means having a lot of time to myself. its a good thing though. i love being alone, i can concentrate better and most importantly i can eat everything in the cupboard- no need to share with others. very rarely, emphasize the rare, the down side comes to light- when im bored out of my mind then it can be lonely. anyhow, i must point out the good things (these happen way more often than the bad ones) too, such as what can be found after hours on the internet:
im actually excited for this, you better be as well. trailer here
i love the poster& must get my hands on one. help me look okay?

tgiweekend

daylight saving- euro version! since im such a nice person, i'll even calculate the time difference out for you all ;)
east coast (coco im talking about you): now we're back to 6 hrs difference
west coast: 9 hrs difference (paris is ahead)
taipei/mom: im just 6 hrs behind.
everywhere else...do you own math.

so...i've been kind of lazy about cooking. during the week, i usually have enough time for a yogurt/cereal/madeleine as breakfast, once i get to school, my next free is either at 1pm or 3pm. this past week, i've been having late late 3.30/4pm lunches- it takes time for me to get from class to a place to eat. by the time i get home, im not really up for food anymore because im too full. i just eat fruits and dessert (theres one patisserie right down the street, well... actually i find them just about everywhere in the city). the french got me on this one, the proper way to finish a meal is with a dessert.
weekend is a different story- i spend my waking minutes thinking about what to eat. my mind was set on making myself some real food last night. i went out and bought a bio cauliflower. bio [bee-o] is french for organic. i dont always buy bio but the organic market is the only place i can find a cauliflower.

a walk in the rain

blehhh...rain and cold all at once? ugh. i can't believe i had to take out my leather gloves (my first non-edible purchase in Paris two months ago) again. so much for being officially spring. pshh...

an update of the architecture walk. the rain took over, making it an awfully unpleasant walk. i had to run home and change before going to my next class.

Institut de France (used to be College des Quatres-Nations) built in the honor of Mazarin

the bridge in front of Institut de France, leading right to Louvre

Pavillon de l'Horloge of Louvre aka Sully wing (architect: Jacque Lemercier)

no mo strike, s'il vous plait.

a street full of double-decker buses welcomed me when i walked out la tour maubourg (the metro stop right by school). the street was clear, no traffic at all whatsoever which was odd. i didn't really pay attention to any of it as i was in a hurry to go to class.
well, i found out when i got out of my class 3 hrs later that there was ANOTHER protest going on. oh my, don't the french like to protest. one would think they'd wait a little longer since the one from...last thursday. nuh-uh. all i can see on the way back to the metro was: PEOPLE. they stopped all traffic. the double deckers still parked, and the rest of the street was filled with workers and their families. at first, i was interested in what was going on but i gave up. its students one day and metro workers another. i stopped googling "paris, strike; today" a long time ago. i just keep my fingers crossed that my metro line is on schedule (when on strike, trains operate at varied rates, last time i waited a good 15mins).
well..there goes my day. sorry i don't have more interesting thing to say. i was going to the Warhol exhibit at Grand Palais after my art class today but my friend told me the right bank is even worse. she was late to class because the bus driver refused to keep going (as in he STOPPED on the street) once they reach Arc de Triomphe and she had to get off the bus.
i am still planning on going to the exhibit so i should have photos+more interesting post then!

printemps

me&my millefeuille fraise

its officially spring!!! the sun is out, the sky is blue, and all patio seats in cafes are taken. i wish everyone could be here to see how beautiful the city is with me.
time really flies, i've been in school for 2 months (and away from seattle for 10 weeks).
i must say, it still feels like a dream. i literally came not knowing what i got myself into- i didn't know anyone here, i hadn't signed up for any classes and i had no clue where i was going to live. it only hit me when i was at the seatac boarding gate that i was going to be on my own for...a while. the 6 hours lay-over at heathrow only helped shove it in my face some more.
so far, its been an experience to say the least. i've always been "assez" independent but this has really pushed me to grow up beyond my own expectations. i would have to learn how to deal with a lot of these things sooner or later though, so its fine. life is good and im excited what the next 2 months have in store for me.

alright, enough about that, MORE FOOD!

today's goodie box

divin (macaron shell+raspberries)& millefeuille fraise

these are from a couple of days ago. i must stress the fact that i did NOT eat all these at once.

beignet aux pommes (flat donut with apples inside)- mommy's fav.
cheesecake nature at "l'heure gourmand" on passage dauphine

i've been living on patisseries more than anything this week. oops.

here comes the sun

the weather was UNBELIEVABLY beautiful today. the sun was out and gloomy winter was forgotten. i forced myself to get up early so i can study for my mid-term and have breakfast before my architecture walk. i can proudly say i followed my plan!
the meeting point for the walk was right outside luxembourg so i decided to go to "le rostand". i got a perfect seat under the shades and view of luxembourg. i was so glad it wasn't as busy as the last couple of times i was there. i read through my notes with a croissant and cafe creme. guess what? i caught my food on camera before eating it this time.

the architecture walk today was definitely one of the best. i actually learned a lot and miraculously remembered plenty of random details. this class is almost a training for tour guides. i have tons of historical background info of paris and stories of different King Louis in my head now....oh yeah, i can also analyze the architecture style and tell you the names of different little parts of the structure (thanks to my architecture dictionary).

central access of Palace de Luxembourg of Marie d'Medici

Church of Sorbonne- originally built by Richelieu
but the plaques with his name are all destroyed during revolution.

finally, Val de Grace- commissioned by Ann of Austria
dedicated to the birth of Louis XIV
the initials AL are shown everywhere, like in the last photo

im still amazed at the amount of history behind each and every one of the buildings. we started in medieval paris and now we're on to 17th century...the city has grew and expanded& the architectural styles have changed drastically and so much more. oh Paris...

gerard mulot

i really should have put this up last week because that was when eileen and i bought...6 cakes from this place. i wasn't fast enough on getting pictures (we finished them before we knew it, pastries go really fast when eileen and i are in the room) but i thought you all deserve more than just a couple of lines about it so i remembered to take pictures after i got more (shhh...3) for myself yesterday..DON'T WORRY, i didn't eat all of them at once. the strawberry tart is still in the fridge.

strawberry tart

caramel pear cake

delice de ninon- eileen's pick. i've had 2 and still dont really know what its REALLY made of. tastes like custard whipped cream/mousse in a really crunchy tart. whatever, all that matters is its GOOD.

my sunday afternoon.

my attempt at une apres midi parisienne.
big surprise- i woke up early this morning but uh...i had nothing to do. one thing i've learned from my past two months here that sunday is NOT a good time to visit museums. so museum was definitely out of the question.
on the other hand, im always up for food and coffee, so i packed a book and headed to "les editeurs" at the carrefour d'odeon. odeon is always busy, today was no exception. i love the cafe, well.. everything but the scruffy old dude on my left. he sat there forever and only ordered a coffee while sneaking out his own snack from his hobo backpack. but my biggest problem with him might be the fact that he reminded me of my neighbors. personally, i refer to them as the epitome of arrogant cheap old french couple. (im sure many have heard me complain in person/on phone or had even experienced the unreasonable wrath in person- soooo sorry. basically, long story short, they are an old grumpy french couple who owns two little dogs that barks in the day and makes me want to play american football with them, yep i want to literally chuck them out the window. oh and the two old people? they KNOCK on my wall at night when they can't sleep. they are evil. and when i knock back? they come running at my door, ringing the doorbell and banging on the door. im still amazed by their body strength- i was too scared to open the door. ask me about it in summer, im sure i'll have more stories by then.)
anyway, les editeurs. its literally a cafe in a library. feel free to take the books off the shelves and read it with coffee. the area i was sitting in had a wall full of travel books. the girl beside me started going through a tour guide of rome when she had enough of her own work. i pulled out one on Lyon but as soon as i opened i realized there weren't any pictures so it was back onto the shelve in no time.

my book for architecture class blended in pretty well

crepe? OUI!

my friends and family all know that im a helpless snacker (just spend a day or two with me and you'll see). im always hungry and munching on something. hence, my fridge is never empty. i have a decent-size fridge here in the appartment, its slightly bigger than the mini fridge in dorms. since im really not a big fan of cleaning up a greasy or stinky kitchen, i've been making really simple food. i stock up my fridge with my favorite snacks once or twice a week. in addition to fruits and veggies, i have a variety of snacks as well as a fridge door of chocolates. hm...oh yeah theres also grapefruit juice and water.

clockwise from top left: vanilla yogurt, pudding, apple sauce, apple&pear sauce, pear sauce, apples, crepes and nutella.

ever since crepe addict eileen came to visit, i've lost track of the number of crepes i ate. we found these packs of delicious pre-made crepes in the supermarket. just reheat, and add whatever you want on it.

with pear sauce

fold it and sprinkle sugar on top

with my first french starbucks- camomille tea

marie a's home

looks just like another disneyland (but intensely gold-plated) with the tour buses and cars out front

the chateau （俗夠有力）

mirror mirror on the wall

the chapel

Apollo's fountain

Latona's fountain

here comes the best part. eileen's goal of the day: RENT A BOAT! we were the only two girls crazy enough to row in the cold. we tried to attack the ducks and swans- didn't really work out that well because we were too slow. it was definitely the highlight of the day as versailles isn't as glamourous as it seems. its been remodeled way too many times and still super crowded.

our boat!

hard at work

view from the middle of the lake. it took us a while to actually turn the boat&get these photos.

new friends we met on the way back: mouton!