Video Blog: Rue Mouffetard

Wanting to catch the vibe of my street I've been raving about?!

This video was taken today, on a Sunday morning at about 10:30 am--approximately 4 steps from the entrance to my apartment door. Thanks to the live sax solo greeting us this morning as we left the apartment, I remembered to whip out my iphone and take a video of my street buzzing with true Vie Parisian. 

Now you can start to understand my internal laughs while walking my street having everything look and (especially on occasions like this) SOUND so typically.. French!

***Be sure to notice: The total pedestrian street, the ancient Roman cobblestone, my dear friend Katherine giving me the "I can't believe this is real" look, and also, note that the double take I do with the camera reverts back to the very door of my apartment. 

*Added note: YES, you're seeing correctly: I live across from a wine store, a "naturale" chocolate shop, a beautiful patisserie and an ice cream/gelato shop. (Someone ship me puppy blinders?)

A post of this weekend, still to come!

Already Street Dancin'

As this weekend begins I can only hope I have a weekend as fun-filled as last weekend!

Last weekend I was invited by a good friend of my sister from her time in India, who now lives in Paris and is a friend of mine (CAN WE SAY SMALL WORLD?!) to spend the afternoon at a market/shopping. He was invited by a friend to another market/festival- and we knew little else about it.

We ended up spending our entire day at Marché Aligre (Click Here!), in the 12th arrondissement- what a spot! It has been dubbed the "heart of Paris" but also it is known for its leftist, communal leanings. We played traditional block throwing games with adorable French kids in the Aligre square (which on some days is reserved for nudist sports?!), watched badminton matches, listened in on a community forum, all the while some people played chess with wine. Not a bad way to spend a weekend, eh?

After a pot-luck shared community meal, the band set up and the real fun began! We all danced, what I assume to be French traditional folk dances--but in all honesty I think it was a free for all. I engaged in dances such as "who can move your feet the fastest" and congo lines with routine shouting. Remember in the movie Titanic, when Rose goes down to the bottom deck for a REAL dance party? That was the vibe of this kick-of-your-shoes-lets-dance-wildly-on-this-cardboard-floor-in-the-street-party. The age range on the dance floor was quite literally 3-80+. Never know what a day will bring..

I captured these quick videos while getting some
water/taking a break. It isn't long because clearly, there was no room for wallflowers.



Alors, Bon Week-end!

Cafe Post-

Now that all of my time isn't consumed in touring overpriced closets, I am finding the time to LIVE like a Parisian, or at least my romantic idea of one (...I don't have a job and school hasn't yet started, ha). That said, I write this from "Cafe Latin-St. Germain" located on Boulevard St. Germain. Leaving the bank (constantly requesting more documents urgh!) I felt a sprinkle or two of rain, a perfect excuse to duck in here for some added warmth (I am already wearing heavy coats and scarfs here!), free wifi, and a great view!

So will this be my next year? Pleasure reading in cafes and biking around Paris? ...Yes and no.

I start school next week, just in time- as I was growing to feel like a drop out. With many of my friends starting medical school, grad school, or big boy/girl jobs.. Starting school in October gave me a 5 month (school) break! At registration and orientation last week, I was hit in the face with the realization I had forgotten working this summer in the Tetons: I LOVE SCHOOL! And, as a token of my excitement (or maybe they gave it to everyone, I don't know-my translation was vague) they gave me this magical card giving me access to free museums, discounted tickets, oh and la Sorbonne! HERE!

It's official!

Seeing my daily class schedule (with some larger lectures to choose from each week) I felt like a kid in a candy store! 18th century French lit, French cinema, Art History.. the list goes on! No molec cell, biochem, and not a single lab?!!? Move over left side of the brain- this year I'm going back to my roots in back-to-school-literature-and-language-love.

On an errand to the registrar this week...happened to catch people painting my school! 

An added note: Some things never change, whether it's at Millsaps or the 9th oldest institution of learning in the world, I can't WAIT to kick some intramural basketbal tail! Gotta rep the USA (well, those UK WILDCATS)!

(How funny are these shirts? I mean, did Louis Pasteur have intramural records here? How about Marie Curie or Victor Hugo? ha!)

It's full-blown raining now, and I should put the ipad down. Unlike in America where coffee shops and cafes serve as portals to a digital world of emails and papers--here, it is most always an engaged, social hub. In fact, it is only on occasion that I find a cafe with wifi, and even then only a hand full will be virtually plugged in.

An Ode to My Dream Apartement

For about 1/3 of you reading this post, you are probably thinking, "WE GET IT, ANNE, YOU LOVE YOUR APARTMENT! LET'S MOVE ON!" because I have bombarded your inboxes and/or social media with pictures and all-but-love letters in total infatuation with my new digs. For you guys, I'm sorry. For the rest of you all- I have found not only a suitable place to rest my head, but also my bonafide DREAM apartment! Now, if I can only figure out how to transplant this next year to DC!?  If you read the post prior to this one you know that this time last week I was feeling as though my Paris dream apartment may turn into a nightmare-ish youth hostel (love hostels, been there done that.. but not for months at a time!) or renting a bedroom from an unknown family outside of Paris. Needless to say, I am both happy and relieved with this ideal find!

In my defense, my infatuation with my new apartment may stem from older roots than this Paris adventure. Living in dorms for the past 4 years, amenities such as personal bathrooms and kitchens were not a part of my everyday life. Though I loved every moment of my dorm life (shout out to the Zoo Suite!) and it very much suited those unique college years--at 23 I am past due to learn (yes, that's the right verb, keeping it honest) to cook and enjoy a non-standardized living environment! With out a doubt, I couldn't have designed an apartment more to my liking. I have found  my zen spot I so desperately tried to create in New South Dorm (I've upgraded from fake orchids and peace flags!)

Not only is a double bed a welcomed luxury to my post-dorm life, it is a RARITY to have a bed, not a pull out couch in Parisian studio apartments!

The forchid is no more! This orchid lives!

I live in the arrondissement I most wanted to live in- the 5th (Latin Quarter) on the left bank, in what is known for: La Sorbonne (how convenient!), student life, the Pantheon, cafes, old Paris, etc. Anywhere in the fifth would have been FANTASTIC  but I happen to live on  RUE MOUFFETARD! (Click this link to read more about it!)  a predominately PEDESTRIAN street known for its permanent open air markets, cafes, and bars. It is often times referred to as the liveliest street in the liveliest neighborhood in all of Paris (insert my excitement here). I live near the cafe and market end, so I don't suffer from any nightly bar noise (which is sometimes a question once I tell a Parisian where I live), but have the luxury to walk 3 minutes to some of Paris' top rated, non-tourist night life (although I still love to see tourists occasionally taking pictures up and down my street)!

I am steps from (and on all sides surrounded by) patisseries, fromageries, poissoneries, flower markets, food markets, cafes..in fact I find myself laughing about just how quintessentially French my street looks as I daily walk up and down. Both my apartment and my street inspire me to a before latent, but newly discovered affinity for domesticity. Some may have (rightfully) questioned me ever wanting to cook, but the time has come- and in no better place than Paris! My ikea inspired kitchen helps:

Rue Mouffetard remains an ancient cobblestone street and was an ancient Rue to Rome. Many believe Hemingway's quote on Paris being a "moveable feast" came from this street, as a 22 year old married Hemingway LIVED UP THE STREET FROM ME in the 1920s.

My bathroom epitomizes the (I think) beautiful juxtaposition of my modern apartment from the ancient street of its location.

View from the bed to the sitting area (tv hidden) and courtyard(!) Oh, and from this courtyard one can walk about 400 yds to the steps where Gil is picked up by the 1920s car in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, if you've seen it. 

I have tried to exclusively shop and eat in my neighborhood since the move-- luckily it's not hard to do! Additionally, I went out here this past weekend (and had a ball!). Even still, I know it will be quite some time before I can know, let alone GO to most of the bars, cafes, and stores surrounding me!

Now that you've seen glimpses of it.. come see the real thing! I am looking forward to my friends and family taking advantage of my address for this year and staying with me--so come on over!
My first visitor will be this weekend with my childhood friend (through adulthood now, yikes)  Katherine arriving Friday! She has just moved to Rotterdam, Netherlands (what are the odds?!) and we are now  living much closer than the Millsaps/UK commute! Looking forward to it!

Nous sommes ici!

Wow, au debut, please excuse my delay in blogging! I have now been here over a week, and what a week and a half it has been!

To catch up: I arrived 2 weeks ago Friday to a much colder Paris than expected Check it out, it's like a southern winter here already! I arrived with my father sans an apartment but with a perfectly placed hotel (Hotel du College de France) to springboard my search.

Maybe you knew this already (and if you did WHY didn't you tell me?!) but apartment searching in Paris is a constant, relentless, exhausting struggle which seems in all ways like an infinite uphill battle. En bref, I am so thankful my dad was here to help me, remind me that eventually something would break free, and to occasionally distract me from the quest with delicious food, bike tours, seine cruises, etc. Looking back, I wish I would have made a list of all the things that didn't go right the first time--from credit cards refusing to work to spending all day looking at scary closets, I mean apartments, with ladders to "beds" in neighborhoods that smell like mothballs. The aforementioned apartments would be described as "dazzling" "large" "with all modern conveniences" but would inevitably prove to invoke phrases and questions (and some expletives I will leave out) such as "stinky" "I can't fit my suitcase in here" (here being the entire apartment), "what's up with ALL the Chinese trinkets in the Bulgarian's apartment overlooking the Parisian gutters?" and "I need to leave before I gag."

BUT ALAS ALL OF THAT IS OVER! (full apartment blog to come!) Just when we thought Dad would leave me in the "Young and Happy Hostel" with nothing to show for our work, 4 embarrassingly large international bags, and some ramen noodles-- the skies opened and revealed the glorious apartment from which I am currently writing.

Despite "kissing a lot of frogs" as Dad delicately put it regarding our quest for housing, we punctuated our days with touristic, even gluttonous distractions...It goes with out saying, no matter the apartment search struggle, everyday we managed to enjoy every bite.

La Premiere

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?" -Mary Oliver

3 days from my move to Paris and my life seems both planned (okay, relatively) and wild.  At this point, mainly wild. 

I am moving to Paris via a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. I will study at the Sorbonne, obtaining my masters in French Literature and Language (quite a leap for this biochem major!) in hopes to one day be a bilingual doctor with a true global citizenship. Following this year, I will move to Washington, DC to attend Medical School at George Washington University. I must say it is odd to go from this time last year not knowing two weeks in advance to now knowing my next 5 years. It still remains strange to speak or type some of this, as both of these opportunities are, excuse the cliché, dreams come true.  

In response to the quote above, I must say this is  what I have always (post-high school Smitty years) planned to do, and it is made possible through the Rotary Foundation. I am proud to represent Jackson, Mississippi Rotary Club, and Rotary International for this next year--an organization I can only aspire to emulate this year and lifelong. From working relentlessly to eradicate polio globally, to investing in communities locally and around the world, I am excited and eager to represent an institution of such high merit. In my every interaction with Rotary, I have been impressed with their appreciation for learning, cultural awareness, and genuine efforts to promote peace. Check out all Rotary is doing here:  Rotary International 

I will be among scholars from all over the world sent as ambassadors of peace, learning, and goodwill. I will be a scholar in Paris but I will also travel, speaking to various Rotary Clubs around France, on my experience both in the US and France. Thank goodness I worked a tour guide this summer (shout out to Grand Teton National Park!)--I now speak on a mic to strangers with greater ease than I speak to close friends and family, ha

Though my adventure truly begins in 3 days, it has been a long time coming, both in my imagination and logistically. Two weeks ago I traveled with my parents and family friend to Chicago to obtain the coveted long-stay visa--a process I started in May! (see a few pics below) Despite the massive amount of paperwork and packing, these past few weeks at home in preparation (feeling like a college drop out) have turned out to be a great time to catch up with family, my sweet puppy dog, and on sleep.

With the bureaucratic hoops I have to jump through becoming fewer and fewer, I am now begining the daunting task of packing for a year, as well as saying goodbyes to family and friends--oh, and this cozy American life. It feels surreal that this dream of mine will, in a few short days be made a reality.

As a disclaimer I hereby vow to make all subsequent blog posts more exciting (and by location alone, I feel as though that may not be an empty promise!) My hopes for this year are innumberalbe and in some ways inexplicable. Thankfully, these hopes currently out weigh my anxieties about moving across the world for a year, knowing no one and expecting much. New mantra: Fortune favors the bold?!

Until next time!