Sun and snow

Jen Dice rang the doorbell on Thursday afternoon to begin an effortlessly fun weekend visiting me. She smoothly assimilated into my lifestyle here and enjoyed the Paris area. It was so nice to spend time together!

Friday, Jen came with me and some of my friends to a cafe breakfast before our French class. My friends and I are essentially regulars at Le Celtique in Rambouillet, so I'm glad Jen got to come along and see where we spend a good deal of our meal time and money. Ha. While I was in class, Jen went to Versailles to explore the chateau. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so a great one for pictures at Versailles! I helped her practice a few French phrases so that she could get her picture taken and find her way around, but I'm pretty sure she managed without them. We met back at the house that afternoon and went to see Slumdog Millionnaire in the tiny VOX cinema in Rambouillet. Jen got introduced to sweet vs. salty popcorn and kit kat balls in a cave-like little theater - red, velvety seats, big-screen TV and all. I was sure to introduce her to all of the area's gems ;)

Saturday, Jen and I took our time getting up and ready. It snowed that day, but luckily it was most heavily concentrated between Le Perray and Paris and not as much in either area. We went into Paris and had lunch at my fantastic favorite Parisian cafe...and sat there for quite some time :) Onion soup, crepes, coffee...Jen got to taste my budget-friendly but delicious menu choices. After a few hours, we decided to walk some and make our way to the Pompidou. I hadn't been in a while and wanted to return, and Jen had been several years before. There were some new works there and a cool chair exhibit - "No Discipline" - from artist Ron Arad. Of course, I also had to pay a visit to the Chagalls upstairs ;) After the Pompidou, Jen and I bought some baguette, cheese, and wine for a makeshift wine and cheese tasting meal and headed back to the train. We held our own little movie night, reminiscent of those from college, and continued our endless conversations. It was a really nice day.

Sunday, Jen came with me to church, but only after going back to my Parisian cafe for more coffee where the owner recognized us from the day before. Were we that bizarre and memorable? ha. Following church, we walked along the Seine some and hopped on the metro to L'As du Falafel....my amazing favorite falafel place in the Marais. Again, it was delicious and Jen became a falafel convert. The hustle and bustle of the convivial falafel place had us ready to shop and walk around the Marais. The Soldes were still going on in many stores, but more and more spring clothing had appeared as well. After perusing, Jen and I went to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur and the artists in their square. Later, we found ourselves back on the other end of rue de Rivoli for some Angelina hot chocolate and book shopping at W.H. Smith (for me...it's become a near ritual). We rounded out the day with another nice movie and conversation night in my room. As the weekend came to a close, I felt so blessed to have Jen here to visit me and so many great friends waiting back home. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, and I'm so glad Jen could be here to share it with me!

Lots of love to everyone at home :)

(from the "I love you" wall in Montmartre...)