PARISdise!

Alas, I have found my way to Paris!  I arrived on Sunday, Nov. 29th all in one piece!  My flights were decent, but I've had better.  A little bumpy from Chicago to Paris but my feet are on the ground, none the less!  I am also thankful that all my luggage arrived...here's a pic of what I brought with me!

During the beginning of my stay here in Paris, I am living with some friends of the family in a little suburb south of Paris called Sainte Genevieve des Bois.  This was a really special treat for me to be able to stay with them while I try to find an apartment and roommate in the city of Paris.  It is nice to have someone pick you up from the airport, have a roof over your head, and some good eats...otherwise I'd probably be roughing it on the streets of Paris!  When I walked in the door the little girl of the family, Lisa 5 yrs old, said she had a surprise for me.  And here it is...

How cute is this sign, I didn't even care that my name was spelled wrong!  I have it propped up on the wall in my room!  Speaking of my room here are some pictures of my cute little chambre (french for room). I very much enjoy the skylight in my room for 2 reasons.  One because the moon shines right through and two, when it rains the droplets hit the glass and it's very soothing to listen too!

Also here is a picture of the little girl, Lisa, who made me my welcome sign and her little brother Luca.  They are precious.  She tries to speak to me in English and sadly her English is better than my French!  She also speaks Italian...very impressive!

So far I have only gone into the city of Paris once and that was to meet with a girl and look at a room in her apartment that she wanted to rent out.  That has probably been the most exciting day so far.  I indeed mastered the art of Public Transportation!  I did pretty well I think for not being able to speak/read French!  I first walked to the bus stop from the house.  Took the bus to the train staion where I rode the train for about 30 minutes.  From the train I then took the subway into the neighborhood of Montmartre.  The subway system is amazingly easy to understand and a great way to get around this huge ass city (and a good spot to people watch)!  Here's a picture of one of the subway stations.

I also went to a public park the other day here in St. G, where they had farm animals!  It was like a mini zoo and you didn't have to pay.  My favorite animal was this gigantic pig like creature that was about the size of me if not bigger.  See for yourself!

Today's highlights were going to the post office to exchange some travelers checks into Euros and getting absolutely cheated out of my money!  I cashed in $100 US dollars and got 58 EUROS and some change!  For 1 EUR it is $1.58 American!  Plus the post office charged me a 4.50 euro fee to exchange the money.  Basically our economy needs to get better, and fast!  After the money dissapointment we rolled on over to Carrefour (which is similar to a Wal-Mart and the second largest retail chain in the World, second only to...surprise surprise, Wal-Mart) to pick up some groceries.  While there I was fascinated by the seafood section so I decided to be a tourist and take a couple of photos.

I think I've pretty much updated what has gone on so far.  I'll write again soon about what goes on over the weekend!  Lorydana, the wife who lives here, is having 2 of her best friends come in from Italy to visit so I'm sure some good eats and good laughs are to be had!  'Till then, au revoir!