The real week begins

I was up early this morning at 7am to talk to Nino and then get ready for my first day of class. It was a mad scramble since I lingered with Nino before he and the dogs headed off to bed.

I felt like a local when I took the Metro, changed trains mid-route, and found the French Alliance on Boulevard Raspail pretty easily. Although I was later than I wanted to be, I made it before the class started, paperwork in hand and ready to parler français.

I was dismayed that I was assigned to level A2. I then arrived in the classroom and met a Danish girl who spoke NO French. She couldn't even say her name. Thankfully, when the professor Jean Charles arrived he assigned her to another class. It turns out I was assigned to the correct class. The Portland French Alliance is much easier than this one so the levels there don't necessarily correspond.

Jean Charles is particularly French. At one point during the class, he explained what it means to be elegant. Suffice to say that if you're not French actress Catherine Deneuve you are likely not elegant.

The rest of my class includes Vo from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Natsuki from Yokohama in Japan, Olga from St. Petersberg in Russia, and Enriquez. Enriquez is a 20something professional swimmer from Brazil. Even if you conjure up the best looking Brazilian ever, I guarantee you that Enriquez is about 1000% better looking. He apparently won a bunch of medals this weekend at a meet in Strasbourg.

After class, I wandered into the Montparnasse neighborhood in the direction of the Luxembourg Gardens.

I stopped into a small bistro for lunch, Café St. Michel. The place looked unassuming and I figured that the chalkboard outside was a good indicator that it was palatable. The clientele was 100% French. I munched on quiche, salad, and espresso. 1970s American pop songs cheerfully played in the background. I noticed that the cafe had WiFi, so I asked the server what the password was. He said, "Elvis Presley." I asked him to repeat since I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly. I did.

After lunch, I walked across the street to the Luxembourg Gardens. I grabbed a seat near the fountain and kicked back in the sun, the highlight of my day today. Lots of students from the nearby Sorbonne and many professionals filled the seats around me. Perfect weather for lazily reading, writing, and people watching.

Next stop was Bread and Roses, a delectable French (and probably American) café that I had read about but found entirely on accident. Since I had had my fill of caffeine for the day, I ordered hot mint tea and a cannelé. A cannelé is a pastry that's a little bit crunchy on the outside and soft vanilla cake on the inside. Everything in this lovely spot looked divine. Even the fruit cake looked edible, something fruit cake has never looked before. They made my tea with real mint leaves. I took home a box of chamomile tea to have after dinner in my apartment.

I continued to walk on toward home once more, right through the St. Germain Des Pres neighborhood. Lots of upscale boutiques like Yves Saint Laurent here. And I saw Gap. Past the Cluny Museum (Middle Age focused) and the massive St. Sulplice Church which was under construction/renovation. The fountain outside though was spitting full force.

I could see Notre Dame on the Rive Droit from the Rive Gauche side. Today's sunny weather made the already stunning church truly shine.

Onto the Île St. Louis, past Berthillon ice cream, along the gourmet street Nino and I shopped on in 2006, and all the way home. Made a quick stop at my local patisserie for a small baguette to go with dinner and a pastry for tomorrow's breakfast.

Tonight, I plan to grill a small leg of lamb with olive oil and garlic and sauté some eggplant with fresh squeezed lemon. I have an apple tart for dessert and my chamomile tea from Bread and Roses.