Welcome to Paris!

I am finally here after two connections and almost 24 hours of constant travel.
My tiny apartment, translated as the Cherry Orchard, is located in the Marais.

The airport shuttle driver and I must have chatted for almost two hours as we drove around town dropping off the other passengers. I was so proud of myself for chatting entirely in French.

Of course, I had to unpack and settle in first since this is home for the next 30 days. Then, it was off to the boulangerie and supermarché. Both of which are less than 20 metres from the front gate of the apartment. I had to go back to the boulangerie twice when I realized that I had grabbed a sandwich and pain au chocolat, but had forgotten the baguette. I'm so excited that I'm finally staying in a neighborhood and not in a tourist mecca.

After taking a quick shower and nap, I met the landlord and got the official tour of my probably less than 300 square feet of living space. I had pretty much had the lay of the land already. :)

Nino and I talked on Skype for the first time while I was here. He got the tour via webcam. Mom and I talked on Skype too. Andrea was offered a substantial scholarship to Berkeley!!

Last night, I was so tired that I just stayed in. It must have been divine providence because Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and X Files were all on television en français. Whatever universe this is, it has my name on it.

I spent my first night in the giant bunk bed, lofted above my main floor. Surprisingly, it was comfortable and I slept well. Except for waking up at 2am after falling asleep at 8pm. Oh well, at least I stayed up until 8pm.

Nino and I talked this morning and he showed me Hope and Niki on webcam. Hope was a little freaked out. She jumped off the couch to get away from the computer. Niki just farted. Boy was I glad to be thousands of miles away at that moment.

I ate my pain au chocolat this morning along with coffee, a banana, and Yoplait mango yogurt. Now, if I can tear myself away from Saturday morning music videos (both American and French pop songs), I will shower and head to the Marché Bastille.