Broken Bikes, Sunburn, and Mardi Fou

The past few weeks have been pretty great. Aside from babysitting and school, we've been spending quite a bit of time outside. It's been in the 60s and 70s for the majority of the past month or so. Can't complain. Picnics are easy here. Just grab a cheap baguette and some Camembert cheese and you're all set. Maybe a few cherry tomatoes too. And you can't forget the wine! It's actually perfectly legal to drink in public. We've also spent a couple nights on le Pont des Arts (Bridge of the Arts). It's really great because there are loads of people there, diverse across the cultures, languages, and age. My friend Catherine from England met us there one night for shisha. We had a good time but unfortunately her phone was lost or stolen, so it was quite the adventure getting her back to where she needed to be.

I also met up with one of my friends from North Carolina who I worked with in Chicago last summer. He had dinner with the kids and me and then we got some crepes and eventually headed out to experience some of the night life in Paris. Aaron, a recent poker champ during his time here, met us with Dunc. Basically Aaron made it rain and we ended up in some party cave by the end of the night. It was a great time. Getting home was an adventure however, as there isn't any public transportation in that area suited for my needs. Therefore, I decided to rent a bike for the way home. That went well. After the cord for my headphones got jammed into my tire, I had to put the bike in a station. I caught a nearby bus to advance my position a bit, then took another bike for the second half of my trek across Paris. When the tires decided they wanted to go airborne, I was at least able to jump off in time in order to avoid injury.

Since there wasn't enough adventure that night, Dunc, Deets, and I decided to try out a new area. I had to babysit but I was able to jump on a metro and meet them after. By chance, my friend Ryan from NC happened to be on the same section of the train. The odds of the same station, train, and car have to be slim to none. Then we realized we had the same destination. Crazy. The UFO Bar was a bit strict in letting only guys in. So I decided to walk in with four unknowing girls. My camouflage worked. The bar had a cool comic book-esque feel. After closing, we walked to another random place and ran into my friend again. Took another bike home without any mishaps!

The next day, instead of working on my paper, I met some friends at the Eiffel Tower to sit around and do nothing because it was a beautiful day. Who did I see again? My NC friend. He and his thoughts had to think I was stalking them..

Last weekend, a group of us went to the Versailles Gardens to do exactly the same

thing: nothing. We bought 7 baguettes, a ton of cheese and wine, and fruit. We played a cool soccer game, Brian and I against Jack and Matthew. It was funny to watch Charlie and Alex freak out from the sidelines everytime the ball came close to them. After 7 hours of hanging out and me pushing Matthew in the little lake, we finally took the train home and were exhausted. I was completely red, but not as bad as the Irish guys. Brian is now shedding his skin like a snake.



For the past three weeks, we have been having Mardi Fou (crazy Tuesday) at Jack's because Domino's Pizza has every pizza of every size for 8 euro. So we basically indulge ourselves and never want to eat again by the end of the night. One of our favorite things to do during these dinners is take Alex's phone without her seeing and sending messages to random people. When she gets a reply, she has to try to figure out what she actually sent. Poor Canada.

Ah right. On Saturday, a group of us went to the stadium in France to watch the rugby match, Paris vs. Clermont. The team was recently purchased by a "flamboyant" owner and he totally changed the format of the event. First, the team's color is pink. The cheerleaders, or "pom pon girls" with a heavy French accent, could not have been less coordinated. the music was quite funny too because they left profanities in the music, probably unaware of the meaning. Paris ended up losing, but it was still a good time. There was a firework show after the game as well. Though it didn't look safe or professional at all, it actually proved itself to be entertaining.



This week is going to be depressing; I have to write a research paper by Friday before leaving for Milan. But after that, Spaghetti Break 2011 commences!