In which I make two horrifying discoveries

Bad news everyone.  I don't think that I am going to make it the whole semester here.  I found out today that artificial sweetener is not a common thing here in France.  I really don't think I can deal.  I do remember seeing some in a supermarket, so I'll have to stockpile it in my room, like a doomsday prepper or something.  This alone wouldn't be the end of the world, but I have also learned that straws are a rarity here as well.  I get the strangest looks when I ask for them, and usually they don't have any. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am obsessed with having really white teeth, and thus drink literally everything with a straw.  Getting botox for my wrinkled lips has got to be worth a lifetime of white teeth.  Between this and the no Splenda thing, this is my own personal apocalypse.  I am going to have cases of sweetener and straws stored in my room.  I'll probably have an emergency stash in my purse.

 

Why hast thou forsaken me???? 


On Wednesday, my sister, her boyfriend, and I went to the Musée du Quai Branly.  It's a pretty unknown museum right next to the Eiffel Tower.  It focuses on the indigenous populations of Oceania, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.  Definitely very interesting.  Fun fact: this museum was donated to the people of France by Jacques Chirac, the former president.  The best part was that the guard let us in for free!

The next day, we went to the Louvre in the morning.  For just 15 euro I got a year pass for young people.  I can get in for free whenever I want, and skip the lines.  Worth it.  We hit all the big spots (plus recreated scenes from The Da Vinci Code) and then went on to Versailles.  Definitely my favorite spot so far, if only because I can empathize with Marie Antoinette.  In the immortal words of Gretchen Wieners (from Mean Girls) "I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me, but I can't help it that I'm popular".  I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it went down with Marie.  Seriously, this chick got to be a queen, but also had her own mini estate on the grounds with a working farm and tiny village.  Best of both worlds.  It was really cool though.  I'm a history nerd, plus we got a free audioguide to get the most out of it.

Gates of Gold y'all, they just don't make 'em like they used to

Today was really fun as well.  We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  The last time I was in Paris, we didn't go up at all, so this was pretty cool.  We got really lucky with the line as well.  Just by walking to the back pillar, rather than the one facing the Seine, we got right into the elevator.  Paris has a lot of discounts for people under 25 as well, so we keep getting discounted rates.  We rode up to the 2nd floor first, then up to the top.  It was cloudy, unfortunately, and you couldn't see really anything.  Who knows?  Maybe they were lying to us about it being the top because they figured we couldn't tell the difference.  A neat thing they have at the top is a chart comparing the Eiffel Tower to other tall buildings in countries around the world.

View towards Montparnasse from 2nd floor

View towards top from 2nd floor

View from the tippy top

Tomorrow I move into my dorm room (finally!)  I get to unpack for the long haul, and I get my precious gym time back.  Being a vegetarian in Paris has been a major buzzkill, people look at me like I am off my meds crazy when I ask.  I asked one vendor if there was meat in a certain dish.  He looked at me in all seriousness and said, "No, no meat, just ham."  Thank you sir, I am a strict vegetarian with the exception of my excessive ham consumption.

My sister and her boyfriend, Joe, left this evening for the last part of their vacation to Amsterdam.  So now I'm alone.  I better make friends fast, which I'm sure will be no problem thanks to my beauty, wisdom, intelligence, all around great personality, and above all humility.

Thanks for reading, I'll leave you with a fun fact about Paris: there is no warning in crosswalks between  "Walk" and "Don't Walk".  This makes for some fun dashes across the street when it suddenly changes and you're staring down the headlights of a SmartCar.