My apartment is as old as the civil war (!?)

My fireplace

So you remember those pictures I posted of my room? Yeah it was built in the 1860s. It's blowing my mind. Today at dinner we asked Madame if she knew how old it was, and she said she guessed around the 1860s, late 19th century. The floor, fireplaces and mirrors are all original. BUT, she goes on to say...well it really isn't that old....We looked at her and said, for us it is!! Houses from the Civil War era in the U.S. are turned into museums that you walk through with ropes separating you from the original floor, and you aren't allowed to touch anything. And here I am, doing my makeup in front of a mirror from the 1800s, and walking around barefoot on wood floors that are more than 100 years old. Just one more reason why Paris is awesome.


So today, other than finding out how old my apartment is, I went to the first day of classes and took pictures for my photography class! Me and Erin also did our "Flâneur" walk, which required us to get lost in Paris. So we wandered down past Notre Dame, found the Seine and walked along it for a couple of hours taking pictures, and ended up right down the street from our apartment. Here are some of my favorites:

Along the Seine

The park behind Notre Dame

Along the Seine

my lovely roommate Erin

under a bridge

walking home

I'm obsessed with lanterns

looking out the into the courtyard of the Institute

This little bird was hopping around the courtyard at lunch. Reminded me of the chickadees in North Carolina that I thought were so cool when I was little.

Hope you liked them! Tomorrow is another day of classes, I think we are going to go to the Eiffel Tower afterwards (it's crazy that I can say that). I have got to get some more pictures of myself! Also, I think I am getting braver speaking in French, I asked Madame how she made this delicious carrot dish and understood almost all the directions. And she explained what was in dessert too, some sort of flan with raisins and lemon zest I think, mmm so good. I'll have to look up what it's called, because i've never heard the word before. I think she is getting more comfortable talking to us too, as we've continued asking her questions, tonight she asked us if we believe in miracles, and two nights ago we talked politics with her son-in-law. It's so cool to be able to carry on real conversations and understand what they are saying!!!