Charles de Gaulle

After a short night's sleep, we will head to Charles de Gaulle airport for our 24-hour trip home. Paris>Amsterdam>Minneapolis>Waterloo. See you all soon!

Plan for the Last Hurrah

Elizabeth: The weather looks great for our last full day here. We plan to see a French film (without subtitles!), have a nice lunch, and tie up loose ends. Soon we will decide whether we'll go in to the center of Paris or stay in the suburbs due to the general strike that is scheduled for today. I'm also speaking with a few possible schools for the exchange next year. Hopefully we'll find some Parisians who would like to visit Iowa! Most request to be on the coasts. I'll need to pull out the midwest charm for this one.

Paris Treasures

Lori: It's so much fun seeing Paris with Elizabeth, because I don't think I have yet needed to look at a map! She really knows her way around! Today we started with the Petit Nicolas exhibition (the line was too long yesterday), then went to the Champs-Elysees for the best lunch yet(goat cheese salad #2 for me- #3 for Eliz), then took some amazing photos of the Arc de Triomphe. We were in search of some precious Parisian treasures today, macarons from the famous La Duree, French shoes, a Tour de France flag for my classroom, and real French notebooks from the Gilbert Jeune bookstore. We stopped in the Quartier Latin for a drink before heading home early today. There is a possible strike tonight and tomorrow in Paris and we wanted to avoid any conjestion in the subways. We aren't sure yet if we will be able to go into Paris tomorrow, but we have plans to see a French film either way. Dinner tonight was divine- Raclette (delicious assortment of charcuterie with melted fromage), salade verte, and the most amazing salade de fruits. We are SO spoiled by our host family! Yum!

French Conversation

Lori: You might think that we are only here to eat and shop, but the we are also enjoying the French conversation! It feels so good for that French part of my brain to be immersed in the langauge. Talking with our host family, people we meet in Paris, and the waitors and people working in the stores gives me a great "workout" in French, and I am picking up lots of new words and expressions. It was expecially interesting when we visited the high school. One of the students asked us why we chose to study French. We explained that we have loved the language since we first heard it, and that to Americans, French sounds very musical. We asked the students what English sounded like to them, and they responded, "it sounds like business". Interesting. The students also wanted to know how we felt about Obama as our new president.
Today we are looking forward to our stroll on the Champs-Elysees. It should be another perfect day in Paris!

Tasty Tuesday!

Elizabeth: Today was a picture-perfect day in Paris. As always, we did a lot of walking and eating. Our lunch was a crepe on Rue Brisemiche, next to the Stravinsky water fountain and Pompidou Center. We did some shopping for school things and also a few personal items. Our official birthday dinner was on the Ile-St.-Louis, which is the small island just over the bridge from Notre Dame. We enjoyed foie gras, duck (me) and coq au vin (Lori). Absolutely delicious and a beautiful, traditional atmosphere. After dinner, we were crossing the bridge to take the metro and we crossed paths with chef Mario Batali. I was caught too off guard to ask for a photo, so you'll just have to believe me! What can we say - chefs and eaters alike enjoy hanging out in foodland. So much fun!

Another sunny day in Paris!

Lori: Today it may reach 17 degrees Celsius, which means another gorgeous day to enjoy this amazing city. We had a very long day yesterday, so we had no difficulty sleeping until 10 this morning. I must say that I am becoming very spoiled as each morning Jean-Claude serves us a French breakfast of "real" coffee, yummy bread and jams, yogurt, and juice, not to mention the conversation in French! Today we will take the train into Paris to the Hotel de Ville to see a free exposition of "Le Petit Nicolas", a famous series of books by Goscinny/Sempe, then we have a more shopping, lunching, and site seeing to do! Today we will take photos of the Arc de Triomphe and take a stroll on the Champs Elysees, meet for a coffee with some of Elizabeth's French friends,and tonight we are staying later in Paris to have a special dinner to celebrate our birthdays together!

Monday Festivities

Elizabeth: This morning we helped with three English classes. It's always interesting to hear what questions the French students have, and to make comparisons between French and American schools. After classes, we headed to the Trocadero area to take photos of the Eiffel Tower (of course) and then had lunch on a cafe terrace. A shopping spree at Galeries Lafayette followed, including a visit at the amazing gourmet section. Then we met up with our friend Marine for a short catch-up before heading back to the house. Viviane and Jean-Claude were waiting for us to share a beautiful Morrocan Tagine, made of lamb, olives, and candied lemons - just delicious.