A
big group of us (9 people) went to Paris for the weekend. We hopped the
train on a Friday evening, and played cards most of the way. I taught some
of the others cribbage, so we played a four person game. I can't remember
the last time I played cards, so it was all good. Our train arrived around
9pm, which meant that 
we
went right away to the hotel and dropped our junk. Of course, that meant
that 10 o'clock was rolling around, and I still hadn't gone for dinner.
So, we walked about ten minutes from our hotel, and found the Latin Quarter.
Dinner was excellent, and was followed by a night out drinking, in an artsy
pub with lots of 70's style music and posters all around.
Saturday was my day to be a tourist. We (Sandra & I) left our place
(near the Sorbonne), and walked along the river from Notre Dame, the Louvre,
les petit et grande palaces, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel
Tower, the Peace Monument, Napolean's tomb, the Military Museum, the fashion
district, and then met up with the rest of the group for dinner. We had
had Ben and Jerry's for lunch, then a second lunch at a cafe where we played
chess. Dinner was at 
9:30
or so, and we split again, half of us going out for Sushi. I miss sushi.
That was when we got seated next to the two Canadians, Erica Richler, and
a second girl from BC/McGill, studying at Hebrew U. The night ended with
drinks at a pretty chill (but expensive) pub, drinking Tequila sunrises.
Sunday was much the same, except raining. Four of us took off for the
Musee d'Orsay, where we spent a few hours checking out all the great paintings.
The architecture exhibit sucked, but the paintings, and especially the
statues, were 
excellent.
Lunch, so as not to be outdone as an experience worth remembering, was
steak tartare (it tasted pretty good, but I'll never order it again). Then,
off we went to storm the Bastille, which hasn't been re-erected since it
was last stormed, and the Sacre Coeur. The latter was gorgeous, and had
a great view of the city. The little neighbourhood just down the hill from
it was also quite quaint, with great cafes that allowed us to recoup our
energy. Then back to the train station and home. (The pictures have not
yet been developed, as I'm still fighting with the lab, trying to get a
roll of Prague pictures back, although the rest of the winter vacation
pics are up on my site now).
Since
then, I've been pretty busy with school and with looking for an apartment
in Boston. I've been primarily been working on this moot court competition
that will be presented at the European Court of Human Rights, in front
of three ECHR justices. That'll be over this Tuesday, which means that
I'll have a week to study for exams, work out all the details for Boston,
and then I'm gone!!! Oh, and I've been out relaxing, eating, dancing, and
enjoying my remaining time in Strasbourg before I go gallavanting in the
States. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to go skiing, so I guess
I'll have to come back next year.
(The Eiffel Tower, the little Arc de Triomphe, and the Sorbonne.)
