The view from my window.... I forgot to add this picture, but it's one of my favorites!

Mostly, I just want to post pictures for your viewing pleasure... but pictures might not say much without a bit of explanation, so I guess I will have to put forth a little effort and actually write something...

** click on the pictures to make them bigger if you want!**

Left: James Morrison's grave - pretty understated, but a must see in the Pere-Lachaise cemetery.
Right: some crazy spider webs in a tomb, Pere-Lachaise cemetery

a tiny yellow dahlia... my favorite :)

the reason why scooters are necessary in Paris.

Mont St. Michel with our new friend - a gift from a bartender... his name is Perrier (the little figurine, not the bartender...) He will be making frequent appearances in future photo albums.

bus trip back to Paris - starting to feel a bit delirious i think.

So happy to be at school! this is me and Kaitlin at the Catholic Institute of Paris - the place where we are supposed to have to actually do some WORK... hard to imagine, I know.

the gardens at Versailles. We spent all day there on Tuesday.

Dani and Kaitlin at the Louvre. By the way, I promise we have other friends... but Kaitlin is just so pretty. and she's in all my pictures. Thus, you will continue to see a lot of her.

He made it to the Louvre too...

either the picture is crooked or the tower is... You decide :) But there you have it folks, I'm in Paris!

making faces...

we went on a boat cruise this morning on the Seine. A bit cold, but a great view of Paris from a new angle.

I didn't photoshop this picture, I swear! I just put my camera on the black and white setting and snapped this shot from a boat as we drove by! I'm pretty proud of my artistic skills...

Me at Sacre Coeur this morning... a really beautiful day. we sat on those steps in the sunshine and listened to a guy play his guitar for over an hour.

My room - looks spacious from this picture, but keep in mind, that "twin" bed is actually only about 2/3 the size of your standard twin... I lovingly call the space my own little matchbox.

my funny little bathroom... you can actually sit on the toilet, be washing your hands and taking a shower all at the same time. Convenient, no?

Well that's all for now folks, I hope you enjoyed the photo synopsis of the past week in Paris! I got my class schedule on Wednesday, I am taking five courses but I have monday and friday off (PERFECT) so I will be doing quite a bit of traveling around!

Love to you all!

Weekend in Normandy

I spent the weekend at St. Malo and Mont St. Michel – two beautiful towns on the northern coast of France. I am still amazed at the historic masterpieces that surround me… seemingly too ancient to be standing, but somehow preserved for my viewing pleasures (and for the hoards of other tourists toting digital cameras and Jansport backpacks… ah, the joy of organized trips ☺). I think this past weekend spent in Normandy will be my first and last experience using a French tour guide. I have come to learn that I – apparently – do not play well with others. Or at least I don’t enjoy storming a historical site via tour bus! Still, the sites were amazing… a must see for anyone traveling to France.
We spent our day today getting acquainted with the neighborhood that surrounds the Catholic Institute of Paris (the sixth arrondisement). Since this is where I will be going to school several days a week (hopefully no more than three, I’ll keep my fingers crossed...) it’s fairly important that I know the area. Le Jardin du Luxembourg – one of the many incredible parks Paris has to offer – is just down the street. It should make for the perfect spot to grab a sandwich and “fait un pic nic” between classes.
Speaking of food… let me assure you all that I have NOT gone hungry in the past week. From salmon fillets to nutella crepes, the French are certainly living up to their reputation as far as food goes. And the café is heavenly. Turns out these Europeans have the espresso shot perfected as an art.
Just received my school schedule today, so I’ll make sure to post my vacations, just in case any of you are thinking about following through on your threats to come visit me ☺ Just let me know if you are headed this way!

Finally, Paris.

Je suis arrivé! Our flight landed at the Charles de Gaulle airport just before 7am Paris time on Tuesday – and after a long night of little sleep sitting next to a woman wearing WAY too much perfume, I had finally arrived in the city of lights… and the airport was fairly painless. A short trip on the RER took us to the Metro where we stopped at our final destination: stop Pernety on line 13. A quaint part of town is where I call home – off the beaten path, some might say. Still, there are cafés on every corner and a woman carrying a fresh baguette seems to be always within sight! Bakeries, butcher shops, ‘fromageries’ – they’re all here. I’m not in Boulder anymore, Toto.
We were shown to le Foyer Didot – my new home – and after dropping off over a hundred pounds of luggage, we (myself, my friend Kaitlin, and Sean, another GU student) spent the afternoon fighting off jet lag and wandering the streets of the 14th arrondisement.
Waking up today was a bit of a reality-check: I really am going to be living HERE – in this matchbox sized bedroom – for the next ten months. My walls are still bare. I’m sleeping in my sleeping bag to save myself from the questionable sheets that were provided for me. My bathroom seriously resembles a one-man-linoleum-bombshell. But, this is home, so I had better make it comfortable – or at the very least, cozy! I ran some errands today to help the place a bit… Photos coming soon ☺.
I spent about an hour in a park this morning where I found a free WiFi connection – the internet doesn't work in my building, so I’m getting creative. But I’m toying with the idea of purchasing a router so I can use the internet as I please. Would be nice… But the park is beautiful, lively, lush, and right across the street from where I live – c’est très pratique, non?
After a very informative meeting with Marie Claire, the whole group met for lunch at café two blocks away from Foyer Didot. Lunch was fantastic – complete with a starter of Kir flavored with framboise, appetizer of pesto-tomato-mozzarella salad, and a fillet of salmon atop spinach and potatoes, and of course, finished with une Café – the most delicious espresso shot I have tasted in recent memory. After a great meal, Renalt – a young French guy hired by Gonzaga to show us around our neighborhoods – gave us a tour of the 14th arrondisement, providing us with all kinds of helpful hints (where is the pharmacy? Grocery store? Post office? Metro Stops? Cold Beer? Cheap beer? Better beer? Etc…)
This evening we took our first solo voyage on the metro up to the sixth arrondisement to visit the ladies living in the other Foyer – a beautiful location right on the river. Walked for a while, ate dinner at a creperie, and wandered over to the Notre Dame where we happened upon a professional model and photographer doing a photoshoot – a good source of entertainment.
This city is a beautiful, beautiful place. I can already see myself falling in love with it. And the language? Ah, oui… I have been pleasantly surprised in the past 48 hours to find that I am understanding quite a bit. Not everything, but definitely enough. And it will only get easier, or so I hear.
That’s all for now, it’s late and while my internal clock has NO idea what time it is, my body wants to go to bed ☺.
Love to you all,
--dani

Two Short Weeks.

Two weeks from today I will be leaving for Paris - finally! All I have to do is pack...

I have been in Spokane, Washington for the past four days spending some quality time with dear friends before I take off. Leaving these people and this place for a whole year will make my heart ache - I feel like I just got here. But the great news is that I will be seeing several of them through my travels in Europe... and our lives will reconvene in this wacky city for our senior year of college (somehow the dreadful ending of these incredible four years seems to be right around the corner...)

Can't wait for life in the city of Lights.... come visit me? Everyone?!