Paris continues to be absolutely amazing.

On Thursday night, I went to see the play Richard III, by Shakespeare, at a small theater on the outskirts of Paris as part of our intensive one week "stage" (our advanced language course). The play was....interesting. The directer took a modern approach to the play by having it translated into French with all of the characters coming from contemporary society (i.e. the used cellphones, etc). The actor who played Richard III, was made to look deformed, and as such he wore a variety of braces and had "skin" dangling from one arm. However, I think that more interesting than the play itself was the usage of lights. The stage was white and angled, and images were continuously projected onto it, creating a very powerful image. Overall I had fun, and understood the majority of what was happening.

Friday was the end of stage (yippee!), and I had a wonderful evening with Marie (a good friend from Senator Kennedy's office), and her friend Pauline! It was such a memorable night! I met Marie at the Louvre, and she took me on a walking tour of Paris. We went to the shop, Au Printemps, which has an observation deck on the top floor. The view was amazing!!! Marie was an excellent tour guide and was able to tell me all about the city! Then we went to, as Marie described it, the "Japanese version of H&M", a large store called UniQlo which is new to Paris but very popular. After shopping we went back to the Louvre to meet up with Marie's friend Pauline who is a student at the Louvre. She is extremely nice, and although I was nervous about my french, I felt very comfortable talking with her and Marie about all sorts of things. The three of us then went to the Champs- Elysées, one of the most famous streets in Paris. At the end of the street is the Arc de Triomphe, which is HUGE. We were able to actually go inside of the arc and go to an observation tower at the top! The view was once again spectacular, and I took a lot of great photos! After, the three of us went back to Pauline's house and she and Marie made me French crepes! For dinner we had ham and cheese crepes (which were the yummiest things I think I have ever had), and then sweet crepes for desert! I was so happy to see Marie, and it was great to make a new friend! Overall this was probably one of the best nights that I have spent in Paris!

On Saturday morning, Anne-Marie took us to the Chateau Chantilly, which is about an hour North of Paris. It is absolutely beautiful! There is a race track on the grounds, and a huge stable. We were able to go on a short tour of the inside of the Chateau, and then we got to wander around by ourselves. Jenna, Christine and I decided to climb inside a mote (with no water) to take pictures of ourselves with giant statues. I had a lot of fun! That night, I went to a disco-tech club with a bunch of friends, and had a great time! The music was fun, and there was a cool light show with different colored lights, fog, and strobe lights.

I also went to Notre Dame this week. The building is breathtaking. Inside the cathedral is equally stunning. We didn't climb the towers, but what we did see was amazing. I cannot really describe the feelings that I had at Notre Dame, but it is truly a magical place.

Below is a link for more photos, Enjoy!!

bisous

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036482&id=1238850156&l=c19d645298