First Week in Paris Complete!

Wow, what a week its been! I feel like we've done so much but we've barely scratched the surface!

These past few days we've been settling into the apartments, wandering around our new abodes, and getting to know the area we're in. For a few more days we were plagued by jetlag. It's gotten better but I still wake up at 7:30 every morning surprised to find that even the sun hasn't gotten up yet. In fact  the sun doesn't rise until about 8:30 and until then, the streets are quiet and the city is still only thinking about waking up. I think it sets the leisurely tone that is so prevalent in French culture and daily routine. I could get used to this.

My second day here one of my friends, a foreign exchange student we hosted a couple years back, came to Paris to visit me in Montparnasse. He's a baker's apprentice and was on his way to Strausbourg in the east to stage a few weeks in a bakery as part of his apprenticeship. It was so great to see a familiar face! It was when he came that I had the guts to go into a sit-down restaurant and go through the process of ordering a meal for myself from a French server. As it turns out, the French eat much later in the day than Americans do. Lunch is typically around noon but has a tendency to be drawn out until about 2 or 3. Dinner is around 7pm with most people coming out at around 8 or 9.

Since my first time in a restaurant and arriving at the dorms, my friends and I have tried different brasseries wherever we are. I've tried classics like croque madame and soup a l'ognion gratinee, and of course plenty of coffee. None have disappointed and always the service is the most courteous and unobtrusive. It's been the best way to just enjoy new found friends while trying la cuisine francaise. I don't even wanna think about the day I have to leave this all behind :

 First meal: Savory tarte (eggy, but not dense and cheesy like a quiche) with chicken and mushrooms, sweet and tangy carrot salad, tomato couscous, green salad comes with most every meal usually with a light mystery dressing.

 Croque Madames are a bistro classic- either open face like this or like a sandwich with ham in the middle and broiled on top with a fried egg. Amaaaazing. Croque Monsieurs are the same thing but without the egg. Still yummy either way! Bakeries across town also sell them premade and cheaper for you to bring home (emporter) and warm up and have at home.

 Creme Brulee- No meal would be complete without dessert! Even if you aren't in a patisserie all restaurants have amazing desserts that probably come from the surrounding patisseries anyways. Same with the wine, same with the bread. Nothing in Paris disappoints!

I had been dying to try this for so long! Soup a l'ognion gratinee is French onion soup usually made with caramelized onions and beef stock. Topped with cheese and toasted bread, it was perfect for the super chilly windy days that we've been having. And of course, fries. I dipped them in my soup :)

Speaking of bread, one Parisien tradition that is so easy to get accustomed to is buying our daily bread at the local  bakeries (boulangeries). In the morning we stop by to grab a croissant or brioche before class, and in the afternoon or evening we come back for a baguette for meals. And this is normal! The bakeries and patisseries also sell mouthwatering pastries and sandwiches to go. Fast food is something different here, even the McDonalds (MacDo) seem more gourmet than in the States. There are also an abundance of Middle Eastern and Chinese to go shops along the streets as well selling everything from dim sum specialties to halal and gyros. Now that I've mastered the restaurant process, it's time to try more ethnic cuisine from the different nationalities that have immigrated here over time. French colonization has brought North African, Turkish, Jewish, and Carribbean fast food here for quite cheap. This weekend is Chinese New Year, and being Vietnamese I'm making it a mission to find pho in Paris when we go to the 13e arrondissement for celebrations and amazing Asian food.

Looking forward to discovering the rest of Paris as a touring student. It's definitely worth coming here as a student and actually living here for a while, immersing in the student life as opposed to being a tourist and relying on hearsay and curiosity.