A New Spin on Syllabus Week!

Time has flown this past week, but at the same time I struggle to remember what I did on Monday!  I cannot believe the number of things we have managed to see and do on top of going to the first week of classes! Definitely not like syllabus week in America!  First off, our professors are incredible people. Every single day I left class in complete shock at the things they have managed to accomplish and the lessons they are going to be able to bestow on us. Our Product Development class is taught by two extremely funny, very passionate men who have not only created their own men's high end lingerie line, but also help to create textile trends for Texworld.  We have a trend forecasting professor who runs his own business, a Visual Merchandising woman who has not only created her own company, but also worked for Gucci, The Monet- Hennessy Louis-Vitton Group, and Hermes, as well as a French History of Costume professor who is requiring us to go to so many exhibits around Paris and explore.  It was definitely a shock to have homework again, and with this beautiful city out my window it's going to be a challenge to sit inside and do research and reports, but so far a lot of assignments seem like they will involve going out and studying trends, people, stores and visiting exhibits so that's great news! 

Luxembourg Gardens

One day after class we ventured off to the Latin Quarter of Paris which is on the other side of the Seine.  This area was by far my favorite part of Paris so far, I would do anything to spend afternoons in the park doing homework by the fountains! There are dangerously cute shops, and then the Luxembourg Gardens! The gardens are breath taking, with flowers, fountains, sail boats kids can rent and push around the water, playgrounds, tennis courts, and even palm trees!! We met an artist, Henry who was sketching the most amazing little picture of the palace by the water. He turned out to be a French student who was dying to go study in New York. Funny how that works, people from Paris die to travel to NY and people from NY die to travel to Paris. We stopped to get dinner before returning home, and I treated myself to a nice BIG warm meal.  French onion soup, bread, and beef bourguignon with pasta which amazing!!! Not as good as Nanny's Christmas dinner, but for someone who has been eating lots of to go sandwiches and salads it hit the spot. 

The other day we planned to sit and eat lunch down by the Seine, but when the weather got cloudy we decided to explore some thrift shops near us and learned a very valuable lesson about the metro line we live on...don't head East.  After stepping off the Metro and realizing we weren't in Kansas anymore we decided to head down to the Islands in between the left and right banks and check out Notre Dame. The sun came out and we made our way over the Seine. The bells were chiming as we stood outside the Cathedral, and it was amazing to think how old the building really was. 

I plan on coming back someday soon to tour the inside, but we took a seat in the gardens near it and people watched for a while.  We even saw two brides! Then we carried on towards The Lock Bridge.  For those who don't know, this is a bridge where couples come and place a lock to represent their unbreakable love for each other, then throw the key into the water.  For a hopeless romantic like myself this was so cool to see, and definitely something to add to my bucket list! We then walked to the smaller Ile St. Louis which was so quaint and just very "Parisian."  The stores are super cute, and we got sandwiches and sat on the river looking at Notre Dame and watching boats go by. There is honestly one ice cream shop every three stores here, so naturally we got ice cream and walked around a little more. I have my eye on a plum suede jacket in one store here, so it's safe to say I will be returning soon :) XOXO from Paris

View of Notre Dame from  Ile Saint Louis