2 Rue Frederic Magisson otherwise known as The Great Triumvirate

So, I finally caved and I decided to make a blog about my French adventure (I expect my mother is jumping for joy at the sight of this).   Generally, I am horrible about keeping journals, taking photos or making any kind of lasting memories at all.   However,  NOT THIS TIME.  I am in France and loving  it, so when I go home and try to convince everyone that I actually enjoyed myself (for once), I'll need tangible evidence that I didn't just find a musty french library to hold up in for 9 months.

Voilà! Here it is....

The Great Triumvirate Residence

I've been in Paris for a little over a week now and 2 Rue Frederic Magisson is feeling more and more like home (mostly because it already needs to be cleaned, a very familiar state indeed).  Seriously though, my roommates and I are beyond lucky, our apartment is great and the amount of bureaucracy we had to deal with to get it was limited....unheard of in France (Sciences Po is another story)!

In the realm of culture shock, I have to say its been minimal, with the exception of dogs and people slobbering all over each other on the metro.  College students are college students no matter where they come from,  kids here aren't all that refined....no wine and cheese parties seen thus far, just lots of beer and shouting at passerby.  

I think that is enough for now, too much has happened in the past week to really organize into a comprehensible blog post so I think doing some more living is necessary before really getting this into full swing.

Some food for thought/ Parisian sensibilities I've accrued in the past week:

1. Parc des Buttes Chaumont: Lovely scenic picnic spot with adorable French children running around during the day.  BUT, glorified brothel at night.  Amazing how much a sunset can change a place, probably a bad idea to go there after 8pm....unless that's your cup of tea, no judgment I suppose seeing as prostitution was the world's first and most lucrative profession.

2. Public Toilets: If you need to pee, have no fear, public toilets are here! Seriously, so many people refuse to use them and I have no idea why.  They sanitize themselves after each use and they talk to you! Choose the eco friendly flush button and you get a lovely message about how you're saving the planet (Go you!).  Bladder relief and and ego stroke! Please note that you still may find these disgusting (not that bars are any better), I just have very few problems using sub-par toilets...thanks to my Dad who made me dig holes in the woods to go in as a child on camping trips! 

3. Digicodes are a joke: It's so easy to break into a building that my roommate and I did it on accident while trying to find Chronopost to pick up her phone.  Making the code the address of the building was obviously a terrible idea, but now I am more appreciative of the quality of our building.

Favorite French Things:

- Desperados: Yes it's beer, yes it has tequila in it...don't count it out though, it tastes like lime, amazing!

-Almond Croissant:  I think Toulouse Lautrec got his inspiration from these, screw Absinthe.

-House Boats:  Chilling on the Seine, they have their own little colony, complete with gardens on the        shore and a bank of mailboxes.  Perfect to run past.