the last week of November...It's been awhile since I posted and I apologize for the delay but things have been quite busy in our neighborhood. With the COP21 in progress (coming to a close this week actually), our streets have been lined with even more police officers/military officials (good god, so many officers around here) and fancy cars carrying prestigious people. Unfortunately, the invite to these elite debates and decision-making conferences was not extended our way (don't think I won't forget that) but I enjoyed imaging the spectacle from the outside looking in. Paris is completely covered in decorations and the spirit of Christmas is in the air. But before I begin reminiscing on the first week of December I can't forget to mention our Mexican-styled Thanksgiving with some American friends we've made abroad. Then the following night we had a friends-giving with kids from our school packed with traditional Thanksgiving foods including sweet potatoes with marshmallows on the top?!? (Not something I've ever seen before and way too sweet for a main-course side if I may say) I'll never forget my eyes when I looked at the food on display wondering where the green dishes (salad, green beans, even broccoli) were? I was rather disappointed in the lack of vegetables. The night ended up at our favorite street lined with bars and some run-ins with Phi Kap's from SDSU. We also decided to go on an adventure and headed to the beautiful palace at Versailles. Boy oh boy do I have expectations for the home I live in when I grow up. The palace was immaculate and the grounds were massive; I could wander them for ages. Not to mention I'm jealous of the folks that live nearby and get to run the grounds daily for free! My favorite material, next to leather, is velvet and the classy folks that lived here designed a room where the wall was lined with green velvet fabric (s'pop). The hall of mirrors was to die for with the perfect amount of natural lighting that would make any architecture jump for joy. Just walking the grounds made me want to go back in time and relive these royal days. I can only image the trouble and fun the people who lived here got into back in the day. As pre usual, November ended as it began, hopeful for the coming month and in need of a restful night sleep. it's my birthday, i'll thrive if i want to..Nothing says it's your birthday weekend like your best friend flying into town from Madrid to help celebrate with you. Big shoutout to Hannah and Nina for making this my favorite birthday yet and weekend abroad. I've spend the past three days recovering from the weekends festivities and can't stop smiling when I think about them. Hannah arrived on Thursday evening and after quickly eating we headed to our school's end of the year party at an Irish Pub down the street. We arrived and surprise it was a birthday event (not for me but who cares it's always my birthday around here). The night escalated quickly and we ended up at a club off Champs-Elysées called Cartel where we got into some good trouble that made us rather hungover the following morning. Needless to say when we woke up at 12 we knew that we had to rally and show Hannah the true beauty of our city while also hitting all the major tourist spots. To fill our stomachs up and recover from the hangover, we headed to our favorite sandwich guy Chez Alain Miam Miam! (Definitely a must try if you ever visit Paris, we're on a first name basis since we go there weekly) After stuffing our faces and Nina almost passing out (Thursday night obviously got the best of her) we embarked on walking the city. I bought myself my beautiful birthday present at Florian Denicourt (omg its gorgeous, s'pop) that I've been eyeing since the moment I walked into the boutique. A Parisian designer, with one showroom located in the Le Marais, I purchased the Jumelle Croc: a black, leather tote that is marvelous. It was nice to relive all the tourist sights and be able to show someone our magnificent home. I loved being a tour guide for the weekend, taking my best friend to all the spots I spend countless hours experiencing the world while learning about myself. We passed by the Eiffel Tour, Tulieres Gardens, Lourve (went inside only to see the Mona Lisa), Champs-Elysées (a sight to see during the daytime too) and the Christmas markets. After having walked almost 12 miles, we headed home to eat dinner before embarking on celebrating my 21st birthday. The previous night at Cartel we ran into some friends from school who decided to take us out to celebrate my 21st on Friday night. The boys were from Morocco, very regal and extremely fun. We pre-gamed at their apartment (which was to-die-for-pop) before we went out to a club called Matignon. All in all it was an extremely pop way to celebrate your 21st in Paris filled with bottle service, dancing on tables and great friends who were equally enthusiastic and thriving individuals as myself. Big shoutout to those boys and lets do it again sometime! The night ended with a 6am uber ride home and a rough wake-up call at lunchtime remembering that it was my birthday so we were obligated to brunch. We headed to Paperboy and devoured a delicious brunch (pictured above) filled with poached eggs, avocado toast, coffee and a juice. Following brunch we decided to be cultural and went to the The Grand Palais to check out the Louis Vuitton exhibit. For the first museum (beside the Louvre) that Nina and I have been to it was pretty cool. The exhibit was all about the history of the trunks they've made as you walked through centuries of Louis Vuitton products. Definitely made me inclined to want to purchase a trunk of my own one day to put at the end of my bed (hint-hint Mom and Dad). My birthday ended with a sunset at Sacré-Cœur (a great view spot of Paris) with peanut-butter chocolate cupcakes (thanks Nina and Hannah for embracing my love of peanut-butter) which were delicious. Dinner was back in our studio and we spent the final night of the birthday weekend at Queen. the final countdown..With the birthday weekend over (and no I don't feel any older or wiser), Nina and I are finishing up the semester with our last week of classes as we prepare for finals. In hopes of experiencing what we can of Paris with our limited time left Nina and I are trying to conquer the city's museums and landmarks. Yesterday, our classes got canceled (no surprise there) so we decided to go to the Musee-D'Orsay and walked through an exhibition called Splendors and Miseries. The exhibition displayed art about prostitution in Paris during the 19th and 20th century. From the erotic images, photographs, even films to magnificent furniture and paintings, Nina and I got a great touch of culture and history. I was very impressed and fascinated to learn about this piece of Parisian history that isn't normally addressed or discussed. We also took a stop at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore as well as the Holocaust Memorial behind the Notre-Dame. There's only 11 days left until our flight back to the mainland and Nina and I are anxious for our arrival back home. Needless to say I know that I'll miss this beautiful city, my daily runs along Le Seine and the magical skyline. I'm forever grateful for this experience and all its taught me these past four months. As I spend the next few days crammed up in coffee shops studying, learning history in museums and trying to pack my life into two suitcases, I'll be reminding myself that the time left is precious.
Love you. Mean it.
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Kelsey DolbyMay we experience it all: the extraordinary and the ordinary Chronicles
January 2016
Experiences
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