Day 1 - Paris

Since I am pretending to be interested in the new Macbook to get internet for free, I'll keep it sweet and short:

Mission Impossible was possible! Me and my three pieces of luggage...

... that weighed at least as much as I did managed to fly to Paris altogether, enter my friend's appartment according to veery specific information and I am on the streets of Paris with only my backpack. Yay!! That was at least one of the biggest unknowns in this whole episode. Which made me realize: obviously, for longer distances my backpack is pretty heavy. Fortunately, today was one of the longer days for me to carry it; and that will also help to pace me if I go off on one of those 'I want to run around the city without break the whoooole day!' rants. With backpack, a break per hour is extremely necessary. But I have time, right?

So I had picknick (baguette!) in the Jardin de Luxembourg and took a mini-nap at the shore of the Seine after feeling pretty drowsy, probably due to jetlag.

I also went to look at Sciences Po, which I couldn't quite find right away (the delight of non-symmetric streets!) and when I did, it was rather anti-climatic. It's located in a gorgeous area, but the main building at least which I found (there have to be more!) made a rather old-time charm but run-down impression, as though it hadn't been renovated in decades. That is France's pride and best-known polisci institute?? I reminded myself that I'm coming for the language, the classes and the teachers and not the greatest technology and architecture, but it did get me wondering, because Sciences Po has by God enough famous alumni... I guess it's the whole plunge in the unknown that is scary...

Nevertheless, I walked over to the Louvre and discovered a huge, brand-new shopping mall downstairs that starts at the glass pyramid (therefore the Apple store exploitation). Interesting, how culture and mass consumption are closer and closer linked...

Well, I might have dinner in a little street bistro before taking my night-train.. Il faut vivre à la parisienne quand on est ici!! (Update - I did find a cute little creperie. Yum!)