The beginnings of a life...

 Here come the pictures! I figured I would go ahead and some some pictures of my "apartment" here. That's in quotes because it's tiny. But adorable! I also met my first neighbor today. She was super friendly and nice, and also young. And for bonus points she not only kind of speaks english, but wants to practice. Awesome. Though I believe she may have been taking her cat on a walk... so there's that.

 My kitchen came equipped with a mini-fridge, washer, induction plate and some very strange microwave thing. I'm still attempting to learn the appliances, but today I did make my first trip to get groceries and managed to scrape together two meals. Carbohydrates being the main component of both... that's okay, right?

The bathroom is tiny (notice a theme?) but serves its purpose well, and the shower has these odd sliding doors on it!

The view out my window and the room from another view. Along with my twin bed I recently discovered I have a second mattress under my bed, and an inflatable mattress. I'm not even sure this room could fit that many beds, but visitors are welcome!

 This is the exterior of the building I'm living in and I'm quite fond of it. This was also the first picture I took before my journey out today. I had the whole day free after I bought groceries so I decided to walk to the Louvre. I say walk, but it really took me a solid hour and a half, though I knew that it would. It was quite a nice stroll and I got to see a fair amount of Paris along the way.

To start with I really enjoy the whole walking aspect of Paris. Having spent a majority of my life in cities that are severely stricken with urban sprawl and where public transit is lacking at best, Paris is quite refreshing. The weather has been beautiful and it makes walking around very nice. It's been hovering around freezing the whole time I've been here, but that's pretty manageable and once you have walked for a little you don't feel it at all. We will see if I still hold my opinions of walking when the weather isn't so nice. Ie. It is supposed to rain soon and I have neither an umbrella or waterproof shoes, so I should work on that.

The Louvre!

On the subject of fashion however, never has my drab wardrobe felt so at home. I am notorious for rarely wearing colors or if I do venture into the realm of color it is usually a dark purple, grey, or brown. But Paris was made for me! Or rather, I was made for Paris. I fit right in. There is nothing but black as far as the eye can see. Score.

Either way, I walked to the Louvre which is insanely huge. Like I had always been told how big it was, but it was nearly unfathomable. I don't see how you could even see the whole Louvre in a week. Yea, that big.

After my jaunt to the Louvre I grabbed a quick lunch and hopped on the metro to make my way home. The metro is such a great system and so so quick. I am starting to feel more confident in my navigation skills and its just so damn easy.

The line I took pops me out right across the street from my school, pictured on the right, and I walked the rest of the way home.

I'm starting to feel more comfortable and at home. It was so nice to venture out today, but I'm really looking forward to orientation tomorrow and seeing what the next few months hold. The information the school gave us was rather lacking, so I'm hoping to get a good grasp on things tomorrow. I have now stayed up past 9 pm, which was my goal, and I think I will now reward myself with bed and the hopes of not waking up at 4 am again tomorrow.

à bientôt!