it's finally spring!

Happy Spring! :) This month, classes have been pretty crazy. I think in just the last two weeks, I’ve only slept in my bed around four or five times, while the rest, I’m up really late, grabbing a couple hours of sleep on the couch, or just not sleeping at all.

At Le Bon Marché, close to my university

And in news about France, there have been shootings in Southwestern France, more notably, Toulouse at a Jewish school, where four people were killed. We had a moment of silence for them yesterday during class. And there was also a bombing at the Indonesian embassy in Paris this morning (the 21^st of March). None of this has to do with me, and I’ll get back to my usual blogging now, but just thought I’d bring it up and hopefully, you’ll keep the people affected in your prayers!

The book store in Le Bon Marché

I haven’t had much time to do much besides studying, writing essays and presentations, etc. So here are just some random pictures, some of which are from Lyon and Morocco, since people are just putting up photos that I’m stealing :P This weekend, I’m actually headed back to Lyon to visit my friends, which I’m really excited about! :) Anyway, enjoy the pictures!   

Lots of food pictures in this post - more cooking experiments. :) tofu with mushrooms and bell peppers

pork with courgette and mushrooms

getting ready to go to the campsite in the desert (sorry, some pictures may be out of order.. or a lot)

terriyaki rice bowl in the japanese quarter (but unfortunately at a chinese-run japanese restaurant =\)

every week, i manage to buy my favorite macarons at my favorite macaron shop since it's quite close to my university - rose on the right and salted caramel on the left

i love this city <3

the back of the opéra garnier 

inside Galeries Lafayette

same as above

my lunch - strawberries with a fresh baguette and butter (french butter is muchhh better than anything we have back home!)

lunch in Morocco

with two of my favorite people in lyon - lizzie and jenny :)

in annecy with guyanné and marcus

ikea trip with lizzie in lyon (i was pretty close to buying a veggie for myself)

with brigi and kata at Rochetaillée sur Saône

with guyanné and lizzie at the amphitheatre on Fourvière 

at Romanèche-Thorins for wine tasting

mini golfing at Romanèche Thorins :) 

on the dromadaires in the desert!

Morocco - i think we were waiting for the bathroom or something..

mont st michel.

dinner in paris (it was quite expensive!)

with my german friend bianca in paris - met in lyon and she let me stay with her in paris till i found a place :) (and introduced my roommate and i!) :)

breakfast at 4am, break from studying..

at one of paris' awesome 'after work' nights (similar to happy hour i guess, but all you can eat and drink of what they have)

yumm - crêpe with chicken and spinach and crême fraiche

paris on a rainy day - forgot my umbrella and my scarf got so soaked on the walk to church from the metro that i had to wring it out! 

pasta with broccoli and feta

tea collection chez moi :)

this is where i spent most of my last two weeks...

 

adding more and more pictures to our wall :)

it's sunny and i'm stuck inside :(

beautiful day in paris - so i chose to walk home from class :)

gyoza at a japanese restaurant - first time we tried to go, it wasn't open yet and we were too hungry to wait. second time, we were too late and it was already full. third time, got there ten minutes early and were the first to be seated! (everyone else showed up like two minutes before and it was CROWDED!) 

yummm

and done.. :P

the group in the desert with the nomads

st patrick's day multicultural potluck :)

st patricks day potluck

st patricks day in front of notre dame :)

since i may never graduate from cambridge...

This last weekend, I traveled to Cambridge. I was meeting up with my friend, Guyanné (I studied with her in Lyon), and her roommate, Adeline, who were flying in from Lyon, while I was flying in from Paris. I was really excited to see them since it'd been two months since I'd seen Guyanné in London for New Year's, and even longer since I'd seen Adeline. 

It was a pretty hectic day from the start. After a long day of classes and packing, I headed off to the airport. What should have been a 10-15 min bus ride to the train station to catch the train to the airport turned into a 20 min ride for half the distance, so I ended up getting off to run/walk to the station. And when I got to the airport, I only had 5-10 minutes before the gate closed (and Charles de Gaulle is not a small airport at all!!) So, I ran and ran and ran, and managed to get to the gate in time. They were running a little late, so that was good for me! I was very glad to get on the plane!

oreo milkshake :D

After a minor hiccup at customs, mishearing Gonville and Caius for Ponville and Caaus over the phone..., I got through and bought a train ticket to Cambridge, only to find out that instead of traveling the ~40 miles from Luton, I had to take a train ~30 miles south to St Pancras in London, cross the road to King's Cross and take another train back up ~60 miles north to Cambridge. It definitely wasn't my day...but it made getting to Cambridge (and food) that much better. 

avocado bacon burger - soo good. reminded me a bit of red robin, which i misssss

The first full day started with a walk around the different colleges and the town. I honestly knew nothing about Cambridge before going and had no idea what I'd be doing there. The colleges were all beautiful, and I could definitely see myself studying there (though that'll probably never happen). 

the library at downing college

guyanné and adeline

all of the last pictures were from downing college..

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Pembroke College

Lunchtime!

Pumpkin and almond salad - sooo disappointing..

Coffee and walnut cake - my favorite part of lunch time besides the tea :P

"apple slice"

mathematical bridge 

queen's college on mathematical bridge - managed to catch some guy running haha

queen's college - got chased by some lady who we thought was after us for coming in during non-visitor's hours (turns out she was just in a hurry and walked quite loudly and quickly with her heels..) 

king's chapel

king's college

inside of king's chapel

love these cups :D

pretty accurate..

trinity college

After a lot of walking, we decided it was teatime and looked for a really long time for a place to have cream tea (tea with scones, clotted cream, and jam!). But because it was already around 5pm, we walked pretty much the whole town and couldn't find anywhere that served it. So, we settled for just tea and sweets.

tea addiction? i think so..

toffee and pecan cheesecake

That night, for dinner, we went to Gonville and Caius for formal hall - dinner where the students have to dress in their gowns. I felt like I was in Harry Potter eating dinner in a big hall with students dressed in gowns, although instead of magic for the food appearing and disappearing, there were waiters. The whole meal of three? courses felt like it lasted about ten minutes with how quickly they took our plates away and served the next course. But maybe I'm just used to France and taking about two to three hours for three courses...

Adeline and I at dinner 

Hugh, Guyanné, me, and Adeline

the high table

cambridge robes and cambridge port in a cambridge bar!

adeline, me, guyanné, hugh, and max hanging out in the bar at gonville and caius - i can't believe each of the colleges have their own bars!

The next day, we went back to the Gonville and Caius dining hall (I like to call it the Great Hall) for brunch. Then, after hanging around in a common room type area, we headed off to do some punting on the Cam - basically just boating in a flat-bottomed boat with a pole to push against the bottom of the river. 

brunch! jealous? :P

back of the dining hall - grads sit on the balcony, undergrads on the main floor

Hanging out with Steven Hawking, fellow at Gonville and Caius

Me, Guyanné, and Adeline in front of the High Table :D

gonville and caius

saint john's college

bridge of sighs

busker in a bin!

After punting, we headed to a patisserie for cream tea, where we were successful! :D But I was also still full and couldn't finish :( Then, we went back home for a nap since we were all pretty tired. And then, we went out for Indian food! I haven't had Indian food since wayy before I came to Europe, so I was really excited. And I was not disappointed! 

Ed passing the time with a dramatic reading of The Count of Monte Cristo

Since Guyanné and Adeline had to catch a coach to the airport at 4am, we ended up staying up late watching Shutter Island and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (good movie!!). After they left, I got a couple hours of sleep, then headed off to Luton (on a coach this time!). I found a Krispy Kreme there and had to get a doughnut :P I don't usually indulge myself in American things, especially since I'm in Europe, but I gave in to the temptation. 

Basically, I had an amazing time in Cambridge, and I'm a little sad to be back in Paris. But now, it's back to reality and back to my crazy week - presentations, 4hour exams at 830am (that should be illegal), dissertations, etc... Wish me luck!