Not all those who wander are lost...: more fun, more politics

after seeing people do this everyday, twice a day, for the last four months, i decided i had to get a picture too

After more than eight months here in France, it's coming to an end. I have just about a month left here in Europe, and it's making me really sad!!! I'm glad to be completely done with my exams and papers at Sciences Po. But the thought of Paris makes me want to cry, and it actually might when it comes time...

election season makes people mean...

For the last week of April, I had about a week and a half between the end of classes and my one last exam, so I headed to Italy with a couple of friends. (I'll blog about it in the next couple posts :P) It was a ton of fun, and we had lots of sun and good food! Coming home to Paris was even better though! Although the weather hasn't been the best, I still love just being in Paris. Two friends stayed with me over the weekend, and we did lots and lots of walking! It was nice to rediscover the city and go back to the touristy places. Once in a while is good, but overall, I'm tired of being a tourist!

my favorite graffiti tag that pops up throughout the city :)

One thing we did while they were here was to go to La Défense, the business district outside of Paris. It was a huge reverse culture shock to go there! I don't know how to explain it, but all the modern buildings, skyscrapers, and malls, just made me dizzy with sadness! It felt like a different city or a different country! The only thing that kept me feeling okay was that Paris was just a short ride away, but it made me realize how bad it might get when I get back to the States.

this is pizza! yummmmy

The next day was election day (in France). So I headed to Solférino to meet a couple friends in front of the headquarters of the socialist party. There was a HUGE crowd of people waiting to hear the results of the election. I ended up finding only one of my friends, and since we heard that François Hollande, one of the two candidates, was actually going to be speaking at the Bastille instead, we decided to move. We walked through the Tuileries gardens, which was unusually and wonderfully quiet, then took the metro to Bastille.

The atmosphere was crazy! There were people hanging out ON the column in the center of the square. (You can see this further down in my pictures). At times, it was a bit scary because of the very loud firecrackers that they would throw out. It was SUPER exciting to see the results that Hollande had won! The whole square went crazy! We stood around/got pushed around and listened to the French journalists talk, as well as the concession speech of Sarkozy, and a speech by Marine Le Pen.

cute little café where i had the burger below :)

Then, we heard Hollande's first speech as president, though it was televised from the department of France that he has been overseeing. At the end, they announced that he would be at the Bastille at 23h30 (2 hours from then). So, we decided to just leave and get food. So, we met up with some other people and got falafel at the supposedly best place in Paris (L'As du Falafel). And thank goodness we left! He ended up getting to the Bastille around 00h30!

black bun burger! with tomato and mozzarella - yum

Overall, it's just been so exciting to be in France during the election period. I really feel like I've been super invested in it, even though I can't even vote! I feel so much more excited meeting French politicians and shaking their hands then I do with American ones! I'm ready to pack up and move here! It's honestly a bit nerve-wracking thinking about going back to Seattle for my last year of undergrad. I almost wish that I were graduating now so that I could move here. But I made a choice to go back for one more year, and I have to stick with it.

In a week, I'll be heading to Greece for ten days with my friend, Rachel! Then, after that, I'll only have about a week left in Paris before I head to London, then home. Eek! There's still so much to see here in p

awesome pianist in front of galeries lafayette. makes me miss playing piano.

I can't believe I'll be back to the United States soon. This year has flown by way too quickly, and it's making me way too sad to think about it. Don't get me wrong. I'm excited to see some friends and most of all, my family. But right now, Paris is home, and leaving home is always hard.