SOOOOO for the official 25% mark of my semester abroad, I had planned to do a big summary post, on the grounds that the quarter way mark is one of my favorite times of any sports season. The quarter way mark is the last point in the season where pretty much anything is possible. Your team can get off to an awful start, and turn it around to win the championship. Similarly, you can completely tank after a promising run to begin the year, like the Royals do. Any scrub can bat .400, Chris Shelton can be Albert Pujols, and Mike Pelfrey can have 7 wins and a save. Once you get past this point, reality settles in and the true course of the season takes over.
I'm applying this to my semester in France because even though, at the quarter mark, it feels as if I have done so much to really define a semester, the narrative actually has yet to reveal itself. I mean honestly, the first couple of weeks were spent in class and discovering my way around the city. I've spent my time trying to see the "must-see" sights, exercising my new rights as a 21 year old (and by that I mean a living-in-Europe year old, because the 21 thing doesn't really matter), scrambling to make new friends and to become operational in French.
It's been great, and the quarter pole doesn't mean it won't stay that way. It's just refreshing to realize that my adventure hasn't even been realized yet. I could take what I've been given so far, and make whatever I want with it.
This thought has hit me especially now for a couple of reasons. One, it's been freezing and gray for a month in Paris, and now all of a sudden it has turned sunny and started to warm up. This could revolutionize the way things are done. Secondly, I've been planning some trips; London, Edinburgh, Italy, Germany. The rest of my semester is going to be very travel-heavy, and I'm really excited.
SOOOO, while the potential for an amazing rest of the semester is what's occupying my brain right now, I wanted to take this moment to do the obligatory quarter pole summary. Here is a comprehensive summary of my experience so far:
Food Division:
MVP: Crepes! Street food is everywhere in Paris, and depending on the arrondissement, you can get everything from paninis to burgers to falafel to kebabs to couscous. But one street staple here reigns supreme. The crepe. It is such a simple and delicious concept, I am astounded that you can barely find them in the United States. Want the taste of a pancake, but the convenience of a tortilla? Want the versatility to put both savory and sweet fillings in it? Want to make it range in size from a small snack to an enormous meal? Crepes are truly grand. I have had a lot of them, but one sticks out. There was nothing special about it, just a regular egg and cheese crepe, but it blew my mind. Maybe it was the circumstances: 1 am, with friends, kinda drunk, Bastille area. But it confirmed my believe in the crepe for good.
Runners Up: Other than the crepe, their is a ton of good food in Paris (duh). Paninis are just as plentiful and delicious, I've gotten amazing pastries and quiche lorraine, duck, and other delicious meals. One that stands out is the falafel on rue des rosiers, in the Marais, the Jewish quarter of Paris. I honestly never knew a vegetarian meal could taste so good, and be so filling.
One meal that I have yet to experience is le Double Mix from Quick, the French/Belgian fast food restaurant. Le Double Mix is probably the best non-American contributions to fast food, and a real game changer. It takes two different types of burgers, one with pepper sauce, one with melted brie, and fuses them, right down the middle. With three patties, and a hybrid bun, you could have expected Quick to rest on those sandwich laurels. But they didn't. They took a goddamn chicken sandwich and did the same thing, with sweet and spicy curry sauce. Here's a look: http://eater.com/archives/2011/03/02/le-double-mix-the-twoheaded-monster-of-burgers.php
Bar Division:
MVP: Le Violon Dingue. Sure, an American bar is a guilty pleasure, but this one is too good to get hung up on that. It's bigger than most bars in Paris, which is a plus, unless you like to get hit by both the bathroom door and the front door while you're wedged against a bar stool. The bartenders are friendly, and the drinks, while not as cheap as some, are reasonable. The large downstairs is nice, and the people there are generally outgoing and fun.
Runner up: Le 10 bar. Solid Sangria, met the Bravery there. Enough said.
Sight Division: Close between the Eiffel Tower (badass presence) and Sacre Coeur (striking view), but the 15th around Eiffel Tower is ok, while Montmartre is a really neat area right by the basilica.
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