e is for elizabeth: En Visitant Paris

Bonjour from Paris! I'm here for the weekend, bumming around the city and visiting my friend Jed. I arrived yesterday morning, after taking a 6:55 am Eurostar which was delayed by 45 minutes (apparently there was a fire in the Eurostar tunnel a few weeks ago which is still screwing things up). Friday is Jed's errand day, so I was left to my own devices while he occupied himself with housewifely chores. (He wants me to assure all of you that he is the epitome of masculinity regardless!)

I met up with Ludo for lunch near the Hôpital Necker; Ludo and Harry used to work together, so we've become friends, too. He invited me to a traditionally French restaurant - "il m'a invité" literally means that he took me out to lunch. I had the most delicious lapin; you know you're in Paris when a normal lunch at an unassuming restaurant involves things like rabbit! Later in the afternoon I treated myself to a crêpe with nutella and banana, which was one of the three foods on my list that I have to eat while here. (The others are Moroccan at Chez Omar, one of my favorite restaurants in the city, and a croque-monsieur.) Having woken up at the crack of dawn to catch my train, after the lunch and walk I was zonked, so I came back to Jed's to take a nap. In the evening we created a little picnic for ourselves of bread, five different cheeses, paté and saucisson, grapes, apples, and wine. We then traipsed down to the Cité Universitaire to meet up with some of Jed's school friends before going to a birthday party outside of the city in Villejuif. (The first time I was introduced, I was asked from I came from. I totally spaced, and said I was English! Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it definitely means that London has gotten under my skin!) The gathering was fun, but I wimped out of the party after not even an hour. I haven't spoken French since December, you see, and a whole day of it was totally draining. I didn't expect it to be so much mental work!

Speaking of class friends, I've been having tons o' fun with mine. Here's a photo of some of us medievalists - well, it's all the girls; Jeff and Pete, who also come out with us, aren't in the picture. (From left to right we are: me, Rachel, Fiona, Michaela, and Colleen.) In December, Michaela and Colleen and I are going to go to Dublin; Fiona went to university there, so she's going to show us around. I can't wait!