Paris

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a swell weekend, because I know I did! I had a fabulous time with the Nassifs (my cousins) Thursday and Friday and had so much fun with Maureen on Saturday, Sunday, and today.  It was great to catch up with my cousins and spend some one-on-one time with them.  Now that we are all older it's so much easier to relate to each other.  I always feel left out on my mom's side of the family because there is no one my exact age and at the same point as I am in my life, but now it's so much better! Same thing when I go home and visit my siblings.  Anyway some interesting things we did together were eat a really nice seafood place where we met up with their cousin Catherine (Nassif side), who was sooo cute! She grew up in London and has a British accent. It's adorable!  We also went to Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame (both very old Cathedrals).  We also went on a little boat ride and saw some Parisian monuments like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.  Friday night we ate at an American-style restaurant called Hippopotamus.  We had sooo much fun! We ended up laughing a ridiculous amount--to the point where we had a major ab workout! All in all, I had a great time seeing them.  I think the best part was the old-school sleeping arrangement. We had two queen-size beds that were pushed together so we all slept in a row.  Brings back memories!  Because I had done some sight-seeing with the Nassifs, and with my own family two years ago, and also because I am returning to paris August 2- August 8 (probably), Maureen and I decided to make the most of the sales and do some serial shopping.  I got a lot of cool stuff and bought gifts for my brothers and sisters.  Saturday night, Maureen and I had a long, nice dinner in the Latin quarter in an area called St. Michel.  We didn't end up finishing til around 1 a.m.  We decided to go home after that because we were both a little drunk off the bottle of wine we shared and the metro stops running in Paris around 2 a.m.  The next day we had a late lunch at a cute little pizzeria in an area called St. Paul and then we explored the area for some boutiques that her friend recommended we visit.  I almost bought this pair of red jeans but Maureen talked me out of it, probably for the better.  At night we had a bottle of wine at a Moroccan restaurant across the street from Maureen's apartment, and I had a little snack of some appetizer with peppers and feta...it was delicious! Afterwards, we went to an outdoor bar/cafe and just talked and had some more wine.  It was sooo nice to catch up with her because we always have the best talks.  Also, she wanted me to include in the update about her that she has recently lost about 30 pounds, and she already has 3 or 4 French men calling her incessantly to invite her on up-close tours of Paris in their private jets and romantic home-made dinners in their Parisian penthouses.  A.K.A. she is adjusting well! Anyway. It's late for me these days (10:40 p.m.) I'm exhausted from traveling and the busy weekend.  I wanted to throw a shout-out to Anna, who wrote me a letter... A very long one! I loved it. I am writing you back tomorrow.  I love you & I miss you! The rest of you important ones I hope to video chat/skype with sometime this week.  Keep in mind that I have about 6 hours of class a day and a very heavy load of coursework! Not to mention my 7 a.m. alarm clock that goes off every weekday! Despite all these complaints, I am starting to get apprehensive about the end of the program.  While I want to see all of you again as soon as possible... I also feel like this trip is going by way too fast! I'm thinking about coming back here for a year between undergrad and grad school to sharpen my French skills. I don't think six weeks is cutting it! Anyway. Love you all! Have a fabulous week. XOXO.