Back in Paris,Friends, Boys

I cannot tell you how glad I am to be back in Paris. Seeing the slums of Amsterdam really opened my eyes to how civilized and cultured Paris truly is; these walls are literally alive with sophistication. After soaking in bath water for a long time to wash the Holland grime from my body, I met up with my new buddies to have a few glasses of wine, share stories, and finish homework. Our assignment was simple enough, especially with the brain-power of 7 engineers and the freeness that wine provides me! Honestly, I think more clearly after a glass of wine, which I guess is the Parisian culture manifesting itself in me.

But these new buddies of mine are incredible. I came onto this trip basically with 11 strangers (I vaguely knew the other 3 juniors from class) and knew I needed to quickly bond with the group to make it through. The group of 6 sophomores have taken me in almost immediately and are truly some of the most genuine and exciting people I have come across in college. Tonight we went back to Gare du Nord to schedule and book our weekend train tickets to Munich, Germany; our hotel is apparently just a block away from the Beer Gardens amongst other wonderful German venues!! Afterwards, we finally made our way to Refuge du Fondue and had an extremely fun dinner including an aperitif cocktail, an appetizer plate of meats and cheeses, cheese fondue and oil fondue to cook the beef in, bread and potatoes for dipping, 2 glasses of wine each in a BABY BOTTLE(!!), and the most amazing dessert I have ever had the privilege of eating. The insides of a GIANT lemon (probably the size of both of my fists) were carved out and overstuffed with the most perfect lemon sorbet, then deep-frozen before being capped with the lemon top and served. If you have never eaten sorbet out of a fresh fruit, add it to your list of "must do"!

Other than my amazing new friends, I figured I should at least comment briefly on the man-scenery provided here in Paris because, WOW, it's amazing. I have been told by quite a few people that the boys/guys/men whatever are attractive but things were actually underestimated to me. These men are beautiful by every stretch of the imagination; wonderfully dressed in the awkwardly refreshing Parisian style, trendy/cutting edge haircuts, and the most incredible language (besides English, of course) spoken in the world! I have seen some of the most classically beautiful men in the world over the past week and cannot wait to see what the next 3 weeks brings!

It is definitely past my bed time tonight, though; I promised myself a good night's rest before a long day of learning, studying, and preparing for my long weekend. Our test is Wednesday morning and then we are off for a day long trek to Versailles before getting back to Gare du l'Est and taking an overnight train to Munich. I am going to need all the sleep possible to prepare me for this week! Night :)