How many hectares are there in Bordeaux?

Happy Thursday!

I have just enough time for a quick post before I run and catch my plane to Portugal, so here it is:

Since our return from Stockholm on Sunday, we've been keeping very busy.  Sunday was our roommate Jess's 21st birthday.  We couldn't decide on a cake to get her, so Abbey, Christy, and I chose three different ones!  One was a compilation of chocolates-- dark, milk, moose, etc.-- another was white chocolate, and the third was dark chocolate.  We couldn't find our candles, so we just walked into the kitchen with a lit match, sang happy birthday, watched Jess's surprise, and proceeded to enjoy all three delicious desserts.

We made good use of our time between classes Monday, by finally getting over to the Jewish Quarter.  We stopped at our favorite boulangerie on the way.  The woman there always greets us with the same high pitched, "bonjour mademoiselles!" and proceeds to give us the sandwiches she knows we ask for each day.  This is the kind of subtle gesture I am sure we will miss most when we return to the States.

Anyway, we reached the Jewish Quarter in a few short minutes-- it's only a few streets away from our school-- and were amazed to see how much is packed into such a small area.  It was so cool to see the delis and shops with a mix of French and Hebrew writing.  It was hilarious, in fact, to watch the Israeli vendors being as pushy as ever, but all in French.  After seeing the line for falafel and getting a free sample taste, we knew we should have skipped out on our sandwiches just that day.  We vowed to return another day.

On Tuesday, we had a field trip for our wines class near the Eiffel Tower and thought it would be a good excuse to return to one of our favorite onion soup restaurants all the way in the 16th.  So we trekked over, enjoyed our delicious soups, and followed it up by buying a few caramel candies.

We then went to the Musee du Vin with our wines class.  It was a cute little place and cool too-- we got to walk through the caves where wines had been made in the past.  The best part, however, was the wine tasting activity.  We were given three classes of red wine, discussed them a little bit with the woman running the tasting, and then participated in a small competition.  Our class of about 40 kids all had to guess what the three wines were-- their regions, grape varieties, and vintage-- based on the three options we were given.  Abbey and I agreed upon our guesses, but we decided strategically to put on our sheets essentially the same answers with one switched.  The prize was a bottle of wine, and we knew we would share it if either of us won.  Well, lo and behold-- Abbey's answers were nearly perfect!  She had guessed more accurately than everyone in the class, aside from one other girl.  So, given the tie, the two went into a sudden death round.  The wine tasting woman asked, "how many hectares are there in Bordeaux?"  As we all know, our beloved Abbey is not the best under pressure and when put on the spot.  Thus, after only about a fraction of a second, Abbey spit out, "EIGHT!"  Unfortunately, the answer is more like 135,000.  Alas, we did not win the bottle of wine, but it was very exciting to have been in the top two nonetheless.

On Wednesday, we had an excursion with our Fashion class in which we explored the area around the Tuileries gardens.  We walked down by Chanel's original shop and passed the Ritz.  Our teacher is just the most entertaining man ever.  He's so full of energy and life and is equally knowledgeable as he is enthusiastic about the subject matter.  Especially due to the 60 degree weather, we really enjoyed this hour long outdoor information session.  We really are lucky that this is what we get to call school for a semester.

After the trip and before returning to school, we did as we promised ourselves and went to get falafel.  It was everything we'd hoped it would be and more.  The pita was perfect, the sauces were exquisite, and the falafel itself was better than we'd remembered from our taste on Monday.  We left full and happy as usual, ready for an afternoon of French class.

So that's a bit about our fun packed week here in Paris!  I'm a bit sad to be leaving-- the honey suckles in our courtyard are just beginning to bloom, and it's starting to smell a bit like springtime-- but at the same time, I can't wait to be in Lisbon.  I'm sure I'll be back to fill you in on that soon!

A tout a l'heure!