We’re winding down to the last few weeks here in Paris and everyone, including me, is trying to fit in everything we haven’t done yet before we leave.  It’s hard to believe we’ve been here this long.  Lots of running around, buying presents for friends and family back home, visiting historic sites, spending lots of time with my friends here since we’ll soon be saying good-bye and snapping as many pictures as I can to remember every detail of my time here.

In the midst of all this, I have to remember that finals are right around the corner too, and they are no joke here at IES.  So, here are a few pics from my adventures of this past week.

This was a 20 ft. x 20 ft. google earth display at an architectural museum.  There was a computer set up so that you could enter in any region on the planet and you saw it in real time on this huge display. 

As part of my final project for my History of Paris class, I had to do an individual visit and I chose Ile St. Louis (the island of St. Louis).  In the 18th century, street placards were installed on the sides of building in Paris which are still in use today.  However, the street signs below predate the blue and white placards you see today.  These old signs are a rarity; in fact, these signs were the only ones I’ve seen in Paris.

The smallest street in Paris: Rue du Chat qui Peche, meaning Street of the cat who fishes.  Yes, it really is a street.  Obviously, cars won’t fit through here, but scooters sure do and it gives you an idea of how narrow the streets were in Paris before Baron de Haussmann restructured the city in the mid-1800s.

 Isn’t this awesome?!  I saw this messenger bag at the Christmas market at the Arch de Defense and I just had to have it!  Of course, you’d have to know that I love pug dogs (I have 3), so this vendor had a sure sale.  And no, I’ve never been to London or the UK, but hello!  It has a pug on it!

If you come to Paris, you have to stop at this ice cream shop.  It has the best ice cream I have ever tasted in my life!  And I’ve made it my mission to taste as much ice cream as I can.  All of the ice cream is made fresh every day, no colorings, no preservatives, nada.  All-natural ingredients that are sure to make your eyeballs roll in the back of your head!  Yummmm!!!

Well, I’ve got a whole lot of catching up to do, so you will be seeing several more posts from me today.  Sorry for the lateness; finals and projects snuck up on me before I realized it. 

See ya’ll soon!  

Mary

Location: Paris, France