I'm sorry I haven't posted anything the past fifty days. My excuse is that I still haven't got a small digital camera, and I don't want to drag around with my huge digital camera with school books and what not. So I haven't been able to take photos of my adventures just yet. But I can tell you I went out this weekend to two different clubs; one called The Social Club up by my school (close to Grand Boulevard), and another one called Point Effemere in Belleville. It was a lot of fun, and I would definitely go back to Point Effemere soon.

I'll tell more later, now it's time for school!

Update of the day: 

Vilde is staying in my petite maison with my housemates and I for the next two weeks. It's kind of funny to see how many people we can have fit in here before it explodes. We were thinking of starting a hostel so we can earn some money off of it. Under the table, of course, we can't risk any of the money disappearing to the French gov't what with it being right wing and all.

Ma maison.

Here is the outside of my house:

I live on top of these steps.

My house mate Marthe got shite in her shoes. Therefore they have been sitting outside the past few days. Perhaps the rain will come and clean them for her.

I walk under these stairs every day. They are very pretty.

Studying Yop Pompidou

The school I go to is an intensive course in French language including art history. So we study. A lot. On Tuesday we studied outside of the Pompidou centre, which is the museum of modern art in Paris. It also has a library, which was what we were aiming for, but turned out (after walking for about an hour to find it) that it's only open every day. Except Tuesday. So we layed on the ground outside and tried to translate an old French short story from the 1920's.

We drank Yop with our homework. It is the new it thing to drink. It's very filling and very cheap. Perfect for the student economy. Helene and Frode were very happy with this.

Helene got tired of studying and was sceptic to my picture taking. I said just wait and see. Now I'll wait and see what she says.

Vilde ended up jumping around as always. We did a tango. It was a nice end to our effective study session.

School is much more demanding than I thought it would be. Hence the lack of posts. 

In a few minutes I'll be joining these fine femmes dans la Jardin du Luxembourgh in Montparnasse:

As a little update I went to a club/bar type thing on Friday with some friends, called Flesh Do (maybe...) way in the outskirts of Paris. datA played and I must say I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. He played a lot of fun dance music, but in between good electronic songs he would mix in Usher and such, not to my liking. 

Yesterday we went to the l'Ópera and saw the New York City Ballet. Here too I was kind of disappointed, as two of the choreographies were very "show offey" with typical tutu's and ballet moves. Impressive physically, but with very little feeling. One of the three choreographies was very good however, but I still felt like the surprising elements a choreography should have were missing. 

En kveld i Belleville.

In Belleville windows aren't as pretty as in le Marais.

Last night Vilde, Elisabeth, Kristin, Vivian, Hege and I went out for dinner in Belleville. We had thai food. Here are some underexposed photos from our journey:

Vilde.

Elisabeth. Or Snow White, whichever you prefer.

Kristin.

Some artwork on a wall. These aren't working men, they're made of wax or something.

The unfinished wall of my bathroom.

A trash can in Le Marais.

The past two days have been really nice, but I'm so tired from it I really just want to sleep now, not write and upload photos. I think I'll make a list of everything I need to write about tomorrow. Yesterday and today consisted of:

- Sightseeing with the school Saturday afternoon. Including lunch in Le Petit Palais (which is huge).

- Going to a fancy dinner with the school eating and drinking on the schools bill.

- Going out in Paris to completely full bars and getting to know two French boys who didn't know English. That was good because I got to practice.

- Staying out 'til six before going back to Vilde's place on Montmartre for sleeping.

- Having breakfast with Vilde at 2 pm sunday afternoon. 

- Going to Europe's largest flee market in Clignancourt north in Paris.

- Having relaxing ice cream and a cup of tea in a cute café on Ile Saint Louise (I think it's called...).

- Meeting up with friends in the park by the Eiffel Tower for a nighttime picnic. We also met up with a guy from Israel who is staying in the city for a bit. He was very cool and we played the bongos and danced on the grass.

- The end.

A day in Paris.

I started school today. !!!. And I met my new housemates. !!!. 

Started the day by sneaking through my housemates' bedroom while they were sleeping to get to our bathroom to have a shower. Then decided it would make too much noise and probably wake them up. So I just brushed my teeth and put on the phurrr hat so no one could see my non-washed hair. After I'd met the girls and we'd had breakfast I regreted this decision very much. Unfortunately the morning had reached its point of no return as the other two still hadn't had their showers and we had to leave in half an hour to make it to school in time.

We made it. Got to meet our teachers. Unfortunately I have two very handsome French men as literature and history teachers. 

After this we went to have lunch with the school. I wanted  an americano before the food, so I ordered one. Turns out, in France an americano isn't coffee. Not at all. Especially not before the food. It's a huge glass of campari with bits of lemon and orange with LOTS of sugar glued around the edge. Ew. This was at noon. I really was not ready for something like that. When the waiter understood that this wasn't what I'd tried to order he encouraged me to drink it and said it was very very good. Don't know what he did to his tongue, but something must have been wrong with him because that WAS NOT GOOD. Of course one of the handsome french teachers had to come over right after and talk to us. He clearly saw my apertiff so I had to stumble away in French and explain the situation (as we were not supposed to order alcohol on the schools bill...).*

Before taking a sip of my Americano. 

After. Or maybe in between. Not sure.

Nothing as exciting as this happened for the rest of the day really. I got to talking with one of the teachers for French 1 (I'm doing French 2) who's name is Eirik. He's been living in Paris for a year and a half, speaks French really well, goes to Sorbonne and works at the Norwegian embassy. Very inspiring and such a nice guy. 

We also got tickets for the New York Ballet at the Bastille Opera next Saturday. We won't see much, but it'll be worth the 10 euros still.

Vilde and I drank tea at this super cute cocktail bar-turned-café-in-the-day on Montmartre. Sofas with big, soft pillows, wobbly tables and a bartender who couldn't speak English. I really like it when they can't speak English because then I have to force myself even harder to speak French. I learned a new word. Miel = Honey.* I also went shopping for groceries today, and, turns out, grocery shops here don't give out plastic bags. You can buy them, but preferably you should bring your own. I find this very discriminating towards all students moving about. This means we all have to buy plastic bags for our trash! Maybe we'll just quit throwing things away and swim in it instead...

These thoughts tell me I should go to sleep. Good night. 

*Flause #1.

*I ordered mynthe tea.

Bisous.

There are lots of Vespa's in Paris. I took photos of one in Le Marais.

Varieties of Vilde.

I got a new friend. Her name is Vilde. She is not French. But she is still very nice. Here she is:

I took these today after an inspirational trip to a photo exhibition of Annie Leibovitz. 

Some pictures I took the last days in Tromsø.

Malin with me one of my last days in Tromsø.

Malin with her fingers.

Christian with his loving smile.

Matthew with his new sunglasses.

Me with my new phurrr. Taken by Stine. I think. It might be by Matthew.

Stine with sand in her socks.

Kåre with his barbeque skills.

Yesterday I did nothing but walk around. I walked and walked and walked. From Musée d'Orsay,  over the Seine, past Jardin des Tuileries. Further past Grand Palais, heading towards Palais de Tokyo. I turn onto a main street at a very relaxed speed, Charles de Gaulle Étoile as my goal, and a funny feeling hits me: I'm walking up George V in my 10 euros a piece ensemble, surrounded by Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Armani, Hermés, Sonia Rykiel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Gianfranco Ferre and Louis Vuitton. And I feel very comfortable. I'm enjoying not going in, not affording, just looking. Window shopping has suddenly become just as fun as the art of shopping itself, if not more so. Fashionable men and women hurry past me in tight suits and high (HIGH) heels and give me strange looks as I smile at them. An occasional "bonjour" leaves my lips and I am lucky to get one back what with all this hastyness. But I do get "bonjours" back.  And I love Paris even more.

ma mere et moi.

photo by my mama.

Á Paris.

I finally got a place to live! It's a house of fifty-something square meters, and the land lords live right next door. They're lovely and keep an AMAZING garden!!! Outside my door there are stairs going up and down with flowers draped everywhere just like in the french fantasy. The house is located in Malakoff which is kind of an almost-suburb of Paris. Meaning: Not far away enough for it to be a suburb, but it still isn't in the city. The neighborhood is populated by both young and older people, and seems to be very quiet and safe, which is nice. 

So that was a little about my living situation maintenant. Below are some pictures I took while sightseeing avec ma mère a couple of days ago. It was lovely to have a few days with her in the beginning so I didn't have to start all by myself. She's left for England now, but I've got to know a girl I'll be going to school with who it seems like is very similar to me. So I think you'll be seeing a few pictures of her in the future. But for now, Mari's Paris:

Sacre Ceure.

Speaks for itself.

View of Montmartre from Sacre Ceure.

View of Tour Montparnasse and the rest of Paris from Montmartre.

A window in my favorite neighborhood: Le Marais.

Latin Quarter.

Latin quarter; beautiful, boring and expensive food.

Warning:

Today there will be many posts.

I am now in Paris and have been for a few days. I will be ,oving in to my apartment tomorrow so ill update this more then. I am off to dinner in Marais!!