springtime in paris

Ever since my return from spring break, the weather in Paris has been very hot and sunny, and everything is in bloom. I appreciate the beauty but I don't appreciate sweating all day no matter where I am, especially in the metro. It's funny to think of how fast the weather has changed, from cold, rainy days, to relentless sunshine.

Anyway, Josh visited this week from Tuesday through Sunday, and we had a great time. Although the weather was a bit much, we were able to explore most of the city. We visited the Louvre, the Jardin des Tuileries (beautiful gardens around the Louvre, I had never been in that part before, let alone with leaves on the trees), Les Invalides (Napoleon's tomb/military museum), the Rodin museum garden (we were lucky and got in for free that day since there was a bit of work being done in the garden) which is home to the Thinker, the Gates of Hell, and other sculptures, the Marais (oldest district of Paris), the Places des Voges (lovely square with grass on which we laid), L'Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower of course, and others in between.

Louise made dinner one night for Josh, Anna, and I, and it went well, even though for some reason we all took shots of tequila as an apertif. She claims that she doesn't like to cook when it's hot out, so she bought a rotisserie chicken, because she thinks that Americans are obsessed with chicken (maybe we are). We mostly talked politics, as Louise is fully engrossed in the presidential election that will be decided in the coming weeks. We learned some scary facts about the candidates, most of which would never be tolerated in the US, as our press has such a strong influence, unlike the press in France who are scared and easily censored.

Tomorrow is the Labor Day of France, so we don't have classes. A few friends might try and go to Giverny, which is the home of Claude Monet, I think there are gardens and a museum. Mom and Sam arrive on Friday for their short stay which I am looking forward to. My laptop battery is about to die so that is all.