My day part I

• Today I woke up late and ate breakfast with one of my new dormmates, Nastya from Russia, who is here to attend an Opera conference. Most people I meet at MIJE are going to school, or here to attend some cultural event, I´m the only one who is a backpacker just passing through. I think it´s awesome, but I feel like my story is hardly as exciting as theirs.


• I spent hours in the english book section of Gilbert Joseph...literally hours, trying to pick a couple of books. It was a labour of love, I´d have 5 books in my hand, change my mind, put 3 back, pick up another two, change my mind and pick up one of the three I´d put back earlier. Anyway, I ended up with a mystery by Mary Higgens Clark (waste of money) and a book of modern short stories (which I´m enjoying)


• I decided to find Cité Florale, an obscure spot that I read about located in the 14th arrondissment. I think I found it, a small enclave of little cottagy homes on street that had names like rue d'Orchidée and rue d'Iris (nestled in a group of boring apartment buildings). The houses appeared to be covered in thick flowering vines, but because it´s winter, they were all dormant. I´m sure it´s beautiful in the summer...but I wasn´t disappointed, I just busied myself with exploring the 14th...a place I liked very much. I came across a small park by a pond where mostly local people sat on park benches and socialized. I sat at a little outdoor café and had a cup of hot chocolate (and sneakily people-watched the locals while they didn´t realize a tourist around.)