al resto del primer dia

...so to the rest of my day! I'll go through this in bullet point style!

• lunch at a cafe along the Seine: I got french onion soup and the waitress was so nice to me! She and one of the other patrons complemented me on the doodles I was doing to amuse myself while sitting by myself. It was very sweet.
• Louvre: I got in for free with my student card and passport (score!) and found the whole thing to be very overwhelming. I don't know enough about Rennaissance art or mythology or religion to really appreciate 90 percent of what I saw. What I could appreciate very well was the sheer size of the collections. I mean, to say that the collection in the Louvre is priceless would be a gross understatement. It represents the combined collections of many nobel and royal families and past leaders of France such as Napoleon Bonaparte. Even the building itself represents the combined arquitectural work of centuries. Always, I ran through, stopping to see the Mona Lisa (so small!), Venus de Milo, and the Egypt exibit before making my way back up through the pyramid and out into fresh air.
• Tuileries gardens: I stopped at a cafe to grab a snack and people watch before heading back to the hostel for a bit of rest.
• Champs-Elysee: So right now, the first part of the street is transformed into a Christmas market! It is lined with adorable white stalls decked out in Christmas lights where vendors sell basically anything kitchy or delicious that you might give as a Christmas present. I bought myself some 'christmas wine,' which is like the deranged love child of apple cider and sangria. It was delicious though, and so warming on a cold night. Suddenly, it occured to me that I was alone for the first Thanksgiving in my entire life. As I might have mentioned, I arrived a day before any of my friends to maximize my time spent here, and they didn't arrive until late the night of Thanksgiving. So I was really alone, which almost made me feel sorry for myself. Almost, because as soon as I began to think about it I couldn't have felt more lucky. I was walking past twinkling lights and cheerful stalls while drinking wine, in the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I know that I have friends and family all over the world who I care about and who care about me, and the most wonderfully supportive parents, sister, and boyfriend a girl could ever ask for! Not to mention that study abroad in general is the chance of a lifetime! Basically, I have everything in the world to be thankful for!!!! Oddly enough, it was the perfect way to spend thanksgiving. Don't expect me to make a habit of it though, next year its stuffing and yams for me!!!
• I rounded out the evening with a mozzarella and goat cheese sandwich and some macaroons from Lauduree (thank you Emmy for the tip! They were delicious!) which I ate in front of the arc de triomph (which is, by the way, totally inferior to Barcelona's arc, no contest really. But yes it is a competition. And Lisbon looses, their arc isn't even free standing)

So that was my Thanksgiving. Ahhh its late but I should just suck it up and post about today, or else it will get stale and I never will!