Midnight in Paris – Day 4

As someone who appreciates receiving information in a manner that is conducive to learning, I felt it necessary to take a picture of this silliness. What you see below you, is sugar cubes lined in order from #1 to #9. These wrappers list the largest producers of sugar cane in the world. In case you can’t see them very clearly, here they are: 1. Brazil, 2. Colombia, 3. Indonesia, 4. Vietnam, 5. Mexico, 6. Ethiopia, 7. India, 8. Uganda, 9. Guatemala. These were the sugar cubes in the hotel that we opened to sweeten our coffee. Education during breakfast!

It is now Wednesday, the day on which we leave for Paris! Today I took very few pictures, for the simple reason that I did not go to very many places (especially in comparison to the rest of the days in Paris). Once we arrived in our hotel–so luxurious, by the way!–I rested and Skyped until it was time for our SIT-sponsored dinner. Boy, do I love when they pay for my food.

Our 31-person group, plus Aline and our two academic directors, walked half a kilometer to the restaurant, at night, IN THE RAIN. As much as I wanted to eat free food, I was not willing to do it under the rain after I had just spent all of SEVEN minutes doing my hair. I know that some women spend hours working on their hair, but given that I never even blow-dry mine, this was a big deal. A positive aspect of this was that I got to weather-test my new €39 boots and came to the conclusion that they’re rain proof! What do you think: a pair of knee-high military boots for $50 that are waterproof? I do love a good deal.

The restaurant offered a prix-fixe menu. I ordered a tiny salad, salmon and crème brûlée. What’s Paris without a great dessert? Somehow the dinner took an entire 3 hours! Sometimes I wonder what takes so long…

It was necessary that we went out. First night in Paris, right? I went out with five others and we ended up just walking to the Eiffel Tower, although originally our plans were different. Arturo put his arms around two girls and we joked around that he was a pimp. He even got some jealous looks from passers-by during our walk! He made the best of the situation and joked that he was walking at a quick pace to keep his girls in shape.

Paris seemed so different the second time around. Better. 🙂 Just before midnight, it started raining by La Tour Eiffel. The setting was perfect. I took a few photos and hoped they would turn out well! Standing under an umbrella with a friend while it rained and the Eiffel Tower was glowing at midnight? Priceless.