Le Premier Week-end

(Note: The girl who I met yesterday is named Ashley, and our French teacher is named Nolwenn.)
Saturday (yesterday) morning, Andrea and I were getting ready for our 10 a.m. French class when the phone rang. It was Peter, telling us that our (permanent) room was ready and asking us if we would be ready to move in over the next two days. I went down to visit the room with Vivjitah, Peter's assistant, and was very pleasantly surprised! The new apartment has a big bedroom with 2 beds, 2 nightstands with lamps, 2 chairs, 2 big windows, a large desk, a large set of drawers, a bathroom with bathtub with shower-coil (which was promptly hung on the wall), a big walk-in closet, and a kitchen with a table and 2 chairs. I was really excited!
Andrea and I met up with Liz and Ashley to wait for Nolwenn. Then we all set off for our lesson. We walked down Rue Saint-Jacques, and turned left onto Boulevard Port-Royal. Apparently, there is a big marche en pleine-air (open-air market) every Saturday morning. (That explained why we were food-shopping at 10:30 a.m.) The plan was to make a couple different salads, so we walked around for awhile, checking out deals and whatnot, sidestepping/pushing through everyone. (One thing I really like here is that the elderly seem to be very active and healthy. Most of the customers at the marche were seniors, and nearly all of them were carting around wicker baskets on wheels, in which to heal their food home. It's really good to see.) I got to order the vegetables, and we also got cheese and fruit.
We then went back to PAA and began cooking. We made 2 different types of salads, one an "autumn salad" and the other one with cucumbers (I preferred that one). We prepared it all, and then ate the 2, along with various cheeses and strawberries for dessert. (It reminded me a lot of Ms. Aitken's class at Latin...brings me back.)
Afterward, we cleaned up and took the 85 bus to Porte de Clignancourt to find some flea markets that Jen had recommended. We walked around for awhile, looking at various things, and stopped for a rest and drink (mine was hot chocolate) at the Au Roi Du Cafe. After getting rested up again, we took the bus back to Luxembourg stop (Nolwenn had gotten off a few stops before). We all went to get various things at Ed, the local grocery a street away from our apartment. Before splitting to our respective apartments, we decided to hang out in Liz and Ashley's room about an hour later.
After returning, Andrea and I began moving our things into the new apartment. I had just finished with that when it was time to leave. We all just goofed off, played around on Facebook, ate popcorn and drank wine. I had to leave early to call Mom at 9 p.m. (3 p.m. in Charlotte), so I left about 10 minutes early since I still had to set up my computer.
Andrea had set up her computer and told me that it had taken her a little while to connect to the wireless, and so I was anticipating a half-hour at most. Well, I tried for about an hour and a half, getting told that it was "automatic" and yet failing to connect. I was really frustrated and knew it would be best to cool down, and tried to call Liz and Ashley's room to tell them that I wouldn't be coming over. Well, the number would not let me through, which made me more frustrated, so I just got ready for bed. Andrea came in a little while late, and she tried to help me with my computer for about 45 minutes, but it didn't work. I decided to ask Peter the next day.
The next day (Sunday, today), we met Peter before our 10 a.m. bus tour of Paris. I told him about my computer-connection problem, and he lent me an ethernet cable to try to connect it. Andrea and I tried to connect it for about 15 minutes, but nothing worked, and it made me even more frustrated, so we decided to try it after we got back.
We then got into the van with Liz and Ashley for our tour around Paris! Vivjitah drove, Peter did commentary, and the four of us looked out the windows and took pictures. We saw a lot of cool stuff: the Jardin du Luxembourg, Rue de Rivoli, La Tour Eiffel, L'Arc de Triomphe, Le Place des Vosges, etch. Early in our tour, we drove by a cute shop where Peter told us that Sofia Coppola got the inspiration for the cakes in "Marie Antionette", if not the cakes themselves. (I definitely thought of Lisa's Pi Phi Dessert Mixer shirt, and knew I'd have to tell her about that.) We also happened to see the house (that took up an entire block) of La Paiva, a famous courtesan who, as Peter told us, kept 3 taps in her bathtub: hot water, cold water, and champagne. (My guess had been chocolate.)
We stopped in the 3rd arrondissement for some lunch. It has a large Jewish population, with lots of kosher boulangeries. (It explained why they were open on a Sunday, since others usually aren't.) We stopped at a little Israeli place for lunch, where Peter and the 4 of us ordered different dishes and we all shared. After lunch, we got back in the van and drove around, stopping at the Galerie Vivienne, where Jean-Paul Gaultier has his shop. (It wasn't open, so we peeked through the windows.) It was right near the Palais Royal, and we walked around there for a few minutes. Lots of people were out, mostly families with young kids, and lots of under-10 boys kicking a soccer ball around.
We got back to PAA around 5:30 pm, and all of us were tired (Liz had been falling asleep the last bit of the ride). We headed off to our respective apartments, and I tried to reconnect my computer. (Earlier in the day, we had met up with a PAA tech person, and he had told me to plug into a specific outlet.) I plugged in, and waited on pins and needles for my computer to connect to the wireless. Lo and behold, it worked! I was so happy. I shot my mom an email to say that I'd be able to talk to her on Skype later. I played around on my computer until then, and then called home! I was really excited to talk to my mom and dad, and apparently they were too (Mom told me that Dad was pacing the floor as she was talking to me). It was really fun to hear from them again! (And while I was talking with them, I got Sype information requests from Lisa and Harlan!)
Tomorrow, we go to Le Louvre!