peace in rambouillet, chaos in paris

i woke up around 7:30 or so, to eventually make it to the Montparnasse station, to meet Elisabeth and some of the CEA students for our excursion to Rambouillet. we took a SNCF train out there, and the trip only took about 30 minutes. for some reason, i thought it would be farther away...but it was still a totally different place.

when we got there, we walked through town from the train station to the chateau and the estate. on the way, we had to stop because we ran into a school parade, with little kids dressed in self-made costumes and also a teenage marching band, etc. it was pretty cute. we all enjoyed seeing them walk by and wave at us.

i love little french children...

how adorable

the cow marching band

once we were at the estate, we just walked around the lake and on the trails...and eventually, krystina and i walked off from the rest of the group and explored deeper into the forest. it was a nice, relaxing stroll...away from the noise and crowds of the city. i really enjoyed it, and i enjoyed spending time with krystina. i feel like i'd never really had a chance to do that before today. (tom and fiona didn't come on the trip, because their moms are in town) we had lunch on the grass near the entrance of the estate, with everyone. that was nice too...for the first time, it was a beautiful day! it was pretty warm and sunny...and we layed out for maybe and hour or so. we talked about random things, some of us napped. it was really relaxing.

the group

the chateau (the area around it was more impressive)

i really love this photo.

i have no idea what these are, but they are cool-looking

krystina and i

then we returned to Paris. once we got home, i decided to go home and change into some shorts and flipflops since it was so hot. that was a terrible idea! it was only nice like that in Rambouillet. once claire and i met up with tom and his mother in the Montmartre area, it got cold and windy again! it was still relatively sunny, but the clouds kept making it shady. i didn't even bring a jacket. i'm an idiot, i know. haha. i won't make that mistake again, though. but yeah, we showed tom's mom the view from the Sacre Coeur, walked to the artist square, the cemetery, etc. it's too bad that it was so crowded! but hey, Paris is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. i guess if i ever want to live here, i better get used to large crowds for the rest of my life.

look at all the people! ugh...

tom's future home :)

random self-serve gas pump on the street

after we walked around got really tired, we stopped for some coffee at a cafe. then, claire and i went back to our building to change while tom and his mom walked down the Champs-Élysées. then, that night, i met up with them and with krystina for some drinks at Le Caveau. claire, michael, and two other girls eventually showed up too. then, we walked around and got some crepes to eat as a late "dinner." it was, all in all, a good night. lots of fun. 

- longing for it