Madrid!

Last Wednesday I went on a walking tour of the ''Banlieue' which is kind of like the suburbs of Paris. It is so much different than the inner city-much more diverse and ...comment-dit on? ghetto? It was interesting though and I love seing pqrts of the city I haven't yet.
My Art History Class started on Thursday and that seems like it's going to be sooo interesting! We loked at slides of 30 paintings from the transition period into Impressionism. Our professor was so interesting in his explanations and interpretations. Degas, Monet, Manet..the best part=next class we are meeting at the Musée d'Orsay to see the real life actual paintings!
I witnessed my first grève (strike) last week! It was the lower grade school teachers. Just outside my school on the main road they were marching with banners, balloons, and cars playing loud music. It was like a big party in the closed off street and I thought it was cool to see them with so much pasion and conviction. The political activism of the French is one of the things that has drawn me to them!
This past weekend I went to Madrid, Spain! I have two good friends who are studying there--Eren and Deborah--and I also hung out with the other dozen or so Tulane kids there! It was awesome. I had never been to Spain and really loved it. Hayley and Amy went with me and they were such good sports. We had a bunch of mishaps on our way there so it was good to be there with laidback girls who just want to have fun. We flew Ryanair (cheap, but kind of a hassle so I wouldn't suggest it) and stayed in a hostel near the Chueca metro stop/area.
Eren met us and tok us to this cute tapas restaurant. I loved it! They love ham as much as the French do. We had these little croquettes that remind me of pigs ina blanket, and this rice dish that reminded me of jambalaya called Paella and sangria. Then Eren showed us all the cool landmarks of the city on Saturday-the Royal Palace and cathedral, two really beautiful squares, Sol (the Madrid times square) then we went to this Chocolateria for churros dipped in creamy warm chocolate. Probs my new favorite food. We then went back to the hostel for a siesta. (yes, i embrace cultures everywhere I go).
Dinner was at this awesome restaurant/bar where we again had tapas. My favorite ones were the chorizos (spicy sausage) and the salad with cod (yeah! fish! i know! i actually really liked it!). It was sooo good and fun! then Eren took us to this 7 story club, Capitale, where we did the Soulja Boi on one floor then danced to techno music on stage on the lowest floor. It was crazy and so packed! I loved it obvi.
The next morning we went to the biggest flea market ever. It was huge with soooo much...junk. It was cool to see so many people dressed in colors other than grey and black (haha) and to hear Spanish. Its a beautiful city with gorgeous architecture and huge buildings. That afternoon we spent at this great park with this lake, all these families, a crystal palace, all these ducks and dogs, rollerbladers, people playing music and dancing everywhere. It's like a party every Sunday!
Ok random fact--Madrid is a huge seafood town! We went to a restaurant that night and basically had a crab feast! Two guys from Tulane joined us and they were hilarious. Super wonderful weekend all in all. Good to be back though...I'm sure Marie Claude missed me...even though she thinks I broke her little washing machine.

Love you all!
Chloe

ps i love getting mail:
CIEE/CPEC
37 bis rue de Sentier
Paris, France 75002