So many visitors!

I haven't written in awhile because I have been really busy with a ton of visitors from home!! It was like a mini-vacation back to the U.S.!
I visited Amboise on March 15 with a group from school. It is just a short bus ride to the West of Paris. Leonarda da Vinci spent the last years in a cute cottage there. We visited this gorgeous chateau and cathedral there that Leonardo is buried in. It was a charming little village and was so cool because they had duplicates of Leonardo's inventions all through his house and garden. We played on his bridges and frolicked around the yards. It started to rain in the afternoon and we stopped in a cute little café where the waitress could not understand my French no matter how hard I tried. Perhaps it is my Parisian accent?
I picked up Callie (from Tulane who is studying in Grenada, Spain) from the Metro stop that night when the airport shuttle dropped her off. I took her to her hostel in the 15th arrondissement so she could get all settled in. It was also technically St. Patrick's Day according to the Pope so we had a Guinness at the bar before I headed home.
Sunday morning I went for a run in Jardin du Luxembourg then met Callie at her hostel. We walked to the Marais to meet friends for lunch. The Marais is the gay slash Jewish area of town. On Sundays when the rest of the city shuts down the Marais comes alive! There are adorable little vintage boutiques, Jewish bakeries, gay bars, synagogues, falafel restaurants, and a funky ambiance. Six girls including Caila (from Tulane who is studying at AUP) met us at this fabulous little falafel place. It was of course packed and buzzing with activity. We had vegetarian falafel sandwiches and Callie, Caila and I got to catch up on each other's lives and the little Tulane gossip we are aware of;)
The three of us walked to the Bastille and had cafés under a heated terrace while it sprinkled on us. That evening, Callie and I went to my favorite little wine bar and were able to just sit and talk. It was nice to be just with her and tell stories and hear all about her Spanish boyfriend, crazy landlady and fun times at the beach in Grenada.
On Monday I met her at Musée de l'Orangerie and walked through the Tuilerie gardens to the Champs Elysees. Around 2 we picked up Scott and Kristen (on Spring Break all the way from Tulane!!) at the train station. They had spent the weekend in London and I was sooo happy to see them! We dropped off their bags at my apartment, grabbed a couple croque monsieurs (toasted ham and cheese sandwiches) then met up with Brendan (from Tulane studying at Sciences Po in Paris). It was fun having to order in French for them and navigating around my city. We went to the rum bar by my house and shared a tray of rum shots including fun flavors like melon, coconut and lemon. We went out that night at an Anglophone bar for the real St Patrick's Day, partied and caught up Tulane style and Kristen and Scott stayed at Brendan's apartment.
I had class on Tuesday but was able to meet Kristen and Scott at the Notre Dame for lunch. That evening Eren and Lauren (my roommate in NOLA who is at Tulane this semester) finally got to Paris!! We went to the Duplex (an underground club on the Champs-Élysées) and danced the night away. There are two big rooms--one plays house slash techno music and the other is more mainstream American hip-hop. There were 7 of us close friends and we had such a blast. Lauren turned 21 at midnight and it was really cool to all be together in Paris.
The next day Di, Tom, KC and Brooke all got into Paris in the morning! They stayed at the Hotel les Jardin du Luxembourg--just a 35 minute walk or a 15 minute bus ride from my house! I met them at the hotel and we went to breakfast a café across the street. The girls and Tom had omelettes, Di a croissant and I had a crepe with nutella and bananas. We were all pretty beat but I was soo happy to see them! Our waitor was a character! He told us he was going to America in a month to meet a wife and Tom noticed he changed from wearing a bow-tie to a regular tie half way through the meal. We made dinner plans and while those guys took a nap, I met the Tulane crew under the Tour Eiffel to have a birthday picnic. My present to Lauren was a big bag filled with four different cheeses (roquefort, chevre, brie, camembert), two bottles of wine and two baguettes. Although it was cloudy and we were sprinkled on I thought it was a perfect day. I was so lucky to be with my best friend on her birthday under one of the prettiest things in the world. We talked and laughed like I hadn't missed a day at Tulane:) I was sad to see them leave but so lucky to have spent a few days with Callie, Eren and Lauren.