Alpha Chi reunion!

This weekend was a lot of fun! Elizabeth and Kailey came from London and the Netherlands to see us Parisian Alpha Chis!

I picked the two of them up on Friday and we went to see the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Latin Quarter, as well as stopping in at Breakfast in America, the favorite refuge of expats. Saturday we went to Versailles, then came home and did the Arc de Triomphe/Champs-Elysees and then the traditional letter shirt picture in front of the Eiffel Tower!

Saturday night was really fun. It was our friend Maria's 21st birthday, so we decided to celebrate by going to this restaurant that a lot of people in school had been talking about. It's in Montmartre, and it is famous for serving fondue and giving you wine in baby bottles. It was an experience, to be sure! We arrived and met the very brusque and no-boundaries-barred owner, who proceeded to seat us (but not until Hayley arrived, and he lectured us until she did). The tables were long, along benches on each side of the wall (small restaurant) and he then helped me and three others stand on a chair and climb over the table to get to the other side. We were then served an aperitif that was either kir or Sangria, not really sure, along with some snacks that were kind of like antipaste. Next came the fondue! Cheese with bread and potatoes to dip, along with meat to cook in juices. I skipped the meat because raw red meat really grosses me out, but the bread and cheese was so good! The fondue came with a full-size baby bottle full of red or white wine! This led to everyone being pretty silly by the time we were finished eating. We were sitting next to some Spanish guys who were very friendly (maybe due to the close quarters) and talked to us a lot. Hayley and Elizabeth also got into a good-natured argument about the Kappa Sig email and the repercussions for campus, which was funny to watch because Hayley was sitting closest to the fondue and would just dip people's bread, hand it back to them, and not stop talking the whole time. After the fruit salad dessert, we got the whole restaurant to sing happy birthday to Maria, and then the owner kicked us out, almost without giving us our change, haha. Then we wandered around Montmartre a bit and headed home (but not before taking the funiculaire! Fun way to avoid the hill of Montmartre, I refuse to ever climb it again).

However, today is a homework day so it will not be nearly as much fun...oh well!