So the rest of Kara's visit went well! We spent Sunday wandering around Montmartre admiring painters and street performers, then learning about history and window-shopping in the Marais (and enjoying some of the best Nutella crepes I have tasted while in Paris). Then Monday we decided to be total girls. After a trip to the Orangerie, a smaller museum of Impressionism that includes panoramic water lily paintings by Monet, we went shopping Paris style...Galeries Lafayette, Le Printemps, the Rue Saint-Honore, everything. Kara was shopping for a Longchamps bag, and even though designer bags aren't normally my thing, I ended up being convinced. They're very simple and classic, much cheaper in France, will last forever, don't have the designer label all over them, and mine is RED! hehe. it's awesome. We finished off the day with an aperitif at Harry's New York Bar, which is where F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway hung out. The mahogany countertop was brought over from Manhattan, and there are pennants of American colleges hanging all around. Then Thai food and bed!
Kara left Tuesday morning :-(, and I went to the Musee de Quai Branly to make Paul-Henri happy, haha. It's a museum of non-European cultures, including Africa, Oceania, America, and Asia. I wasn't crazy about the organization, it was hard to see everything without backtracking, but it was really interesting. There was even an exhibit on the way dye is used in different cultures. On the walk there, I also got to see the Flame of Liberty Memorial. It's a replica of the Statue of Liberty's torch that the US gave to France in 1989, the 200th anniversary of the revolution. But since it is right above the bridge where Princess Diana was killed, it's become a sort of memorial for her...people put letters and flowers all over it. It was cool to see, and it has a great view of the Eiffel Tower!!
So then the stressful part of the week started...on Monday the AC adaptor to my computer broke, so I called IBM France and ordered a new one, and Megan has the same computer so I was able to charge it at night and at least use it a few hours a day. Well, IBM sent me the French AC adaptor but not the part that plugs into the wall. Which was useless because the two parts wouldn't connect. When I called back, they told me that it was not their business, they only sold French parts because they were the French office, and they had no idea where I could get the connecting part. They gave me a website where I could have it by Monday for 90 euros (which sucks because I have warranty on my comp so everything is free). This resulted in much frustration because I have an incredible amount of homework to do. So after a few frustrated phone calls to Robi, I decided to try out the French version of Best Buy, Fnac, even though the woman at IBM had said she had no idea where I could get the cord. I showed the guy what I had and what I needed, and he immediately brought me the correct part...for 7 euros...in the most well-known store in France...so yeah. French customer service people are imbeciles but at least now I have a working computer!!! Which is good cause I need to watch last week's Grey's...and oh yeah, do my homework...
This weekend two Alpha Chis are coming to visit! Elizabeth and Kailey get here tomorrow, and this weekend should be lots of fun!!
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