The Grass is Greener Where There is No Concrete

BRIEF RANT: My search for boots in Paris has been on for 3 weeks and I am just now blogging about it. I have had a shockingly difficult time finding a the perfect pair of boots. I waited to buy nice boots here, but I think it would have been easier to find ones that work in the US! I have been in at least 30 different shoe stores, assessing all the qualities I want my boots to posses: cute toe shape, zip up, brown, certain heel height, traction, not too plain, and within my price range are the main qualities. I realized I would probably have to adapt a little to the current style. I finally found a pair that met all of these ideals, and then when I tried them on my calf was too fat. I proceeded to go to other stores and my calves wouldn't fit in anything! I started to look for shorter boots, but all they seem to make right now are knee high or ankle, not many mid-calf. After suffering from very real shopping stress, I finally found a pair that I could ZIP ALL THE WAY UP my calf at Minelli. I decided it was a miracle so I bought them. The heel is higher than I wanted, so I hope they don't hurt my feet too much, but they're very cute. And I exceeded my maximum price, but I was getting so frustrated in my search I was about to go back to Marc Jacobs and try on some of his that I liked. Also, there were some 600€ boots I looked at that had no traction whatsoever on the bottom. I'm not paying that much just to fall down!

If you're not interested in my boots, I apologize, but they have been consuming most of my thoughts and time, outside of school of course. Now that my search is over what shall I do with all my free time?

Friday night, I went to the Asian area of Paris and ate Thai food with my friends. I had amazing shrimp pad thai and then for dessert I ordered a dish that was green worm/green bean looking noodles floating in coconut milk. It really looked like worms. I have no idea what it was called, but it was incredibly delicious. Keep in mind, I was ordering Thai food (which I know nothing about) in French, so it's even more difficult than normal. But luckily my whole meal was spot on. Even the green worm noodles.

Today was probably my favorite day in France thus far, despite the fact that I was mildly freezing because the temperature decided to drop almost 30 degrees from a few days ago and I was not prepared. Luckily, I managed to grab a warm scarf before I left the house at 7:20 this morning.

But anyways, today we took a bus to Rouen and then Giverny, both located in Haute-Normandie (upper Normandy), with Rouen being the capital. In Rouen we walked around the oldest part of town and saw some nice examples of 14th century half timbered houses.

We went into the Rouen cathedral briefly to look around. Rouen was heavily bombed by the allies in preparation for D-Day, so the cathedral was damaged and the entire city on the left bank of the river was destroyed. A few walls are all that remain of the government building where Joan d'Arc was tried for heresy. (Destroyed prior to WWII) Then we walked to the city square where she was burned alive in 1431. There's no stake there obviously, just a bed of sunflowers as well as other memorial engravings and whatnot.


Then we left Rouen while pondering death by fire and headed to Giverny. The reason today was so wonderful for me was because we left the big smelly city behind us and drove to beautiful green and lush hills and cornfields where there were birds and cows instead of homeless people and air pollution. Not only was it beautiful and refreshing, but it made me feel much more comfortable and at home. If you don't look too carefully the countryside looks like the central US, with rolling hills of trees and fields, but if you look carefully the trees are different species with a different shape and the houses are at least two hundred years old. It was indeed a sight for sore eyes.

Then we arrived in Giverny, the little town where Claude Monet spent the last half of his life. The whole area was green and flowers were blooming everywhere, but Monet's Japanese water garden, and even his traditional garden, were breathtaking. It would have been nice if it had been sunny more often (and warmer!) but the water garden was probably the most relaxing place I've ever been. I wish I could have kicked out all the other tourists and just sat there for hours. It also helps that I love Monet's works and I felt as though I had just stepped into the world of his paintings. Well, I suppose I actually did.