Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Evening Affair...

So when our falafels were eaten, cell phones and metro cards purchased, and with the whole group finally being assembled together it was time for Dr. Young, our program supervisor, to give us an introduction to the world of French gastronomy. On this particular evening it would be a simple affair, largely due to the fact that many of us were tired and also because Georgetown had scheduled for us a formal French Gastronomy 101 for later on in the program. So with this being the case, Dr. Young had prepared for us an evening at the very charming Café De L'Industrie which he deemed as the perfect spot for a very traditional French meal. And what a place indeed! Situated in the Bastille neighborhood this café is quite spacious (and is one of the very few places around that can accommodate a large group), characterized by a blend of both exotic and traditional wall decor as well as friendly service, and a large offering of traditional French delicacies such as escargot, duck, salmon, steak tartare, etc. so we were quite happy...
The festive exterior of Café De L'Industrie 

The gentlemen enjoying their dinner


My excellent Confit de Canard 
Talal, a student from Georgetown Qatar, enjoys his rich chocolate dessert 
My apple tatin for dessert 
Stopping by the Notre Dame on my post-dinner stroll 
The courtyard of Hôtel de Ville looking festive for the French Open 
A beautiful sunset on the Seine to end a lovely first evening in Paris...













Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Paris Rewind Begins...


Well hello there, the world of blogging! This didn't exactly work out the way I planned (my bad)... For what was supposed to be a diary of my Parisian adventures turned into nothing of the sort, and I apologize for neglecting my reporting duties. However, the bottom line is that we, Georgetown Paris 2013, traveled to the City of Light where we made some great friends, studied very hard, shared some amazing experiences together, and now when it all came to an end we are left with some incredible memories and stories to tell. So over the next series of posts I would like to turn back the page to those six amazing weeks in Paris, and share with you that which I failed to record... Our adventures in the City of Light, so here goes!


The falafel... Probably not the most conventional of foods to be first savored upon your arrival in Paris, nevertheless I was  determined to have one in part because of our hotel's close proximity to Paris' Marais district. I was the first of the group to arrive at our hotel meeting point (thanks to the major SNCF strike causing much commuting disruptions in Paris that day) but was shortly joined by Brian, another economics student in our group, who had arrived in Paris a few days earlier. With Brian's help I had retrieved my Carte Navigo (very handy for the use of the RER and the metro), and it was then that we decided that a falafel is the next "must-have" item on our menu... But while we were busy ascertaining the exact whereabouts of various falafel shops we had gathered a small group of five or six Georgetown people all of whom were just as anxious to try out an authentic Parisian falafel as we were! So when all local recommendations were heard and all maps gathered off we went!

With its charming cramped streets, small alleyways, iconic Parisian architecture and small shops bursting with life the historic Jewish quarter was everything we had hoped for... A rich and beautiful introduction to Paris... 

One of the highlights from the historic Jewish quarter...


L'as du Fallafel is highly recommended by every Paris guidebook out there, however after reading and hearing numerous reports of patrons receiving food poisoning from their famous "Lenny Kravitz-recommended" falafels we decided to pass up this famous tourist trap...  

Officially my first picture in Paris... Taken in the courtyard of the incredible Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris where we enjoyed our falafels.





  


  

Thursday, May 30, 2013

And the Grand Hiatus Ends...

Well...I'm back!!!! I know it's been a while, but the good news is that I have a lot to report... So, first of all, what have I been up to all these weeks? For the most part, I spent half of my time doing this:

My hand drawings of what the long count date for May 10, 2013 looks like in the ancient Mayan hieroglyphs.
(For my  Book of Ancient Maya final) 
One of my sketches of how my name would be written in the ancient Maya hieroglyphs.
(For the Book of the Ancient Maya final notebook) 
One of my infamous graph constructions for my Microeconomics Theory class. 
But when the semester came to a close, this became my assigned reading...
After a while, Vogue Paris sent me on a hunt for some excellent outfits for Paris...
With my faithful Michael Kors ensemble on hand the hunt began...
This was what I was after: when I first saw this Michael Kors ad I already had the dress, etc. on the picture but I did not have that bag...
I love Michael Kors bags, but these were not what I was after...
BINGO! Top Row. Center. 
Voila! I can officially now declare that I am an owner of the complete outfit pictured in the Michael Kors ad...
Matching sandals with an MK pink neon detail is an extra bonus to my outfit!!!
Okay, at this point you can say I am obsessed with MK pink neon... I even picked up a matching pink neon iPhone 5 cover...
Do I see more pink neon??? Yes I do... 
Oh. My. Goodness. MORE neon!!! And now it is a different shade... Let's just say this is a matter that is to be continued in another post...
































Thursday, May 9, 2013

The Art of Punk.

Well, ever since I saw Sarah Jessica Parker hitting the red carpet at the Met Gala 2013,  I knew that I had to pay an homage to the art of punk. My, that gorgeous Philip Treacy mohawk of hers was certainly the most talked-about attribute with many bloggers, editors, columnists, etc. And who can blame them? It's so stunning!!! Anyhow, as the remnants of the grand event wrap up through the spread of countless photographs, articles, etc. I would like to seize the opportunity before the excitement dies off, to share with you a compilation of a few of my favorite punk-inspired images.

SJP in her Philip Treacy mohawk 
Kate Moss for Vivienne Westwood
The queen of punk, Vivienne Westwood
David Sims, Vogue, December 2011. 
Fendi Fall 2013
Eddie Borgo 
Sasha Pivovarova by Hedi Slimane
Steven Meisel, Vogue, June 2004. 
punk
The Met Museum~ Karl Lagerfeld, Vogue 2011. 






Image 9: http://www.google.be/imgres?hl=nl&sa=X&biw=1024&bih=662&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=yXKVpKppq5JcLM:&imgrefurl=http://www.flights-of-fab-fashion-fancy.com/2010/02/hair-designs-hot-short-punk-haircuts.html&docid=93VOFY9i6rvduM&imgurl=http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt67/bdavies_photos/370-EMPORIO-ARMANi-short-punk-style.jpg&w=370&h=555&ei=Sja_T-OsLobR0QXEtYnPCg&zoom=1