Happy 4th of July! It's just another day here in Paris, but I know parades and fireworks will be the plan for today at home. Wave to Kiersten with Youth Theatre of the Bluegrass and Zane with Scouts BSA in the Georgetown Parade and KK with Pack 124 in the Stamping Ground parade this afternoon.
We had class this morning at the Institut Catholique de Paris (picture above). I was nervous about being late, so I ended up being like 40 minutes early -- plenty of time for a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant). There was NO comparison between this masterpiece and the ones we get at home -- it literally was melt in your mouth good.
The first thing that struck me about the university we're having class at was the security. You had to show your ID (or in our case, a permission letter) to get in the gate. And, it seems that most all the classes start at the same time -- so the line was quite long (although very efficient) to get in. You enter into a beautiful courtyard with outdoor tables and chairs where we waited for class to start and many students were studying in between classes, etc.
To get to our classroom, you had to go up a couple of flights of stairs and at the top are just 2 classrooms. No hallways. No restrooms. Just classrooms. Restrooms are in their own little areas around the campus, and we finally found a water fountain, too!
Paris is not very accessible for people with disabilities. EVERYWHERE has stairs! And lots of them. Going to the metro? Stairs. Class? More stairs. Elevators are not very prevalent and where they do exist, extremely small. I really don't know how someone in a wheelchair would get around -- maybe they just live outside the city.
In class, we talked about the US Healthcare System as a way to orient ourselves and get ready to make comparisons. We even ended with a bingo game (and teaching friends -- WordMint is a great generator for bingo cards, crossword puzzles, and more). French chocolate was the prize for winning!
After class, I had lunch by myself at a cute little café.
I enjoyed a Quiche Lorraine (onions, ham, and cheese, I think), drinking chocolate (more about that in a minute), and a salad. I decided to walk back rather than take the metro so I could see more of the sights and it was a delightful stroll.
The drinking chocolate....there were a couple of different choices on the menu...and ultimately, I picked the one that translated as "Old-Fashioned Chocolate." They brought me a little cup of melted chocolate -- and a pitcher of steamed milk. It was like tea in that I think you were supposed to add the amount of milk you like. There also was a dark chocolate piece and some sugar on the plate in case you wanted to customize it even more, I guess. I was proud of myself for successfully ordering and paying for lunch solo -- most of my interactions involve a lot of pointing and hoping for the best -- and so far, so good with that method!
Sights from the stroll back to my apartment...
Until tomorrow...
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