the weblog of robin camille davis

Two weeks after classes “started” i.e. went on strike, the Parisian universities took a week-long winter break. (Livin’ the high life!) So I took a 4-day trip to Belgium with three other Brown students. We stayed in a “hostel” in Brussels, which turned out to be really quite fabulous. The above three pictures sum up [...]

Scene: TD (like section) for Géographie de l’alimentation. 40 students in severely overheated classroom. Professor hands out photocopies of articles, discusses the first one by himself. Robin, seated in 4th row, begins to lose focus in the suffocating heat. Professor flips to second article, then consults attendance sheet. A pause in the silent classroom.
Prof: Euh… [...]

I was meeting some friends for dinner at Le Trumilou, a nice restaurant on Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville, when I passed this lovely view. The building is La Conciergerie on Île de la Cité. Guidebook: “Originally the residence of the governor of the king’s palace — hence the name — it became a prison [...]

Blatant metaphors seen today:

colorful balloons caught in a tree
lone white feather floating in the wind

Something in the air here makes me really want to:

write stories, lots of stories
wear tights and miniskirts everywhere
own a pastry shop (perilous)

Today:
— was not a day to be productive. Both of my classes font grève, and then when I went to [...]

Bruxelles!
I don’t have any classes on Mondays, so today felt like another slow Sunday. I did, however, manage to get a few things done, including meeting up with a couple other Brown students to buy tickets for a 4-day weekend trip to Bruxelles (Brussels). I’ve never been to Belgium before! We also booked hostel rooms. [...]

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate notre amour, Deven and I went to Montmartre, which is supposed to be the most romantic neighborhood in Paris. It was nice, but frankly too crowded to be 100% pleasant. I was also in a bad mood (sorry D) which wasn’t helped by the people behind us on the long [...]

I made albondigas soup for Deven and myself last night, using Grandpa’s recipe. I’ve never made it by myself before, but it was quite good (and easy)! I’m a fan of one-pot recipes. Mostly because I only have one hot plate. In any case, here’s the recipe if you are interested:
Grandpa’s Albondigas Soup

1 lb. ground [...]

These delicious macarons were in La Chocolaterie in Chartres, which was everything it sounded like. I had a big vanilla macaron with my hot chocolate. Magnifique.
At first, I was confused — is macaron the French spelling of macaroon? But my confusion was soon cleared up. Macarons are so much taster than silly macaroon cookies. Pfffft. [...]

Things I miss about the US:

having an oven
cheap laundromats
24-hour convenience stores
internet that never ever drops out
normal lined notebooks (graph paper? non merci!)

Things I will miss about Paris:

patisseries
Haussmannian architecture
gorgeous footwear as social norm
1€ and 2€ coins (whatever happened to Sacagawea?)
being called “mademoiselle” or “madame” all the time

As promised, more church-themed pictures. This one is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, which is considered one of the most beautiful and well-preserved medieval cathedrals in all Europe. It dates back to the 12th through 16th centures and exhibits early and middle gothic architecture. In the above picture on the right, you can see the [...]