àParis

bienvenue!

6 months
of internship

16 weeks
for learning

185 days
of experience

4440 hours
of excitement

266400 minutes
of independence

15984000 seconds
of a lifetime

...in Paris.
August 20
DAY 2 On our second day, we used our time to familiarize ourselves with the place. We had planned on visiting our workplaces and at the same time, we got to tour ourselves around. All we had as a guide around the city was a map. Guys, it’s very easy understanding Paris. All you need is to know their system of transportation very well, and you’ll never worry about getting lost! First off in our list, Ecole de Cusine. It’s where I am currently taking my internship. It’s a great place packed with great people. I’m definitely going to miss my daily encounter with patisseries, and i’m definitely going to miss my “master”. My “master” is a master in patisseries! Next, we went to my friend’s workplace, Plaza Athenee. He is working in a 3-star restaurant in that hotel. At the end of the road where Plaza Athenee was, was Champs Elysees. We took the chance into walking along that famous avenue. There, we saw the Arc de Triomphe. From the Arc de Triomphe, we went to the *drumroll please*… Eiffel Tower! There were butterflies in my tummy just finally seeing that piece of art! My lucky friend works there and he goes up there every single day. Well, except during his days off, but he can absolutely go up there anytime he wants! Our day ends in Notre Dame. Holy Week was about to begin. Our second day in Paris was Palm Sunday. We had attended our first mass in Paris in french. We had understood nothing at all, but it was an experience!

DAY 2

On our second day, we used our time to familiarize ourselves with the place. We had planned on visiting our workplaces and at the same time, we got to tour ourselves around. All we had as a guide around the city was a map. Guys, it’s very easy understanding Paris. All you need is to know their system of transportation very well, and you’ll never worry about getting lost!

First off in our list, Ecole de Cusine. It’s where I am currently taking my internship. It’s a great place packed with great people. I’m definitely going to miss my daily encounter with patisseries, and i’m definitely going to miss my “master”. My “master” is a master in patisseries!

Next, we went to my friend’s workplace, Plaza Athenee. He is working in a 3-star restaurant in that hotel.

At the end of the road where Plaza Athenee was, was Champs Elysees. We took the chance into walking along that famous avenue. There, we saw the Arc de Triomphe.

From the Arc de Triomphe, we went to the *drumroll please*… Eiffel Tower! There were butterflies in my tummy just finally seeing that piece of art! My lucky friend works there and he goes up there every single day. Well, except during his days off, but he can absolutely go up there anytime he wants!

Our day ends in Notre Dame. Holy Week was about to begin. Our second day in Paris was Palm Sunday. We had attended our first mass in Paris in french. We had understood nothing at all, but it was an experience!

+

So here is how this blog shall roll. I post photos that had summed up my day then i shall share how it went (wow… sounds like a journal) :)

DAY 1

on this day, we (there were a bunch of us, 16 if i remember it correctly, from my school who went to paris together for the same reason) had first set foot on france (well, most of us). and before we got to the city of lights, we had flown to dubai for a stop-over. the first picture was when we were finally entering the plane that would take us to paris, france. just imagine how excited we were!

there, we finally landed on the second photo. not everyone was going to stay in paris others were going to travel by train to other provinces, and it would take a few months before we’d see each other again. so there, a quick shot together before saying goodbye. and the rest went ahead to the exit - to have a taste of… what’s outside?

anyway, from the airport we took a bus (more like a big van) that brought us to our friends’ apartment. we all don’t live in one apartment. we were split into 3. unfortunately, we had to take the subway from there. just imagine - paris metro was all new to us, we had kilos of luggages that we had to carry up and down the stairs, and we had to beat time into getting ourselves to our apartment to meet the person that would welcome us into our new home - or else no bed for the night!

to cut the day short, we had met a very helpful filipina that saved us big time, we got in our apartment… and we were happy :)

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what a surprise.

i’m now on my 128th day in paris, and i have just 57 days left.

i’ve kept this blog in the dust, and i think it’s time to revive it. every single day i keep on hoping to post stuff here, but it was either i had no time, i had more important things to do, i didn’t feel like it or i was just lazy to.

reading my first entry it says:

i shall be updating this blog everyday to share anything and everything about my stay in europe. i hope you enjoy it like how i had enjoyed it :)

i’m terribly sorry for disappointing anyone. i didn’t even expect anyone to follow me just yet :)

so shall i begin with day 1?

April 10

an introduction

DAY (-5)

i come from a province in the philippines and had flown to manila 3 years ago. it was just a one-hour flight away. manila was just like an extension to my home. i never got depressed from being away from my family because i have found myself a second family - my relatives and new friends. on the 16th of april at 12:20am, i will be travelling with great people to a very far place - hours and hours away from all the people i love. how i wish God would let me experience another manila and be able to call paris my third home.

some of you, my dear readers, might have known about my trip to france. it is for my 6-month internship in one of the establishments of the highly respected Alain Ducasse.

who would have known i would one day be given this great chance of having such a wonderful opportunity to travel to europe and experience their cuisine and culture? who am i to thank for aside from our dearest Lord, who makes anything impossible very possible? i thank my loving mom and dad!

honestly, no matter how much i care for my parents… i just don’t have enough courage to tell them how much i do. the same thing goes with wanting to thank them for something. i find it so difficult to say, “THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND I LOVE YOU SO.”

i guess, all those sweet and touching words, i can relay only through text messages (and only during special occasions). what a bummer, right?

i greeted my dad last february 5:

i’m very thankful for the many things you’ve done for all of us. you really do deserve a special day. may you have one happy day today. happy birthday and i love you!

if you were a dad, will you find it very touching - to the point that tears start rolling down, your smile reaches your eyes, your heart starts pounding faster… oh forget it. that’s just so much drama. so here was dad’s reply:

thank you for your birthday greeting. i also thank the Lord for His blessings and how HE generously provides for our daily needs.

so, may i go back and thank the Lord for His generosity and kindness? because He’s awesome like that. we land in paris a day before holy week. it might just be the perfect place to give thanks to the Almighty! :)

before i end my first entry, i would like all my family and friends to know how much i will miss them!

i shall be updating this blog everyday to share anything and everything about my stay in europe. i hope you enjoy it like how i had enjoyed it :)

pray for me!

with much love,

mariagnesramos