LN93 - DAY 3

Let's just start off by saying today was the longest day of my life... a word of advice to all my fellow friends and family "DON'T GO OUT UNTIL 4 AM WHEN YOU HAVE TO BE UP AT 6AM THE NEXT DAY"... now that we got that out of the way, we can get into the serious stuff.

Want to know what lead to today being the longest day of my life...Check out yesterday's blog post by clicking HERE.

We have been doing so much walking in Paris and I think my feet and going to fall off before I even make it to London. I already have a massage, pedicure, and an appointment with a chiropractor lined up for when I get home. No but really I don't even know how I will make it to the end of this trip. I would have inserted a picture of how my feet look (blisters and all) but I will save you the horror out of the kindness of my heart.

We started off our day by looking at Gallerias and Arcades around Rue du Royal & Champs Elysees! I fell in love with Dior's black and white store display! Personally, I would love to have a job developing the interiors of designer stores but I can't fulfill all my passions or I would never be able to sleep! I'll just stick to interior design in my own home one day!

After we walked around all the designer storefronts we went to the original YSL Fashion House. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures inside... but I can only tell you just how stunning it was! We got to see his original design room and sketches, which is something that are usually locked up and not viewable to the average person stopping by! His designs were so flawless and have definitely inspired me in looking at silhouettes in a new and fresh light.

This was his design room that we were able to get a tour of which was extremely cool! 

At this point I was having a break down because I had been up for like 30 hours straight! Jordana, Grace and I marched our starving butts over to this amazing little cafe and had the most delicious sandwiches! The French fries over here are literally the best things I have ever tasted and they literally serve French fries with every meal! My kinda place! 

We walked back to the Champs Elysees after our lunch and then were free to walk around. Jordana, Grace, and I decided to walk up to the Arc de Triomphe and had a mini photo shoot in the middle of the street! The picture is worth the danger ;)

We decided to stop in the Louis Vuitton store on our way back down the Champs Elysees to the Laduree store! I literally walked around the store for a couple minutes before realizing I wouldn't have even been able to afford a shopping bag from the store... One day Lauren... One day

 Jordana, Grace and I thought it would be super cute to go get macaroons and then walk to the Eiffel tower and eat them in the grass lots in front of the tower! I have had one of Laduree's macaroons in New York City, but they are nothing compared to the fresh ones made directly in Paris.

Look how gorgeous it is in here!!!

I could've eaten them all!! 

We then made our way to the Eiffel Tower which ended up being like a 45 minute walk! But once we got there I was so taken aback by the beauty of it that it didn't even matter!

This had to be one of the best days of my life! Sitting under the Eiffel tower just talking about life with new friends and enjoying each others company is something I will remember for the rest of my life!

LN93 - DAY 2

It's our first official day in Paris! Wooohooo!

Miss Day 1 posts check them out HERE and HERE!

Today we had quite the schedule but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! I am so glad that our teachers and the International Programs (IP) office have set us up with such amazing excursions throughout our duration here!

For our first excursion we visited Lectra's headquarters. Lectra is a "Multi-national company, involved in integrated technology solutions for the textile, home interior, automotive, marine and aerospace industries." Of course we focused on the textile and fashion side of Lectra's business. The amount of integration Lectra has created for fashion companies is truly remarkable! In general terms now when the pattern maker edits something in one program it is updated on all other platforms as well and sent to the rest of the design team so everyone is in full communication with each other at all times.

 The most interesting piece of software I believe Lectra has created was their 3D textiles software. Basically a designer can import their designs and the software allows them to see how that garment would lay on a 3D model. They have absolutely every type of fabric imaginable in the system and with the click of a switch you can see how that garment would lay on the body with that fabric selection. This 3D software also helps when it come to the fitting and grading of fabrics but I won't go into that because unless you are a fashion major like me I can assure you that you would not find that interesting at all! Lol!

You can click HERE and HERE to see videos produced by Lectra that further show the use of this incredible 3D software! 

After visiting Lectra we visited the Galaries Lafayette (which to the average non fashion student would be considered a really fancy mall) and went on a walking tour. I was truly taken aback at the stunning architecture! I love how everything here is just so much more beautiful and artistically enriched.

These are two of the original twenty glass elevators. Only four of the original twenty are still left, those being, 15, 16, 17 and 18.

The visual merchandising in Paris has been absolutely stunning!

Hands down the best part of the walking tour was when we ended up on the rooftop and far off in the distance you could see the Eiffel Tower! This was the first time we had even spotted the Eiffel tower during our time there and I'm pretty sure it was the biggest group freak out I have ever seen! I have to be honest though when the tour guide was like okay we are now going to walk up 5 flights of stairs to get to the roof I was like "Oh hell no!" Thankfully though the view was so breath taking it made every step worth it!

That night it was Tati's 22nd birthday and we decided to go out to a club approximately 15 minutes from our hotel. Well let's just say that we didn't realize we weren't going to be able to use our iPhone maps app due to lack of internet connection, and in turn ended up getting lost in the middle of Paris. I always say everything happens for a reason though because we eventually ran into other Americans and found a street lined with bars and continued to bar hop until 4 am in the morning. Word of advice when you have to be up at 6 am for school the text day do not stay out until 4 am the night before because you will basically feel like the walking dead. 

This is Jordana and Grace and they have basically become my partners in crime and I love them!

If you want to read all about my day post less than 2 hours of sleep the night before click HERE lol!

LN93 - DAY 1/PART 2

To be honest, I didn't quite know how to separate my complete "Day 1" experience when I had first started typing yesterday because truthfully it has all been "Day 1" to me seeing that I haven't slept in what is going on around 30+ hours. So if I start to sound a little delirious in this post please forgive me! If you want to find out why I wasn't able to get any sleep on the way over you can check out Day 1/Part 1 by clicking HERE. 

In my last post I left off with telling you all that eating breakfast on an international flight is a no go... at least it is for me that is... If there is one thing I hate more than anything it would have to be... drum roll please... being nauseous! Well once the nausea set it I was basically screwed because you know that feeling when you are about to throw up and you start getting hot flashes and your throat starts to get really wet... well that is exactly what happened to me. The girl sitting next to me must have thought I was dying of some disease because she was super friendly the entire trip an then the moment that plane landed around 10 minutes later she jumped up out of her seat faster than a bat out of hell! Oh well, what can you do?!

Exiting the air plane was pretty cool though because we were taken off by stairs directly onto the runway. I don't know why I have had such a fascination with exiting a plane on the runway but for some reason I do. So that was really neat for me!

Finding our way out of the airport was interesting because we couldn't read a single word but when in doubt follow the flow of the crowd!

 Once we got to our hotel and were settled in we went across the street and got some cute cappuccinos at the cafe across the street!

Afterwards we decided to walk around the city a little until orientation began and found some super cute alleys! I am so in love with the architecture here its crazy! Like why can't America look like this!?! Personally I now understand why David Siegel modeled his house after Versailles.

Before orientation we had a "Welcome Reception" which basically turned into lets all drink as much wine as we can before having to go sit in a two hour long orientation!

As much as I wanted to go out and drink with some of the girls in my major after orientation, my body just couldn't handle it. Instead my roommate Jordana and I just came back and basically fell asleep mid sentence with one another!

That's it for Day 1/Part 2!

LN93 - DAY 1/PART 1

Hi,

To everyone that is stopping by to read what is about to turn into the nonsense of what goes on inside my head on a daily basis... I hope you enjoy!

            I’m just going to go ahead and start by saying this is pre arrival in Paris - Day 1/Part 1 and I will fill you in on all the fun post arrival in Paris in - Day 1/Part 2 tomorrow!

Well here goes nothing! By the time you are reading this I will be in Paris! OMG… one more time… OMG!!! Sorry, had to have a mini freak out moment there. It’s so crazy how I have been planning on going on this trip ever since I went to freshman orientation at FSU and found out my major had their own study abroad program. I remember looking at my parents and going “I’m going on that trip even if I have to cut off an arm and a leg to get there”. Well needless to say I didn’t have to cut of an arm or a leg to get here… that would have been extremely unfortunate in the long run if that had been the case lol.

I am going to try my very best to write on here once a day almost as a virtual journal since if I had wanted to keep a real journal… well there was no more room in my backpack for that! I really hope I keep up with this because I think these thirty days of letters would be an amazing thing to be able to look back on when my trip here is all said and done. So consider yourself lucky because you are about to get an inside look into the way my mind thinks because let’s be honest if I am going to treat this as a real journal than I am sure as hell going to type in it how my brain thinks it… if that even makes sense… probably not… oh well there you go...your first glimpse into my crazy brain of mine. I promise the shit show will only get better from here on out!

I am currently typing this while on the plane…cue children and babies crying… no but really i swear one kid cried 75% of the 7 hour flight. Want to guess where that baby was sitting? That's right, that screaming chunker was seated right behind me. All I have to say is thank goodness he wasn't my child because I don't think that kid would have come off the flight alive. The flight has been pretty uneventful other than the screaming child behind me. Oh, I can't forget about the old guy behind me yelling at the flight attendant when they tried to move his bag to another overhead compartment in order to fit some woman’s bag from the back of the plane. Needless to say, the way that story ended was that my bag was the one that ended up getting moved because let’s just say if they had moved this guy’s bag the flight would not have been taking off on time.

I was extremely disappointed to find out that they don’t have WIFI on this flight…UHM HELLO THE USA IS PLAYING SOCCER RIGHT NOW AND I DON’T KNOW THE SCORE…double hello this is 2014 you would think WIFI on planes would be a common thing now days. Dear lord, they just handed out the “Free Flight Food” and I have never tasted anything more bland…yuck… so much for “Gourmet Snack Mix”… more like “Am I eating real food or just cardboard in the shape of pretzels?!”

I must say they saved themselves when it came to dinner... that wasn't horrible! 

Another thing I learned on this flight was that do not eat the breakfast they serve you on planes when in actuality it is only 1 am at home. NO ONE EATS BREAKFAST AT 1 am! Why I thought eating a full breakfast meal was a good idea is beyond me. Let's just say my body didn't know how to process that amount of food at such an early time when I don't normally eat breakfast on a regular basis. So if you want to save yourself from horrible nausea... do yourself a favor ... and skip the breakfast!

There are eight other people on my flight from my major and all seem really nice which is exciting! Side story: For those of you that know me really well, know that I can sometimes be really shy until I get to know you, and then once I do it’s all over for you from there because then you can’t get me to shut up. Moral of the story, I was actually really nervous to go on this trip since I didn’t really know anyone going but for once I am trying to push myself to be open and talkative right away which I think will be good for me!

If you want to leave me a comment so I know you stopped by I would love it! I’ll try to respond to them as I can but I can’t make any promises! I had a long debate with myself whether or not I wanted to be active on social media while in Paris/London and the more I think about it, I really want to use this time as a time to focus on me! I feel like more often than not I get so wrapped up in keeping tabs on everyone else day to day life I don’t keep up with my own so here is to thirty days with no interaction with my life back home. Well no interaction with anyone besides my parents! I can’t forget about a little shout out to my big… heheh I didn’t forget about you big… but I bet knowing you, you probably screamed at the computer “LITTLE FORGOT ABOUT ME!” no I didn’t you can breathe again lol