train and checklist

i decided to buy my TGV (Train de Gran Vitesse-- Train of Great Velocity) ticket from paris to aix on the same day i travel... i figured i would do this because the websites tell me if i purchase the ticket is non-refundable, and that you can't make reservations for the "autocar". since my hotel is like 1.5 miles from the train station, i figured i'd be there early, though, technically, i might buy it friday night. (i leave paris saturday morning)... i should probably also find directions from the train station in aix en provence to my hostess' house. :)

i'm getting really nervous and i've started making some lists of things i need to take. i will grace you with the lsit of items in my carry on:

• passport
• binder with hotel information/flight information/ mapquest directions to the washington d.c. airport and from the hotel to the train station
• cd player & cds
• book(s)
• per recommendation of everyone, i will take my basic toiletries and a change of clothes, in case my baggage is delayed or lost (KNOCK ON WOOD!)
• phone numers of people in France (Beatrice and people in Aix)
• some munchies
• pillow (i don't know if i'll put this in my bookbag or i will take it separately, but anyways)
• writing and art utensils
• digital camera

i am very ashamed to say i have being finding it hard to find motivation to read my books... so i'm still stuck in the first book, about halfway through. on my defense, the other 3 books are only half the size of the one i'm reading now, and i am (in fact) picking up speed (and comprehension maybe?)

... why is this post so long? i do appreciate any readers. i know i will be getting more when i have actual pictures to post ;)

Hotel reservation

Finally made! I will be staying at a hotel right behind the Louvre.

Here's a little picture:



I picked this hotel because it was reasonably priced and in a very good area. I e-mailed my cousin's friend, who works in the Mexican Embassy in Paris and asked which places where the safest. She responded that the arrondissements 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, and 16 were.
An arrondisement is like a sector within Paris. Here's a little wiki entry that explains how the arrondisements are set up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrondissements_of_Paris

and here's a little picture of the way Paris is structured. I am staying in arrondisement 1:



I now need to buy myself a TGV (Train de Gran Vitesse-- Train of Great Velocity) ticket to get from Paris to Aix-en-Provence.

A bientot mes amis!

7 days and counting!

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the date is approaching! AHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so nervous and excited and everything.
For everyone who doesn't know where Aix is, here goes a little map:



I still have 4 books to read, all by Albert Camus:
Le Premier Homme
L'envers et l'endroit
La Chute
L'Etranger

on my defense, I started reading Le Premier Homme and it's the longest one. I have also read L'Etranger (The Stranger) in English. I have not started packing, but I'm a quick packer and I have in mind all the things I need to take. I might make a list here later. ;) Au revoir everyone! Much love!