Finally recovered from jet lag

It is our second full day here (the first one with all 6 of us here!) and we've finally figured out the meaning of life: bread from the pâtisserie down the block, cheese, regional wine, and Poulon chocolate! Poulon is the major French brand of chocolate, but somehow is ridiculously better than the normal brands you find in the US. We are addicted.

We've set up our "office" in one of the classrooms here, since the Univ. of So. Mississippi students who normally study abroad here are studying in Paris for the week and then going on spring break for the two after that. The room has a gorgeous view of the gardens (I have to face the whiteboard - I don't know how well I could concentrate if I were in class here!). We spent most of the day there, taking a break to go to the restaurant across the street, Le Commerce. We are going there every day for lunch, and have discovered that we are very lucky indeed! So far the meals have been fabulous and the ambiance in the restaurant is very friendly and charming - they are even very accommodating to our group vegetarian. :) I'm sure when the linden trees are in bloom, the entrance to the restaurant from the Abbey is absolutely beautiful!

We also toured some of the unrenovated Abbey spaces with Robbie - some of the undeveloped wings have beautiful structures that really illustrate the great untapped potential of this place.