Simply Marlena (makeupgeek) is in Paris right now! I've been following her blog to check out what she's up to, and she does a great job cluing her readers into what all she's experiencing. These posts have been really helpful for me so far...
More sites!!! I found this great site all about Paris geared toward students that will be studying abroad. There's lots of great information for students as well as "normal travelers." If you sign up for her newsletter, she'll send you all sorts of special tips through your email, including a study abroad work book!
This is a relatively new blog about a wonderful threesome; Diane, her French husband Tom, and her BEAUTIFUL CAVALIER named Dagny. If I hadn't fixed my Cavalier Noah... there would be play dates. Di posts things about dogs, her vacations, and life in France in general. There aren't that many posts, but I'm addicted already!
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Paris among hip young people... speak appropriately. I use a LOT of idioms when I talk normally. Fitting in would probably be a good idea... These sites are full of fun French sayings, some out-dated, some not.
These sites are more along the lines of food and understanding French Culture.
This first site probably single-handedly took away most of my fear of eating in France. I only have one food allergy, and it's to a commonly found (and commonly-removed) ingredient. I haven't managed to read many more of the posts on this blog, but I'm definitely planning on it! I have to admit, I'm looking forward to mussles et frites!
David Lebowitz is one of the more "known" food and travel bloggers in the blog-universe, and I'm definitely glad he's parked himself in Paris. This post was linked to from the one I've just mentioned. I found my Celiac information cards that I'll print out for my stay in Paris from this post. The restaurants he mentioned here I plan on trying out with friends. I also "figured out" my etiquette on how to deal with my food issues in a restaurant if I'm not being taken seriously here. I just hope he's right.
I'll say I've "wasted so much time" on this site, but none of the time I've spent on it has been a waste! Learning that the idea that all French people hate Americans is absolutely crazy is a bit of a relief (I figured it was hogwash anyway), and this site even gets down to how to eat cheese, how to read body language, and even more! I've only managed to comb through parts of this site. Getting through every single page before I leave is on my to-do list, though!
This site is AMAZING for my whole "slang" thing. It's got all sorts of information on both idioms and common verbs. I may print this out and try to memorize it like a monologue...
