Last night at about 11:30, some friends and I were wandering around in the Latin Quarter when what should we hear but the whiz of 500 or so roller bladers on an apparent mass excursion through Paris. They went by for five solid minutes, weaving in and out of one another, holding up traffic, muting all the other city noises with the high-pitched whine of hard plastic on asphalt. Another step towards me learning to appreciate city life, I suppose.

Other than that, life has settled into a pretty steady routine. I'm only going to have classes three days a week, I think, which leaves lots of time for wandering around and finding my own little nooks and crannies of the city. I'm still overwhelmed by the amount of THINGS here -- how do I choose among six remarkably similar-looking cafés on the same street? Do I want to go look at contemporary art or wander amongst the sculptures in the garden of the Rodin museum? I'm trying to pace myself while seeing as much as possible, which is a tricky balance to strike -- I want to know this city, but there's almost too much to know.

In the meantime, I'm having a good time poking around here and there, finding my own favorite places. Among them is the Seine by night, shimmering with city lights.