getting lost and speaking french in staré město

continuing adventures in praha...

a couple important updates (and more win/fail moments).

(+) we move into our flat tomorrow afternoon!! that only gets one + because it means we have to pay rent and a deposit = BROKE. still, a moral victory. win!

(+++) we went to the bank to exchange traveler's checks to czech koruna (the currency) to pay the aforementioned rent tomorrow, which literally took an hour.. and as we tried to navigate our way back to school, pranadhi and i got lost. i was tired, feeling sick, starving, and generally displeased... we decided to ask for directions and the two women we started walking with were speaking french and pointing us towards the tram. one woman was telling the other (in french) how to get to tram 9, and the second woman tried explaining it to us in english but since i could understand, i thought i would save some time and just ask if going straight past the building to the next street was okay - they both looked surprised so i said "je parle un peu de francais" and they both smiled and spoke french. 

IT. WAS. AMAZING. not only did i get to speak french in the middle of prague, us being "lost" meant we ended up in the heart of staré město (old town), where i got to see the astronomical tower and st. nicholas cathedral. this is what being lost in prague looks like:

before we realized we were actually lost...

the heart of staré město - tons and tons of tourists.

the astronomical tower that i recognized from postcards! you can climb to the top of the tower, which is definitely on the agenda in the next couple days.

clearly, a potential fail turned into a MAJOR EPIC WIN!! that definitely made up for the bad morning i had. afterwards, i got a vegetarian quesadilla at a panini place near school and we went to the realtor's office to sign the lease - one step closer!

there is SO much to do/see here and the list of places to explore is growing longer and longer. pavlina, one of the staff members, showed us a great tea place behind school, and anna pointed out a coffee shop built in cubist architecture in old town, for starters. i think i also want to go to some of the church services here - not because i'll understand it, but because i want that authentic experience. apparently, czechs are mostly atheists, which is a shame because there are so many cathedrals and churches everywhere. another thing to note - more of a :( than a fail.. i won't be taking any religion classes here because the independent study fell through and none of the classes here have a significant portion dedicated to a religion theme/issue, so all the more reason to explore cathedrals on my own. if i'm feeling better by sunday, i'm thinking about going to mass. we'll see! also, this means i am going to take whatever class i want as my 5th class. details forthcoming.

oh, i also took a picture inside a bank because it was gorgeous and i got reprimanded by the security guard who was REALLY SCARY. lame.

for now, i am going to find some cough drops and lie in bed because i am exhausted, per usual. until next time!