Les Vacances

The end of October spells vacation for most of France. Toussaint, or All Saint's Day, is a holiday in France when people pay respect to their deceased loved ones. Mums are a typical grave flower, so there seem to be an abundance of them in the flower shops this time of year. As a result of this connotation between mums and death, it is a bad idea to give a French person mums as a gift unless, well, you wish them unwell.
Thursday, I skipped my Economics and Politics of Europe and France class to catch my train to Turino Italy. We arrived about 5 hours later, and barely caught our connecting train to Pisa. We arrived in Pisa at about 2am. We had about two hours to kill, so we decided to walk across town to see the tower of Pisa. 20 minutes later, there it was looming in front of me. It really does lean...a lot. No wonder they've been worrying so much about it falling down. I mean, insurance on that building must be killing them :) At 4 am we got our short train to Florence and with Ryan's excellent sense of direction (as opposed to mine) we were able to find our hostel and pass out. Florence is absolutely beautiful, not to mention the food in Italy absolutely kicks France's derriere. My first meal was ravioli with sausage and mushrooms, a slice of stuffed beef (not sure what its called but it was good), tomato and motzerella salad, and raspberry cheesecake, and OF COURSE a glass of Italian wine. My friend Ryan had to just about roll me out of that restaurant. We visited the Duomo which has, you guessed it, a Dome from which you can get a good view of Florence. In the afternoon, we went to go see the statue of David which was completely mind blowing. The photos of Michaelangelo's work do not do it justice. The statue must stand a good 12 feet tall, the fear in David's face extremely heart wrenching. For dinner, we returned to the same restaurant and I got pizza with olives, artichokes, ham, and mushrooms. It was, of course, delicious. We found a bar and I got a drink. The funniest beer I've found so far is SuperHarp, which is about 9% alcohol as opposed to the normal 5-6%. I mean, two or three of these bad boys and you'd be singing for the whole bar (well maybe not quite). The next day, we saw some of the Pitti Palace which was owned by the Medici Family and the Vecchio Bridge which is the oldest bridge in Florence. It was once home to all the butchers and blacksmiths who used the river below as a convenient trash can. The Medici family kicked them out soon enough in place of jewelers who could pay more rent. Its nice to know that things never change. I did not look forward to my 10 hour train ride Sunday, but I somehow made it back to Paris. Monday, I met up with Mom and Mary. We saw the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Versailles as well as my school. Unfortunately, it rained a few days this week, so we had to skip some things like climbing Notre Dame's towers. We had several wonderful meals including one with a warm goat cheese and bacon salad that I'm still dreaming about. Wednesday, Mom and I went to Bruges which is a smallish town in Belgium. That was probably my favorite thing I saw all week. Bruges is known as the Venice of Northern Europe because of its beautiful canals. I swear, that whole city is a post card waiting to happen. Of course, I bought as much chocolate and had as much Belgian beer as I could. As some of you know, I love beer, so Mom had to practically pull me away from the shelf after shelf of wonderful Belgian beer. For lunch, I got to eat delicious mussels in white wine which is a specialty in Bruges. In the afternoon, we took a boat ride which allowed for many good photo opts. We took the four hour bus back to Paris, lamenting about the beautiful canals and wonderful food. Halloween was of course one hell of a night. I dressed up as a cat, with cat ears and a black and silver mask. I drank wayyyyyy too much, but had a good time with everyone. I have fond memories of glow sticks and blue ring pops. Saturday was mostly devoted to me vowing to never drink again and counting the bathroom tiles. Sunday, Mom and Mary headed back to Maryland, and I went to the CineAqua (an aquarium/movie museum) with Aaron and we were grossly disappointed. Aaron loves jellyfish, and although our guide promised "jellyfishes" we found none. Boo. We wouldn't have felt so bad had the museum been bigger, but after 15 euro and no jellyfish, we were angry to say the least. This evening, my host mom ditched me for dinner so here I am at Mcdonalds, using their wifi. Of all the things I saw this week, Belgium was by far my favorite. Beer, chocolate, mussels, and a beautiful city--what more could a girl ask for?

A Photo Update

I would like to apologize for my lack of blogging. My host family has been in the process of getting internet for the past month, with no resolution in sight. Blogging has therefore taken the backburner in lieu of emailing. In order to best update, I thought I'd show some of the photos I've taken so far.

<-- Eating a nutella and banana crepe in the metro.





<--This is a REAL mummy I saw in the Louvre. I really enjoyed seeing the cat mummies, too.














Drinking a good Belgian beer next to the river at the Chateau d'Amboise -->





















<-- Tracy, Aaron, and I at Chambord Castle









<--Trying to get the perfect picture of the Eiffel Tower
















<--I love this car/motorcycle/wagon that I saw at the World Auto Show in Paris.





Again, sorry for my lack of updating. I hope you've found these pictures to be interesting, and with some luck (and discipline), I'll be updating more frequently in the future.

Demystifying French Bathrooms

Continuing with my last entry, staying out until 6am tends to necessitate the need for a bathroom--either to purge one's sins or wash them away. One of the most striking aspects of French bathrooms for most Americans is the telephone-receiver-style shower head. Rather than attach the shower head to the wall, like any reasonable person, the French have decided to make the shower experience an exercise in coordination. Most French, I have been told, prefer to start and stop the shower in order to free up both hands. This method would be reasonable if there was actual heat in French bathrooms. It has been my experience that French people prefer to leave their bathrooms unheated, frequently leaving the windows open--even in the middle of winter. I don't know about you, but my derriere prefers a little warmth when in action. To further complicate the French bathing experience, many French people find shower curtains unnecessary. As if bathing wasn't hard enough, they have to leave you without a barrier in a freezing bathroom--quelle horreur! Even with these complications, having a bathroom is better than not. In fact, while out and about in France, many tourists are shocked by the lack of public restrooms. In fact, it is common practice for restaurants and bars to require a purchase in order to use the bathroom, and even then, you still may have to pay .50 centimes. Also, with most public restrooms, there is frequently only one restroom for both men and women. In this way, it is common to see men peeing at a urinal while women wait for the toilet. However in large cities like Paris, free self-cleaning public restrooms have been recently installed. These one person bathrooms are almost like self-cleaning port-a-potties which don't actually smell. Bathrooms like these are a life-saver for those with small bladders. Although it seems rather easy to get used to some things here, like the food, bathrooms take a little more time and patience it seems.

6 to 12 or 12 to 6?

In France, things have a tendency to close early. Thankfully in Paris, things tend to stay open a little later. The metro, however, is one thing which does eventually stop running. Generally, the metro runs until 12:30 during the week and until 1:30 on the weekends. As a result, Parisiens tend to fall into one of two drinking categories:

1. Often times, people drink during happy hour (5-7 pm, depending on the bar) which falls before dinner. Also in this category, are those who get a drink after dinner, usually from 9pm until the metro closes. As one can imagine, those looking to get lit up have little time to do so in this category. Therefore, these other bar-goers tend to fall into the second category.
2. This category is reserved for the rare few strong enough to endure a night in the bars until 5:30am when the metro reopens. In fact, there are bars which stay open especially for these crazy few.
Of course, the other exchange students and I, being rather crazy, had to give this drinking method a trial run. We all met up at our friend Grace's apartment since she doesn't have a host family, and left there around 12:30 to find a bar. The barmen in some bars, it seems, have a certain frustration with this type of drinker who enters his bar as he is trying to clean up from the day's business. As a result, late-night patrons have a tendency to be shuffled around tables as the barmen attempt to clean. To the French, this is in no way rude because you are in their bar and they feel no obligation to make you feel comfortable--especially not at one in the morning. In fact, it is common practice during the day to make a whole table move if they are hogging-up a large table, even if they are in the middle of eating. So, we went to a couple bars, trying to find something to do until 5:30. We met a few random French guys who tried to “help” us, but mostly just wanted our numbers/wallets. Thankfully, we’re all rather street smart so we lost them quickly. Somehow, we found our way to Notre Dame. It was rather eerie to sit under the gaze of such an immense building during the wee hours of the morning. The church takes on a completely different persona during the night with the absence of all the bumbling tourists. Approaching dawn, we made our way to the metro. In our semi-delirious state we enjoyed jokes about Quasimodo and potato chips from the vending machine. Although I’m not sure I have the stamina for drinking category number two, it was certainly an adventure I’ll never forget.

Paris, Je t'aime

My flight to Paris was one of the easiest in recent memory. I got through customs rather quickly and didn't have much trouble finding my bags or Nadine, the ISA representative. There were only a few students who were meeting Nadine there, so it didn't take long to get everyone organized. Our driver dropped us off one by one at our host family's apartments and we all seemed so frightened as if it were the first day of school. I live with a young single woman in the 11th arrondissement. She teaches French to immigrants and seems to be gone most of the day. She has a cute little dog who looks like Benji, and although he was afraid of me at first, he seems to be warming up to me now. The apartment is on the first floor and my room looks out onto a courtyard. I like my room very much, especially since I am able to get free wi-fi here! After eating some lunch, I went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top. The view from there is quite enjoyable since you can see most of Paris and the surrounding areas. While I was there, a ceremony for war veterans was held as the Arc de Triomphe is also the resting place of an unknown soldier from WWI. I walked along the Champs Elysees afterwards and enjoyed window shopping and watching all the people. For those who aren't familiar with Paris, the Champs Elysees is to Paris as 5th Avenue is to New York. In fact, the 6th arrondissement is the most expensive neighborhood to live in. I returned home around 6pm and ate the pot au feu (soup of turnips, leeks, beef, and noodles) that Carole, my host mother, had prepared.
Today, Wednesday, I went to my school, l'Institut Catholique de Paris, for a meeting with all the other exchange students. All of the students seem very nice, and I'm sure we'll all get on pretty well. At the meeting, the ISA staff arranged for us to buy cell phones to use in France. We went to lunch around noon, and I ate a fabulous ham and cornichon (pickle) sandwich with butter, a piece of apricot flan tarte, and some orangina. It was absolutely delicious! In the afternoon, we took a bus tour of Paris which was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing Saint Germain de Pres where Sartre and many other authors used to hang out at a cafe called the Deux Magots. This evening, some of the students are planning on going out to some of the bars near where I live. There is an Irish Pub near by and, with luck, they'll have some Harp. Yum.

My Itinerary

As most of you know, I'm super nerdy. So, I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of all the sites I want to see in Paris so I can maximize my time there. Here is my list:

Paris Itinerary
(I got most of this information from my Lonely Planet guide to Paris.)
1. Centre Pompidou - see Marcel Duchamp’s Urinal
2. Musée D’Orsay - see Olympia by Manet as well as many other impressionist works
3. Go to an open air market, like the Marché Bastille market or the Rue Mouffetard market
4. Louvre - also see the Musée de la Mode et du Textile (Fashion and Textile Museum) which showcases fashions from designers like Coco Chanel
5. Arc de Triomphe - go to the top of the arc
6. Notre Dame and Ste. Chappelle- these are two separate churches, but very close together - I’d also like to go to Sunday mass at Notre Dame once
7. Cimitière du Père Lachaise - Go see the graves of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, and Victor Noir (woman famously rub the crotch of his statue to become pregnant)
8. Do a bike tour of Paris
9. Take a river boat cruise along the Seine
10. Musée National d’Art Moderne (National Museum of Modern Art) - France’s national collection of art dating from 1905 onward
11. Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden) - supposedly a very beautiful garden in Paris
12. Musée de l’Orangerie - modern art museum which contains works from Picasso, Renoir, etc. - it also has a circular room exhibiting Monet’s “Water Lillies”
13. Archives Nationales (National Archives) - go see letters written by Joan of Arc, Napoleon, etc.!!
14. Musée Carnavalet - Paris history museum which is housed in Madame de Sévigné’s house
15. Musée de la Curiosité et de la Magie (Museum of Curiosity and Magic) - I’m not especially interested in the exhibits, just the fact that its housed in Marquis de Sade’s basement. If those walls could only talk…
16. Musée Picasso - also includes Picasso’s own personal art collection
17. Place des Vosges - duels were typically fought here - Victor Hugo’s house is also here
18. Conciergerie - Prison where Marie Antoinette was held during the French Revolution
19. Pont Neuf (Bridge Nine) - interesting statues line the bridge
20. Jardin des Plantes (Plant Garden?) - zoo - At one point during the Prussian seige of Paris (1870), most of the animals were eaten due as a result of dwindling food supplies
21. Musée National d’Histoire (National History Museum) - see exhibits on France’s history
22. Musée National du Moyen Âge (National Museum of the Middle Ages) - I want to see the tapestry of “The Lady With the Unicorn” which I studied in one of my Art History classes. Its supposed to represent purity and virginity, I believe.
23. Panthéon - Voltaire, Rousseau, and Zola are entombed here
24. Sorbonne - the Harvard of France
25. Jardins du Luxembourg (Luxemburg Gardens) - beautiful gardens near my school
26. Catacombs - underground tunnels which were used for mass graves
27. Cimitière du Montparnasse - Baudelaire, de Maupassant, Beckett, de Beauvoir, Sartre, etc. are buried here.
28. Tour de Montparnasse - The tower offers a great view of the city where you don’t have to look at the tower J
29. Hôtel des Invalides - The tomb of Napoleon is here. The word “invalide” in French means a disabled war veteran.
30. Musée de Rodin (Rodin Museum) - See the works of Rodin, like “The Thinker” and “The Kiss.”
31. Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris ( Modern Art Museum of the City of Paris) - see Fauvist, cubist, Dadaist, and surrealist works of art
32. Maison de Balzac (Balzac’s House)
33. Musée des Égouts de Paris (Paris Sewer Museum) - Go see where Paris shits!
34. Musée du Vin (Wine Museum) - How could I not?
35. Musée Galliera de la Mode de la Ville de Paris (Galliera Museum of Paris Fashion) - See 100,000 outfits and accessories from the 18th century to today!
36. Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (Fine Arts Museum of Paris) - This museum specializes in Medieval and Renaissance art objects like porcelain, clocks, tapestries, and drawings.
37. Place de la Concorde - See where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette got their heads chopped off!
38. Musée du Parfum (Museum of Perfume) - See the history of perfume.
39. Walk along the Canal St. Martin. In the film Amélie, she skips rocks along this canal.
40. Cinémathèque Française - Go to see where Jean Luc Godard and François Truffaut went to watch movies.
41. Go to Chinatown and go shopping and eat Chinese food!
42. Sacré Coeur - go to the top of the dome of the church
43. Cimitière du Montmartre - Truffaut and Degas are buried here.
44. Musée de l’Érotisme - no explanation needed
45. Château de Vincennes - Louis XIV spent his honeymoon here.
46. Basilique de St. Denis - It was the world’s first major Gothic structure. Several kings and queens are buried here.

Its August Already?!

August seems to have sneaked up on me and I'll soon be leaving for the other side of the Atlantic. My flight leaves Baltimore September 2oth at 2:37 pm, and although I'm excited to live in one of the most enchanting cities in the world, I can't help feeling conflicted. I love to travel, but leaving is always the hardest part.

Rondel de l'Adieu

Partir c'est mourir un peu.
C'est mourir à ce qu'on aime :
On laisse un peu de soi-même
En toute heure et dans tout lieu.

C'est toujours le deuil d'un voeu,
Le dernier vers d'un poème :
Partir c'est mourir un peu.

Et l'on part, et c'est un jeu,
Et jusqu'à l'adieu suprême
C'est son âme que l'on sème,
Que l'on sème à chaque adieu :
Partir, c'est mourir un peu.

-Edmond Haraucourt
Choix de poésies (1891)

Rondel de l’Adieu

To leave is to die a little,
Its dieing for that which one loves:
We leave a little bit of ourselves
In every hour and every place.

Its always the mourning of a vow,
The last verse of a poem:
To leave is to die a little.

And we leave, and its a game,
And until our final goodbye
Its our soul that we spread,
That we spread with each goodbye:
To leave is to die a little.

-Edmond Haraucourt
Choix de poésies (1891)