Wanted: Gardeners for large estate right outside of Paris. Must have prior knowledge in shaping hedges and the agility to cover immense acres.

The past few weeks I have not left the confines of Ile de la France (the region that contains Paris). The weather has been pretty crappy considering we are getting into May, but that is my only "complaint" if you will.  I have been doing a lot in the Paris area, and at the same time taking it easy.  Here is somewhat of a list of stuff I have done around the quaint little town of Paris:

- the Picasso museum

-the Louvre two more times (that makes 9 this trip)

- Sainte Chapelle (beautiful church from the 13th century on the same island and Notre Dame.  What is amazing about it is that it is entirely made up of stained glass windows that depict all of the stories in the bible.)  

-Friday I went with the Zouari's (our family friends) to a restaurant in near their house.  It was Pascale's, their eldest daughter, 28th birthday.  Pascale and her boyfriend, Julien, picked me up and we miraculously wove through traffic, thanks to Julien.  It was great to be with all of them and boy did we eat well.  I had a wonderful glass of champagne to toast the occasion, which as most of you know is not something I do normally but it was delicious.

-Friday nught a bunch of my friends from my program and I decided to get together and have a pique nique on the quai of the Seine.  We all got there around 9 and just hung out, drank, ate baguette and strawberries on the riverbank.  Countless tourist boats floated by and the sunset was fantastic.  There were a ton of other groups of people who had a similar idea to ours.  There is no open container law in France, so everyone was taking advantage of the warm weather.  At one point a group of kind of shady guys were next to us and then all of  sudden, one of them shot off.  More followed at an incredible sprint.  My friend's host brother and his friends were there and they said that a drug deal probably had gone down and there was an undercover cop in the group.  This was confirmed when other officers descended and more scattered.  We had numerous other interesting encounters in our little picnic: there were a group of 40 or 50 people who were wearing the weirdest outfits.  They all had these berets that were covered with toys, random object, and colorful stuff. They also were wearing capes...  I looked for a human sacrifice but I couldn't see anything, maybe they were going to do that later. Random guys came up to us selling beer out of buckets, but that was not something that surprised me. My friend Brittany and I stayed until 1 or so and then headed home since we live next to each other.  What a night!

-Saturday was when I went to Sainte Chapelle, and then Brittany and I grabbed din at our favorite Greek place in Boulogne Billancourt.  I went out with Thomas and Anne-Carole (our family friends in case you have not gotten that yet) for another whoopla to my weekend.  We went to grab a drink in the St. Germain area, which I adore.  The bars and cafés are great.  Thomas and I went to Chez Georges, a favorite of which I think I have mentioned before.  A bunch of his law school friends were there so we joined them.  They were true "bobos"  which is a term for a bourgeois bohemien.  They all pretty much lived in the 6th and 7th arrondissement and were proud of it.  According to them, my host family was not truly "Parisian" because they did not live in the city limits.  Oy.  But they were all really nice and it was a good night.  Anne Carole drove me home in her cute, very bright, Fiat 500.  She just got a new one (their father owns a Fiat dealership).  I went right to bed.  

- Today I went to Versailles with my host parents.  I had been there once two years ago but you can never go too many times.  Plus, I have been studying Louis XIV and his palace in my art and architecture class so everything was a lot more meaningful.  We were some of the only Parisians there since it is a three day weekend.  Whenever we were waiting in a line, my host mom would go through the people and guess if there were French/Parisian or not.  She usually got it right.  It was a fun game.  There was a super temporary exhibit at Versailles about court fashion.  My host mom and I were in awe.  It was probably my favorite exhibit I have seen in a long time.  They have the actual garments worn by kings and queens, plus jewelry and crowns etc.  I have seen pictures many times in portraits and such but it means so much more when you can see in person a painted silk dress with intricate lacing and a bodice covered in diamonds and pearls.  Wow, just wow. It was really special.  The three of us toured the galerie des glaces, the grands appartements, and the appartements du dauphin.  We did not get to the gardens this time but we watched all the fountains turn on at 3:30.  Bertrand, my host "dad,"  decided he would buy Versailles however he is looking for gardeners, so if anyone is interested in trimming hedges for the rest of their life, please let me know.   

Tomorrow I have the first of my three final exams.  One Monday, one Tuesday, one Wednesday.  Then I have an IES goodbye lunch and I leave on Thursday the 14th.  I started getting stuff out today to see about packing but gave up because that means that the date is not as close as it actually is...  

Is this Stepford?

Thursdays mean no school the next day, aka a long weekend.  (This will be hard to get out of my system when I go back to the states.)  Anyway, Chenault and I took advantage of this luxury and took a little vacation to the French Riviera this past weekend (Côte d'Azur is the French name for it)  So we left Paris at 9 pm and arrived in Nice around 10.  Our hostel offered free airport pickup and they said to go to the "Kiss 'n fly" and look out for a silver van that would pick us up.  Well it was a bit late on arrival, but that is ok because the Belgian guy who was driving had never done that route before (he was probably in his early early 20s as are most hostel staff).  So we drive through the hills up to our hostel.  The address is technically Nice, but it is nowhere near the town center.  We have to take a shuttle provided by the hostel to the tram stop and then a tram into the town itself.  Kind of a pain, but it was not that bad.  

At check-in we discovered the hostel was almost all anglophones.  Weird, but whatever.  In fact they said that there were only two French people on their entire staff.  The majority were Aussies and Brits, but the majority of the hostel guests were Americans.  It is actually ranked in the top ten hostels in all of Europe (and numero uno in France.)  They are very proud of both of these accomplishments.  Some of the cool things about this hostel that make it stand out from most, is its large common room that was always full of people talking, drinking, eating, drinking more, oh and drinking again (that's what happens with 1 Euro beers).  It is in an old monastery so one entire wall is really colorful stained glass, although I doubt it is original because I think that it would be a bit too retro for Catholics.   There are also about 12 or so computers that are on the walls with free access so we could actually stay in contact with the outside world.  However, we did not usually use them (unlike some people) because we were there to be away from the outside world.  

That night we headed up to our private double room which  consisted of two twin beds, our own bathroom/shower, a closet, and a huge window looking out to the hills.  Then it was off to bed because we planned to get up by 8:30- check out their "famous" 12 cereal breakfast, and set off to Nice itself.  Well there was no soy milk so I could only have toast and endless amounts of coffee, but we were both able to get out of the place bright and early.  At breakfast the hostel has people come around and talk to everyone to help them plan their days and give tips and advice.  It was really nice.  Chenault and I talked to a girl who spoke beautiful English but it was clear she was not a native speaker.  When she got up to go get something we played the "guess her nationality game" which is always fun because there are so many foreigners all over Paris and Europe in general.  We each got three guesses, but neither of us guessed the truth: German.  Anyway...I digress.  So we planned out our weekend in Nice/the Riviera and then set out to Old Nice and the sea!  We strolled along the famous promenade des Anglais, that follows the shore, went to the Marché aux fleurs to look at all the nicoise/provencale goods, and then had some lunch.  Lunch was a piece of this bread-like thing called socca.  It is chick-pea flour and olive oil.  Molto mediterranean.  On our walk around the old area we discovered a beautiful opera house.  So we figured we may as well check what was playing this weekend, could be fun!  A special opera performance was to be held the next night that featured three Italian singers: an alto, baritone, and a soprano.  Say no more, we bought tickets!  It was to be Chenault's first opera at that.  Then we basically meandered around Nice some more and headed to the train station to buy tickets for...Cannes!  It is only a 30 minute train ride from Nice so we left immediately.  As we stepped out of the Cannes station the sun had come out some more and it was not quite as windy.  Cannes actually has a sandy beach, unlike the pebble ones everywhere else, so we joined many sunbathers for a few hours and lounged, read, and talked.  It was great, and yes there were topless women and old men in Speedos.  Nice/the Riviera is "the Florida of France" as my host family calls it, and our trip proved this label.  

When it started to get a bit more brisk we took a walk along the port and oogled at the gorgeous yachts, the view of the coast, and the extraordinarily blue sea.  Our goal was to have magnificent seafood and Chenault really wanted to have octopus if we could find it.  So we started to hunt and browse the menus.  When we got to a restaurant called "Chez Freddy" we decided to ask the woman where one might find octopus; however, we both had brain farts and forgot the word for it.  What fun!

Chenault: It is like calamari...but not.

Me: It has 8 legs! (and I wiggled 8 fingers around to show her.)

Woman: Lagouste? (rock lobster)

Chenault: No, no, it starts with a "P" (that is all we remembered)

Woman: Escargot!

Us:............uh no.

Well eventually we got it: Poulpe!  And she sent us to some restaurant "over there" that she thought had it.  Had it, it did. We went to this adorable seafood restaurant called Quai 55.  the waiter was so nice (what a change from Paris, haha...) and the food was great.  We shared a pot of spicy mussels and then I got the octopus à la mediterranean (and it was not rubbery at all!) and Chenault got a tuna steak.  Of course we shared it all.  Afterwards we finished our macarons that we had bought previously from a pastry shop that I guess is in Paris too.  We could not resist, the flavors sounded so cool.  We got fig, apple cinnamon calvados, white chocolate with a hint of olive oil (delicious actually), passion fruit with basil and chocolate, one called a yling ylang (I forget what was in it but it was really yummy), and one more.  After these festivities we caught a train back to Nice and headed back to our hostel.  Chenault wanted to try the 1 Euro beer, which was of course crap, and we thought it would be fun to chill in the lounge for awhile.  We met a bunch of American students but nothing spectacular so we went to bed.  Monaco was up next.

No you do not need to go through border control or present your passport when you go into Monaco, even though it is a separate country.  I wanted to get a stamp on my passport... The bus from Nice to Monaco is only 1 Euro each way, which was unbelievable.  Monaco.  Pristenely clean, gorgeous, luxurious, kind of Stepford Wives-like in some parts... At times it was eerily clean and empty.  Where were the beggars from Paris, Nice, even Cannes?  Where were the pushy businessmen? Where were the people in the train station (it was almost empty)?  I still do not know... We walked along the coast and looked at the yachts there.  The bus ride over had also given us a spectacular view of the coast, the hills, and the sea.  What a beautiful place.  (Even though it was quite windy and a bit nippy.) At last we headed to the famous Monte Carlo casino.  Although Chenault is from Las Vegas she was in awe of the old 19th century casino's beauty (it appears in a couple of Bond movies etc.)  And of course I had to gamble.  I went to the slots and picked some weird machine where you had to press buttons, pick this, pick that, and have the thing "spin" (it was a computer screen).  Well here is the out come, I put in 5 Euros on the first machine and wound up leaving with 41,55 Euros!  I played 5 Euros in another machine but I lost it all.  I got 31,55 Euros in THE Monte Carlo, so I cashed it in. (I still have not spent it.) After our excitement at the slots we headed back to Nice to get ready for the Opera.  When we arrived at the Operahouse we found our nosebleed seats (they were only 15 Euro a piece).  The inside of the building was gorgeous as so many of them are.  It was done by Napoleon III as the couple next to us said.  Well the couple next to us turned out to be some of the nicest people Chenault (and I) had ever met.  Chenault mainly talked to them because she was next to them but I leaned in every now and then.  They all bonded when she found out they loved Las Vegas and had done a lot of long drives through Western US and such.  Their friendship took off.  At the intermission the wife, and husband, insisted on buying us drinks so we all sat and talked for awhile.  She was really bummed to hear we were leaving Nice the next morning because they have a summer house in Cannes that they were visiting and they would love for us to come visit.  They were so genuine and kind.  I would guess they were in their early 60s but they were truly interested in talking to Chenault and I.  The opera was beautiful.  It was even more special to think of the city we were in and the love for the arts that surrounded us.  At the end of the opera, I saw the woman hand Chenault something as a souvenir.  Many protests ensued but the woman insisted.  When Chenault and I were on our way home later, only recounting that night's events, she showed me the 10 Euro that the woman gave her to "buy her parents something" or just to buy drinks for the two of us in order to "remember Nice."  It was such a sweet gesture.  She also got Chenault's address, because she does not have email, and told her that she would write one month before their next trip to the US.  I think she was serious.  How often do you get to listen to an aria by a young Italian soprano and make such a wonderful connection?!  Go Chenault!  After the 3 hour performance we headed straight home because we had to get up at 4:40 am to catch our 6:30 am flight back to Paris.  Well we made it, but I was a zombie on Sunday.  I went out for coffee with Cecile (Chloé's mom who was in Paris at the time), which was great, and then I went home to finish schoolwork and crash.  Now I am writing on Tuesday April 28, 2009 and I realize that I  have two weeks and one day left in Paris.  I am not going anywhere, I am staying home (in Paris that is).  But it is unbelievable.  I leave two Thursdays from now....why?!  As Cécile said, "Il faut rentrer."  And this is true. I have a lot of work to finish between now and then to wrap things up but I feel that I have done so much that it would be hard to go home thinking "oh I wish I had done more."  Paris is endless.  It offers so much, and there will always be things I want to do or want to see.  That just means I will have to come back soon.

   

Parental Units come to Europe

Oh boy, I am able to write two entries in one day!  Zis one will be on my WONDERFUL spring break with my parents.  Thursday the 9th was my last day of class but I had a lot of work that I wanted to start so I did not have anything when my parents were with me.  So that took up my evening.  Friday I went to L'Institut Catholique for my Medieval History class but I guess I messed up, because we didn't have it!  And now they have two weeks of vacation.  Anyway,I did some work in the ICP library and then headed to the St. Michel area to meet Patience for some wandering around the Notre Dame area.  Saturday late morning I headed to Montparnasse to meet Chenault (who was heading to Cairo that afternoon!!) for crêpes.  Besides a ton of movie theaters, the Montparnasse area is also full of wonderful crêperies.  We found one called "Josselin" so we figured we were destined to eat there.  It was quite yummy.  Then we headed out to do some last minute errands for Chenault and we wound up in La Grande Epicerie in Bon Marché.  The only way to describe the store, is the way Chenault so wonderfully put it: "It is like Whole Foods on crack."  So picture a huge Whole Foods that is just bubbling over in exuberence and so on. After a further promenade we said goodbye and I headed home.  I met up with my friend Zach that night (back in Montparnasse) to see a movie.  He had wanted to see this Chinese kung Fu movie called les Trois Royaumes but it wound up selling out before he could get there.  So we went to a different theater to see Gran Torino.  It was quite enjoyable and we decided that A. The humor was not translated very well into French subtitles and B. The people in the theater don't know how to laugh.  We did.  

And then Sunday rolled around...the day I had been waiting for because my parents were going to arrive that morning.  Well their flight was delayed two hours so I wound up waiting around for awhile but they finally made it to the little hotel I had booked for them.  I took them out to my favorite Lebanese restaurant when they got in but I could tell they were about to fall asleep in their tabouleh and kafta.  So they wound up taking a nap in their room and then we met back up three hours later to head to the Marais (where we eventually had falafel and such at Chez Mariane), and the St. Michel area.  Their feet were dragging so it was time to head back.  Besides...we were leaving for Barcelona the next morning!

I was relieved to see that they were really refreshed and ready to go on Monday.  Orly airport is bout 11 minutes from Boulogne-Bill so we made it with plenty of time to spare.  I can't even begin to describe Barcelona.  The three of us fell in love with the city, and we hope we can go back soon.  It was weird being there without Alex, but that is all the more reason to head back.  We checked into our ultra modern/swanky hotel and headed to a seafood restaurant that one of the hotel people recommended in the port.  We were really hungry, and it was expensive, but it turned out to be pretty good (not worth the price).  Afterwards we walked around the port area, I was so excited to see the sea and boats since I have been so far from water these past months.  Then we headed to La Rambla, the main strip and apparently the most walked street in Europe.  There were "Living Statues" everywhere and they were really creative.  There were the usual gold foil wrapped pharohs and such but there were others such as a guy painted all in white sitting on a toilet and reading the newspaper... Since it was Easter Monday everything was closed and there were a million people in the streets.  However, we were most interested in seeing the architecture, since Barcelona is a center of the arts.  I have decided that Gaudi, a leading figure in the architecture for the city, is a creative genius.  We first went to his creation called Casa Batllo.  It reminds me a a mix between a Dr. Seuss world, underwater scene, and some sort of crazy abstraction of a house.  I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to live there.  Just go see it and you will see.  My parents and I saw most of the Gaudi works while we were there: what was he on!  The cathedral for the Sangrada family is razy.  I don't know if I like it.  He did not wind up finishing it (he was killed after being hit by a tram in 1926) so they are still working on it.  It was really interesting to see such a ginormous cathedral as it was being built.  Although we were not very hungry we went out for tapas (at another restaurant that was recommended by the hotel) around 10:30 that night (when in Spain, do as the Spanish do!).  Oh wow, it was some of the best food we had had in a long time.  And I am sure most of you know that my family is a bunch of foodies and love haute cuisine.  We loved the restaurant so much that we went back the next day for dinner and loved it even more.  Calamari, focaccio-esque bread, tuna, salmon, special vegetables, yummy sangria (I had one and a half glasses cause I just felt like it.  It was the first time I had some alcohol in two and a half years but I was just loving the whole vibe and could not pass up the Spanish specialty.)  Anyhoo, day two we woke up and headed to the hotel breakfast (not free) and it was massive and amazing, so we skipped lunch.  Once again, I have not had food like that in a long time so we went back the next day.  Day two consisted of more Gaudi touring, a tour through the beautiful opera house, a walk through the gothic district, and old beautiful cathedral, Gaudi's ultra interesting cathedral and so on.  My parents were really tired so I wound up wandering around by myself for awhile in the afternoon, which was also really fun.  Paris streets have trained me well.  Try and keep up with me in walking, I dare you! The last day in Barcelona we had our breakfast and went to the Picasso museum that showed a lot of his early work (pre cubism) and then we took a walk and had some lunch before we had to go to the airport.  I fell in love with the Spanish designer Custo Barcelona, but I have yet to buy anything.  (There is a shop in Paris so I might be making a stop at some point...)  

Then it was back to Paris for more fun with my parents (we are at Wednesday night at this point).  The three of us stayed in a family friend's apartment in the 5th (Latin quarter), so it was perfectly situated for so many activities the rest of the week.  Wednesday night we were famished because it was 10 and we had not eaten yet so we just found the closest restaurant that had things that looked decent and sat down.  Out of the corner of her eye (and I saw it too) my mom saw something dart across the floor: "Oh shit." she said.  "Yea I saw it too mom."  For the rest of the dinner this mouse kept on darting around the floor.  We were not quite sure what to do: yes this was Paris, no he was not like Ratatouille, but we were starving.  The food just did not taste very good, and was quite pricey.  When my mom mentioned the mouse at the end of our meal to the manager (or something like that) he just turned and walked away.  No apology, nothing.  He just brought the bill and left.  If I was not so tired I would have protested. The next morning, I had big plans in order to show my parents my city.  I was so excited.  My mom and I went grocery shopping and bought a lot of brunch foods and salmon and other yummies because we were going to cook dinner in our apartment!  I was ecstatic to have my mom's food, even if we would have to make do with the small kitchen.  There is a boulangerie literally right under the building so the scrumcious smell filled everything.  (The bread we got was great.) After lunch, we went back to the St. Michel because we wanted to see Notre Dame (and they had been complete zombies on Sunday).  Then we went and bought some beautiful old prints and stuff.  They are great souvenirs for the family.  That evening I took them to my favorite (anglophone) bookstore called Shakespeare and Company, then we walked around Ile Saint Louis which brought back wonderful memories for my mom when she stayed in Paris many years ago.  Then we walked to the Centre Pompidou to go to the Kandinsky and Alexander Calder expositions.  I adored the Calder exhibit, and the Kandinsky was pretty cool too.  There was an amazing panoramic view from the top of Pompidou.  That night we made delicious salmon and vegetables.  Friday morning I took my parents to a cooking class at Guy Martin.  It was a present to them since we all love to cook and I thought it would be a perfect French experience.  And it was!  Guy Martin is a world-renowned chef (we went to his studio, but he doesn't teach there.)  His restaurant is Le Grand Vefour (which has been around since the 1700s!)  The appetizers there start at 85 Euro!!!  We made sea-bass and mini ratatouille.  Our teacher used to be the head pastry chef at Le Grand Vefour.  Because I am a lactard, I couldn't have the chocolate soufflé. soooo....he made me my own special dessert.  Zambione with strawberries and a balsamic glaze.  I felt so special and all of the other students were jealous.  (There were seven of us, the other four people were all on their lunch breaks so they go take a cooking class.  That is the life!)  

Then we went to Boulogne Billancourt and I showed them my little gym (Club Moving) and then we went out for coffee and did some grocery shopping for the next few weeks.  That night we went to my house to have dinner with my host family. Everyone was there except for Geoffroy (my 18 year old bro).  We all got along beautifully.  It was wonderful.  We had so much fun just talking and relaxing, so much so that we did not realize how late it was but Bertrand, my host mom's boyfriend (for lack of a better word) drove us back to the apartment.  Saturday morning we slept in and then I went grocery shopping so we could make dinner that night and try to recreate the fish and ratatouille from the night before.  (I found cod instead but it was still pretty good).  After lunch we went to the Mosquée (mosque) de Paris which turned out to be two blocks away (Bertrand told us we had to go have tea there so we did).  Then I took them to get macarons (see previous entries about these yummy pastries) at Ladurée.  I have recruited two more fans.  My mom and I want to try to make them this summer.  After a bit of  walk on the Champs, we went to the Louvre and I showed them some of the paintings I have been working on in my Art and Architecture class.  My parents had to get up early on Sunday to catch their flight and we were all getting tired so we headed home right after we saw some of the French painting exhibits.  That night, we all worked together to make the ratatouille and cod and salad and we just talked and talked.  It was so relaxing and I miss them so much already.  Just being with people, who literally have known me since I was born.  Of course we had macarons for dessert.  The next morning my parents left and I headed back to Boulogne-Billancourt.  It was a really confusing experience since I had become so used to having them around.  I wound up working ALL day yesterday (Sunday) on my exposé and other homework I had not yet touched.  I basically did not leave my room from 12:45 to 8:15 when I had dinner with my family.  It sounds pathetic, but at least I had a wonderful break!  Plus it was crappy weather outside so I did not feel too too bad about being indoors all day.  

Today classes started up again, but I realized that after this weekend (I am leaving with Chenault to go to Nice/Monaco on Thursday!)  I will only have two weekends left in Paris.  I don't know what to make of that.  It is really scary, and I feel like I have so much more I want to do and I am not ready to go home...not yet.  But I am still here so I will just enjoy myself and do whatever I want!  

Ciao.

Rome wasn't built in a day, but Chloé and I did it in a day and a half.

So I am going to briefly write about my voyage to Roma with Chloé.  (Three weekends ago: well April 3 to 5).  I am supposed to be working on an exposé (oral presentation) for tomorrow but it is really bothering me that I have not written.  

My flight (I took easyjet) was delayed an hour or something and then the bus from the airport to Rome left on Italian time (aka way after they said it would), I arrived in Rome center around 10 Pm.  I was pooped and hungry.  Clo had already been there for a few hours so she and I went to a restaurant so I could eat and then we headed to our hotel called Hotel Colors right next to the Vatican.  (unfortunately we did not get to see the pope) We both fell asleep right away since we had been traveling/up late the night before.  We also wanted to get up wicked early so we could get going after our FREE amazing breakfast.  It was molto yum.  Simple: cereal, yogurt, bread, fruit, pastries, coffee, warm milk (for Clo), etc.  Then we went out to explore, and just walk out feet off.  Trust me, we did.  I calculated that we had to have walked more than 16 hours in a day and a half when you take out every meal/short break.  Day one we hit up the Trevi, Pantheon, walked through all the districts surrounding these areas, concurred the Forum (we spent hours in there just wandering in awe), had yummy Italian food, gelato (I found soy/yogurt gelato that was Apple Cinnamon flavored, and oh my god- apple pie in a cup!  It was fantastic)  We left the hotel at 10 and did not return that day until after 11 pm.  Needless to say it was not hard to fall asleep.  We wanted to get up early the next morning to continue our Rome tour so we set an alarm, had another yummy breakfast and set out before 10.  Day two started with the Coleseum (wow, it was hard to imagine the Gladiators and lions, all I could really think of was Russell Crowe...but that is pathetic.) We just loved seeing all the "old shit" as I liked to call it as there were ruins, old churches, and monuments everywhere.   They just kind of crept up on you, and wabam!  something else that was erected before Christ was born.  Pretty cool.  After the Coleseo we headed on a nice long walk and climbed a hill (I forget what it is called) where we saw a lot of monuments and a beautiful skyline of Rome.  We meandered around the greenery and headed towards San Pietro so I could see the pope's pad before I had to go home.  We forgot it was Palm Sunday, so there were a lot of people milling around.  I grabbed a palm frond from the ground since I did not have time to wait in line and go inside. The Swiss guards:  are they really swiss?  can they not have sex like priests and nuns?  who came up with their funny outfits?  These questions bother me; however, Clo and I had fun watching them pace around, and some of them were sort of attractive.  And then we had to run...I needed to catch my bus back to the airport and we were running a little behind.  After a minor panic attack, and Chloé having to calm me down...I made it to the bus.  It was a good thing that I got there right on time, because this bus decided to pull out on "normal" time and not lounge around as most Italian things seem to do.  I made it home home (to Boulogne Billancourt) a little before midnight and passed out.

My feet ached for about a day, which would have been worse if I hadn't already built up major walking feet/muscles from my endless walking in Paris.  It is going to be really weird to not walk so much in the States.  I will miss it. 

So sorry, forgiveness?

Oops so I definitely have not written in awhile, and so much has happened. I swear I did not forget. In short: Alex and Chris visited.  And this past weekend I went to Rome with Chloé.  The End.

Well actually I can probably expand a bit more than that. Alex wrote up a short synopsis of his visit, and then I will add on.  

After Alex slept, we went to dinner at a great Lebanese restaurant around the corner from me, tabouleh, lamb, pita, eggplant dip, hummus, yum!  We each had our own ensemble, and then Alex got a Heiny.  Since the Louvre is open late on Friday nights (till 10) and free for people under 26, we attempted to get there in time, but it did not happen... So we walked around a bit and headed home.  My older host brother, Romain, had some friends over and he invited Alex and I to hang out with them.  After awhile the festivities moved to one of their friend's apartments nearby.  I was impressed how well my bro was holding up, considering the jet lag.  But maybe a couple of beers and the ecstasy of Paris does the trick.  On Saturday we got up late and went to the Eiffel Tower.  Alex got a ginormous Barbe à Papa (cotton candy) and we wandered around.  Even though Alex has been to Paris 4 times, there were still some key places we needed to get to.  Next stop: Montmartre.  We walked up the hill and around the neighborhood.  Neither of us had been inside Sacre Coeur so we filed in there.  That was the first monument/church that I have been to (that I can think of) where you were not allowed to take pictures inside, even with the flash off.  It was beautiful.  After we grabbed a bit of dinner, we headed back to Boulogne because we were going to go out with Thomas that night.  He picked us up at 11 or something and we headed to St. Germain des Prés.  It is definitely a lively are on a Saturday night, and we bounced around a couple of cafés until almost closing time (we stayed until 1 and bars have to close at 1:30).  Then Thomas drove us back, but we took a remarkable little detour.  He HAD to show us the Bois de Boulogne.  I don't know if you know about the Bois de Boulogne (bois=woods) , but it is notorious for its prostitutes.  They are all male Brazilians in drag.  What we didn't realize was the magnificence of the area.  When you drive through, they are on either side of the road- strutting their stuff, wearing lots of pleather, colorful fishnets, 3 pounds of makeup (that's what happens when you have to cover up an adam's apple), and so on.  There were plenty of shady men walking around, going for who knows what: pimps, druggies, guys wanting to get lucky with another guy...in fishnets.  Ahhh Paris.  By the way, although it is called the Bois de Boulogne and it is right next to my town, Boulogne Billancourt, Paris claims it as part of Paris.  I guess la Pigalle (sex district) was not enough.  But really, if you have an opportunity to go to Paris and can get someone to drive you there, check it out one night.  Thomas my brother and I would turn and be like "Oh look another one."  "Oh look at that one... oh oh oh she's going into the woods with him."  It was like a safari, but looking at prostitutes.  

Anyway... on a more serious note... Sunday Alex and I slept in again and then we headed to the Marais (which I actually just got back from again because I adore that area).  He and I went to one of the famous Jewish restaurant's there called Chez Marianne.  The falafel restaurants in that area compete as to who has "the best."  Now, before Paris, Alex nor I had ever touched falafel, it just didn't look or sound so great.  But it was supposed to be so good at Chez Marianne, so why not!  Oh wow, YUM. After our Jewish stint in the Marais, Alex and I headed to another place he had never been to (and I adore), Musée d'Orsay.  We wandered around and I could tell Alex was in awe.  Afterwards, he told me it was his favorite museum that he has ever been too.  It really is a special place.  Alex headed back to stay with our family friends' the Zouaris (Thomas's family), and I went home to....study!  Even though Alex was there and Chris was going to arrive Monday morning, I had two midterms coming up.  My Art and Architecture one Monday morning and then my Translation class midterm on Tuesday morning at 9 (UGH).  As a side note, I would like to add that I got an A on both of them.  

Monday- Christopher arrived!  I met him at the hotel we were going to stay in, in my town.  Wow, my two worlds merged.  Chris was in Paris, with me!  I am so lucky to have him...he flew to France...to be with me.  (Or so he says, could just be an excuse to see Paris.)  Because it is almost easter the grocery stores, boulangeries, patisseries, and so on are overloaded with chocolate eggs and bunnies and chicks.  Especially Kinder eggs.  I don't think we have Kinder in the US, but it is a huge candy company in Europe that is everywhere.  French can't live without their Nutella and Kinder... Anyway Kinder makes these eggs for easter that are bigger than their usual "kinder surprise" chocolate eggs.  Each of them is hollow and has a toy inside.  I got both Alex and Chris eggs- Alex got a Tom and Jerry spinning thing (which by the way Alex, is sitting on a shelf in my room), and Chris got a Transformer.  Pretty sweet!  After Chris met my host sister, Albane, he and I headed into Paris so I could get to IES for my test.  He was in awe of the Paris metro, which I normally adore, but then there are those times when it just stops and you have to sit there forever or something.  But we had spotless trips the entire time he was here.  We got a bite to eat and sat in a park by IES and waited for Alex.  Since I had class from 12:30 to 5:30 I sent the two guys off to the Louvre to entertain themselves.  Apparently they also hit up a bit of the Champs Elysées.  I wasn't worried that they would get bored.  After class I raced to find them.  They had been relaxing at a local café and had some beers I guess while they waited.  I felt good European vibes coming from them.  (Chris discovered the wonder of Paris, that beer is often the same price if not cheaper than soda.)  

Monday night we had big plans.  I had bought us tickets to the Girl Talk concert!  Girl Talk in Paris = amazing.  It was at a bar/club called La Maroquinerie which is in the 20th so it took over an hour or so to get there.  But definitely worth it.  Even though his set was shorter than we expected, it was great to just dance non stop.  Since I know most of the mash-ups on the CDs I really got into it.  Of course he did a lot of stuff, not on the CDs, and switched things up.  But thats what he's all about.  The only thing was...there were ONLY Americans at this concert.  When I say only, I mean only. It was kind of eerie and weird.  I mean, I know Girl Talk is not really known in France, but having a whole bunch of other study abroad Americans around me when I was in a Parisian club...was just weird.  But I had a lot of friends there (besides Alex and Chris) from IES and some friends of Alex and mine from our Canadian Summer French Immersion program that we did in high school. We cabbed it home since the metro was closed and all went to sleep right away.  Somehow Chris and Alex did extremely well with the whole jetlag thing.  I woke up (my ears were still ringing) bright and early on Tuesday (7 AM) to get ready for my lovely Translation test.  I studied a little bit more when I got back to my house from the hotel, and drank a lot of coffee.  I guess that did the trick!  I missed my other class at IES so I could be with Alex and Chris.  However I did have to go to my Medieval History class at l'Institut Catholique at 3:30.  But it was great because I took Alex and Chris to the St. Michel area so we could see Notre Dame.  I knew it meant a lot to Chris, but I also think it is important for everyone to see the magnificent gothic cathedral.  Since I am taking that Art and Architecture class i realize now how much I know about that stuff, and I could tell them a lot of stuff that I had learned about the structure and statues.   

Thomas is in law school down the street from l'Institut Catholique de Paris (we call it le Catho or ICP), so he met up with us and took them to a café and walked around St. Germain des Prés/the Luxembourg gardens while they waited.  And I learned about serfs and seigneurs... lovely.  Chenault met up with us after I had my class and we all went to another café for a drink (most cafés/bars have "Happy Hour" or "After Work Specials" from 5 to 8 or 6 to 8 depending on the place).  Alex went home with Thomas after that and Chenault, Chris, and I took a wonderful walk through St. Germain through the latin Quarter, along the Seine... it was wonderful, and Chris's first glimpse of Paris at night.  When Chenault went home for dinner, I took Chris to the one and only... Tour Eiffel!  I was not going to let him miss that sparking phallic monument.  It was a bit cold out, but it was so beautiful.  Chris tried galettes (the non-sweet kind of crêpe) for dinner and we headed back to the hotel.  

Wednesday I played hooky all day, but that's ok.  It's only so often I have my boyfriend, and brother, with me in Paris.  Chris and I lazily go up and got ready.  I took him to the Lebanese place by me and he tried lamb, kafta (kind of like a really amazing lamb meatball), blé... I was really happy, and proud.  Then we went to the Marais so I could show him the beautiful little area, vintage stores, and falafel.  I made him try falafel, which he willingly did- impressive.  This time we went to L'As de Falafel (known as "the best") and I must say, I think it has the best falafel from the numerous places I have tried.  He loved it!  Once again I was really happy, it is a big deal that he tried that stuff, and without any hesitations.  After a bit more browsing the Marais, we went to Montmartre (I made sure he saw as much as possible).  Alex met us there and we all climbed the butte to Sacre Coeur.  Chris was also in awe of the beauty of the old basilica.  We went to artists corner, so the guys could see an artsy, bohemian side of Paris (it is really touristy now...but there is not much to do about that but push and shove through the crowds of American and Italian high school students.  Artists corner is a square where a whole bunch of artists sit and paint and display their artwork for people to buy.  There is some really great stuff there, but we just looked. Alex had to go leave after that and it was hard for me to say goodbye to him so soon.  What hadn't Chris seen yet... Arc de Triomphe!  So off we went to the Champs, to take pictures and see the looming monument.  Thank you Napoleon.  I also wanted to take Chris to the amazing pastry shop, Ladurée to get macarons (see my previous entry about my love for it.)  We got four to share, and like the first time I had them, he could not shut up as to how amazing they were.  We shared a lemon one initially (later we shared a 4-berry macaron, he had a chocolate one, and I had a rose flavored one- it was great.) We walked around the Champs Elysées for awhile until dusk and then Chris and I went off to Ile St. Louis to find a cute very traditional French restaurant for our last dinner together.  Ile St. Louis is adorable, it is one of the oldest parts of Paris, along with the Marais, and has one street.  (It is the little island next to the big one, Ile de la Cité, where Notre Dame is located.)  Some of the doors were open to the courtyards of the buildings so we had a special opportunity to see a few of the secluded "oases" if you will.  Each courtyard is so beautiful.  Both of us imagined how amazing it would be to live in such a building.  Maybe someday..... We found a cute place and had probably some of the most quintissential French cuisine possible:  Beef Bourgignon and Coq au Vin.  It was wonderful.  However, Chris made it very clear, that he loved the Beef but he told me to tell my mom that hers is better.  Which it is.  (He tried it for the first time when my mom made it for him).  Anyway we had our last macarons from Ladurée and it was ecstasy all over again. That night we went back to the hotel, and pretty much had to say goodbye that night because I had class at 9 that I could not miss, and he had to leave to catch his flight at 10:30.  Chris fell in love with Paris.  I knew he meant it when he said that it was his favorite city (which is another big thing for him to say/do).  He is also hoping to start taking French next year!  This city will do that to you... 

All in all... an amazing time.  I loved having them here, showing them MY city, MY favorite things to do, all that there is to do, and just its beauty in general.  It is such a wonderful feeling seeing them appreciate it just as much as I do.  Well as for my Roma adventure with Chloé, I am going to have to keep you waiting... that will come in the next post.  So check back REALLY soon.  Especially because as of today, I am on Spring Break!  Woohoo (no Cancun for me thanks.)  Just to give a short summary of my plans: my parents are coming in Sunday morning, then we leave for Barcelona at noon on Monday, get back from Spain Wednesday evening and spend the rest of the week in Paris.  I am so excited.  I miss them so much, and once again, I can't wait to show them my city. 

À bientôt! 

I studied next to a Matisse, can you do that?

This week was Midterms week, it was supposed to be one week but somehow they leaked over until this coming week as well which stinks because Alex and Chris will be here.  Oh well, it is beautiful in Paris and we are going to have fun.  You are only in Paris once with your brother and boyfriend!  

Last weekend I met up with our family friend Thomas for lunch.  We went to his best friend's family's restaurant.  Its a Lebanese place that is absolutely wonderful.  We have a lot of hummus, eggplant dip, the good kind of tabouleh (not the Maghreb stuff), falafel, pita, honey and nut pastries... Thomas has Saturday classes (he is a law student) at 8 Am and 3 PM.  How much does that suck!!!  (Oh and his school is in total shambles since it has a lot of construction so it is a REALLY depressing place.) I went with him to the first hour of his 3 PM class (Construction Law).  I understood most of it, obviously there were legal terms that I would not get but it was pretty cool and the teacher was interesting.   That night, I went to my friend Zach's apartment on Saturday so we could cook together. He knows I love cooking, and I don't get to at my host home.  Since he lives in one of the IES program apartments the kitchen is outfitted with a microwave, sink, minifridge, and two hot plates so we had to be creative.  We made salmon that turned out really lovely, a vegetable mix of fresh mushrooms, onions, and shallots- and some rice.  I made my mom's balsamic vinaigrette/glaze for the salmon.  Simple but delicious (and fresh!)  We followed this meal by salad and then Zach made bananas flambé (for those of you who don't know you put in a pan: bananas, sugar, margarine (we are both lactards), and LOTS of rum-  when they start to get a golden color you light the rum on fire and watch it glow/burn off.  Yum!)

Sunday was a study for midterms day.  Since it was so beautiful out I met up with some friends on the steps of the Musée d'Orsay and we worked for awhile out there, then when it got a bit chilly, we headed inside and wandered around for a bit/did some homework amongst the art. When I thought about it, it was pretty surreal.  Beat that Deering Library!  This is why I am in Paris.  

I had two midterms on Monday: Women in French Literature and History of French Cinema. Tuesday was my Paris Francophone midterm (The class is fascinating and I adore the professor.  she has an awesome dry sense of humor.) There was another strike on Thursday (which turned out to be a pretty lame one) but in case it was well followed and there was utter chaos, all the Language exams, such as my Translation class exam, were postponed until this coming Tuesday.  NOT COOL.  Not only are my brother and boyfriend going to be here, but we are going to a Girl Talk concert the night before that doesn't start until 9 and ends who knows when.  However, I swear over half my class is going and a ton of people from the program in general.  That will certainly help the curve since everyone will be tired, and I will probably be one of the few who is not also hungover.  So it might not be so bad after all.  

Alex got in this morning. I was supposed to have my Medieval History class at l'Institut Catholique this afternoon and Alex was going to come with me.  My friend Laura, who is also in the class, decided to go to the 11 am section (this is the main course that we have every two weeks, and our discussion session is every week on Tuesday.)

I get a phone call around 10:58- "The classroom is dark.  Are you sure it is J01?"  me- "yea...go ask the administration because they may have changed it last minute."  A few minutes later- "I asked and they were assholes about it, they just said to go back to the classroom and wait but it is still dark."  Third phone call: Laura- "class was canceled."  me- "why?" Laura- "Who knows. Some French girl in the class told me it was canceled for today, she doesn't know why either, it just was."  

Typical.

Alex and I grabbed some food around the St. Michel area and ate on the Seine near Notre Dame (and then had crêpes!  So far my stomach is feeling ok, but sometimes I feel really sick after I eat them if there is too much milk in the batter.  I have my fingers crossed because it was yummy.  Crêpe compote- my favorite (applesauce/stewed apples as filling).  He is now passed out on my floor, but tonight we will probably go to the Louvre or something since it is free for students on Friday nights.  

bisous

Fields and fires

And new adventures.  As you can see I have not written in awhile (so sorry.)  I will start with last Saturday.  Weather prediction: beautiful! Mid 50s and sunny.  Perfect for a long day outside.  And that is exactly what Candice and I had planned.  I got up early to go to my little gym, which is always nice.  Then Candice and I met up at Place St. Michel to get Turkish takeout and sit by the Seine.  All I wore was a fleece and I was fine, no coat!  (That is the only day up to this point that I have been able to do that.)  So we got our plates and sat literally next to the Seine.  There were plenty of people enjoying the day as well.  A lot of PDA as usual and a lot of bottles of wine and baguette eating going on around us.  It was wonderful.  After our little picnic we decided to head to the Marché aux Puces (flea market).  It is at the end of line 4, not even in Paris technically in St. Ouen- Clignancourt. It is a hand onto your bag kind of area.  But it was cool to see a different side of Paris.  Very interesting.  We didn't buy anything (well Candice bought a cool pair of earrings that were handmade in Africa, but I forget exactly where...)  The guy was wicked cool and probably one of the only people who didn't push a whole boatload of crap on you to buy.  Basically there was a lot of in your face market people selling anything from "leather" bags (yea right) to "Gucci" belts to cell phones to hash pipes to cool scarves to touristy Paris souvenirs (there were a LOT of Americans around there and they were probably the ones getting ripped off.  Candice and I were just there to browse.)  Stall after stall.  We tried not to speak English too often because then the sellers really tried to get you to come over for their "amazing product."  Quite amusing.  But then we found the other Marchés. The ones that we fell in love with, where the crowd was probably wearing real fur coats and had money to spend like it was their job.  These were the antique markets.  Absolutely beautiful and fascinating stuff.  No one tried to bother us and get us to buy things.  They knew some rich Americans or Germans would probably come over and drop a few thousand Euros on their 17th century chandeliers or mahogany tables.  It was amazing.  We found really cute shops that sold antique dolls, old posters and maps of Paris from the 18th and 19th centuries.  Clearly all out of our price range but it was so fun to look.  These markets are world renowned for their wares and it was clear there were quite a few serious shoppers around.  By the way, all of these markets are only open Saturday, Sunday, Monday.  That's their deal, and I really want to go back and wander the antiques and furniture markets.  It's just fascinating how we would wind up at an old poster seller and start flipping threw the maps and drawings of Paris, one from the 1700s, early 1900s.  Oh look here is one that is from 18 something or another.  Pretty cool.  After our adventure there, we clutched our bags and headed back to the metro to go to Montmartre.  I love that area and I had yet to actually climb it.  The artsy/bohmenian aura is so great, it's too bad how touristy it is these days, but that does not stop me from loving it. We "climbed" the hill, and lounged by the Sacre Coeur to watch the performers and take really touristy pictures of the city.  I can be a tourist, it's fun sometimes.  It was a long day, lot's of walking but so worth it.  No going out for me Saturday night.  I had a lot of work to do so I spent a lot of time working on a paper for my Femmes dans la littérature francaise class, which is the only course I can't stand because the teacher is awful.  I won't get into that now.  

Patience and I were excited for Sunday.  We had bought tickets to go see the Wizard of Oz musical.  It is totally geared towards little kids, but we didn't care.  It's the French version, nothing like the American one and we were curious.  It was really cute, especially watching all the three to five year olds (that was the majority of the crowd) sing along and cry out when the wicked witch was behind Dothy (French name for Dorothy) and such.  Adorable, but I would not have paid any more than the 14 Euro that we paid.  After the spectacle we grabbed some pretty good Japanese teryaki (I try to eat "ethnic" food whenever I go out and spend money at a restaurant, because well....French food does not really do it for me, and a lot of my friends.  That I have learned.  Once again, I won't get into that.  Then another school week.  Not much to report about it except I actually kept busy...mostly for that Women in Literature class, which is why I have not written in awhile. Oh and I bought a ticket to Rome to visit Chloe the first weekend of April.  I am so excited!  My first voyage and who better to visit than Clo. Oh and I am really sorry if I make spelling/grammatical errors in my writing.  Because I am mainly writing in French, it is hard to switch back to English.  I guess that is kind of a good thing!  

The fun began again on Friday (yesterday). My program, IES, has day-trip excursions that we sign up for to places kind of close to Paris.  We all get to sign up for two throughout the semester.  Yesterday was my first, to Provins.  Provins is a cute little medieval town about an hour and a half outside of Paris.  It still has all of its original elements, clearly restored for upkeep but how often do you get to visit a 11th/12th/13th century village in the states? Zilch.  So I got up around 6 to be at the bus by 8.  Yuck, but oh well! One of my friends (from Depaul) Katie Dimartino, and another friend Zach were also signed up so it was cool to have people to romp around with.  The program coordinator, Bertrand, is awesome too.  He refuses to ever take the metro and such.  He rides his skateboard around the city.  That is his transportation system and kind of sums up his crazy and hilarious personality. Off we went on our coach type bus to Provins.  Middle Ages here we come! It was wicked cold  in the morning, so our walking tour was kind of painful but fascinating.  I probably would have enjoyed it more if my toes had not fallen asleep an hour and a half into it.  (Due to the cold.) We walked around the fortified walls, in the donjon (not a dungeon, it's a specific kind of medieval tower that is for military, food, and prison use.  Then we went to the church, which is in the style of primitive gothic architecture- I have been learning a lot about the Middle ages since I have two courses on the subject (Art and Architecture and Medieval history). Anyway, the church was never complete to its standards because they ran out of money.  It is still pretty neat even though it is quite "plain." Not ornate in the least.  Then our group went to a little French restaurant to all eat together.  IES arranged it, got to love a free meal (well actually I am sure my family paid for it somewhere down the line, but it's better not to think about that.)  We started with a really rich paté deal (I tried it.  It's just not my thing)  They gave us a huge slab with salad and toast so I mainly had the salad and toast.  Then we had duck.  YUM! It was pretty good, but so much better than the food I have gotten used to.  After that came the big finale.  Since Zach and I are both lactards we got a different dessert than everyone else. While they chowed down on a chocolate mousse cake we had the most delicious rum/apple tart.  Needless to say, it disappeared.  I am sure it had a lot of butter in it, and I did feel a little sick later, but it was well worth it.  Of course the meal finished with an espresso which was also much needed because I was about to hit a wall due to fatigue.  Then came our next tour.  The underground caves/quarries.  They were pretty crazy and there were parts where the Free Masons used to hold their meetings in the 18th/19th centuries so the walls were covered in their symbols and signatures.  I guess there are still a lot of Free Masons in  Provins (the population is about 13,000 so you see the old structures from the Middle Ages and then toot toot, a car is honking at you to get out of the road and stop gawking at theold gate.), but the Free Mason ritual area has clearly moved. So we wandered through the tunnels and our guide was great, she had so much information to share and Bertrand had fun hiding in different locations and popping out and so on.  Quite amusing.  And then, bus time! On the way home we got to see quite another spectacle.  About 5 minutes into our trip, the bus stopped and our bus driver got out.  We looked to see what was going on and there was a car that was on fire on the side of the road!  The entire front was in flames.  In France, there are people who kind of volunteer in good Samaritan-esque ways for stuff like that so our bus driver was helping direct traffic and keep things calm with another guy until the firefighters arrived (outside of Paris, in the countryside, firemen are volunteers or so they said...) Every once in awhile there would be a huge boom as something or another blew up, the tries, something in the hood, etc.  I took pictures and a video...what an American I am but how often do you get to see such a fire in the middle of the French countryside.  Once the firefighters arrived we were able to leave, and head home to Paris.  Since I was exhausted Katie and I decided to head to our separate houses to have a quick dinner and then meet up at a café for coffee and homework.  This weekend and the next are going to be really busy because I have a LOT to do.  On that note...I need to get started.  

Au revoir