Paris... and that's a wrap.

When you stay somewhere for a four-month period (even if it is a lovely place like Europe), you are inevitably going to hit a rough patch somewhere. And it might just be during the one weekend you are on an adventure by yourself. Luckily, I was not exactly in a strange city; this is technically my third (third and a half if you count my layover between Tours and Cannes) time in the city and I know the layout and Metro system pretty darn well. Things started out...in typical travel fashion: I left school at 6:40A.M. on foot for la gare to catch my 7:05 train. In my defense, this was my seventh straight weekend of travel and proper sleep has been a struggle lately. So has packing. Anyway, I sprinted through the dark streets of Cannes (the homeless people we know all too well by now were all cheering me on) and arrived at 7:01, much too early for any further excitement - the train had not even arrived yet.

When I arrived in Paris around noon, it was grey and cold, but still the same old Paris. I had unfortunately grabbed the wrong map of Paris in my packing haste - I at least had the bus and Metro maps, but not the streets - and so I took the Metro to the general area of my hotel and hoped to find it on the street maps of the arrondissements (quarters) posted in each Metro station. No such luck. About an hour into my stay in Paris and I was already bumming free WiFi off of the McDonald's across the street from the Gare du Nord to get directions. Hôtel Lorraine was conveniently right across the street from the Gare de l'Est (which, incidentally, is only a few blocks away from the Gare du Nord). At first glance, my room looked decent - it had its own bathroom, a double bed, and a TV; woo!; the only sketchy part was that the wood floor sunk when I stepped on it - so I left to do some exploring. I went to the Latin Quarter, which is my favorite area, to listen to some of the soundtrack of Notre-Dame de Paris (a French musical that follows the story of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame) in front of, oui, the real Notre-Dame de Paris. Then it was on to the Champs-Elysées, the upscale shopping street of Paris that leads to the Arc de Triomphe, a massive arch in a the Charles de Gaulle city square. There, I hit the jackpot - while Americans are preoccupied with Halloween and Thanksgiving during the fall, the French have decided in the past ten years that Halloween is pretty much out of style and what's all this about pilgrims and Indians? They go straight from the summer tourist season to Noël! There was a huge Christmas market along a huge part of the Champs-Elysées, complete with endless booths of food, hot drinks, and homemade gifts. They had real fruitcakes (you know, the ones made out of brick-like material), le vin chaud (hot wine - no cider in this country), and "magic" heating pads.

I walked all the way up the street until I got to the the Arc de Triomphe. I had business to do at that Arc. When I visited Paris after high school, I wasn't allowed to go up to the top of the arch because I wasn't yet eighteen (I was, in fact, two weeks away from turning eighteen) and I didn't have a parent with me. Well, I was determined to go up to the top of that arch this time. The only way to get up to the top is by climbing a tall but thin spiral staircase inside of one of the legs. There were people stopped, heaving and huffing, at several points during the way up. It was quite the climb. The top was worth it, though; even though it was cloudy, I got to watch the city dim and all the lights come on while I was at the top, and it wasn't crowded at all. There's also a great view of la Tour Eiffel from there.

When I finally dragged myself away from the view, I went down to the Louvre because students get in free after 6P.M. on Friday nights. I really love that museum; it is way too overwhelming when you think about trying to see the whole thing at once, but I have focused on the French and Italian paintings for my last two visits and I really enjoyed the evening. Then, since I had a big day planned Saturday, I decided on going to bed early. After about an hour of watching French TV in bed, I started to notice that my hotel room had kind of a strange aroma/feeling to it. The no-smoking rule had obviously not been followed, and I had to ball up my comforter and ban it to one corner of the room. Still, around the second or third time I woke up during the night, I decided that there were remnants of the Black Plague still lingering in my room. It just felt weird. And I was becoming increasingly worried that the floor was going to snap when I took a step and I would end up in the room below me.

Early Saturday morning, I had a train ticket from the Gare Montparnasse to the city of Rennes. It was a nice ride; I enjoyed seeing the style of northern towns. The scenery was all very green and the houses up in the area have black roofs instead of the typical southern red roof. I had about an hour and a half to wander around Rennes (and grab a quick café). It's an adorable town, much bigger than I had expected, and in true French fashion, there was very little open on a lazy Saturday morning in the off-season. It's also very cold up in the northern region, although the sun was peeking out in Rennes, and I was kicking myself for forgetting to bring a few scarves. The bus was easy enough to find, and it was only about an hour to Mont Saint-Michel, a medieval fortress isolated on the northern coast of France. Nearly as far from Cannes as one can possibly get and still be in France. Mont Saint-Michel was one of the sites that I really, really wanted to see in France, but it's difficult to get to and takes a full day (with train and bus time), so I was so happy to finally get there. I'm still milking my position as a European Union student and I got into the Abbey at the top for free! It was fabulous; the Abbey was constructed by Benedictine monks in the dark ages and also served as a military stronghold over the years (one that never fell to enemies, at that) as well as a prison at one point. The architecture was almost closer to that of castles in England (after all, it's not very far from the United Kingdom) than the rest of the French castles I've seen here. The Abbey was freezing cold (the only heating was in the gift shop, of course).

After my self-guided tour, I walked back down the mountain. Just below the Abbey is a tiny town with narrow streets leading back to the base. You can see it pretty clearly in the pictures. The view from the top was breathtaking (much different from the Mediterranean) and the view of the mountain from a ways inland is also quite the sight. It's indescribable; you just have to see the pictures. Even more indescribable were the flocks of tourists bumbling through the town, cameras first, snapping photos of every sign of every shop (OMG! It's all en français! Is that how things are in France?), blocking the entire width of the itty bitty street. I am not kidding: One man was videotaping his ENTIRE journey up the front steps of the Abbey and through the roped-off line to the ticket counter. How exciting. I made sure to get in the way a lot and make some interesting faces so the video is a little more bearable for his poor family and friends to watch.

After walking inland to get some pictures of the Mont in its entirety, I grabbed some food and sat on some rocks by the bus stop to eat and make friends with some hungry brown chickadee-like birds. I had quite the following. More tourists took pictures of me, like I am Dr. Doolittle or some magical girl who has communicational power with avian species.

Back in Rennes, I had a fantastic salade de chèvre chaud (warm goat cheese salad - it is one of my favorite French plates) and tried the NOUVEAU BEAUJOLAIS!!!! (new Beaujolais red wine that just been distributed everywhere in France - there are posters on the streets for it and everything) which was also amazing! This was my favorite meal of the weekend. Then it was back on the train to Paris and to bed.

Sunday morning was grey and dreary and a little bit sleety. I tried to sleep in a little, and I made it until nine when the plague started getting to me and I had to get out of there. I did watch some weekend cartoons in French while I was getting ready - all six main stations were broadcasting different cartoons. Interesting. Outside, I wandered down toward the Châtelet area where I had seen a plethora of cafés on Friday. It took a lot longer to walk than I thought it would; Paris is so big that it can take ten or fifteen minutes to walk what looks like only a block on the map. It was okay, though; I got to do some people-watching and admire the Parisian-style buildings all around me. I found a café with a heated patio (not heated enough) for a crêpe confiture framboise (a raspberry jam crepe) - it was lovely. I took a walk to the Bibliothèque Nationale (French National Library). Unfortunately, it is in the middle of a huge renovation, and I couldn't even get a picture of the front of it because of all the ugly temporary offices sitting in front of the main entrance. I went inside, but you have to pay to actually see anything at all (even the library itself - you have to pay for a locker to store your coat and bag because they're not allowed). I didn't want to see the inside THAT badly, so I warmed up for a bit and then headed back out to find somewhere to sit and people-watch. Two really great things happened as I was walking in the direction of Notre-Dame: A French woman asked me if I was from Paris (Score! - even though I couldn't understand what she was trying to find) and I found a pet store right across the street from the Seine! It had parakeets and puppies and a couple of terrifying Persian kittens and - yes - pigeons for 39 Euros apiece! (Personally, I would just grab one off the street if I wanted a pet pigeon that badly...)

I had a less-than-lovely dinner experience nearby. My quiche was burnt and generally unappetizing, my waiter kept giving me weird looks, and on the big screen, we were watching - not sports as you would typically imagine at a restaurant/bar - but an Animal Planet special on les loups (wolves)! It opened with a peaceful scene of a squirrel eating an acorn in a snowy forest and graphically displayed the squirrel's final hours at the hands of Mr. Wolf. When the wolf's prey became larger and we finally arrived at a scene showing him rolling around in bloody snow, I decided it was time to be done. I went in search of a poster I had seen earlier for a gospel choir concert at one of the churches in Paris; I thought that might be a fun evening activity. Unfortunately, I suddenly started feeling horrendously sick and had to return to the plague hotel where I was sick all night with food poisoning or a flu bug or something. When 7A.M. rolled around, I couldn't even dream of getting up, hopping on the Metro, and transferring to a five-hour train, so I stayed in bed until I had to check out. I forfeited my train ticket and had to buy a new one when I got to la gare, and waited in the ice cold Gare de Lyon for two hours until the next train left, still quite sick. The end.

So, I have been in bed for the past two days. My room and bed have never ever been more amazing than after the plague hotel, and I have never been happier to return to Cannes after a weekend away. I'm supposed to leave for a weekend in London in twenty-four hours... We shall see.

Happy Thanksgiving to all; enjoy your feasts! If I make it to London, I will bee-line it to the nearest Chipotle, rest assured.

Also, here's a kick-off present for the holiday season - I want to experience one of these!:

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob

Sound of Music / Central Station Antwerp

It's just not in the stars for this group.

It's very strange seeing everyone's Facebook pictures of snow in Minnesota! It's actually warmed up a bit here in France; it's been t-shirt weather here for the past few days. All the more reason to hop on a plane and come visit me, right? ;)

Early Thursday morning, we departed on our final (!) CSB/SJU group trip that was made possible by last summer's awesome exchange rate (dollar to Euro, 1.2). Lyon is the second-largest city in France (next to Paris, of course) and it is the capital of French FOOD. "Lyon" also means "lion" in French, so there were lion statues everywhere throughout the city. I stopped there on my way to Tours a few weeks back, but I didn't get to see much of it. Thursday morning was filled with a photo shoot of massive proportions on the train; Mickey and I were alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic while Katie and Evans were sleeping next to us, so we had quite a bit of fun. Upon arriving, we all went straight to our hostel, which actually wasn't bad. You never know what to expect when you're staying in a hostel, but Katie, Regina, and I had our own room (complete with bunk beds) and shower (but the toilet was down the hall). The hostel was actually an interesting experience; it's the first one I've stayed at and it wasn't bad at all. It was in Vieux Lyon (the old area of town) on a hill, and we had an amazing view of the city from the balcony.

We had some time to explore Lyon after we arrived; basically, we were on a mission for lunch. Katie, Mickey, and I found a small 24/24 (24/7 - weird for France) café where one of the women working didn't know what a café au lait (coffee with cream) was! There was much confusion, but the other woman working had her thinking cap on and poured some milk into a cup of straight coffee. (20 minutes later, Beth and I found a place that knew what real coffee was. Phew.) While we were searching for a place to eat, I found this epic FAIL AT LIFE pictured to the left. First of all, the "apostrophe s ('s)" is never EVER EVER used in French, ever. This is bolded and highlighted many times over in my French I notebook from high school. Also, just...what??? "Le banana's"? It just has no meaning in French! English! Anything! Blah!

Moving right along. After finding real coffee, our group met up again and we started our tour of Lyon with a guide from the city. It was actually an excellent tour; it was a shame that it started to rain and everyone was chilled to the bone half-way through. She talked a lot about the Roman influences on the architecture of Lyon (which was surprising because Lyon is pretty far north of the coast), les traboules (passageways between streets in Lyon that were used for hiding/escape purposes during the Revolution and other eras - we got to go through a couple of them!), and the Cathedral. There was an astrological clock inside the Cathedral that sounds four times per day most days, and we got to watch it - it was actually really neat! There was a rooster on top that "crowed" at 4 o'clock, mechanical figures that moved, and a complicated face that gave much boggling astrological information.

After the tour, we all needed a little break, so we returned to the hostel for a bit to nap (and post my Rome blog). We had dinner reservations in Vieux Lyon and it was fantastic. Beth had to explain most of the French to us (she knows a lot about food) with the help of my pocket French dictionary which has a section of terms specific to dining! Perfect! I got French onion soup, a chicken and rice dish, and crème brûlée, which was all fabulous. It's hard to explain; food in Lyon is at a completely different level from all else in France and the rest of the world. Every bite you take is accompanied by a sigh and much deep thought on how you ever survived without this food in the past. This also brings up a great French invention that I haven't really talked about much before: Le menu. This is a great option that most French restaurants give their customers; the "menu" is a specific list of a few options for the appetizer, main dish, and dessert. Sometimes, there are a few different menus, each at a specific price. It's a great deal because you can get several courses for 12-20 Euros (typically - but if you eat at a very fancy restaurant, it can of course cost more). Usually, though, it's a great idea to take advantage of le menu. Sometimes, it's not available on Sundays and holidays, like much else in France.

Friday morning was spent at the Deportation Museum; this was a very somber but well-done WWII museum. The parts about the Holocaust and concentration camps hit everyone especially hard. I noticed this before at museums in Paris, but again, it was very apparent that there was much suffering happening in France and surrounding countries during the war and everybody turned away from it. When you see the videos and pictures, it's hard to understand why people were not as informed and disturbed as they should have been if they had understood what Hitler was doing during the time.

Luckily, lunch was another great gastronomical experience that day. We went to a restaurant that is popular among locals; there are several places like this where you sit down and they give you only a couple of options for your meal depending on what is fresh or good to eat that day. A few of us chose the "wrong" appetizer: The pâté dish (consisting of a "slice" of meat and fruit in a bread crust) was just okay (I'm sure it was wonderful by pâté standards, but it just wasn't my thing) but the fish was excellent - luckily, we all share dishes.

The main course was across-the-board amazing. There were two options; one was a seafood soufflé and the other was steak-and-potatoes. I got the steak; it was...AMAZING. I can barely describe it. Everything is just so fresh. There is a little taste of ratatouille (a vegetable stir fry) and spicy pear besides the mashed and baked potatoes...and the steak was PERFECT. And the SAUCE! If you love food, Lyon is definitely the place to go. They know what they're doing.

After lunch, everyone broke up and did their own thing. I went back to the hostel for a bit to relax; that's okay on the sixth straight weekend of travel, right? It gets kind of complicated with the room keys; Katie and Regina went with others to a miniatures museum nearby, so I had to wait until they got back to leave myself. That wasn't bad; I went for a nice walk across the Saône river (not far at all) to a teddy bear shop (!) and then back. I actually went to the miniature museum myself; it was really cool! The man who works in the studio on the top floor is very famous; he makes the miniature sets and props for many movies including V for Vendetta (the mask from the final scene - to the left - was actually at the museum!), Indiana Jones, Batman Begins, and many others. He also had a bunch of random little scenes on display in the museum, which was incredible - musical instruments, chess boards, food - I can't imagine spending my life making such tiny things! It was really cool to see how someone could make a living out of creating small things like that; there was a display of food that reminded me a lot of my "micro food" presentation from English class in middle school! It was a very interesting display, and I was glad I went.

Afterwards, I decided to walk by the river for a bit (the Saône). Turns out, a building right across the bridge was on fire - tons of people were standing near the bridge, watching. It's scary when there's a fire like that because all the buildings are hundreds of years old and they're all connected; there were people poking their heads out of the top floors of the buildings next door and I couldn't believe they hadn't evacuated yet! If one building starts burning, every other building next door, on the same block, and in the same neighborhood are at risk.

The fire kept burning all evening, long after I returned to the hostel. I hope no one was hurt. It was a lovely evening, and Katie, Laura, and I decided to head out for a real dinner (when everyone else opted for Pizza Hut - WHAT?!?!?!? Yeah). We wandered around Vieux Lyon until we found a restaurant that served something other than liver, brains, and intestines (all of which I sampled from other people's plates and liked but of which I could never eat an entire dish) on le menu. We found a great little place with delicious salade de chèvre (goat cheese salad - it was fantastic), poulet et riz (chicken and rice), and mousse au chocolat (chocolat mousse). We returned to the hostel and the Laura and I decided to go out for a little while. There was an Irish pub very close to the hostel. We met a girl from Atlanta, Georgia and a guy from Ohio who are working here. It was a very fun time! We moved on to another Irish pub and I met five French guys who didn't speak English. We carried on a conversation for awhile and then I turned in for the night.

The morning was beautiful! A few of us went with Beth to the ancient Roman ruins nearby on the hill, and then to the Cathedral. It was a little bit of a walk, but gorgeous all the same. There were many pictures taken on the ruins...

That afternoon, I wasn't feeling particularly well, so I spent most of my time resting. I wasn't too surprised or upset; I have been going for five weekends straight now (plus normal classes during the week) without a break so I needed a little pause; so did Andrew, who has a bad cold. It was hard to lay down and do nothing in a city I've never been to before but it was necessary. By evening, I was feeling better. Everyone dressed up to go to L'Ouest, a famous restaurant in France. The food was excellent (but maybe we were a bit detached because we had dined at fantastic places for the previous days). I'm glad we went, though; it was a great experience to eat at a modern but famous place.

The dinner lasted about three hours and we didn't get to bed until around one-thirty. We did have some great dinner conversation, as usual... This time, the highlight for me was probably Liz talking about previous study abroad groups who were very close and always hung out together, and then she said, "It's just not in the stars for this group." I don't think I've ever laughed harder. She then proceeded to invite all of us to her apartment next semester.

This morning consisted of packing and leaving: Another train ride full of pictures and homework. We are now back in Cannes, ready for another full week. It's interesting because about half of our group is begging to go home right now and half of us are counting our days and focused on making the most of them! (I am definitely part of that group.) It's hard to believe there is less than a month left, but I'm ready to soak up the rest of my time in France without wasting a second!

You dress like you speak English!

Obviously, my plans of keeping up with my blog have failed as my life in Cannes has suddenly become just as busy as music ed major world at CSB. Luckily, I am feeling very fluent in French at the moment (aside from a few glitches...) or life would be overwhelming.

Friday afternoon after class involved running around like a chicken with its head cut off to finish errands and throw clothes in a suitcase before hopping on the bus to the Nice airport with Katie, Regina, Megan, and Meg. It felt so weird to be at an airport for the first time since August - the train is so much easier here! No security and no tiny liquid bottles! We also discovered why everyone hates the company EasyJet: Not only are they huge sticklers on the gate closing time, they also inform you (just before boarding, mind you) that each passenger is allowed une seule valise (only one bag) to carry on...and a purse counts as your one bag. Also, if you bring a coat, you have to wear it - you can't hold it on your lap. Luckily, I was able to shove my purse in my travel bag.

Upon landing at the airport in Rome, the first thing I saw out the window was a giant "Emporio Armani" building. We were definitely back in Italy. It took us awhile to get to the train into the city; we were trying to call our hotel from a payphone that kept eating our coins to let them know what time to meet us and open the door. We gave up and soon found ourselves in an Italian train next to a smelly, dirty, drunk homeless man who later got in a dispute with one of the train employees (complete with animated hand gestures) and was kicked off for not having a ticket. Yep, definitely in Italy.

We soon met up with Evans, Andrew, and Ryan, who had flown out on Thursday, for dinner. I wasn't actually impressed with my pizza; the cheese and sauce were mixed into a spaghettio-like consistency, but the crust was at least thin and delicious.

Saturday was our one full day in Rome, so we split into small groups and Katie and I (as usual) covered as much ground as possible. We started by walking to the Colosseum to see the outside (the line to get in was too long and it was expensive - American passports mean zero student discount in Italy, even with proof of residency and enrollment in school). So we walked around the nearby Roman ruins and dealt with the annoying, persistent tour guides and souvenir vendors pestering us every thirty seconds. What struck me right away about Rome were the winding streets that opened up in to city squares with beautiful fountains and architecture. Everything is very close together and we literally ran into the Colosseum that morning.

Unfortunately, the streets are also very confusing when you're trying to get to a specific place (they change names every other block and often connect differently that the map leads you to believe) so it's easy to end up in a completely different place than you thought you were heading toward. Katie and I discovered this when we tried to get to the Trevi Fountain next; we were about a five minute walk away when we headed down some street (still can't figure out which one) that took us partway across town to the Ministry of Arts and Culture, a very beautiful government building that we hadn't previously known about. After spending a little time in that square, we finally made our way to the Trevi Fountain. Megan, Andrew, and Regina were there, so we spent some time admiring the fountain and taking pictures. Then it was time for Katie and I to meander over to the Vatican, where we had bought tickets ahead of time for 1:00 admission.

The Metro in Rome is très facile (very easy) to navigate. There are two lines, A and B, and because Rome is a small city, most rides are only a couple of stops and no more than five minutes long. We arrived early and peeked into St. Peter's Square for a few minutes before going around to the back where the museums were. I liked the area around the Vatican, except (bien sur) for all the people selling tour and trinkets on the streets. It completely cheapens the experience of seeing something like the Vatican for the first time; no, I do not want to buy a "I love Pope" t-shirt or pay for a scam tour. Katie and I decided to try speaking in French to avoid the people hounding English-speakers. When I told one man I didn't speak English, he replied with, "You dress like you speak English!" as we walked away. Funny - nearly my entire ensemble (minus my jeans) was bought in France.

The Vatican itself is, like so many other things I've seen this semester: Overwhelming. The museums are around behind St. Peter's Basilica. We went through a couple exhibits and then decided to head straight to the Sistine Chapel. It was a walk through ten or so elaborate halls to get there; they were filled with thousands of pieces of art (including a piece we studied in art history). The Chapel itself was much larger than I was anticipating; the ceiling was high and Michelangelo's murals covered the entire hall - it was so colorful. Katie and I spent a little while just sitting, admiring, and listening to the music of the guards yelling "SILENCIO!!!!" and "NO PHOTO!!!!" every minute...and yes, I got a few good not-quite-legal photos.

By this point, we were about to faint so we shlepped down to the Vatican pizzeria for some delicious thin floppy slices and wine (or, more likely, just crushed grapes) in a juice box. Then we went back to St. Peter's Square and into the Basilica. Wow. That's all I can say. Indescribable. The Basilica is massive. And dark. It took awhile to wander through the whole place. I tried to take a video to capture how huge it was, but it's impossible. Everywhere you look, there's something elaborate and...well, huge. It was really cool, but still a bit touristy - I couldn't get over the people posing for pictures as they dipped their hands in the holy water. Just bizarre. I loved all the candles surrounding the tomb of St. Peter in the center - that was a truly gorgeous display.

From there, we went to see the Spanish stairs (a lot of stairs in a small square) and we ran into Megan, Andrew, and Regina again. There was a military band playing on the steps and a lot of artists set up in the area, so we relaxed there for awhile and watched the sun set over Rome from the top of the stairs. This was one of the best moments of the day for me, seeing Rome turn into a night city. I think I would have enjoyed going out in the evening for a little while if we hadn't been so tired and pressed for time. Then it was off to see the Trevi Fountain at night (AND eat a cannoli at the Trevi Fountain!), and back to the hotel to relax before dinner.

One of Megan's friends knew of a good restaurant that was reasonably-priced, so Katie, Megan, Ryan, Regina, Andrew, and I took the Metro there for dinner. It was FANTASTIC. Bruschetta, spicy penne, the best sauvignon of the semester, tiramisu.... Oh, it was fabulous.

Sunday morning was spent relaxing. Regina, Andrew, and I took turns guarding luggage in the courtyard of the guys' hotel until we got kicked out onto the street and were homeless in Italy. Eventually, everyone straggled back to our street curb and we ate at a nearby restaurant (the pizza was DELICIOUS this time - I stole some of Megan's) and were off on our return journey to Cannes. Hooray for France!! (And thanks, Italy, for the pasta, pizza, gelato, and cannolis!)

This week has been quite the endeavor - eight and a half hours of internship, one hour of flute, nine hours of grammar class, two hours of Beth's class, two hours of art history, and four hours of cinema. Plus homework and packing for a trip. All crammed into three days. This is why France is the most academically-intense study abroad trips. I'm really excited about the internship now - I started teaching my seven- and eight-year-olds the "12 Days of Christmas" which they're going to perform at their Christmas concert! My middle-schoolers are going to write and perform and accompaniment on their instruments, and I'm going to direct it on December 7th. It's really fun now that I'm getting the hang of French music vocabulary and expressions, and starting to get ideas of how to teach and explain things. I even met some friends who are students in the adult class - two women who give me a ride home after class (who are probably in their late 20s) invited me to go our for crêpes with them soon. One of them spent a year studying in Maine and now she's an English teacher in France. It's exciting getting to spend time by myself speaking with native French speakers in a context like that; it's a shame the internship didn't get going sooner!

Now, I'm in Lyon with CSB/SJU for the long weekend. Lyon is the second-largest city in France (next to Paris) and the gastronomic capital of the country...so we're here to eat. Yum!

Paris joli

VOYAGE À PARIS

Guillaume Apollinaire

Ah! la charmante chose

Quitter un pays morose

Pour Paris

Paris joli

Qu'un jour dût créer l'Amour

(JOURNEY TO PARIS

Ah! How charming

To leave a morose country

For Paris

Pretty Paris

Where one day creates love)

Jour 1 (Day 1)

I know I say this every weekend that I travel, but I think this past weekend has to have been one of my favorites! I had forgotten how much I love the city of Paris (which I suppose isn't completely my fault - I was quite jetlagged during my last stay). Thanks to the transportation strike, trains were canceled last Thursday (when we were supposed to leave) so we got to leave Wednesday afternoon instead on a direct train to Paris! We arrived late at night and finally managed to find our hotel, located in the Latin Quarter a couple of blocks away from Notre Dame. Hotel Marignon was under construction and the lady working the desk put us in the wrong rooms for our first night, but we were just happy to have beds so we could crash.

The next morning, I got up super early and did some serious iPod research on the location of the closest Starbucks. It's been well over two months since I've been able to feed my addiction to chain coffee shops and it was about time for sugar and caffeine in a disposable cup. My iPod map failed - it led me straight to an Irish pub about ten minutes away - but on the way back I ran into three or so Starbucks and the morning was saved.

After breakfast in the hotel, the twelve of us (ten students, Beth, and Mickey's mom) departed on our Paris Revolutionary tour, part of Beth's class. Each of us had to pick and research a site in the city that would have had significance to our character from the French Revolution game. All of us walked around to each site and each person gave a short presentation of the place and why it was important. It ended up taking longer than expected because Paris happens to be a very large city and it took quite awhile to walk up and down and back and forth. It was a good way to see the city and get an idea of where everything was, and it's even cooler to realize that you're in a place where something like the Revolution took place; there were cafés where Revolutionary leaders met regularly that are still in business. My site, l'Église St. Joseph des Carmes, was one of the few places that was still in its original condition. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very happy place - it was the site of the imprisonment and massacre of priests and bishops in September, 1792, because they were against the Revolution. Their bodies were thrown into wells in the nearby Luxembourg Garden, but ninety were later restored to the crypt inside the church. By the time we were done mid-afternoon, everyone was about ready to split up and do their own thing.

Katie and I had big plans and lists of things to do during our weekend in Paris. We were not going to waste a minute, so we booked it back to Notre-Dame de Paris right away. This has to be my favorite place in Paris - it's the site of so many movies, novels, and plays, and the architecture and history are so beautiful. The surrounding area is also fabulous - there are many artists selling pieces on the streets around it and just in front of the cathedral, there were jugglers and breakdancers who were blasting ACDC. Inside, though, the cathedral was pretty peaceful. This time, I lit a candle and spent a good amount of time admiring the organ. It's one of those places that I never want to leave; it is massive but comforting at the same time.

Eventually, we dragged ourselves out to step on Point Zero, which is a point just outside of Notre-Dame from which distances to Paris are always measured. There is also the legend that if you step on Point Zero, you will return to Paris someday, so I walked back and forth over it for awhile, just for good measure. Then it was off to Sainte-Chapelle, a chapel about two blocks away that is world-famous for its stained glass windows. I'd never been here before and I was quite excited when the line was short enough that we squeezed in just before it closed. Unfortunately, like everything in France in the off-season, it was being renovated and the altar end of the haute-chapelle was blocked off, but the windows on either side were still breathtaking. They were huge, and the light of the setting sun was streaming through from the west, giving off a brilliant glow. It apparently didn't take a long time at all to build, which is unbelievable when you walk in and see how tall and intricate the windows are.

From there, we were supposed to meet a few people at la Tour Eiffel before dinner so we could watch the sun set over Paris from the top. For some reason, we decided to walk from the Latin Quarter all the way there along the Seine. It was a beautiful walk, but the sun set when we were about half-way there, so we got pretty pictures of the Seine instead. The walk may not have been so hard, but we had already walked to all corners of Paris and back earlier in the day and we were in quite a bit of pain by the time we reached the Tower. After a lot of picture-taking along the Champs de Mars and an unsuccessful search for our friends, we decided to get in line to go to the top before it got too late. Instead of waiting in more lines and paying more for the elevator, we opted for the stairs to the second tier! I can't say the 669 steps did anything spectacular for my aching legs, but the view was well worth it! The last of the color was just disappearing from the sky and Paris was beginning to light up. I could see itty-bitty Notre-Dame, l'Arc de Triomphe, la Seine, Hôtel de Ville, la Tour Montparnasse... It was like looking at a tiny model of Paris all lit up from above. Although the second tier view ended up to be our favorite, we did take the elevator all the way up to the top. The cool part about that tier was the view straight down of the Eiffel Tower itself and its warm glow (and the way it sparkles every hour on the hour!). It was also freezing cold all the way up there, and I didn't have my coat with me, so we didn't spend much time there. All three of us were famished and crippled and had a long line for the elevators down ahead of us. Finally, we reached solid ground and Laura got hit in the head by a flying light-up toy that was being sold by people at the base of the tower. It was then time for restaurant-hunting; the winner was a nearby Italian restaurant that wasn't too expensive. By that point, food was food, and the only thing that would have made the meal better would have been a pillow at the table to nap while we waited for our food.

Le Métro was necessary for getting back; walking simply wasn't an option. I was pleasantly surprised - we were able to ask for directions to the nearest station and then ask the woman at the ticket counter for directions home without anyone speaking English back to us! In PARIS! A girl about our age asked us for directions when we were waiting for the train, and we succeeded at that as well; it wasn't until Katie accidentally said the word "so" in English that the girl starting speaking American English - "You speak English?" So I guess we fooled each other. Back at the hotel, we were asleep before our heads hit the pillow.

Jour 2

Friday was a busy day and we were on our own for most of it. Katie and I had big plans and a strict schedule; we were ambitious as always. Most of the group met up in the morning and we took the Métro to Montmartre, the elevated area of the city with the basilica Sacre-Coeur, the Moulin Rouge, lots of artists, and pickpockets everywhere. After taking several can-can pictures in front of the Moulin Rouge and caffeinating ourselves at Starbucks, it was onto Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart), which I think is one of the most beautiful churches in the world. It's only 125 years old, and the architecture is very soft and rounded. It's at the top of the hill and there is a breathtaking view of Paris from the front steps. There were also people running after us, trying to trick us into letting them hook string bracelets on our wrists so we'd have to pay them for it.

Katie and Laura and I broke off from the rest of the group to get to the Hôtel des Invalides, a massive war museum, church, and Napoleon's tomb. This was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend; I have never been inside before. Napoleon's tomb is absolutely insane; he was a little man with a big ego. His tomb is right under a huge dome, and six other famous war heroes are buried in small wings of the main floor. There is a gaudy, overdone shrine opposite the door, and in between, you can look down and see the tomb. Napoleon is buried inside six caskets (if that gives you any idea about how he considered himself). There are all sorts of sculptures, paintings, art, and shrines dedicated to his honor/ego everywhere.

There's also a church connecting the tomb and the museum, which we stopped inside after a quick lunch. It wasn't anything too special after Notre-Dame and Sacre-Coeur, but it was huge, light, and well-decorated in Napoleonic fashion. The museum was another fascinating part; there was room after room of war relics, music, paintings, and history about various early French wars, the Revolution (especially interesting after having studied it), and les guerres mondiales (World Wars). I really enjoyed learning about the World Wars from another country's perspective; no wonder European countries are hesitant to help the U.S. in our dumb war over oil when we took our own sweet time responding to the Germans literally taking over all of Europe and installing concentration camps everywhere during WWII. American museums and history books really downplay the European occupation.

By then, we were tired and crippled once again, but we couldn't bear to waste a minute in Paris, so we shlepped across the street to the Musée Rodin, a small but charming museum with several very famous pieces by - you guessed it - the artist Rodin. Among the most famous were Le Penseur (The Thinker) and Le Baiser (The Kiss). There were a few pieces that I really liked, especially some of Rodin's early work and then a sculpture of two hands intertwined called Le Cathédrale, but other than that, I discovered that I am not really a fan of Rodin's work. I am finding in general this semester that I am very picky about visual art and I'm not easily moved by something that sits stagnant in a frame or on a pedestal. Some people are very moved, but I can't understand it. There's nothing to DO with it and no way to internalize it. Most of the museum was outside in a small garden, so we relaxed in some lawn chairs for a little while and breathed in the Parisian air. Soon, it was time to book it down the Seine to the Louvre for our 6:00 reservation.

The Louvre is one of my preferred art museums, I think. It is overwhelming the first time you see it, but the second time (when I didn't have to worry about finding and seeing the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo) was much more relaxing. I love French and Italian paintings from the 14th-18th centuries, and that's where I spent all my time. The great thing about the Louvre is that you can find something to see, no matter what mood you're in - there are pyramids and paintings from all different countries and Roman statues and basically whatever you want to see...except for my painting. There is one painting that I LOVE that I sat by the entire time I was here three years ago, and I know it was there a year ago (Brianna took a picture for me!) but I couldn't find it! I remembered exactly where it was, too, and I searched everywhere it could possibly be, but to no avail. So I found another one to sit near and pulled out the Atonement soundtrack on my iPod for about an hour. The Louvre is a very calming place to be at night, especially at exhibits that are a ways off the beaten path.

We all met up again a few hours later, went for dinner, and crashed again.

Jour 3

Saturday. We were all on our own until our boat tour in the evening, and most people split up completely to do their own things. I decided to get in my Halloween fun and started the morning at les Catacombes, the tunnels deep under the city of Paris. Think Les Misérables. Or Ghost Hunters International. And if you ever decide to do this yourself, don't go alone. I walked through pouring rain down the Boulevard Raspail for a ways before reaching the Catacombes in the same neighborhood as our hotel from three years ago, so I knew my way around. By the time I got to the entrance, the sun was coming out and I looked like a drowned rat - perfect for where I was headed. The line was extremely long (over an hour of waiting) but I didn't mind. I had a long conversation with a Japanese man in front of me who kept trying to tell me I was French. He also talked a lot about airplanes to Nice and informed me that there is, in fact, a very famous film festival held in Cannes every year (what could this mysterious film festival be??). Once we got down into the tunnels, he would pop out from the shadows every once in a while and yell, "Bienvenue à Tokyo!" ("Welcome to Tokyo!") which just enhanced my overall frightful experience. I was very happy I went, though, because there is a lot of history connected with the tunnels from several different eras. The tunnels are named ("avenues" and "rues" ...yeah right) and there were sculptures of cities carved into some of the walls, graffiti, wells, aqueducts, bell towers (with no bells), tombs, and lots of bone.

The scariest part was a doorway with a sign in French warning you not to enter the hell beyond the door (a mom excitedly took a picture of her two excited young sons at this door...I would have never gone for that as a kid). Beyond the door was room after room after room of leg bones and skulls stacked from floor to about head-height, arranged in various patterns. There was even an area where the skulls were arranged in a heart shape. At each little section, there were quotes about death carved into stone and carvings that told you where the bones came from; one of the areas was filled with bones from people who died at my Revolutionary site (the Carmelite Monastery). It was artistic but there was a strange energy down there; it's almost too real being stuck in a tomb with all these broken skeletons with no way to get out. It was also damp and wet. Needless to say, I was happy when I got up the tiny spiral staircase and emerged onto a modern-day Parisian street with fresh air.

My second stop was le Cimitière Père Lachaise. I was not entirely sure I was ready for this excursion after all the bones and filth of the Catacombes, but it's something I really wanted to see. I was also not entirely wild about going back underground to catch the Métro, but at least there were living people down there this time. Being that it was Saturday AND this area of town is not as safe as the Latin Quarter, many of the living doubled as pickpockets so I had to really be on alert.

The cemetery was right across the street from the Métro and I can barely describe how beautiful and peaceful it was. There are several famous people buried here and it is absolutely massive. Also, it was not at all dark and depressing like the tunnels; everything was beautiful and well-kept, and the colors of the fall leaves and flowers radiated over everything. The only problem was that the cemetery is MASSIVE and it took awhile to figure out where I was and where all the tombs were that I wanted to visit. Eventually, I found the tombs of Chopin, Poulenc (I listened to his flute sonata in its entirety in front of his tomb - the one that I played at my recital), François-Christophe de Kellermann (a French Revolution war hero whose name I used in our game for class), and Georges Bizet (wait for the Carmen fantasy at this year's recital!). There were also several other artists and musicians I passed along the way whose tombs were beautiful. I wanted to see Edith Piaf (a famous French singer whose life is depicted in the film La Vie en Rose) and Maria Callas, but they were buried way out in the boonies of the cemetery and my feet were definitely not up for that when I still had half the day to go.

I met Mickey and his mom on the way out - they had plans to go to Disneyland Paris on Sunday as a birthday present! We chatted for a little while and then I was off again via Métro to my next stop, Le Cité de la Musique! This was a Saturday morning Google find that I just HAD to see. I was feeling music-deprived (it's weird going from music nearly 24/7 at St. Ben's to a semester of spotty musical experiences) and there is a conservatory in Paris that is like a little town in itself with a concert hall and a museum of INSTRUMENTS! This was absolutely my favorite part of Paris and maybe the entire semester

There were around 900 instruments on display at this museum (which, like most museums in France, was FREE because I am technically a student of the European Union - score!). The exhibit went by musical era, showing the instruments (and the experimental/failed instruments) that were played during each. They had the coolest displays, like a glass case showing the instruments that would have been used in Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique versus the instruments of a Wagner symphony. I drooled over an entire glass case of transverse flutes (some were crystal!) and an electric flute hooked up to a computer. I could go on for days about this museum (and I probably will when I get home, so I'll shush for now). There was also a traveling exhibit about music in Russia during the Lenin/Stalin craziness; music and composers (and artists in general) were closely watched by these two control freaks to ensure that no anti-governmental messages were expressed. There is nothing like this in the United States - we have so many traveling science exhibits, but I have rarely seen music so thoroughly explored like this. It was so refreshing.

After I was done drooling over instruments, I headed over to the area where our boat tour ticket office was located and grabbed hummus wrap from a Lebanese restaurant. My camera battery had died, so went I walked to a bench by the Seine to watch the sun set over the Eiffel Tower and wasn't tempted at all to snap fifty photos; I read a little bit of my music museum guide book that I bought and watched the colors of the sky change. It was one of those fantastic moments: A Saturday night in Paris, letting dark shadows of people rush around me on the streets, listening to the flow of the Seine, seeing the Eiffel Tower light up as the city got darker. Beautiful. After forty-five minutes, it was time to venture down to the river where our group was meeting for our boat tour. It was great to have human interaction after a day to myself; everyone seemed to have enjoyed their time that day. The boat tour was beautiful; I've been on one before, but it's such a relaxing way to see the city. You get really close to the Eiffel Tower, le Musée d'Orsay, and Notre-Dame - my favorite. At night, all lit up, the city is indescribable. It's like New York or London but with a different flavor... Just one of those places where you feel at-home.

Afterwards, we went to a place just off the Champs-Elysées that has amazing flams (really thin, pizza-like food). Everyone was pretty tired and even though we had planned to go out, the night ended with everyone passing out right away again.

Jour 4

Versailles day! Beth took whoever wanted to go to the Palais de Versailles, the massive palace where King Louis XIV (the Sun King) spent most of his reign. It is an extravagant place full of Rococo-style architecture and decoration. I have been here before, but since then, I took Music History at St. Ben's and learned about what was happening musically during this time and the importance of Versailles (and the composer Lully who wrote music for the king) to the Baroque era. I love Versailles, and especially its Hall of Mirrors (full of chandeliers and paintings). It's so extravagant - a bit gaudy, maybe - but it was truly a center of art and fashion at the time it was used. My favorite part is the gardens, which were breathtaking in the fall with the changing leaves! There is the Grand Canal, which looks like a painting from afar on the back steps of the palace as you watch the canoes paddles back and forth (almost like in slow motion) across. It was Sunday, so classical music (Handel's Water Music, Regina and I deduced) was blaring through speakers in the bushes. I never wanted to leave. Sitting by the fountains and looking at all the orange leaves (on Halloween!) was wonderful.

When we got back, it was time for a late lunch at an Indian restaurant (as a group). The food was great, but not spicy enough for me. It was also good to sit and relax for awhile. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to rest for a few minutes, and then Katie, Laura, and I set off for Notre-Dame - Vespers and la Messe (Mass)!

These have to have been the most amazing couple of hours of the weekend. (I know, I say that a lot, but really this time.) Going to Mass at Notre-Dame was indescribable. Hearing that massive organ blaring and understanding the entire Mass (which was in both French and Latin). It was presided over by Cardinal André XXIII, Archbishop of Paris (this was the only Mass he was saying during the whole weekend, the All Saints' Day Mass), who was such a comforting presence. His homily touched a little bit on the strike going on in France right now and urged people to turn and focus on relationships with others above all. I loved it; this was the first time I realized how poetic the French language is in everyday usage and what an impact that has on their thinking and way of life. The archbishop kept bringing up metaphors of hope...yet it didn't sound cheesy or stupid like it would have if you would have translated it directly into English. Speaking in a different language truly brings you to a different mindset. The other observation I made was that I understand the Catholic church much better in French; it doesn't seem like a power-hungry machine the way it sometimes does in America. For example, I never understood why Catholics obsess over building these giant, beautiful cathedrals when God is supposed to be everywhere - why waste all that time and money on a worship space? But as Mass unfolded in that huge church, I got this sense that even the archbishop was humbled by being in such a huge, magnificent place; he looked very small in comparison to the church and very much like just another person among the assembly, except that his words were beautiful.

We left Notre-Dame feeling very uplifted, but still tired. We had planned to walk over to the Champs-Elysées at night and watch la Tour Eiffel lit up one more time, but that turned into a walk around Notre-Dame and a stop at a crêpe stand for dinner. Then - yes - time for another deep slumber.

Jour 5

Paris ended very calmly. Monday was Katie's birthday, and we ventured to the Jardins de Luxembourg that were nearby for the morning. We walked around, watched all the cute little French families and people doing tai-chi in the park, and witnessed a kid with a remote-control sailboat go after the ducks in the fountain. I bought Katie birthday beignets (a pastry) and we ate them on a park bench. We never wanted to leave! I would definitely recommend that park to anyone who goes to Paris - there is a palace at one end, horses, a playground, fountains, statues, and lots of trees and shrubs that were changing colors. When we got back, it was time to catch a bus to the train station and a train back to Cannes... Sad day! Everyone is definitely missing the atmosphere of Paris already. Back in the south of France, it was pouring. I was supposed to register for classes (my time was during our train ride), and we ended up getting delayed because the train ahead of us hit a wild pig and we had to veer off course. No, that's not an All Saints' Day joke, our arrival was delayed for almost an hour because they didn't know what to do about the wild pig that was hit. Beyond crazy.

Now I am back in Cannes, trying to catch up on homework and plans, but not for long! Tomorrow is Friday (already) which means ROME! I can't believe it's already here! Thus, I must go do homework and do some planning/packing/researching. If you read all of this (or even just some of it), congratulations; I wish I had a cookie for you and a way to get it to you. Look for an update on Sunday night: That is my goal (unless we get stuck in Italy again...)!