Today has had ups and downs, but overall, it was a pretty good day.
Why does 7:30 still seem to come so early for me? I made sure to paint my nails yesterday and pick out a nice outfit today (I went for my black and white patterned skirt, a black sweater, with my brown boots and black tights) because I was meeting Caroline today. Weeks ago I signed up to be part of the adopt-a-student program. Former UC students, who now reside in Paris/France, adopts students. I was adopted to Caroline Pierce. She works at France Televisions for the diversity department. I wanted to make a good first impression so I wanted everything to be perfect.
I had to make sure to be out of the house early today so that I could print my composition before class. I made it to school, and was still ten minutes early despite leaving only five minutes early. I suppose that's how math works. School was school. I did my presentation today with Raven about Tahiti. Turns out that my professor was married and lived in Tahiti and she seemed to enjoy our presentation. The first thing we do every class period is pick numbers. Based on our numbers we have to say something about what we did over the weekend/the day before. I said that I went to the musée arts decoratifs. After the presentations were over, my professor asked me what I had said for my sentence. I was a little embarrassed that my life is that forgetable.
Before my histories class I checked the mail and saw a card from my mom! It's purple and has the Eiffel Tower in gold, a basket of bakets on a scooter, a cup of coffee on a table, and lamp posts. She wrote hotel recommendations for my upcoming holiday.
After class I jumped on the eight to meet Caroline at 1:30. I got to the metro station and had to buy tickets. It turns out that one machine accepts paper money and the other only accepts coins. I was trying to buy four tickets, but despite scraping every piece of change out of my purse, I didn't have enough for four tickets. I bought the two tickets I needed and sulked away. So embarrassing.
I saw a classmate from my histories class on the platform. We talked while on the train. There's something about her that I don't approve of, but I'm trying to make an effort to be friendly. I need to find someone to let me into their group for our upcoming scavenger hunt. I can't be friendless all the time. She got off the train, and I continued on. I took the train in the direction of Balard and I was supposed to get off there. I've never been on a train with so many stops before! It took forever to get from Ledru-Rollin to Balard on an old, rickety train. At the very last stop the light in the car I was in went out. Freaky.
I got off and followed Caroline's instructions to France Televisions. Before I came to Paris, I spent part of my summer translating a French lifestyle magazine. There was a quiz in the magazine and one of the questions was "which American author has a street named after him in Paris". The answer is Ernest Heminway. I passed the street today. It's in the 15th right across from the Georges Pompidou hospital.
Once I arrived at France Televisions, my purse was checked at the door, and I proceeded to the front desk where I used my pigeon French to ask the receptionist to call Caroline. My ID was scanned and I was issued a vistor's card. I sat down to wait for Caroline and watching Garfield play on the tv above the reception desk. After a few minutes Caroline came down to get me.
Caroline is a tall, thin woman with shoulder length brown hair. She's so sweet. She took me to the cafeteria for lunch. I had trouble carrying a tray on top of my stack of books, but I managed. We got fish with a buttery sauce that came with a huge pile of rice with a side of carrots in some kind of delicious sauce. I also got a piece of baguette and a strawberry tart for dessert. We talked during our long lunch about everything under the sky. It turns out that she's French but lived in the US for 11 years after going there to attend Berkeley. She wants to set me up with her goddaughter when she gets back. She also wants to make plans to take me to her country house near Normandy. I can get used to this. After lunch we went to the cafe inside the building and got coffee. I got a double espresso.
On my way home from my fantastic date, there was a protest happening outside. I signed up for travelor's information before I left for Paris so that I could get updates on important things happening in France (safety issues). Yesterday I got an email that I protest about pensions was happening and was supposed to pass by France Televisions. Expect travel delays. The protest was peaceful and there were only a few police cars blocking the road. I kept walking, but got sidetracked to go look at Jardin Noir. It looks more like a business center park than the prettier parks in Paris so I didn't stay for long.
I came home and tried to focus on my studying, but the double shot of espresso and today's excitement was really distracting me. I managed to stumble through my French homework (and get all but two answers wrong) and write my French presentation comparing my apartment in Paris to my apartment in Santa Barbara. Then I finished reading the 1960s sexuality in French copine pop music for tomorrow's pop lecture.
Before, during, and after reading I started booking my train tickets for my vacation. I was all excited, but wanted my mom to see it before I booked the tickets. I took a shower as a break before starting to edit my pop paper. While in the shower, my mom emailed me wanting to Skype. Today's her birthday and she wanted to chat with me while in Montecito. I emailed her back and edited my paper while I waited for her to email me that she was online. She got back to me a few minutes later and we talked about my day and my trip plans.
After mom's approval I tried to book my tickets. It was one problem after another. My basket was emptied due to inactivity. I couldn't figure out the differene between name and forename. My address wasn't approved so I had to redo that a million times. The last straw was when my card was declined. After it being declined three times the website cancelled my order. This trip is doomed.
I finally got back to editing my paper, and now I'm writing to you. It's only 10 pm but I'm exhausted. I'm going to finish the episode of people's court that I started yesterday and then go to bed. My class is going to the Pantheon tomorrow and I'm meeting with Mindy after class to talk about my paper. Wish me luck on all fronts.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
wrong directions and a misleading sign
This isn't going to be an interesting post. I did go on an adventure, though.
It was raining this morning so I hoped that I could study and wait for the rain to subside. Something about the grayness outside really dampened my mood. I was really in no mood to go out, but I had an adventure to accomplish. Today I planned on going to Montmartre to see Espace Dali, and I was going to make it happen despite the bad weather.
I got on the one and transferred to the 12 at Concorde. To my slight dismay, my directions were wrong. There is no direction "Front Populaire", but I saw the stop Abbesses on the the directional sign while still walking towards it. Even the trains were fairly empty today. I got off the train, and immediately saw the street that I was supposed to follow. Though it was supposed the be raining (hence indicate to a Californian that it's cold outside), I began sweating within moments due to the steep hills. The constant staircases that I encountered didn't help the matter.
I got to the center of town and couldn't find the street that I was looking for. I did, however, see a non-standard sign (street signs pointing to a place are either brown with white lettering or white with black lettering; this sign was some kind of temporary sign) that pointed away from the center of town. I followed it up and down the hills and several staircases before I realized that I was getting nowhere. I hiked back up to the sign and followed the other street that it could be pointing to. I found the space shortly afterwards.
The it cost me 6,50 to tour the small space. It was as weird as you would think. There were mosly Dali sculptures with a few of his paintings, drawings, and 3D works. There were also paintings that were inspired by Dali that might have been more disturbing than the Dali works themeselves. Part of the space actually sells Dali paintings and sculptures which I thought was kinda weird. I had heard of the space through metro advertisements and it claimed to be an exhibition, but the space seems to be entirely dedicated to Dali all the time. I did like the Dali that referenced a Velasquez painting Las Meninas, but the other works I found a little too weird for my taste. I also liked that there was part of a cathedral in the space; it was either a section of a real cathedral or was a recreation, but it looked very real to me. This was my first time seeing a Dali. I don't feel the need to see a Dali again.
I was only in the museum for about twenty minutes or so, and I couldn't come to Montmartre and not explore. The town isn't huge, but I decided to look around anyway. The weather was still bad (and very humid) and the hills were really dampening my adventures. The other major thing to do in Montmartre is to see Sacre Coeur, but my class is going to go there in a few weeks and I didn't want to ruin it. I just walked around the outside and took a few pictures. The church is beautiful and the plaza outside has one of the best views in Paris. The rainy haze made it even more beautiful.
After seeing the church I went back to the metro following the same path my class took when we visited a few weeks ago. I got on the metro and got off at Bastille so that I could see if Monoprix had a cheaper photobooth than the metro. I was thinking about getting a navigo pass considering that I've been traveling a lot, and refuse to spend 5 euros on five pictures when I only need one. I have since decided against getting a navigo and will just continue to pay as I go.
On the way home I stopped at Franprix to get more potato chips and cake for breakfast. I have spent the rest of the day inside sleeping and watching tv. I did manage to paint my nails for my lunch date tomorrow with Caroline, wash my dishes, study for French, and listen to the required reading for my pop class. Here's the playlist if you're interested:
Sylvie Vartan and Frankie Jordan, “Panne d’essence” (1961)
Sheila, “L’ecole est finie” (1962)
Françoise Hardy, “Tous les garçons et les filles” (1962)
France Gall, “Les sucettes” (1965)
Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, “Bonnie et Clyde” (1968)
Jane Birken and Serge Gainsbourg, "Je t'aime, moi non plus” (1969)
I also got to talk to mommy! It's here birthday tomorrow and she's spending it in Montecito without me :( We also talked about my upcoming holiday.
Maybe tomorrow will be better.
and i just burned my popcorn. What an omen.
It was raining this morning so I hoped that I could study and wait for the rain to subside. Something about the grayness outside really dampened my mood. I was really in no mood to go out, but I had an adventure to accomplish. Today I planned on going to Montmartre to see Espace Dali, and I was going to make it happen despite the bad weather.
I got on the one and transferred to the 12 at Concorde. To my slight dismay, my directions were wrong. There is no direction "Front Populaire", but I saw the stop Abbesses on the the directional sign while still walking towards it. Even the trains were fairly empty today. I got off the train, and immediately saw the street that I was supposed to follow. Though it was supposed the be raining (hence indicate to a Californian that it's cold outside), I began sweating within moments due to the steep hills. The constant staircases that I encountered didn't help the matter.
I got to the center of town and couldn't find the street that I was looking for. I did, however, see a non-standard sign (street signs pointing to a place are either brown with white lettering or white with black lettering; this sign was some kind of temporary sign) that pointed away from the center of town. I followed it up and down the hills and several staircases before I realized that I was getting nowhere. I hiked back up to the sign and followed the other street that it could be pointing to. I found the space shortly afterwards.
The it cost me 6,50 to tour the small space. It was as weird as you would think. There were mosly Dali sculptures with a few of his paintings, drawings, and 3D works. There were also paintings that were inspired by Dali that might have been more disturbing than the Dali works themeselves. Part of the space actually sells Dali paintings and sculptures which I thought was kinda weird. I had heard of the space through metro advertisements and it claimed to be an exhibition, but the space seems to be entirely dedicated to Dali all the time. I did like the Dali that referenced a Velasquez painting Las Meninas, but the other works I found a little too weird for my taste. I also liked that there was part of a cathedral in the space; it was either a section of a real cathedral or was a recreation, but it looked very real to me. This was my first time seeing a Dali. I don't feel the need to see a Dali again.
One of the pieces they're selling
I was only in the museum for about twenty minutes or so, and I couldn't come to Montmartre and not explore. The town isn't huge, but I decided to look around anyway. The weather was still bad (and very humid) and the hills were really dampening my adventures. The other major thing to do in Montmartre is to see Sacre Coeur, but my class is going to go there in a few weeks and I didn't want to ruin it. I just walked around the outside and took a few pictures. The church is beautiful and the plaza outside has one of the best views in Paris. The rainy haze made it even more beautiful.
Sacre Coeur
The view from the plaza at Sacre Coeur
After seeing the church I went back to the metro following the same path my class took when we visited a few weeks ago. I got on the metro and got off at Bastille so that I could see if Monoprix had a cheaper photobooth than the metro. I was thinking about getting a navigo pass considering that I've been traveling a lot, and refuse to spend 5 euros on five pictures when I only need one. I have since decided against getting a navigo and will just continue to pay as I go.
On the way home I stopped at Franprix to get more potato chips and cake for breakfast. I have spent the rest of the day inside sleeping and watching tv. I did manage to paint my nails for my lunch date tomorrow with Caroline, wash my dishes, study for French, and listen to the required reading for my pop class. Here's the playlist if you're interested:
Sylvie Vartan and Frankie Jordan, “Panne d’essence” (1961)
Sheila, “L’ecole est finie” (1962)
Françoise Hardy, “Tous les garçons et les filles” (1962)
France Gall, “Les sucettes” (1965)
Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, “Bonnie et Clyde” (1968)
Jane Birken and Serge Gainsbourg, "Je t'aime, moi non plus” (1969)
I also got to talk to mommy! It's here birthday tomorrow and she's spending it in Montecito without me :( We also talked about my upcoming holiday.
Maybe tomorrow will be better.
and i just burned my popcorn. What an omen.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
i finally made it
Today I finally made it to Notre Dame. It wasn't as harrowing a journey as I thought it would be.
We'll skip ahead to when I finally got myself out the door to go to Marché des Enfants Rouges at about noon. When I opened my window this morning it felt cold so I dressed in boots, jeans, and a thick sweater. Such a bad decision. It was nothing but sunny and bright when I was on my way to the market. The sun beat down on me and I started sweating as I hoped for some kind of weather miracle to save me from my bad decisions.
I walked place the farthest place I had been on Beaumarchis where I had turned to go to the Pop In. I figured out that I should probably cross the street and start looking for a small alleyway considering that my instructions said that I should be making a left turn. I crossed the street and walked a bit further. Thank God I was paying attention to the signs because I would have never noticed that the street (something about filles) suddenly took a left hand turn and changed into a fairly broad avenue. I went down the street and saw a sign for the market within a block. I simply followed the signs past the crowded cafes and other food and flower vendors. I started looking for number 39, and would have almost missed it entirely if I didn't happen to see the sign for the entrance; a simple green arch stating the name.
The market is semi covered and tons of stalls, some selling products and others set up as restaurants, crammed into the space of a courtyard. There was so much activity that I was nearly run over. I wandered over to a stand selling Lebanese food and decided to give it a shot. I've never had Lebanese food before and figured that at least it was something new. The process is that you wait in a very long line to give your order and then wait there at the cash register until your order comes up. There is always one person waiting and one person ordering and never more than that at a time.
I ordered a Chiche Taouk sandwich despite the man barely being able to understand my horrible French. I waited so long that the owner had to yell at his worker and ask where my sandwich was. I finally got it and went to a nearby park that I had passed to eat it. There was no way that I was going to get a table in the crowded market. The sandwich was delicious. It was grilled, lemon marinated chicken wrapped in a type of barely pliable flat bread with lots of lettuce, pieces of tomato, and white sauce. Super tangy and fantastic.
While I was eating I happened to look at the building across the street and noticed that it was the Cirque d'Hiver! I had heard of the building during my internet searches but didn't put it on my list of things to see. I was satisfied taking a few pictures of the outside and moving on to my next adventure at the Maison Victor Hugo.
The museum (house) of Victor Hugo just so happens to be at one end of my favorite park Place des Vosges. The museum is underwhelming at best. It's a recreation of what the apartment supposedly looked liked based on writings and an eye witness; all of his furniture was actually sold at auction long before anyone wanted to preserve his apartment. The museum is free, and if you have a few minutes of down time, worth seeing. The decor was actually really surprising. I did not know that Victor Hugo had custom furniture done and even did some of the work himself. Some of the apartment had a Chinese theme while another was tropical. C'est bizarrre.
After my planned adventure I came back home. It was only 2:30 at this point, and I couldn't end my day there; why waste a day in bed when you can be out living. I looked at my list, and decided that today was finally the day that I went to Notre Dame and got my ice cream.
The shortest metro trip for me was to go to Hotel de Ville. It's another famous landmark that I was under the wrong assumption was no longer in existence. It's actually only three stops from Gare de Lyon and the trip took me fewer than ten minutes. Hotel de Ville is actually a huge mansion on the banks of the Seine with a large plaza in front of it. I took a few pictures and then went across the bridge to Notre Dame.
While watching Anthony Bourdain he had mentioned that you should try Berthillon Ice Cream when you're in Paris. I walked past the mass of people at Notre Dame and went to get my ice cream across the bridge first so that I could eat it while I walked around the church. The directions were actually fairly simple, but I got slightly confused when I saw a Berthillon sign that was not at number 31 like the website said. It turns out that several retailers on the street sell Berthillon ice cream. I wanted the full experience and kept walking.
The ice cream is really good and tourists and Parisians alike make the trek to stand in line for their fix. I got a scoop of speculous on a cone and it was heaven. The ice cream is at the perfect temperature so it's melty but not melted down your hand. The speculous ice cream had large streaks of speculous butter in it and big pieces of cookies. Despite the scoop looking small at first, it is enough to fill the entire cone with ice cream and actually lasts a slow eater like me for awhile.
I took my cone back across the bridge to the garden that surrounds Notre Dame. It is so weird in Paris how are stuck around the city and the community crowds in around it. The park contained a sand pit for children and many people were living their daily lives with no regard to the church. I took a few pictures while finishing my cone. I then walked to the plaza to take more iconic photographs of the church. While there I took the photograph of a nice American couple and they did the same favor for me.
I hate to admit it, but Notre Dame is less thrilling in person than it is in photographs. It's just a church. I do admit to the craftsmanship and iconography being amazing, but the same vein can be found in other equally amazing churches. For something so complex and intricate to have been built so long ago, and survived, is truly amazing. However, we're all trained to believe that when we see a monument the light of God will shine down upon us and it will be the most beautiful thing that we've ever seen. It's just not the way it works. I did find it interesting to see the church's deteroriation up close. Pieces of the sculpture have nearly been eaten away entirely by the elements. I did stand in line to tour the inside just for the sake of being able to say that I've been inside. I was also disappointed by the inside. It was too dark to really appreciate the architecture or decoration, but I did really like the stained glass.
After the church I stopped to buy a postcard for Elizabeth before heading home.
I'm happy that I finally conquered something that I was so scared to do alone a few weeks ago.
We'll skip ahead to when I finally got myself out the door to go to Marché des Enfants Rouges at about noon. When I opened my window this morning it felt cold so I dressed in boots, jeans, and a thick sweater. Such a bad decision. It was nothing but sunny and bright when I was on my way to the market. The sun beat down on me and I started sweating as I hoped for some kind of weather miracle to save me from my bad decisions.
I walked place the farthest place I had been on Beaumarchis where I had turned to go to the Pop In. I figured out that I should probably cross the street and start looking for a small alleyway considering that my instructions said that I should be making a left turn. I crossed the street and walked a bit further. Thank God I was paying attention to the signs because I would have never noticed that the street (something about filles) suddenly took a left hand turn and changed into a fairly broad avenue. I went down the street and saw a sign for the market within a block. I simply followed the signs past the crowded cafes and other food and flower vendors. I started looking for number 39, and would have almost missed it entirely if I didn't happen to see the sign for the entrance; a simple green arch stating the name.
The market is semi covered and tons of stalls, some selling products and others set up as restaurants, crammed into the space of a courtyard. There was so much activity that I was nearly run over. I wandered over to a stand selling Lebanese food and decided to give it a shot. I've never had Lebanese food before and figured that at least it was something new. The process is that you wait in a very long line to give your order and then wait there at the cash register until your order comes up. There is always one person waiting and one person ordering and never more than that at a time.
I ordered a Chiche Taouk sandwich despite the man barely being able to understand my horrible French. I waited so long that the owner had to yell at his worker and ask where my sandwich was. I finally got it and went to a nearby park that I had passed to eat it. There was no way that I was going to get a table in the crowded market. The sandwich was delicious. It was grilled, lemon marinated chicken wrapped in a type of barely pliable flat bread with lots of lettuce, pieces of tomato, and white sauce. Super tangy and fantastic.
While I was eating I happened to look at the building across the street and noticed that it was the Cirque d'Hiver! I had heard of the building during my internet searches but didn't put it on my list of things to see. I was satisfied taking a few pictures of the outside and moving on to my next adventure at the Maison Victor Hugo.
The museum (house) of Victor Hugo just so happens to be at one end of my favorite park Place des Vosges. The museum is underwhelming at best. It's a recreation of what the apartment supposedly looked liked based on writings and an eye witness; all of his furniture was actually sold at auction long before anyone wanted to preserve his apartment. The museum is free, and if you have a few minutes of down time, worth seeing. The decor was actually really surprising. I did not know that Victor Hugo had custom furniture done and even did some of the work himself. Some of the apartment had a Chinese theme while another was tropical. C'est bizarrre.
The outside of the house near Place de Vosges
The shortest metro trip for me was to go to Hotel de Ville. It's another famous landmark that I was under the wrong assumption was no longer in existence. It's actually only three stops from Gare de Lyon and the trip took me fewer than ten minutes. Hotel de Ville is actually a huge mansion on the banks of the Seine with a large plaza in front of it. I took a few pictures and then went across the bridge to Notre Dame.
Hotel de Ville. It's not just a metro stop.
The ice cream is really good and tourists and Parisians alike make the trek to stand in line for their fix. I got a scoop of speculous on a cone and it was heaven. The ice cream is at the perfect temperature so it's melty but not melted down your hand. The speculous ice cream had large streaks of speculous butter in it and big pieces of cookies. Despite the scoop looking small at first, it is enough to fill the entire cone with ice cream and actually lasts a slow eater like me for awhile.
I took my cone back across the bridge to the garden that surrounds Notre Dame. It is so weird in Paris how are stuck around the city and the community crowds in around it. The park contained a sand pit for children and many people were living their daily lives with no regard to the church. I took a few pictures while finishing my cone. I then walked to the plaza to take more iconic photographs of the church. While there I took the photograph of a nice American couple and they did the same favor for me.
No one ever comments on how pretty the gardens around Notre Dame are
I hate to admit it, but Notre Dame is less thrilling in person than it is in photographs. It's just a church. I do admit to the craftsmanship and iconography being amazing, but the same vein can be found in other equally amazing churches. For something so complex and intricate to have been built so long ago, and survived, is truly amazing. However, we're all trained to believe that when we see a monument the light of God will shine down upon us and it will be the most beautiful thing that we've ever seen. It's just not the way it works. I did find it interesting to see the church's deteroriation up close. Pieces of the sculpture have nearly been eaten away entirely by the elements. I did stand in line to tour the inside just for the sake of being able to say that I've been inside. I was also disappointed by the inside. It was too dark to really appreciate the architecture or decoration, but I did really like the stained glass.
The side of Notre Dame
After the church I stopped to buy a postcard for Elizabeth before heading home.
I'm happy that I finally conquered something that I was so scared to do alone a few weeks ago.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
a misadventure
This adventure became something that I didn't plan on at all, and it was beautiful.
I woke up to study at my usual time of 8:30, and eventually got to work. Despite not having that much to do this morning, I couldn't focus. My head was all foggy and I struggled to get my tasks done. I finally decided to take a break and do my makeup, which turned into me washing out my powder brush. I might have accidentally melted the center of it with the blow dryer, but a little bit of a hair cut fixed the problem for the most part. I finally finished my studying and got out the door a few minutes before noon.
Today's plan was to go to La fete de Neu-Neu. It's a carnival out by the lake that I loved so much last time. I could swear that I knew where I was going. Take the one to the FDR then the nine to La Muette. My friend even confirmed that it was next to a lake. I make the trek to the lake on the left hand side of the road where I had seen white tents before. I went way too far and ended up on a single line road through the woods where trucks were parked. I went back the other way and walked around the lake. It wasn't there, but now I know what that building is used for; horse racing. That's right. If you call yourself a betting man I know exactly where in Paris you can go to bet on a horse.
I had to walk all the way around the lake, cross the street, and to the end of the parking area. On my way I figured out what that building across the lake, to and from which a ferry crosses, is for. It's a fancy restaurant. I was just about to give up my search. This was the end of the road. Then I spotted a carnival ride in the sky and started fast walking towards it. I made it!
The carnival opened at noon, and it had to be before one (I forgot my phone at home), but it was practically empty. None of the rides were being used and there were only a few people walking around. I took a loop of the carnival and found the ice cream vendor. I got a single scoop of salted caramel for 2,50 and took it to the lake to eat in hopes that more people would come eventually. The ice cream was really good and came in a long cone. It had these nuggets of what I guess was salted caramel, but they tasted kinda like gum balls and were slightly crunchy.
The carnival is, of course, meant for children. There were the usual suspects; ferris wheel, splash ride, big slides, that ride that shakes you up and down, a few roller coasters, and claw machines. There was also an arcade and an array of children's rides. I was also surprised to see a Latin American food vendor among the two carnival stands selling cotton candy and doughnuts. Also, there was a Mexican food stand and a cocktail lounge.
I rode the arm swing for three euros. It's the one that has a bunch of chairs attached to ropes and swings them in a circle. It was so much fun!! Not only is it slightly thrilling, it gave me a great view of Paris (including the Eiffel Tower in the distance). I also went on a roller coaster called the taxi driver for two euros. It was meant for kids, but it actually gave me quite a scare! At this point I was feeling a little dizzy, and since I had already been on the arm swing, felt no need to pay five euros to go on the ferris wheel. I left the carnival and headed for my next adventure.
Oh, a guy hit on me, but I don't speak French. He was a little upset about it. He wasn't bad looking.
I was still a little upset about not going to Parc Moncea yesterday, so before I left the house I wrote down instructions on how to get to La Madeleine just in case I felt the need to go there after the carnival. I bought a metro ticket, and then I got back on the nine and took it to Saint Augustine and then transferred to the eight. I guess it's some kind of special line because it only serviced a few stops and was in a really nice station. I got one for one stop.
I got off at La Madeleine and had to take four different escalators to get to the street. My directions seemed so simple; Place de la Madeleine becomes some street and then within a few instructions you're at the park. What could go wrong. I should know better by now. I'm pretty sure that street doesn't exist. I just started walking down Boulevard de la Madeleine and hoped that I would find something. It's a super touristy area considering that Concorde and Opera are right there. Lots of fancy shopping and tour buses roaming around.
I consulted every mairie map I could to no avail. The park wasn't even listed on the map! I walked and walked, and then turned, and walked and walked. Finally I saw a sign for Tuileries and thought I'd head in that direction. At least I could hop on the one from there. I passed Square Louvois and took a picture. I remember the name from my histories class, but I don't remember why he's important. Maybe I'll google it later. I hurried my pace thinking that I was close to the Tuileries. I wasn't. I did, however, pass the Palais Royal and the Comedie Française. I knew the Louvre was right across the square.
Halfway through my walk to the Tuileries I realized that I remembered seeing a sign for Musée les Arts Décoratifs last time I was last in that area (remember last weekend and my patrimony days adventure?). I figured that I might as well turn this wandering into accomplishing something on my to-do list. I sped up until I reached to entrance to the museum. Thank god for student tickets; it was free and all I had to do was show my student card and then comprehend a question about my age in French and respond in French with a number.
I'm going to admit it right now. I'm usually not a fan of decorative arts. Every time I hear the word I think of old furniture and wallpaper from the 1970s. This museum was none of that. It actually really rocked. I first went to the exposition about Chinese art. It turns out that Chinese art was used in minimal amounts by French kings such as Louis XIV. It's pretty, but not my cup of tea. The real thing looks a lot like the decor of every Chinese restaurant I've ever been to.
I next saw the Renaissance section. It was amazing! Everyone knows that I love religious art, and this section was great. I was really surprised by the amount of wood carving and painting on wood. There was even a section of glass pieces and a room reconstruction. Amazing.
Every century between the Renaissance and 1925 Paris is covered. I loved all of them. There were definitely a lot more paintings than I expected, and there were also a lot of glass and porcelain works. The pieces were really fun and playful, and I didn't expect it at all. All of the room creations were fantastic. While in Europe I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly as far as room creations are concerned, and this museum was by far the best.
I was really happy to find some still life paintings. I can fast walk past any number of Chinese plates and Victorian flower chairs, but a still life will stop me dead in my tracks. You say "Michaela, it's just a lemon slice on a black background! What's there to see?!". If you can get that amount of life and energy into the reflection on a lemon seed in another medium, then I'll think about giving up my still life paintings. It's unlikely though.
The museum was fairly small, and I got lost on my way to the exit. I ended up being dumped out into what looked like a car repair shop waiting room. I looked bewildered as I stared at the stairs, and the man at the desk called to me and pointed me out the door. I was hoping to go out the opposite door that I came in. Out the window of the museum I had seen a manicured series of hedges and people laying out in the sun. I had to go see it.
By this point in the adventure I was limping because my feet hurt so badly, but I had to see the park. Turns out that the space is right behind the Arc de Carrousel where I was for class on Wednesday! Sometimes it amazes me how much I can miss even when I'm standing right there. The area is actually really pretty, and was bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. There are rows of hedges that have been perfectly trimmed into rows in a sort of open-ended maze, and there are sculptures at the end of each row.
I also took a moment to admire the pink columns on the arc before descending into the carrousel to catch the metro. My tired feet made it home, and I collapsed into bed. I had been walking all day and hadn't eaten, so of course I ate enough for an entire day in five minutes. I also discovered the newest episodes of People's Court have been uploaded to youtube. After being around Judge Judy for so many weeks, People's Court is a little tame. It should keep me entertained for a few days.
I'm exhausted. Time for bed.
Oh, and I'm sorry Lauren. Museums don't photograph well :( I'll try to do better next time.
I woke up to study at my usual time of 8:30, and eventually got to work. Despite not having that much to do this morning, I couldn't focus. My head was all foggy and I struggled to get my tasks done. I finally decided to take a break and do my makeup, which turned into me washing out my powder brush. I might have accidentally melted the center of it with the blow dryer, but a little bit of a hair cut fixed the problem for the most part. I finally finished my studying and got out the door a few minutes before noon.
Today's plan was to go to La fete de Neu-Neu. It's a carnival out by the lake that I loved so much last time. I could swear that I knew where I was going. Take the one to the FDR then the nine to La Muette. My friend even confirmed that it was next to a lake. I make the trek to the lake on the left hand side of the road where I had seen white tents before. I went way too far and ended up on a single line road through the woods where trucks were parked. I went back the other way and walked around the lake. It wasn't there, but now I know what that building is used for; horse racing. That's right. If you call yourself a betting man I know exactly where in Paris you can go to bet on a horse.
I had to walk all the way around the lake, cross the street, and to the end of the parking area. On my way I figured out what that building across the lake, to and from which a ferry crosses, is for. It's a fancy restaurant. I was just about to give up my search. This was the end of the road. Then I spotted a carnival ride in the sky and started fast walking towards it. I made it!
The carnival opened at noon, and it had to be before one (I forgot my phone at home), but it was practically empty. None of the rides were being used and there were only a few people walking around. I took a loop of the carnival and found the ice cream vendor. I got a single scoop of salted caramel for 2,50 and took it to the lake to eat in hopes that more people would come eventually. The ice cream was really good and came in a long cone. It had these nuggets of what I guess was salted caramel, but they tasted kinda like gum balls and were slightly crunchy.
The carnival is, of course, meant for children. There were the usual suspects; ferris wheel, splash ride, big slides, that ride that shakes you up and down, a few roller coasters, and claw machines. There was also an arcade and an array of children's rides. I was also surprised to see a Latin American food vendor among the two carnival stands selling cotton candy and doughnuts. Also, there was a Mexican food stand and a cocktail lounge.
I rode the arm swing for three euros. It's the one that has a bunch of chairs attached to ropes and swings them in a circle. It was so much fun!! Not only is it slightly thrilling, it gave me a great view of Paris (including the Eiffel Tower in the distance). I also went on a roller coaster called the taxi driver for two euros. It was meant for kids, but it actually gave me quite a scare! At this point I was feeling a little dizzy, and since I had already been on the arm swing, felt no need to pay five euros to go on the ferris wheel. I left the carnival and headed for my next adventure.
Oh, a guy hit on me, but I don't speak French. He was a little upset about it. He wasn't bad looking.
I was still a little upset about not going to Parc Moncea yesterday, so before I left the house I wrote down instructions on how to get to La Madeleine just in case I felt the need to go there after the carnival. I bought a metro ticket, and then I got back on the nine and took it to Saint Augustine and then transferred to the eight. I guess it's some kind of special line because it only serviced a few stops and was in a really nice station. I got one for one stop.
I got off at La Madeleine and had to take four different escalators to get to the street. My directions seemed so simple; Place de la Madeleine becomes some street and then within a few instructions you're at the park. What could go wrong. I should know better by now. I'm pretty sure that street doesn't exist. I just started walking down Boulevard de la Madeleine and hoped that I would find something. It's a super touristy area considering that Concorde and Opera are right there. Lots of fancy shopping and tour buses roaming around.
Look like Greece to you? Nope. It's just La Madeleine.
I consulted every mairie map I could to no avail. The park wasn't even listed on the map! I walked and walked, and then turned, and walked and walked. Finally I saw a sign for Tuileries and thought I'd head in that direction. At least I could hop on the one from there. I passed Square Louvois and took a picture. I remember the name from my histories class, but I don't remember why he's important. Maybe I'll google it later. I hurried my pace thinking that I was close to the Tuileries. I wasn't. I did, however, pass the Palais Royal and the Comedie Française. I knew the Louvre was right across the square.
Square Louvois
I'm going to admit it right now. I'm usually not a fan of decorative arts. Every time I hear the word I think of old furniture and wallpaper from the 1970s. This museum was none of that. It actually really rocked. I first went to the exposition about Chinese art. It turns out that Chinese art was used in minimal amounts by French kings such as Louis XIV. It's pretty, but not my cup of tea. The real thing looks a lot like the decor of every Chinese restaurant I've ever been to.
I next saw the Renaissance section. It was amazing! Everyone knows that I love religious art, and this section was great. I was really surprised by the amount of wood carving and painting on wood. There was even a section of glass pieces and a room reconstruction. Amazing.
Every century between the Renaissance and 1925 Paris is covered. I loved all of them. There were definitely a lot more paintings than I expected, and there were also a lot of glass and porcelain works. The pieces were really fun and playful, and I didn't expect it at all. All of the room creations were fantastic. While in Europe I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly as far as room creations are concerned, and this museum was by far the best.
I was really happy to find some still life paintings. I can fast walk past any number of Chinese plates and Victorian flower chairs, but a still life will stop me dead in my tracks. You say "Michaela, it's just a lemon slice on a black background! What's there to see?!". If you can get that amount of life and energy into the reflection on a lemon seed in another medium, then I'll think about giving up my still life paintings. It's unlikely though.
The museum was fairly small, and I got lost on my way to the exit. I ended up being dumped out into what looked like a car repair shop waiting room. I looked bewildered as I stared at the stairs, and the man at the desk called to me and pointed me out the door. I was hoping to go out the opposite door that I came in. Out the window of the museum I had seen a manicured series of hedges and people laying out in the sun. I had to go see it.
By this point in the adventure I was limping because my feet hurt so badly, but I had to see the park. Turns out that the space is right behind the Arc de Carrousel where I was for class on Wednesday! Sometimes it amazes me how much I can miss even when I'm standing right there. The area is actually really pretty, and was bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. There are rows of hedges that have been perfectly trimmed into rows in a sort of open-ended maze, and there are sculptures at the end of each row.
I also took a moment to admire the pink columns on the arc before descending into the carrousel to catch the metro. My tired feet made it home, and I collapsed into bed. I had been walking all day and hadn't eaten, so of course I ate enough for an entire day in five minutes. I also discovered the newest episodes of People's Court have been uploaded to youtube. After being around Judge Judy for so many weeks, People's Court is a little tame. It should keep me entertained for a few days.
I'm exhausted. Time for bed.
Oh, and I'm sorry Lauren. Museums don't photograph well :( I'll try to do better next time.
Friday, September 26, 2014
on promenade
Today I went on a walking tour of Paris. There's still more left to see.
I naturally woke up to study at 8:30, which has stopped surprising me much considering that I got to bed earlier than senior citizens. I lollied in bed until 9:15 when I thought I should hurry up and get studying before today's adventure. My plan was to see La Madeleine and Parc Monceau and then go home. It ended up being much more than that.
I studied, got dressed, and then took the eight from Ledru-Rollin to Madeleine station. La Madeleine is the most out of place church that I've seen in Paris. It looks like the Parthenon was transplanted in the middle of the city. Its imposing size is menacing before you even get to the front door. I did appreciate that both sides of the steps were covered in flowering plant, but like every monument with steps in Paris, it was covered with people having their lunch and teenagers who should be in school. The inside was dark and slightly creepy. I didn't feel the need to stay for long.
Next I was going to go to Parc Monceau, but I saw an obelisk at the end of the street in front of La Madeleine and had to go investigate. It turns out to be Place de la Concorde. I didn't really investigate further than that because it is impossible to cross the street in Paris; it is nearly impossible to go from one side of a circle to the other with Paris' "system" of crosswalks. I did walk on the outskirst of a park, which was very pretty, while also seeing a small yellow house with a bronze statue of a girl in front of it. The sunny afternoon made my walk seem even more idyll than it was.
I had only been gone from home for about half an hour and that an excursion does not make. I kept walking until I saw a bridge over the Seine. I took it, and then saw the Eiffel Tower nearby. I had actually never been on the other side of the Eiffel Tower (the end opposite of the Trocadero), and started to walk that way to investigate. All of those pictures of people lying on the grass with the Eiffel Tower in the background are a complete sham. Most of the grass, which is cross-cut by gravel pathways, was blocked off with construction barriers. However, there are parks on either side of the Champs de Mars which included a children's park with a balloon and ice cream vendor.
Behind Champs de Mars was a bizarre to promote Parisian bike tourism. It should be "how to die in Paris" tourism; I would never ride a bike in this city. At this point I was totally lost. I turned right and then began to walk straight until something with a golden spire and dome peaked my attention. Like most monuments in Paris, it seems closer than it is. I kept walking, past the Ministry of Work, and finally reached the golden spire. It was Les Invalides!
I've been reading about Les Invalides in my histories of Paris class. It was a military hospital mandated under the reign of Louis XIV for veterans. It was a new idea; before soldiers were discarded from the army at age 35 and left to beg and fight on the streets of Paris. I knew that if I walked for long enough that I'd find it eventually…and I did. It's a little ironic that a supposed hospital would have a glittering golden dome with a cross-topped spire…and a moat with gardens. It's now the army museum, which you know I wasn't interested in. I did walk through the perfectly manicured gardens until I reached another small garden with a statue in it.
From far away I could tell that the statue was of a headless body, and that it was holding something round in its hands. I just had to see it closer. In fact, the statue is of a planar body holding a garbled head where its hands should be. It's the oddly gruesome monument to those killed in the terrorist attacks on the Paris metro in the 1990s.
By this time I had probably walked several miles, and with the sun shining down on me, I knew it was time to get home. The only problem was that I was in the middle of nowhere. No houses, seemingly empty restaurants, not even cars on the road. I just started walking straight in hopes that I could find the metro eventually.
I did find the metro. I found the stop François-Xavier which happens to be in front of église Saint François-Xavier. Now this is a French church. Totally gothic on the inside and out. I loved the writing in Latin both inside and outside of the church, and it's amazing paintings. I had never seen a picture of a living Christ with outstretched arms over the altar before. It was a nice change from the dead or ressurrected Christ normally seen. I also really liked the huge domed ceiling in front of the altar with the classic gothic miniscule skylight; this one had all of the names of the saints print in gold in Latin lining the dome's base. You could tell that the stained glass was new, which I wasn't personally a fan of, but I liked the overall amount of light and joy in the building compared to most gothic churches.
So back to the metro. Yay for me; I had found the metro. Non for me; I didn't know what line this was. I didn't even know that there was a line twelve! I looked at the metro map and figured out that line twelve would connect with line one at champs-élysees and that I could take the one as usual back to Gare de Lyon.
I made it home, and have done little else besides stuff my face with everything in my cupboard and fridge (mostly the vanilla waffer cookies that I bought yesterday at Franprix). I did manage, however, to skype with my mom and finish studying for French. Time for mémée to go to bed.
**I do admit to stealing photographs from the internet for some of these sights. I can't always get great images, but I still want you to see the wonder of where I've been!
I naturally woke up to study at 8:30, which has stopped surprising me much considering that I got to bed earlier than senior citizens. I lollied in bed until 9:15 when I thought I should hurry up and get studying before today's adventure. My plan was to see La Madeleine and Parc Monceau and then go home. It ended up being much more than that.
I studied, got dressed, and then took the eight from Ledru-Rollin to Madeleine station. La Madeleine is the most out of place church that I've seen in Paris. It looks like the Parthenon was transplanted in the middle of the city. Its imposing size is menacing before you even get to the front door. I did appreciate that both sides of the steps were covered in flowering plant, but like every monument with steps in Paris, it was covered with people having their lunch and teenagers who should be in school. The inside was dark and slightly creepy. I didn't feel the need to stay for long.
Next I was going to go to Parc Monceau, but I saw an obelisk at the end of the street in front of La Madeleine and had to go investigate. It turns out to be Place de la Concorde. I didn't really investigate further than that because it is impossible to cross the street in Paris; it is nearly impossible to go from one side of a circle to the other with Paris' "system" of crosswalks. I did walk on the outskirst of a park, which was very pretty, while also seeing a small yellow house with a bronze statue of a girl in front of it. The sunny afternoon made my walk seem even more idyll than it was.
I had only been gone from home for about half an hour and that an excursion does not make. I kept walking until I saw a bridge over the Seine. I took it, and then saw the Eiffel Tower nearby. I had actually never been on the other side of the Eiffel Tower (the end opposite of the Trocadero), and started to walk that way to investigate. All of those pictures of people lying on the grass with the Eiffel Tower in the background are a complete sham. Most of the grass, which is cross-cut by gravel pathways, was blocked off with construction barriers. However, there are parks on either side of the Champs de Mars which included a children's park with a balloon and ice cream vendor.
Behind Champs de Mars was a bizarre to promote Parisian bike tourism. It should be "how to die in Paris" tourism; I would never ride a bike in this city. At this point I was totally lost. I turned right and then began to walk straight until something with a golden spire and dome peaked my attention. Like most monuments in Paris, it seems closer than it is. I kept walking, past the Ministry of Work, and finally reached the golden spire. It was Les Invalides!
I've been reading about Les Invalides in my histories of Paris class. It was a military hospital mandated under the reign of Louis XIV for veterans. It was a new idea; before soldiers were discarded from the army at age 35 and left to beg and fight on the streets of Paris. I knew that if I walked for long enough that I'd find it eventually…and I did. It's a little ironic that a supposed hospital would have a glittering golden dome with a cross-topped spire…and a moat with gardens. It's now the army museum, which you know I wasn't interested in. I did walk through the perfectly manicured gardens until I reached another small garden with a statue in it.
From far away I could tell that the statue was of a headless body, and that it was holding something round in its hands. I just had to see it closer. In fact, the statue is of a planar body holding a garbled head where its hands should be. It's the oddly gruesome monument to those killed in the terrorist attacks on the Paris metro in the 1990s.
I did find the metro. I found the stop François-Xavier which happens to be in front of église Saint François-Xavier. Now this is a French church. Totally gothic on the inside and out. I loved the writing in Latin both inside and outside of the church, and it's amazing paintings. I had never seen a picture of a living Christ with outstretched arms over the altar before. It was a nice change from the dead or ressurrected Christ normally seen. I also really liked the huge domed ceiling in front of the altar with the classic gothic miniscule skylight; this one had all of the names of the saints print in gold in Latin lining the dome's base. You could tell that the stained glass was new, which I wasn't personally a fan of, but I liked the overall amount of light and joy in the building compared to most gothic churches.
So back to the metro. Yay for me; I had found the metro. Non for me; I didn't know what line this was. I didn't even know that there was a line twelve! I looked at the metro map and figured out that line twelve would connect with line one at champs-élysees and that I could take the one as usual back to Gare de Lyon.
I made it home, and have done little else besides stuff my face with everything in my cupboard and fridge (mostly the vanilla waffer cookies that I bought yesterday at Franprix). I did manage, however, to skype with my mom and finish studying for French. Time for mémée to go to bed.
**I do admit to stealing photographs from the internet for some of these sights. I can't always get great images, but I still want you to see the wonder of where I've been!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
walk the other direction
Today was mostly a lull, but ended on a high point. We're going to focus on that.
As per usual 7:30 came too early this morning, and I rolled out of bed into the shivering cold. If this is as cold as it gets in Paris it would be too cold for my liking. I did my usual morning routine and left for class. When I got to school none of my classmates were there, and the schedule on the board didn't have my class listed. Turns out that it's the schedule from yesterday. I then went upstairs to Chanel where my class normally meets, and the door to the hallway was locked. I was still the only student there at 8:30 and began to panic until Kenia showed up.
French wasn't fantastic because I'm sick and sick me doesn't do well with anything first thing in the morning. We have moved onto chapter ten, and started learning about things in our houses (lamps, chairs, sofa, etc). Our class did our oral presentations, but since Raven wasn't in school today, we are scheduled for Tuesday. Kelly has decided that we should be friends and is talking to me more and more. She even asked me to go to an amusement park with her, and has decided that we're absolutely going together. I think she's crazy, but maybe I'll be a little less ice queen with her. I do need a friend afterall….
My music class was cancelled today considering that we are meeting three times next week (the addition is the concert on Tuesday night). I came home and worked on my pop paper and started my French composition before making my grilled cheese. I studied for French, took a break, and then finished reading chapter nine of Horne for my histories class. I'm pretty sure that I'm doing the reading for two weeks from now considering that the class is a week behind, but I'd rather be ahead than behind.
My Tuesday is looking jam packed, so I decided to do some reading that I planned on doing Tuesday today instead because I had an extra hour and a half. It was a short reading about female French singers and sexuality in the 1960s, and I decided to put it off until further notice.
Despite not feeling very sick since it was late afternoon and my morning head cold had faded, I climbed into bed for a marathon of my favorite show. After a bit I got hungry and quickly ate through the few potato chip crumbs I still had in the cupboard. I knew that I couldn't live without my beloved chips. After watching a few more episodes, I got up to do some grocery shopping. I had this weird hankering for warm foods, and ravioli came to mind. I decided to walk to Monoprix in hopes of scoring something for dinner.
I got to Monoprix and found the frozen food aisle. I was going to get some kind of fish with rice, but I put it back after finding canned ravioli with meat sauce. Protein and warmth. A win-win. I also got my cat's tongue cookies that I had been doing without, and a pakage of chocolate chip cookies. Next I walked to Franprix and got two bags of my potato chips and a package of vanilla wafer cookies (you know the one with the cream in the middle). I then went home to make my feast.
I should know better than to buy canned pastas with red sauce. The sauce is always way too sweet and reminds me of kid food. I added in some of my herbed cheese, and it was slightly better. I still have most of the can to eat. I wasn't feeling satisfied after my pasta, so I also ate some potato chips. Delicious.
After dinner, I was determined to read the article for my pop class. It was actually really interesting, and I want to write about Slyvie Vartan for my final paper (you should google her remade version of "Twist and Shout" by the Beatles called "Twiste et Chante).
I knew that my day had been kind of a waste, and I couldn't do that to my faithful readers. I had to do something. I put on my coat, went out the gate, and turned left. I've only been that way when my mom and I got lost on our way to her hotel all those many days ago. I wanted to find out what was over there.
It turns out, that the rest of the Viaduct des Arts is like hipster paradise. All super trendy wine bars with people listening to live music while probably eating organic baby green salads while a artisan umbrella maker works in his shop next door. I'm not kidding. I crossed the street and wound up at some kind of business square with what I think was a mall and train station. I kept walking and found a really cute park that had a foosball table in it! I walked further still, past a Franprix and some interesting restaurants, until I saw a very large stair case on my left across the street.
There was a cute park in front of it, and I stopped to take a picture of a flower. I then took a picture of the stairs with a piece of street art that was on the wall. I need to google the artist who does the Mario Kart tiled images because he has been very busy around Paris. The stairs were very industrial and boring, and since this was the business district in the 11th, I was expecting nothing good.
Turns out that there is a huge park with an expansion bridge and several outlying small parks with sculptures and gardens! It's like paradise! There was hardly anyone there, and the park was quiet and beautiful in the sun's fading hue. I can't believe this has been hiding a few minutes walk from my apartment! I will have to start going there from now on.
I walked around the park, and was going to go down the stairs that I had climbed up, but I saw a bridge that passed between two structures and decided to check it out. It's the same raised garden that runs by my apartment! I walked along the park as more runners than do the Boston Marathon went past me. Whoever said that Parisians don't run is a total liar. The garden went over streets and between old houses with flowers growing out of the windows; the kind of houses you think of when you think of old Paris. One part even had a series of pools in the center of it.
I walked passed a little hut that had pieces of wood in it; I took a piece for memory's sake. I kept walking until the garden was gated off due to some kind of hazard. I took the nearby stairs and walked home. Such a beautiful end to my night.
I'm writing this post with a glass of cider to celebrate such a nice adventure.
As per usual 7:30 came too early this morning, and I rolled out of bed into the shivering cold. If this is as cold as it gets in Paris it would be too cold for my liking. I did my usual morning routine and left for class. When I got to school none of my classmates were there, and the schedule on the board didn't have my class listed. Turns out that it's the schedule from yesterday. I then went upstairs to Chanel where my class normally meets, and the door to the hallway was locked. I was still the only student there at 8:30 and began to panic until Kenia showed up.
French wasn't fantastic because I'm sick and sick me doesn't do well with anything first thing in the morning. We have moved onto chapter ten, and started learning about things in our houses (lamps, chairs, sofa, etc). Our class did our oral presentations, but since Raven wasn't in school today, we are scheduled for Tuesday. Kelly has decided that we should be friends and is talking to me more and more. She even asked me to go to an amusement park with her, and has decided that we're absolutely going together. I think she's crazy, but maybe I'll be a little less ice queen with her. I do need a friend afterall….
My music class was cancelled today considering that we are meeting three times next week (the addition is the concert on Tuesday night). I came home and worked on my pop paper and started my French composition before making my grilled cheese. I studied for French, took a break, and then finished reading chapter nine of Horne for my histories class. I'm pretty sure that I'm doing the reading for two weeks from now considering that the class is a week behind, but I'd rather be ahead than behind.
My Tuesday is looking jam packed, so I decided to do some reading that I planned on doing Tuesday today instead because I had an extra hour and a half. It was a short reading about female French singers and sexuality in the 1960s, and I decided to put it off until further notice.
Despite not feeling very sick since it was late afternoon and my morning head cold had faded, I climbed into bed for a marathon of my favorite show. After a bit I got hungry and quickly ate through the few potato chip crumbs I still had in the cupboard. I knew that I couldn't live without my beloved chips. After watching a few more episodes, I got up to do some grocery shopping. I had this weird hankering for warm foods, and ravioli came to mind. I decided to walk to Monoprix in hopes of scoring something for dinner.
I got to Monoprix and found the frozen food aisle. I was going to get some kind of fish with rice, but I put it back after finding canned ravioli with meat sauce. Protein and warmth. A win-win. I also got my cat's tongue cookies that I had been doing without, and a pakage of chocolate chip cookies. Next I walked to Franprix and got two bags of my potato chips and a package of vanilla wafer cookies (you know the one with the cream in the middle). I then went home to make my feast.
I should know better than to buy canned pastas with red sauce. The sauce is always way too sweet and reminds me of kid food. I added in some of my herbed cheese, and it was slightly better. I still have most of the can to eat. I wasn't feeling satisfied after my pasta, so I also ate some potato chips. Delicious.
After dinner, I was determined to read the article for my pop class. It was actually really interesting, and I want to write about Slyvie Vartan for my final paper (you should google her remade version of "Twist and Shout" by the Beatles called "Twiste et Chante).
I knew that my day had been kind of a waste, and I couldn't do that to my faithful readers. I had to do something. I put on my coat, went out the gate, and turned left. I've only been that way when my mom and I got lost on our way to her hotel all those many days ago. I wanted to find out what was over there.
It turns out, that the rest of the Viaduct des Arts is like hipster paradise. All super trendy wine bars with people listening to live music while probably eating organic baby green salads while a artisan umbrella maker works in his shop next door. I'm not kidding. I crossed the street and wound up at some kind of business square with what I think was a mall and train station. I kept walking and found a really cute park that had a foosball table in it! I walked further still, past a Franprix and some interesting restaurants, until I saw a very large stair case on my left across the street.
There was a cute park in front of it, and I stopped to take a picture of a flower. I then took a picture of the stairs with a piece of street art that was on the wall. I need to google the artist who does the Mario Kart tiled images because he has been very busy around Paris. The stairs were very industrial and boring, and since this was the business district in the 11th, I was expecting nothing good.
Turns out that there is a huge park with an expansion bridge and several outlying small parks with sculptures and gardens! It's like paradise! There was hardly anyone there, and the park was quiet and beautiful in the sun's fading hue. I can't believe this has been hiding a few minutes walk from my apartment! I will have to start going there from now on.
I walked passed a little hut that had pieces of wood in it; I took a piece for memory's sake. I kept walking until the garden was gated off due to some kind of hazard. I took the nearby stairs and walked home. Such a beautiful end to my night.
I'm writing this post with a glass of cider to celebrate such a nice adventure.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
and a proposal
Today was cloudy, and I'm sick. That pretty much sums it up.
I don't have class until 1:45 on Wednesday, so I had a relaxing morning. I made breakfast then got up to study. I felt kinda scatter brained and couldn't really focus on writing my pop paper. I did, however, manage to finish my work with enough time to get dressed and go to the boulangerie for my baguette.
I didn't realize that the boulangerie near my apartment would be closed so I had to walk to the boulangerie on the corner for my baguette. I came back and ate my bread with herbed cheese. I was going to save part of it for a snack between my exursion and my pop class, but I managed to devour the whole thing without a second thought.
It's getting to be really cold here, so I wanted to be warm but not too warm while we walked around. I picked out jeans, a tank top and pull over, a scarf, and boots and headed out the door. On my way to the train station a guy literally rolled down the window of the parked car he was sitting in to bonjour me. I take back my love of Paris. It's a vile city, and I'm heading back to California on the next plane. It has better weather, and men only hit on you in bars.
My excursion went to the Louvre today so I took the one to Louvre-Rivoli. I got there a few minutes early and sat on a wall outside the Louvre while I waited for our excursion to start. About five minutes before our start time, I saw a group of my classmates with my professor outside the metro stop. I walked over, and we began our tour. You know, Parisians are epic smokers. Our professor must have managed to smoke four cigarettes in the hour and a half we were together. We would be walking for one minute between stops and she would have smoked an entire cigarette! Impossible!
We saw the church that's on the opposite side of the Louvre from the Tuileries, and talked about the different time periods and designs of the church. Then we turned around and talked about the Louvre. I won't bore you with details of the iconography of the Louvre, but it's complicated symbolism that combines an authoritarian state, the monarchy, and Greek gods. That's pretty much the jist of it.
I started to feel extremely faint while we were standing outside of the Louvre. I took off my sweater and scarf, and sat on a post to try to feel better. I would fade in and out of dizzy spells for the rest of the trip.
We then walked across to the artist's bridge that is the next bridge over from Pont Neuf. The bridge is covered in locks, and there was an accordian player. While on the bridge we saw a proposal. It was really cute, if not a little cheesy; I mean seriously, man, a bridge covered in love locks in Paris isn't exactly original.
We talked about the Louvre iconography more, and then moved onto talking about Pei's triangles. I personally hate the triangles. They seem so out of place, but I suppose they fit in with Paris' theme of mixing old and new artistic and decorative styles. After learning their connection with the triangle from the first Bastille Day, and their function, I can appreciate them a bit more. Maybe they're not god awful afterall.
I did appreciate learning about the pink columns that are outside the Louvre and on the Carrousel Arch outside of the Tuileries. The columns on the arch are Napoleon's way of connecting himself to the Louvre and the previous lines of monarchs in France. The pink columns are mined in France and are the most expensive type of marble. Not only are they beautiful, they were meant to make a political statement like everything else in Paris.
Next we saw the medieval moat that runs under the Louvre, the equestrian statue outside of the Louvre, and a surviving statue from the Tuileries. After class I had to go back to the Accent center for my pop class. At this point I was still feeling pretty ill, and my headache made me not look forward to another hour and a half of lecture.
I hopped back on the metro and got off at Bastille to go to class. Pop was actually pretty interesting today. We talked about the la chanson period of French music that covers such greats as Trenet and Piaf. It's the old timey music that you traditionally associate with French music. Really depressing lyrics that were produced during the interwar period. We also talked about the trinity of la chanson and their singer-songwriter genre. This is already the kind of French music that I listen to so I was happy to learn about it. I was also happy to find out that class is cancelled tomorrow because we're going to the concert on Tuesday.
After class I stopped at Monoprix to buy a bottle of water because my bottle is on its last leg. I then came home and have been bedridden ever since. I've eaten enough potato chips, ice cream, and cookies to kill any lesser woman, and will now be going to bed. 7:30am comes early…
I don't have class until 1:45 on Wednesday, so I had a relaxing morning. I made breakfast then got up to study. I felt kinda scatter brained and couldn't really focus on writing my pop paper. I did, however, manage to finish my work with enough time to get dressed and go to the boulangerie for my baguette.
I didn't realize that the boulangerie near my apartment would be closed so I had to walk to the boulangerie on the corner for my baguette. I came back and ate my bread with herbed cheese. I was going to save part of it for a snack between my exursion and my pop class, but I managed to devour the whole thing without a second thought.
It's getting to be really cold here, so I wanted to be warm but not too warm while we walked around. I picked out jeans, a tank top and pull over, a scarf, and boots and headed out the door. On my way to the train station a guy literally rolled down the window of the parked car he was sitting in to bonjour me. I take back my love of Paris. It's a vile city, and I'm heading back to California on the next plane. It has better weather, and men only hit on you in bars.
My excursion went to the Louvre today so I took the one to Louvre-Rivoli. I got there a few minutes early and sat on a wall outside the Louvre while I waited for our excursion to start. About five minutes before our start time, I saw a group of my classmates with my professor outside the metro stop. I walked over, and we began our tour. You know, Parisians are epic smokers. Our professor must have managed to smoke four cigarettes in the hour and a half we were together. We would be walking for one minute between stops and she would have smoked an entire cigarette! Impossible!
We saw the church that's on the opposite side of the Louvre from the Tuileries, and talked about the different time periods and designs of the church. Then we turned around and talked about the Louvre. I won't bore you with details of the iconography of the Louvre, but it's complicated symbolism that combines an authoritarian state, the monarchy, and Greek gods. That's pretty much the jist of it.
I started to feel extremely faint while we were standing outside of the Louvre. I took off my sweater and scarf, and sat on a post to try to feel better. I would fade in and out of dizzy spells for the rest of the trip.
We then walked across to the artist's bridge that is the next bridge over from Pont Neuf. The bridge is covered in locks, and there was an accordian player. While on the bridge we saw a proposal. It was really cute, if not a little cheesy; I mean seriously, man, a bridge covered in love locks in Paris isn't exactly original.
We talked about the Louvre iconography more, and then moved onto talking about Pei's triangles. I personally hate the triangles. They seem so out of place, but I suppose they fit in with Paris' theme of mixing old and new artistic and decorative styles. After learning their connection with the triangle from the first Bastille Day, and their function, I can appreciate them a bit more. Maybe they're not god awful afterall.
I did appreciate learning about the pink columns that are outside the Louvre and on the Carrousel Arch outside of the Tuileries. The columns on the arch are Napoleon's way of connecting himself to the Louvre and the previous lines of monarchs in France. The pink columns are mined in France and are the most expensive type of marble. Not only are they beautiful, they were meant to make a political statement like everything else in Paris.
Next we saw the medieval moat that runs under the Louvre, the equestrian statue outside of the Louvre, and a surviving statue from the Tuileries. After class I had to go back to the Accent center for my pop class. At this point I was still feeling pretty ill, and my headache made me not look forward to another hour and a half of lecture.
I hopped back on the metro and got off at Bastille to go to class. Pop was actually pretty interesting today. We talked about the la chanson period of French music that covers such greats as Trenet and Piaf. It's the old timey music that you traditionally associate with French music. Really depressing lyrics that were produced during the interwar period. We also talked about the trinity of la chanson and their singer-songwriter genre. This is already the kind of French music that I listen to so I was happy to learn about it. I was also happy to find out that class is cancelled tomorrow because we're going to the concert on Tuesday.
After class I stopped at Monoprix to buy a bottle of water because my bottle is on its last leg. I then came home and have been bedridden ever since. I've eaten enough potato chips, ice cream, and cookies to kill any lesser woman, and will now be going to bed. 7:30am comes early…
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
C'est dommage
I'm sorry, dear Elizabeth, but this isn't going to be an interesting post. Go to bed.
It's Tuesday so I didn't get to go on an adventure. School is really cramping my style. Instead of sleeping in, I had to get up in the 53 degree cold to go to class at 8:30. I bundled up in my coat, scarf, and mittens, and went off to class.
I could barely focus, let alone comprehend anything, during French today because of my constant coughing, sneezing, and runny nose. I was miserable. It turns out that something is going around, and that I'm its latest victim. This better go away soon. Nothing interesting to report during French. Our professor has been talking to other professors and our growth in speaking French has not increased to their liking. They're blaming it on our lack of interacting with French-speaking people. They want us to watch a news channel on the internet everyday and answer questions; like that's going to happen.
I really like my histories class. Today we talked about Henri IV and some of his building programs around the city. We talked about Place des Voges. You remember this as the park that I discovered while on my way to the Carnavalet museum. I feel like the coolest kid ever. I've been hanging out at this historically significant park like it was nothing. Oh you're talking about the Tournelle that the street was named after? I was just there yesterday. Look how Parisienne I am!
After class I dragged myself home in the hopes of lying in bed for a few minutes before I studied. I made myself a whole grilled cheese, with extra butter, and sat down to watch some Judge Judy with a glass of cider. I did my French homework, wrote some of my popular music paper, and read for my popular music class. I then took a break and curled up in bed before doing my histories reading. The article was actually interesting because it linked the sculptural program of Versailles pools (the dragon sculpture and Latona) to Louis 16th's larger political agenda. I'm such a nerd.
I got back in bed to watch tv. I felt like I was wasting a perfectly sunny day lying in bed. I googled a nearby park and set off for a walk. I immediately got lost the second I got to the Bastille (simply because I wasn't really paying attention to where I was walking), and decided to give up on the park entirely. I ended up walking through the 3rd and just window shopping. I walked past the Hotel de Sully, but didn't go in because I recognized what it was only after I had passed it. I may go back another day if I'm bored.
I walked back to the Bastille and decided to take a side street instead of taking Saint-Antoine; they must be parallel and meet up eventually. I should have remembered that is never the case in Paris; I should have named this journal "lost in Paris". I walked along the street and never saw an exit to go to Saint Antoine. I freaked out a little, but made a right turn and saw the viaduct which leads to home. I stopped on the way home to get some potato chips and some cookies.
I spent some of my evening skyping with my mom and doing some more research for my holiday. I'm now going to take my sick self to bed.
Monday, September 22, 2014
bonjour
Today was another badish day. I think it's the weather.
I woke up at 8:30 today despite going to bed after midnight. I seemed full of energy so I made my breakfast and coffee and got down to studying. I had planned on going to La Villette today, but the weather was looking a little gray. I hoped that I could read away the time in hopes that the skies would be blue by afternoon.
I finished all of my reading (more than I had originally planned), and got dressed to go out. The weather report stated that it was 61 degress outside with a high of 64. I put on an extra layer, shoved a hat and scarf into my bag, and went to the boulangerie to get a baguette for my picnic. I also took a bottle of water and Orangina to make my French picnic authentic.
I got my bread, walked to the Bastille metro station to get on the five towards Pablo Picasso. For the first time I saw people cheating the system at the metro station. Instead of paying for a ticket, they stand close behind someone else with a pass, and squeeze themselves through the turnstyle to avoid paying. I laughed a little at this trickery as I got myself on the train. The train was really nice with newly covered seats and a perfectly clean floor. It even had the blinking lights on the line map to indicate where you are. I was a little shocked so see that the five goes to Stalingrad station.
I got off at Porte de Pantin, a few stops short of the end of the line, and walked into what seemed to be a really nice area in the 19th. La Villette was billed to me as a must see, wacky park. It supposedly is filled with large sculptural pieces that give the park a unique twist. The first thing I saw was a large fountain with several lions' heads and a large glass building. I walked down a path in the other direction.
So far I had seen no strange sculptures, but I figured that they were hiding. I walked into what appeared to be the overgrown entrance of a theater, but it lead to nothing. I then passed an area with workout equiptment where men were blasting music while they worked out. This area was adjacent to a pen where some kind of brown, hairy animals were kept. This area had a few sculptures, but nothing very intersting.
The park is on two sides of a canal, and there's an above ground walkway tha runs alongside it. I went off to the side near some bushes and sat down on the grass to eat my picnic. The weather was turning very gray and threatened to rain. I ate my lunch while watching groups of runners exercise along the canal.
After lunch I got up to walk along the above ground walkway. I got onto the walkway and noticed a man who was also walking alone. After a few minutes, I pulled over to let a group of people pass me. He also pulled over a few paces ahead of me. When I started walking again he said something to me that I couldn't hear. I said "huh?" and he said bonjour again. I realized that he was hitting on me, and made the mistake of telling him that I don't speak French and then walking away. I fast walked off of the path onto the sidewalk below.
I really wanted to see what was on the other side of the canal so I climbed the stairs again and started to cross the bridge. Yet another again man with the bonjour. What was going on today?!
I kept walking into what seemed like endless sidewalk hoping that there would be some reason why I was told that this park is interesting. There happens to be several museums, but one is a musique museum and the other has to do with science; I wasn't interested. I walked all the way around the park and found nothing fascinating at all.
I headed back towards the metro, but pulled off into a little overgrown area with a bridge. There were these large slabs of stone that had mirrors on one side of them. Not interesting enough for me to stay. On my way to the metro I passed another bonjour man. I was definitely going home now, and not in a good mood. Not even walking past a cute cafe where there were strung up lights and cute little huts on a lawn could cheer me up.
I went home with my mood as dim as the sky. I stopped by Accent to see if I had gotten a letter from my mom, but it still hasn't arrived. I then decided to stop by Monoprix for some butter cookies and my pain au chocolat for breakfast. I also got a large bottle of Monoprix hard apple cider for 1,57 in hopes of cheering myself up. I gave the cashier my 50 dollar bill to break, and then went home.
I still had to study for French, but I had a terrible headache. My nose won't stop running and I'm congested. I curled up in bed and tried to wait out my headache for a bit. I only got up to study by bribing myself with cookies.
I made myself a whole grilled cheese for dinner, and now I might have some hard apple cider before bed. Who knows.
I woke up at 8:30 today despite going to bed after midnight. I seemed full of energy so I made my breakfast and coffee and got down to studying. I had planned on going to La Villette today, but the weather was looking a little gray. I hoped that I could read away the time in hopes that the skies would be blue by afternoon.
I finished all of my reading (more than I had originally planned), and got dressed to go out. The weather report stated that it was 61 degress outside with a high of 64. I put on an extra layer, shoved a hat and scarf into my bag, and went to the boulangerie to get a baguette for my picnic. I also took a bottle of water and Orangina to make my French picnic authentic.
I got my bread, walked to the Bastille metro station to get on the five towards Pablo Picasso. For the first time I saw people cheating the system at the metro station. Instead of paying for a ticket, they stand close behind someone else with a pass, and squeeze themselves through the turnstyle to avoid paying. I laughed a little at this trickery as I got myself on the train. The train was really nice with newly covered seats and a perfectly clean floor. It even had the blinking lights on the line map to indicate where you are. I was a little shocked so see that the five goes to Stalingrad station.
I got off at Porte de Pantin, a few stops short of the end of the line, and walked into what seemed to be a really nice area in the 19th. La Villette was billed to me as a must see, wacky park. It supposedly is filled with large sculptural pieces that give the park a unique twist. The first thing I saw was a large fountain with several lions' heads and a large glass building. I walked down a path in the other direction.
So far I had seen no strange sculptures, but I figured that they were hiding. I walked into what appeared to be the overgrown entrance of a theater, but it lead to nothing. I then passed an area with workout equiptment where men were blasting music while they worked out. This area was adjacent to a pen where some kind of brown, hairy animals were kept. This area had a few sculptures, but nothing very intersting.
The park is on two sides of a canal, and there's an above ground walkway tha runs alongside it. I went off to the side near some bushes and sat down on the grass to eat my picnic. The weather was turning very gray and threatened to rain. I ate my lunch while watching groups of runners exercise along the canal.
After lunch I got up to walk along the above ground walkway. I got onto the walkway and noticed a man who was also walking alone. After a few minutes, I pulled over to let a group of people pass me. He also pulled over a few paces ahead of me. When I started walking again he said something to me that I couldn't hear. I said "huh?" and he said bonjour again. I realized that he was hitting on me, and made the mistake of telling him that I don't speak French and then walking away. I fast walked off of the path onto the sidewalk below.
I really wanted to see what was on the other side of the canal so I climbed the stairs again and started to cross the bridge. Yet another again man with the bonjour. What was going on today?!
I kept walking into what seemed like endless sidewalk hoping that there would be some reason why I was told that this park is interesting. There happens to be several museums, but one is a musique museum and the other has to do with science; I wasn't interested. I walked all the way around the park and found nothing fascinating at all.
I headed back towards the metro, but pulled off into a little overgrown area with a bridge. There were these large slabs of stone that had mirrors on one side of them. Not interesting enough for me to stay. On my way to the metro I passed another bonjour man. I was definitely going home now, and not in a good mood. Not even walking past a cute cafe where there were strung up lights and cute little huts on a lawn could cheer me up.
I went home with my mood as dim as the sky. I stopped by Accent to see if I had gotten a letter from my mom, but it still hasn't arrived. I then decided to stop by Monoprix for some butter cookies and my pain au chocolat for breakfast. I also got a large bottle of Monoprix hard apple cider for 1,57 in hopes of cheering myself up. I gave the cashier my 50 dollar bill to break, and then went home.
I still had to study for French, but I had a terrible headache. My nose won't stop running and I'm congested. I curled up in bed and tried to wait out my headache for a bit. I only got up to study by bribing myself with cookies.
I made myself a whole grilled cheese for dinner, and now I might have some hard apple cider before bed. Who knows.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
un peu de la France au Sud Pacifique
Today was very disappointing.
I woke up with a sore throat yesterday but shook it off. Today I was lethargic, unusually hungry, tired, had a runny nose, a sore throat, and a headache. Oh yeah, and it was raining. Not a good start to the day.
I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning, and the gloom outside didn't help. Somehow I managed to finish my histories reading. By this time (about 10:54) it was raining outside. I decided to read for my pop class and see if I could wait out the rain. By the time I finished reading, the rain had subsided. I got dressed and somehow dragged myself out the door.
I was so excited to go to the Picasso museum. It has been on my to-do list, and I was so upset to find out that it didn't officially open until October 25th. Just as disappointed as I was to find out that I'd have to wait to go to the museum was the exact about of excitement that I had to find out that it was opening early for patrimony days. I couldn't wait, and my excitement was the only thing that got me out the door today.
I had no trouble finding my way to the museum, and went into the courtyard. Like many museums in Paris, the Picasso museum is in a beautiful old house with stone relifes on the outside pediment. Also like many museums in Paris, the inside is completely modern; white walls accompany light wood floors that seem to be straight out of an American design catalog. This was definitely the most disappointing museum that I've ever been to.
There were fewer than ten Picassos in the whole building. There was one large painting (a monochrome of several women, not in his cubist style), one sculpture, about five of his thin bronze sculptures, several pencil drawers in a book, and one collage painting. That was it. I'm sure that I couldn't have missed the part of the museum where all of his works were! I did really like the collage painting; it was so interesting, and I had never seen a work from Picasso like that before. However, a museum is supposed to be about art, and not a tour of a whitewashed house. Even the garden was pathetic; it was just a patch of grass with a gravel promenade around it. I couldn't believe that I had gotten out of bed, and gone into the rain, for that.
I walked home a broken woman. I did walk through the Sunday bizarre in the Bastille, but I didn't stop to buy anything. I got bread from the boulangerie on the corner, and then went home. For some reason I had this vision of having cookies and a cup of tea while it was raining. I was fortunate that it had stopped raining during my excursion, and decided to test my luck once more. It turns out that both Monoprix and Franprix are closed on Sunday. How could I not have known this?! While going to see if Franprix was open, it began to rain. I had tested my luck too much. I went home sans cookies.
I had put on today's post-it note that I was to meet with Raven to work on our French presentation. We were supposed to make a poster about a francophone place, while using class material, ("y", the prepositions to talk about places) as a tourist advertisement. I went up to her room, and she agreed to meet me downstairs sometime later.
I got in bed and watched Judge Judy so that I could put off studying. I finally studied, took a break to plan next weekend's excursions, and then finished my work.
Raven came over at eight so that we could work on our project. She happened to tell me about a carnival that's happening at La Muette that I must go see. I will do just that.
It's time for me to go to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
I woke up with a sore throat yesterday but shook it off. Today I was lethargic, unusually hungry, tired, had a runny nose, a sore throat, and a headache. Oh yeah, and it was raining. Not a good start to the day.
I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning, and the gloom outside didn't help. Somehow I managed to finish my histories reading. By this time (about 10:54) it was raining outside. I decided to read for my pop class and see if I could wait out the rain. By the time I finished reading, the rain had subsided. I got dressed and somehow dragged myself out the door.
I was so excited to go to the Picasso museum. It has been on my to-do list, and I was so upset to find out that it didn't officially open until October 25th. Just as disappointed as I was to find out that I'd have to wait to go to the museum was the exact about of excitement that I had to find out that it was opening early for patrimony days. I couldn't wait, and my excitement was the only thing that got me out the door today.
I had no trouble finding my way to the museum, and went into the courtyard. Like many museums in Paris, the Picasso museum is in a beautiful old house with stone relifes on the outside pediment. Also like many museums in Paris, the inside is completely modern; white walls accompany light wood floors that seem to be straight out of an American design catalog. This was definitely the most disappointing museum that I've ever been to.
There were fewer than ten Picassos in the whole building. There was one large painting (a monochrome of several women, not in his cubist style), one sculpture, about five of his thin bronze sculptures, several pencil drawers in a book, and one collage painting. That was it. I'm sure that I couldn't have missed the part of the museum where all of his works were! I did really like the collage painting; it was so interesting, and I had never seen a work from Picasso like that before. However, a museum is supposed to be about art, and not a tour of a whitewashed house. Even the garden was pathetic; it was just a patch of grass with a gravel promenade around it. I couldn't believe that I had gotten out of bed, and gone into the rain, for that.
I walked home a broken woman. I did walk through the Sunday bizarre in the Bastille, but I didn't stop to buy anything. I got bread from the boulangerie on the corner, and then went home. For some reason I had this vision of having cookies and a cup of tea while it was raining. I was fortunate that it had stopped raining during my excursion, and decided to test my luck once more. It turns out that both Monoprix and Franprix are closed on Sunday. How could I not have known this?! While going to see if Franprix was open, it began to rain. I had tested my luck too much. I went home sans cookies.
I had put on today's post-it note that I was to meet with Raven to work on our French presentation. We were supposed to make a poster about a francophone place, while using class material, ("y", the prepositions to talk about places) as a tourist advertisement. I went up to her room, and she agreed to meet me downstairs sometime later.
I got in bed and watched Judge Judy so that I could put off studying. I finally studied, took a break to plan next weekend's excursions, and then finished my work.
Raven came over at eight so that we could work on our project. She happened to tell me about a carnival that's happening at La Muette that I must go see. I will do just that.
It's time for me to go to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
vici
Today, I conquered.
Today and tomorrow are European cultural patrimony days. This basically means that throughout Europe important historical and cultural locations are open for free, which includes some locations that are normally not open to the public. In her email yesterday, Christina mentioned that Palais-Royal and the Sénat would be open and suggested that we go. I couldn't pass up the chance to see two very important locations that are normally closed.
I woke up early and studied before leaving the house before eleven. I got myself on the one with no troubles, and got off at Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. Easy peasy. I have found that google directions with get you absolutely nowhere in Paris, but I still insist on bringing them just in case. Only through God's grace did I make my way to the garden of the Palais-Royal. I saw a line at the other end of the garden and walked towards it. I asked a man if that where the Palais-Royal was, and it just so happened that the line was to get into the palace.
I checked my bag because it was heavy, and because my limited French skills wouldn't allow me to tell the loads of security why I made the metal detector go off. Every security officer, armed guard, and otherwise protector must have been hired for today. There was a metal detector and a man with a wand waiting for you before you went into the building. I still made the metal detector go off despite having absolutely nothing on me. Nothing dangerous was going to fit into my tight jeans. The wand man said something to me in French, and I told him that I don't speak French. In plain as day English he said "I want to know why you made the metal dectector go off". I told him it must be my earrings and he let me go.
I didn't take any pictures of Palais-Royal, but rest assured that it was fantastic. I've never seen so much gold in my entire life, and I've seen the Opéra. I was really surprised about the decor. It was a mix of obviously French style (gold and cherubs) with very modern art and furnishings. I found that a lot in France; old and new art mixed together in a less than harmonious mix. My favorite was the Napoleon room. It's all baby blue, the color of power, with a blue sky with white clouds painted on the ceiling.
The funniest room was the President's office. The French president, François Hollande, has the lowest approval rating in French history. You would expect with those kind of reviews that his office would be covered in bloody axes. In fact, it has pictures of him and his children….and a painting of a smurf. Oh, and lots of toys and comical art. Not what I was expecting at all.
I'm planning on going to the Picasso museum tomorrow, so I had to go to the Sénat today. My google directions looked like I'd be lost, but I had faith and walked in the direction that I thought was right. Oh course I was wrong. I was under some kind of impression that I had to walk across the Seine, so I started off in that direction. I walked and walked until I saw a sign for Pont Neuf. I've been reading about Pont Neuf and other fun historical events that took place in Paris, and I decided that I had to see Pont Neuf. I saw the statue, and kept walking across the bridge.
While I was walking, I saw a sign for flower artwork for one euro. I bought a picture of a rose. Too bad that the picture got smushed in my purse, and now has four crinkles running vertically across the picture. I still think it's beautiful.
At this point I knew that I was lost kept checking every map that I could find to try to correct my course. I must have wandered around for about two hours. During my wanderings I managed to walk all the way from around the Louvre, across the Seine, and wound up at the Tuileries. From there I stumbled upon Rue Saint Honoré; a happy accident because it happens to be on my list of things to do. Too bad it's just a street with fancy shopping.
I had been walking forever, and I was panicked that I wouldn't find my way to Palais du Luxembourg before it closed at six. I got onto the metro in the hopes of either finding my way or at least going home defeated. I figured out that the one would intersect with the five at Chalet, and then I could take the five to the nearest stop near the Luxembourg gardens: Saint Sulpice.
I got to Saint Sulpice, and of course turned the wrong direction. This happy accident lead me to discover Les Deux Magots. It's a restaurant where literaries used to hangout when there were still people writing good books (by the way, this area is Saint Germain des Près where more fancy shopping is). I had come this far, and I was not going to give up so close to my goal. I turned around and started walking frantically to try to find a street sign. I thought that if I turned left I would eventually see a sign for the garden.
I was beginning to feel hopeless when I saw a sign for Jardin du Luxembourg. The end was near. I picked up the pace even more, and got to Rue Valois (named after a line of French kings in case you were wondering). I passed number 19 where the museum is, and then I almost ran to number 15. I had made it.
The Sénat building is beautiful, but way less fascinating than the Palais-Royal. I had my camera this time, and started taking pictures. During a picture I realized that I had become the people that I hate; those picture-takers who are too busy getting the perfect shot to enjoy the moment. I put the camera away, but I still pulled it out for a few other great shots. Once again there was a mash up of old and new decorative styles and artwork. Strange, but I supposed the French norm. Though the Sénat is less interesting, I did appreciate their collection of Marianne artwork. Also, how can you beat looking out the window and seeing a beautiful garden? There are views of both private gardens and the main Jardin du Luxembourg in various rooms. Stunning.
I went home a victorious woman. On my walk from the train station, I walked down a street that I haven't been down before because I saw the infamous red sign that says "kebab" on it. I ordered a donner kebab; only five euros and comes with fries. I wanted to sit outside, but when the owner told her relative to get up and let me sit there he absolutely refused. I ended up sitting in a corner under the tv.
I've been home ever since attempting to recover from my adventure. It has been some day.
Today and tomorrow are European cultural patrimony days. This basically means that throughout Europe important historical and cultural locations are open for free, which includes some locations that are normally not open to the public. In her email yesterday, Christina mentioned that Palais-Royal and the Sénat would be open and suggested that we go. I couldn't pass up the chance to see two very important locations that are normally closed.
I woke up early and studied before leaving the house before eleven. I got myself on the one with no troubles, and got off at Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. Easy peasy. I have found that google directions with get you absolutely nowhere in Paris, but I still insist on bringing them just in case. Only through God's grace did I make my way to the garden of the Palais-Royal. I saw a line at the other end of the garden and walked towards it. I asked a man if that where the Palais-Royal was, and it just so happened that the line was to get into the palace.
I checked my bag because it was heavy, and because my limited French skills wouldn't allow me to tell the loads of security why I made the metal detector go off. Every security officer, armed guard, and otherwise protector must have been hired for today. There was a metal detector and a man with a wand waiting for you before you went into the building. I still made the metal detector go off despite having absolutely nothing on me. Nothing dangerous was going to fit into my tight jeans. The wand man said something to me in French, and I told him that I don't speak French. In plain as day English he said "I want to know why you made the metal dectector go off". I told him it must be my earrings and he let me go.
I didn't take any pictures of Palais-Royal, but rest assured that it was fantastic. I've never seen so much gold in my entire life, and I've seen the Opéra. I was really surprised about the decor. It was a mix of obviously French style (gold and cherubs) with very modern art and furnishings. I found that a lot in France; old and new art mixed together in a less than harmonious mix. My favorite was the Napoleon room. It's all baby blue, the color of power, with a blue sky with white clouds painted on the ceiling.
The funniest room was the President's office. The French president, François Hollande, has the lowest approval rating in French history. You would expect with those kind of reviews that his office would be covered in bloody axes. In fact, it has pictures of him and his children….and a painting of a smurf. Oh, and lots of toys and comical art. Not what I was expecting at all.
I'm planning on going to the Picasso museum tomorrow, so I had to go to the Sénat today. My google directions looked like I'd be lost, but I had faith and walked in the direction that I thought was right. Oh course I was wrong. I was under some kind of impression that I had to walk across the Seine, so I started off in that direction. I walked and walked until I saw a sign for Pont Neuf. I've been reading about Pont Neuf and other fun historical events that took place in Paris, and I decided that I had to see Pont Neuf. I saw the statue, and kept walking across the bridge.
While I was walking, I saw a sign for flower artwork for one euro. I bought a picture of a rose. Too bad that the picture got smushed in my purse, and now has four crinkles running vertically across the picture. I still think it's beautiful.
My poor flower :(
At this point I knew that I was lost kept checking every map that I could find to try to correct my course. I must have wandered around for about two hours. During my wanderings I managed to walk all the way from around the Louvre, across the Seine, and wound up at the Tuileries. From there I stumbled upon Rue Saint Honoré; a happy accident because it happens to be on my list of things to do. Too bad it's just a street with fancy shopping.
I had been walking forever, and I was panicked that I wouldn't find my way to Palais du Luxembourg before it closed at six. I got onto the metro in the hopes of either finding my way or at least going home defeated. I figured out that the one would intersect with the five at Chalet, and then I could take the five to the nearest stop near the Luxembourg gardens: Saint Sulpice.
I got to Saint Sulpice, and of course turned the wrong direction. This happy accident lead me to discover Les Deux Magots. It's a restaurant where literaries used to hangout when there were still people writing good books (by the way, this area is Saint Germain des Près where more fancy shopping is). I had come this far, and I was not going to give up so close to my goal. I turned around and started walking frantically to try to find a street sign. I thought that if I turned left I would eventually see a sign for the garden.
I was beginning to feel hopeless when I saw a sign for Jardin du Luxembourg. The end was near. I picked up the pace even more, and got to Rue Valois (named after a line of French kings in case you were wondering). I passed number 19 where the museum is, and then I almost ran to number 15. I had made it.
The Sénat building is beautiful, but way less fascinating than the Palais-Royal. I had my camera this time, and started taking pictures. During a picture I realized that I had become the people that I hate; those picture-takers who are too busy getting the perfect shot to enjoy the moment. I put the camera away, but I still pulled it out for a few other great shots. Once again there was a mash up of old and new decorative styles and artwork. Strange, but I supposed the French norm. Though the Sénat is less interesting, I did appreciate their collection of Marianne artwork. Also, how can you beat looking out the window and seeing a beautiful garden? There are views of both private gardens and the main Jardin du Luxembourg in various rooms. Stunning.
One of the private gardens at the palais du luxembourg
all gold
I went home a victorious woman. On my walk from the train station, I walked down a street that I haven't been down before because I saw the infamous red sign that says "kebab" on it. I ordered a donner kebab; only five euros and comes with fries. I wanted to sit outside, but when the owner told her relative to get up and let me sit there he absolutely refused. I ended up sitting in a corner under the tv.
I've been home ever since attempting to recover from my adventure. It has been some day.
Friday, September 19, 2014
la vie en rose
This post begins from last night.
Yesterday I received an email from my professor Mindy stating that she wanted to take us to a free concert at the Pop In (a local bar) instead of having class. I googled the bar, and found out that they have concerts a few times during the week and that they were having a concert last night. I followed the links on the website so that I could sample some of the bands' music. I actually liked all three bands playing, and decided to go. Why not. I didn't want to get there at nine when the concerts begin, so I left the house a few minutes before nine. Google said that the bar was about 25 minutes from my house, and I've been to the area before so I believed it. The directions seemed so simple.
Well I set out with directions in hand, and walked past the farthest part of Avenue Beaumarchis that I had been to….and kept walking. I walked so far that I thought I would leave Paris entirely and walk into a field. I determined that I should just make a right and see if I could find the bar. I turned right, went down the stairs, and to my amazement the Pop In was right there. There were lots of people outside so I figured that the bands weren't playing yet. I went back and sat on the steps to wait. While I was sitting there I heard a man speaking English on the steps behind me. I turned around and starting talking to him. His name was Tyler and he is from Salt Lake City and is currently backpacking through Europe. He was with two friends that were from Morocco. They gave me a Heineken and we sat and chatted for a bit before I went into the bar.
The entrance to the bar is a tiny area with a few cramped tables. I knew that the concert venue was downstairs, but there were no stairs that went down. I went upstairs, through a small seating area, and found a set of stairs that lead down. The venue is like a basement. A few couches, all concrete floors and walls, and a small stage in the front. The band Tequila Mockingbird came on, and they were actually pretty good. They sung in English, but spoke perfect French to the crowd of 18 year olds. I left after their set and walked home.
On my way home a girl asked me for directions. I told her that I didn't speak French, but she said that she spoke English. I was actually able to tell them where the bar they wanted to go to was located. Look at me being a Parisienne!
Okay, moving onto today.
I woke up before nine with a hangover. Who knew that I was suddenly such a lightweight. I somehow got myself out of bed, had breakfast, and got to reading before my planned adventure to the Musée d'Art de la Ville de Paris. I finished reading, got dressed, and was out of the door by eleven. I took the one to FDR to the nine before to get to the 16th. I figured that I was heading to the outskirts of Paris. When I got off the nine I came smack into the face of the Eiffel Tower. Oh, hey there buddy. Nice to see you. I kept walking and found the museum.
I would absolutely recommend the modern art museum. It has a selection of art for every taste. There are multiple Picasso works (including sculptures and drawings) and pottery by Matisse, but there's so much more than than. There's the more "is this art?" pieces as well as modernist furniture and drawings. I really appreciated their wide selection; all of it is fantastic. This was my first time seeing a Duchamp! I really loved the Raoul Duf room. His painting "Trente Ans/La Vie en Rose" is my new favorite painting. I was also really happy to see Amedeo Modigliani's "Femme aux Yeux Bleus". My mom had bought me a bookmark of the painting before she left, and I was delighted to be able to see it in person.
Yesterday I received an email from my professor Mindy stating that she wanted to take us to a free concert at the Pop In (a local bar) instead of having class. I googled the bar, and found out that they have concerts a few times during the week and that they were having a concert last night. I followed the links on the website so that I could sample some of the bands' music. I actually liked all three bands playing, and decided to go. Why not. I didn't want to get there at nine when the concerts begin, so I left the house a few minutes before nine. Google said that the bar was about 25 minutes from my house, and I've been to the area before so I believed it. The directions seemed so simple.
Well I set out with directions in hand, and walked past the farthest part of Avenue Beaumarchis that I had been to….and kept walking. I walked so far that I thought I would leave Paris entirely and walk into a field. I determined that I should just make a right and see if I could find the bar. I turned right, went down the stairs, and to my amazement the Pop In was right there. There were lots of people outside so I figured that the bands weren't playing yet. I went back and sat on the steps to wait. While I was sitting there I heard a man speaking English on the steps behind me. I turned around and starting talking to him. His name was Tyler and he is from Salt Lake City and is currently backpacking through Europe. He was with two friends that were from Morocco. They gave me a Heineken and we sat and chatted for a bit before I went into the bar.
The entrance to the bar is a tiny area with a few cramped tables. I knew that the concert venue was downstairs, but there were no stairs that went down. I went upstairs, through a small seating area, and found a set of stairs that lead down. The venue is like a basement. A few couches, all concrete floors and walls, and a small stage in the front. The band Tequila Mockingbird came on, and they were actually pretty good. They sung in English, but spoke perfect French to the crowd of 18 year olds. I left after their set and walked home.
On my way home a girl asked me for directions. I told her that I didn't speak French, but she said that she spoke English. I was actually able to tell them where the bar they wanted to go to was located. Look at me being a Parisienne!
Okay, moving onto today.
I woke up before nine with a hangover. Who knew that I was suddenly such a lightweight. I somehow got myself out of bed, had breakfast, and got to reading before my planned adventure to the Musée d'Art de la Ville de Paris. I finished reading, got dressed, and was out of the door by eleven. I took the one to FDR to the nine before to get to the 16th. I figured that I was heading to the outskirts of Paris. When I got off the nine I came smack into the face of the Eiffel Tower. Oh, hey there buddy. Nice to see you. I kept walking and found the museum.
I would absolutely recommend the modern art museum. It has a selection of art for every taste. There are multiple Picasso works (including sculptures and drawings) and pottery by Matisse, but there's so much more than than. There's the more "is this art?" pieces as well as modernist furniture and drawings. I really appreciated their wide selection; all of it is fantastic. This was my first time seeing a Duchamp! I really loved the Raoul Duf room. His painting "Trente Ans/La Vie en Rose" is my new favorite painting. I was also really happy to see Amedeo Modigliani's "Femme aux Yeux Bleus". My mom had bought me a bookmark of the painting before she left, and I was delighted to be able to see it in person.
"La Vie en Rose"
After I got off the metro, I saw a sign that pointed to the Musée du Quai Branly. I knew the museum was on my list, and I also knew that it was one of the museums that I wasn't excited for. I had come so far from home, and decided to at least try to follow the signs and see if I could find it. If I couldn't, no harm no foul. I followed the signs to what looked like the outside of a wild animal park; all bushes and trees. I found the entrance to the museum and went to get a ticket.
I got the line, and a woman told me to use the automated machine. I told her that I didn't speak French, she spoke English, but that I was a student and asked if I could get a free ticket. She asked how old I was, and then examined my card. She wasn't sure if my card was real so she asked a coworker. He didn't believe that the school was real. How could the University of California be in Paris. I showed him the address on the card and assured him that it was a real school. He gave me the free ticket.
I will admit up front that I'm not a big fan of "indigenous" art. I'm more of a paintings kind of a girl. However, I was really surprised of the vast selection of cultures represented by the museum. There's everything from: Native American, art from India, Asia, Africa, Australia, stone heads from Easter Island, and South American (including Inca, Aztec, and Mayan). I really liked the museum's layout. There were areas to watch videos about the different cultures that really brought the items alive. There was also music from each culture playing in each section. The museum is really dark, and it gives a great atmosphere to the works. I didn't appreciate that everything is displayed in two sided displays so you end up walking in circles or missing half of everything.
Today was my first time seeing Aboriginal art. I loved it. It's so detailed, and a lot of it is made of really fine, painted cross-hatching. There was a video of one of the artists creating a painting which was in the museum's posession. It really brought the work alive, and I appreciated it more. I was happily surprised to find paintings in the museum as well. I was even more enthusiastic when I saw a selction of Nasca pottery! I took a class on Peruvian pottery, and I was amazed to see one in real life.
The museum also had a display of posters concerning the role of Vietamese women in the Vietnam War. My favorite part was the exhibition called "Tiki Pop" that displays artifacts from the the Tiki culture in America during the 1950s. They even recreated a Tiki bar with seating, island music, and a Tiki movie! It was so fun and playful.
I didn't really like the African art. They put in works in really dark, small rooms that really gave me the creeps. It didn't help that a lot of the works included real human skulls. Fantastic.
I left the museum and headed home when my stomach began to rumble. I did, however, stop to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower because the view from the bridge was fantastic.
On the way home I stopped to get the Turkish food that I had had my eye on. I ordered a Greek sandwich (gyro meat on a roll) that came with French fries. I ate it outside so that I could people watch. It wasn't as delicious as last week's meal, but the fries were hot and crispy and I got protein and a vegetable (I got lettuce on my sandwich).
I came home and found an email from my professor. This weekend is European cultural heritage weekend, and lots of monuments are hosting special events. I can't resist the once a year opportunity to see where the Senate met and the President's room; I will be going tomorrow. Also, the Picasso museum is opening early for the special weekend. It's not offically open until October! How could I pass up the chance to go?!
I spent the rest of my evening planning my weekend, studying, skyping my mom, and painting my nails. I've had a busy day.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
hallelujah
I might be trying something new tonight, but we'll see.
I had my French class at 8:30 this morning, and it has ceased to be a shock to me. I have had to cram breakfast down my throat before both lectures this week while I already had one foot out the door. French class happened. I'm not going to report anything about it, because to be quite honest, nothing fascinating happened. I have, however, decided that Sierra is self-righteous and that I don't want to be friends with her. Does anyone feel like this is a junior high drama? We have to do a project with a partner this weekend, and I'm working with Raven because Sierra and Kristina partnered together.
After class I went to the Ledru-Rollin metro station to get more tickets (I'm down to my last five and I won't make it through until next week). I tried to get tickets at the information center, but my card was denied; twice! An elderly woman overhead me trying to ask if I could use my pin number, and she came to my resue to ask the workers my question in French. The answer was that I couldn't use my pin, and would have to buy them at the ticket machine. Good thing the ticket machine spoke English. I did learn that I can buy tickets in any amount that I want and can buy Sunday youth tickets. I might have to purchase a few of those and save my normal passes for other days.
I went home for lunch because I had a two hour gap before my music class started at one. I decided to try to make a grilled cheese again. Last night I didn't set the stove on the right dial, and my grilled cheese was less than the super awesome deliciousness that I was hoping for. Today was a different story. I figured out how to get the highest setting on my stove (after a few minutes with it on low by accident; the highest setting is one click to the right), and my grilled cheese turned out crispy and melty. I polished off my lunch with some potato chips while I planned my week/weekend.
I went to my music class, and nothing extraordinary happened. We did watch some music videos in preparation for our first paper. I'm going to write my paper on Ben l'Oncle Soul's song Hallelujah.
Before class it was such a nice day that I couldn't bear to be inside. I wasn't planning on doing any reading today, but I couldn't resist going to the park to read and lounge in the sun. First I walked to Place des Vosges, but I only stayed a few minutes because there was a rowdy group of preteens. I then walked to the park that's behind the Musée Carnavalet. I read on a park bench for awhile until the sky threatened to rain, and then I came home.
I made another half of a grilled cheese while I read my emails, looked at pictures for my histories class, and listened to music for next week's pop class. Next week is dedicated to the chanson period in France. I was surprised to find out that La Vie en Rose, that I thought was a song my Louis Armstrong, is actually a French song my Edith Piaf; the two songs aren't related, and the lyrics aren't the same. I loved the musical selection that our professor sent us, and I will definitely be listening to more of it later.
While I was wasting time avoiding doing my French studying, I made onion soup (from one of the instant packets that I bought) that was absolutely delicious. I then moved onto potato chips and an episode of Judge Judy. While I was watching, I got an email from my pop professor asking if the class would be interested in cancelling class to go to a concert. Of course I would! I was looking at the venue's website, and all of the concerts are free. I happened to google the names of the bands playing tonight, and they're super good. I'm going to go see them.
Wish me bonne chance on my adventure!
I had my French class at 8:30 this morning, and it has ceased to be a shock to me. I have had to cram breakfast down my throat before both lectures this week while I already had one foot out the door. French class happened. I'm not going to report anything about it, because to be quite honest, nothing fascinating happened. I have, however, decided that Sierra is self-righteous and that I don't want to be friends with her. Does anyone feel like this is a junior high drama? We have to do a project with a partner this weekend, and I'm working with Raven because Sierra and Kristina partnered together.
After class I went to the Ledru-Rollin metro station to get more tickets (I'm down to my last five and I won't make it through until next week). I tried to get tickets at the information center, but my card was denied; twice! An elderly woman overhead me trying to ask if I could use my pin number, and she came to my resue to ask the workers my question in French. The answer was that I couldn't use my pin, and would have to buy them at the ticket machine. Good thing the ticket machine spoke English. I did learn that I can buy tickets in any amount that I want and can buy Sunday youth tickets. I might have to purchase a few of those and save my normal passes for other days.
I went home for lunch because I had a two hour gap before my music class started at one. I decided to try to make a grilled cheese again. Last night I didn't set the stove on the right dial, and my grilled cheese was less than the super awesome deliciousness that I was hoping for. Today was a different story. I figured out how to get the highest setting on my stove (after a few minutes with it on low by accident; the highest setting is one click to the right), and my grilled cheese turned out crispy and melty. I polished off my lunch with some potato chips while I planned my week/weekend.
I went to my music class, and nothing extraordinary happened. We did watch some music videos in preparation for our first paper. I'm going to write my paper on Ben l'Oncle Soul's song Hallelujah.
Before class it was such a nice day that I couldn't bear to be inside. I wasn't planning on doing any reading today, but I couldn't resist going to the park to read and lounge in the sun. First I walked to Place des Vosges, but I only stayed a few minutes because there was a rowdy group of preteens. I then walked to the park that's behind the Musée Carnavalet. I read on a park bench for awhile until the sky threatened to rain, and then I came home.
I made another half of a grilled cheese while I read my emails, looked at pictures for my histories class, and listened to music for next week's pop class. Next week is dedicated to the chanson period in France. I was surprised to find out that La Vie en Rose, that I thought was a song my Louis Armstrong, is actually a French song my Edith Piaf; the two songs aren't related, and the lyrics aren't the same. I loved the musical selection that our professor sent us, and I will definitely be listening to more of it later.
While I was wasting time avoiding doing my French studying, I made onion soup (from one of the instant packets that I bought) that was absolutely delicious. I then moved onto potato chips and an episode of Judge Judy. While I was watching, I got an email from my pop professor asking if the class would be interested in cancelling class to go to a concert. Of course I would! I was looking at the venue's website, and all of the concerts are free. I happened to google the names of the bands playing tonight, and they're super good. I'm going to go see them.
Wish me bonne chance on my adventure!
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
it sounds like bieber
Today was mostly a boring day, but I did have my French pop music class for the first time.
I woke up a little after nine and struggled to find motivation to get myself out of bed. I finally got going at about 9:45 and got down to the business of completing today's to-do list. I was drowsy despite my nine hours of sleep and began to have a headache within five minutes of sitting at my desk. I struggled through a review of yesterday's French class, wrote my reflection sentence for class tomorrow, and then began to read for my pop music class. I'm not sure if it was the headache (but I'm sure that it was the jargon-filled article about something that mentioned the word timbre), but I couldn't focus for the life of me. After awhile I took a break to do my makeup, which also included doing my hair and washing my dishes, as a study break.
I then put things away in my bathroom because the cleaning man was coming today. I finally finished the article with just enough time to watch an episode of Judge Judy and eat some cookies before my Histories of Paris class at 1:45pm. It was overcast today, but not cold; it looks like it's going to rain. I left home and got to class a few minutes early (why does this keep happening to me?!).
I really like the subject matter in the class, and Christina is so cute, but she thinks that every detail is important and her stories get kinda confusing. My notes are a jumble of bullet points that may or may not be relevant. Class seemed to drag by for the 1:45 minutes that we were there. At 3:15 we got out, and I had exactly 45 minutes before my pop class. I chose to use my time getting my baguette (at the boulangerie on the corner), and going back to my room.
I got to my room just as the cleaning man was finishing up in my kitchen. I was rewarded for my tidying up earlier with a sparkling kitchen and bathroom (not to mention the now lack of crumbs on my floor). Oh the good life. I had just enough time to eat the majority of my baguette before I had to leave for class again.
Callie is in my pop class, but she seems to act like she doesn't know me anymore. Strange. I think I like this class already (besides the horrible reading). Mindy (yes, another professor wants to be called by her first name) is energetic, but scattered brained and seems like she really likes teaching about music. Our class is fewer than 15 people. We discussed the Black M song "Sur Ma Route", which wound up being pretty entertaining. Class seemed to go by really quickly, and afterwards I went to Franpix in the hopes of replacing the cookies that I had polished off for lunch.
The cat's tongue cookies are 1,02; a whole 7 cents more than Monoprix! I refused to pay such high prices and left the store.
I went home to finish the last six miserable pages of my pop reading, and then collapsed in bed. Before I went to my histories class today, I saw a facebook post from Accent reccommending a grilled cheese restaurant near the Bastille. The idea of cheesy goodness became fixed in my mind. I ran to Franprix and picked up bread, processed cheese, a jar of Bonne Maman apricot jam (I'm almost out), Franprix brand ice cream, another Breton (okay, it's actually a less expensive egg version, but it's still delicious with jam), and a bag of the less than American potato chips for ,60 cents.
My grilled cheese has been cooking for over twenty minutes because I can't figure which setting is high on my stove (the numbers are worn off). I was going to drink it with a glass of wine, but I drank the wine while writing this post. I shall pour myself another glass.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
apprendre le français? pourquoi?
Today was my first day of school…or at least semester courses.
I'm so happy that the semester has finally started so that the dreaded practicum is over. I only have class Tuesday-Thursday now…..but my French class starts at 8:30am every Tuesday and Thursday. I had to jump out of bed when my alarm went off at 7:30 this morning (super sadface) and rush out the door so that I could print my composition before class.
Of course, I was early even by my standards. I was the only person in our classroom at five minutes till 8:30. I packed up my things and went downstairs to check to see if I was in the wrong classroom. My entire class was downstairs printing their compositions, and our professor was nowhere in sight as per usual. I went back upstairs and class started ten minutes late.
I really like the new pace of learning during the semester. We have 7 and a half hours to learn one chapter! We're starting on chapter 9, where we left off during the practicum, that's about vacations and the francophone world. Basically geography class taught in French and focusing on all places/things French. The pace was so slow and relaxing, and it was so early in the morning, I almost forgot that I was learning.
During French class was another saga of my struggle to make friends. I sat with Kristina and Sierra (more like they sat near me), and we were working on an exercise; saying the capitals of francophone countries. We got to the question about Canada, and I blurted out that there was no capital of Canada. I don't even consider Canada a country! Sierra, of course, made one of her "I'm so much smarter than you" comments. Ugh. So embarrassing. Don't only do I have no friends, but the few people I actually kinda talk to now think that I'm dumb.
During lecture we got into an interesting discussion about being bilingual. Our professor told us that studies show that bilingual people are twice as smart as people who only speak one language. She posed the question "why learn French?" to us; why are we learning French considering that most Californians speak Spanish. Excellent question.
French class finished, and I had 15 minutes before my Histories of Paris class. I was one of two students in the room before other groups starting coming in. They all sat around me, and it turns out that everyone has friends. Ugh. Not encouraging. The good news is that there are boys in the class (there are 93 of us in the program, and there are only about 12 guys)…I'm sure none of them will be talking to me.
I like my histories class already. The professor, who wants to be called Christina, was really nervous and endearing and you can tell that she loves the subject and wants life to be easy on us. I really like the first lecture that covered some basics about Paris' geography and building situation as well as the first two patron saints.
I knew that I would have a lot of reading to do today, so I planned on going to the park to get some work down. I first stopped at the boulangerie near my apartment (the one on the corner with the good bread is closed on Tuesday) to get my baguette and then I went home. I ate my baguette, read a small section, and then walked to the raised garden near my apartment. The park was full, considering it was lunchtime, so I sat on a planter at the very end of the promenade. The sun beat down on me as I read about Henri IV's building in Paris. After I finished that reading I came back home to escape the sun.
I thought that reading a few chapters of a book wouldn't take me that long, but it ended up taking me the rest of the night. I also had to do French homework. It's 10:37, and I'm pretty exhausted. I did, however, get to Skype with my mommy! I've gotten to see her smiling face more in Europe than I would while at school in California.
I don't have class until 1:45 tomorrow, and considering that I did all of my histories reading today, I'm going to sleep in (probably until my body wakes me up before 10) and then get some work done before class. The nerd life chose me.
I'm so happy that the semester has finally started so that the dreaded practicum is over. I only have class Tuesday-Thursday now…..but my French class starts at 8:30am every Tuesday and Thursday. I had to jump out of bed when my alarm went off at 7:30 this morning (super sadface) and rush out the door so that I could print my composition before class.
Of course, I was early even by my standards. I was the only person in our classroom at five minutes till 8:30. I packed up my things and went downstairs to check to see if I was in the wrong classroom. My entire class was downstairs printing their compositions, and our professor was nowhere in sight as per usual. I went back upstairs and class started ten minutes late.
I really like the new pace of learning during the semester. We have 7 and a half hours to learn one chapter! We're starting on chapter 9, where we left off during the practicum, that's about vacations and the francophone world. Basically geography class taught in French and focusing on all places/things French. The pace was so slow and relaxing, and it was so early in the morning, I almost forgot that I was learning.
During French class was another saga of my struggle to make friends. I sat with Kristina and Sierra (more like they sat near me), and we were working on an exercise; saying the capitals of francophone countries. We got to the question about Canada, and I blurted out that there was no capital of Canada. I don't even consider Canada a country! Sierra, of course, made one of her "I'm so much smarter than you" comments. Ugh. So embarrassing. Don't only do I have no friends, but the few people I actually kinda talk to now think that I'm dumb.
During lecture we got into an interesting discussion about being bilingual. Our professor told us that studies show that bilingual people are twice as smart as people who only speak one language. She posed the question "why learn French?" to us; why are we learning French considering that most Californians speak Spanish. Excellent question.
French class finished, and I had 15 minutes before my Histories of Paris class. I was one of two students in the room before other groups starting coming in. They all sat around me, and it turns out that everyone has friends. Ugh. Not encouraging. The good news is that there are boys in the class (there are 93 of us in the program, and there are only about 12 guys)…I'm sure none of them will be talking to me.
I like my histories class already. The professor, who wants to be called Christina, was really nervous and endearing and you can tell that she loves the subject and wants life to be easy on us. I really like the first lecture that covered some basics about Paris' geography and building situation as well as the first two patron saints.
I knew that I would have a lot of reading to do today, so I planned on going to the park to get some work down. I first stopped at the boulangerie near my apartment (the one on the corner with the good bread is closed on Tuesday) to get my baguette and then I went home. I ate my baguette, read a small section, and then walked to the raised garden near my apartment. The park was full, considering it was lunchtime, so I sat on a planter at the very end of the promenade. The sun beat down on me as I read about Henri IV's building in Paris. After I finished that reading I came back home to escape the sun.
I thought that reading a few chapters of a book wouldn't take me that long, but it ended up taking me the rest of the night. I also had to do French homework. It's 10:37, and I'm pretty exhausted. I did, however, get to Skype with my mommy! I've gotten to see her smiling face more in Europe than I would while at school in California.
I don't have class until 1:45 tomorrow, and considering that I did all of my histories reading today, I'm going to sleep in (probably until my body wakes me up before 10) and then get some work done before class. The nerd life chose me.
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