I think they're on to me....

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Day 18

Sunday I woke up tired again, but was able to make in time for Relief Society or, La Societe de Secours, albeit, a little late. The lesson was difficult to follow because the lady teaching it didn't really know French so it was some sort of mix between French, English and whatever third language she speaks (Spanish? although she was Asian so maybe it was an Asian language mixed in--you can imagine the difficulty I had). After relief society I enjoyed a nice Sunday School lesson taught by an American (in French). I was entertained the whole time because his accent was pretty bad and it sounded a lot like the outrageous French accent you hear in movies, such as the Pink Panther, or the frog from The Swan Princess. I laughed on the inside.

Oh, and quick sidenote! I felt really French when we were all sitting down for the class because Algon/Algernon/sldfjlsjlskjf (I don't actually know what his name is, so I just say it fast and hope it sounds right) sat in front of us, who we had met last week at la soiree familiale and so I said hi and we did a very casual French exchange that went something like this:

Me: Bonjour

Algerwhatshisface: Bonjour, ca va?

Me: Oui, ca va bien, et toi?

Algerwhathisface: Oui ca va.

Yeah, that's about it. But it was so casual and normal I felt super French. Don't laugh. It was legit. Really, I promise. Of course, I have to admit my cover was blown at the end when we were leaving because he leaned in to do a bisous (the kiss on each cheek) but I didn't realize he was leaving and that's what he was doing (it looked like he was going to whisper something to me) so I just asked him "what?" thinking he was trying to say something. Ha. He was like, "Bisoux." and initiated it for me. Awkward. Commence embarrassed blush and look of shame. Dang it. I was doing so well, I thought I had them all fooled by my suave Parisien-ness! Zut alors! But how was I supposed to know he was doing that? They hardly ever do! I've only done the bisoux two or three times since I've been here, so I just wasn't expecting it. France: 1 Brittney: 0

Next time I'll be ready...

After church I was so tired I just went straight home...and may or may not have slept from *ahem* 3 to 7:30 *cough cough* At 7:45 we had dinner with Frederique, and here I have a funny story about a cultural misunderstanding....

So with every meal we have a cheese course. Frederique puts cheese on a cutting board and we cut a small block for ourselves and put it on our little cheese plate. Sometimes we have bread but sometimes we don't. The bread was on the other side of the table and she didn't give us forks so all we had was a knife. Both Marissa and I were unsure of whether or not to eat the cheese straight or use bread (because we've eaten just cheese before). Marissa chose to eat it straight. From her knife. I luckily had grabbed some bread and spread the cheese on it, but I had some extra cheese and ran out of bread so I tried to sneak eating it with the knife. Frederique noticed Marissa using her knife to eat the cheese and asked if it was an American thing. Hahaha. No, we definitely thought it was a French thing to eat with the knife--we thought it was weird but it seemed like the only option at the time so we figured maybe the French were just different like that. Nope. According to Frederique the French "never never put their knives in their mouths." Great. This is what happens when you try to look French. Zut.

During dinner I asked Frederique about the French opinion on Napoleon. She said that the French admire him because of the wonderful things he did for France...even though he was an egotistical dictator who crowned himself Emperor--twice. I thought it was interesting...although I guess every country has their Napoleons in some ways.

After dinner I then proceeded to have a stressful night of trying to coordinate our plans for the travel weekend. We finally worked it out to buy tickets to fly to London from Friday to Monday. We're (Meridith, Andrea and I) are staying with Mer's brother's old mission companion. He'll be out of town most of the weekend so he's just going to give us a key to the house, but I guess he's meeting us at the train station Friday evening. Yeah for saving money on hotels! ...oh, and yeah for LONDON! I suspect we'll have a jolly ol' time.

From the Chateau to the Metro: A Commentary on the Fall of the Great French Empire

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Day 17

Saturday morning came early, but for once this was not a burden because it also came with sunshine!!! Oh radiant sun how long have I awaited the warmth of your rays on my face, and the illuminating light to my soul! Ahhhhh.....

Okay, well, it wasn't quite that warm. There was still a cool breeze, but it was significantly warmer than the nasty wind we've been having and the sky was blue and brilliant and I did not need to wear a coat, and therefore it was a good day. Oh, and we may have had a field trip to one of the most beautiful chateaus in France...yes, a very good day.

So, we met at the BYU apartment and took a coach bus out to visit the Chateau Fontainebleau, which was the residence of many of France's monarchs, including Henri IV, Francois I, Philip II and Louis IX. The oldest part of the chateau dates back to the 12th century when Louis VII lived there, for whom the chapel was consecrated by Thomas Becket. Since then it has undergone many renovations and additions. By the late 18th century the chateau had fallen into disrepair, after the Revolution, but it was transformed under the reign of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Wanting to move away from the Bourbon monarchical connotations of Versailles, Napoleon made the Chateau de Fontainebleau into a symbol of his grandeur. Now, the chateau is home to the only remaining throne room in France, from which Napoleon himself directed affairs. In fact, the entire chateau was a residence for the emperor, and we were able to see his offices, personal chambers, and those of his wife Josephine. There was also a special Napoleon exhibit where we saw some of Napoleon's personal effects, including his clothes--which were quite short. I guess they weren't joking about his height. But he compensated well I think.

So, after about an hour bus ride to Fontainebleau, I went with a group of people and we checked out the grounds first. The gardens were beautiful. A few of us girls got sidetracked along the way though and had a mini fashion shoot--the place was just so picturesque! Due to our dawdling we didn't have time to go too far into the gardens, but we enjoyed ourselves and appreciated the grounds we did see. The gardens are massive, extending over many acres that used to serve as the royal hunting grounds for France's kings and were first created by Francois I in 1528.

After strolling in the sunshine and playing with our cameras, we started heading back towards the chateau--where I ran into a horse-drawn carriage (not literally) and had to take a minor detour to pet them (so fun!). Then Betsy and Paige bought lunch at the chateau's cafe and we ate our food in the sun by the lake in front of the chateau. It was one of the more beautiful things I've done in life. But it gets better...

After finishing lunch (I had packed mine to save a couple euros) we decided we should probably go inside the chateau since we came this far to see it...so we went in and got our audio guides and began walking around. Paige and I got a little turned around at first (we skipped the ball room and one of the chapels accidentally) so we had to go back after we finished, but on the whole the tour was excellent. I have decided that I like Fontainebleau better than Versailles. Gasp! I know that is probably some sort of blasphemy, but I just really liked the style of Fontainebleau better. The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles is obviously fantastic, but on the whole I thought Fontainebleau had a more beautiful style, of both architecture and decor, than Versailles, and I appreciated the longer and, in my opinion, richer, history that is attached to the much older Chateau de Fontainebleau. Having said that, I might mention my two favorite parts of the chateau: 1. The library and 2. The outside staircase

First, the library is a long hallway that houses Napoleon's personal collection (I think they said there were upwards of 60,000 volumes in it). It was beautiful and I was really disappointed that we weren't allowed to go through it (the entrance was blocked off so we could only look down it). It was another "Beauty and the Beast" moment and I felt like Belle when the Beast shows her his library. I think the French would have a problem with giving me the chateau's library though--dang it.

Second, I love love love the double staircase at the main entrance of the chateau. It reminds me of Cinderella (sorry about all the Disney references, but seriously, this place is a fairytale) and I was very excited to play model and have another fashion shoot with my friends on the steps. We spent a good forty minutes or so taking pictures and playing on the stairs. It was just too perfect! Maybe I can commission stairs like that on my house (on a smaller scale of course)...hmm, first step, find a rich prince who can afford a Cinderella staircase....anyone know any princes???

After finishing our tour of Fontainebleau we all hopped back on the bus to return to Paris. Although most people fell asleep, Andrea and I decided to have fun and we enjoyed a sidesplitting conversation that consisted of each of us quoting favorite moments of the Office and then bursting out laughing at our wit and candid appreciation for good comedy. We then arrived in Paris around 5 o'clock and so a group of us decided to go get a Greek pita in the Latin Quarter (recommended by Giles and Sarah who had had one a few days before). I think Giles had a good description when he called it "dirty Greek food" because it was not the most sanitary-looking meal I've had, and it was not what one might call pleasantly ungreasy...but it was tasty enough so I didn't mind. Although there were some creepy guys at a table at the bottom of the stairs who stared at me and Andrea menacingly when we went down to get utensils (there was more dining room upstairs where we ate). I don't know why Europeans think that unabashed staring is a socially acceptable thing...personally I think its awkward, weird, and often rather frightening...I would much prefer sketchy men to stare at me unnoticeably, even if that is perhaps sketchier--at least then I don't have to think about it. Maybe I had something in my teeth? It was pretty dirty Greek food. I'll have to remember to bring some toothpicks with me next time I go out. Problem solved.

After finishing our food we went back out into the narrow street and said goodbye to Giles, Andrea and Sarah, who were going to a football match (which is *ahem* the european term for soccer) while Meridith, Betsy, Paige and I tried to decided what to do next. We were going to go to the Musee d'Orsay because it was the Night of the Museums in Paris (where all the museums are free admission and stay open until about 11:30pm) but it was still a little early, so we meandered a bit through the souvenir shops. As we were standing outside the Greek place though the guy behind the window motioned to Meridith and told her that her eyes were "magnifiques!" The French really like blue eyes.

Anyways, after going through the shops we took the metro to the Musee d'Orsay, one of my favorite museums in Paris, and met up with some other girls who were going. The line was really long but they moved us through fairly quickly considering the amount of people. I think we waited about twenty minutes, but it wasn't bad. Once inside the museum was pretty crowded, obviously, but we were able to see some great exhibits. Since it was so busy we all kind of paired off and went around the museum ourselves and planned to meet back up at 10pm. So Mer and I went through the Van Gogh gallery, and of course we had to see all the Impressionists, including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir etc. etc. It was grand. Unfortunately I couldn't find Degas' little ballerina sculpture, but we saw all his paintings of danseuses which were beautiful. It was cool to see all the original paintings of artwork that I've learned about in school, although it was difficult to appreciate everything because it was so crowded. I'll definitely come back with my parents though--Musee d'Orsay is a must-see.

At ten o'clock we all met back up and Meridith and I were burnt out so we decided to head back home. While we waited in the metro we had several minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive so we sat down on the benches. An older drunk guy came and sat down next to us and started talking to Mer. He told her that her eyes were "magnifiques!" (second time in three hours, haha) and then started to speaking to us in a combination of French, Spanish and English...Frespanglish? It was really hard to understand him. He asked us if it rained where we were from, and then started talking about a kitchen...and then asked if we were going to sleep...in the kitchen....hmmm. He was quite drunk--which, if you couldn't tell by his behavior, you only needed to stand in a five foot radius and you could smell the evidence. Yuck. We excused ourselves as quickly as we could and stood farther down the platform to await the train. When it finally did come we were blessed to share a car with a group of lively drunk teenagers--who also smelled lovely and caused the whole car to smell of beer. It was kind of funny to watch the other people on the train react to them though. Sitting behind them were two old ladies and they looked quite disgusted with the bunch of them. One of the boys was flirting with his girlfriend and the old lady was regarding him down her nose with a mix of derision and repulsion. I guess the elderly have a universal code for disliking fraternizing youth. I really can't blame them. Metro PDA is not exactly classy, in my humble foreign opinion...

Falafels, Yamikas and Snooty French Museums

Friday, May 14, 2010

Day 16

Friday was a sad day in that our class time was changed to 9am (we switched times with the other class to make it fair). Boy does 9am come early in France! After suffering through class ('Ah! To suffer in Paris!') I went on the Marais Walk (2) with Betsy, Paige, Sarah (Blackhurst) and Jessica. The Marais district stretches north from the Seine to an area just south of the Place de la Republique and from the Place de l'Hotel de Ville east to the Place de la Bastille, including parts of the third and fourth arrondissements. Marais means "swamps," and the area is built on old swampland. Henri IV (king of France from 1594-1610) played a major role in making the Marais a desirable place to live by attracting nobility, clergy, and philosophers. After the revolution the area fell into disrepair, but today it is again a popular district. This walk focused on the Jewish Quarter of the Marais. It was funny because you know immediately when you arrive because there are men with orthodox clothing everywhere. I saw a lot of beards, hats, and yamikas there. It felt like we'd walked into a different world--which we kind of did in a way. The area was actually really quaint, with narrow cobblestone streets, and there were Jewish shops as well as high-end boutiques along the way. We stopped at the "L'As du Falafel" a wicked popular falafel restaurant, as evidenced by the throng of people waiting in line for one. It put all the other falafel shops on the street to shame. I didn't get one because I'd packed a lunch that day, but I had a bite of one. It was pretty good. A falafel is ground chickpeas that have been rolled into a ball and deep fried. They are served in a pita filled with salad greens and sometimes meat (depending what kind you get) flavored with sauce. Yummy!

The falafel place was so crowded that they have waiters on the street who take your order there and then give you a ticket to redeem at the counter to pick up your order. Its crazy. It was funny though. The waiter came by when the girls had gotten their falafels and asked if they were good, and upon answering in the affirmative he made a joke about how Jessica shouldn't have gone to the other falafel place directly across from his because she was still waiting to get hers, even though the line was shorter, and because his falafels were better. Haha.

While the others were getting falafels, Betsy and I went back up the street to a bakery and she got a croissant. However, they had some amazing looking twisty bread and lots of tasty looking pastries, including cookies with jelly centers and yummy pies and brownies. I'm tempted to go back someday and buy a yummy twisty bread. Mmmm...After they finished the falafels we continued our walk. We passed the popular Finkelstein's bakery and then went by a historic Jewish elementary school that had some memorial plaques placed there after WWII. Apparently the principal of this school helped to protect the children there from being taken to concentration camps. The area itself has been a site of several anti-Semitic manifestations, including the violent 1982 terrorist attack on Jo Goldenburg's deli.

We then went on to see the Hotel de Soubise, one of the most lavish mansions in Paris. It is the home to the Archives Nationales. Francois de Rohan, the prince of Soubise, commissioned its construction in 1705. Its architecture is marked by the classical style of twenty-four pairs of Corinthian columns, while the interior ground floor has excellent examples of the Rococo style in Paris. We decided not to go into the archives though. I had to ask the security guard if it was open (he told me in French that it would open in 15 minutes) and whether or not it was gratuit (free) to which he replied that there was a reduced price for students. I was proud of myself that I could communicate in French and totally understood him. It doesn't take much for me to be happy about French--if someone says Bonjour to me I'm ecstatic. Ha. Fluency here I come!

~Archives Nationales~

After the archives we went into the Cognac-Jay Museum. It was a nice enough museum. I was glad that it was small. I was rather put off though by one of the museum "guards" (although she wasn't a guard per se) when I accidentally forgot to turn off my flash and took a picture. She came in and, very snootily, told me that flash photography wasn't allowed. I apologized and put my camera away, even though pictures were allowed, just not with the flash. Now, I don't know if she thought I couldn't understand her, but she repeated herself about three times. "You can't take pictures with the flash. It has to be turned off." "There is no flash photography allowed in the museum. It is forbidden. Turn off your flash." Etc. Etc. Okay, thank you ma'am. I'm sorry. It was an accident. I won't do it again. Sheesh. I mean, I was totally with her the whole time. She saw me put it away too. And then after her two minute repetitive spiel, she just stood there awkwardly looking at me like she expected me to do something. What!? I already apologized more than once and put my camera away. Okay, I'm going to look at the rest of the museum, thank you for your candor and complete lack of hospitality. Can you tell I was upset? I've gotten used to the French attitude here--its really not all that bad, most of the French are actually incredibly welcoming and nice--but this was really annoying, and she totally fit the stereotype of the snobbish French who hate Americans--especially those armed with flash photography aimed at their precious museum artifacts. Sorry, I think your pretty rococo-style desk (the object I was caught photographing) will survive a split second of light. Just a thought.

Here is the table/desk that I so offensively captured on camera.

Notice the excellent lighting--yes, that is due to my great

photography skills made possible by the flash.

This is my way of getting revenge on that museum lady. Take that! Haha.

Anyways, sorry for the vent sesh, it really wasn't that bad. I just don't appreciate patronization. After the museum we were finished. Technically there was supposed to be a stop to the Picasso museum, but that is closed for a while (like a year or two or something, I don't know). So we just headed home.

After relaxing a bit at home I got a text about a movie night back in Paris at the BYU apartment at 9pm. So I left around 8 and rode the metro back in (all by myself! I'm starting to look like a real Parisian, haha...yeah right). We watched Prince Caspian. It was fun, especially with Professor Erickson who asked us within the first minute what was going on...well, if you just watch it, you will find out! Haha, and it was funny to listen to him during the movie because he got really into it. At the scene where Edmund drops the flashlight while on the tower Professor Erickson exclaimed, "Oh no!" haha, you kind of have to be there, but it wasn't that dramatic ofa scene and he seemed really distraught over it. Good times. It was also nice to just see a movie--the first time since I've been in France! After the movie we headed back and I got home around 1am. Hence, my lack of blogging recently.

An American Craving

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Day 15

Okay, so Thursday started off pretty normal. We had class in the morning and then a few of us decided to grab a bite to eat. Meridith and I were discussing our dining options and we both realized that we were going through a bit of a food crisis and were in need of some major stereotypical American food. Thus came the decision to eat at KFC. Quel horreur! I know, I know, its really terrible...I'm probably breaking a million rules by eating at such a place whilst in France, but I'm getting tired of baguettes and cheese every day. So, Meredith, Judy, Ryan and I headed off with Professor Erickson (yes, we invited him, and yes, he agreed to participate in the aforementioned atrocity that is KFC Paris). The five of us split a jumbo bucket meal that came with twenty crispy wings, fries and a bottle of Orangina to share. And I do declare it was one of the best meals of the week! Not so much because the food itself was of any particular quality, but the fried chicken and fries tasted so American that it was impossible not to feel good...until afterwards when you feel gross from the grease and hungry again a couple hours later...but at the time it was perfection! Also, a note on the experience of eating at a Parisian KFC: They obviously serve the usual ketchup, mustard and sweet and sour sauce. BUT, they also have CURRY sauce, which has a kind of sweet mustard tang to it. It was pretty good, I liked it. Too bad we don't have it back home, its kind of a fun spin on the whole chicken sauce thing. In addition to the sauce, they also have ushers/greeters who direct you to the available registers when you come in (although I think that's less a European thing so much as a necessity in a busy restaurant). The inside was also quite nice, and it was funny to see all the Parisian-dressed men eating fast food---it just looks like such a contradiction.

After enjoying our American meal with a Parisian-curry-sauce-twist, Meridith and I decided to head back home to have a homework/catch up day. So she came over and we did our journaling and she used my straightener since she left hers in the States and was having withdrawals (I know now why she wanted to be friends with me...just kidding). When we first came in I introduced her to Frederique and found that her husband had come home that afternoon. So I finally met the mysterious Christian. However, moments after meeting him I discovered that he was only here for about an hour and would be heading out shortly to go on another trip for a week. He came and said goodbye when he was leaving, and so ended what had promised to be a great relationship with the allusive Christian--and Marissa never got to see him at all!

After finishing up some homework Meridith had to go home but we were invited by some people in the group to go dancing later that night, so we agreed to meet at the train station at 9 o'clock to go together.

Now, I need to add a quick side note experience before I continue with my story about Thursday night....

So, Monday night (I forgot to put this in before) I was riding home on the metro after Family Home Evening at the Institute with a few girls, including Andrea and Meridith. It was around 9pm, which can be a sketchy hour on the metro system, we soon learned...Here's how it happened. Meridith was sitting on one of the fold out seats and I was standing near her. We were all talking about the evening and this older man who was a little hunched over, dressed poorly and looked a little mangey, as well as missing a couple teeth, was standing next to us. I noticed when we got on that he was standing a little close to us--closer than necessary since the metro wasn't really crowded at all, and closer than the norm for personal space--but I tried to ignore it because sometimes people just have a weird sense of personal boundaries and he wasn't being too obnoxious, I just moved away a little. Well, he kept moving towards Meridith who was sitting there and he started tapping her and touching her shoulder, arm and hair occasionally. At first she tried to move away and shrug him off, but he was persistent so she stood up by me. Then he sat down where she was and was smiling at us and started saying, "Coucou! Coucou!" Its kind of like "Peekaboo" in English, but that's not a perfect translation of the meaning. But you get the idea. Anyways, he kept doing that and trying to engage us but we tried to ignore him and move away. AND there was a guy sitting across from us who saw the whole thing--I made eye contact with him a few times and we had a mutual understanding of the situation and I tried to communicate that he should help us, but he just ignored it. I mean, the old guy was harmless--I'm sure any one of us could have taken him, but really, it was creepy. And then, the creeper got off at the next stop and we were all relieved. As he got off he smiled at us, said "Coucou!" and waved to us as he got off. Then he kept waving through the window from the platform. Then the train pulled away and we thought we were safe. FALSE. No, this guy got off from our door and then just walked down to the next door of our same car...we saw him a minute later standing at the other end of our car. Then he came back over and continued harassing us (not in a dangerous way, just annoying) and then got off at the next stop, where he waved to us from the window again and kept repeating his "Coucou" 's. Sketch.

Oh well, we still love France.

....

Okay, back to Thursday night. I met Meridith at the train station at 9 to head in to Paris to meet up with a few people to go dancing. We got on the train, which was a double decker, which we were excited about and sat on the top level, of course. The car was basically empty except for two or three people so we took a section of four seats and sat diagonal from each other so we could rest our feet on the opposite seat. We sat like this for a couple stops when at one of the stops I heard someone get on and looked behind me. It was a quick glance but I saw an older grungy man who looked like the same creepy guy from Monday night. Well....yes, it was. Meridith and I both looked at each other and he came over to us--of course. We both still had our feet up so I thought we would be safe. No. He came up to Meridith who was on the outside and motioned for her to move her feet so he could sit down. At first, she told me, she wasn't positive if he was the same guy so she didn't want to be rude if he was just an old man looking for a seat, so she moved them and let him sit across from her, and next to me. But let me remind you that the entire car was virtually empty--he could have sat anywhere and he chose to make Meridith move her feet off the seat. Right. Okay. Well, the train came to the next stop and we got up and pretended it was ours. Mere goes, "Oh Brit! This is our stop, let's hurry!" Ha. Ha. We went to the lower level and waited the next two stops for our destination. Creeper. What are the odds? It was about the same time of night and he got on around the same stop. I guess he makes the same round every day. A lot of homeless people do that. They just ride the metro all day and night and sleep in the metro stations. Its sad. And sketch. Meridith and I were a little creeped out.

However, we got to our stop safely and met up with our friends. It ended up being a good number of us: Meridith and I, Ryan, Giles, Richard, Andrea, Jessica, Whitney, Sarah and Jenny. We had to wait about forty minutes for everyone to show up and the club to open. The club opened at 11pm and we were able to get in free with our student cards. It was so fun! Since we were among the first there the whole discotheque was basically empty and we were able to just dance around with the place to ourselves. But it filled up pretty quickly. The music wasn't that great (it was all the same techno-y kind of deal that wasn't great to dance to) but the club itself was sweet. It was weird being at a legitimate club. Lots of kids were drinking and such but it was a lot of fun. And there were some very attractive boys I saw that looked British. I made a point of dancing where I could see them--and before you judge me I will have you know that attractive men are few and far between here in Paris (I know, that sounds ironic, but its true!) and I craving eye candy. So there.

One interesting note about the discotheque: the bathrooms are co-ed. Meridith had to go so she had me come with her so she wouldn't have to venture into this new phenomenon alone. It was so weird. Guys and girls walked in and they had the stalls on one side and the urinals on the other that were blocked by a little wall. I just stayed by the stalls trying not to think about how awkward I felt. It was funny too because a guy came in to use a stall and thought I was waiting so I motioned for him to go ahead. Weird, that doesn't happen every day. Strange European customs.

Second experience:

We could only stay for about an hour because the metro closes around 12:30/1am every night so we had to leave to get home in time. As we're walking out a guy who looks Italian (and actually reminded me a little of the young guy from the mac/pc commercials) leans in to Meridith and says something and then leans in to me and says, "Vous etes tres jolie." (You are very pretty). Ha. Oh, merci monsieur! It was funny. And this seems to happen a lot. I told Mere this and she said he said the same to her. Haha. European men are very forward here. Its interesting.

It was lucky we left when we did though because we caught the last train of the night to get home with only five minutes to spare. Of course, we could have found another train from a different station, but it was still cutting it close. Phew! Jessie didn't realize that we had five minutes though and had misread the monitor thinking we were about to miss the train so she started running ahead with Marissa and Katherine and Merideth and I tried to call out that she didn't have to run, but she didn't hear. So we all ended up sprinting to the platform only to find we had five minutes. The funny thing was that a guy who was heading to the same train saw us running so he did too. Poor guy.

Well, we made it home safe and sound, albeit a little late. Merideth and Andrea were kind enough to walk me home (Merideth was still concerned about creepers after our metro experience). That was nice though, I felt a lot better having them--its not a fun walk at night.

I made it to sleep at about 1:30am ready to get up at 7:30am for our 9am class (we switched to the earlier class period this week, joy).

Museums, fake ruins and a fruitless quest

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Day 14

Oh la la! I can't believe it's already been two weeks now! Time flies. And yet, I also feel like I've been here forever and that it can't have been only two weeks since I left the United States. I guess that is a good thing though, because I'm still here for another four weeks so if I was tired of Paris already it would be a long spring. Good thing its impossible to get tired of Paris--there are simply too many things to do and to see that you cannot possibly be bored.

Wednesday too turned out to be another chilly day. Thankfully it didn't rain, it was merely overcast and windy all day. On the down side, I still didn't have a jacket, and in Croissy it was a little bit warmer than in Paris when we left in the morning, so I was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and my light scarf. However, I soon came to find that when the scarf is worn like a shawl it is actually quite warm. So that's what I did for the entire day--snuggled under my scarf and prayed for a sunburst.

After class a small group of us--Judy, Ryan, Meredith, Andrea, Sarah B., Marissa and I--decided to go on the fourteenth walk together, titled: Eighteenth Century Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. We first stopped into a yummy pasta shop for some warm food (I only got a roll and a hot chocolate since I was still full from breakfast), and then headed out to the metro to begin the walk. We did get sidetracked along the way when we passed a little boutique that had clothes for 10e, and a couple girls bought some flats there, but then we continued on our way.

The walk began at Miromesnil metro stop where we then found our way to our first attraction, the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, built between 1869 and 1875. We were given self-guided audio tours of the mansion residence of Edouard Andre and his wife Nelie Jacquemart, which was converted into a public museum in 1913 to display the rich collection of art the couple acquired over their lives. The audio tour was very well done and I enjoyed listening to the stories behind both the artwork displayed and the house itself, making the experience more personal as I was able to connect more with where I was and what I was seeing. The mansion itself is a work of art, it is truly beautiful. Unfortunately pictures were prohibited, but I will try to describe some of it as best I can. The living rooms and personal studies are richly furnished with a tasteful decor augmented by the displays of art pieces. My favorite parts of the home however were the music room which acted as a ball room, and the atrium/stairway. There was a symmetrical winding marble staircase that was so masterfully crafted that instead of feeling heavy and immense, it instead had the effect of creating an impression of lightness and delicacy. Behind the stairway was an Italian fresco imported by the couple from Venice, and the ceiling was of glass because the atrium used house an indoor garden, at the end of which stood the men's smoking room. The music room was also brilliant because it had a cathedral ceiling and a balcony that went all the way around, to which you got to by the aforementioned staircase, which led to the private Italian collections that only close friends and connoisseurs were privileged enough to see. During balls and gatherings an orchestra would play on the balcony and the music would stream down to the gentlemen and ladies mingling below. It was really an inspiring idea and I admit I was tempted to dance here too.

Now for a bit on the actual artwork. It is hard to pinpoint any one thing exactly because there was just so much of it, but among the paintings and sculptures displayed I was impressed by the collections of several works by Van Dyke, Rembrandt, and Boticelli. Not to mention countless other priceless works. Something I found really interesting on the tour was that back then museums were not government subsidized and therefore had very little funding so it was largely up to private collectors to acquire many of the great works. A substantial amount of the works in museums such as the Louvre were donated by art patrons like the Jacquemart-Andres'.

In total it took about two hours to go through the museum, although I really enjoyed it all so it is definitely one I would recommend. After the museum we braved the cool air again and headed over to the Parc Monceau, one of the more beautiful Parisian parks created in the eighteenth century. The funny thing about this park is that there are many ruins that were built as ruins because that motif was very popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Hmm, let's build something that is already ruined. Still, they were fun to look at and we enjoyed pretending to look like old Greek statues when we found an empty stone platform--it was practically begging us to stand on it! We were even innovative enough to attempt the grand feat of fitting six of us on the top, which I am proud to say we duly accomplished and my dream to pose as a Greek statue in Paris was fulfilled. Check.

...Fake ruins...

....I am a natural...

After completing this walk around six o'clock, Sarah and I decided to commence on a search for a coat, a difficult task when it is the middle of May and all the stores are putting out their summer lines. We were able to find racks and racks of bathing suits and beach coverups but the search for jackets was to no avail. The few that were available were either ugly, expensive or some combination of the two. After traversing through about four large stores down the street from the Gallery Lafayette, we unanimously acknowledged defeat and began the hour-long commute home, hungry and coatless.

Back home I made myself a microwave dinner that was at least edible with some bread and yogurt, and settled in for the night. Perhaps tomorrow it would be sunny again in the most beautiful city in the world?

A Palace Fit for a King....and a small country or two

Tuesday May 11, 2010

Day 13

Tuesday morning began cold and rainy and ended cold and rainy--an ironic twist on our visit to the renowned palace of the Sun King. However, there was one bright ray of sunlight--we didn't have to meet to catch the train until 11:30, which means we could SLEEP IN!! Hallelujah! We took the metro to Versailles around noon and then had about an hour to kill before our group had to meet at the palace to begin our tour. Professor Erickson gave us directions to the chateau and then left us to our own devices. Since no one really listens to directions no one was exactly sure about what we were supposed to be doing or where to go, so after a few minutes of aimless discussion we milled out of the train station into the freezing rain and walked down the street in hopes of finding a cafe or boulangerie, as they are so prevalent in France. Luckily we found a bakery that offered a good lunch deal so we got food there. I had a fougasse, which is basically a French style calzone and therefore fulfilled two needs--warmth and the comfort of American-tasting food. I also got a dessert with the deal so I got three pastry things that were basically sugared fried dough--yum. Once we left the bakery we stood out on the sidewalk like a a group of ducklings without a mother. We didn't know what we were supposed to do, or where we were meeting for our tour, so we just walked back to the train station and ate there. Once we had our fill we decided that it would be best to try and find the palace and hope that that was where Professor Erickson had told us to meet. Luckily as the enormous palace that it is, Versailles was actually quite easy to locate, and we ran into Professor Erickson in the courtyard where we were all able to assemble with relative ease. Unfortunately even once we were all there we still had to wait in line for about twenty minutes, perhaps longer, before we could go inside, and it was not pleasant.

Although the weather was truly miserable, once we got inside the palace definitely helped make up for it. First of all, it is huge. One room could fit my house inside it. Second, it is huge. Third, it is beautiful. Fourth, it is huge. Do you see a pattern here? My favorite part, of course, was the hall of mirrors. Walking through it made me feel like I was a princess and I almost regretted not having an old-fashioned gown to wear so I could dance through the hall with some French chevalier. I think I will write to the palace administration to add music to the hall, I think it would really add to the experience and people would totally appreciate it....okay, I would appreciate it...but still. I went through that hall twice, partially because the tour sent me in a circle anyways, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This is probably blasphemy what I am going to say next, but please don't judge me. The rest of the palace was of course incredible, but I think the grandeur is so great and the size so overwhelming that it became almost same old same old. Every room and every corridor is laced with gold trim and extravagant paneling, covered with expansive tableaux or punctuated by sculptures. The immensity of the building is truly overwhelming to such a point that every room begins to blend into another. It was in this state that I attempted to take in not only the optical grandeur of the monument, but also the historical grandeur of the famous chateau. Needless to say it was difficult for to sift through the images and audio tour information to make sense of it all in a comprehensive manner. What I do remember is that I saw the Hall of Mirrors, the Sun King's chambers, his wife, Marie Antoinette's bed chamber and ante-chamber, and a room where the King held his meetings with advisors and the court. One small fact I do remember was that I saw the small door that is somewhat disguised into the paneling of the wall, through which Marie Antoinette escaped the mobs. That's pretty cool to imagine that I was standing in the same room as an angry mob and a narcissistic queen. Hmmm, she and her husband had a lot in common...

Anyways, after the tour of the palace we met back outside for people to pick up their bags and head home. It was still freezing outside so we tried to leave as soon as possible. Unfortunately because of the weather we opted out of going through the gardens, but we will return again on a sunny day because its just a ride on the metro luckily.

After Versailles, due to the time and the weather, we all just headed home. Marissa and I had dinner with Frederique during which I had trouble paying attention to the French and was therefore very quiet. I was so unresponsive that Frederique even commented and said, "Brittney est morte la-bas!" (Brittney is dead over here!) Haha, oui, exactement. Thankfully she understood that I was tired and didn't press me to answer a lot of questions. It was actually pretty funny because I had to have her repeat her questions for me several times, and more than once I thought we were on a different topic of conversation, but we had been on a new subject for the past few minutes. In any case, the food was delicious, as usual, and Frederique was kind enough to let me go straight to bed after dinner and we didn't linger to chat like we sometimes do after finishing a course.

A Walk in the Park

Monday, May 10, 2010

Day 12

I can't believe we're on day 12 already! It feels both like I've just arrived and like I've been here forever! Being a Monday we had our weekly class meeting to discuss announcements etc. etc. and to celebrate birthdays and un-birthdays (as a rule we're going to celebrate everyone's birthday while we're in France).

After class I went with Andrea, Meredith and Sarah B. to do the Place de la Concorde Walk. It was a really nice walk because we were able to see a lot of the official residences and offices of the French government and foreign embassies etc. We began the walk on the Champs Elysees, which is the street of a little monument I like to call the Arc de Triomphe, you may have heard of it. We did not, however, go visit the lovely arch, but rather our walk took us onto Avenue de Marigny, where we saw the Palais de l'Elysee and the Theatre Marigny. This theater was designed in 1853 by Garnier (not the hair product), the future architect of the famous Opera. Perhaps less important in terms of history, but nonetheless an interesting fact, we also saw many high-end boutiques with such names as oh, PRADA, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier, to name a few. Quite exciting. Too bad an ugly PRADA suitcase costs 80,000 euros. I wonder what a cute one would cost?! Anyways, that was just an aside. The points of interest on the walk included seeing the residence of the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, which was quite grand and beautiful from what I could see from across the street through the gate--too bad that was next to nil since the whole street is blocked by a cement wall and the gates reach just as high and are surrounded by security. The security look a lot like the British guard the way they stand still and frown. The only difference is I think the frown is natural on the French--they're not the most smiley of people. Although please do not mistake my meaning, I do not mean to say that they are an unhappy, unwelcoming, meanspirited bunch, but merely that they do not express themselves in the same way Americans do.

For example, if you were to say, ride the metro for half and hour, you would hard-pressed to find a smile or friendly face while sitting and making occasional eye contact with those who share your car. It is also likely that you will be sitting in silence, unless you happen to bring along a friend with whom you can annoy the rest of the car with your obnoxious American habits of speaking and laughing boisterously. This is because the French are in general a more quiet and reserved people, at least when it comes to riding a metro and walking down the street. When I rode the train this morning to meet my class I was surprised when I heard a couple chatting and laughing behind me. They were speaking French I think but perhaps they were foreigners, because I remember looking at my roommate sitting across from me and commenting on the unusual scene. "Look Marissa!" Said I, "They are people on the metro who are actually talking!...And they're smiling too. I think they actually like each other!" It was quite funny and we shared a subdued chuckle (in order to maintain our facade as veritable French students, instead of giving ourselves away as noisy American tourists pretending to study in their spare time). But I digress...

As we continued on our walk we saw the two most exclusive hotels in Paris--Hotel Faubourg and, the most exclusive and expensive, Hotel de Crillon, which was originally the residence of four noblemen. I don't remember the exact prices but the simplest available room was offered at around $700 per night but it went up and up from there. In addition to its pomp, the hotel is notable as one of the original constructions on the square and as the place where Benjamin Franklin signed a treaty with Louis XVI in 1778. The hotel is located at the Place de la Concorde where a huge Egyptian obelisk stands tall in the middle of the circular intersection. Construction first began on the square in 1757 to honor Louis XV, by the royal architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel. Originally there was a moat around the square with only four entrances over the four bridges, one on each of the main axes. It took twenty years to build and was originally named Place Louis XV. Later the name was changed to Place de la Revolution and the guillotine was placed in the middle of the square where over a thousand lives, including that of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as well as Danton and Robespierre. The obelisk, which is over 3,000 years old, comes from the ruins of Luxor, an ancient city along the Nile, and was a gift from Mohammed Ali, the Egyptian governor, to Charles X in 1829. It now stands in the square where the guillotine once did. It's an interesting melange of old and older, albeit a common theme throughout Paris. What struck me most was the combination and proximity of several different types of buildings and structures, including the prestigious Hotel de Crillon, the American embassy and consulate, other foreign embassies and residences, the Champs-Elysee, the Tuileries Garden, a palace-converted-into-museum-Louvre all encircling a square that was the center of Robespierre's Reign of Terror, and where the man himself met the same fate as his thousands of victims, which is marked by a striking 3,000 year old Egyptian obelisk. But I guess that's France for you.

We walked around the Place de la Concorde, which also features a big fountain that you might recognize from the movie The Devil Wears Prada from the scene at the end when Anne Hathaway throws her phone away into a fountain--yes, that is the same fountain. Anyways, after being touristy and taking pictures of the famous movie fountain and Egyptian obelisk, we went through the Tuileries Garden which rests in front of the Musee du Louvre. The name "Tuileries" means "tile works" because of the local clay used to make tuiles (tiles). The gardens have been part of the Palais du Louvre and the Palais des Tuileries since around 1564. In 1762 Louis XIV and his family fled through the gardens to escape the revolutionaries. The park is really pretty, and I especially like the statues that are placed throughout. It gives the whole place a very romantic feel, and it gives me the urge to put on an old-fashioned dress and walk around with a parasol in one hand and a classic in the other. But then again, I always want to dress up, so maybe that's not so indicative of the park's overall evocations.

As we were walking past the Louvre I saw down one of its long halls a couple who were getting their wedding pictures taken. It was really beautiful so of course I had to take a picture of them. And I have to say they looked really good. Kudos to them for picking such a prime venue for taking their marriage photos. I wonder if they actually got married at the Louvre. Can you do that? I guess if you had money you could. Another reason to add to my list of why I want to marry rich...in order to take wedding pictures at the Louvre. Done.

From the Louvre we took the metro to boulevard Raspail to begin our second walk of the day, "Time Travel, Tricks, And Treats Around Saint-Sulpice." Sounds exciting huh? Well, this walk consisted of a lot of general architecture as well as the Saint-Sulpice church which is actually the second largest church in Paris after Notre Dame. The architecture was fairly interesting, although its really just the stories behind it that capture attention. The first thing of note on the walk was the Hotel Lutetia, a four-star hotel that was built in 1910 and housed famous guests including Picasso, Matisse, Andre Gide, and Josephine Baker. Charles de Gaulle (the president of France during WWII) also chose the Lutetia for his honeymoon. The nicest suite costs 2,500 euros per night!

As we continued along we walked by various historical buildings, which is basically inevitable as everything in Paris is historic, including some apartments that dated back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The thing that is cool about seeing all these buildings is not just how old they are, but how Paris has grown up and around them to such a degree that its sometimes difficult to see where one piece of history ends and another begins. Several different centuries of architecture and history can be represented down just one street. Who knows how many famous people in history have walked down these same cobble stoned streets?

Another fun part of the walk was seeing the most famous boulangerie in Paris called Poilane. Its breads are works of art! We didn't go in because everything was tres expensive, but from the window we could see all the different varieties and designs and it was quite impressive. In addition to seeing Poilane's we also went into Paris' famous patisserie, Pierre Herme, which has some beautiful displays of chocolates, tartes and pastries. I bought a simple almond bread..thing...that was basically just light sweet bread with almonds on top. It was good, but when we ran in Giles later I tried his chocolate passionfruit macaron from there and it was DIVINE. It was so good! You take a bite and taste chocolate, which in and of itself is quite deliciously satisfying. But THEN it hits you and your mouth is awakened by the surprising tang of the sweet passionfruit, and you are hooked. The combination of chocolate and passionfruit flavors was surprisingly appealing and one that I look forward to experiencing again in the near future...and I didn't even think I liked macarons! But I was young and naive then...

After ogling at the amazing display of equal part food and art , we then went and visited the Saint-Sulpice Church. The outside wasn't as impressive as I know it usually must be because half of it was covered by construction (they're currently restoring it) but the inside was magnificent! I really liked the domes and arches that helped to both soften and lighten the feel of the church. Another thing I was impressed with was the artwork displayed there. There were some amazing frescoes, paintings and sculptures along the walls and in the little chapel alcoves that dated back centuries, but still maintained their poignant beauty. Another detail I loved about Saint-Sulpice was the different verses carved into the walls at each chapel. The verses themselves were beautiful but they were also written in French, of course, and for some reason French just makes everything sound eloquent and lovely. It really is one of the most beautiful languages in the world, and I don't mean that in a biased way. It just is. One verse I particularly liked was from Isaiah: "Vraiment c'etait nos souffrances qu'il portait et nos douleurs dont il s'etait charge." The translation in the KJV is Isaiah 53:5 "Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows..." And while I like it in KJV I think it is in some ways more poignant in the French version.

After spending some time in Saint-Sulpice we then proceeded to get a bit turned around and we ended up walking in a circle--twice--until we finally found the little garden park we were looking for (where we ran into Giles, Anne, Ashley and Caitlin....I think that was everyone...). After talking for a bit about our adventures that day, and trying Giles' amazing macaron from heaven, also known as Herme's, we took the metro back to the institute building where we waited for La Soiree Familiale (or Family Home Evening). While we were waiting we met a boy whose name I can't pronounce and therefore can't spell (although it sounded a bit like a French pronunciation of Algernon) who was very nice and talked with us in French for a while. Then we went to FHE where there was a large group of us (perhaps around 30 or so) and had a lesson taught by the Italian missionary, who I am in love with and will someday marry, and then a hand slapping game we also play in America. The best part? It was all in French and I understood! Yay! Now if only I could speak back, and therein lies the rub.

After mingling and eating afterwards (see, the church really is true!) we headed home in the rain (ick!). I got back around 10pm and was so tired that I went to bed pretty soon after that, hence the late blog entry. But we just move on to bigger and better things the next day!