back in ny

Mes chers amis - je suis retournee!! After a small mishap on the way to Charles de Gaulle and a short layover at Heathrow (which, fortunately, did not eat my luggage this time around), I am now snug in my bed in Nopo. I haven't seen it in the daylight yet, but it doesn't seem to have changed much. It is strange to be home. I already had a craving for a baguette and Nutella...I have a feeling this summer (semester, year...) will be rather dull after my European adventuring and French lifestyle. Ah, well, for the moment I am jetlagged and would like to sleep before I become more so. I hope you all are doing well and I will probably see some of you soon! Bisous!

second to last day

So I thought I would walk around Paris today after taking care of some pre-packing things. I took care of all my recycling (papers, water bottles, wine bottles, Nutella pots...) that had been building up all semester - it was a LOT. I did some laundry and started organizing my clothes. After that, I planned to do a last shopping trip and walk around some of my most-frequented places, like the St Germain area and the Marais, maybe get some falafel, a crepe or some ice cream, and finish up in the Luxembourg garden.

Well, it's almost 4pm and I've just finished all my chores, I still have to drop off my library books at AUP, and my shopping areas will now be full of people :( I guess I'll go tomorrow and deal with the tourists/other people swarming around. I think I'll still take care of the AUP books, but I don't think I'll have time to do much else. I have to go look for Renee's camera (again) and then I have plans to go out with Aurelien tonight.

A bunch of my friends have left the last couple of days, and it's been a little sad. Two of my closest friends here and I went out a couple of nights ago for the last time: we went up to Montmartre to walk around and go to this famed little fondue place, then we sat under the Eiffel Tower together until it turned off. The restaurant is really fun and interesting (and delicious, of course) because it's this little building with just 2 communal tables where everyone sits and shares fondue dishes. As soon as you go in they give you an apertif and small dish of tapas-style appetizers (free) then when you get the fondue they give you wine in a baby bottle.

We hung around talking to other people in the restaurant for a while and didn't wind up leaving Montmartre until about 11:45pm, but decided to go to the Eiffel Tower anyway. They light the Tower up at night - it has a bunch of lights and a search-beam type thing, and then on every hour it sparkles for 10 minutes. So we walked around the gardens and sat under it until it turned off, got some gelato and went home (my only cab ride of the semester!). It was fun, but sad because I won't see them anymore.

Tomorrow during the day I'll probably walk around and pick up some stuff I'd like to bring home, but at night I guess I'll have to pack. My flight is at 5:15pm on Sunday, so I won't have a ton of time to finish things that day. And for those of you who will be lost without my little blog here, I will continue for a bit after I get back; I have to finish talking about Italy, and don't think I've forgotten about the Eastern Europe trip! And maybe I'll also discuss a little bit about going back, I'm not sure.

i lost my camera!

My French oral exam went pretty well! I'm glad. We had to draw readings at random to talk about, but I got lucky because I drew a card that said I could pick myself. I chose to discuss Le Petit Prince, so it was good. (except that I forgot how to say "they sit" in subjunctive, sigh)

Natasha is gone and it is nice out again. Typical. Later today I'm going to go to La Defense, maybe, and tomorrow I'll go to Versailles. And start packing, ahh! I can't believe I only have a few days left, that's so depressing. Last night I went out with some friends from my Sorbonne class who are leaving today and they brought 2 girls in their program who just got to Paris and are here for the summer. I was so jealous of them!

Anyway, my wireless is down - not sure why, but we'll see if I can fix it at some point - so I won't be around as much.

our time is running short

My friend Natasha has been here in Paris for the last few days, and I've been staying with her at her hotel near the Eiffel Tower. She's not actually a big fan of Paris and it's raining a lot, so we mostly have been sitting in cafes and pseudo shopping. She leaves tonight, so I'll be able to update more.

I had the written part of my French exam on Saturday and it went very well, I thought. Based on the practice exams we saw it was average difficulty, but I was particularly pleased with the essay topic (what role does reading play in your life and what do you read). Of course, I realized I did make a few mistakes: I wrote "sa elegance" (stupid mistake!!!) and I couldn't think of the opposite of "qualities" even in English.

Anyway, in about an hour I have the oral part of the exam. I should leave to go meet Dmitriy, actually. A bientot!

why aren't i sleeping?

I guess because I (again) missed the last Metro and had to walk home. This time, though, it was only from Aurelien's, which is just 4 stops away and one road the whole way. It was about 50 minutes. I really should stop doing this. Though I've never had any problems it's really not the safest thing to do; Aurelien was highly unconvinced when I told him it was perfectly fine.

But going there I got possibly the best reaction to saying I'm American: a guy was advertising for some sort of improv theater and after talking for a bit I said I was American (he had assumed I was British) and he immediately asked, "Are you a Puritan?"

sorry...

...for the lack of updating as promised. Turns out I was [am] actually sick and now I'm starting to study for my final on Saturday. So probably no updates for a couple of days unless I need an extended break!

italy updating...

I've finished going through my Milan pics, look for an entry (or a few) tomorrow! I feel rather icky because of my allergies..I hope I'm not actually getting sick again

st jean de luz

For our final day, Sunday, we took a very early train out to St Jean de Luz, and got there around 7:15am. Perhaps you can imagine what a small French town looked like at 7:15am on a holiday Sunday: completely uninhabited. This was good in a way, as we got pics of the town without people in the streets and such (though I have not gotten those yet) but at the same time, we could not even find a place to eat. We walked through pretty much the whole town - it didn't take long - and took note of some shops we wanted to visit and places we might go.

The whole reason we went to St Jean de Luz, however, was to go up a nearby mountain on a train Holly recommended, and at the top there is an even smaller, more Basque town peopled mostly by shepherds. She said they are really friendly and will hang out with tourists and drink beer. However, since it was Pentecost, the trains were not running often and the schedules did not work out in our favor. At first we were really disappointed by this, but when we saw how cool the town was, it was okay.

St Jean de Luz is a small, very old beach town that is both gorgeous and quaint. It has a medieval look, and yet it is a type of medieval I was completely unfamiliar with: it did not feel like France, Spain, or even Italy or Germany, but something distinct. Basque, I suppose. Nearly all the buildings had red and green - Basque colors - prominently incorporated in the architecture, and again there was that strange, almost German style. You can also see the typically Basque geometric embellishments on most buildings.

The town used to be more important than it is now, because it was a convenient port. Louis XIV (Versailles, Sun King) got married to Maria Theresa of Spain here, as it is really close to the Spanish border. The house he stayed in still has some of its rooms set up as they were when he was there, and it is a neat little museum. The composer Ravel also grew up there.

So after checking out the town for a while we saw things slowly start to open; we were particularly interested in a market we had seen earlier. We decided rather than finding a boulangerie or something for breakfast we'd go through the market, grab a feast of traditional Basque food, and have a picnic on the beach. All the vendors were really nice when we asked them about the crazy-sounding Basque dishes, and I got many compliments on my French. Our feast consisted of: 2 types of paella (one that had a lot of whole sea animals in it), 2 types of Basque cheese (delicious!), bread, a type of potato salad, a veal salad-thing, mini gateaux Basque in both plain and the traditional black cherry flavor (a dessert, sort of like a cross between pound cake and cheesecake, something I can't remember! and some Basque wine. My friend took pics of all the food; when I get them I'll put them up.

By the time we finished our brunch-feast, everything was pretty much open. Walking back into the center we couldn't believe it was the same town: the streets were filled with people, the cafes crowded, and vendors had set up their wares on the sidewalks. It was also gorgeous by then, so we were content to just stroll around. I really wanted to see the cathedral where Louis XIV was married, so we made our way there. As we rounded the corner there were suddenly hordes of people lined up, waiting and watching the cathedral entrance, and lots of little girls dressed up in outfits similar to those flamenco dancers wear.

We were thoroughly confused for a few minutes until I started to listen to the music coming from the cathedral. It was a Latin prayer set to contemporary gospel-meets-Spain music; I realized this was all part of the Pentecost celebration. The French are big on Pentecost, I'm not sure why. Anyway, a few minutes later we saw a parade wind its way through the main road, with people in traditional costumes (big red dresses with large ruffles, suits with swords) riding horses and girls and women doing little dances in the street. It was really entertaining, but there were so many people we decided to walk along the beach instead, to a very green hill we had seen before. You can kind of see what I mean in this picture:


So we ambled along the coast, stopping at the curious "Festival of Pubs", and climbed the hill. It was a green I've only seen in Ireland and had amazing views of the harbor.



The grass was so enticing that I took a while just chilling out on the side of the hill (I was not actually sleeping - this is mostly to emphasize the peacefulness of the whole area)



And we had some fun taking pseudo-artsy shots


But by the time we came back down it was time to catch our train back to Paris. It was a REALLY long train ride, about 6.5 hours, and I had a final the next day. But it was such a great trip it was worth it to spend the weekend there!

bayonne

To continue my adventure from last weekend...

We (predictably) slept later in Bordeaux than we should have and had to change our plans around a little. We took an afternoon train to Bayonne, only about an hour away, but things were starting to close when we got there.

Bayonne is the capital of the French Basque region, and is known for its nearby beaches and its chocolate. It's a small town, but a little bigger than I expected, and its whole feel surprised me a little: my friend aptly described it as "Strasbourg meets New Orleans." The architecture, anyway, shows this pretty clearly. Most buildings have similar structure and coloring as those in Strasbourg with that pseudo-German feel, but there are some modifications that seem a lot more modern.


The streets are small, medieval, windy and cobblestoney, but the people are much more open and lively than in Strasbourg.

That cathedral in the background is St Marie; it's large but not a particularly lovely or interesting church.



Again, in Bayonne there aren't exactly a lot of things to visit, but we were mostly interested in getting the feel of the town, to see if it was different from the rest of France. It wasn't, much, just perhaps more friendly, but it definitely has a sense of independence. Also, everything is written in French, Spanish and Basque - not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily the same order every time. Here is a picture of a street sign with all the languages, then one of a menu in Basque, so you can see how the words are put together. It's kind of a crazy language.



So we wandered around the city and looked in a lot of shops dedicated to typical types of goods and food of the area. We sampled chocolates (with red pepper, another specialty of the region), apple cider, a few cheeses, and some wine. We also went into a couple kitschy souvenir stores that had traditional Basque berets, flags and other things.

There were little plaques around the town talking about the history, and some of them were rather interesting: for example, the medieval walls that can still be seen around parts of the city are not exactly the city limits, as most are, but rather were built because there was a leper colony outside the city. It was raining on and off while we were there, so my pictures came out rather grey, but it was very pretty and quaint overall.

bordeaux

Finally, updating my travel stories! I don't have any pics of Bordeaux, but I just finished the ones from the Pays Basque.

My friend and I didn't actually do too much in Bordeaux, as most of the activities there have to do with long wine tours just outside of the city. We didn't have the money or time to do those, so we mostly just walked around.

On the way down (around a 3.5 hour train ride) we sat across from a French guy about our age who seemed mildly interested in listening to us, though it didn't seem like he understood much. He was wearing a Mets hat and I was curious about it, so after a while I asked if he was a fan. He said a friend who lives in New York gave it to him, but he's never been there himself. But, he added, next year his company (the Societe Generale) will be sending him to live there for a couple of years. He turned out to be from Bayonne, a city in the Basque region we were about to visit. So he was interested in what I had to say about New York, and he gave us advice about what to do in Bordeaux and the Pays Basque.

The three of us (including Julien, this French guy) got off the train at a station next to Bordeaux, but there was some sort of transportation strike that would make it difficult to get into the city. He explained this and said his sister was picking him up from there and could drive us, too. (Okay, so that sounds sketchy, but he had been very helpful and informative so we decided it was okay to go with him.) She was just as nice as him and drove us to our hostel, and even invited us out with her friends later.

After leaving them we walked to the city center and scouted out places to do wine tasting and get food. Bordeaux has very few boulangeries and patisseries - shops where you get fresh bread, pastries, sandwiches, etc, where we eat most of the time - but an abundance of wine bars. So while it was a challenge finding real food, we got plenty of wine tasting opportunities. We decided probably the people in Bordeaux drink wine all day instead of eating.

The city is very 18th century, packed with elegant and stately brownstones with small wrought-iron balconies and laid out in wide avenues and lots of circles. Most parks and squares have Neo-Classical designs, particularly the area around the town hall. I can't think of an area of NYC to compare it to (sort of like around Columbus Circle, I guess) but for those of you who know Paris, most of Bordeaux resembles the areas of Trocadero or the Ecole Militaire/Invalides.

There is a cathedral in the middle of the city that seemed like your typical late Gothic structure, but it turned out to be very strangely set up and slightly traumatizing for someone who has been studying church architecture. We saw it from far away and noted the two towers sticking up over the buildings of the town. Nothing unusual in that. So we walked towards it and eventually could see the normal-looking facade with the traditional three doors, biggest in the middle, and the portals above them...everything was fine until I noticed that the cross shape seemed off. Normally churches are set up in a cross pattern, and the main entrance is at the bottom of it, so you walk through the longest portion and up to the transept, where the lines cross each other. Sometimes in redoing the entrances, they will make you go through one of the small doors on the short arms of the cross, but the original main entrance is always at the bottom.

This one, however, has its real main entrance - towers, portals, everything - on the left arm of the cross. What?! I walked around to the bottom to see if a change was made to the original layout, and indeed there was evidence that there used to be a door there, but nothing indicating any towers or main portal there. This cathedral is lopsided. The inside was really pretty, actually, but I was very distracted by its outside craziness. All this fuss probably seems like I'm overreacting, but it was WEIRD.

Soon after leaving the cathedral we got a text from Charlotte, the girl who drove us into the city, saying she'd pick us up in 20 minutes. Oops. We had to book it back to our hostel an change quickly before she arrived. She took us to her apartment (very large for a student apartment!), where there were probably 15 other students, her friends. They were all extremely nice and excited to meet us, but hardly any spoke English at all. One guy insisted he spoke well but actually was worse than most Parisians I meet. Another girl had an incredible accent (she sounds British, one would hardly know from her accent that she was French) but a very limited vocabulary.

It was a typical college-type hang out session - with a bunch of people just sitting around talking and listening to music - except the food. The French equivalent of college snacky food is little handmade pizzas, baguettes with a vast selection of cheese, crab, and other random food one would probably never see in an American student's apartment (unless it's me or Carol, I suppose!)

Anyway, all the students were really interesting and cool. The Universite de Bordeaux is the largest campus in France, so I suppose the most diverse, too. They were all eager to discuss politics, language, and cultural differences between the U.S. and France with us, and ask questions about student life in the U.S. We even met a couple of guys from Guinea who are studying there; they were particularly interesting to talk to, and it made me happy to be able to talk with people whom I certainly wouldn't have been able to without French.

Unfortunately my allergies had been bad that week since things had started blooming, and without tissues an such I was fast becoming a mess. Around 2 we went to a club with them but I had to leave soon after, although they tried to convince us to stay out until 4 with them. It was a really good time, and definitely worth giving up some sightseeing time, as we actually made a bunch of interesting French friends.

hm..

So I did probably not the smartest thing today. I walked approximately 5.3 km (3.3 miles) from just beyond the Place de la Republique to where I live. I was surprised at how easy it was to find my way; I was definitely expecting to get lost. Anyway, I was walking in about 2" wooden heels and my feet hurt a lot. I don't think I'll be going to Versailles with my friends tomorrow [today], but I will sleep.

I will never, ever understand why any Metros ever close. Why?! There are always people who need to get places, no matter what the time.

Today I did the catacombs, Notre Dame, and the Luxembourg gardens, the Place de la Concorde/Champs Elysees, and helped my friend sear for her camera, which she left in a kebab place last night. I gave a French lesson and many history lessons. Then we went out with one of my friends to complete the day. Needless to say, I am quite tired. We'll see if I can make the Bastille market tomorrow. A bientot!

yay for comments!

Bonjour mes amis! Wow, I was not expecting so much commenting! But thanks, I love it, it makes me feel good about writing this! I especially love the ones in French :) This will inspire me to update more frequently (I hope!)

Okay, so I have a couple of visitors for the weekend, two friends from Ithaca who were studying in London this semester. Now they're backpacking across Europe for a month, even to a few places I've never been! Paris is their first stop, and neither of them have been to France before. I'm excited to be giving them the grand tour as I'm eager to see their first reactions to all the sites!

They came yesterday evening when most things were closing, but the Louvre is free for students of Friday nights, so I took them there to explore for a couple of hours. I had a rendez-vous avec un francais that I almost forgot about, but I sent them off with directions to the Eiffel Tower and back to their hostel. (One of their goals was to see the Eiffel Tower at night.) They're lucky because today all the municipal museums are free!

She called me today with their list of things to see and turns out they really want to go to the catacombs...which of course I have no problem doing twice in one week! They also want to see Napoleon's tomb (in Invalides), Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur and maybe Pere Lachaise today, because tomorrow they want to spend most of the day at Versailles. Eeee. Ah well, I'll get a quick refresher on both Paris tourist traps and avoiding gypsies! And of course I have to think about the best cafes, where they can get good French-type food that isn't too expensive. Not hard around Notre Dame, I guess, but what if they're hungry as we're on the Champs-Elysees? I got permission from Aurelien to roll my eyes and go, "Tourists!" because I'm apparently now "almost French." (Aurelien, who insists, by the way, that he was not a tourist in NYC, but rather a "traveller" ["voyageur"])

I'm continuing to work on the pics, but there are soo many! Right now the Basque pics are looking easier, as I only had batteries in Bayonne and have a total of about 40 pics.

also, catacombs!

I went to the catacombs today and it was one of the coolest, most interesting things I've seen here. You go down an endless little spiral staircase and come out in a maze of stone hallways, see where it used to be a quarry and read a series of signs describing the history of the place. But then all of a sudden you turn a corner into another set of narrow stone hallways and come face-to-face with a seemingly infinite number of skulls and other bones set into the walls in meticulous patterns. (Too many adjectives? Too long? Sorry.) The contrast between the skulls and joint bones create unmistakable designs, and the people who organized them obviously did so with great care. Mostly the patterns are geometric, but sometimes you come across a series laid out in the shape of a heart or cross. Only a small part of the catacombs are accessible to the public, but even just seeing that part I couldn't help but wonder how many bodies are there. The skulls offer a vague estimate I suppose, but I couldn't even begin to guess how many skulls I saw there. It's creepy, but in a really interesting way.

A brief history lesson just to put things in context a little: the catacombs of Paris were not originally set up to house bodies/skeletons, but they were first just a series of quarries beneath the city. In the mid to late 1700's two serious circumstances cropped up in the city, and the establishment of the catacombs was a way to fix both. First, the quarries had grown so much that large portions of the city rested on virtually nothing, and buildings started falling in. Second, the cemetery grounds had reached their saturation point and heavy rains brought up rotting (but not decomposing, because the ground couldn't take any more) bodies. There was no other place to bury people in the city, so a place for the old bodies had to be found. What they decided to do was undertake a project to reinforce the quarry walls and store the bodies in a respectful way. Since the majority of the skeletons were anonymous and there was no way to preserve them all during transportation, they took apart all the skeletons and set them in patterns in the quarry walls.

Over the next hundred years several cemeteries in Paris were retaken and all the bodies exhumed; they went to the catacombs with the others. Now there are only 3 or 4 major cemeteries in the city (Pere Lachaise, Montparnasse, Montmartre..and I forget) because nearly all of the small church ones have been transferred to the catacombs.

Possibly the most exciting thing about them - and something I did not know before! - is that almost all the Revolutionary leaders' bodies are there! They are anonymous, of course, but it is certain that's where they are! Robespierre, Danton, St Just (my namesake), Desmoulins...all of the guys. Also the Princesse de Lamballe and some other early victims of the Terror were transferred there. I surreptitiously checked out a bunch of skulls as if hoping to find "ROBESPIERRE" or "ANGEL OF DEATH" printed on one, but no such luck.

My lucky mother got a more extensive tour of the catacombs many years ago and I believe got to see some parts not open to the public. She might be able to add something interesting. (hint!)

beginning of the end

These are my last days in Paris, and though that is sad to think about I've been having a great time wandering the city in springtime. I try to go someplace newish every day; I want to get to some of the outer areas soon, like La Defense. It's been gorgeous here and I want to take advantage of that while it lasts!

It's strange to think of going home, and things that will be going on when I go home. My friends are all mostly done with class by now and many are back in Nopo already; the IC kids are going to Turkey soon (I can't believe it's been 2 years since I did that!); I have to start thinking about how to lose my Nutella weight (hee) before the wedding in August; I have a new baby niece. But mostly I have to think about how to say goodbye to France.

Today a couple friends and I discovered a very cool, very local market right next to our RER stop. We never even knew it was there! I picked up some strawberries and pesto gnocchi, but I have my eye on a store that sells all kinds of honey products - yum! I still have to get to Versailles and Reims (daytrips), and I haven't explored much of the northern part of the city.

And even though my time here is almost done I would still like to remind everyone that I greatly appreciate comments! It makes me feel like I'm writing this for a purpose, and not just to babble into cyberspace.

For fun, some of my favorite things recently:
TV: Gossip Girl (very guilty pleasure!)
Music: Saint-Saens; also, "Three Wishes" by The Pierces (taken from Gossip Girl)
YouTube: Draco Malfoy sings with a slightly out of tune guitar (ah, reminds me of my advanced Music Comp days!)
Books: the letters of Ablard and Heloise (couldn't find them in Pere Lachaise :( )
Spanish food: a chorizo dish named after Dante's Inferno :)

update

I've gone through about 250/1000 pics so far, but I don't even have the Milan ones all done. When I do I will post a thing on that and continuing as I finish.

Today is Victoire in France, celebrating victory in WWII, so it is a holiday. I don't have class and it is absolutely GORGEOUS out so I walked around Paris. A friend and I went to Pere Lachaise cemetery, which was really interesting, and walked around Montmartre a little. It is still 77 degrees out! And everything is blooming and pretty...sigh, I love Paris!

Tomorrow I am taking a little trip to Bordeaux with another friend. It should be really nice...we are going to do a short wine tasting course (yes, I know, Mother, I am a wino), visit the vineyards, explore the city, then do a day in the Basque region. French Basques are not as militant as Spanish, and mostly they just enjoy their own culture without making a fuss. The countryside there is really beautiful and we are going to take a train up a mountain near the Pyrenees. Since we didn't know much about the area we talked to Holly and she recommended a bunch of things to do that are off the beaten tourist path (not that many tourists go to the Pays Basque).

These are my last few weeks in Paris! I'm sad. But the next 2 weeks friends are coming to visit, so that should be nice. With one it is her first time to Paris so I guess I'll be doing all the touristy stuff I haven't done this semester - like going up the Eiffel Tower, etc. Anyway, updates on that later.

back in paris

Sorry I didn't get to write at all in Venice; I got distracted by things, I'm sure you understand.

Anyway, for a brief rundown of the rest of my trip: on Friday in Ferrara I met a bunch of cool students who I hung out with that night and some of Saturday. They were 4 Spanish and 1 Lithuanian studying abroad there and they showed me around. It was really interesting to see typical student life in Italy! (which is just about the same thing)

Then I left for Venice a bit later than expected and just explored and wandered around. I didn't have much time there to write, but I took a ton of pictures! Right now they are uploading, and it's on 240 of 1067 pictures. I'll put them up later.

something i wrote about an hour ago

I'm sitting beneath the Castello d'Este in Ferrara, on one of the protective walls around the moat. It's 9pm, gorgeous out, not quite dark but getting there. The moat is rippling a little in the breeze and it makes the castle's reflection a bit ghostly.

The castle is really quite impressive: it's huge and brick with four towers, and all the windows have rich red curtains. It doesn't seem to have changed much since it was built in the 14th century, but I suppose I'll find out when I go there tomorrow.

I'm writing this now because it's so beautiful out and I don't want to go back to the hostel yet. Despite the passing people and cars, and the implications of the castle itself, it's a very peaceful scene.

There is a very small church across from where I'm sitting, but I don't think it's the d'Este one; earlier today I visited the little convent church where Lucrezia Borgia, along with others, is buried, but it wasn't open. Tomorrow.

It would be nice to be the curator of a place like this castle. Not a museum; I'd rather be in a monument, a place where history occured and the evidence is all around.

It's getting a little chilly so I think I'll go. It's just so peaceful I don't want to.

the greatest place ever

That would be Ravenna. The town itself isn't great, but whatever problems it has, it's worth it for the amazingness that is the history and art here. The Basilica San Vitale is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in my life. If I didn't have to eat, sleep, etc, I would stay there forever. I can't even put into words how much I love it.

There are a bunch of other sites here, and most are also great; they're mostly churches so I won't bore with the details until I can get back and show pictures. Dante is also buried here, but I'll go to his tomb tomorrow.

Before I left Bologna I met an interesting Brazilian guy, and I told him about Ravenna. He's here to get his Italian citizenship, so mostly he's just hanging around without much to do. Anyway, he was really interested in the town - he likes Byzantine history and even knows about the Nika Revolt! - and he's coming here in a bit to see all the sites.

Last night I shared a room here with two French girls, cousins, who were traveling a bit in Italy. One is an archeology student so she was just as interested in everything as I was; it was cool. We all went to the sites together today, and we only spoke French! Their English is not very good and I figured it would be a good opportunity to practice everyday French with real people. I did pretty well, if I do say so myself: I even succeeded in explaining the implementation of the Nicene Creed! I'm quite pleased with myself.

Anyway, I am getting really tired after a bunch of days of walking around for hours upon hours, all the time. I think I'm going to sleep in tomorrow...maybe to 9am! Exciting. Tomorrow I'm going to one church, Dante's tomb and perhaps revisiting San Vitale, then I go to Ferrara. Everyone's been telling me there's little to see in Ferrara, but they don't understand how much of a nerd I am. I try to explain about the d'Este family, but most don't know them, which leads me to explain about Lucrezia Borgia (she married into the family) which then leads to Cesare Borgia and Machiavelli's "The Prince". At this point people are pleased at recognizing something I just said and tend to think Ferrara is what Machiavelli wrote about..which isn't the case. But then I am tired of explaining things and just say yes, that's why I'm going.

in bologna

And now I am in Bologna! I had a rough time getting to my hostel last night, as apparently a bus only goes there every 2 hours. Very annoying. So I got there too late to go back and do stuff, but I planned all the stuff I'm going to do for the rest of the trip.

Today I walked around for a while and checked out the central Piazza, where there are various palazzi (palaces, but not really - just big houses of important people). There is also the ugliest basilica I've ever seen - from the outside - but the inside is much nicer. Italians just aren't very good at Gothic, I think they're too happy all the time.

I also saw the library of the University of Bologna, which was COOL. The old anatomy classroom was open, and it was really interesting to see where the students used to have class. They have an incredible collection of books from early medieval times on, but the actual library part is only open to readers. There were a bunch of old books on display, though, and that was fun. The ebst part was probably that the whole thing is in a former palazzo, so everything is really decorated - and the areas around the library and classrooms are covered in the coats of arms of prominent teachers and students through the ages!

Besides that I've mostly just hung around the Piazza and taken a bunch of pictures. I'm about to go have lunch, then I'll go to a handful of churches. Most museums in Italy are closed Mondays, so churches and internet cafes are about the only things I can do today! And eat delicious food, of course.

milan

So I am sitting in an Internet cafe in Milan, and I cant find the apostrophe key, I apologize.

Milan is pretty awesome. Its a fairly large city, but feels small and intimate. There are tons of art museums and churches to explore, and Im having a really good time so far! Today I saw the Duomo, which was very large and Gothic, but the inside was not as impressive as it seemed like it would be. It just did not feel like a holy place like other ones do - Notre Dame and Chartres, for example, are swarming with tourists, but still have a sacred feel. There were a lot of interesting things to see though, like a Medici tomb and a bunch of statues and such.

Then I went to the Ambrosiano Museum, which has a truly stunning collection of art, including many da Vinci sketches from the Atlantic Codex, one of his portraits, part of the sketch of Raphaels "School of Athens", some Caravaggio, and Botticellis "Madonna of the Canopy". The latter was most impressive in person, besides the da Vinci sketches, though the Raphael was really cool too. The museum also has a library attached to it which I probably spent about 10 minutes just staring into, but its closed on the weekends.

I also saw the Basilica Ambrogio, Chieze Maria della Grazie and Basilica San Lorenzo. The first, Ambrogio, is Milans oldest church and is really, really intersting. It was started in the 5th century by Ambrose himself (eee!) and even has his remains! Which were kind of gross, as its his entire body still dressed in robes and somewhat preserved. It is bad to take pictures of dead saints? Anyway, its cool and Byzantine and Neoclassic at the same time, smallish, and has tons of hidden mosaics. It was probably my favorite church so far. When I was leaving a flock of nuns came in!

Da Vincis "Last Supper" is in a refectory connected to Chieze Maria della Grazie. I did not find out until I arrived in Milan that you need a reservation at least a week in advance to view the painting. Sad. So I didnt get to see it, but I took lots of pictures of the outside of the refectory (which is a cafeteria for monks - an appropriate place for the "Last Supper"), and the church itself was pretty cute, but weirdly decorated.

San Lorenzo was very impressive from the outside but rather disappointing on the inside. I left it and went into the small courtyard in front and sat and watched the punk kids for a while and tried not to laugh too much at the irony of Goth-punk kids hanging out in front of a church. Then I met a rather nice Italian boy who discussed Italian music with me for a while and then I left him - if he is to be believed, and he isnt - completely heartbroken.

And now Im here, and in a moment I will leave for dinner. Ciao!

can: i think there must have been a delivery problem when u were a baby...

can: u were meant to fall down the chimney in france somewhere.. but somehow ended up in long island

study music

Since I get asked this often enough, I've made up a list of classical music I like to study by: I have a much bigger playlist, but these are my favorites. Maybe I'll do a list of non-classical later.

Durufle’s Requiem – Introit; Kyrie; Agnus Dei; Lux Aeterna; In Paradisum

Chopin – Nocturne in G minor, op. 15, no. 3; Nocturne in F minor; Nocturne for Orchestra; Waltz in A minor, op. 34, no. 2; Nocturne in C sharp minor, no. 20, Post – even better if arranged for violin and piano

Eric Whitacre – Five Hebrew Love Songs; October; Sing Me to Heaven; I Thank You God for This Most Amazing Day

Mozart – Ach, Ich Füssls (The Magic Flute); Overture, Canzonetta sull’aria, Dove Sono (The Marriage of Figaro)

Bach - Fürchte Dich Nicht, a motet

Saint-Saëns – Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah; Cello Concerto in A minor, op. 33, Allegro non troppo

Debussy – Nuages; 1^st Arabesque for piano; Prélude à l’Après-Midi d’un Faune; Danses pour Harpe et Orchestre – Danse Sacrée

Fauré – Cantique de Jean Racine, op. 11; Pavane, op. 50

Tchaikovsky – Symphony Pathétique (no. 6), Finale, Andante

Samuel Barber – Agnus Dei

Verdi – Va, Pensiero (Nabucco) – actually that one distracts me a little

Bizet – Intermezzo, Carmen suite no. 1

11:57am [yesterday]: Awake and showered. I’m going to finish the articles and books from yesterday then head back to the library. It’s noon and almost 60 degrees! Good job, Paris…just don’t rain.

12:26pm: Rain.

12:52pm: Just used the word “besmirch” in my notes not because it was in the text, but because I couldn’t think of a less pretentious word to use to summarize.

12:56pm: Temperature going down! Nooo!

1:04pm: Yes, this article is great! Just what I need AND argues with another article I have. Now I just need to find a way to say both Mayan and Aztec customs are relevant…

2:03pm: I just realized that if the photocopying machines in the library aren’t working, I’ll have to actually take out all the books I need and bring them home, even if it’s just for a few pages. It’s bad enough taking my laptop there, but if I’m also going to be hauling around 7-8 more books, I don’t think I can fit them all. I could take 2 bags, I guess. Or I could go to the library, print the articles I need, take out the books, and bring them all back to work on here. The problem with that is I would probably waste more time here. But then again, I do have consistent internet access. And then I could get enough food for today, too…hmm

4:42pm: Just got back from the library and found out I have a niece! Interesting. I got a bunch of books and a minimal amount of food (chips, juice, yogurt, granola bars) to last me from now until 3pm tomorrow, I hope.

6:19pm: Took a little eating/relaxing break, but now back to work. Starting to get a little worried.

6:45pm: I do love the cello immensely. If I drink a lot of water will it stop me from getting too hungry?

7:27pm: Old sources for this sort of thing are so weird. Very unPC but they clearly think they’re progressive. This one is describing the “physical types” of the natives and it’s slightly disconcerting. Also, I do not care about ancient weather conditions. Thanks.

7:38pm: “Miles states that Postclassic sculpture lacks artistic merit and shows strong foreign influence.” Harsh, Miles, harsh.

8:03pm: Getting restless with this stupid old book.

8:22pm: Done with it! Now for a light reading break.

8:45pm: And back to work.

9:35pm: mmph…getting a headache. But finally, some stuff to push against in this paper!

3:09am: I really hate when I read an abstract of an article, or the intro or something, and it looks relevant, so I print it out...then it winds up not helping at all. Meh.

3:13am: And when it looks useful and legit, then turns out to be from 1942. Oh well, the novel was written in the 50's...that makes this article practically a primary source! Also, I just can't get enough of the Bacchanale

3:29am: So I know it's a lit paper and I don't actually need primary sources, but would it be acceptable to include both Las Casas' account of the Mexican conquest - from the 1500's - and an anthropologist's view of contemporary Mexican families at the time the novel was written - from the 1950's - as primary sources? My paper has to include both of these time periods to fully analyze how it's developed...hm

3:38am: Okay I know it's an article from the 1950's regarding family values, etc, and I know it's a sociological study, but, ew. I can't read it anymore. I'm not even a feminist and it makes me cringe every other word.

3:44am: Bedtime, I guess. I have 2 more articles from today to read and a few books to go through and I should be through with the factual history part of the paper. Hooray!

not-quite live blogging my paper

Two things: I've realized that when I have papers, finals, etc to work on I eat whatever I want whenever I feel like it. When my mom sends me finals cookies, I take an amount set aside for me and inevitably wind up eating them around 2am, when I start getting hungry. I just finished eating a snack of peanut butter, crackers, and a granola bar. But I could just as easily have done with a chicken caesar wrap from the campus store.. It reminds me of how my [former]roommate and I have a rule that after 11pm, no one is hungry, they're always just thirsty.

Why is it so much cooler to put terms in French? Someone asked me this last semester when Zenon insisted on saying mentalité instead of mentality, and now I'm reading an article where the author differentiates between "materials" and matériels.

library time again

There’s something relaxing about sitting in a library, surrounded by books, going through them, reading bits and pieces, and listening to music. I should be really stressed out right now – I don’t have anything written and little research done – but I’m not. I faced much worse than this at the end of last semester. I’m listening to the “Lux Aeterna” movement of Duruflé’s Requiem taking a little break from reading native accounts of the conquest of Mexico, and it’s all very peaceful.

I suppose I sound a little crazy saying I don’t mind doing this sort of work while I have Paris around me, but it’s really not bad. For the moment. I expect within another 3 hours or so of doing this I’ll start freaking out a little bit.

The AUP library is not that great: it’s only 3 floors, has very few computers and even fewer places to plug in laptops. The catalog isn’t very extensive and I could find very little on what I was looking for. Also my computer won’t connect to the AUP wireless; I’ll have to deal with that tomorrow when I have more time. I’m writing this in Word right now and will post it when I get home to my wireless. There are no closed-off little alcoves where I can sit out of view of passersby and spread out my books, like there are in the Ithaca library.

Those were the places where, at the end of last semester, everyone hung out in a giant group to write papers, research, and provide moral support. Distracted as we were when we were together, it was helpful…mostly it helped to keep us sane, I think. But everyone also bonded quickly and easily (I don’t know if Priyam still reads this, but I hardly even knew her before finals last semester and now she’s one of my very favorites!), and we all had a good time.

I find myself wondering if they’re all doing that this semester – right around now, actually. Maybe it will start in a couple of weeks. And if they do, I wonder if they will miss those of us who left – I think three of us who were regulars in the Library/History Club are abroad this semester. There are some replacements, I understand, but I can’t imagine they’re cooler the originals :)

Anyway, it would be nice to have you guys around at the moment even though I have nothing near the finals load of last semester: I just have this paper, due Monday, a final essay exam in 3 weeks, and then my French final. But just to let you all know I’m thinking about you!

plans for italy

In other news, it's spring break at the Sorbonne! I have that large research paper for AUP due Monday, but after that I'm practically free for two weeks. I'll be leaving for Italy next Friday and going to Milan, Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara and Venice. When most students go on spring break to Italy their main objective is going to beaches, visiting the Colosseum, or riding around the countryside on a Vespa. I, however, have entirely different intentions, and this is why I am going alone. (No one freak out here - it's okay. I consider myself a fairly seasoned traveler at this point and am perfectly capable of looking after myself.) I'm sure I could've found people to come with me to Milan, Venice, probably even Bologna, but it would not turn out to be at all the kind of trip I've been wanting. So here's a rundown of what I plan to do in each city - and anyone who knows Tempesta can blame all this on him, as his descriptions are what made me want to see these places.

Milan - Far from going to loads of fashion shows (although that would be cool, it's not a priority) I will be hitting the main points of interest for historians and artists. My main reasons for going here are that it was (along with Ferrara) the main base for the Sforza family during the Renaissance (so there is an incredible palazzo there), there's a ton of Da Vinci stuff there (including the Last Supper and a library full of his sketches), and La Scala, the Milan opera. I probably won't get to see an opera, but I will certainly tour the house and hang around before/after one. There are also a ton of interesting churches, and I hope to find a mass with Ambrosian chant (as opposed to Gregorian, but I won't get into that). Here's a pic of the sort of ridiculous cathedral, the Duomo, started in 1386 (2nd largest Gothic cathedral in the world, 2nd biggest in Italy only after St. Peter's, 2nd highest - poor Milan):

Bologna - Home to the oldest university in Europe (yes, older than Oxford - this was founded in 1088) and the alumni alone make it a worthy trip for any intellectual: Dante, Petrarch, Thomas Becket, Erasmus and Copernicus all went to the University of Bologna. There are many castles and tons of churches/basilicas for me to geek out on. Also the site of the legendary Guelph/Ghibelline struggles.

Ravenna - Oh, what can I say about Ravenna? So few people have heard of it, and yet it was once the capital of the Western Roman Empire (Justinian moved it there. And everyone knows my deep affection for that inventor of stairs, electricity, and everything). In this very small town there are no less than 8 World Heritage sites, all of them churches/mausoleums/basilicas. It has by far and away the best collection of Byzantine mosaics in the world; they are absolutely incredible. Anyone with an interest in art needs to see them. Dante is buried there.

Ferrara - While not that well-known, anyone who has heard about Italian politics or the Renaissance knows Ferrara. It is the quintessential Renaissance own, with large ducal palaces, squares, and great art. It was the seat of the Sforza family, who were second only the Medicis in terms of art patronage and political power. It is still a walled city and has the feel of that time. Also Lucrezia Borgia is buried there, and I've always had a soft spot for her.

Venice - Okay, this one I don't need to explain much. Canals, Venetian glass, San Marco square...yeah. Also has an incredible early instruments museum.

So looking at my outline I'm sure it's evident why I don't want people with me: who would want to do all the history/art stuff when there's Italian sun to be had? Well, I don't intend to miss out the sun, but this trip is a nerd's fantasy come true.

springtime in paris?

Is a dirty lie. Sure, everyone says Paris is beautiful in the spring, there are many gardens to walk around, and how easy is it to picture French people in berets strolling down the Champs Elysees while everything around them blooms? Well, I've come to the conclusion it's all a big conspiracy: springtime like that does not exist in Paris. In fact, Paris weather is only marginally better than London weather, and everyone knows what a reputation (and it's well-deserved) London has.

The only nice thing about Paris weather in the spring is there are lots of chances to see rainbows. It changes so quickly between rain and sun here that I've seen several in the past couple of weeks.

What else is going on...not much. I haven't been sleeping well. I'm notorious for how restless I am when I sleep, and it's not unusual for me to completely undo the sheets, pillows, and blankets on my bed and even wriggle out of clothes; today I woke up and my comforter was entirely out of the duvet cover, something I've never managed to do before. Sometimes I wonder if I do things like that on purpose while I'm sleeping. Hmm.

I also bought my first junk food. That's right - I have not bought junk food of any sort since I've been here (as real food is generally cheaper and more delicious) but yesterday I picked up a can of Pringles. I'm a little ashamed, but they're so yummy. The packaging makes me wonder, though, what is normally in potato chips that they feel the need to declare on the package that these are "suitable for vegetarians"?

orleans

Okay, so my mother and I spent last Saturday in Chartres, and by the time we left it was pouring and super windy. Luckily for us we got to leave. We had higher hopes for the next day in Orleans, and Paris looked benign enough that morning.

But as soon as we got out of the train in Orleans it began pouring again. And Orleans apparently has some sort of strict rule that nothing useful be open before 2pm (or ever) on a Sunday. I don't actually know if that's true, but I suspect it is.

We were very cold and wet and spent a good deal of the day wandering around trying to find cafes where we could get warm. It did not stop us from going to nearly all of the town's sites, though, even if most were not open. First we tried to go to an old church [not the famous one, another] but it was having mass. On our way back it was actually closed. I have only ever seen a closed Catholic church once in France, and that was earlier in my mom's visit, when La Madeleine was mysteriously closed on a Thursday.

Then we made our way to the church of Ste Croix, the famous one in Orleans. For those who might not know, Orleans main claim to fame is that Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc - aka "the Maid of Orleans") was from that area and it was the city of Orleans that she tried to save when she led the armies against the English. Before going into battle she came here, to Ste Croix, to pray. So the whole town is filled with monuments and museums dedicated to her. Here is the church:

In front of it is a memorial to Jeanne that I really liked. It's a stone block, the front has a relief of her tied to the stake and the sides have a quote and an epitaph: "Elle n’avait passé ses humbles dix neuf ans que de quatre à cinq mois et sa cendre charnelle fût dispersée au vent." ("She didn't even have a humble 19 years, but for four or five months, and her body's ashes were scattered in the wind." Sorry that was sort of bad, but you get the idea. Mom, Emily, someone, feel free to post a better translation in the comments.)

The church is really bright, delicate and pretty inside. It's full of 19th century stained glass, which is really different from medieval glass.

But it was so cold inside that I resorted to warming my hands by the offering candles:

Nothing in Orleans even thinks about opening until 2, so we walked around in vain looking for a tea shop. The town itself is very quirky and medieval, but they really need to stop sleeping in so much on Sundays.

We went to the Museum of Fine Arts, which was nice, the archaeological museum of the area, and the house Jeanne d'Arc stayed in while there. I think it would be a really nice town to visit another time..you know, when it's alive. It's fine to see it from the outside, but there was so much more we wanted to do!

new pics

added to the previous 2 entries. I still have to bother my mother for some of the inside of Chartres, though.

Just for giggles, here's Marie Antoinette's grave (she's the middle on the left):

chartres

There isn't much to do in Chartres besides the cathedral and attractions surrounding it. But of course, those are amazing enough to make me want to go back if I can. It was absolutely incredible and so I'm warning you now that means I will wax historical in this entry. If you want some more info on it here is the Wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Chartres

The town of Chartres stands on what was a sacred Celtic site thousands of years ago; the forests there were used in all kinds of druidic ceremonies. The divinity worshiped there was most likely feminine, and so to convert the population more easily, early Christian missionaries in this area focused on the Virgin Mary more than usual, rather than work more to get the Celts to worship a masculine god. To this day, Mary's presence is felt much more than even than Jesus: the cathedral is "Our Lady of Chartres", and nearly all the famed stained glass and statuary there is about the life and Assumption of Mary. Interestingly, researches realized this connection when they noted that a very early (8th century?) statue of Mary had her eyes closed; this was extremely unusual for the time, but they figured out this was because the original female deity was often depicted with her eyes closed.

The Chartres cathedral has been a site of pilgrimage since the 9th century because it supposedly houses part of the "Sancta Camisia", a tunic that Mary wore. That church burned and the current one was started in 1145, but part of that burned too, so most of it was actually begun in 1195, making the cathedral part Romanesque but mostly early Gothic. It is huge and breathtaking...it's really amazing to step inside.

Going through the door, out of reach of the light grey, cloudy sky, your eyes take several seconds to adjust to the darkness. The first thing I saw was just the vastness of the building, and how open and airy it all seemed, while at the same time it was very imposing. Then I saw the colors shining dimly through the stained glass, then the Neo-classical carved alterpiece and choir screen.

We both got audio tours that were quite interesting, but I was sad we missed the English tour that day: the guy who does them is apparently a foremost authority on Gothic architecture and a great guide. Anyway, inside the cathedral there are several famous pieces: the labyrinth on the floor (many old cathedrals made labyrinth patterns in the floor stones to represent the mysterious path of life), the Black Virgin carved wooden statue, the choir screen, but above all, the stained glass. It is beautiful, and the more you think about it the more astonishing it is that people created it so perfectly.

Here is a picture of the Blue Virgin, though it does no justice to the famous "Chartres blue" color that is found in the glass there...it's so pretty and intense.


As my mother pointed out, today we have the capacity to compare the colors at Chartres with things we see, such as computer-generated images. The colors are seem almost super-saturated they are so intense, and I can only imagine them as something technology could create. But these windows were made about 900 years ago, when no one could picture images like this anywhere but a window. This was literally one of the only places in the world one could go to see something like it.

Outside, of course, the cathedral is carved and decorated in typical Gothic allegory style. It's not as frilly in terms of architecture, but it is covered in stories. Seeing the Christ in Majesty in person was amazing - it's the scene in the middle portal (above the door) of the entrance, and THE example of Gothic decoration, just as Chartres itself is THE example of Gothic architecture.


I took a tour of the crypt (which is not actually a crypt, but the remains of the original church and the site the cathedral was built on) in French, and was proud of myself that I never had to look at the translation. It was cool, but not as fascinating as the cathedral itself. There was a 10th century frieze of Mary and a well where the Vikings used to throw their victims' bodies.

The weather was kind of crappy when we went, but appropriate. The next day in Orleans was much worse...(since we got a rainbow at the end of Chartres!)

my first visitor

My mother was here last week from Weds on, and so I spent a good deal of the time wandering around Paris and the Ile-de-France. Over the weekend we went to Chartres and Orleans but I didn't take my camera since hers is so much better. When I get the pics from her I will put them up here.

While she was in Paris we mostly walked around interesting areas like the Rue de Rivoli (sort of like Paris' Broadway, except fewer theaters and generally a bit classier), the Marais, St. Michel, the Champs-Elysees area, and of course where I live. She found an awesome gargoyle, probably my favorite one she has - she collects them. It's large and heavy and it's a little squatting dragon that's sticking out its tongue. So cute!


I spent a little while worrying about my term paper for Latin American Lit, but my professor decided to push the whole thing back until Monday! Life is good.

The weather was generally bad, but it is gorgeous today. Figures. Out my window the skies are blue with big puffy clouds and it is sunny; three or four days ago, while my mom was here, there was a violent hailstorm.

Hm, what else? I mostly took advantage of her visit to eat good food: I got desserts, some groceries and tried Ethiopian food! Multiple attempts were made to get to Monoprix but it never worked out. Why does everything close so early?! She also bought me a pretty scarf, a necklace and some harp strings for Isabelle, my new/old harp. We saw a slightly underwhelming exhibit in the Petit Palais on Goya's days as an engraver (here's the palais)


and I showed her some of my favorite churches. Such as St Denis (which I've already posted some pics of):



and Ste Clothilde:


Though we didn't do a whole lot in Paris, it's nice to wander around with someone who appreciates the city as much as I do, even after having been here a handful of times. There's so much to love here even aside from the regular tourist sites; just the atmosphere and lifestyle is perfect for me and so intoxicating (well, except the whole closing early thing).

olympic torch

I thought I'd address this, since a lot of people have asked.

I was in class during most of the protesting of the Olympic torch, so I did not actually get to see what when on when it passed. Coming out of my second class, though, I did see a fair amount of people who were clearly coming from the demonstration: one woman, for example, was dressed entirely in Tibetan flags (in the U.S. she would be guilty of disrespecting the flag like 6 times over) and carried one on a pole. Police were more present in the streets than usual, particularly around my AUP class, which is just across the river from where the torch passed.

The thing is, it's the beginning of protest season in France. This sort of thing is really not unusual in Paris, so most people haven't been discussing it. This demonstration was a given; everyone knew there would be a big thing surrounding it. The police, reporters, and spectators were prepared, and most of the protesters did it for attention rather than the traditional rioting for action. Though I must admit it was cool that people went up the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and the Tour Eiffel to put up flags. It was a larger scale, and more active, version of the types of protests one might see in NYC or California or something.

A slightly more annoying and confusing manif[estation, or protest/demonstration thing] that has been going on is one by high schoolers the past week or so. Apparently a law recently passed that cut some funding for public high schools, and the students have taken to the streets. Their travel-between-demonstration-sites time is, unfortunately, right when I'm coming home from my Sorbonne class. And of course any good Parisian student protester knows they must demonstrate in the Place St Michel, where the violent student protests of the '60's were held.

So just as I am getting on the RER to go home, a crowd of 100+ screaming high school kids floods the train, pushing everyone into/out of it and generally acting like a bunch of idiots. They yell not slogans or catch phrases or anything like that...but they just yell. Without words, just noise. For no reason. Their adrenaline gets going and they bust the lights on the train. They occasionally will shriek something like "down with Sarkozy!" But they're not really doing anything. They don't hold their signs high, they don't tell anyone what they're fighting against. I thought all French had an innate sense of revolution, but apparently they need to be taught to do it right; this is not doing it right.

All of these times I have been going home with my friend, who is a formidable 6'3" and extremely irritable as he's trying to quit smoking. While I am a small girl who easily is pushed into the flood of what he calls "the infants", he often threatens to throw them in front of the trains if they touch him. He has a clear accent and his makes them jeer at him..which only makes him more angry. He almost got into a fight with several, but then a bunch of the girls realized he's a fairly good-looking kid and started making eyes at him instead. And of course since he tries to help me stay put - often by grabbing my hand or arm or something so I don't get swept away - they thought I was his girlfriend, and gave me dirty looks.

Their quick preoccupation with some random angry 20 year old shows how weak their protesting really is. Come on, older generation of Frenchies, can't you teach your kids how to do it right?

il y avait une fois...

Once upon a time, a French nobleman decided he wanted to get married. There were three peasant girls in the village who appealed to him, but he couldn't choose between them. He thought about the dilemma for a while, and eventually came up with the bright idea of having them all over for dinner one night so that he could compare them all at the same time.

He had his servants prepare a fabulous feast with many courses, including, of course, one of cheese. One girl carefully cut off all the croûtes (crust, or the rind/mold/other stuff around the outside of some cheeses) of her cheese, making sure not to leave a bit of it. The next girl ate all of the cheese given to her, croûtes and all. The final girl cut off some but did not worry herself with how much was left.

At the end of the meal, the nobleman declared he had chosen the final girl. The first one, he said, was wasteful and would use up all of his money. The second was greedy. But the last one comported herself as a respectable lady, not being overly concerned with the cheese, but rather with the meal as a whole.


I asked Catherine how people know what croûtes to cut off and which to eat. Apparently it's a matter of taste a lot of the time, but if the croûtes are particularly hard people generally cut them off.

really trying to not call this entry "london calling": fail

Okay, so I've been really bad with updating recently. I've been traveling a lot and when I'm here in Paris I have to catch up on what I missed while traveling.

I went to London this past weekend, and it was definitely the most relaxing trip I've taken yet; I saw a friend from Ithaca and we pretty much just hung out all weekend, didn't really do touristy things and were not on a schedule. I got my sushi and Thai food fixes, two things I have been craving for weeks. We saw a really good show on the West End called "The Woman in Black": it was a horror/suspense type of drama, and very well-done. The cast was really just two men, the set was simple and versatile, and the story was exciting. At a few points, audience members actually screamed.

The show also had the most entertaining intermission I've ever experienced, but only because I am a bad person. There was a school group (I think?) of middle to early high school age kids that were possibly Welsh, but I suspect it was a boarding school from different areas. Several had chav accents, some Welsh, and some just weird. A disproportionate amount of them wore bemusing and unflattering outfits and did strange things. Nearly all also had heaps of unnecessary hair in extreme bedhead-type styles. Anyway, they were enormously entertaining to watch, but there were also the people behind us loudly asking one another about herpes, the kid in the silver blazer and matching pants in front, and to the side a man with crazily gelled hair and a very pointy goatee. I'm not doing this any justice, but the whole sequence of the intermission I kept thinking it couldn't get any more ridiculous, but of course it did.

My friend and I also went to the National Portrait Gallery for her art class and walked around the Tower of London in the very cold rain on Saturday, and strolled around the city for one of the nicest days I've ever experienced in London on Sunday. We looked at the art sellers outside Kensington and walked around Hyde Park. Then came several misadventures I'm not sure I want to go into now, but in general the weekend was great. The only touristy pics I took were of the Royal Albert Hall because I don't think I've ever taken pics of it before:


I'm still working on the pics from my Eastern European adventures, but don't worry, they're coming.

eastern bloc winds: 100% colder than any other winds

I'm back from my Central/Eastern European adventures in one piece, but my camera is dead so I haven't been able to upload any pictures yet. Don't worry, they're coming soon. Until then, some highlights from my trip:

- Slovakians are really into sheep's cheese, which makes for some delicious tiny dumpling/noodle/pasta-y things

- Bratislava (aka "the Brat") is tiny and lovely and you can walk it easily, plus there are random statues of Soviet war-type things all around

- it also has a bar called the KGB bar!!!!

- Budapest has too much awesome to do in a day so we extended to a day and a half; most of this was spent exploring the various Mexican restaurants of the city. Also the baths!

- Vienna is PRETTY but COLD

Either my throat is bleeding or I have TB. Finally.

i'm really cold

because I am sick again. Anyone surprised? Didn't think so. It's not anything too bad, just annoying...I think I have a mild case of the flu or something. I definitely have a fever and am FREEZING right now.

So life in Paris hasn't been terribly eventful the past couple of weeks. I talked to a nice old man on the Metro yesterday who asked me for the time. Numbers are my downfall in any language (including English) so that took a lot of effort. He chatted to me about how he's happy that his English is very good (it wasn't) and that he knows Italian too, and obviously French. For some reason he thought I was Spanish but when I said I was American he said, "God bless America!" He's the only person to have expressed such a sentiment so far, and it really surprised me.

We've spent 2 weeks learning about various French pronouns in class and it's killing my brain. I love grammar and such but these are so hard! I also have to come up with a topic for my 10 page research paper for my lit class...so I have had actual work to do.

In other news, I am going to Eastern Europe this weekend and am ridiculously excited! (By the way, the Germans made fun of me for using the word "ridiculous" in normal conversation - is that weird? They seemed to think it was terribly snotty and stilted, but maybe that's because they mostly talk to a Southerner...) We're going to Bratislava, Slovakia from Friday morning to Tuesday evening, and we'll be taking trips to Budapest and Vienna, both of which are really close. I hear there's a short boat ride you can take from Bratislava to Vienna and we'll see if we can do that.

This will be my first time in Eastern Europe! (Unless you count Turkey? I don't think so.) Slavs! Hungarians! I can feel many a history lesson coming on.

goodbye, bavaria

Because it doesn't fit in anywhere else here's a view from my cousin's apartment. You can see why I am quite jealous of his location.


So the next day the Germans went back to Jena or wherever else they might want to go, and we had to find somewhere to print my tickets. After another very large breakfast we wandered around looking for internet cafes and such, finally having to print them in a fabulously sketchy "casino".

Then to the most important part of my journey: the quest for lederhosen! It was Sunday, so nothing but churches were open. I had to settle for peering in windows, but I was satisfied. The pics didn't come out so well, though, because I was taking them through glass. Here's some men's lederhosen then baby lederhosen! Note the suspenders.



Actually on Friday night we saw people coming back from the Bockbierfest wearing lederhosen and that made my night; my cousin said sometimes people just wear them around!

There isn't much left to tell about my Bavaria trip..we walked around for a while before I had to leave, so I got to see pretty much all of the town. My knowledge of German at least tripled during my 2 days there so that's kind of exciting. I would definitely go back to Bavaria; to be honest I didn't terribly like Germany when I went years ago - it wasn't very interesting - but I didn't see this area. If I get the opportunity to go back, I will.

frisbee, mountains, and bockbier

Saturday my cousin's friends came to visit, but before they got there we decided to make a giant breakfast. There is a nice little market in the square near his apartment that he'd never really visited so we went there to get food. We wound up having strawberries, Nutella, bananas, fresh bread, cereal, eggs, and some sort of yummy sausage. Wow. I actually have a picture of it if anyone's interested.

We took a long journey to his work in an attempt to print out my return tickets but were unsuccessful. I did get some nice pics on the way, though.



After picking up his friends (one of whom studies at Jena! And knows the Burschenshaften!!) we climbed up a giant hill with very nice views



and a very Baroque church at the top (at least the inside..yeesh)



There was a cafe there so we sat and had a beer and looked at the pretty views. This is apparently what Germans do, according to my cousin. And then down the hill for a doner (yummy Turkish sandwichy thing - there are a lot of Turks in Germany and they brought their lovely cuisine) and, obviously, some beer.

It was at this point I learned about bockbier, which is, I think, a Bavarian specialty and is thicker and stronger than other beer. They told me the limit even for German men is 4 (which is 2 liters of it, by the way). We had it at this place that has the best name ever, if you can imagine it in German: Schloderer - with an umlaut over the o. It just sounds great.

After a game of frisbee the Germans got some pizza (pizza?!), and later we set out for somewhere to hang out. All the big beer halls were pretty full so we ended up back at the Schloderer place where a traditional Bavarian band happened to be playing! You know...lederhosen, accordians, oompah band. It was pretty awesome, but the Germans thought it was lame. Oh well.