Le 26 Avril 2009

I saw Victor Hugo’s house on Friday. It was incredible. On the second floor there was an art exhibit with elaborate paintings interpreting his writings. They also had original copies of his writings, pictures of him, and amazing sketching he did. He was incredibly talented. The apartment where he lived was on the third floor. It was so elaborate, full of heavy red curtains (over windows that looked out over La Place de Vosges, a famous garden), china, and paintings. There was one room that was done in an oriental theme. It was very cool.
I also went to the Paris catacombs. At one point I was walking in this dark low passageway which seemed more like a cave. There were mini stalactites with water dripping down from them. The walls on both sides were made up of artistically piled up bones and the floor was a mix of damp clay and pebbles. Each pile of bones had a sign saying where the bones had come from. It would be weird to be forever marked as what graveyard your bones were dug up in instead of your name. I guess that wouldn’t be as weird as people making art out of your bones for generations to come to look at and take pictures of. I did not take any pictures of the bones. It just felt too disrespectful.

Le 22 Avril 2009

My parents came to visit. They got to Paris on the ninth, we went to Ireland on the sixteenth, and they left to go back to the states on the twenty first. I got to show them all around Paris. We went to la Tour Eiffel, the d’Orsay, San Chappell, and the Opera House. We also climbed the bell tower of Notre Dame and went to Easter mass at Notre Dame too. Other than that we just explored and enjoyed the nice weather. In Ireland we went to the Giant’s Causeway and the swinging bridge in Northern Ireland and then we stayed in Dublin. In Dublin we saw Trinity College and the Book of Kells, the Guinness factory, Grafton Street, and many other fun things. I enjoyed seeing my parents and still think that the Irish countryside is the prettiest countryside in the world!

March 26, 2009

Tonight I went to a classical concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra. It was beautiful. There was a piano player who was incredible and the orchestra was wonderful too.

Le 22 Mars 2009

We left early yesterday morning and went to the D-Day museum in Normandy. I read a letter written by a British soldier who was in France. The letter was after D-day and pretty much just described how bad the food was and how much marching they did. The soldier liked France though. The room dedicated to the holocaust was very chilling. It was a dark room with lots of candles. There were pictures of holocaust victims faces hung on the walls which would light up randomly. After the museum we went to Omaha beach. It was so beautiful and peaceful, a perfectly poetic and fitting memorial to the soldiers who died there. I took my shoes off and walked in the ocean even though it was cold. It was kind of neat to be on American soil again in the cemetery too.
I heard a story about a French boy who was found alone and adopted by a soldier. They gave him the uniform of another soldier who died. The story says that in one battle the soldier who adopted the boy got shot and when the boy ran out to him he was shot too. They both died but the French boy who was adopted is thought to be buried in the cemetery of unmarked soldiers with the other Americans because he was wearing an American uniform.
We stayed in Saint Malo the first night, which is a beautiful little seaside walled city. Today we left early and went to Saint Michel. We took a tour of the monastery. It was really neat but also a bit touristy. Then I had a galette for lunch (a local specialty) and it was time to come home.

Le 16 Mars

This past weekend I went to Ireland with Leah, Jen, and Christina. We flew into Dublin on a Ryanair flight on Friday morning. We spent the afternoon in Dublin, where we explored the park, walked through Trinity College, and shopped. Then, we took a four hour bus ride to Galway. We stayed at a hostel called Barnacles Quay. On Saturday we went on a tour to the cliffs of Moher. This was a highlight because of how beautiful they were. We made it back in time to go to a pub and watch the end of the Ireland verses Scotland rugby game (Ireland won!). The food was amazing. One night we went to dinner at a place called The Couch Potato. It had baked potatoes with every combination of toppings you could think of. I loved every minute of being in Ireland! The people are nice, the landscape is beautiful, and the food is delicious.

Le 7 Mars 2009

Today I went to Père Lachaise, a famous cemetery. I went to see Oscar Wilde’s grave. A woman and man making a documentary for the man’s job, he was English, asked if I would say my name, where I am from, and kiss the tomb for the documentary. I did and then the woman asked me to kiss it again so she could take a photo. Other than that I mostly just wondered around. It is a beautiful place. Then, I went to Notre Dame for 6:30 pm mass. It was the first time I had been in Notre Dame and it was incredible. The organ player played several really dark and ominous sounding songs. I guess they like to keep up the gothic feel of the cathedral.

Le 1 Mars 2009

Last weekend I went to Le Centre Pompidou with several friends. I am an art nerd so I loved it. It was so exciting to randomly come across a painting by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Matisse, or Jackson Pollack. During the week I just went to class. They keep us busy with school work. Yesterday, I went with my host mom to La Bon Marche. We took a bus so that I could see the city. Today, I went to the D’Orsay. It is definitely my favorite museum now. There was so mush to see. I spent over five hours there and I still want to go back and spend more time looking. My favorite piece was a self portrait by Van Gogh. There is so much more to his paintings when you see them in person. The movement and texture in his paintings are so surreal but then he could paint something, such as his eyes, so vividly that I could feel them following me. The stone and marble carvings in the D’Orsay are also amazing. I definitely will have to go back.

Le 15 Février 2009

Yesterday, I went to Napoleon’s tomb with some friends. Les Invalides is beautiful. Today, I went to the Gainsbourg exhibit to do my homework. The exhibit was dark and smoky; and with his music playing in the background it made me feel like I was in a 1950s New York bar in a black and white film. We had to answer questions about his music and photographs. Then I went to a restaurant with friends.

Le 12 Février 2009

I bought three French Cd’s from Gibert Joseph. They only cost 20 euros. Last night I went to a ballet at the Opera house. It was amazing. The second act, a love story, was my favorite but I loved all of it. The first one was a very classic style ballet, all the dancers wore white and black and it was full of complex formations. The last one was a very modern form of dance which was inspired by the music. The classical architecture of La Maison D’Opera is incredible. It was absolutely beautiful. Today after class I went exploring and came across L’Eglise de St. Sulpice. It was enormous and breathtaking. There are even catacombs under it.

Le 7 Février 2009

Today we had a homework assignment to go to la Musée Carnavalet and answer questions about the paintings there. We had a learning experience on the metro. We had to switch three times but two times we took the right metro line the wrong way and had to get off and switch. Now we know how to make sure we are taking the metro in the right direction. I had a delicious chocolate crêpe for lunch. My host mom is picking me up tomorrow morning. I am very nervous and excited to meet her. Hopefully we will get along well. Her last name is Tremblais Vignalou. She has two boys and a daughter. She also has a dog named Bakoudi and a cat.

Le 3 Février 2009

I got my Carte Navigo this morning so I can take the metro all over Paris! I had two 2 hour classes where I learned how to order food the right way. This came in handy when I got my sandwich for lunch. Then we took a historic walking tour across the city mainly focusing on the Marais district. It was amazing until the sun went down and it dropped to below freezing. I saw Notre Dame, the square where Marie Antoinette was killed and the prison she was kept in, Victor Hugo’s house, a few gardens, some beautiful houses from the 14th century, and lots of statues. Contrary to what is said, the French people I have met so far, for the most part have been extremely nice. The clerk reminded me to take the pens I just bought when I almost forgot them. Several men helped Anna and me with our luggage during the RER excursion. One random woman we met at the RER station even joked about how mean French people are; they love to joke. As long as you are polite they will be too.

Le 2 Février 2009

For my introduction to Paris, last night, a big group of us went to the Eiffel Tower. Looking up at it gave me a vertigo feeling. This could also be due to the intense jet lag I am still experiencing. It had snowed this morning. It was only ½ an inch and it melted by noon but it doesn’t snow often in Paris so everyone was amazed. I had my first Explorations in France orientation class. It was all in French. Then I bought three books and two pens for my classes at Gibert Joseph, a bookstore with seven floors.

Le 1 Février 2009

I met with Anna in Chicago and got here safely. The RER was ridiculous. Anna and I traveled from the Charles Degaulle Airport to the hostel in 20 foot increments, literally (minus the metro time). There were also lots of stairs. I am already sore. Anyway, I like the people in the program so far. Some of us went and had lunch (pizza) in Cafe Jaques, a cute little cafe very close to the hostel. The hostel is really nice. It is a modern looking hotel, more or less. We are sharing four to a room. The other three girls in my room are all from Elon too.