Bon Voyage (premiere partie)

I’ve known since before arriving in Paris that the summer would end with a bang. I don’t know why, then, it seems as though the beginning of the end, of perhaps the most amazing summer, snuck up on me. John and I spent our day running errands and packing for the first of our tree trips.

Tomorrow morning Oscar, John, Daphne and I will begin our trek (sorry Abe, but it’s not to Mamaroneck) to Viverols. Viverols is about 530 km south of Paris and will take a train, bus and short car ride to get to. Part of the region called Auvergne, Viverols is where John’s Mother’s side of the family is from. John says the next nine days will be full of good food, hikes and sun bathing in a relaxing atmosphere.

Once we return to Paris on the 2^nd John and I will begin planning for our next trip to Aix en Provence to meet my cousins followed by a week in Groppallo, Italy (near Parma) to visit with John’s father’s side of the family.

I may not be the most frequent of bloggers but at least this time I have a good reason to go on a mini hiatus. Instead of surfing the internet, I’ll be practicing my French and enjoying a new French experience. Who knows… I may even return liking cheese, froie gras or even frog legs! Not to worry though, in between our trips I promise to update my blog.

J'ai fini mes cours de francais

If you remember... one of my first weeks here I was home alone when someone rang the doorbell. It was quite the experience to mix French, English and acting to figure out what he needed. I was hopeful that I wouldn't have such a situation again... and I was right.

I must say that in the rare times I am home alone I get a lot of people at the door for someone who isn’t expecting anyone.

When the doorbell rang yesterday I gushed with excitement that it might be the mailman with the package from Mom. I sung the door open to realize it was a deliveryman with quite a number of packages, none of which were from Mom. He began waving around his computer and some forms, speaking a million miles a minute. And as my eyes began to glaze over and my smile disappeared he spoke slower. He needed to deliver two packages, which were too big to fit in the people’s boxes not to mention he didn’t know which apartment number they lived in. He had to leave them with someone and with my luck he chose the one apartment where the person home didn’t speak French. Though I shouldn’t say that entirely because I understand his problem once he slowed down and I took the packages like a trooper.

So after seven weeks of French classes I suppose I do have something to show for it. I may not be fluent or confident in the elementary French that I do know but I definitely am walking away better than I began. Last Friday didn’t mark the end of my adventures learning French but only the beginning. I’m pleased with the remarks my teachers gave me, though I must admit that I put the certificates away quickly so they couldn’t take back what they had written. You may be wondering what it is, exactly, I have learned in the last seven weeks but it’s difficult to convey that to you in a blog written in English. I suppose you’ll just have to trust me when I say… Je ne pensais pas pouvoir apprendre le français. Mais maintenant Je connaîs Je vais apprendre plus dans le temps. La langue française est très difficile mais ma motivation est plus grande.

Bastille Day

The 14^th of July is France’s National Celebration Day (I guess comparable in celebration to our 4^th). It celebrates the taking of the Bastille Prison in 1789, which had become the symbol of the abuse of power by the King and the royal class. Most importantly, this marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

A few weeks ago John and I decided that since we were in Paris for Bastille Day we should go all out. There are three ways to view the parade: on TV, seated with tickets or standing with the masses of people who also want to watch. Seeing as we never thought we’d get tickets, my trusted tour guide, Google, said in order to get the best view of the Bastille Day Parade we needed to be as close to the Arc de Triomphe as possible and in the first two rows of people. In order to achieve such a task we would have to be up and out by 5am. For those of you who have lived with me you might be thinking this is no problem but keep in mind we would have been running on 4 hours of sleep a night. John and I were excited. We figured it was totally worth it and didn’t mind the lack of sleep if we would have excitement to keep us going.

The week before Bastille Day John went to have dinner with his Dad, Joseph. He came home saying I had homework and needed to translate these cards. It took me a good five minutes to get what they were but low and behold his dad gave us tickets to the Bastille Day Parade! I cannot tell you how excited we were. Come the day of the parade I suppose you could say we slept in considering we left home at 7:30 instead of 5. The President is seated at the Place de la Concorde and so we were told it was best to be as close to there as possible. We couldn’t have done better: second row in the second box of seats next to the Place de le Concorde.

The military parade lasted a little over an hour and each thing was more impressive than the last. Every branch of the military had representatives march which meant we saw a wide array of bands, tanks, airplanes/jets, horses and even parachuters! Each year a different country is honored at the parade. This year it was India, so we were also able to see a few Indian Military branches march.

At the end we stuck behind to maybe catch a glimpse of the President. We were excited to have seen Carla from afar but then watched President Sarkozy walk closer to us. The next thing we realized he was right in front of us and John got to shake his hand! Perhaps the best quote of the day was when John turned around in complete shock and said, “Oh my g-d I just shook the president’s hand!”

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, John and I decided to go back out later for the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. Knowing there was a concert at the Champs de Mars (Johnny Holiday) and that it was the 120^th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower we knew we had to get there early. So we packed some sandwiches, dessert and wine and headed to a bridge close by 3 hours before the fireworks started. They were beautiful. Sadly, from where we were there was no way to see the complete fireworks/flame show but we still got an excellent view. It took us at least an hour and a half to get home (for a 20 minute trip) because there were so many people. And though we were both exhausted, especially when we had to get up at 6:45 the following morning, it was totally worth it. We truly had quite the impressive Bastille Day in Paris.

Thank you Joseph for thinking of us. The day was that much more special with your help.

Check out our pictures from the parade here!

Marina Comes to Visit

No matter how many times people said they would come visit me in Paris I never believed that it would actually happen. This weekend I was more than excited to have my first visitor, Marina. Studying in Prague, it was fairly easy for Marina to come visit for a weekend. Being her first visit to Paris, John and I planned an intense two-day tour of almost all of Paris.

What’s a better introduction to France than arriving to find that the airline employees outside were on strike? Perhaps arriving on time with no hiccups though you have to admit it’s a little funny. Within ten minutes of being in Paris, Marina was already at the Lourve. John and I had made plans months ago to see U2 in 3D with John’s Uncle, Jean- Pierre, and cousin, Salambô. Had the plan worked perfectly, the museum would not have closed earlier then we thought but you can’t have everything when tickets are free and the view is so beautiful.

The U2 concert in 3D was pretty cool. It was shown in the IMAX theater at the Science Museum. I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of huge concerts but this was the best of both worlds: a montage of U2’s tour with the comfort of being in a movie theater. I’m really glad I got to go and am even a little jealous of John, Jean-Pierre, Salambô and Lorenzo who got to see the real concert on Sunday, a foot away from the stage!

Saturday we took a walking tour of Paris. We were up and out by 10 and didn’t get home until 1am, which is perhaps why we finally gave in and took the metro. Though I had already seen the parts of Paris we were showing Marina, it was a pleasure to see them all again this time being able to recognize and understand a little about each sight. I cannot choose one highlight because it was the perfect day. I was glad to be able to feel as though I have come to know Paris better, I was delighted to have understood and spoke a little French, I was proud that I could help direct our journey and could not have asked for better company. Not everyone can say they saw as much as we did in one day. To be exact we:

Walked toward Bastillle
Walked through Le Marais (and Place des Vosges)
Passed Hotel de Ville and Tour Saint Jacques
Took a pit stop to revisit the Louvre
Headed over to the Opera and passed through Place Vendome on the way
Had lunch at Chez Clement, where we had quite the amusing waiter who wanted us to eat everything on our plates!
Visited the Opera house
Checked out the sales at Galeries Lafayette and checked out the view of Paris from the top
then heading back toward Rue Rivoli where we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries, where there was a carnival!
Arrived at Place de la Concorde to see that they were already setting up for Bastille Day
Walked up the Champs Elysees
Continued toward the Eiffel Tower, which Marina was brave enough to go up
Took a Bateaux-Mouches on the Seine to see Paris by night
headed passed Trocadéro to catch the metro home
and enjoyed a delicious crepe dinner/breakfast made by John.

Come Sunday it was really hard to get up and head out but Marina and I did well. John left very early for his U2 concert so Marina and I were on our own. I must say we were pretty successful in continuing our tour.

We started with the Hotel des Invalides, which was surprisingly hard to find and wound up also seeing the Assemblée Nationale
Then headed to the Ile-de-la-Cité where we saw Notre-Dame, the Saint Michel Fountain and the Palais de Justice.
From there we headed to Montmartre where we wandered around, saw Sacré-Coeur and the Moulin Rouge
Our final stop of the day being Cimetière du Père Lachaise where we saw Jim Morison’s grave.

By the end of the weekend I was so happy to have Monday off to rest before Bastille Day! It amazes me that a two day tour of Paris is possible though not advisable for the sake of your feet!

Thank you Jean-Pierre for inviting me into the family’s U2 fan-club. The movie was great and I still can’t believe you guys got such great spots at the concert!

Thank you Marina for being the first to visit me in Paris! I’m excited you came and had a great time seeing the city with you.

And thank you John for well.. being the everything this weekend: the U2 knowledge base, the tour guide, the translator, bargainer and even the chef.

Check out the photos from Marina's visit here!

Fourth of July

For as long as I can remember I have spent the fourth of July with family (or at camp) and seeing fireworks at night. This was my first fourth not in the States, where free firework shows are so easy to come by.

I took to Google to see what celebrations there were for the fourth in Paris. I should really write to Eric Shcmidt about the results being useless and nowhere near related to my key word search. Instead I came across an Ad in a little magazine, FUSCAC. So for the fourth of July, I found myself celebrating with, who else but the, Canadians! The Moosehead Bar (a Canadian bar) was having an Independence Day Party!

After getting a drink we made our way to Versailles where they are having firework shows at night. It wasn’t specifically for the fourth. They are having a special exhibit in the gardens where artists were given the liberty to set up mini exhibits. For John and I it was the perfect way to celebrate the fourth, especially with the fireworks!

I must admit I was a little bummed to not have a hotdog and beer followed by an evening of free entertainment on the fourth but this was great in a different way. Thanks to the Canadians for… well… celebrating your neighbor’s independence day and thank you, King Louis XIV for having a pretty sweet garden and to the people who thought of having the fireworks show this fourth. I hope everyone else had a terrific holiday weekend.

Check out the Moosehead Bar pictures here!

Check out the pictures from Versailles here!

Bateau Canal St. Martin

The weather is certainly reflecting that summer has begun! It was a great decision for us to go on a boat ride on the Canal St. Martin.

Everyday on my way to class I pass by an open part of the canal. This a part of Paris we have yet to explore so John and I decided it would be fun to check it out. Thanks to the good ol’ Internet, John and I found out about a guided boat tour that takes you from Bastille to the Parc de la Villette. The canal was built under Napoleon between 1802 and 1825 though different turning bridges and historical sites were built around the canal between 1785 and now. From the Place de la Bastille to Rue Faubourg du Temple the canal is underground. It is extremely narrow so only one boat can pass at a time. To ensure that a boat doesn’t begin their journey through the tunnel while another boat is already passing they use a traffic light system.

Once we finished travelling underground we saw that there are many historical sites surrounding the edges of the canal including: the Hospital Saint Louis, the Pont Tournant turning bridge, La Joconde and so much more!

The highlight of the trip was perhaps the fact that even thought the weather resembled a sauna, John and I were able to stay cool each time we passed through a lock or turning bridge (to be honest I still don’t know the difference). Each time we had to wait for water to leak through the lock so that our boat would rise enough to smoothly pass through at the same level. When the water rushed through the lock it sprayed the people in the front of the boat. At first I couldn’t help but freak out because of the unsanitary factor but I began to appreciate the cooling.

The picture below is of me covering my mouth and nose while waiting for the boat to rise. It kind of freaked me out that there was trash stuck to the turning bridge not to mention the fact that water that smelt so badly couldn't possibly be clean.

The two-hour trip was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. Make sure to check out the pictures here!

Musee Quai Branly

In High School I wrote a thesis on Jazz music and how it bridged the gap between blacks and white. A daunting assignment quickly turning into a passion. I grew a love for jazz and enjoyed spending time with Charlie as he shared his knowledge.

Lucky for me there was a Jazz exhibit at the Museé Quai Branly ! John and I went to check it out last weekend. The exhibit was done beautifully.

It was great to see the progression of Jazz through the years depicted by art, publications and album covers. We got to hear some of the greatest pieces as we made our way through the exhibit. I think the fact that I got to see album covers and publications from some of my favorites –Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Billy Holliday – was too cool for words! There is just something about listening to Jazz that makes me smile.

After the exhibit, John and I went to have lunch at Les Ombres, the restaurant at the museum. The Museé Quai Branly is in a great location; right near the Eiffel Tower. I’m surprised the museum isn’t more popular not only because of the location but because the museum itself is great! The view from the restaurant was beautiful. Every bit of the experience was special, not only because it was John’s birthday gift but because it was definitely not a place we would go on our own.

Thank you, Daphne, Guillaume, Christine and Joseph. It was a generous gift that John and I both enjoyed.

Check out the pictures of the exhibit here!

Check out the pictures of our lunch at Les Ombres here!