À bientot, Paris.

In a matter of hours I’ll be beginning my trek back to Princeton Junction. At first I was just hoping to try my hand at learning French but somewhere over the course of these months I’ve fallen in love with Paris and know that I’ll always have a connection with France. Perhaps it was living with John that allowed me to be open to trying to things or perhaps it was his family, who welcomed and included me in so much. No matter what it was, I am so thankful for this chapter in my life.

The last thing I expected from this trip was to be called Parisian. I’ve gotten over the fact that people may stop me and ask for directions (and that yes, I can often help en Francais ou en Anglais). But I will never get over the fact that John said I was becoming a bit Parisian. Why you may ask? Well it seems as though over the course of the last few months…

• I have taken an extreme disliking to cars and have be known, albeit rarely, to mutter things to the drivers under my breath a little loudly.
• Now that I’m learning French, I make the effort to pronounce things properly. I expect nothing less than having my mispronunciations corrected. That being said, it’s a pet peeve of mine for others who are learning French (and know better) to mispronounce the easy things. (For example if all ”H’s” are silent than it’s clearly not les HHalls but les all ((les Halles) )
• I find myself complaining that there are too many tourists. Ironically, I find the American tourists the worst perhaps because they’re so loud and obnoxious… or is it that they expect all French people to speak English and then forget that most people speak English when they’re being rude.
• I’ve been caught in many debates over lunch about which baguette in our neighborhood is best and why. I even caught myself upset after buying one so tiny my hand fit around it easily! Dare I admit we were tempted to return it?
• I have abandoned 6pm dinners and have taken a liking for 8 o’clock dinners… sometimes 9 if we lose track of time.
• I’ve begun to memorize the exits for the metro. It just makes life so much easier. Oh and I’m a stickler for civilized manners in the metro. I used to think John was getting overly upset by people who use the polls as back rests but now find myself just as annoyed.
• And yes, I complain about dog poo on the street. Though I can’t imagine who wouldn’t. It’s just gross.

I can’t say I’m overly excited to return to the States. I’ll miss living in Paris. I suppose you could say Paris just has a certain je ne sais quoi. But there are a few things I’m looking forward to… for one thing everything is cheaper. And I’ll be offered water at a restaurant without having to ask. Extra bonus? It’ll come with ice!

I’m excited to see what comes next. John and I have an exciting year ahead of us. I’m sure at times it will seem overwhelming. Like right now, when I know this crazy journey is about to begin in just a few hours but I know that just like these last few months have been the experience of a lifetime so will the next few.

À bientot, Paris.

My last days..

My last days living in Paris snuck up on me. I thought about how to spend it and came up with seeing a last few Parisian things. Yesterday we set out to see two museums and to go to a wine bar. It turns out I had a good reason for my case of the Mondays after all ... everything was closed. Unlike the first museum, Musee Legion d’Honneur, which is closed on Mondays, the Jeu de Paume was closed while the new exhibition was being installed. Thinking we couldn’t strike out a third time, we headed over to the wine bar. And yet that too was closed. I’d be upset expect I set out looking for one last French experience and that’s exactly what I got. Sundays in Paris are very quiet. Most everything is closed except for Museums which means Mondays are very quiet on the Museum front. I should have known better but c’est la vie. I can say, though, that my Monday didn’t fail me. We went to John’s dad’s for dinner. It was great! We had raclette, which is similar to fondue but instead of dipping things in cheese you melt the racelette cheese and then pour it over meat, potatoes, etc. For someone who came to Paris hesitant to try new foods and weary of all things cheese I think I’ve done well for myself!

Seeing that I leave tomorrow, we spent today in summary. As usual, I didn’t finish packing until the last moment but I didn’t want to spend my last day in Paris without one last French experience. It only seemed fitting that John and I go out for steak tartare. For the Americans reading who may not know what steak tartare is, let me put it to you bluntly: it’s raw ground beef. I’ve watched John and others eat this traditional meal many times and each time thought I would rather starve. To all those I’ve watched eat steak tartare and wrongfully judged, I’m sorry. It took a bit to get used to the texture and the Tabasco sauce really makes the difference but it’s great! The waitress was surprised I wasn’t upset when the dish came and even offered to have it cooked if I didn’t like it. And so there you have it… it only took me eight months but I think I’ve finally grown a genuine liking of French cuisine!

Espresso…check!

Wine… check!

Duck...check!

Cheese… check!

Frog Legs…check!

Foie Gras….check!

Steak Tartare…check!

On my last day I knew I wouldn’t be able to see all of Paris so we opted for the next best thing: a Bateau Mouche. I think it’s safe to say most people make this one of their first stops in Paris because you’re able to see all the major sites from the Seine River. But it was the perfect ending as well. I was able to recognize things that a few months ago were foreign. I was able to look beyond the sites and see the character Paris has (while in envy of many apartments). I was able to reflect on how lucky I’ve been to have spent the last eight months living here.

Just when I thought the day couldn’t be anymore perfect, John made crepes for dinner! Now that’s something I’ll definitely miss!!

Make sure to check out pictures from our tartare outing here

and from our last visits around Paris here

Galette des Rois

As many of you know, John and I enjoy cooking. We’re always up to trying out a new recipe! In France it’s a tradition to eat la Galette des Rois (the King’s cake) in January. Each galette, made of frangipane or almond-flavored paste, has une fève (a small trinket) hidden inside. Whoever’s piece of cake has la fève is the King or Queen and gets to the wear the crown (yes, a crown comes with the galette when you buy it and yes, you actually have to wear the crown). Tonight John made his own Galette des Rois from scratch with une fève and all! As the youngest person, I had to call out a name to decide who got each slice. I suppose that worked in my favor because I found la fève and was queen. I didn’t follow the tradition exactly because I didn’t pick my king, though I think it’s safe for you all to guess who my king is… and no it was not Oscar!

Encore plus...

This past summer we saw the History of Jazz exhibit at the Quai Branly and I couldn’t have asked for more… until John found out there was a Miles Davis exhibit at Cité de la Musique. Yesterday we went to the museum near Parc de la Villette (in the North of Paris) hoping to find something interesting. In actuality the museum was great! We were hopeful once we noticed the interesting architecture from the Metro stop but had no idea the permanent exhibit would be so well done. The museum’s permanent exhibit shows the progression of musical instruments. We were both given a headset and instructed on how to follow the exhibit. At each set of instruments (for example the flutes) you were given an explanation of the history of flutes and their progression to modern day but were also given the opportunity to hear what they sound like. I found myself listening to the music more than the explanations but thoroughly enjoyed the instruments on display and set up of the exhibit. We then visited the Miles Davis exhibit. It was great to be able to follow his career through song clips, movies, newspaper clipping, different costumes, official notes between him and his record label, etc. The exhibit was able to highlight what an impressive musician he was.

It was really hard to take pictures of the permanent exhibit but here is a link to what we were able to get! Sadly, we weren't able to take pictures in the Miles Davis exhibit. We attempted to do so anyway but it was too dark.

Today we went back to science and visited the Office of Madame Curie. Marie & Pierre Curie are best known for their work on radioactivity: techniques to isolate isotopes as well as the discovery of polonium and radium. Mme. Curie was the first female professor at the University of Paris and the first person to receive two Nobel Prizes. Her office/lab has been transformed into a small museum, displaying where she worked but also displayed information about her life and the Curie Institutes. The first thing that really caught our eye was the fact that radium was once, not too long ago, used in make-up! That’s right folks, we’re talking the 1920’s/1930’s. I wonder what I’m doing now that’s poisoning me?? We also saw this “Radium Fountain” which would “radio-activate” whatever liquid you put inside… thus giving you the “benefits” of radium in your bath or drink. As if that wasn’t enough, we saw a page from Marie and Pierre’s work on radium that was still radioactive! Of course it’s currently contained in, what I hope was, a high-tech picture frame. Rest assured, the office and lab were decontaminated and restored back in the ‘80’s.

Definitely check out all our pictures here!

Musée du Parfum

Brought to Europe as early as the 14^th century, France is pretty well known for its perfumes. It was only natural, then, for us to come across the Musée du Parfum at some point during my stay. Our tour guide taught us about how perfume is made, the differences in scents, where plants/scents comes from as well as the history of use and bottling. The perfume industry is pretty impressive, if you ask me. Did you know that perfumes can contain more than 200 ingredients?! We even found out that the chemists who make perfumes also have to attend “nose school” for four years! At the end of the tour we tested our noses with a variety of Fragonard’s perfumes, which are only sold in France.

Seeing that I’m spending my remaining days in Paris on French experiences, it’s only fair that I update everyone on my French language progress. I gave in and saw Avatar today. And though we saw the V.O (version original i.e. in English) the language the Nav’vi people spoke to one another was subtitled in French. John and I encountered this problem over the summer with Inglorious Bastards. At least it was a problem last summer… I had to sit with my ear next to John so he could translate to me. This time around I understood what I read! Okay, I’ll admit I had John to make sure I understood correctly but I didn’t need him as I so desperately did a few months ago. Now if only I could understand an entire movie I’d be golden with my New Year’s Resolution on day 12…

Quel Dimanche

Sundays in the States have always been days full of errands for me. It's been hard to get used to the fact that everything is closed on Sundays (albeit I'm sure most Museums are open). With so little time left in Paris I didn't want to lose a day and thus figured we should go on a tour of something I knew would be open: churches!

Churches are one of the things I love about Paris. Okay, for a Jew I’m pretty obsessed with this stuff but the amount of history in one Church far surpasses my country! I don’t think any of the ones we saw today were younger than the US. Not to mention the fact that each Church is a piece of art and yet different than the next. Almost every time we pass by a Church, I find us wandering in and wondering how we could walk pass and have no idea how much beauty was hidden.

Check out our pictures here to see what I’m talking about.

The day wasn’t full of churches, though. We came across the last remaining medieval homes and checked out the area my Grandma used to live (Avenue des Gobelins).

The highlight of our day was Val de Grâce, which is both a Hospital & Church for the military. In order to see the Church we had to visit the museum of the history of military medicine. Granted, I thought for sure the museum wouldn’t strike my fancy but it turned out to be really interesting. I’m sure Carrie would have liked it even more because she’d appreciate the artifacts more. Among the “primitive” microscopes, portable pharmacies, and the surgical tools I think I was most impressed with the syringes (yes, the image below are syringes!). I can’t even imagine what the needles attached to these suckers looked like!!

Leave it to me to print off information about each church in order to better understand the symbolism and history. The nice surprise today were les “Colombes” found in Val de Grâce. We may not live so close to Colombe but we’re definitely always thinking about her.

Chateau de Fontainebleu

As of today I have 12 days left until I head home. Most people would begin to reflect, begin to wind down and prepare for the journey home. I'm taking the other approach. I suppose you could say I've gotten a second wind to continue experiencing as much of Paris as possible before January 20th.

Today’s trip: Chateau de Fontainebleu.

Most people think of Palais Versailles when you think Paris Chateaux not Fontainebleu. I suppose that’s why it took us so long to visit but I’m glad we did! I liked the Chateau better than Versailles. Perhaps because it was so cold, we basically had the Chateau to ourselves. Room after room, we saw tidbits of history dating as far back as Louis 7. I wish we had time to explore Fontainbleu more. There’s even an architecture school (Écoles d’Art Américanes) that I bet would have been interesting to check out. My two cents? This is a must see, especially if they weather would permit you to explore the grounds and the town! If only we had been told sooner…

Check out the pictures of the Chateau here!

Bonne Annee!!

I suppose it’s better late than never to wish everyone a happy, healthy 2010. I’m excited to see the wonderful things the New Year has to offer.

After living in Paris for 8 months, I think it’s only appropriate that my New Year’s resolution is:

· to continue to learn French (I’d like to watch a movie without subtitles and understand everything!)

Interested in seeing the amazing meal John prepared? Check out our pictures here!!!

Joyeux Noël

Christmas. A day I look forward to spending with my family… at the movies and then eating Chinese food. I may have missed out on the movie this year but I certainly didn’t miss out on family time.

For Christmas Eve we celebrated with the Morel side of the family (John’s mom’s side). You should definitely check out the pictures online (here) to see how much fun we had. We arrived early to help prepare for the evening (which consisted of opening oysters). I don’t know which is the better highlight: that despite the high-risk Alexis, Guillaume & John opened 24 oysters without a single knife incident or that I actually tried one. Perhaps the real highlight was that Mamy even made her own foie gras!! I think I may have even been able to cross off a few firsts between the oysters, foie gras and the cheese (and hey, I can’t complain if I liked 2 of the 3)! Without doubt the best part of the evening was the pioche (free auction) that Mamy holds each year. Mamy collects things all year and then auctions them off to everyone after dinner. John came home with a platter, oven mitts, a toothbrush or two and enough cookbooks and recipes to last a lifetime! I even got some facial stuff! I suppose you had to be there but take it from me, the pioche is so much fun!

For Christmas Day we celebrated with the Silva side of the family (John’s dad’s side). You can never be fully prepared for a Silva family meal with Grand-mere & Grand-pere. It quickly becomes a competition between who ate the most. By the time the annual Briscola championship began I didn’t think I could eat another bite! Joseph & I would have been a winning team had we been dealt one good hand! Luck wasn’t so kind and Joseph & I come in last. Leave it to John & Grand-pere to win. Next year I hope luck is on my side!!!

Spending Christmas with John’s family was great. This may be risky to admit but I’m happy to have a new Christmas tradition to look forward to.

Make sure to check out our pictures of our Christmas Eve Celebration here!

And our Christmas Day Celebration here!