"Paris launches smile campaign to woo tourists"

The Article, from Reuters:

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=237874545640&h=cFqNr&u=8UAf0&ref=mf

"To counter the slump and boost revenues, the tourist board has set up stands manned by teams of "smile ambassadors" to welcome holiday-makers at the city's most popular spots.
As if to heed its call, hundreds of roller-skaters formed a giant smile in Place Vendome in the city center on Sunday."

Thought you'd all enjoy!

Bisous from America,
Ashley

La Dernier Journee a Paris :(

On the last day in Paris, I woke up fairly early and had coffee with my cousins Stephen and Nick in Montparnasse, at La Rotonde, one of the most famous Parisian cafes. At the cafes in this area of the city, many well-known writers during the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries gathered and worked on writing. It was so good to see them, and a perfect Parisian activity for my last day there. At lunch, I met with my French friend Sophie at a Japanese restaurant in the 17th arrondisement, an area I've never been to! Like the 16th, the boulevards are large and the buildings reminiscent of 19th century Haussmann architecture, but there is more of a financial district there, and so many cute lunchtime cafes, bistros, and brasseries. It was good to see Sophie before I left one last time, and to practice my French, of course!





I went over to ACCENT to return some books, and as I arrived in Bastille, the day was just getting more and more beautiful. I think that (without the bias of having a romanticized last-day-in-Paris) it was the most gorgeous day I've ever seen in the city. I met with Morgan and we stopped by the Latin Quarter to purchase some last-minute souvenirs, and stop by Shakespeare and Co., the very old English-speaking bookstore that has visitors from all over the world.

We went to Trocadero afterwards to take pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower! Morgan and I will be roommates at our sorority next year, and so instead of taking a white-dress picture in front of the house to put on our door, we decided it would be much cuter to take one in front of Paris' most iconic structure! We set up my nice camera on self-timer and had a little photoshoot. Some people thought we were taking engagement photos! Ha ha. It was so warm and gorgeous there, and the water in the Trocadero fountain was sparkling in the sunlight. We sat on a bench in the shade for a while, and then headed to the Palais Royal/Louvre area to meet up with Kate for a last coffee in one of our favorite areas.

Coffee was nice, and Palais Royal was full of rollerbladers and street performers, and people of all types...now that more and more tourists are coming to Paris, the streets have become much more diverse! We had our coffee, and after a couple hours, I went home to have dinner with Madame. She made a wonderful last meal for me and Morgan, as well as one of her former students who happened to be visiting. We talked and laughed and reminisced for hours, and it was so sad to have my last dinner. I really cherished all the time I spent with Madame and was so sorry to see my time there ending.

After dinner, Morgan and I met up with Kate and some other girls in the Latin Quarter to go to our favorite spot for a while and dance before leaving in the morning. After the night was over, it was really sad to say goodbye to everyone. We've all become very close in the past few months because we've spent so much time together and grown so much as people, and it will be odd not to see them over summer.

In the morning, driving off in my shuttle van at 7 in the morning, I got my last glimpse of the Eiffel Tower reflecting the light bouncing off the Seine as the sun rose, and I cried...a lot :(

A Last Day Trip, to Chantilly!

On Thursday, the second to last full day I had in Paris, Morgan and I set off in the morning to the town of Chantilly, which is north of Paris. It is actually just a few minutes from the chateau of the family she lives with, and so we'd taken the train there before and knew the system.

When we got off in Chantilly, we had a lovely walk of about 20 minutes through shaded paths and a huge field until we reached the gigantic stone edifice. It was gorgeous and a bit foreboding, and had horses carved all over the outside. We spent some time walking around it trying to find an entrance, and circumvented it about twice (which took a decent amount of time) before we realized that what we were looking at were the stables. Chantilly was a hunting castle, and the family that lived there in the 18th century devoted an entire chateau to the horses.

Eventually we made our way through beautiful green fields to the actual Chateau de Chantilly, which is surrounded by a gorgeous, flat moat, and a large gravel driveway. Entering the Chateau was an amazing experience for me; in general, I don't particularly prefer touring the insides of old homes, I enjoy the grounds and gardens. But in this case, I absolutely loved going through all the rooms and seeing the beautiful art and sculptures the families living there had amassed over the hundreds of years since it was built. When the Chateau was given to the French state, the artwork was left as-was, and so there is an entire room full of paintings, hallways full of prints, stained glass and sculptures, anti-rooms with pottery and antiques, and a gorgeous, gorgeous library remniscent of the one in Beauty and the Beast.

After a full tour of the chateau, we went trompsing through the slightly muddy grounds and gardens for a couple hours. There were gardeners everywhere, repairing and tending to things, and so much wildlife! In one stone pond, we tried to feed a couple swans, who very visciously hissed at us -- in a big, hollow bush, there were a bunch of peacocks that kept making strange noises and glaring at us! It was hilarious, and so much fun. The weather wasn't sunny but it was really warm, and I think that it was perfect for the kind of wild setting of the French countryside.

We headed back to Paris, and that evening Morgan's host family took the two of us to dinner at a Southern French restaurant in Paris, where we had yummy foie gras and duck for dinner. It was nice to see them a last time before leaving, because I spent a lot of time with them and at their apartment!

The next day was my last day in Paris :(

Some more FANTASTIC photos of Chantilly to the right...it was my FAVORITE chateau that I've seen in France!!!

Modern Art

On the day after finals, I woke up with the strangest feeling -- being in Paris with, for the first time in months, nothing pressing to do! I walked to the Centre Pompidou with my friend Derrick to see two special exhibits there, one of Kandinsky and one of Alexander Calder. On the way, I had the last glimpse of one of my favorite walks through Paris: from my apartmnet, past the Eiffel Tower and Ecole Militaire, through the park in front of Invalides, and over the river to Concorde and down Rue de Rivoli.

The Centre Pompidou is really interesting as a structure -- it is completely inside out, and has the "inner workings" of pipes and metal on the outside, in multi colors. The building is all glass and virtually see through, with panoramic views of the city. It houses the most modern art of the Paris museums.





The Kandinsky exhibit was interesting, and very bright and colorful. Kandinsky was a Russian artist who painted mostly in Paris and Munich, and reverted painting to its natural, basic form, of lines, shapes and simple colors. The works they had there mainly spanned his mid to later periods, and were very free and experimental. I definitely appreciate modern art more now that I've finished a course in impressionist art, and I felt very happy looking at some of his paintings. The colors and combinations of shapes were very interesting in a large part of the collection.







The Calder exhibit was fun to see, as well. Alexander Calder was an American artist who worked with wire. He transformed wire into creatures and sculptures, and it was cool to see some of his smaller pieces (the exhibit didn't have his huge mobiles). There were portraits done in wire, and an entire mini-circus that he created.

After the exhibits, I went home for a while and then our ACCENT group had our last organized dinner at an adorable restaurant close to Bastille and Gare de Lyon, down the street from the dorms we stayed in the first week. We've really come full circle and it was nice to say goodbye to everyone before they started heading off!

A Century of Jazz

"Un moment si libres ne devrait-on pas faire accomplir un grand voyage en avion aux jeunes gens ayant terminé leurs études."


or, In such a free moment, what is holding young people, having finished their studies, back from taking a big trip by plane?


~Matisse





I saw this quote today, at the Quai Branly "Siecle du Jazz," or, "Century of Jazz" exhibit. It was written on one of his paintings that was inspired by Jazz music. The entire exhibit was really great...it showed the history of jazz through rooms with each jazz-era, and how other art forms have been influenced by the music.









I went after having finished my LAST exam today! (I'm officially a college Senior.) I got off the metro at the Champs, and walked across the Seine and to the Quai Branly museum, a relatively new structure that mainly houses cultural and anthropological exhibitions. The outside by the river is covered with glass walls, through which you can see the Eiffel Tower, and the hundreds of plants that have been placed there. Inside, you get the feeling that you are in a jungle in the middle of the city. The building itself is just a huge modern structure that houses several exhibits and films, and today I just went to the one, which was huge!







The layout was very condusive to learning about the chronology of jazz, and there was a lot of mixed media that kept my interest peaked. It was cool to see in a European context, because jazz is an American art form, but it did really influence a lot of movements in Paris especially. Last semester I took a history course about jazz, so it was neat to be able to see this exhibition and already have a background. I could really just go through and enjoy all the art and photography, as well as sound bites and video clips! Even still, I spent one and a half or two hours inside, just looking at all the exhibit.





At the end, when I was leaving, a lady working there asked me some questions about how I liked the exhibit. It was good practice for my French, and almost like having a little class afterwards, because I could articulate my thoughts about what I had seen. I thought it was really interesting how the art in the exhibit reflected the music at different periods, and I thought it was a relevant exhibit to have at the museum because it is not only about music, but culture and human history. There are a lot of racial elements in the history of jazz, which were well included. I took a lot of photos of some of the posters, advertisements, and propaganda, as well as the artwork associated with the music, which are in an album to the right!

I then walked home, because the museum is pretty close to my apartment, through the Champ du Mars and past the Eiffel Tower...I'm trying to get some of my last views of it before I leave Saturday!

A Video Clip from the Museum:

A Hot (Summer?!?!) Day

I’m sitting by the Seine, on the edge of the Ile Saint-Louis, on a ridiculously hot day. It feels like August in LA. I’m not sure if it’s even hotter than 85 degrees, but it is humid and I’ve been walking, and the Seine was the coolest place I could find. By the time I have internet and post this it will probably be cooler, but even at nighttime it’s been in the 70s. I think that summer has arrived. I find it bizarre that all of a sudden it is so hot, after such a cold spring, but it literally has happened in the past two days. I am not accustomed to the heat, maybe that is why it seems so hot, but either way, it is oppressive! I really hope it is not quite so humid at home!

The buildings right by the water have that musty smell that is reminiscent of old cathedrals and moldy cellars…It’s kind of comforting, and in the heat, surprisingly doesn’t smell bad, it’s just a part of the scenery. People are lounging all over the banks, drinking wine, having picnics, and seeking refuge from the weather. It is nice to be a part of it.

Even though it is unpleasant to be outside for too long, it is fun to see everyone baring all in cutoff shirts and shorts all of a sudden. Well, actually there aren’t many shorts worn—I’m not sure how French people survive the heat with their snazzy black pants and tanks. I’m wearing a skirt and tank top and am sweltering! It is also exciting that it feels like summer…I haven’t really experienced the Spring to Summer transition since I was in high school, since LA is always so warm. I feel like all the students at ACCENT (the center where I take most of my classes) are my high school classmates and we’re counting down the days until the end of finals and summertime.

I have the oral portion of my Sorbonne exam in a couple of hours, and I have come here to study, as it was too nice to just go home to the apartment in between tests. I just finished two exams (four essays in total, on an array of subjects: Theatre de l’Absurde, the Nouveau Roman, Laicite laws in France, and the affect of the French media on Muslim immigrants – whew!) and this will be my third for the day. But tomorrow I only have one and at 1 pm I’ll be done with the semester!

I can’t believe Junior year is almost over, not to mention my semester, and that next year I’ll be a senior. I think it will be a different experience than all my other years at SC have been so far, especially after my experience here in France. I am very excited, however, to embark upon the end of college and start getting ready for the future. <-- That is a bit scary, “end of college”…I can’t believe I’m actually saying that with myself in mind!

What I’m listening to right now: Shiny Toy Pistols, “I Owe You a Love Song.” This group has been the soundtrack to my wanderings in Paris for the past couple of weeks, along with Queens of the Stone Age, and they are the perfect summertime bands to listen to, if you have a chance

Biz, Ashley

PS - Just got home from my exam, and my teacher said I spoke perfectly! What a relief. Luckily for me, it was on "L'Invitation au Voyage," a poem by Baudelaire, that I have studied and know well. Now just one to go!

Saint Chapelle and Late Spring Wanderings

Lo and behold, the past week has had beautiful, sunny, and warm days. Leaving will be harder than I thought! While I've been spending a considerable amount of time inside, studying for my exams and writing, I've managed to get outside and walk around a fair amount this week.

On Wednesday after my last class, I went to Saint Chapelle on Ile de la Cite, something I've been meaning to do for months. The line was very long, mainly because there is a full security check inside. The reason for this is that the French Supreme Court is in the same courtyard as the church, so once you are on church property, you are on French Government property as well. A funny moment: my bag went off in the x-ray, and I wondered to myself what I could possibly have in there that was a high alert...Out of my bag comes the curling iron that I had borrowed from a friend that morning. The security guard gave it a quizzical look and after explaining that it was for my hair, he shrugged and let me through. Oh, French security -- only the best!

Saint Chapelle has the most glorious stained-glass windows I've ever seen. I remember visiting once when I was younger, and loving it. On this particular day, the sun was out full-force, and the light was coming through the windows to produce an incredible effect: beautiful colorful kaleidoscopes all over the tiled floors. We spent some time taking pictures and admiring the artwork and colors, and then headed out. We walked through the island towards Notre Dame and Saint Michel, and then headed home.

On Friday morning, after having studied at Morgan's and spent the night there, we woke up to another amazingly crisp and clear day. We had to stop by my apartment before going to the library for a study session, and decided to walk because it was so nice out. On the way, we stopped at a fountain in Square Lamartine (in the 16e) that is known all throughout Paris for having the freshest water in the city. After filling our waterbottles, we walked down the hill, through Trocadero and past the Eiffel Tower, and along the Seine to my apartment. It was nice to spend even an hour outside on such a nice day, and not let it go to waste.

Today, I had my Sorbonne Exam (yes, on a Saturday!) in a Parisian suburb. Not wanting to start studying again right away, we went to the Marais and got Falafels and gelato, a wonderful treat (my stomach is acting up a little but it's worth it). On the way there, we walked through Ile Saint-Louis and Rue de Rivoli, and stopped in some cute shops along the way. On the way back home, we stopped to listen to a street-performing jazz band for a while, and then headed to the Metro. I am currently taking a wee study break, and tonight will say goodbye to a French friend of mine since I won't have any time during the week. Saying au revoir is hard to do! It makes leaving more real. But more and more, I am so excited to come home :)

For some AMAZING pictures of Saint Chapelle and pretty days in Paris this week, check out the albums! -->

PS - forgot to mention that last night, as I was studying at Morgan's around 10 pm, we heard a monstrous whirring sound, and several people shrieking. The 16e, where Morgan lives, is a very peaceful and quiet neighborhood, so of course we rushed out to the balcony to see what the commotion was. Down below on the boulevard, there were THOUSANDS of people rollerblading together, some wearing silly glowstick costumes, others funny hats, and followed by police vans and police on bikes! Rollerblading in unison is a popular form of entertainment in Paris, but usually, the weekly rollerblading frenzies are during the day. This was very interesting and highly entertaining to watch...as well as bizarre! Video below!:

Dix et Dix

With twelve days remaining in my semester here in Paris, I can't help but have mixed emotions about leaving...Part of me is so excited to come home and the other part feels like a week and a half is not nearly enough time to have left...So, I've created a list of ten reasons why I wish I could stay longer and ten reasons why I'm excited to go back to California...aka a top and bottom 10 of Paris, if you will:

Top Ten Reasons I Am Not Ready To Leave:

1. I haven't done everything I wanted to yet! I'd have a good amount of time left if I were just spending it sightseeing and traveling, but the large part of my time here will be spent in the library, writing papers and studying for my five exams. While I don't mind the work, and I've been lucky so far with not having as much of a work load as I am used to, I feel like I won't get to see everything I wanted to see, or learn as much as I could have.

2. The good weather is just starting...Spring has arrived, certainly, but a lot of what makes up spring here is rain. I arrived in cold weather, and it has lasted most of the time I've been here. While there have definitely been a few gorgeous days, most of the time it is overcast. The weather has been a beautiful backdrop to Paris, but I wish I could see Paris in its summer beauty as well!

3. I haven't perfected my French yet, and I feel like a few more months would really help. The process of becoming fluent has been stop and go...sometimes I accelerate in my learning, and other times I feel like I can't speak at all. I have improved SO much since arriving and can speak French with much more ease now, but I still haven't quite reached the point where I can speak without really thinking about it. I will need to find ways at home to keep practicing.

4. Paris is a great city to live in...the public transportation is fantastic, there is so much to do, the buildings and streets are beautiful, and it is easy to walk here. I love stepping outside my building every day and being in such an amazing city!

5. The food...I will definitely miss the food. The cheese especially is a new experience every time. Madame buys different types every week at the market, but I still haven't yet been able to try all 365+ kinds of French cheeses! And Madame's cooking will be sorely missed when I return...my parents are great cooks, but Madame makes me a multi-course meal every night for dinner, I'm so spoiled.

6. The boys. Ok, at first I didn't really like French boys, I thought they were weird and their clothes were too tight. But they have totally grown on me. Now I look at them and see style and elegance, and of course, great accents! When I come home, American boys will probably seem a little sloppy. Where else but France will a boy ask if you want water, and bring it to you with a glass pitcher and two glasses on a tray? Neurotically fold your coat and drape it over a chair when you dump it on the floor? Speak in poetry about your eyes and the wonders they behold...?

7. The easy accessibility to the rest of Europe. When you're in Paris, every other European country is a hop, skip and a jump away. It is so easy to travel places for just one weekend, and to experience so many different cultures, something that is much more difficult in the US.

8. The language. I truly think that French is the most beautiful language there is. After being surrounded by it for four and a half months, I have developed a love for listening to it and the nuances it acheives. Anything you say in French sounds ten times prettier than in English. And simple sentences can be like poetry. Tonight at dinner I said "April showers bring May flowers" in French: "Les giboulets d'Avril ammenent les fleurs de Mai," and Madame almost shed tears for the sentence's beauty.

9. Proximity to literature and culture: Everyone in France knows so much about their own history and the artists that have lived here. People are so much more knowledgeable about intellectual topics than the average person at home. They are also much more inclined to be politically aware and know what is going on all over the world, not just in France. At first this seems like a sort of pretention or opinionism, but French people are simply in tune with knowledge, and I really respect that.

10. The magic in Paris is everywhere you go, and overwhelming. Walking through the city is a picture-perfect experience, no matter what the weather, who you're with, or what time of day it is. There is so much to discover, and to see, and to hear and smell and learn. It is truly the perfect, and most amazing city in the world, in my opinion.

Beauty around every corner:

Top Ten Reasons I AM Ready To Leave:

1. I can't wait to see my family! While I get to skype them often, and keep in touch well, it is simply not the same as being together. I've never gone so long without being home, and I'm really looking forward to returning to my own bed, and my own house.

2. My pets! Kind of ties into number 1, but I am so excited to see my babies, they must think I abandoned them! After seeing so many people in Paris with their pets, it makes me jealous that I can't be with mine, and I have to fight urges to steal peoples' lap dogs.

3. On that note, I will NOT miss French people letting their dogs poop everywhere and not picking it up! It is a hazard! I have only experienced one mishap with this, but it is really quite disgusting and I wonder how such a clean city full of clean people get away with this. This is an example of how French people can sometimes be a bit publically rude, and it will be nice to step away from that.

4. The people in California are so friendly! I have grown to like the kind of anonymity you can have in a city like Paris, and I think it is nice that Parisians are not fake-friendly before they really get to know you, but it can also feel lonely, and I'm so excited to be in friendly California where you can smile at a stranger and not be followed by them for four blocks...

5. The WEATHER! When I come home, it will be summer time, and while I will not be used to it, I will be so happy to be in constant sun. I'm definitely a victim of the weather, and so while I am happy to be in Paris, the gray sky can sometimes get me down.

6. Speaking English...while I do want to continue to learn French, my brain will hurt a lot less when I get home. It will be strange not to have to think about translating words in my head for the first time in months, but it will be a great brain vacation, and I can free it up for other things!

7. FOOD: I know I said I would miss French food, but I'm also really happy to finally eat good Mexican and Japanese cuisine! I have been craving Chanos, my favorite LA Mexican drive-through, since February, and I can't wait to eat some decent, well-made and fresh sushi. I'm even looking forward to my parents' scrambled eggs!

8. Driving. I love the metro, and I like being able to be green by taking public transportation and walking everywhere, but I do miss driving. While I'll probably need a week to actually remember HOW to drive again, once I do, it will feel so liberating to be able to go wherever, whenever!

9. Being able to have a job. Here, I only have a student visa and cannot work. But when I get home this summer, I'll be able to work and make some money, and my parents won't have to shell out as much. Paris is SO expensive, not only because of the exchange rate, but because the city itself has an astronomical cost of living. So when I get home, everything will seem so much cheaper!

10. Being in the place I love best, and taking all my experiences with me will be so great. I feel like I have an entirely new perspective on life now, and I will love to share it with my friends and family, and be home in Sunny California, continuing on with my life there. This experience in Paris was amazing, but overall I am ready to return, and I know that I'll come back here one day soon.

I will NOT miss all the greves, or strikes:

All in all, I think I will be ready to come home when May 30 hits. But for now, I just have to live it up while I can! Today was fabulous -- for a while it got very warm and sunny, and I walked to Sorbonne from my apartment for my last class there, on the way buying some antique postcards, an poster of an old drawing of a map of Paris, and a straw hat! And here is a picture of my Sorbonne class...my professor is in the middle with the white collared shirt, and I'm on the bottom right:

Until next time, A bientot!

Nuit des Musees

Last night was a Europe-wide event, called "Nuit des Musees" in France. All over Paris, and in cities all over Europe, museums opened their doors for free in the evening. I love how Europe has so many cultural events such as these -- they really encourage people to come see art and cultural artifacts, and give everyone the opportunity to experience all the exhibits. In Paris, hundreds of places were open, but we chose to go to the Louvre, because at night it is simply exquisite.

We arrived at about 10:30, and wandered the halls until midnight. We started in the Egyptian exhibit, and then moved on through Ancient Greece and Rome, and then the Classical period. It was really cool to see these rooms at night, because all the statues and artifacts were lit by only the indoor lighting, and the windows were dark except for the lights of the building coming in. We saw sarcophagi, an actual mummy, mummified cats and animals, and then statues and busts and masks from the Ancient Greek and Roman period, not to mention a plethora of other statues and bronzes. It was so incredible. I've been to the Louvre several times before, but coming at night like this, all dressed up, felt so glamorous, and made everything even more exciting to see!

(really excited about the mummy)

At midnight everyone was shooed out, and on the way out we passed the Winged Nike, my favorite part of the museum. Outside it was raining gently, and the Louvre and Pyramid were lit up...it was a gorgeous experience!

Pictures on the right in an album!

Monet and Van Gogh

Today was a fantastic, long, tiring, and beautiful day. We went on a day trip for 8 hours from the morning to early evening to Giverny and Auvers, north of Paris. In Giverny, we visited Monet's last home, and the site of his famous Japanese and European gardens. Our Art History professor led the way and showed us the actual inspiration for the impressionist paintings we have been studying in class.

We first wandered through Monet's Japanese garden, which was where he painted his series of hundreds of water-lily paintings, and well-known paintings of the Japanese bridge over his pond. He directed a small stream off the Seine into a man-made pond, and spent months cultivating flowers, trees, and water lilies in the garden there. Now, the pond has enlarged since Monet painted in the garden, but the effect is still breathtaking. The plants and flowers were in full bloom, as it is the height of Spring, and the tricks that the light plays on the water are incredible. We walked all the way around the pond and over the bridge, and I took so many amazing pictures. It was a fairly cloudy day, but at one point, as the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the pond, there was a huge GASP from the crowd (it was a particularly crowded day)...the sunlight reflected off the water and was absolutely breathtaking!

The European garden is equally impressive. Our teacher told us that since there are several gardeners now, versus just Claude, there have been several more flowers planted than there were in Monet's time. They spill over the walkways and explode in hundreds of colors...it is so beautiful. The house, with its green shutters, is a quintessential pictureseque French country home. Most of the rooms inside are painted a cool blue, but the dining room is bright yellow, and so cheerful. The entire house is filled with Japanese blue and white pottery, and reproductions of prints, all pieces of art that inspired Monet when he painted.

The gift shop is actually interesting as well, because it is the special studio Monet built to create his huge murals of water lilies for the Orangerie, in the Tuileries garden in Paris. We saw the murals a couple of weeks ago on a museum visit (there are 8 in total), and they are exquisite. I never quite understood the draw to these paintings before coming to France, but when you see them in person, they are the most soothing and colorful pieces of art you can imagine. Additionally, being at Monet's home and looking at the Seine helps one to imagine what he saw, and the light that he was inspired by. It was a fantastic visit, and I bought a small reproduction of one of my favorite paintings of his -- The Hotel des Roches Noires, in Trouville, where he went on his honeymoon with the famous Camille.

After our visit, we picked up lunch for the group at a boulangerie in a town nearby, and stopped at a lovely lady's home (a friend of our professor), where we ate in her beautiful garden. She is British, but has lived in this old country house for 30 years, and the house itself dates back to the 19th century. Its layout is very interesting, and she has left all the timbered ceilings, different stone and brick on the floors, and whitewashed walls intact. The garden has a wild-looking lawn and beautiful trees, and after lunch, she made us all cafes! It was a lovely place to stop for a meal, and so sweet of her to welcome 30 of us into her home!

We stopped in Auvers after lunch, the last town that Vincent Van Gogh lived in before he killed himself. All over the town are framed reproductions of his paintings in front of the actual site that he painted, and it was so neat to see the aspects of the land that inspired his wild and turbulent style. The church in Auvers was covered in scaffolding, but the slightly tilted roof was visible, which is highlighted in Van Gogh's famous painting of it (which we saw last week at Musee d'Orsay). Up on the hill of the village is a large plateau, covered in wheat fields, where the sky seems to touch the horizon. It was ominous and a little gloomy, but very magnificent. Also on the plateau is a cemetary, where we saw the gravestones of both Van Gogh and his brother Theo, who is buried alonside Vincent.

As we were getting back on the bus, it started to pour...we were so lucky to have a rainless day up until that point to see so much beauty and inspiration for impressionism!

As usual, lots of pictures to the right, I took about 150 and had the HARDEST time deciding which ones to put up, so I posted the pictures that capture the broadest ideas. But really incredible shots in my albums as well!!

Let the Countdown Begin...

So, only 14 days remain, and I still have so much to do! Today, I got one thing that wasn't necessarily on my list but was still very interesting out of the way...I went on an "excursion" of sorts with my International Relations "Islam in France" class to the 18e Arrondisement, in the Northern part of Paris, right near Montmartre. The area has a very concentrated immigrant population, and has since the beginning of the 20th century; however, the make-up has changed. While when the trains were being built in the early 1900s, the immigrants were mainly from Belgium, Germany, Italy, etc, now they are primarily Muslim peoples from North Africa and that area. It was interesting to see the vast difference between this arrondisement and the more central areas of Paris -- from the market stalls, to the people walking about, to the buildings, everything was much more gritty and cheaper (and to be honest, not a great area to be walking in alone...luckily we were a group of 13).

I got some great pictures, and we got to stop at the Mairie de Paris' Institute des Cultures Islamiques, which had a little exhibit on the history of French attitudes towards Muslim immigrants through propaganda and photography. It was a gloomy day but towards noon the sun cleared, and I spent the rest of the day at the library, lucky me! But on my walk home I got to walk through the Champ de Mars which is always a treat, and enjoyed a nice view of gymnasts posing in a pyramid in front of the Eiffel Tower. I will miss the bizarre sights like these that have made my experience here quite spontaneous...

more pix in an album to the right!

Parisian Weekends

This weekend was my third to last here in Paris. Since finals and papers are coming up, I decided to take advantage of the fairly good weather, and do some more sightseeing that I haven't done yet. I feel like I've been so busy in the past months on the weekends, it was great to not have any pressing engagements.

On Friday, Morgan and I went to Notre Dame and waited in a very long line to climb the stairs to the top. I've tried to go up about four times, and each time the line is too long, so this time we decided to just wait it out. After about 45 minutes, we got up, and it was well worth the wait. I haven't climbed the stairs to Notre Dame for about five years, but now I remember why I had wanted to so much. I think Notre Dame offers the best view of Paris...the height is high enough that you can see everything, including the Eiffel Tower (which you can't see of course going up it), but not too high as to make the panoramic view fuzzy.

It was a nice day -- a bit cloudy but not hazy, and with big patches of blue sky showing through. It was also warm. We spent about an hour on the south tower of the church, and then decided to head down for lunch.

We ended up wandering around Paris for four hours instead of eating! We looped through Ile-Saint-Louis and watched a jazz band play for a bit, we went across the river and through the Marais, then through the Chatelet area, and then down through Palais Royal to the metro. It was a beautiful day, lots of people were out enjoying the weather and holiday, and it was nice to just walk around, something we haven't had the time to do in ages.

That night, we made a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, and salad, and watched a movie at Morgan's because her host family was out of town.

On Saturday night, Madame took me to the opera at the Opera Bastille! It was "Un Bal Masque," and was absolutely beautiful. The opera was in Italian and the subtitles in French, so it was great practice for me to read the subtitles and understand the story that way. It was actually my first real opera, and what a way to start! The Paris Opera is one of the oldest establisments in the city, and the performance was unbelieveable. It is hard to believe that those voices are coming out of people, and the music really transports you elsewhere. The opera lasted three hours, but it felt like nothing!

On Sunday, I went with some friends to one of the Paris fleamarkets. It was a little picked over and I only found one shirt (I was looking for a hat, but they were all too small!), but it was very interesting to see another side of Paris. The flea market was all the way on the East side of Paris, actually right at the periphery, and there were all sorts of people there. After an interesting perusal of items, we went to the Marais and wandered around, smelling all the falafel being made in the Jewish bakeries and markets. There are all of a sudden a lot more English-speakers and other tourists here...it's as if as they filter in, they're pushing me out and are signalling my time to leave. I'm so glad that the time of year I came was fairly "authentic" in terms of how few tourists there were! Now I can really see the difference -- people are wearing less as it becomes warmer, and there is more movement and boisterousness in the crowds.

We got some falafel and fries and sat in the Place des Vosges to eat it, and then headed home. I love the Place des Vosges right now; it is warm and sunny on a good day, and everyone goes there to have lunch. Last week we went there on a week day and there were students, business people on lunch breaks, older couples sharing benches, and a few scattered eccentrics here and there. The birds love it there too...lots of free food!

I'm sad to be leaving in 18 days, but as the atmosphere becomes more summery, I am becoming increasingly excited to be back in California...that will be very soon!

On the right are a few new photo albums from my walking in Paris recently! Please check them out, I got a lot of great shots!

Bisous,

Ashley