Ma Famille a Paris!

So, as I mentioned below, this week my family was in Paris! Unfortunately for the first weekend I was away in Normandy, and my time with them was limited from Monday to Thursday because of classes, but from Thursday night onward I was able to stay in their apartment with them, which was incredibly located--right by the Champ de Mars, with a view of the Tour Eiffel!

On Sunday night we had a delicious Salade Nicoise that they had made with fresh ingredients from the marche nearby, and we all caught up. Monday, we went to tea at the Mariage Freres in the Marais, and then saw the Petit Nicolas exhibit. Petit Nicolas is a children's book written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempe, 50 years ago. The exhibit is a tribute to Petit Nicolas' 50th birthday, and the stories are still published all around the world. I had read them when I was about 15 in French class (although most French children read them as children, it was a good starting point for my endeavors in French "literature"). It was really neat to see the exhibit and all the original drawings and storyboards that led to the children's book. We then walked to my class at the Sorbonne together (it was a beautiful, hot spring day) and said goodbye for the night.

The next time I saw my family was at the belated birthday dinner my mother organized for me at a wonderful restaurant in the 7th arrondisement, Au Bon Acueil. We invited Madame Poidevin, my French teacher Madame Shirvani from high school (she happened to be here on a high school spring break trip to Paris), my cousin Stephen who is also studying here, and a few of my friends from the program. It was so nice to have everyone together in Paris, and the hours rolled by without us even realizing. The dinner was delicious, a wonderful fusion of Parisian and nouveau-cusine, and the venue very intimate. I tried Langue d'oursins, which was strips of sea urchin, presented in the actual urchin shell with a froth of asparagus and cucumber. Very intriguing and delicious! I was so happy for my friends and for Madame P to meet my mom, dad, and sister!

The next day I had a museum visit at the wonderful Marmottan museum in the 16th Arrondisement, on the western edge of Paris, and I took my sister Avery with me. We saw some incredible Monets, including a part of his water-lily collection. Seeing these paintings in person made me realize why they became so famous--they are so soothing to the eye, and transport the viewer to another place. The Marmotton is an old Parisian house, so the layout of the works inside is very interesting and a nice way to view the paintings.

Avery and I met our parents at Angelina, where we had a wonderful lunch. I mentioned before how I went to Angelina with Alison and Paul, and when we had gone Alison tried the steak tartar, so I had it as well...my stomach had been troubling me but it was well worth the delicious raw meat :) And of course, Angelina hot chocolate is truly the best I've ever tried.

We walked through Tuileries, through the courtyard of the Louvre, into the gardens at Palais Royal, and then through the 1st arrondisement to the Les Halles and Chatelet area. It was so nice to be with my family, and one thing I love about travelling with them is that we always wander and end up finding really interesting areas. In my few months here, I had still not ventured over to this arrondisement, so it was neat to see! We met up with a friend of my Aunt's who is a professor of English at Sorbonne for coffee at Saint Michel, and afterwards, I had a play to go to with my French Avant-Garde class.

The play is called "La Cantatrice Chauve," by Ionesco, and has been playing at small theaters in the Latin Quarter for 52 years. It was hilarious, and very avant-garde indeed. Afterwards, I grabbed a gyros plate and then headed home. Little did I know that this would be my last delicious, meaty and greasy meal for a while...(more on this later)

After class the next day, I was able to "move in" with my family to their apartment. We explored the city over the next few days, and saw Spring really transform Paris. It was as if overnight, all the trees burst into green, and all the flowers really came into bloom. I heard that Paris had a particularly long winter this year, which I hadn't noticed because I was so enthralled by the city. But now, seeing Paris in all its springtime glory, I can see what everyone was so looking forward too!

The Luxembourg gardens were just exquisite--all the flowers and trees are so beautiful right now. Big dovelike pigeons have emerged and have the prettiest cooing (I know that not everyone is a fan of pigeons, but I have been raised to love them thanks to Uncle Johnny and Aunt Diana). We walked all over, and saw Notre Dame at sunset right before Easter, and had a wonderful dinner on the Ile Saint Louis. We went to Montmartre at night, and wandered through the streets leading up to the Artists' Hill and Sacre Coeur. It is really beautiful to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling on the hour from up on the hill, juxtaposed with the full moon!

Saturday, unfotunately, I was unable to do much due to the stomach issue I was foreshadowing earlier. As it turns out, the Fruits de Mer platter that I mentioned in my previous post seems to have given me a parasite. As the French say, one must always drink white wine with a shellfish dish. Unfortunately I had not, and so the little parasite that found me was not destroyed. The entire week I felt funny and by about Friday disaster struck! I have been unable to partake in the rest of the family dinners and wasn't able to make it out with my family on Saturday. But, they did get to see Pere Lachaise, and Uncle Johnny--they got some photos of Jim Morrison's tombtone for you! Fortunately, by that night I was feeling better so when they returned, we were all able to go to dinner with Morgan's family, which was nice. We went to a wonderful Bistro, Thoumieux, which appeared to be delicious. I looked on with envy as everyone dug into courses such as Tartare du Boeuf, buttery steak, Cassoulet, beautiful white tender fish...you get the idea! It was beautifully presented, the waitstaff was incredibly friendly and very French, and it was so nice to meet Morgan's family and for them to meet mine!

The next day was Easter! The Easter Bunny was very generous, and I have carefully stowed away my Easter chocolates for when I have finished my special diet of carrots, rice, stomach plaster etc. We had a lovely tea at Laduree, and I was so happy to finally get to experience the teahouse! The pastries, macarons, cakes, and candles are so beautifully presented there, the colorschemes are wonderful, and the decor oozes classical French grace and elegance. I absolutely loved it and was able to try a wonderful tea infusion of verbena leaves...mmmm!

For Easter dinner, Madame invited us over to the apartment where my family dined on an amazing entree of scallops (Coquilles Saint Jacques) served in their original shells with leeks, a seven-hour braised lamb shank with carrots and onions, a platter of four cheeses from different regions of France, and a beautiful homemade Easter dessert of meringues floating in a milk and caramel sauce. It was a great dinner and I was very impressed with my mother's French skills...for someone who doesn't "speak" French, she was able to whip out quite a lot of phrases, and really communicate well with Madame. Very impressive. Of course my father showed me up with his fluent French, and had a long political conversation with Madame about Sarkozy. Avery did well too, she is in French IV right now and has made so much progress since the last time I heard her speak! What an intelligent family I have :)

It was so sad to see my family go, but I'm glad to know that now it is even less time until I see them again than it was between the start of the program and this week. Of course, it is a bit strange that already I have Spring Break, and then only three weeks left of courses and a couple more of finals, but it will be good to be back in California for summer. The time has gone by far too quickly.

Looking back on this post, I realize I've spent a lot of time discussing food...I think that since I haven't been able to eat, food is on the mind, however vicariously I've experienced it this week. In my next few posts about Greece (I'm going in two days for Spring Break!) I'll hopefully have many wonderful anecdotes about the places I ate and the food I actually was able to enjoy there..I know my Greek relatives are looking forward to fattening me up...

Until next time, Bisous! And look to the right, I have updated some more photo albums of my birthday festivities in Paris, my Parents' and sister's visit to France, and my trip to Normandy!

xx,

Ashley