Living in Paris is really great, but sometimes you want to get out of town to enjoy something a little bit more laid back. That was the intention on setting up a day-trip to the village (city) of Reims. Reims is about 45 minutes by TGV train to the northeast of Paris. It is about half way to Germany, which is evident in the strong accents the people of Reims often have. I went with three classmates, Benna, Janet, and Jessie, and we got into town at about 9:45 am.
The first thing you see in Reims is the huge cathedral, Notre Dame de Reims. It soars above every other building in town, and you can see it from afar. We headed towards the cathedral first, to get a map of Reims from the tourism office next door. When you approach the cathedral you are immediately drawn in. We entered, and immediately were entranced by its beauty. I have been to a lot of large cathedrals now, but nothing quite as grand as the cathedral in Reims. The history of the cathedral is amazing in itself. Clovis was baptised there in the 400s, and since then, most kings of France were coronated at the cathderal. The church that Clovis was baptised in is part of the cathedral, and since it has been added on to, to make it one of the grandest and largest cathedrals in France. It is still being worked on and added to, as illustrated by the gorgeous Marc Chagall stained glass windows in the back of the cathedral. The outside of the cathedral is just as spectacular, with enormous flying butresses, and elaborate stonework all around.
We stopped in a cafe for a quick coffee, before almost running to our next stop. We had signed up online for a tour of a champagne cave. Reims is one of the largest towns in the region of France known as Champagne. This region is technically the only place in the world where champagne can be made. If champagne is made somewhere else, they are technically not supposed to call it champagne. We signed up for a tour and tasting at Pommery, the largest champagne cave in Reims. We decided to take the tour in French, so as to practice a bit. Our guide was really interesting, and he had a very thick germanic accent. He took us through the caves, 30 meters underground! Inside the caves there were tunnels and tunnels that were filled with bottles. The tunnels are named after different cities in the world, so they can keep track of which bottles are where. The guide told us that they store the bottles (filled) in the caves for 7 to 10 years. This means that when you buy a bottle of Pommery it is at its perfect age. He said that you can keep it for about 3 years, but that after it might start to taste strange. The guide also explained that they store the champagne in the caves because the caves have the same temperature and humidity level all of the time, which makes the process perfectly consistent. After the tour we went to the main room and got a sample glass. I'm not a wine/champagne person, but it was quite good. Everyone around us seemed pretty impressed at least. I just thought it was fun to try out the product that we got to see the making of behind the scenes.
After the caves we walked back into the center of town to find a place to eat. We wandered up and down one of the main roads, and stopped in a cafe. We had agreed ahead of time that we would have a nice meal in Reims, to experience the local specialties. So we all ordered the plat du jour, a risotto and fish plate with a very rich butter sauce. It was delightful. I also had a brownie with it, and then a coffee (the best I've had in France I think). It cost about 15 euros, which was actually a very reasonable price for what we had.
We then wandered around the city, stopping at the Porte de Mars (a wall from the 200s that was built by the Romans) and the Reims cemetery (looks like it was devasted during WWII, and no one ever fixed it, stones are smashed everywhere, its sad, but strangely peaceful). We then ended up at the Musee de la Reddition. This museum is housed in Eisenhower's former WWII headquarters, and is the site where the Germans surrendered WWII. The highlight of the museum is the room where the Germans surrendered. It has been virtually untouched since Eisenhower moved his officials out of the building. The city of Reims was given the building, as a thanks for housing the allied forces, and now displays a variety of WWII items (part of a plane, uniforms, etc). The room is interesting because it has maps and battle plans posted on all of the walls. The historical facts are interesting as well. The Russians were not properly notified of the German surrender, and forced the Germans in Berlin to redo it the next day, so that they could be more a part of it.
We spent time in the local park, ate a croque (ham and cheese sandwich) and then headed to the train station to go home. It was a really nice day. I experienced three incredibly different, but interesting things, among many, and I got to see a different part of the country.
PHOTOS:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010004&l=badfc&id=1599570086
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Versailles
Our Friday excursion this week took us to Versailles. We had to wake up early (ish) and take the train to the Center, just to turn around, get back on the same train (back towards home) and go to Versailles. The train ride is about 30 minutes, and it goes through suburban Paris before getting to Versailles. I thought it was going to stop in the middle of nowhere and there would be the palace. No. Versailles is actually a large town (100,000 people) and it dropped us off on a busy road across from a McDonald's. We walked a few blocks, and turned the corner, and there was the palace. It looked strange and out of place. The walk up was on a large cobbled road, and there was traffic. I imagined a glorious garden or something. No, just stones.
We did a tour with a guide on the inside of the palace. The guide was this somewhat strange and batty French woman, who just talked a lot about non-sense. The palace was also incredibly crowded. You litterally had to push your way from room to room. As a result I didn't follow much of what the guide said, relying almost entirely on the signs and the small pamphlet I got. To add to everything, there was this really strange modern art display throughout the tour. In the middle of rooms there would be strange sculptures of things like Michael Jackson and bears. It did not fit at all. A lot of people really liked it, but I think it took away from the rooms. The rooms themselves were impressive, though they were all similarly furnished. It was hard to appreciate them for what they were. And the fact that it was so crowded took away from it a lot. We were spoiled at Chambord when we were the only people there. I did like the Hall of Mirrors. It had a great view out onto the grounds and the gardens, and the room itself was very beautiful (and bigger so it felt less crowded). In all I liked Versailles, but I feel like a lot of the excitment was missing because of the circumstances. I'll probably end up back there with my next program, so maybe it will be better. If not, maybe I'll make a weekend trip out of it in a few months.
After the tour we were given a return train ticket home (on the RER so time wasn't an issue) and the freedom to wander. We stopped and had lunch, just sandwiches, at the cafe. We sat in this gorgeous room, and I'd love to know what it was for. Afterwards we headed out into the gardens.
The first impression I had of the gardens was that they were amazing. They are huge. Which means that the crowds break up considerably, so you are free to relax. And if you turn and look at the palace, what you will see is way cooler than what you'd see from the other side. There is a large reflecting pool, and then the palace is just there. We wandered onto a path and just started walking and enjoying the fall day. At certain points along the path there were great things, like beautiful statues or fountains. At one point we took a break to relax our feet and I looked at a map. I really wanted to find Marie Antoinette's cottage, but it wasn't marked. So, I made up something so that I could get my friends to continue walking. We turned north up a path, which was tree lined, and since its fall now, all of the trees were yellow. It was really nice. Up ahead we saw something, which turned out to be a field of sheep. We for some reason got really excited and ran to go look at it, which was stupid, because if we had looked to our left just like ten feet, we would have seen the sign for "Marie Antoinette's Domain." After many pictures of sheep grazing, and an attempt to get one to walk towards us (failed) we headed through the gates to see what this "Domain" was.
Turns out it was Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's "cottage." We managed to get in with our Art Student Cards (for free!) and we wandered around. Its beautiful, and huge. Bigger than my house by far, and it was just a cottage. It was also lavishly decorated. From a window we saw a cool statue thing, so we headed out into the gardens to check it out. As we were heading there we saw something else we wanted to see in the distance, a cool old mill looking thing. We stopped at the statue first, the Temple of Love. It had a sculpture of Hercules in the middle, and it was sort of romantic. All white marble.
After we started to head out to the mill thing. It was Marie Antoinette's "Hamlet." She had a small hamlet built for her use so that she could escape court life. I had always thought it was just a cottage, but this place had at least ten buildings. They were all gorgeous too. And whoever the current groundskeeper is did a wonderful job, because all of the gardens were well kept, and well stocked. We wandered around the hamlet in awe for awhile, and ended up at the farm, with live animals. We laughed at the rabbits and chickens for awhile, before turning in and heading back towards home (like a 30 minute walk because we were so far out). I'm so glad we decided to keep searching, because the highlight of my day was that little hamlet. I could take or leave Versailles, but seeing the hamlet was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life. It felt like Disney, but it wasn't. It was real. Hundreds of years ago a queen used to play there with her children. It's unimaginable.
Versailles:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009975&l=e7b34&id=1599570086
Gardens and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009976&l=bab74&id=1599570086
We did a tour with a guide on the inside of the palace. The guide was this somewhat strange and batty French woman, who just talked a lot about non-sense. The palace was also incredibly crowded. You litterally had to push your way from room to room. As a result I didn't follow much of what the guide said, relying almost entirely on the signs and the small pamphlet I got. To add to everything, there was this really strange modern art display throughout the tour. In the middle of rooms there would be strange sculptures of things like Michael Jackson and bears. It did not fit at all. A lot of people really liked it, but I think it took away from the rooms. The rooms themselves were impressive, though they were all similarly furnished. It was hard to appreciate them for what they were. And the fact that it was so crowded took away from it a lot. We were spoiled at Chambord when we were the only people there. I did like the Hall of Mirrors. It had a great view out onto the grounds and the gardens, and the room itself was very beautiful (and bigger so it felt less crowded). In all I liked Versailles, but I feel like a lot of the excitment was missing because of the circumstances. I'll probably end up back there with my next program, so maybe it will be better. If not, maybe I'll make a weekend trip out of it in a few months.
After the tour we were given a return train ticket home (on the RER so time wasn't an issue) and the freedom to wander. We stopped and had lunch, just sandwiches, at the cafe. We sat in this gorgeous room, and I'd love to know what it was for. Afterwards we headed out into the gardens.
The first impression I had of the gardens was that they were amazing. They are huge. Which means that the crowds break up considerably, so you are free to relax. And if you turn and look at the palace, what you will see is way cooler than what you'd see from the other side. There is a large reflecting pool, and then the palace is just there. We wandered onto a path and just started walking and enjoying the fall day. At certain points along the path there were great things, like beautiful statues or fountains. At one point we took a break to relax our feet and I looked at a map. I really wanted to find Marie Antoinette's cottage, but it wasn't marked. So, I made up something so that I could get my friends to continue walking. We turned north up a path, which was tree lined, and since its fall now, all of the trees were yellow. It was really nice. Up ahead we saw something, which turned out to be a field of sheep. We for some reason got really excited and ran to go look at it, which was stupid, because if we had looked to our left just like ten feet, we would have seen the sign for "Marie Antoinette's Domain." After many pictures of sheep grazing, and an attempt to get one to walk towards us (failed) we headed through the gates to see what this "Domain" was.
Turns out it was Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's "cottage." We managed to get in with our Art Student Cards (for free!) and we wandered around. Its beautiful, and huge. Bigger than my house by far, and it was just a cottage. It was also lavishly decorated. From a window we saw a cool statue thing, so we headed out into the gardens to check it out. As we were heading there we saw something else we wanted to see in the distance, a cool old mill looking thing. We stopped at the statue first, the Temple of Love. It had a sculpture of Hercules in the middle, and it was sort of romantic. All white marble.
After we started to head out to the mill thing. It was Marie Antoinette's "Hamlet." She had a small hamlet built for her use so that she could escape court life. I had always thought it was just a cottage, but this place had at least ten buildings. They were all gorgeous too. And whoever the current groundskeeper is did a wonderful job, because all of the gardens were well kept, and well stocked. We wandered around the hamlet in awe for awhile, and ended up at the farm, with live animals. We laughed at the rabbits and chickens for awhile, before turning in and heading back towards home (like a 30 minute walk because we were so far out). I'm so glad we decided to keep searching, because the highlight of my day was that little hamlet. I could take or leave Versailles, but seeing the hamlet was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life. It felt like Disney, but it wasn't. It was real. Hundreds of years ago a queen used to play there with her children. It's unimaginable.
Versailles:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009975&l=e7b34&id=1599570086
Gardens and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009976&l=bab74&id=1599570086
To Start The Louvre...
I got out of class at 12:15 on Thursday, with no real plans for the afternoon. I figured it was the best time I would have to start the Louvre. And when I say start, I mean seriously start from one corner, and start working my way around. The Louvre is incredibly huge. You can wander around for hours and realize that you've only seen maybe a fifth of it.
I collected a few friends and we went to the Jardin de Tuileries to eat our lunches. To save money I've been packing a lunch from home to bring to eat at school, so as I sat in the garden with my PB&J (peanut butter is impossible to find here, buy my Mom brought me some Skippy from the States, it's never tasted so good) I took in the incredible fall day. The garden at Tuileries is an ideal rest stop for tourists because it is right across from the Seine, and an easy walking distance from the Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre.
After eating I headed into the Louvre. Before entering the museum proper I went to a small office to get a student card. The University of Chicago presented us with Art History Student Cards, which allows us into all Art museums (and most castles) for free. The Louvre required us to get their card (still free). It took longer than I'd hoped (30 minutes maybe), but I got my Louvre photo ID. Now I can enter and exit at will, it's great.
I started the Louvre with the early French and Northern European sculptures. Naturally they were gorgeous, and it was interesting to note that almost every single one of them had some sort of Christian theme. Afterwards I went up a level, and did the Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. I saw the famous statue of Venus de Milo, and situated atop a staircase, Winged Victory. They were exquisitely done. I really enjoyed the Greek and Roman statues. Most were of people, and the worksmanship is incredible. I can't imagine what it would be like to create something so beautiful out of stone. The time that goes into that must be enormous.
A lot of the time I spent at the Louvre, I realized later, I spent looking not at the art, but at the palace itself. The Louvre was the royal home of an incredible number of French kings, and the grandeur is incredible. It also helps that it is immaculately upkeep by the French government. There was marble everywhere, painted ceilings, gold trimmings. Some rooms had gorgeous stone columns, others were painted in rich colors. It was breathtaking.
I ended by running up quickly to see the Mona Lisa. Only because you have to, and I was already nearby. I figured I'd get it out of the way, so that the next time I head up to the Grand Gallery I don't have to worry about pushing through the crowds, and I can admire everything else. The unfortunate thing about seeing the Mona Lisa is that because it is so popular, it is on total lockdown. You can't get within 20 feet of it, and its guarded by bullet proof glass. It takes away from the image completely. You can't inspect Da Vinci's brushstrokes. And yeah, people say it looks small, but thats only because it is so far away.
I left feeling like I'd accomplished somthing. I had checked off maybe 1/20 of the rooms on the map. But I'd only spent an hour and a half. I figure on days when I have the afternoon off I can head over and conquer a couple exhibits. I've got until mid-March.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009974&l=308a0&id=1599570086
I collected a few friends and we went to the Jardin de Tuileries to eat our lunches. To save money I've been packing a lunch from home to bring to eat at school, so as I sat in the garden with my PB&J (peanut butter is impossible to find here, buy my Mom brought me some Skippy from the States, it's never tasted so good) I took in the incredible fall day. The garden at Tuileries is an ideal rest stop for tourists because it is right across from the Seine, and an easy walking distance from the Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre.
After eating I headed into the Louvre. Before entering the museum proper I went to a small office to get a student card. The University of Chicago presented us with Art History Student Cards, which allows us into all Art museums (and most castles) for free. The Louvre required us to get their card (still free). It took longer than I'd hoped (30 minutes maybe), but I got my Louvre photo ID. Now I can enter and exit at will, it's great.
I started the Louvre with the early French and Northern European sculptures. Naturally they were gorgeous, and it was interesting to note that almost every single one of them had some sort of Christian theme. Afterwards I went up a level, and did the Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. I saw the famous statue of Venus de Milo, and situated atop a staircase, Winged Victory. They were exquisitely done. I really enjoyed the Greek and Roman statues. Most were of people, and the worksmanship is incredible. I can't imagine what it would be like to create something so beautiful out of stone. The time that goes into that must be enormous.
A lot of the time I spent at the Louvre, I realized later, I spent looking not at the art, but at the palace itself. The Louvre was the royal home of an incredible number of French kings, and the grandeur is incredible. It also helps that it is immaculately upkeep by the French government. There was marble everywhere, painted ceilings, gold trimmings. Some rooms had gorgeous stone columns, others were painted in rich colors. It was breathtaking.
I ended by running up quickly to see the Mona Lisa. Only because you have to, and I was already nearby. I figured I'd get it out of the way, so that the next time I head up to the Grand Gallery I don't have to worry about pushing through the crowds, and I can admire everything else. The unfortunate thing about seeing the Mona Lisa is that because it is so popular, it is on total lockdown. You can't get within 20 feet of it, and its guarded by bullet proof glass. It takes away from the image completely. You can't inspect Da Vinci's brushstrokes. And yeah, people say it looks small, but thats only because it is so far away.
I left feeling like I'd accomplished somthing. I had checked off maybe 1/20 of the rooms on the map. But I'd only spent an hour and a half. I figure on days when I have the afternoon off I can head over and conquer a couple exhibits. I've got until mid-March.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009974&l=308a0&id=1599570086
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Ma Famille!
Its been a bit of a long week for me. My first exam was last Friday, and I had a paper (dissertation in french) due on Sunday afternoon... and my family is here!
The dissertation was particularly hard. The French have a different writing style than the American's. What is known as a 5-Paragraph Essay with a thesis statement in the United States would probably get a failing grade here. In France the "thesis" goes at the end of the essay. The writer works toward discovering the point of the essay. In place of a thesis, a french dissertation begins with a problematique, or a set of questions that proposes what the paper is going to discuss. I find that I actually write better in this form, unfortunately since I have to write in French, that little advantage is thrown entirely out the window. It's definitely slow going. The Chicago Center tries to help us as much as they can, however. They set up a series of meetings for us with "correcters" in which we sit down with a french person and go over format and language. Its totally helpful, although a bit time consuming.
The exam was no big. Just two hours on about 1000 years of history. It focused primarily on religion, although there was a bit of politics in it too (which was totally fab for me).
Friday after I sat my exam I went to go fetch my family from the metro station. Miraculously I got there and they were standing right outside. We ate lunch at a cute cafe across from their hotel, which was fun because the waitress was really awesome and helpful. Saturday, after my English conversation (which was totally fun), we met up at Notre Dame, and explored the Latin Quarter together, including the Jardin de Plantes. We got dinner at the Franprix (supermarket) on the Rue de Mouffetard, which is a pedestrian only street with food stores all over the place. We ended up getting a fried chicken and potatoes from a bucherie instead though. It was fab. Sunday I met up with the fam at the Musee d'Orsay. After we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, and then I headed home to do homework.
Its been totally great having my family here. Its fun to see them, and fun to share this city with them. I'll be sad to see them go on Thursday, but I'm glad they got to see this place, because it is definitely going to be an important piece of my life.
The dissertation was particularly hard. The French have a different writing style than the American's. What is known as a 5-Paragraph Essay with a thesis statement in the United States would probably get a failing grade here. In France the "thesis" goes at the end of the essay. The writer works toward discovering the point of the essay. In place of a thesis, a french dissertation begins with a problematique, or a set of questions that proposes what the paper is going to discuss. I find that I actually write better in this form, unfortunately since I have to write in French, that little advantage is thrown entirely out the window. It's definitely slow going. The Chicago Center tries to help us as much as they can, however. They set up a series of meetings for us with "correcters" in which we sit down with a french person and go over format and language. Its totally helpful, although a bit time consuming.
The exam was no big. Just two hours on about 1000 years of history. It focused primarily on religion, although there was a bit of politics in it too (which was totally fab for me).
Friday after I sat my exam I went to go fetch my family from the metro station. Miraculously I got there and they were standing right outside. We ate lunch at a cute cafe across from their hotel, which was fun because the waitress was really awesome and helpful. Saturday, after my English conversation (which was totally fun), we met up at Notre Dame, and explored the Latin Quarter together, including the Jardin de Plantes. We got dinner at the Franprix (supermarket) on the Rue de Mouffetard, which is a pedestrian only street with food stores all over the place. We ended up getting a fried chicken and potatoes from a bucherie instead though. It was fab. Sunday I met up with the fam at the Musee d'Orsay. After we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, and then I headed home to do homework.
Its been totally great having my family here. Its fun to see them, and fun to share this city with them. I'll be sad to see them go on Thursday, but I'm glad they got to see this place, because it is definitely going to be an important piece of my life.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Paris-Tours
If you know me well you know that I am a cycling fanatic. That, given the opportunity I would talk all day, everyday, about cycling. With that in mind I decided very early on that if I was going to be spending time in France, the hotbed of cycling, I would make sure I got to see at least one part of at least one race. Way back in the spring I checked race schedules, and marked my calender for Paris-Tours 2008, the last major French race of the season, and the only one easily accessible for me until next spring.
Upon arriving here in Paris I was determined that I would find a way to get to the start town of the race. It may be called "Paris-Tours" but it actually started in a small town about 30km outside of Paris, Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines. I spent a lot of time my first two weeks here in Paris, asking around and trying to find a way to get to Saint-Arnoult. Success. I managed to find a way that involved taking the RER B to Gare d'Orsay Ville, and then taking a SAVAC bus to Saint-Arnoult. I had to wake up early, and time my trip properly, but I managed to make it everywhere right on time. I was nervous that since it was a Sunday one of the legs of my journey would not be running.
Arriving in Saint-Arnoult I was immediately greeted by a sign pointing "Les Équipes" to the start area of the race. I followed the sign, and the small trickle of other people following it, to a small square in the center of town. Going to the start of a bike race is fun. I got to do it in Missouri last fall, so I knew at least slightly what to expect. All of the team buses pull into a designated car park, open up their doors, and the riders are let out into the hoards of people. There are no barriers between rider and fan, and you very rarely even see a bodyguard (only like Lance Armstrong has a bodyguard). The riders actually use their bikes to avoid the crush of people. If they want to go somewhere they will get on and try to ride through, often riding over people, and when a gap is made, they push off as fast as they can away from the crowd.
The first team to arrive at the start was Bouygues Telecom, a smallish French team from the Vendée region, which is near Saint-Arnoult. After they parked a huge number of people went after their bus. The team didn't exit though, so I hung back waiting. Other teams started to trickle in. Next was Liquigas, then Lampre with the new World Champion in the front seat, and then Milram. Team Milram was greeted with the greatest crush of all, as their star rider, Erik Zabel, was setting off to race his last professional race ever. Zabel had won the event Paris-Tours on three occassions and was favored to do it again.
As teams were arriving, the fans were waiting not so patiently for the first riders to appear from the buses. The first rider I spotted was Thomas Voeckler, who jumped out of the Bouygues Telecom bus, rode through the crowd impossibly fast, and then disappeared. A few minutes later he reappeared, and was mobbed. Not wanting to be a crazy fan I didn't go in and try to mob Voeckler. I hung back a bit, and waiting to see if he would stick around, or try to jet off. After it was clear that he was all to willing to sign autographs and take pictures, I nervously approached. This guy wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France for ten days! I got him to sign my french notebook (I had stupidly forgotten to find something better to get signed), and thanked him and wished him luck (in french!).
More riders started appearing, and shortly after the appearance of Voeckler, the Bouygues Telecom team went to the announcer's stage to sign in and be presented. It is cycling tradition that before any race the riders must sign in. At most races they set up a big board with little numbered boxes on a stage. Riders come up and sign their name in the numbered box that corresponds to their race number. After they are presented to the crowd. The ASO, the organization that organized Paris-Tours and also does the Tour de France, has an announcer that is incredibly well known for his presentations. He can list off the palmarés (list of accomplishments) of every single rider, as he memorizes it all before the race. Each team goes up one by one on the stage, signs in, and then the announcer presents each rider and their biggest race victories. After this the teams descend the stage, and head back to their buses. To get their they have to go through a gate, and weave through the crowd. This gate is the best point to meet cyclists, I discovered. It had a narrow opening, and riders were required to go in and out of it to get to the stage.
The second team to be presented was Euskaltel-Euskadi, a Spanish team from the Basque region. I thought they were really fun. They were obviously enjoying themselves, laughing and joking the whole time. They were also the only team that left their bikes at the team bus, and walked through the crowd. The reigning Olympic Champion is on Euskaltel-Euskadi, Sammy Sanchez. I made a beeline for him as he was exiting the sign-in stage. His autograph might be worth something some day, and it was cool to see the Olympic Champion, adorned in gold, in person.
What followed was a mix of me watching the team presentations, me scouting for riders I wanted to meet, and me wandering around the parking lot in awe. At one point I saw two Garmin-Chipotle riders riding slowly ahead of me. One was wearing a number that ended in 1, which denotes team leader. I knew that had to be Tom Danielson, as I had read online that he was gunning for a breakaway in the race and would be leading the team. I literally chased after him. Tom was the one rider that I told myself ahead of time I wanted to hunt down. This was because I knew that I would be one of the only American's at the race, and that would probably give me an opportunity to really talk to Danielson. As I caught up to him I managed to ask him if he would mind taking a picture with me. Surprised he said sure, and one of his teammates snapped a really nice shot. He then asked me what I was doing at the race, and seemed interested in learning why an American was in Saint-Arnoult. We ended up chatting for a good five minutes, about how cool the European racing scene is, and how it doesn't really exist in the United States. It was sort of a relief to talk to an American, because I was in the middle of a small French town. I think Tom thought it was pretty cool to talk to an American too... or he was just really nice.
I tried the same tactic when I saw David Zabriskie ride past me. Zabriskie is well known for having won a stage in all three grand tours, and wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de Frace after beating Lance Armstrong in a time trial. Zabriskie was weaving through the crowd ignoring everyone, but when he came past me I asked him in English if he would sign for me. Surprised he stopped and obliged. While signing he told me "you speak very good english," to which I replied "yeah, because I'm an American." He responded with a spacey, "yeah me too," and then rode off. Zabriskie is a bizarre individual, he gives strange media interviews, and meeting him in person just justified everything the media painted him to be, strange. I think he was being sarcastic when he said I speak good english, because I noticed that I was the only person he signed for.
About half an hour before the start the riders were all queueing up to be presented. All of the teams sort of arrived at the same time, so it got all backed up. Teams that had been presented were also making their way to the start line, which is within the barriers. I realized that this was probably my last chance to catch any riders for pictures, a chat, or an autograph. I scanned the presentation area to see what teams were missing, and noticed that Quickstep was not there. I beelined it to the Quickstep bus, knowing that the superstar Tom Boonen was racing, and that he would likely be on his way towards the sign-in. It was some sort of strange magic that lead me right to him. Tom Boonen is sort of known as the A-List Celebrity of cycling. He is like the Brad Pitt of Belgium. They love him, and he loves that everyone loves him. You could see this in how he made a point to sign for every single fan that was mobbing him. I managed to get my way to the front of the crush, and Tom took my pen and signed my notebook. In a daring and gutsy move I announced to him that we were going to take a picture, to which he replied "sounds good." I snapped a picture of myself and Tom, that isn't necessarily flattering, but that I love because I managed to get both of us in it, and we both were smiling (which was surprising, because I think Tom was signing autographs the whole time). I have a lot of pictures with me and cyclists, and they are all special in different ways. There is a story behind each one, of how I got to see that person, how I got the picture, what was going on at the time, etc... I think I'll always treasure this picture with me and Tom because it is my first picture with a major european cyclist that isn't American. That's not to say that its better than any other picture, just that I have found it easier to get in pictures with American cyclists (language barrier among other things). This picture is special also, because I think Boonen is the most well decorated cyclist I have ever had a photo with. And ok, it was the first time I was sort of creepy and stalkerish.
After the photo with Tom, I realized that the start of the race was fast approaching, and I made my way down to the startline to claim a good spot. There I managed to find a place almost right on the bars (there was only a small child in front of me), and I took in the sight. A see of jerseys in every color. Snipets of every European language imaginable. And ok, the most expensive cycling gear in the world. Like sick bikes. The riders that had already been presented were lining up, and chatting amongst themselves. Right on the other bar from myself was a Basque rider from Euskaltel-Euskadi. His teammates were a ways behind him in the line up, so he was trying to converse to the guy standing next to me. The guy next to me also had a kid in Caisse d'Epargne team gear, and the Euskaltel rider was trying to get a friend of his who was on Caisse d'Epargne to come over and meet the kid. It was funny to listen to the conversation. It was conducted in a strange mix of French, English, Spanish and what was probably Basque. The rider (I wished I'd figured out who he was, I think I caught a picture of his number, but on second thought, I don't think that was him) told the guy next to me that his team had no hope for a victory at this race, but that they were there on sponsors wishes. He said that he was trying to get in a good workout before the Giro di Lombardia next week, the last race of the season. He also declared that after Lombardia he was going to sleep on the beach for a week. The atmosphere of the peloton was generally very fun. There were lots of riders talking with guys from other teams, joking and having fun. Filippo Pozzato, a well known Italian rider from Liquigas, was literally shouting over everyones heads jokes to friends from other teams. At one point I think he may have called Tom Boonen fat. It was hard to tell with the language barrier and all.
The race went off quickly. The riders went under the banner, around a corner, and then they were gone, six hours on the bike ahead of them. Unfortunately since it was a Sunday Saint-Arnoult was pretty much shut down. Most of the fans left the start once the team buses were gone, probably to get in their cars and head to the finish in Tours. I, on the otherhand, started to look for a way home. I had two hours until the next bus to the RER train station, and I didn't really want to hang around in a shuttered city. I found the tourist office easily (France has excellent signage in rural areas) and went inside to ask if the woman working would call a cab for me. She was very nice, and did so. While waiting for the cab she was very excited to find out where I was from and what I was doing in Saint-Arnoult. She spoke good English, and we conversed for some time about how I was a die-hard cycling fan and I just had to see the race. She declared to me that she loved Lance Armstrong, and that her all-time favorite cyclist was George Hincapie, which I found strange because I thought most French people hate the American cyclists. She also gave me a folder full of all the press materials that the Paris-Tours people had given her, maps and guides of Saint-Arnoult, and a handful of postcards. The cab arrived, and drove me the short 8km through the Dourdan Forest to the RER C station in Dourdan (different from where I had come in to... I had researched different exit strategies, and this was by far the best). I took the train back to Paris, took a two and a half hour nap, and managed to flip open my laptop just in time to watch the last 15km of the race, and to see who won. Phillipe Gilbert. I think I touched him (not on purpose), but I didn't get his autograph. Oh well. There is always next time... (March maybe?!?)
PHOTOS:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009815&l=605d0&id=1599570086
Upon arriving here in Paris I was determined that I would find a way to get to the start town of the race. It may be called "Paris-Tours" but it actually started in a small town about 30km outside of Paris, Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines. I spent a lot of time my first two weeks here in Paris, asking around and trying to find a way to get to Saint-Arnoult. Success. I managed to find a way that involved taking the RER B to Gare d'Orsay Ville, and then taking a SAVAC bus to Saint-Arnoult. I had to wake up early, and time my trip properly, but I managed to make it everywhere right on time. I was nervous that since it was a Sunday one of the legs of my journey would not be running.
Arriving in Saint-Arnoult I was immediately greeted by a sign pointing "Les Équipes" to the start area of the race. I followed the sign, and the small trickle of other people following it, to a small square in the center of town. Going to the start of a bike race is fun. I got to do it in Missouri last fall, so I knew at least slightly what to expect. All of the team buses pull into a designated car park, open up their doors, and the riders are let out into the hoards of people. There are no barriers between rider and fan, and you very rarely even see a bodyguard (only like Lance Armstrong has a bodyguard). The riders actually use their bikes to avoid the crush of people. If they want to go somewhere they will get on and try to ride through, often riding over people, and when a gap is made, they push off as fast as they can away from the crowd.
The first team to arrive at the start was Bouygues Telecom, a smallish French team from the Vendée region, which is near Saint-Arnoult. After they parked a huge number of people went after their bus. The team didn't exit though, so I hung back waiting. Other teams started to trickle in. Next was Liquigas, then Lampre with the new World Champion in the front seat, and then Milram. Team Milram was greeted with the greatest crush of all, as their star rider, Erik Zabel, was setting off to race his last professional race ever. Zabel had won the event Paris-Tours on three occassions and was favored to do it again.
As teams were arriving, the fans were waiting not so patiently for the first riders to appear from the buses. The first rider I spotted was Thomas Voeckler, who jumped out of the Bouygues Telecom bus, rode through the crowd impossibly fast, and then disappeared. A few minutes later he reappeared, and was mobbed. Not wanting to be a crazy fan I didn't go in and try to mob Voeckler. I hung back a bit, and waiting to see if he would stick around, or try to jet off. After it was clear that he was all to willing to sign autographs and take pictures, I nervously approached. This guy wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France for ten days! I got him to sign my french notebook (I had stupidly forgotten to find something better to get signed), and thanked him and wished him luck (in french!).
More riders started appearing, and shortly after the appearance of Voeckler, the Bouygues Telecom team went to the announcer's stage to sign in and be presented. It is cycling tradition that before any race the riders must sign in. At most races they set up a big board with little numbered boxes on a stage. Riders come up and sign their name in the numbered box that corresponds to their race number. After they are presented to the crowd. The ASO, the organization that organized Paris-Tours and also does the Tour de France, has an announcer that is incredibly well known for his presentations. He can list off the palmarés (list of accomplishments) of every single rider, as he memorizes it all before the race. Each team goes up one by one on the stage, signs in, and then the announcer presents each rider and their biggest race victories. After this the teams descend the stage, and head back to their buses. To get their they have to go through a gate, and weave through the crowd. This gate is the best point to meet cyclists, I discovered. It had a narrow opening, and riders were required to go in and out of it to get to the stage.
The second team to be presented was Euskaltel-Euskadi, a Spanish team from the Basque region. I thought they were really fun. They were obviously enjoying themselves, laughing and joking the whole time. They were also the only team that left their bikes at the team bus, and walked through the crowd. The reigning Olympic Champion is on Euskaltel-Euskadi, Sammy Sanchez. I made a beeline for him as he was exiting the sign-in stage. His autograph might be worth something some day, and it was cool to see the Olympic Champion, adorned in gold, in person.
What followed was a mix of me watching the team presentations, me scouting for riders I wanted to meet, and me wandering around the parking lot in awe. At one point I saw two Garmin-Chipotle riders riding slowly ahead of me. One was wearing a number that ended in 1, which denotes team leader. I knew that had to be Tom Danielson, as I had read online that he was gunning for a breakaway in the race and would be leading the team. I literally chased after him. Tom was the one rider that I told myself ahead of time I wanted to hunt down. This was because I knew that I would be one of the only American's at the race, and that would probably give me an opportunity to really talk to Danielson. As I caught up to him I managed to ask him if he would mind taking a picture with me. Surprised he said sure, and one of his teammates snapped a really nice shot. He then asked me what I was doing at the race, and seemed interested in learning why an American was in Saint-Arnoult. We ended up chatting for a good five minutes, about how cool the European racing scene is, and how it doesn't really exist in the United States. It was sort of a relief to talk to an American, because I was in the middle of a small French town. I think Tom thought it was pretty cool to talk to an American too... or he was just really nice.
I tried the same tactic when I saw David Zabriskie ride past me. Zabriskie is well known for having won a stage in all three grand tours, and wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de Frace after beating Lance Armstrong in a time trial. Zabriskie was weaving through the crowd ignoring everyone, but when he came past me I asked him in English if he would sign for me. Surprised he stopped and obliged. While signing he told me "you speak very good english," to which I replied "yeah, because I'm an American." He responded with a spacey, "yeah me too," and then rode off. Zabriskie is a bizarre individual, he gives strange media interviews, and meeting him in person just justified everything the media painted him to be, strange. I think he was being sarcastic when he said I speak good english, because I noticed that I was the only person he signed for.
About half an hour before the start the riders were all queueing up to be presented. All of the teams sort of arrived at the same time, so it got all backed up. Teams that had been presented were also making their way to the start line, which is within the barriers. I realized that this was probably my last chance to catch any riders for pictures, a chat, or an autograph. I scanned the presentation area to see what teams were missing, and noticed that Quickstep was not there. I beelined it to the Quickstep bus, knowing that the superstar Tom Boonen was racing, and that he would likely be on his way towards the sign-in. It was some sort of strange magic that lead me right to him. Tom Boonen is sort of known as the A-List Celebrity of cycling. He is like the Brad Pitt of Belgium. They love him, and he loves that everyone loves him. You could see this in how he made a point to sign for every single fan that was mobbing him. I managed to get my way to the front of the crush, and Tom took my pen and signed my notebook. In a daring and gutsy move I announced to him that we were going to take a picture, to which he replied "sounds good." I snapped a picture of myself and Tom, that isn't necessarily flattering, but that I love because I managed to get both of us in it, and we both were smiling (which was surprising, because I think Tom was signing autographs the whole time). I have a lot of pictures with me and cyclists, and they are all special in different ways. There is a story behind each one, of how I got to see that person, how I got the picture, what was going on at the time, etc... I think I'll always treasure this picture with me and Tom because it is my first picture with a major european cyclist that isn't American. That's not to say that its better than any other picture, just that I have found it easier to get in pictures with American cyclists (language barrier among other things). This picture is special also, because I think Boonen is the most well decorated cyclist I have ever had a photo with. And ok, it was the first time I was sort of creepy and stalkerish.
After the photo with Tom, I realized that the start of the race was fast approaching, and I made my way down to the startline to claim a good spot. There I managed to find a place almost right on the bars (there was only a small child in front of me), and I took in the sight. A see of jerseys in every color. Snipets of every European language imaginable. And ok, the most expensive cycling gear in the world. Like sick bikes. The riders that had already been presented were lining up, and chatting amongst themselves. Right on the other bar from myself was a Basque rider from Euskaltel-Euskadi. His teammates were a ways behind him in the line up, so he was trying to converse to the guy standing next to me. The guy next to me also had a kid in Caisse d'Epargne team gear, and the Euskaltel rider was trying to get a friend of his who was on Caisse d'Epargne to come over and meet the kid. It was funny to listen to the conversation. It was conducted in a strange mix of French, English, Spanish and what was probably Basque. The rider (I wished I'd figured out who he was, I think I caught a picture of his number, but on second thought, I don't think that was him) told the guy next to me that his team had no hope for a victory at this race, but that they were there on sponsors wishes. He said that he was trying to get in a good workout before the Giro di Lombardia next week, the last race of the season. He also declared that after Lombardia he was going to sleep on the beach for a week. The atmosphere of the peloton was generally very fun. There were lots of riders talking with guys from other teams, joking and having fun. Filippo Pozzato, a well known Italian rider from Liquigas, was literally shouting over everyones heads jokes to friends from other teams. At one point I think he may have called Tom Boonen fat. It was hard to tell with the language barrier and all.
The race went off quickly. The riders went under the banner, around a corner, and then they were gone, six hours on the bike ahead of them. Unfortunately since it was a Sunday Saint-Arnoult was pretty much shut down. Most of the fans left the start once the team buses were gone, probably to get in their cars and head to the finish in Tours. I, on the otherhand, started to look for a way home. I had two hours until the next bus to the RER train station, and I didn't really want to hang around in a shuttered city. I found the tourist office easily (France has excellent signage in rural areas) and went inside to ask if the woman working would call a cab for me. She was very nice, and did so. While waiting for the cab she was very excited to find out where I was from and what I was doing in Saint-Arnoult. She spoke good English, and we conversed for some time about how I was a die-hard cycling fan and I just had to see the race. She declared to me that she loved Lance Armstrong, and that her all-time favorite cyclist was George Hincapie, which I found strange because I thought most French people hate the American cyclists. She also gave me a folder full of all the press materials that the Paris-Tours people had given her, maps and guides of Saint-Arnoult, and a handful of postcards. The cab arrived, and drove me the short 8km through the Dourdan Forest to the RER C station in Dourdan (different from where I had come in to... I had researched different exit strategies, and this was by far the best). I took the train back to Paris, took a two and a half hour nap, and managed to flip open my laptop just in time to watch the last 15km of the race, and to see who won. Phillipe Gilbert. I think I touched him (not on purpose), but I didn't get his autograph. Oh well. There is always next time... (March maybe?!?)
PHOTOS:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009815&l=605d0&id=1599570086
Saturday in Paris
I'm doing a conversation exchage with a French student. The concept is actually really cool, and it could be a great experience for me. The plan is that I go over to this French student's house once a week, and we go over whatever work he has for his English class for about an hour. After that I am invited to whatever meal it is, and I sit with whoever from the family is how and speak French with them. I had my first exchange on Saturday and it was really fun. The student is named Thibault, and he is finishing up prep school to go on to study economics (the French education system is so different I can't even explain it). On Saturday I went over at 11 and I helped him do some translations. It was even sort of hard for me, but it was fun to try to explain in a mix of english and french what "shade" or "gesticulating" are. After working for about an hour I ate lunch with Thibault and his sister Charlotte. We talked in French about Chicago and what I like about France. They offered to take me around, and give me advice about cool stuff to do in Paris.
After lunch I took the train to the Musée d'Orsay. This museum hosts a lot of the turn of the century art, including some of the most famous impressionist pieces in the world. It is housed in an old train station, and when you go inside you can tell quite clearly. There is a massive clock that is absolutely gorgeous. The first two levels of the museum also open into this incredibly huge room. The ceilings are so high, and there is a certain natural light that filters in on the sculptures on the main level that is stunning. I wandered around for about an hour. I have a Student ID card that says I study Art History (UChicago made it for me...) so I can get into just about every art museum in Paris and the vicinity for free. I figured that I'd be back to the Orsay, so I didn't try to be overly thorough in my visit. I just wandered around a bit. I did make sure I went to the attics to see the impressionist stuff. It was crawling with people (because it was Saturday afternoon) but I managed to see Van Gogh's self-portrait, and some of Monet's most famous paintings of Notre Dame. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of Matisse stuff they had (I only saw one), but the Gaugin collection almost made up for it. I'm going to try to get back there in the next few weeks, on a weekday afternoon after class, so I can really get a good look at the impressionist stuff, as it is my favorite.
After lunch I took the train to the Musée d'Orsay. This museum hosts a lot of the turn of the century art, including some of the most famous impressionist pieces in the world. It is housed in an old train station, and when you go inside you can tell quite clearly. There is a massive clock that is absolutely gorgeous. The first two levels of the museum also open into this incredibly huge room. The ceilings are so high, and there is a certain natural light that filters in on the sculptures on the main level that is stunning. I wandered around for about an hour. I have a Student ID card that says I study Art History (UChicago made it for me...) so I can get into just about every art museum in Paris and the vicinity for free. I figured that I'd be back to the Orsay, so I didn't try to be overly thorough in my visit. I just wandered around a bit. I did make sure I went to the attics to see the impressionist stuff. It was crawling with people (because it was Saturday afternoon) but I managed to see Van Gogh's self-portrait, and some of Monet's most famous paintings of Notre Dame. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of Matisse stuff they had (I only saw one), but the Gaugin collection almost made up for it. I'm going to try to get back there in the next few weeks, on a weekday afternoon after class, so I can really get a good look at the impressionist stuff, as it is my favorite.
Un Jour des Chateaux
Our second class excursion took us to two chateaux of the Loire River Valley. The Loire Valley is about two hours southwest of Paris by bus. We all woke up early and met in the lobby of our building. There our professor collected us and walked us down the street to a small minibus that was waiting for us. The bus was the most comfortable I've ever been on, and I got a set of two seats to myself. I dozed the whole way to the Loire Valley. It was dark out, so there wasn't anything to see anyway.
The first chateau we visited was Chenonceau. Chenonceau is pretty famous, because it is built over a river. I guarantee you it is featured in every French textbook ever. Our professor, Arnaud, set us up with the audio tour, and set us loose on Chenonceau. The tour was really intersting. It took us through all the different rooms of the chateau, explaining the usage and history of each. My favorite room we visited was the kitchen. It was on the lowest level, and it was absolutely huge. You could seriously fit a person in the big stone fireplace. Like standing up. After the audio tour we had a little extra time, so I wandered around the castle gardens a bit. I even found a really cool hedge maze in the woods. From the garden of Diane de Poitiers you can see a really good view of the chateau. Unfortunately they were restoring it, so there was scaffolding on a large part of it. It was still really beautiful, and cool to visit a building so old.
We had lunch at the chateau as well, in the Orangerie, which is in a building outside of Catherine de Medici's garden. The meal was incredible. It started with a salmon appetizer. It was literally salmon with olive oil on it. But delicious. The next meal was a steak. I don't really eat beef, and I don't really like it, but the steak was quite tasty. It came with a variety of fresh greens, which was delicious as well. The next course was a salad and cheese. In France the salad typically comes after the main course, to cleanse the palet. The cheeses featured were a pretty tasty bleu, a brie, and a chevre (goat cheese). Afterwards we had dessert. It was a chocalate tartine with cheeries. It was exquiste. The last course was coffee, which was so nice, because I still had another chateau to visit.
It was about an hour bus ride to the next chateau, Chambord. A large part of the ride went right along the Loire River. It was gorgeous, and we passed through the old town of Blois, which was very pretty. Unfortunately the bus was really hot, and my belly was full, so I just wanted to doze the whole way. I tried to look out the window as much as I coult though.
The chateau Chambord was impressive. It looked like every Disney Princess dream come to life. It was huge, it had towers and turrets, and someone said it looked exactly like the castle in the film Ever After. I have no idea if that is true, but it was worthy of being in a film. We took a tour from a guide at Chambord. The guide was impressed that we all spoke french, as most foreigners that visit Chambord do not. We started by enjoying the view of Chambord from inside the castle gates. Our guide explained that it was mostly symmetrical, around a spiral staircase in the center of the building. Upon entering the foyer one can see the staircase. It is actually a double staircase, that winds around in double helix fashion. The guide took us up to the second floor to see a set of appartments. The downer about Chambord is that its is completely unfurnished, as the French government acquired in that fashion. That makes it hard to visualize what it would look like to live there. Instead we kept exclaiming how great it would be to play hide and seek there. We went up to the terrace level and got a breath taking view of Chambord forest. The leaves are just starting to change right now in France, so it was a beautiful array of yellows, greens, and reds. Our group found its way onto the grounds and we took a class picture in front of the chateau. It seriously looks fake, thats how beautiful it is.
After Chambord we boarded the bus to head home. We ended up stuck in Paris traffic, so our arrival time was about 8:30 in the evening. Although long, it was a really fun day.
PHOTOS:
Chenonceau:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009808&l=f0f65&id=1599570086
Chambord:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009811&l=27219&id=1599570086
The first chateau we visited was Chenonceau. Chenonceau is pretty famous, because it is built over a river. I guarantee you it is featured in every French textbook ever. Our professor, Arnaud, set us up with the audio tour, and set us loose on Chenonceau. The tour was really intersting. It took us through all the different rooms of the chateau, explaining the usage and history of each. My favorite room we visited was the kitchen. It was on the lowest level, and it was absolutely huge. You could seriously fit a person in the big stone fireplace. Like standing up. After the audio tour we had a little extra time, so I wandered around the castle gardens a bit. I even found a really cool hedge maze in the woods. From the garden of Diane de Poitiers you can see a really good view of the chateau. Unfortunately they were restoring it, so there was scaffolding on a large part of it. It was still really beautiful, and cool to visit a building so old.
We had lunch at the chateau as well, in the Orangerie, which is in a building outside of Catherine de Medici's garden. The meal was incredible. It started with a salmon appetizer. It was literally salmon with olive oil on it. But delicious. The next meal was a steak. I don't really eat beef, and I don't really like it, but the steak was quite tasty. It came with a variety of fresh greens, which was delicious as well. The next course was a salad and cheese. In France the salad typically comes after the main course, to cleanse the palet. The cheeses featured were a pretty tasty bleu, a brie, and a chevre (goat cheese). Afterwards we had dessert. It was a chocalate tartine with cheeries. It was exquiste. The last course was coffee, which was so nice, because I still had another chateau to visit.
It was about an hour bus ride to the next chateau, Chambord. A large part of the ride went right along the Loire River. It was gorgeous, and we passed through the old town of Blois, which was very pretty. Unfortunately the bus was really hot, and my belly was full, so I just wanted to doze the whole way. I tried to look out the window as much as I coult though.
The chateau Chambord was impressive. It looked like every Disney Princess dream come to life. It was huge, it had towers and turrets, and someone said it looked exactly like the castle in the film Ever After. I have no idea if that is true, but it was worthy of being in a film. We took a tour from a guide at Chambord. The guide was impressed that we all spoke french, as most foreigners that visit Chambord do not. We started by enjoying the view of Chambord from inside the castle gates. Our guide explained that it was mostly symmetrical, around a spiral staircase in the center of the building. Upon entering the foyer one can see the staircase. It is actually a double staircase, that winds around in double helix fashion. The guide took us up to the second floor to see a set of appartments. The downer about Chambord is that its is completely unfurnished, as the French government acquired in that fashion. That makes it hard to visualize what it would look like to live there. Instead we kept exclaiming how great it would be to play hide and seek there. We went up to the terrace level and got a breath taking view of Chambord forest. The leaves are just starting to change right now in France, so it was a beautiful array of yellows, greens, and reds. Our group found its way onto the grounds and we took a class picture in front of the chateau. It seriously looks fake, thats how beautiful it is.
After Chambord we boarded the bus to head home. We ended up stuck in Paris traffic, so our arrival time was about 8:30 in the evening. Although long, it was a really fun day.
PHOTOS:
Chenonceau:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009808&l=f0f65&id=1599570086
Chambord:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009811&l=27219&id=1599570086
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Exploring Montmartre
I have a friend, Allison, that is staying with a family for the year near Sacre Coeur. I called her up this afternoon to see if she wanted to have a coffee and maybe show me around her neighborhood a little bit. I rode the 4 train almost to the end of the line (I start at the far south end, and I went almost all the way north), and then she met me at the station. She took me to her appartment and introduced me to the people she is staying with Thomas and Malika, who are both very nice, and have a fab place to live. Then Allison and I walked around until we found stairs up to Sacre Coeur.
Sacre Coeur translates to Sacred Heart, and is a large white church that is up a huge hill on the north end of Paris. If you are 4 floors or higher in just about any northfacing window you can see the church. We climbed up several sets of stairs and were treated to an incredible view of Paris. The church itself is gorgeous as well. It has gorgeous white domes, and the front is very striking. We didn't go inside, as I was all churched out from Poitiers, but we spent some time enjoying the view.
We had coffee next, at a little cafe that was near the funicular up the hill (which I want to try sometime) and then we wandered around the neighborhood, Montmartre. Montmartre is famous because it is where a lot of famous artists lived at the turn of the century. Among many notables were Toulous Lautrec, Picasso, and Van Gogh. The neighborhood is very cute. It is lots of winding narrow streets that we found hard to naviage, even with a map. We happened upon a lot of cute places though, so it was worth getting lost.
At the base of the big hill is the neighborhood Pigalle, which is the red light district of Paris. We didn't go into the neighborhood, but we did walk west along the outskirts. After a few blocks we came upon the Moulin Rouge, the famous night club. It doesn't look all that spectacular, although the moulin (windmill) on the roof is quite large. We poked our heads in for a minute before grabbing milkshakes at the Quick (fast food place like McDonald's, more abundant than McDonald's too), before parting ways.
It was fun to wander around Montmartre, and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite neighborhood so far. I like the narrow streets and cafes that are on every single corner. Maybe I'll hunt down a good cafe that I can study at this winter!
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009672&l=771b7&id=1599570086
Sacre Coeur translates to Sacred Heart, and is a large white church that is up a huge hill on the north end of Paris. If you are 4 floors or higher in just about any northfacing window you can see the church. We climbed up several sets of stairs and were treated to an incredible view of Paris. The church itself is gorgeous as well. It has gorgeous white domes, and the front is very striking. We didn't go inside, as I was all churched out from Poitiers, but we spent some time enjoying the view.
We had coffee next, at a little cafe that was near the funicular up the hill (which I want to try sometime) and then we wandered around the neighborhood, Montmartre. Montmartre is famous because it is where a lot of famous artists lived at the turn of the century. Among many notables were Toulous Lautrec, Picasso, and Van Gogh. The neighborhood is very cute. It is lots of winding narrow streets that we found hard to naviage, even with a map. We happened upon a lot of cute places though, so it was worth getting lost.
At the base of the big hill is the neighborhood Pigalle, which is the red light district of Paris. We didn't go into the neighborhood, but we did walk west along the outskirts. After a few blocks we came upon the Moulin Rouge, the famous night club. It doesn't look all that spectacular, although the moulin (windmill) on the roof is quite large. We poked our heads in for a minute before grabbing milkshakes at the Quick (fast food place like McDonald's, more abundant than McDonald's too), before parting ways.
It was fun to wander around Montmartre, and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite neighborhood so far. I like the narrow streets and cafes that are on every single corner. Maybe I'll hunt down a good cafe that I can study at this winter!
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009672&l=771b7&id=1599570086
À Poitiers
Friday was our first excursion for our program. The plan was to go to the city of Poitiers. Poitiers is a city rich in history. It has churches from many different periods in French history, and it has really quaint narrow streets.
We started out very early. I woke up seriously at 5:45 AM. I am not a morning person, it was very difficult to pull myself out of bed. I then headed down to the lobby of my building to meet the rest of my class. On the way I stopped to buy a coffee out of the little machine. I knew it was going to be a good day when I put in 0,50 euro and got 0,70 euro back. So basically I got paid to drink the coffee, it was fab. My group then walked over to the metro station to take the train to Gare Montparnasse. At the train station we met up with our professors and boarded the TGV in the direction of Poitiers. The TGV trains (or Trains à Grande Vitesse) are the French High-Speed trains. It was fun to ride, but we left so early that it was dark out and we couldn't see our surroundings. Once the sun did rise it was nice to look out at the French countryside. The ride was so quick too, just and hour and a half to Poitiers.
The first views of Poitiers are really cool. Its built up a big hill with a fortified wall. The wall was built a long time ago to protect the city from outside attacks. As it has modernized, however, the city has sprawled outside of its walls. The stuff of interest was within the walls, however. We walked up some stairs and down a few narrow streets to get to the square where we were to meet our tour guide. We were about 40 minutes early for our tour so we were allowed to go off and get a café.
I talk a lot about drinking les cafés in Paris, but I think I should make a few comments about them. In France they brew coffee very finely. Like to the point where it is pretty much an espresso. So, when you order un café, you are essentially ordering an espresso. If you want the equivalent of an American Coffee you need to order un café american, which is essentially just a watered down version, and very small. It's hard to find a large sized coffee here, the only place I've seen it is at Starbucks, where it costs 5 euros.
After un café we regrouped and started the Tour. We started out at Église Notre-Dame-la-Grande. It was started in the 11th Century, and completed in the 12th Century, although the chapels were worked on in the 15th and 16th Centuries. The church is built in the Romanesque fashion. It is famous for its façade, which tells many important biblical stories. The people of Poitiers also believe a legend that dates back to the year 1202 when the English laid siege on the city. It was said that every night the mayor would collect the keys to the city gates and sleep with them under his pillow. A clergyman of the city was promised a lot of money by the English if he stole the keys, but when he went to get them from under the mayor's pillow they were gone. The townspeople looked everywhere for them, and ended up searching Notre-Dame-La-Grande. There they found the keys in the hands of the statue of the Virgin Mary. After finding the keys the English were miraculously defeated, and now the Virgin Mary in the church holds a set of keys in honor of that miracle.
The second stop on our tour was the Palais de Justice. This was our only governmental stop on the tour. We were searched as we entered, as the building still serves as a governmental center for the town. A highlight of the searching was when a classment of mine sheepishly pulled a corkscrew out of his pocket at the checkpoint. The guard on duty laughed and replied "mais c'est necessaire..." (but it's necessary). The Palais de Justice houses a room that is very important to French History in the early Middle Ages. At that time Poitiers was the capital of the empire that was held by Eleanor of Aquitaine. The highlight of the building is a great room that was built between 1192 and 1204 which was intended to be the main room of the Palais. It was known for sometime to be the largest room of its kind in all of Europe (50 meters long by 17 wide, very high ceilings). It has had some problems with fires in the past, but many of the original stones are still present. A newer window was put in during the 19th Century, but the grandeur of the room is still present. Outside the Palais there is some other historical points that are important to note. There is a statue of Joan of Arc that commemorates her visit to the Palais at the begin of her quest (or whatever). There is also a wall that was part of an original palais (that was destroyed, more or less) that dates back to the 3rd Century. It sort of looks like a pile of rocks now, but if you study it hard you can see the different layers that are presnet, and the different methods associated with each layer.
Next on the tour was the Cathédrale St-Pierre. The construction was begun in 1162 under the eye of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband, Henri Plantagenet (Henri II). Unlike Notre-Dame-La-Grande, this cathedral was built in the more Gothic style, and has many striking similarities to Notre Dame de Paris. Also unlike Notre-Dame-La-Grande, the interior of St-Pierre is much lighter, due to the much larger windows that were used during construction. The grand east window is one of the first stained glass windows in the world, and you can tell because the colors of blue that are utilized are much lighter than later windows. The East wall of the cathedral is notable because the outside has many intense dents in it from centuries of warfare. What is lucky is that the grand eastern window never got hit.
The final stop on the tour was Église Ste-Radegonde. This church was built in the 11th Century, and commemorates a patroness, Radegonde. Radegonde was born a princess, and was eventually forced into marriage with Kind Chlotar, a son of Clovis. She was able to secure her release from the King and became a nun in Poitiers. It is said that she perofrmed numerous miracles and I think the Tour Guide we had talked about dragons. I was so hungry and cold, and maybe a little exhausted that at this point I was having a hard time understanding the tour. Radegonde was buried in the church, but the guide sheepishly told us that during the Great Wars of Religion the protestants raided the church and the bodies that were buried there are all gone. Those darn protestants. That was sort of the running joke of the entire tour.
After the tour our Professors took us to a very nice four course lunch at a restaurant in the old part of town. The first course was an appetizer, and I had a sort of melt thing. It was a fresh piece of slightly toasted (maybe rye?) bread with chevre (goat cheese), apples and bacon. It also came with a small salad that was fresh greens and mandarin oranges. The main dish was chicken breast marinated in a sweet sauce that they said was terryaki, but I think they think terryaki is something else, because I actually liked it. It also came with mashed red potatoes, that were to die for. I picked tiramisu for dessert. It was very creamy and generally really good. After we had coffee. I love the french method of eating lunch and dinner. Take your time, talk to other people, enjoy your food. Instead of slamming it and demanding the check.
We were given some free time afterwards. A group of us went to buy umbrellas at a "2 Euro Store," and then we headed towards the southwest part of the old town. There we poked our heads in another church, Église St-Hilaire, and then we wandered into a large park, Parc de Blossac. In the middle of the park there was a small zoo with some really random animals. They had lots of birds, parrots, geese, and even parakeets. They also had Senegalese goats, which we fed sticks too. At the far end of the park there is an overlook that looks down the large walls into the valley below. It is a gorgeous view of some of the newer parts of Poitiers, and Le Clain (a river). After a quick photo op we headed back to our group, the TGV, and home.
PHOTOS FROM POITIERS:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009731&l=61385&id=1599570086
We started out very early. I woke up seriously at 5:45 AM. I am not a morning person, it was very difficult to pull myself out of bed. I then headed down to the lobby of my building to meet the rest of my class. On the way I stopped to buy a coffee out of the little machine. I knew it was going to be a good day when I put in 0,50 euro and got 0,70 euro back. So basically I got paid to drink the coffee, it was fab. My group then walked over to the metro station to take the train to Gare Montparnasse. At the train station we met up with our professors and boarded the TGV in the direction of Poitiers. The TGV trains (or Trains à Grande Vitesse) are the French High-Speed trains. It was fun to ride, but we left so early that it was dark out and we couldn't see our surroundings. Once the sun did rise it was nice to look out at the French countryside. The ride was so quick too, just and hour and a half to Poitiers.
The first views of Poitiers are really cool. Its built up a big hill with a fortified wall. The wall was built a long time ago to protect the city from outside attacks. As it has modernized, however, the city has sprawled outside of its walls. The stuff of interest was within the walls, however. We walked up some stairs and down a few narrow streets to get to the square where we were to meet our tour guide. We were about 40 minutes early for our tour so we were allowed to go off and get a café.
I talk a lot about drinking les cafés in Paris, but I think I should make a few comments about them. In France they brew coffee very finely. Like to the point where it is pretty much an espresso. So, when you order un café, you are essentially ordering an espresso. If you want the equivalent of an American Coffee you need to order un café american, which is essentially just a watered down version, and very small. It's hard to find a large sized coffee here, the only place I've seen it is at Starbucks, where it costs 5 euros.
After un café we regrouped and started the Tour. We started out at Église Notre-Dame-la-Grande. It was started in the 11th Century, and completed in the 12th Century, although the chapels were worked on in the 15th and 16th Centuries. The church is built in the Romanesque fashion. It is famous for its façade, which tells many important biblical stories. The people of Poitiers also believe a legend that dates back to the year 1202 when the English laid siege on the city. It was said that every night the mayor would collect the keys to the city gates and sleep with them under his pillow. A clergyman of the city was promised a lot of money by the English if he stole the keys, but when he went to get them from under the mayor's pillow they were gone. The townspeople looked everywhere for them, and ended up searching Notre-Dame-La-Grande. There they found the keys in the hands of the statue of the Virgin Mary. After finding the keys the English were miraculously defeated, and now the Virgin Mary in the church holds a set of keys in honor of that miracle.
The second stop on our tour was the Palais de Justice. This was our only governmental stop on the tour. We were searched as we entered, as the building still serves as a governmental center for the town. A highlight of the searching was when a classment of mine sheepishly pulled a corkscrew out of his pocket at the checkpoint. The guard on duty laughed and replied "mais c'est necessaire..." (but it's necessary). The Palais de Justice houses a room that is very important to French History in the early Middle Ages. At that time Poitiers was the capital of the empire that was held by Eleanor of Aquitaine. The highlight of the building is a great room that was built between 1192 and 1204 which was intended to be the main room of the Palais. It was known for sometime to be the largest room of its kind in all of Europe (50 meters long by 17 wide, very high ceilings). It has had some problems with fires in the past, but many of the original stones are still present. A newer window was put in during the 19th Century, but the grandeur of the room is still present. Outside the Palais there is some other historical points that are important to note. There is a statue of Joan of Arc that commemorates her visit to the Palais at the begin of her quest (or whatever). There is also a wall that was part of an original palais (that was destroyed, more or less) that dates back to the 3rd Century. It sort of looks like a pile of rocks now, but if you study it hard you can see the different layers that are presnet, and the different methods associated with each layer.
Next on the tour was the Cathédrale St-Pierre. The construction was begun in 1162 under the eye of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband, Henri Plantagenet (Henri II). Unlike Notre-Dame-La-Grande, this cathedral was built in the more Gothic style, and has many striking similarities to Notre Dame de Paris. Also unlike Notre-Dame-La-Grande, the interior of St-Pierre is much lighter, due to the much larger windows that were used during construction. The grand east window is one of the first stained glass windows in the world, and you can tell because the colors of blue that are utilized are much lighter than later windows. The East wall of the cathedral is notable because the outside has many intense dents in it from centuries of warfare. What is lucky is that the grand eastern window never got hit.
The final stop on the tour was Église Ste-Radegonde. This church was built in the 11th Century, and commemorates a patroness, Radegonde. Radegonde was born a princess, and was eventually forced into marriage with Kind Chlotar, a son of Clovis. She was able to secure her release from the King and became a nun in Poitiers. It is said that she perofrmed numerous miracles and I think the Tour Guide we had talked about dragons. I was so hungry and cold, and maybe a little exhausted that at this point I was having a hard time understanding the tour. Radegonde was buried in the church, but the guide sheepishly told us that during the Great Wars of Religion the protestants raided the church and the bodies that were buried there are all gone. Those darn protestants. That was sort of the running joke of the entire tour.
After the tour our Professors took us to a very nice four course lunch at a restaurant in the old part of town. The first course was an appetizer, and I had a sort of melt thing. It was a fresh piece of slightly toasted (maybe rye?) bread with chevre (goat cheese), apples and bacon. It also came with a small salad that was fresh greens and mandarin oranges. The main dish was chicken breast marinated in a sweet sauce that they said was terryaki, but I think they think terryaki is something else, because I actually liked it. It also came with mashed red potatoes, that were to die for. I picked tiramisu for dessert. It was very creamy and generally really good. After we had coffee. I love the french method of eating lunch and dinner. Take your time, talk to other people, enjoy your food. Instead of slamming it and demanding the check.
We were given some free time afterwards. A group of us went to buy umbrellas at a "2 Euro Store," and then we headed towards the southwest part of the old town. There we poked our heads in another church, Église St-Hilaire, and then we wandered into a large park, Parc de Blossac. In the middle of the park there was a small zoo with some really random animals. They had lots of birds, parrots, geese, and even parakeets. They also had Senegalese goats, which we fed sticks too. At the far end of the park there is an overlook that looks down the large walls into the valley below. It is a gorgeous view of some of the newer parts of Poitiers, and Le Clain (a river). After a quick photo op we headed back to our group, the TGV, and home.
PHOTOS FROM POITIERS:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009731&l=61385&id=1599570086
Thursday, October 2, 2008
A Little More Than Is Normal
Today was a lot of things thrown into one thing. It started out like a normal day. I went to the Center for class at 10 am, and then was finished with lecture at 12:15. We had another session at 4:00 so a large group of us decided to explore the Centre Georges Pompidou during out long break. We took the metro to Châtelet. At this stop there is a massive mall. The mall is actually underground, which we didn't realize at first. We at lunch at a fast food place that was way too overpriced. I spent 3,50 euro and all I got was a small drink and small fries. If you convert that to American it would be like 5 bucks! You could do that on the dollar menu at McDonald's for two bucks, easy. I'm sure the French designed the prices at these places because they know that its difficult for Americans to find food they like, so they figure we'll spend a lot. We had to ask directions a few times but we found a way out of the mall, and towards the Centre Pompidou.
The Centre Pompidou is a very large building. It's also designed to look inside out, so when you walk up to it you can see all of the outside pipes exposed, and the escalators are on the outside too. The museum houses a lot of contemporary work, leaving off where the impressionists that are displayed at the Musée d'Orsay (another museum I'd like to see, maybe next week?). My favorite part of the museum was the fauvism display. Fauvism was a movement that grew out of the impressionist movement. Fauvists utilized bright colors and strong, yet small brush strokes. My favorite fauvist is Henri Matisse, and they had two early Matisse paintings on display. My favorite of the two was of the Pont St Michel which is near Notre Dame Cathedral. There is a lot of other stuff in the Centre that is really cool. They have a lot of Picassos and a lot of very interesting, and baffling sculptures created from some of the strangest things you'd ever see.
After the Centre Pompidou we had to head back to the Chicago Center. We had a wine and cheese tasting that the Center had organized for the french language students. The tasting was conducted by a real connoisseur. He taught us how to look at, smell, and taste different types of wine. He also taught us about the importance of the pairings of cheese he selected. Most of the pairings were based on similar region, although some were more reliant on taste. Overall I preferred the white wines that we tasted over the reds, but I'm not a big fan in general. I loved all of the cheeses, but I've been tasting weird cheeses at Whole Foods since it first opened in Madison forever ago. It was fun, and it was nice to meet with some of the other french language students.
The last thing on the agenda for the evening was to meet with our conversation assistants. This is something that our Center has set up for us as an opportunity to practice speaking french in a non-academic setting. My conversation assistant, Marie-Christine, took my small group (me, Caroline and Benna) to a small cafe not far from the Centre Pompidou. It was called Carpe Diem, and it was very cozy with a jazzy influence. I had a coffee (decaf, it was after 7 by then). It was quaint, and it was fun to talk with Marie-Christine and learn about growing up in Paris. She was also very interested in what its like to live in the States, so it was fun to try and explain the differences. Next week she is going to take us out for tapas at a Spanish restaurant she knows, it should be great.
Tomorrow I have to wake up at 5:40 to go to Poitiers! I'm super stoked, we're going to go see a lot of old stuff, and I get to ride the high-speed train.
The Centre Pompidou is a very large building. It's also designed to look inside out, so when you walk up to it you can see all of the outside pipes exposed, and the escalators are on the outside too. The museum houses a lot of contemporary work, leaving off where the impressionists that are displayed at the Musée d'Orsay (another museum I'd like to see, maybe next week?). My favorite part of the museum was the fauvism display. Fauvism was a movement that grew out of the impressionist movement. Fauvists utilized bright colors and strong, yet small brush strokes. My favorite fauvist is Henri Matisse, and they had two early Matisse paintings on display. My favorite of the two was of the Pont St Michel which is near Notre Dame Cathedral. There is a lot of other stuff in the Centre that is really cool. They have a lot of Picassos and a lot of very interesting, and baffling sculptures created from some of the strangest things you'd ever see.
After the Centre Pompidou we had to head back to the Chicago Center. We had a wine and cheese tasting that the Center had organized for the french language students. The tasting was conducted by a real connoisseur. He taught us how to look at, smell, and taste different types of wine. He also taught us about the importance of the pairings of cheese he selected. Most of the pairings were based on similar region, although some were more reliant on taste. Overall I preferred the white wines that we tasted over the reds, but I'm not a big fan in general. I loved all of the cheeses, but I've been tasting weird cheeses at Whole Foods since it first opened in Madison forever ago. It was fun, and it was nice to meet with some of the other french language students.
The last thing on the agenda for the evening was to meet with our conversation assistants. This is something that our Center has set up for us as an opportunity to practice speaking french in a non-academic setting. My conversation assistant, Marie-Christine, took my small group (me, Caroline and Benna) to a small cafe not far from the Centre Pompidou. It was called Carpe Diem, and it was very cozy with a jazzy influence. I had a coffee (decaf, it was after 7 by then). It was quaint, and it was fun to talk with Marie-Christine and learn about growing up in Paris. She was also very interested in what its like to live in the States, so it was fun to try and explain the differences. Next week she is going to take us out for tapas at a Spanish restaurant she knows, it should be great.
Tomorrow I have to wake up at 5:40 to go to Poitiers! I'm super stoked, we're going to go see a lot of old stuff, and I get to ride the high-speed train.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Life At The Chicago Paris Center
So it's been a few days since I've started classes, and I must say I really like going to the Paris Center. It may be a 30 minute metro odyessey to get there, but its very chill. I have my history class from 10-12:15 Monday through Thursday, and then on Mondays and Wednesedays I have a French Class from 1:30-3:00. I also have lots of sessions with teaching assistants to work on my grammar and my spoken language. On Fridays I have excursions to places of interest, most of which are topical to what we are studying in class. For example, Friday we are going to Poitiers, a city that has churches from like 500 AD.
A typical school day starts at 8:30. I wake up, make a cup of instant coffee, and get myself together for the day. I leave my chambre at 9am sharp (or as close as I can get) and head out the door, in the direction of the RER stop. What's been the case the last few days is that I run into someone on my way, or on the platform of the RER Train, so I'm never going alone. We take the RER Train four stops north to St. Michel-Notre Dame. If I got off and went outside I would be along the Seine, across from me, Notre Dame Cathedral. However, I don't leave the station, I switch from the B to the C Train and head south along the River to the stop at Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand. There I have a short five minute walk to the Paris Center.
I arrive at about 9:45, sometimes earlier. When I have time I might stop and buy a coffee or croissant at the cafeteria at Paris Universitaire 7-Denis Diderot. My first class of the day is at 10. It's French History. We sit in a small room and discuss the readings we had the night before. Most of the readings are historical texts written by people that were important at the time. For example, for the first class we read a work by Cesar that was a description of the Gaulois, people that would eventually become the French.
After class its lunchtime. I'm trying to make an effort to bring my own lunch, to save some euros. I pack leftovers from the night before. Today, for example, I had spaghetti. If I don't have a lunch I might walk over to the cafeteria at Diderot, or a local cafe. We have an hour and fifteen minutes to eat.
On Tuesdays we can go home at this point, other days we might have French. French class is intended to help us improve our language skills. My entire program is conducted in french. From signing in to my building, to the Tour I was given, to asking where I can go to the restroom. I have to try and do as much of it as I can in French. The class then, is intended to help us improve our language skills, particualarly in the academic setting.
After French I am done for the day. If I need groceries I might stop by the Monoprix which is right outside the RER station, or else I might go to the library at Diderot to study. Otherwise I jump on the train and head home. On a day with French I usually get home around 4:00. It's a long day, but its nice. The Center is a good place to learn, with a very laid back atmosphere. I like that its not right where I live. There is no sense of doom hanging around. I usually have dinner at about 6:30 in the evening. I've been trying to make my own food. I'll make a large pot of spaghetti and then store the leftovers. I can make it last a few days, so I don't have to cook again for awhile. In the evening I do my homework and then go to bed.
On days without French I try to explore the city a little bit. Yesterday I went for a 45 minute walk, ending up in the neighborhood of Montparnasse. I keep my eyes open when I walk around, trying to find places I want to go back too, particularly cafes and restaurants.
And always, or at least every other day, on my way home I stop at my little boulangerie and pick up a baguette. Its less than a euro, and if you go at the right times then they are still warm.
A typical school day starts at 8:30. I wake up, make a cup of instant coffee, and get myself together for the day. I leave my chambre at 9am sharp (or as close as I can get) and head out the door, in the direction of the RER stop. What's been the case the last few days is that I run into someone on my way, or on the platform of the RER Train, so I'm never going alone. We take the RER Train four stops north to St. Michel-Notre Dame. If I got off and went outside I would be along the Seine, across from me, Notre Dame Cathedral. However, I don't leave the station, I switch from the B to the C Train and head south along the River to the stop at Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand. There I have a short five minute walk to the Paris Center.
I arrive at about 9:45, sometimes earlier. When I have time I might stop and buy a coffee or croissant at the cafeteria at Paris Universitaire 7-Denis Diderot. My first class of the day is at 10. It's French History. We sit in a small room and discuss the readings we had the night before. Most of the readings are historical texts written by people that were important at the time. For example, for the first class we read a work by Cesar that was a description of the Gaulois, people that would eventually become the French.
After class its lunchtime. I'm trying to make an effort to bring my own lunch, to save some euros. I pack leftovers from the night before. Today, for example, I had spaghetti. If I don't have a lunch I might walk over to the cafeteria at Diderot, or a local cafe. We have an hour and fifteen minutes to eat.
On Tuesdays we can go home at this point, other days we might have French. French class is intended to help us improve our language skills. My entire program is conducted in french. From signing in to my building, to the Tour I was given, to asking where I can go to the restroom. I have to try and do as much of it as I can in French. The class then, is intended to help us improve our language skills, particualarly in the academic setting.
After French I am done for the day. If I need groceries I might stop by the Monoprix which is right outside the RER station, or else I might go to the library at Diderot to study. Otherwise I jump on the train and head home. On a day with French I usually get home around 4:00. It's a long day, but its nice. The Center is a good place to learn, with a very laid back atmosphere. I like that its not right where I live. There is no sense of doom hanging around. I usually have dinner at about 6:30 in the evening. I've been trying to make my own food. I'll make a large pot of spaghetti and then store the leftovers. I can make it last a few days, so I don't have to cook again for awhile. In the evening I do my homework and then go to bed.
On days without French I try to explore the city a little bit. Yesterday I went for a 45 minute walk, ending up in the neighborhood of Montparnasse. I keep my eyes open when I walk around, trying to find places I want to go back too, particularly cafes and restaurants.
And always, or at least every other day, on my way home I stop at my little boulangerie and pick up a baguette. Its less than a euro, and if you go at the right times then they are still warm.
Sunday Afternoon Monument Crawl
Sunday afternoon I woke up later, way later than I wanted to. I guess that can only be attributed to jet lag. The plan for the day was to take myself around to a lot of the more famous monuments (tourist attractions) here in Paris. The intention was that if I went to these places now, I wouldn't get all silly about them later. We'll see if that works.
The plan was to hit the Eiffel Tower first. The RER C Train that I was on, however had different intentions for me. It stopped, and then the power shut off at Les Invalides. I decided that since I wasn't that far from the Eiffel Tower I'd just get off there. I'm glad I did. Les Invalides is where Napoleon is buried. It was originally built as a military hospital, but now it houses a variety of things, including Napoleon's tomb and several museums. I walked up to it from the North. The building is incredible. Its huge, and old, and the stone work is fabulous. When I got up to the main gates I went in. I was a bit confused as to whether a ticket was necessary, so I was a bit discreet. I wandered into a massive courtyard/square-like enclosure. There were windows pointing down on it from all directions, and the sides were lined with old canons. At the south end there is a large statue of Napoleon standing in a window. I passed through the courtyard and stuck my head into a large chapel. It was the original chapel built for the hospital, and it has a gorgeous old organ. I stepped out because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be in there, and headed out the south entrace of the building towards the Eiffel Tower.
Getting to the Eiffel Tower was simple. You could see it rising up to the west! I walked in that general direction, coming upon the Champs de Mars after a few blocks. The Champs de Mars is a large park that is built to one side of the Eiffel Tower, with long grassy areas. On Sunday there was a large kids festival there. I didn't stick around, but I did see a bit of a karate presentation. When I came upon the Eiffel Tower I was struck by the size of the crowds, and the structure. I had read ahead of time that taking the stairs is much cheaper, and gives you a bit more freedom to move around. The line was a lot shorter too. I bought a billet for 3,10 euros, and started the ascension. Um, the Eiffel Tower is a lot taller than it looks. By the time I hit the first floor I was exhausted. I wandered a bit around the interior portions. I'd heard that there was a McDonald's in the Eiffel Tower. I was picturing golden arches and the works. But I didn't see anything of the sort. There was a large cafe but it didn't stop to look. The view from the first floor was impressive. Its well above tree-line, and most buildings in the city. You could see for miles in every direction. I picked out a few famous monuments. Particularly clears were Sacre Coeur and the Arc de la Defense. After about 20 minutes I continued up the stairs. It was even worse. Higher, and steeper I went. They keep a tally of how many stairs you've climbed along the stairs. I stopped looking at 660. The second floor was just as amazing as the first. Buildings were a bit smaller, but you could see even further. I was lucky and went on a clear day too. From the second floor I could clearly see the Arc de Triomphe, something I hadn't been able to see on the first floor. Up there I went in the gift shop. I figured I needed something to commemorate my long climb. I bought a small Eiffel Tower statue for 3 euro. I later saw vendors selling them for 1 on the street, but I like mine because I climbed up to get it. I was going to push on to the very top, but I decided not too. Partly because you have to take a lift, and the line was very long, and partly because I was exhausted. Either way I'll probably be back. The descent was a lot better than the ascent, but I was surprised to see how far I'd gone.
After exiting the Eiffel Tower I headed towards Tocadero. I had read that the best views of the Eiffel Tower are from the top of the stairs of Tocadero, and I think what I read is right. It was fabulous. While there I bought a crepe from a vendor. It was delicious.
The next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. I walked about eight blocks to get there from Tocadero. The Arc de Triomphe is situated in the middle of the scariest roundabout I have ever seen. Luckily they have a tunnel to get to it. I wandered around the circle for about ten minutes. If you don't pay to go up to the top of the Arc, or in the museum, all you can really do is admire the stone work and the tomb of the unknown soldier. If you look towards the south east of the Arc you can see down the Champs Elysees. It is a very busy street, and famous for shopping. It was also my next stop. I walked down it all the way to the Place de Concorde. The Champs Elysees is impressive, but in the last ten years it has become relatively tourist-ified. Much of the old charm has been lost due to the high density of people that are now all over the streets. At the opposite end from the Arc de Triomphe is the Place de Concorde. Here is situated a larged obelisk that was a gift from Egypt. It is very cool, and it actually has carvings on it explaining how the Egyptians raised it to its full height. Going here was important for me because it is a very decisive point in the criterium that the Tour de France races on the Champs Elysees. There is a sweeping bend here, and many attacks start right at that point. I thought it would be cool to see the terrain in person.
If you continue in the same direction, away from the Place de Concorde you will find yourself in the Jardin des Tuileries. This is the Jardin that was built to accompany the old royal palace, which is now the Louvre. The Jardin is very pretty, and it was crawling with tourists. Its a nice walk, but I probably wouldn't pick it as a place to read or do work. Maybe a picnic. In the middle of the Jardin is the Arc de Carrousel. This Arc is smaller than the Arc de Triomphe but if you turn away from the Louvre and look through it you can see the Arc de Triomphe, and past that, the Arc de la Defense. They are all three lined up directly. My last stop was the outside of the Louvre. I figured it was a good terminus, because there is a metro station nearby, and its at the end of the Jardin des Tuileries. I didn't get too close, but I did get a good view of the glass pyramid. I don't care what anyone else says, I think it looks really strange where it is. Enough said.
Exhausted I headed home with a lot of pictures, and a great appreciation for Paris. Now I think I can go near these places and act cool... hopefully?
PHOTOS (Click the links for my two albums!)
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009651&l=0c233&id=1599570086
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009672&l=771b7&id=1599570086
The plan was to hit the Eiffel Tower first. The RER C Train that I was on, however had different intentions for me. It stopped, and then the power shut off at Les Invalides. I decided that since I wasn't that far from the Eiffel Tower I'd just get off there. I'm glad I did. Les Invalides is where Napoleon is buried. It was originally built as a military hospital, but now it houses a variety of things, including Napoleon's tomb and several museums. I walked up to it from the North. The building is incredible. Its huge, and old, and the stone work is fabulous. When I got up to the main gates I went in. I was a bit confused as to whether a ticket was necessary, so I was a bit discreet. I wandered into a massive courtyard/square-like enclosure. There were windows pointing down on it from all directions, and the sides were lined with old canons. At the south end there is a large statue of Napoleon standing in a window. I passed through the courtyard and stuck my head into a large chapel. It was the original chapel built for the hospital, and it has a gorgeous old organ. I stepped out because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be in there, and headed out the south entrace of the building towards the Eiffel Tower.
Getting to the Eiffel Tower was simple. You could see it rising up to the west! I walked in that general direction, coming upon the Champs de Mars after a few blocks. The Champs de Mars is a large park that is built to one side of the Eiffel Tower, with long grassy areas. On Sunday there was a large kids festival there. I didn't stick around, but I did see a bit of a karate presentation. When I came upon the Eiffel Tower I was struck by the size of the crowds, and the structure. I had read ahead of time that taking the stairs is much cheaper, and gives you a bit more freedom to move around. The line was a lot shorter too. I bought a billet for 3,10 euros, and started the ascension. Um, the Eiffel Tower is a lot taller than it looks. By the time I hit the first floor I was exhausted. I wandered a bit around the interior portions. I'd heard that there was a McDonald's in the Eiffel Tower. I was picturing golden arches and the works. But I didn't see anything of the sort. There was a large cafe but it didn't stop to look. The view from the first floor was impressive. Its well above tree-line, and most buildings in the city. You could see for miles in every direction. I picked out a few famous monuments. Particularly clears were Sacre Coeur and the Arc de la Defense. After about 20 minutes I continued up the stairs. It was even worse. Higher, and steeper I went. They keep a tally of how many stairs you've climbed along the stairs. I stopped looking at 660. The second floor was just as amazing as the first. Buildings were a bit smaller, but you could see even further. I was lucky and went on a clear day too. From the second floor I could clearly see the Arc de Triomphe, something I hadn't been able to see on the first floor. Up there I went in the gift shop. I figured I needed something to commemorate my long climb. I bought a small Eiffel Tower statue for 3 euro. I later saw vendors selling them for 1 on the street, but I like mine because I climbed up to get it. I was going to push on to the very top, but I decided not too. Partly because you have to take a lift, and the line was very long, and partly because I was exhausted. Either way I'll probably be back. The descent was a lot better than the ascent, but I was surprised to see how far I'd gone.
After exiting the Eiffel Tower I headed towards Tocadero. I had read that the best views of the Eiffel Tower are from the top of the stairs of Tocadero, and I think what I read is right. It was fabulous. While there I bought a crepe from a vendor. It was delicious.
The next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. I walked about eight blocks to get there from Tocadero. The Arc de Triomphe is situated in the middle of the scariest roundabout I have ever seen. Luckily they have a tunnel to get to it. I wandered around the circle for about ten minutes. If you don't pay to go up to the top of the Arc, or in the museum, all you can really do is admire the stone work and the tomb of the unknown soldier. If you look towards the south east of the Arc you can see down the Champs Elysees. It is a very busy street, and famous for shopping. It was also my next stop. I walked down it all the way to the Place de Concorde. The Champs Elysees is impressive, but in the last ten years it has become relatively tourist-ified. Much of the old charm has been lost due to the high density of people that are now all over the streets. At the opposite end from the Arc de Triomphe is the Place de Concorde. Here is situated a larged obelisk that was a gift from Egypt. It is very cool, and it actually has carvings on it explaining how the Egyptians raised it to its full height. Going here was important for me because it is a very decisive point in the criterium that the Tour de France races on the Champs Elysees. There is a sweeping bend here, and many attacks start right at that point. I thought it would be cool to see the terrain in person.
If you continue in the same direction, away from the Place de Concorde you will find yourself in the Jardin des Tuileries. This is the Jardin that was built to accompany the old royal palace, which is now the Louvre. The Jardin is very pretty, and it was crawling with tourists. Its a nice walk, but I probably wouldn't pick it as a place to read or do work. Maybe a picnic. In the middle of the Jardin is the Arc de Carrousel. This Arc is smaller than the Arc de Triomphe but if you turn away from the Louvre and look through it you can see the Arc de Triomphe, and past that, the Arc de la Defense. They are all three lined up directly. My last stop was the outside of the Louvre. I figured it was a good terminus, because there is a metro station nearby, and its at the end of the Jardin des Tuileries. I didn't get too close, but I did get a good view of the glass pyramid. I don't care what anyone else says, I think it looks really strange where it is. Enough said.
Exhausted I headed home with a lot of pictures, and a great appreciation for Paris. Now I think I can go near these places and act cool... hopefully?
PHOTOS (Click the links for my two albums!)
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009651&l=0c233&id=1599570086
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009672&l=771b7&id=1599570086
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