Thursday, May 28: Louvre

Not to be just totally obvious, but how could I possibly only have 2 days left in France? For one thing, I still have more than half a journal to fill up! Guess I’ll just have to come back (take note: I’m thinking 2013 for those who may want to join)…

I’m starting to wear my clothes pretty thin… They’ll be happy to be in a less aggressive rotation when I get back home. In the meantime, I’m actually really sort of out of shirts to wear and as I only have 2 days left, going to a Laundromat seems silly. So I went shopping. (Yeah, I’m serious. I know…)

Made my final trip back to the massive mall that is Les Halles and back to my new favorite store on the planet, New Look (and they have plenty of bad stuff, too, but they have lots of cute things). I didn’t find a shirt there.. *cough* ok, I got shoes. Ok, so it was 5 pairs. I know! I know… 5 pairs of shoes on top of the 2 pairs I’ve bought already in France and the 4 pairs I brought with me. But, but… I got new sneakers, a pair of sporty flats, a pair of flat brown sandals (all of which I needed) and 2 very fun shoes I could not get in the States. There. Whew… first step is admission, moving out of denial. Besides, I’ve been waiting to buy stuff for the last week so I don’t have to haul it everywhere for 4 weeks. I swear I’ve thought this through. I’m only justifying it to whomever reads this blog because as I read, even I can’t help cracking up at myself. Yeesh.

Ok, but then I found a couple of cute shirts at a place called La City that were versatile and Buy 2, get 1 for a Euro. Great deal, right? (I swear I’m done shopping. Really, I promise.)

I had a healthy lunch (pic) and came back to drop off bags at the hotel room. I switched into my new sneakers and headed off for the Louvre.

Man, that place is big. You can’t stand in any one place from the inside or the outside and see the whole thing. Nowhere. It’s so big it eclipses itself! I got my ticket from the nice lady at the counter who must just luuuuv her job (*sarcasm, sarcasm*) and headed off to the popular ground floor level of the Denon Wing to see Greek and Italian sculpture (pics galore – sorry for the blurry but no flash allowed), then back through French and Italian Renaissance paintings. I stopped through Charlesmagne’s special hallway o’ extravagance before heading to the much less crowded Sully wing for Prehistoric Greek/Etruscan hallways, followed by the almost empty Ancient Egyptian and Oriental halls. Got a couple good shots of hieroglyphics… Allise, if you’re reading, please translate! I don’t remember how to read them at all… (pics of all are on Flickr).

There are plenty of people in the popular wings, to be sure, but not really as bad as I’d prepared myself for. I wasn’t really bothered by them and it only smelled a little like sweaty humans. (ha) The big thing I did notice was that people don’t follow the rules. No flash (pish), no eating in the museum (who brings lunch to the Louvre??), no loud talking (bwahahaha, yeah right). Apparently all just suggestions. I did get to see a wide variety of tour guides, each with a different language and a different brightly-colored item held up in the air for the group to be able to see/follow. Mostly umbrellas, but I did see a collapsed/folded up baby carriage for one group. I thought that was an interesting choice as her arm is sure to get tired after about 20 minutes of holding that thing up.

There were student groups, probably with an art class, running around sort of scavenger hunt style trying to fill out a worksheet. That was kind of fun to watch. Their heads were in a lot of my pictures, but they were mostly respectful so they didn’t get too annoying.

Gray day spent at the Louvre was a good choice and I’m glad I got back to it. I haven’t been since my first trip to Paris which has been a distinctly long time, so it was good to not only see the standard hallways of well known pieces, but also to get a little lost in the lesser known hallways and crypts and see the stuff not many tourists get to.

Tomorrow (Friday), I’ll be changing hotels and I’m not sure when/if I’ll get to blog about my final day, but be assured it will be here eventually! See you all (most of my readers are KC, right?) soon ish! The week of my bday I’ll have various activities for fun that you all probably already know about. First plan up: Jazz Jam Session at the Phoenix (8th & Central) on Tuesday, June 9th.

Louvre Pics on Flickr...

Tuesday, May 26: Jacquemart-Andre and l'Arc de Triomphe

Woke up to a very different Paris: drizzly rainy and cold! The good news there is I haven't had to really use the AC, so the dripping has stopped entirely. I find that makes a huge difference in my temperament about the room. It's actually quite functional and I don't need much more than a drip-free area to get clean in.

I figured I could hack the rain with an umbrella in hand, so I went on a neighborhood walk. Ok, ok, shopping trip. But I'm desperate to find cute comfy shoes! Everyone has flats here and I actually like some of them (unheard of for me) but I can't find any that fit. I'm between sizes and they dont' do half sizes, so I'm gonna have to stick to open toed shoes here...

Midafternoon (after re-organizing and planning out my week to not miss the must-sees) I headed towards the Jacquemart-Andre Museum. It’s the old mansion of an aristocratic couple from late 1800s/early 1900s. Without children to dote on, the couple spent their lives and their wealth collecting art as amateurs and furnishing this grandiose palace of a home in the middle of Paris. It was a very cool stop and not just because of the obvious luxury (pics); for example, the stairwell was built by the runner up for designer of the Charles Garnier fantasy that is l’Opera (one of my fave monuments) and he certainly had the last word here (pic).

But it was a cool story, too: two very different people (politically and with different motivations from different walks of life) with a shared love for art, particularly Italian. The Madame, Nelie Jacquemart-Andre, honored Monsieur Andre’s final wish that the house and art be bequeathed to state art society so that it may be “preserved as their vision of what two amateur collectors and art-lovers gathered over a lifetime.” Very neat.

I actually made friends with one of the gentleman running security (I swear I have a neon-clear sign on me that says “talk to me, I’m nice and sociable!”). He mentioned that my French was good, or at least better than his English, and we proceeded to have a pretty robust conversation in French about things like travel destinations in the States/Europe, his jobs and 4 week sabbaticals. It was a good exercise in using my French (as he is among the few people that doesn’t follow along much in English and didn’t try to talk to me in it). But it made me sweat a little, trying to conjugate words in present subjunctive: stuff real French people don’t use. Yeesh.

I closed up that museum and scurried down Blvd Haussman to l’Etoile to see the Arc de Triomphe in the sunlight (my other pics were cloudy). They were having a sort of dedication? Not sure what Tuesday, May 26th honors in France, but got a few neat pics in this very appropriate setting for a military dedication. Bought my ticket to go up the 250+ stairs for the panoramic view of the city. (pics) The gentleman at the window asked me if my ring held a “potion” – I laughed and said it did sort of look malevolent, but no. (see the pic of my ring in the set from Route des Vins).

In the category of random smiles: in the metro on the way back, I stood next to a gentleman in a business suit, a “grown up” person of maybe 35?, playing his handheld PS3 to pass the time on the subway.

I got to have dinner again with one of my new friends, Oliver, whom I met at the front desk of the MIJE hostels during my first stay and we had quite the 4 course meal again, practically closing the place down speaking in French-English (usually both within the same sentence).

Pics of Day 2 of Paris Round II on Flickr.

Monday, May 25: Arrival in Paris (again)

Travel day! I woke up (I'm doing very well without my alarm clock actually) and set off for fruit and yogurt at Galleries LaFayette's grocery dept for breakfast. I packed up in 45 min flat -- I'm now officially a pro! -- and rolled my bags over 3 blocks of cobble stone to the tram stop nearby. I got to the train station about an hour early, so as to avoid the constant clock-watching jitters if I were to just hang out in the room, waiting to leave, and got myself some lunch at the trainstation: particularly yummy sandwich mixte (ham, cheese, butter), pomme grille (an apple tart thingy) and a sort of bread stick version of the olive-baguette.

I actually finished The Book of Love before taking off from Strasbourg and am 100% decided I must go to Chartres. I won't tell you why, you have to read the book, but I'll take lots while I'm there. I started re-reading the 4th Twilight book for something a bit more fun and less think-y on the train.

The adventure of my now 4 bags from Gare de l'Est to the hotel was actually ok. Only one staircase without elevator (whew!). The challenge was the heat, which was flirting with 90 degrees and blaring sun! As it turns out, the hotel only runs the airconditioning from 5p to 9a (assuming probably correctly that most people are out during the day) and let's just say I was less than appreciative of that fact... Plus, not to fuel a stereotype, but as this is the hottest day I've had in a city I've had to use public transit, I did take particular notice of the fragrance on the metro. After about 85 degrees, the general Parisian public sweating it out in the subway doesn't make for a bottle-able odor. Blech.

Anyway, got checked into the Hotel du 7eme Art in le Marais, my same favorite neighborhood between Place de la Bastille and Hotel de Ville. The theme is heavy here: early Hollywood. Movie posters galore and lots of the collage-esque style of art with lots of famous actors of the period. I had requested that if the least expensive room -- there's only one of them, and it was taken when I made my reservation -- came available that I would prefer it. It is 30 Euros (about $45) less expensive per night and if I can help it, I'd rather not stay in the hotel room too awfully much.

Well, the thing about that is, I'm a snob. Not a huge snob, but a little a bit. The room size doesn't bother me (again, don't need that much space), but a lunch box seems to be a good metaphor. Which would make the shower the size of a postage stamp. All this would be fine, except that that means there isn't room for a toilet in my room. I don't have a shared toilet, like for the floor, but I do share the toilet... It's in a supplies closet type room, two doors down the hall. It's ok... sorta, but in the middle of the night I have to amble through the hall to get to the bathroom. And if I pull back the opaque glass door, I can see that they don't seem to care much for organization. A combination of old shower curtains, a ripped up comforter and various broken or old room items are piled up about a third of the way up from the floor and the cleaning supplies bucket/kit sits on top of that pile for lack of a better space to put it in. Doesn't inspire, that's all I'm saying.

Plus, because it was so darn hot all day, the air conditioning somehow managed to collect dew on the spare mattress that is stored above the shower (there's a little cubby thing). So the mattress dripped water through the crack in the shower ceiling all afternoon/night. I guess that wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't have to stand directly under one of the drips in order to brush my teeth/wash my face in front of the sink. Or if I weren't afraid it was less than pristine water after having passed through a mattress and a wooden ceiling. (See? I told you I was a bit of snob.) I think I've corrected the problem... I shoved the mattresses back a couple feet so the AC didn't blow directly on it. The drip stopped sometime before this AM (Tuesday).

So faced with the idea of sweating it out in the hotel room, waiting for 5p, and sweating it up walking around the park/climbing l'Etoile like I had planned for the after, I chose shopping and a movie in an airconditioned mall. I saw Wolverine (VO, which I now know well is version originale) which was ok, but the movie theater was just the right temperature. And, in case you guys are worried I might turn into Isla Fischer, I didn't even buy anything, I just looked!

The neighborhood around les Halles, the shopping center (understatement: this place is the size of an entire suburb), is the spot to go out apparently. Not far away is the jazz club I went to the last time I was in Paris and along the same street are an Irish Pub with live rock every night, another jazz club with a jam session, starting at 10p and a soul bar that had a special concert going. I had lots of intentions of going to all 3 spots after the movie, but I was dressed like it was July in Independence and still felt grimey from sweating all day, so I went in search of a salad instead.

Here's the thing. I had no intention of eating at the Hard Rock Cafe while I was in France. There are a LOT of other things to eat. But in this case... my kingdom for a salad! I just wanted a salad with more than lettuce in it. And since I know the HRC menu well (I find them in every city I go to, usually only to get the pin), I knew I couldn't lose with them. Plus, the atmospher is usually fun and you never know who you're going to meet. I didn't actually meet anyone and the bartenders spoke to me in English. Not because I am American, as I thought, but because it's the thing there... Oh well, I got my salad and it had ranch on it and it was delicious, dangit.

Headed back to the hotel to rest up, thinking that as long as it didn't rain Tues, I'd trip it to Chartres.. Turns out Tues will be the only day for rain all week. And the Louvre is closed Tuesdays. Dang.

I'll upload my sparse pics soon... til then, enjoy the current stash!

Saturday, May 9

I made it to the gospel concert at St Germaine de Pres last night and wow... very cool. Ok, so it was a bit contrived, but the music and musicians were powerful anyway and there was a group of us in the wings (without seats) that were clapping and dancing along. I actually got some video of it, but I'm not sure the sound comes out right (I only have laptop speakers). The result of booming gospel voices in an ancient Catholic church was very cool! My wish-I-could-capture-it moment was watching the "wings" crowd and seeing two gals that were watching the choir do a slower song and doing the knee-bending-heel-tapping version of the gospel sway :)

I really wanted to go to the jazz jam session at Duc des Lombards last night, but I just wasn't feeling well enough. I've promised myself that the Friday before I leave when I'm back in Paris, I'm definitely doing it!

I finally got to the inside of l'Opera Garnier, but it was packed with people (Saturday at a tourist attraction). The pics, again, don't come out right, but it's one of my two favorite places in Paris (the other is Notre Dame). It's just... glorious! I posted a few pics on Flickr that came out ok.

I then headed to Tour Eiffel to see if I could catch some sun in between rainy-looking clouds, but it wasn't meant to be. Fun people-watching-isms: a man getting a full sized (as big as himself) Mexican flag out of his backpack and posing with it in front of Tour Eiffel (what has he done with it the rest of the trip?); the tail end of a wedding party fleeing Trocadero (I only knew it was a wedding party cause of the massive ball of tulle that led the group - the bride I assume); and my favorite: an Italian family walking up to Trocadero with mom and dad covering the kids' eyes as they walked up the steps before the big reveal - too cute!

I had a panini from the tourist trap lunch vendors that was quite delicious and journaled some but it was getting darker instead of lighter, so I took the obligatory self-in-front-of-Tour-Eiffel picture (so you guys know I'm really in Paris) and split.

Walked around to some of the hotels (not hostels) that Rick Steve's recommends for le Marais (I love the neighborhood, but I think I'm over sharing a room and extra-sharing a restroom) and finally scored a room at a Hollywood-themed place not 4 blocks from the Fourconnier hostel. WiFi and cafe in the lobby and the rare airconditioned room, but not as inexpensive as I was hoping. Hey, it's May. What do I want from these people, right?

I finally got to Anne by phone and we made plans for the week of May 18: I'll be meeting her in Mulhouse via Strasbourg in the far East side of France. So I'm officially booked up for the rest of my stay, which is a nice feeling. Now to enjoy it all!

Running out of battery again -- see all pics at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37916084@N03/sets/72157617637794620/

Friday, May 8

It’s apparently a French holiday? Unless people are just getting a long holiday in honor of Bastille Day which I thought was the 4th for some reason (but what do I know?).

And I’m sick. I think it’s a sinus infection, very likely brought on Spring allergies (charming, I know). I’m not really sneezing a lot, but the sore throat is prominent and I’m Post Nasal Dripping (blech). Turns out that pseudoephedrine is worth about $.75/pill. And it turns out I’m totally willing to pay that. (see pics tomorrow… didn’t upload yet!)

I figured while I’m on the train of paying way too much for things I just really need. Now that the pen I brought is out of ink, I have no way to journal without at least a basic writing utensil. Voila my “bargain” 2 Euro ($3) Papermate pen. (pic)

Last night ended up being gorgeous weather. Dinner with Olivier (new friend from the hostel) and his friend Elaine, who is a native Seattle-an, but living and traveling in Europe. I don’t think she was a big fan of having me along – Olivier didn’t ask/tell her til we both showed up. My spidey-sense (female intuition) led me to realize that though he didn’t see it as a romantic op, she probably was. Not even in France can you escape catty women territorial crap. Blech.

Oh the feet, they hurt. I’m gonna need inserts or something for my sneakers. There’s not a lot to them and I’m doing way too much walking to just go with it. Hopefully in Rennes, there will be more sitting/studying…

Aiight, eating then going to try to make a Gospel concert at St Germaine de Pres!

Thursday, May 7

(FYI, running out of battery, so I've made sure the pic link at the bottom works, but didn't have time to upload individual pic links. If I say "pic" you'll have to look for it.. like an easter egg hunt!)

Thursday: I woke up this AM (meaning middle of the night) with an extremely sore throat. Suspicious that I’d caught something (there are Swine Flu warnings on all the train station/airport terminals!), I vowed to try harder to find soap (something that seems to be optional in a lot of places) and be better at using my hand sanitizer in between. Turns out I think it may just be spring… a few hours later, I’m feeling fine and I thank Advil Cold and Sinus.

On a more positive note, it is positively gorgeous today! It’s been cloudless and sunny almost the entire day. This is a real treat as it’s been fairly overcast since I got here with only peeks at sunshine on Monday. I decided to choose my Sacre Coeur/l’Opera Garnier day for today.

I started with taking pics of the outside of la Madeleine (pics) as my buddy Rick Steves says the inside is a vast disappointment. Walked through very high end shopping (think 5th Ave but more so), through the Vendome and to Place de la Concorde, taking pictures the whole way. For a glimpse at what “high end” means, check out a price tag from one of the windows (pic).

Moved on to l’Opera, but it was CLOSED today, so I only got my outdoors pics. I grabbed a listing of shows and hope to see a ballet or symphony from the nosebleeds before I leave France.

On to Galleries LaFayette, which is 8 floors of Sears meets Macys meets grocery stores with cafes, wedding dresses and tourist chotchkies tossed in. From the Terrace up top, there’s a great view of Paris (pics). The café on the 6th floor has a similarly fun view but was cafeteria style food. Now, for most situations that’d be fine, but for me it felt like I’d “wasted” a chance to eat something magnificent. So I treated myself to gelato to tilt the scale back a bit. Turns out chocolate hazelnut gelato can fix anything.

Stopped by Hard Rock café for the obligatory pin (since I didn’t get one the last 3 times I’ve been to Paris?? What’s wrong with me…) and headed to Montmartre with the intention of sitting and relaxing on the grounds, shooting pictures to my heart’s delight and walking around the artists’ displays at Place du Tertre. After my 30th or so picture of Sacre Coeur (pics), my camera – without warning – shut off with a “battery is dead” message. Plus, with the beautiful weather and 100+ steps, I was glistening pretty darn well. I walked around Tertre for a bit, but it still wasn’t really time to eat or sip un café, so I chose a bench near a beautiful restaurant patio to journal. There was a street musician “crooning” La Vie en Rose with his Cello and the French man behind me was humming along frenchily.

Sunset wouldn’t have been for another 5 hours at least, so I gave up and decided to head back to charge up the darn camera. I’m back at café le moderne (the Wistro) and checking in by email with friends/facebooking. Tonight may be a laid back dinner at a posh spot in the heart of my distinctly gay (at least at night) neighborhood (Rick Steves called one bar a good spot for watching “the parade”). Although I did hear about the area not far from la Bastille (so close enough to walk rather than Metro) that houses clubs for dancing and salsa. Those are bit more difficult to edge into as a single person, so maybe I’ll wait til next week with Elodie.

Sorry for the novels, but it seems I’m hitting quite a few places each day so far. Tomorrow I’m looking at going back to Notre Dame and actually going in and at night, there is an American Gospel concert at an old French Catholic church, St Germaine de Pres. The acoustics alone may be worth going for!

Check out the whole roll of photos on Flickr…

Wednesday, May 6

I've decided it may be easier if I break things up by day... even though I'll only be posting about every two/three days or so. So here goes Wednesday:

Wednesday AM, I finally decided to plan out some days for myself, so I’m sure not to miss the things I want to see. I don’t have to do these things, but if I wanted to go to such-and-such neighborhood, I would know that such-and-such is less than a metro ride away, for example. After a leisurely morning and barely scooting out before the kick me out at noon (each day, we have to vacate from noon to 3p; not hard to do and I appreciate the daily cleaning.

I headed off to Monoprix – a large… department store, I guess? But the basement is a grocery store; upstairs is kind of a Target? Anyway, I loaded up for a picnic at Place des Vosges (pics). I found this fabulous little “buffet” of cheese thing with 6 different “tastes” of cheeses: heaven! I also treated myself to a dark chocolate bar with hazelnuts… the candy aisles (there are two: one for cookies, one for chocolate) may be what lures me into staying here in the end…

I eyeballed the expensive shops between Place des Vosges and Centre Pompidou. Very boutique style and in fact, you could see most of what they had to offer in the window display, so I didn’t go in anywhere. Got to Pompidou and realized I didn’t really want to go in the museum exhibits. I like the architecture and the hyper-moderne style (pic), but I am realizing, most of my must-dos in France involve talking and eating and such. So instead I sat down and journaled from the WiFi spot at Centre Pompidou (pic) and then headed out to call home (hi mom and dad). I got done with Pompidou a lot earlier than I thought, so I headed out to see a movie I’d seen before that I thought would be in French… (17 ans encore). Turns out it was version originale with French subtitles! Boo. But I read along and tried to pick up the slang words. And it was still a cute movie the second time around.

I learned that ads for snack foods and desserts are required to have a label (throughout the entire ad) that says something like “For your health, don’t eat too much salty, sugary or fattening foods. More info at mangerbouger.fr” This is way new. Gov’t sticking their hands in the health pot. In fact, Alli (a weight loss drug) was just released in pharmacies here without regulation. That makes it the first to be widely available in France.

I had my first “French jerk” experience at the café in the cinema. As rusty as my French is, it was bound to happen I guess, but people have been really great with me and complimentary of my French usually. It was actually his “English” I didn’t understand. The guy at the counter offered me “Earl Gray” tea. When I didn’t understand earl gray with a thick French accent wrapped all around it, he got really frustrated with me and started barking things like “Big Ben??” So I recoiled a bit, apologizing and saying I hadn’t realized there was a choice. *sigh*

The movie theater I went to is in a “mall” called Les Halles (lay Al). I use air quotes because this monstrous human construction is so big, they have to use street signs to help people get around! (pic) Anyway, I did some light shopping while I waited for the movie to start. Found a fair-priced and packed store called New Look that has officially proclaimed the 80s are back and happenin’. The fluorescent shoes alone speak volumes! (pic)

After the movie, I walked down to Boulevard de Sebastopol to catch some jazz at Ducs des Lombards. There was a concert going on for 25 Euros, but it was vocal jazz and I was positively starving, so I paid it. I was 30 minutes “late” and the only seat I could see was practically on stage to the left of the drummer. So I took it, and could see the entire audience. I ordered food and must have eaten to fast cause the drummer leaned over as I was finishing and asked (in French) “Is it good?” I said “very” but then realized he was sort of making fun of me and the entire front half of the audience had a chuckle.

See now, in the States, I can handle ribbing and laugh with the rest… in this case, I was afraid I’d done something offensive or wrong and was just mortified. Another one of those things that comes with traveling. I’ll get comfy again but I’m currently kind of unsure of myself…

After dinner/show, I headed back to le Marais (my neighborhood) and squeezed into the bar at a very local, somewhat mild spot. Met another new friend (I’m invited to his party on Saturday here in Paris) and had fantastic 3 Euro wine. My day was full and varied but ended well.

Check out the whole roll of photos on Flickr…

More from Tuesday, May 5

I’m so happy. Just… happy. I’m sitting on a sidewalk watching super-model-beautiful people (not all are French), listening to three languages, awaiting real French onion soup and a cheese plate. I feel like I’m supposed to be doing exactly this. I love that I’ve met so many new people in 3 days and that I’m eating dessert with every meal.

Walking back from the Wistro, I passed 2 wine stores, a whole store just for cheese, a pastry shop and at least 2 boutique clothing stores. I remember thinking I couldn’t have built a better city for myself!

So, more things I’ve learned: English is everywhere: the music is all in English, the talk I’m overhearing is largely English. I was right to study in Rennes and not Paris, since it was the language I wanted. It seems that English is the language of tourists from around the world? When foreigners’ French fails them, English seems to be a common denominator. I’m rooming with a Japanese gal that doesn’t speak any French, but has some English.

Learned item #407: Bic pen costs 2,50 Euros! Maybe it does backflips or something, but I can’t fathom… the same pen that costs a buck for 10 in the US is pulling down $3.75 per here!

Have I already mentioned that everyone smokes? Everyone (French and some tourists) smokes. I walked back to the hostel Tuesday afternoon right as the high school was getting out. I walked through the mob of teenagers and a veritable fog of smoke! I guess cigarettes are an accepted part of adolescence here? Explains a little about all the adults smoking…

Tuesday night after dinner, I hopped the metro and headed off to see la Tour Eiffel (from Trocadero) and Champs Elysees at night. I tried (a LOT) to get a good shot of the lit Tour Eiffel (pics), but it’s a job for a tripod and pro photog. I’m glad I got to see it, but sorry I couldn’t share it!

Day two-and-a-half en France

Aaand, we're back and cookin with electricity (see the story below)!

First, yesterday -- my first official day -- was gorgeous. As you can see in my pics of Notre Dame, it was positively beautiful (you can also tell I'm a bit obsessed with Notre Dame -- only slightly strange for a Unity gal). Today, definitely overcast and a bit chilly. I'm glad for my scarf (again) -- in fact, I now have a super soft 100% genuine knock off scarf :) Straight from the street vendors.

Apart from that, where do I even begin?? I'm sitting in cafe le moderne, an ultra-hip "Wistro" (Wi-Fi cafe), literally jamming in my seat to the techno being pumped into the speakers. The walls are exposed stone with faux flickering candlebras above. The Dutch couple that just sat next to me had to revert to English to understand the French waiter :) The woman at the table outside is so posh, I'm afraid to set her loose on the sidewalks (her lips have definitely had help, to start, and her glasses are Mother of Pearl. No, seriously, they are).

A few blocks away is Place de la Bastille (pic). This weekend is Bastille Day, which is expected to bring quite a crowd around our neighborhood (le Marais). It's reminds me of the huge British or New York-ian Places with a dozen off shoots all shopping and eating.

Ugh, the shopping! I've already told them, but Stacey and Eboni would positively die here. They'd already have made the choice of new clothes every 10 min and never eating again... food isn't that important right? First, the stuff that people put out on the streets as "bargain" is better fodder than I've found in Kansas City in a while, if ever. And let me specifically point out 2 things: they are not afraid of color (pic) and they are serious about shoes (pic)! I've bought a pair of shoes and I'm eyeing another. I've possibly doubled my packed wardrobe (mom, before you faint, remember I only packed like 5 outfits, knowing I'd be buying most of my clothes here). Stacey, I look fabulous daily thanks to our under-the-wire pack job. I look positively french!

Of course, I open my mouth and there's no question I'm not a local. Turns out my french is a bit more than rusty. There are entire sets of words that have simply disappeared from my memory. but everyone is patient and I always continue in french even when they start speaking to me in english. Mostly people will helpfully suggest/correct the words I'm using. A few more weeks of this and I'll be back on track with my near 8 years of study in french? (yeesh, all that studying, gone so fast!) I'm making friends all over the place. The concierges at the hostel are all very friendly, but Olivier was the lucky one to be on duty when I was hopelessly struggling to figure out the "free WiFi" in the hostel lobby *eyeroll* Let's put it this way: there's not really free WiFi, it's the city's WiFi and it's only available at one exact spot in the lobby area and only during business hours. *sigh* We live, we learn, we laugh our butts off at my mistakes! Olivier and I are now BFF (by American and French standards, which are very different) and he even offered to lend me his old cell phone to load up with pre-paid minutes instead of buying a phone.

On that note, it turns out I'm not going to get one. In another insanely bold (i.e. out-of-character) move on my part, I've decided not to get a cell. I realized I won't be able to get calls from mom and dad, I can call them via "cabines" (phone booths, which do still exist here), and I can call Elodie using phone cards for $.20/min. What I was really getting it for was in case someone needed me in an emergency. Well, I said to myself, Self, that's silly. What will you do about an emergency from France? Rien (nothing), I answered myself. Ta da: 100 euros saved. (more for shopping! Seriously, it's bad... I don't remember being 'shopaholic' in the States...??)

Back to the touristy stuff: Yesterday, being beautiful, I walked... a LOT. Ended up shopping along the different streets I've never seen before (ie., they're not on the way from Notre Dame to La Tour Eiffel): The entire neighborhood near La Sorbonne (a sort of "institute" of the French language) is chock full of vetements et ensembles pour la femme (clothes for gals). I also have been extra-treating myself with meals. My "errand o' the day" yesterday was to buy my train ticket to Rennes for Sunday. Turns out Jardins du Luxembourg is "on the way" if you're at Notre Dame and the Rive Gauche (Left bank) area. I didn't intend on walking the whole way, but I kept finding more chapels to photograph and stores to stop in. I ended up having lunch at Le Luxembourg, (pic) looking across at the entrace to the gardens. By the way, for our horticultural friends, the "gardens" of Luxemburg aren't very garden-y. It's more a park/place to read/meet (pic). Very little plumage, as it were.

Last night, I went to a Rick Steves recommended Italian restaurant a mere 4 blocks from the hostel, l'Enoteca. I asked one of my hostel-roommates,Sue, to join me, and we sat down to eat at 9:20p like real french ladies. Even more like french ladies, we didn't leave until 11:30! It was positively delicious, though quite the splurge. I have to say, I'm thoroughly enjoying splurging. Everyone should do it. (Insert disclaimer: I've saved for five years for this!)

Today's assignment was to get a 3-prong converter for my laptop power cord. Turns out my converter-set for all its pieces couldn't accomodate! So, to the "good will" it goes. My whopping 9 Euro universal converter is one small piece and I can pretty much plug anything into it and it comes out french on the other side! Assignment, complete. I also set about my "homework" this afternoon while I had the hostel room to myself for a rare moment (the two remaining roommates both checked out today; new roommate checked in today). I fired up my iPod to the "Jazz to Study" playlist (150 songs+!) and started typing up lyrics and listening for nuances in the different musicians' versions.

Now I'm probably overstaying my welcome at the Wistro (it's just such a fun word to say! go on, give it a try...), so I'm going to wrap it up. Plus, this is about as much as one post can handle. Check out the whole "roll" of pics from yesterday/today's excursions on my Flickr Page or of course on Facebook.

Tomorrow: no clue! And that's awesome.