last week in paris

This past week has been very busy with exams and fitting in last-minute sight-seeing in Paris. I had 3 exams this week and one on Monday, then I have to do 2 short presentations. It should be interesting to see how I did on the exams as they were all based on grammar which, to me, either you know or you don’t, so it was difficult to “study.” I am, however, preparing for my history exam on Monday which shouldn’t be too bad.

As for activities in Paris, I went to the Centre George Pompidou, the modern art museum, on Friday. It was really interesting especially since I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a museum fully devoted to modern art. It was refreshing to see work that aren’t just paintings, but art made out of objects and unique materials. I did see a pretty ironic piece that was appropriately named, “Dark Blue Panel,” as it was a canvas completely painted in one color blue. The special expositions were really cool, and there was one that was actually kind of scary on the works of Samuel Beckett and art by those inspired by him.

Thursday night, Louise took Anna and I out to dinner, which was great. She took us to a restaurant in our neighborhood that serves specialities from the region of Lyon. I had onion soup, jambonneau, which is basically a ball of ham with lentils, and we split a very rich chocolate cake and tarte tatin (upside-down apple pie) for dessert. We had great wine as well, I believe it was Côte du Rhône, it was red but I don’t remember what type. Louise was flirting with the 30-something waiter and it was pretty hilarious. He gave us free digestives (after-dinner drinks) which was nice. The meal must have cost a fortune as it was a nice place, so it was extremely generous of her to take us out. We’re thinking of getting her a little something to thank her for her hospitality (despite her craziness).

Saturday, Anna and I decided to check out the Chateau de Vincennes, a medieval fortress (with a dried-up moat and everything), since there was a jazz festival in the adjoining park. It ended up being a great day, the day’s theme was Big Band so we heard a lot of great music, all in French of course. We were able to bring a blanket and sit on the grass, although we should have brought a picnic because that’s what everyone else did. Luckily there was a nice café in the park.

Sunday, I went to the Place des Voges (great grassy square in the Marais, right next to Victor Hugo's house) to study for my history test and get some sun. I could only take it for about an hour and a half though, as bugs kept crawling onto my papers/me which I hate. It's crazy that I will be home so soon! However, I am definitely not looking forward to the plane ride...