So I won't start off by gloating that I saw Harry Potter yesterday (oh, wait... guess I just did). But it's amazing and I'm sure you'll all have a great time seeing it tonight. And if you haven't seen it by noon tomorrow EST, I think a little conversation about your priorities is in order. That being said what else have I done?
Last week's class excursions included the Centre Pompidou, Jussieu, and the Latin Quarter. There's currently a really interesting exhibit at the Pompidou about modern day India... I think I uploaded some pics on Facebook. We also went to the theater and saw two Ionesco plays, La Leçon (The Lesson) and La cantatrice chauve (The Bald Soprano), which are both fall under the realm of theater of the absurd and were as the name contends quite bizarre. On Friday we camped out on the Champ de Mars and had a relaxing evening before hanging out by the Seine Saturday night, and going to Versailles on Sunday.
To get to Versailles before the crowds we left ridiculously early in the morning. Then when we got there we got in line for tickets, but when we reached the ticket counter the women at the desk told us that with our Louvre Cards (which prove that we are studying in the EU) we didn't have to pay admission. So then we got in line to go into the chateau. After waiting in line for an hour and a half we got the the entrance where we were told that our student cards didn't suffice. So the lady there had us all follow her back to the ticket counter where she and the lady who had originally told us that the tickets were free tried to figure out who was correct. After a couple minutes of this (the woman who had originally told us the tickets were free stood by her word) the lady from the entrance took us back, called the director, and then told us that we could go in this time but that we'd have to pay if we came back (she also thought that we didn't know the difference between Versailles and the Louvre... but that's another story). The Chateau was beautiful if not pack with people, and the Gardens were magnificent. That evening we went to our Professor's apartment for snacks (but really dinner) and a movie. All in all a great day.
Then it was back to class again, and our excursions this week included a trip to Galaries Lafayette to compare it to the department store in Zola's Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Delight) and a full day trip to Giverny to see Monet's gardens. Unfortunately it rained the entire time we were there, but the Japanese garden was still a sight to behold. Given the rain, we came back a little early and me and some friends went to the train station to try to take a last minute trip to Toulouse. But, we had waited to long and were unable to get seats. Feeling a little disappointed, I came home only to receive excellent news. Mummy was able to use Frequent Flier miles to book a trip to come see me in August! I'm sooo looking forward to it!
Because we were supposed to be gone all day Tuesday, have class Wednesday, and the metro stops at midnight during the week, we didn't go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter, but we did go after class yesterday. I won't spill the beans other than to say I really enjoyed it. After the film we met up with other people on the program. One girl named Kate had a friend in the city who was meeting up with some Parisian friends, so we all went with. They were quite French and reminded me a little bit of a foreign Gossip Girl clan. After that we went to St. Germain and chilled for a while before heading home just in time to catch the very last metro back at 2AM (the weekend started Wednesday night because of Bastille day today). This morning I woke up at 7:45 to go to the national parade on the Champs-Elysées. It was a sight to behold the pomp and circumstance of the French Military. We even saw Sarkozy go by in his car. Tonight I'm planning on going to the Champ de Mars to watch the fireworks!
Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
Jen
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