Lovely Weekend

Hello again from Paris! The week-end's coming to a close, but it's been quite an eventful one. So, from the top...

Friday it was rainy and COLD. Unpleasant. In the morning we had our grammar test, to see if we were paying attention during our language session I suppose. After that I went with a group of friends, some new and some old, to this cute little creperie that's tucked in off the Rue Daguerre. It was pretty good, and the formule (set menu) was a decent deal. Then I found out that IES had changed the time of my weekly grammar class, so I wouldn't be able to take the Faust course at the Sorbonne. I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to fix my now-mangled schedule, and eventually settled for and Islamique art class. So I only have one outside course now, but that may be a good thing because I didn't actually know anyone else taking two, they can be quite a bit of work. And now I have a little extra time to explore/volunteer/enjoy. After that I met up with some Oxy folk in the Latin Quarter, and it was a little early for dinner but we were too cold to stay outside. We started looking for a cafe or something to sit in for a while before dinner and wandered into what we thought was your average cafe. Turned out to be a gay bar, complete with bras hanging from the ceiling and lots of Madonna music. There were a lot of young female college students and gay interracial couples inside, as well as one really confused looking middle-aged tourist couple. It was warm and comfortable though, so we stayed there until dinner time and watched the waiters dance along to MMmBop. We grabbed dinner at this little place owned by an Egyptian gentleman who was also our waiter, and then met up with a group of girls from IES in the Bastille area, which is the place to go for Paris nightlife I guess.

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day, with the sky pure blue and clear after the rain. And the sun was out, so even though it was still quite cold it was at least a more pleasant type of cold. A small group of us went up to Montmartre, the famous bohemian sector of Paris with more of a village feel. We went to Sacre Coeur, which is perhaps indescribable but I'm going to try. The butte Montmartre is the highest point in Paris, and at the very top of it is a beautiful basilica church called Sacre Coeur. It's huge, with "ice-cream scoop" domes that look amazing against the type of sky we had that day. You start out looking up at it from this little park area that has an old-fashioned carousel, benches, and a little playground. Then to get to the church you have to climb a series of steep, imposing steps. There are probably 5 levels in all, and you can stop at each one to admire the city laid out behind you and the church coming up in front of you. It was truly a phenomenal experience, and absolutely my favorite sight so far in Paris. At each level you can't imagine ever seeing a more amazing view, and then you get to the next level and it's even more incredible. We took so many pictures- I took well over a hundred. It's quite a melange of people as well, with Parisians enjoying the nice weather, couples taking advantage of its reputation for romance, and tourists tourists everywhere. There are also street performers, some of whom are quite good, or at least quite amusing- like this guy juggling with a fish bowl on his head. After quite a while of climbing we made it up to the church itself and went inside- it's incredible. The altar has one of the largest mosaics in the world, and the organ likewise is one of the largest in Europe. There's stained glass windows, and mural paintings, and each alcove is dedicated to a different saint. It's all seen by the light streaming through the stained glass windows and the candlelight from the prayer candles which anyone can light. Quite a profoundly moving experience. We then decided to actually go up to the top of the dome. It's a small fee, but it is absolutely worth it- the view from the top of the dome is the most incredible thing I've ever seen. You have to climb what feels like a thousand steps up these narrow spiral staircases, and then it's much like the experience of getting to the church itself- you stop at various levels, each more unbelievable than the last. At the top you can see all of Paris and probably beyond, and it's just indescribable.

After we worked our way back down we went exploring in Montmartre and Pigalle, stopping to take a quick picture of the Moulin Rouge (really just not cool anymore). We just kept on walking and exploring until dinnertime, when we wandered back to the Bastille area. We ate, and found a cozy little spot to spend the evening chatting. A random French guy sitting at the next table ended up teaching us French slang, and just generally amused us. On a random side not, there are actually a number or Korean restaurants in the area, but thus far I don't approve of any of their menus- none of them have bul go gi and they all seem more Japanese than Korean.

Today I woke up to another beautiful day. France is largely Roman-Catholic, so most places are closed on Sundays. I resolved to go to Pere Lachaise, which is the largest cemetery in Paris. It is likewise fantastic- absolutely huge, so big in fact that I had to buy a map of the cemetery. All sorts of people are buried there- Moliere, Balzac, Edith Piaf, Delacroix, Chopin, Gertrude Stein, the author of the Babar books... The most famous two tombs there are Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde, whose tomb is covered in lipstick imprints (it's traditional to kiss his grave. I don't know why). Ironically neither are French. The cemetery also has a lot of history attached to it, and is traditionally associated with free thought. The wall against which a number of protesters were famously shot is now a monument, and the park also contains monuments for various tragedies, from unkown soldiers to concentration camp victims. It's astonishingly beautiful, and walking around the serene grounds among the 300,000 plus stone tombs and chapels and monuments was a great way to spend the day. I did get lost for a while in the crematorium trying to find Isadora Duncan, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I made myself dinner tonight- well, heated up dinner at least- a ham and cheese croissant from the boulangerie down the street along with French instant mashed potatoes- simple, sufficient, and satisfying. Tomorrow classes start, but since Mondays are my light day, with only one class that doesn't start until 4, I'm going to go to the Louvre for a good portion of the day. Looking forward to the week, and getting a sense for what my classes/routine will be like this semester. I hope the weather holds, but if it doesn't, at least I got to make the most of it this weekend! Every time I go someplace new it becomes my new favorite place, which means that right now Sacre Coeur is my favorite, with Pere Lachaise not far behind. Love you all, keep checking to see what next week's favorite place is!