Weekend en Provence

I took my first voyage outside of the city this weekend for our group visit to Provence. It was a wonderful, very active trip.

We spend the first day in Aix-en-Provence. The weather was beautiful, still chilly but sunny... a nice change from the endless rain in Paris. For lunch we bought cheese, fruit and baguettes and just sat outside enjoying the fresh country air. Aix was the hometown of Paul Cezanne, so we visited his atelier (studio) which has been preserved to look like it would when he worked there. Very interesting, and the house is surrounded by a beautiful garden. That night we had a group dinner in an amazing Provencal restaurant. It was another 3 course menu paid for by the school, so we ate an obscene amount of food. The appetizer was by far the best part of the meal: fresh mozzarella and tomatoes with lavender olive oil.

Saturday we had a whirlwind tour of some of Provence's most popular sights. We started by visiting Baux de Provence, an old Roman village and castle ruins. It's definitely just a tourist spot (the village's population is 20, probably all employees) but it's perched on top of a hill, so the view of the Provence countryside was amazing. Next we stopped in Arles (once home of Van Gogh and Gauguin) where we had lunch at the local outdoor market and visited the Arenes, a small Roman coliseum that is still used today for bull fights. Afterwards we went to the Pont du Gard, one of the oldest and best preserved Roman aqueducts. It was pretty neat because we were able to walk along the entire inside of the Pont where the water used to run.

Finally we ended the day in Avignon, where we spend our second night. Avignon is a very charming town, all enclosed in old castle walls. Our hotel was right in the heart of town, so that night we just walked around to some local bars. It was definitely interesting to see the difference in personality between Paris and the south of France. It's definitely true that the stereotype of the French as stuck-up and cold only comes from Paris, because everyone is much more friendly and welcoming in the south.

Sunday we visited the Palais de Papes, which is where the Pope lived briefly during the 14th century before moving permanently to Rome. It was a very beautiful building with some interesting displays and we had a wonderful guided tour. Afterwards, we visited the popular indoor market, Les Halles, and we bought some fresh food to have for lunch in a beautiful nearby garden.

Sunday afternoon was absolutely beautiful and the temperature rose to 60 degrees! I hadn't felt anything like that since leaving California. None of us wanted to go back to cold, wet Paris. It's continuing to rain today, there was even a moment earlier where it was snowing/hailing. I just keep crossing my fingers that spring will come soon, and I'll be able to experience the sun in Paris like I did in Provence...

Partying WITH the rock stars!

Last night was amazing! My friend here Kelsey has an acquaintance who is currently playing back-up keyboard on the Depeche Mode tour, and he gave her three free VIP tickets to their show and she invited me and our other friend. Depeche Mode's playing three nights in Paris and it's a HUGE deal because since they're British, all Europeans go crazy for them. All the shows sold out right away apparently, but we got to go for free and we had second row seats!

They put on a really entertaining show, and the whole time I kept thinking, I'm in Paris at one of the biggest rock concerts of the year... in the second row! It was funny though because it was definitely an older crowd... a few people around our age but more in their 30s, which makes sense since Depeche Mode did start their career before I was even born. The Bravery was the opening band, at that was a pleasant surprise since I really like their music and it was fun to see an American band perform.

The second best part of the night was we got backstage passes to the after-party. We thought it might be a huge thing that a lot of people get into, but it was actually pretty exclusive and it was the band's private party! It was in a small room, probably about 50 people, and their was lots of free drinks. The whole band didn't show up since it was their second night in Paris, but some did and we met Kelsey's friend in the band. We were in awe the whole time just to be there.. I've never had an experience like that before! Only in Paris I guess...

Les magazines français

It’s fun to read French magazines. It helps for learning vocabulary and slang and about contemporary culture in general, but it is also entertaining.

There was one humorous article I read recently called, “14 bonnes raisons de plaquer son regime,” which essentially means 14 good reasons to quit your diet. It was especially refreshing because of the way I’ve been eating here (I probably eat more carbs in a day than all of Hollywood).

Reason #1 was good: “Vous avez faim.” (You are hungry). So basic, but so ignored (at least in L.A., and hence why I love Paris).

But my favorite was reason #11: “Petite démonstration pratique: quand on maigrit, il faut racheter des vêtements. Quand on rachète des vêtements, on devient très pauvre. Quand on est très pauvre, on ne peut plus payer sa facture de téléphone et on perd ses amis. Résultat, quand on maigrit, on perd ses amis.”
(Little practical demonstration: When you lose weight, you have to buy new clothes. When you buy new clothes, you become very poor. When you are very poor, you can’t pay your telephone bill and so you lose your friends. Result: when you lose weight, you lose your friends.)

Bien-sûr, only the French would use such round-about but still logical reasoning.

An American birthday in Paris

Celebrating an American birthday in Paris at a British bar, tres international!

So I'm finally 21. I had a surprisingly wonderful birthday, especially considering the fact I started the day a little sad to be spending it away from home.

For Valentine's Day, we had a "bon-bon exchange" among the USC group. Everyone brought some kind of pastry or sweet and we exchanged. Some girls also brought cider for my birthday, and everyone sang to me and gave me a group gift. It was really sweet.

I had my Sorbonne course from 5 to 7 p.m. and there's about 10 other USC students all in the same class, so we talked about meeting up later to go out for my birthday, but first everyone had to go home for dinner with their host families.

It took a while to get home from the Sorbonne and I was worried I was going to be late for dinner. When I got there, the daughter was standing by the door and quickly ran into the sitting room, telling me to follow. To my HUGE surprise there was everyone from the USC group in my apartment shouting "Bon Anniversaire!" (Happy Birthday). My host mother had organized a surprise party for me! She had contacted the ACCENT group to get all the other students emails, and almost everyone came. I was so shocked and flattered! She worked really hard to plan the whole thing and make all the hors d'ouevres and desserts without letting me know. It was amazing.

After the party, we all went out to the bar area in the Latin Quarter. First we went to a Canadian pub because some girls thought the staff there would be more sympathetic to a 21st birthday, since it means nothing to the French. Next we went to a bar called The Frog and the Princess. It's an English bar but it's really popular with the French and foreigners. It was student night so it was packed. They also had Valentine's Day drink specials... we had the Love Sucks cocktail, very amusing and delicious.

We didn't stay out too late because we all had class in the morning, but I definitely had a fun-filled night that qualified as an appropriately celebrated 21st birthday (by American standards that is). So even though it was a little strange to spend my birthday away from my friends and family at home, everyone here helped me have a wonderful but different kind of birthday. And I am still so amazed and flattered by the kindness of my host family; their efforts really made me feel like a special birthday girl, even in a foreign place.

My surprise birthday party

French dinners and late-night parties

Kelsey’s host parents are out of town this weekend so they told her she could have some friends over one night and cook dinner. So yesterday evening, Allison, Jennifer and I met her at a market near her apartment. For only 5 euros each, we constructed a dinner of pasta, salad, bread, cheese and wine. I made the pasta; we bought some garlic and basil tortellini and I mixed in some cooked mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. It was a delicious feast that left us wishing we had our own apartments where we could cook all the time.

There is a son in Kelsey’s host family and he was home so he ate with us too. He is our age and he knows a lot of English, so we had some interesting Franglais (mixing of Français and Anglais) conversations. We talked about French versus American universities. There is nothing like fraternities and sororities in France, so trying to describe Greek life to him (in French) was particularly amusing. Jennifer has the movie Legally Blonde so we told him we would make him watch it sometime to see the stereotypes of our school.

I probably returned to my apartment around midnight, only to find myself in another French-emersion situation. My host mother has two older sons (in their 30s) who live elsewhere, and she had told me that one son was having a party here last night because his apartment wasn’t big enough. But I didn’t expect to come home at midnight at find 40-plus people in our TINY apartment. When I first walked in I was pretty unnerved because it was all older French people who had no idea who I was.

The mother wasn’t there because she was staying at the son’s apartment, but luckily the daughter, Donatienne, was there and she found me quickly and saved me! She introduced me to her brother, who was nice, but she didn’t really know anyone else there either so we just mingled a little and ate some hors-d’oeuvres. By then it was getting close to 1 a.m., and we were both tired but we obviously couldn’t sleep through the music and the noise.

We went in my room for a bit a played in Uno, which was funny since I hadn’t played it in years and the French rules are a bit different. Around 2 a.m. we decided to try to get some sleep. I kept telling her I’m in college so I’ve slept through even rowdier parties. Plus, I was especially tired because Friday night I went out with some of the girls to a salsa bar in the Latin Quarter. Even so, I probably didn’t fall asleep until around 3 a.m., when the party finally died down. Definitely an interesting, unexpected evening…

My French Family

Even though I’m usually only at my homestay during the evenings, I feel like I’m beginning to connect with the family and establish a relationship. For one I’m finding myself more able to contribute to the dinner conversations. Sure I don’t always understand all of what they say, but enough to agree or disagree at the right times (I hope).

The mother was out-of-town last weekend, and so it was just the daughter and I during dinner. I learned more about her, and we talked a lot about music and movies (both French and American). I let her borrow a new French CD I just bought, and she enjoyed it a lot. She’s 16, so she’s a little to young for me to completely relate too but she’s a really sweet girl and I can tell that we have similar personalities: both very studious and intellectual, both interested in art and culture, and shopping of course! She is also very helpful and patient with my amateur French. She has studied English for 5 years so she can translate vocabulary for me and point of the different nuances of the language.

The mother is very nice and accepting as well. They are both really interested in my life, which I find very flattering, and at the same time they give me my space and don’t expect me to be around all the time. It’s a really nice balance.

We don’t start our grammar course at the Sorbonne until next Monday, so we still haven’t found out what level we placed into. There was a get-together tonight at our school for all the host parents, and I guess my host mother asked if they had seen the results and knew what level I was going to be in. Apparently they had, so they told her… I placed in Superior 1, which is the second highest. She was really excited for me. I thought it was really funny that she found out before I did, since I’m not supposed to find out until tomorrow when I pick up my results.

Le dimanche parisienne

Everyday I still find myself amazed that I actually live in Paris. It’s too surreal.

Today was Sunday, which in France is truly a day of rest because most businesses close. Museums are some of the few places open, so I thought this would be a good day to walk to the museum area at the top of my arrondissement. Although it was a gloomy day it wasn’t too cold so it was a pleasant walk up along the Seine. I stopped at a boulangerie to get a snack, and like a true Parisian I strolled around while munching on a piece of bread.

Apparently I wasn’t the only person with the idea to visit a museum on Sunday… there were so many people out in that area. I wanted to see the Pierre Bonnard exhibit at the Musée d’Art moderne but there was a huge line. Instead I went to the Palais de Tokyo, a contemporary art museum. The current exhibit was a little bizarre but it was interesting to see.

Afterwards I kept walking to the end of the Champs-Elysées, where the 16th and 8th arrondissements meet. I found a really modern and hip café that was also pretty affordable. I wasn’t very hungry so I just had a rice pudding with hazelnuts and I read a bit for class. I definitely want to go back to the café for lunch sometime because they had a very appealing and extensive menu of sandwiches, quiches and salads.

Tonight I’m going to go meet Kelsey and Allison for dinner at our internet café, so I can post this entry! That’s all for now.

Chartres

We had our USC group visit to Chartres yesterday. It’s a town outside of Paris known for having the best preserved Gothic cathedral in Europe, the Notre-Dame Cathédrale de Chartres. The cathedral is also famous because it claims to possess a holy garment worn by the Virgin Mary. The cathedral looks a lot like the Notre Dame in Paris but much grander, with 163 stained glass windows.

Before touring the cathedral, we walked around the town and browsed the outdoor market. It was so cold though, even colder than Paris, that is was hard to really enjoy. For lunch, we ate at a traditional French restaurant called l’Estocade for a three-course meal, courtesy of our school. For the entrée (appetizer) I had a puff-pastry tart with cheese, tomatoes, and tuna fish (not the canned stuff, but real cooked fish). For the plat (main course) I had a gratin of onions and cod. I had to have two fish things because the rest of the options had meat in them, but they were different and both delicious. My dessert wasn’t what I expected, but it was alright because I was so full by that point that I couldn’t have ate it anyways. It was translated as a “butter cake” but it was nothing like that. It was an egg-y cake with cooked plums… kind of like bread pudding minus the bread. And it was served cold. I wasn’t impressed.

After lunch we were all so full and cold that we just wanted to go to sleep, but we still had to visit the cathedral. We had a guided tour with the historian Malcolm Miller, who is the renowned expert of the cathedral and has been giving tours for 50 years. He kind of reminded me of the British expert historian in the Da Vinci Code because he was also British but obviously a Francophone. The tour was very insightful and the cathedral was beautiful.

It was a pretty long day, so when we returned to Paris we just all went back to our homes to rest. Later that night I met up with some of the girls in the Bastille area. We just walked around for a while, and then went to a placed called Le Paradis du Fruit. It’s a café that specializes in exotic fruit cocktails and desserts. I shared an ice cream sundae with Allison. It had vanilla bean and nougat ice cream, caramel sauce, caramelized nuts and whipped cream. It was amazing and huge! I rationalized it because I didn’t eat my dessert at lunch and I didn’t eat dinner since lunch was so big… there are just too many tantalizing sweets in Paris!

Le cathedrale de Chartres

J’ai peur des animaux morts.

Tonight I had my first “foreign” food experience. We definitely had an entire fish—head included—on the dinner table tonight. At first the head was upside down so you couldn’t see the eye socket or the mouth so it wasn’t so bad, and I just told myself ok I can handle this… I like fish, there could be scarier things on the table. And the head part was a separate piece from the body, so when we served ourselves I just took some off the body.

But then when my host mother was taking seconds she turned to head around to get more meat and there it was… the entire fish face staring right at me. It was just too much. I couldn’t look at it without getting massive shivers. I kept hoping she would turn it over, which she finally did but only after 15 minutes of me squeamishly avoiding eye contact with the dead thing I was eating.

The fish was still good, and it could have been worse I guess. One girl here said she came home to see her host father plucking a wild bird on the table, and another girl said someone came home with a leg of deer, skin and hoof still on. Apparently they like to hunt.

I’ve had one other scary animal experience. The other night a woman came on the metro wearing an entire animal around her neck. As soon as I saw the four feet hanging from the fur shawl, I almost threw up and had a heart attack. I had to look at the metro floor for the rest of the ride home. I don’t even want to know if it had a head too.

Louvre et la soupe du chocolat

I started classes this week. I’m not really ready to accept the fact of actually doing school work again. I heard from past students that the course load here isn’t as difficult as back at USC, but I think I doubt that. I’m already a little stressed about all the papers I have to do… two for each class which means six total, four of which have to be all in French!

We went to the Louvre today for my Art History course. It was wonderful, as expected. It was nice to go back after all these years and see a little more than just the Mona Lisa and the Venus DiMilo. We still didn’t see a whole lot because we were concentrating on some French Neoclassical works (David, Ingres, Gros) that we had discussed in class, so I will definitely have to go back to see more.

After the Louvre visit, a group of us went to Angelina’s to have the world-famous “chocolat chaud” which is so thick and rich that it was basically chocolate soup. It was amazing though, and I definitely got my fix of hot chocolate though and won’t need it again for a long time, especially since nowhere else could compare.

At Angelina's, drinking the world's best chocolat chaud, or should I say soupe du chocolat!