Days 23, 24, 25, and 26 (Last days in Paris)

Final days in Paris :(

July 23- Last day of community service, which was actually really sad since I really enjoyed my service a lot. We had a speaker come in who was a politician of the "banlieues" of ParisI can honestly say that I have no idea what happened on the 23rd. Whatever it was though, I'm sure it was wonderful. I miss Paris a ton!

July 24- Last day the whole group was together :(

Basically we had our last classes, which was really sad. For French we had our last class in a cafe in the St. Michel area. For art we went to the Musee du Quai Branly. And in that slot of time where I usually would have gone to my community service, i decided to go to Pompidou one more time (because it was definitely my favorite museums out of all of the ones I went to). If you'd like to see more of the pics I took at Pompidou, I'm considering making a flickr account. Will give link once I make it.

We got handed out our certificate thingies to make official the fact that we all graduated the program. Then we all headed out for a fancy dinner in the St. Germain des-Pres area. I had celery remboulade (I think, I don't remember exactly the name of the dish) as an entree, followed by lamb and rice as a main plate, and a chocolate genoise for dessert. Very tasty indeed.

July 25- Went to Angelina (a really swanky chocolate place in Paris, right across from the Tuileries Garden) in the morning. We had hot chocolate, macaroons, and omelettes. It was very tasty! Then after that, a friend and I went window shopping along the Champs Elysees. Went flea market shopping after that.

The group took a trip to Vaux le Vicomte, a mini version of Versailles (basically) about an hour and a half outside of Paris. I liked it a lot better than Versailles just for the sheer fact that it wasn't so absurdly huge and grandiose- it was a lot easier to handle. The garden was very beautiful also. We stayed there until about 11:30PM and then took a charter bus back home. It was the last time we were all together as a group :(


























July 26- This is the day that everyone else left Paris (I left the next day). It was sad to see everyone go, but at least I got to see them all off. In the morning I woke up really early to see off the first batch of kids, then I ran to the Eiffel Tower and back, returned to say bye to the next group, went with my friend and bought croissants and fruits and picnicked at the Eiffel Tower, said by to more kids, went to lunch with a friend, did some flea market shopping, went to the Luxembourg Gardens to read, came back home and ate dinner, packed up, and then went to bed. It was a bittersweet day because I had to say bye to everyone and was left by myself overnight until I had to leave for my flight the next morning, but at the same time I also got one extra day in Paris that the other kids didn't get.

Departure- left the foyer at 9AM and took the RER to CDG airport. Arrived back to SF at 8PM local time (which is 5AM Paris time!). Now I'm back home :)

Days 20, 21, and 22

Day 20- We went to a mosque in Paris built after WWI to commemorate African Muslim soldiers who fought for France or something like that. It was very pretty and peaceful, and all of the really intricate details were carved by hand! There are more pics in the picture post I put up.

Day 21- For French class we had to read a chapter from this book by an American guy named Ted Stanger. The book was called Sacres Francais!. It was interesting- the chapter we read was about the use (or lack thereof) of statistics regarding ethnicity and religion in France and how that related to the immigrant experience of France and their sentiments regarding feelings of either inclusion or exclusion in France. Then for lunch I had grilled pigs ears and escargot. They were both actually really, really good.
For dinner we went out to this really cool dinner in the Bastille area. The whole area had a really hip vibe to it. It was the kind of place with a really cool, suave ambiance. They were playing jazz and Latin music, and it was just very cool. Then we went to an gelato place called Amarino a few blocks down. It was possibly some of the best stuff I've ever had in my life. they gave out really big portions for a really great price, and the vibe was cool, and it was delicious.

Day 22- went to the Musee Rodin for my art class. It was really cool. I saw the Thinker, of course, and a bunch of other really cool Rodin pieces.

Picture Post!!

Yay! So this post is gonna be all pictures, since I've taken I think around 250 pictures :)


St. Paul Church, in the Marais I think...










One part of the gardens at Versailles
















More Versailles













Me on a Segway (spelling?) in front of Versailles








Some really cool graffiti on a building while climbing up the stairs to the Sacre Coeur



We went to a mosque. It was very beautiful



Stairs at the Arc de Triomphe











Place de Vosges















sunset over the Seine

Days 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 (yikes!)

Sorry guys for not posting in a while. I had a very eventful week! Here goes:

July 13- For my art/architecture class we went to the Centre Pompidou (the art museum) to see a Calder collection, as well as Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Duchamp, etc. (Cubism, dada, Fauvism, etc.). It was really, really cool. Out of all of the places and museums I've been to so far, Pompidou is definitely in my top 3. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed in the building, so I don't have any pics. But it was really awesome, and I would definitely go back again. (Plus it's free if you're under 18, so...)

Here's a pic of the view from the top of Pompidou, though:



July 14- Bastille Day!! We went to the Champs de Mars (spelling?)- basically that greenery right where the Eiffel Tower is. We arrived at around 9:30 and stayed until 12 AM. It was really, really fun. And super packed! There were around 800,000 people there!!! First, there was a concert by this apparently really famous French singer named Joanie Holiday or something like that (the equivalent of our Elvis), and then came the fireworks. It was a really cool firework show. They had some cool lighting effects that were actually pretty trippy. They somehow made it seem like the Eiffel Tower was twisting and turning in on itself at one point. It was overall really cool. There were so many people there, though, that it took us an hour to walk back home when it usually takes like 20 minutes!

July 15- For community service we went bowling! American style bowling, that is by Gare Montparnasse. It was SUPER fun. I was actually better than I thought I was. We went with some older people and with some kids our age. Then we found a flea market right outside of the train station. It was really cute. I bought a watch and a belt and a poster from there. Had pizza at a nearby restaurant for dinner.

July 16- Went to Musee d'Orsay, where they have a lot of Impressionist paintings, like Monet, Van Gogh, etc. But the museum's artwork spans the years starting from 1850 until 1904. So there was also realism and other stuff. We saw Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Courbet, etc. I recognized some paintings that we learned about in Civ class too! THat was exciting. I think I prefer Pompidou though, but Orsay was nice. This is the place that used to be a train station but got converted into an museum.

July 17- For community service we visited with a handicapped guy who had a really prodigious music collection. I took a pic with some of his LP's too, because they were that awesome.

July 18- I woke up early and ran to the Eiffel Tower and back at around 8 in the morning. It was a really good 30 minute jog/run. It was extremely beautiful- the sun wasn't too warm yet and it was still pretty cool, and there were absolutely no tourists at the Eiffel Tower. It was very nice. Then I came back home, ate, showered, went out grocery shopping at the produce stores. I also bought a really cute handbag. Then I went to a flea market and tried to bargain with a guy to lower the price of one of his pieces of artwork, but I guess my bargaining skills are lacking because he wouldn't budge. oh well :(

Then I went back home again and did some more grocery shopping (i.e.- veggies, cheese, and a baguette) in order to make my own pasta (I took a pic so you all won't doubt me). Then I did some more shopping and bought some really cute shoes and a scarf. Shoes from a store and scarf from a flea market.

Annnnd, I had ratatouille last night for dinner when we went out to eat. It was very delicious. For dessert I had like a melba peach or something. It was ice cream with a peach. But it was very delicious!

July 19- We took a trip to Versailles! It was really huge and very crowded, but extremely extravagent. Took plenty of pictures. The gardens were beautiful, and we came at a really good time because they had just turned on the fountains (they're not on all the time because there isn't enough water pressure in the area to keep the fountains going all day).

Days 10 and 11

Day 10- We went to the Louvre!!!! It was incredibly exciting, especially after taking Civ in sophomore year. It was really rewarding to walk into the building and actually know the some of the stuff in there. I may have actually flipped a deuce when I saw Winged Victory (on the right), lol. They didn't have Doryphorus on display though (ps- I think I spelled that wrong). But anyway, we had dinner at the Louvre (and I had some really delicious Mediterranean food), and then from there went straight into a tour. I thought it was really, really very interesting. We looked a lot at antiquities, like Mesopotamian art. We looked at Greek and Roman statues as well, such as the Venus of Milo. We didn't get to see the Coronation of Napoleon or the Marie de Medici paintings, so I'm thinking of going back again to do that (it's free if you're under 18). Anyway, i really loved the Louvre a lot.


Check out this really funny pic (do you see the guy?):


Day 11- We visited Chartres Cathedral (which we also learned about in Civ!). It was awesome. It's the best preserved Gothic Cathedral in europe, so it's a pretty big deal. Our tour guide, apparently, is some syndicated specialist on Chartres and is in a lot of guide books, and is also a correspondant for the Times. After taking an hour long tour, we were allowed to eat lunch there and explore the town. It was a fairly small town, but it was very picturesque and quaint. They also had a TON of stores and restaurants. Lots of places to shop and things to do. I bought some really cute heels for 10 euros, which is a really good deal, Ithink. Plus, they had a super cute farmer's market, where I bought a cucumber and some cheese (for my sandwich I'm going to make). I don't really have any pictures of Chartres on my camera because it ran out of battery, but I do have some on my cell phone. I was also thinking of asking my friend to send me the pics she took there. But yeah, i really liked Chartres.

PS- Right now I'm getting free wi-fi from McDonalds I'm holding up the pyramid in the pic on the right, see my finger?!

-Megan

Days 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9

sacre coeur and moulin rouge (sorry it's sideways)


Again, sorry for this ridiculous delay in updates. Soooo, I dunno if it's karma or whatever, but of course the moment I figured out we had free wireless at our dorms, they take down the network. So I had to go to a cafe to get wi fi. But it's all good now.

SO anyway, July 5th (happy birthday mommy!) we took a day trip to Normandy to see the Bayeux Tapestry and the town of Bayeux itself (they happened to have a medieval fair while we were there). So the tapestry was really cool because we studied it in Civ class, it was really sweet to see it in person. From the fair, I bought some really delicious crepes that were really cheap too. After Bayeux, we made a trip to the American Cemetery, as well as the really beautiful beach located there (Omaha Beach). It was really wonderful. The only bad thing abotu the day, though, was that we got stuck in some MAJOR traffic. ugh. but we went out to dinner at this cute little Italian restaurant located a block away from where we're staying.

July 6th- For my art/architecture class we visited the Place de Vosges and the Site de Sully. I really liked them a lot; they were very pretty and historical and stuff. I really love being in the art/architecture class, btw.

July 7- first day of real work at my community service site. We spoke to an elderly lady named Madame Durieux about her life, our lives, things in general. It was really cool. I liked it a lot. She was a very sweet lady. She drove an ambulance in North Africa during WWII! Went to see a play called le Rexsitance (word play!) at the theatre at my community service site. I had not idea what the hell that play was about, but they did a really good job with it! It was funny, because I guess it was put on by mo community service site (Entr’aide), so the administrators tried introducing me to a bunch of people who were in the play, but I couldn’t really hear/understand them so I was just kind of standing around like a loser dufus face. Then, I learned French slang/curse words. Perhaps I’ll share them with you if you ask/beg/grovel at my feet/give me money and/or food. ;)

July 8- For my art/arch class, we visited a contemporary photography museum, which was really fascinating and AWESOME!!! We also visited Eglise St. Paul. I also learned that from my friend's bedroom window you can see the Eiffel Tower, which looks absolutely AMAZING at night when it's all twinkling and glowing and stuff. OMG we saw Public Enemies with Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, and Christain Bale. The theatre fit like 400 people in it and- may I add- the screen was SO huge, it was crazy. We watched it at like 10:30 at night though because all the other showings were full (the 8th was the opening day for it) and came back home at like 1:20AM. But it was all good, because the movie was pretty cool.

July 9 (today)- I visited with some more elderly people (some of the sweetest people I've ever met!). We just spoke about where we're from and school and stuff. It was very relaxing and good practice for my French (listening and speaking to actual French people speak).

Tomorrow we're going to theLouvre!

I know it probably doesn't sound like we're doing much, but actually our days our jam packed.

9-10:15 French class
10:45-12:15 art/architecture
2:30-5:00 community service
5:45-6:20-ish journal writing time
6:45 dinner
after dinner, we're free unless we have something planned, but i usually try to go to those optional excursions so I can see as much of France as possible.

Anyway, Paris is soooooo suuuuper amazing. AND the weather has cooled down quite a bit, it actually reminds of back home. Love it!

Update soon,
Megan

PS- this is like what I eat for lunch everyday. It's a really awesome deal. You get a really huge and delicious sandwich, a drink, and a dessert for 6.5 euros, which, okay is kind of expensive in dollars, but whatever, it's one of the better deals in the city and it's way under my budget that I initially allotted for myself, so....

Love,
Megan




PPS- more pics coming soon!

Days 1, 2, 3, and 4...pure awesome!

Sorry for the long delay guys, but I've been really busy these first few days and was kind of under the impression that the only way for me to access the internet was via the internet cafe that's 4 blocks away from my dorm (and I hadn't really had a chance to visit it until today). Buut, apparently I can get free wireless from my room too so, heh what do you know? Anyway, I'll try to write as much as I can without being boring...

Day 1: The flight went well, considering I did it all by myself! go me! Anyway, the only bad part, really, was that my in flight movie (instead of it being Duplicity with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen) was that remake of Witch Mountain with the Rock. Not the best movie ever, but it did kill about 2 hours...out of a 8.5 hour flight.

When I landed at Charles de Gaulle a few other kids and myself were picked up by a worker at the program (ISS) and took a bus to the 15th arrondissement (where we're staying). Flight went well. It was super long, but I got here safely (and all by myself!). After we had eaten lunch and had gotten a brief orientation (we were the first group of kids to arrive), they let us walk to the Eiffel Tower as a group (it's about a 25 minute walk). We sat on the steps, under the shade and next to the mist machine, for like 2 hours and ate really delicious ice cream. It was pretty much one of the best experiences of my life, for sure. We had dinner at the foyer: turkey with a blackberry sauce, green beans, cous cous, other stuff, dessert. The food here is SOOOO good, it's actually ridiculous. Then later in the evening we took the metro to the Notre Dame and walked to the Sorbonne and that area. It was really pretty. BTW, Paris is super hot and humid. I'm burning all the time. REALLY HOT OUT HERE! And even worse, neither the metro nor the buses have air conditioning, so it can get really ridiculous.

Day 2: We took a bus to the Luxembourg Gardens. Me and my friend just sat by the pond and chilled for about a half an hour under the shade. It was very peaceful and relaxing. Later in the evening, we took a boat ride along the Seine. OMG it was gorgeous!!!! We got to see the Eiffel Tower while it was glittering as we were finishing the tour. The Seine was great. People were just sitting along the banks and eating and talking and dancing. I love it here! Check this pic I accidentally took of this guy totally picking his nose (I was trying to get a pic of the Eiffel Tower, but this is 10 times funnier).

Day 3: Started French classes, taught by a fellow named Thierry. He's really awesome, very vibrant and energetic, very enthusiastic. Then I had my elective (art and architecture); so we went back to the Notre Dame via metro (which I'm pretty sure I'm getting the hang of now) and studied it for a bit. It's totally awesome (reminds me of Civ class, but a thousand times better!). Finally, we got to the CSL portion of the day. Along with two other students, I am working in an elderly center, visiting and talking to people. We only had an orientation on day 3, so we didn't actually do anything, but I really liked the vibe at the place. It seems like it'll be a really great place to work, I'm really pumped. There's even a native Parisien around our age (just graduated high school) who will be working with us there, so it should be good. After another amazing dinner, we headed to the Champs Elysees and walked to the Arc de Triomphe. Then we walked UP the thing (one of the most strenuous things of my life, lemme tell you. Those stairs are ridiculous) and got an amazing view of the city at sunset. Captured a vid of the Eiffel Tower while it was twinkling.

Day 4: Tried and failed to send emails to everyone at the internet cafe, then later found out you could get free internet from the dorms. Went to the Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. After our 4th of July barbecue in the garden me and a few buddies went to the Seine to go dancing. Awesome!


Till next time,
Megan

PS- it's getting late here, so I'll post some more pics tm or asap.