Paris: City of Lights

(Musee Bouchard)

Another week has passed and I have yet to travel…but plans are in the works. I left off last Saturday. I didn’t cut my hair on Saturday because I ran out of time, but that night my friend came to my house and from here we went to this really cool lounge that is a few blocks from my house. It was a really nice place; there were no drinks for less than 14 euros! Sunday I woke up and had lunch with my family and my host mom’s mom (my host grandma?). Once again it was a delicious meal. First we had pate, the chicken champignons, salad, bread, a frozen dessert of some sort, and some Belgian chocolate. The wine we had was Bordeaux from 1999 and I have noticed that we drink 1999 Bordeaux a lot so it must have been a really good year. The rest of the day I did some school work and went to my friend’s apartment and finally cut my hair. Then I went home and was going to go to a party at another friend’s apartment, but I left my phone at my friend Dan’s and had no way of contacting anyone. So I stayed in for the night and started to plan out the summer and senior year. I was looking at internships and thinking about where to live in a year. If anyone has anything to offer me let me know! Monday I went to EDUCO to see my friends and do a little work, but nothing too exciting. Tuesday I had my two favorite classes, Grammar and Theatre. After the class I walked around with two of my friends and searched for crepes, but we didn’t find anything great so we went home and I did my work for the next day. Wednesday I had Sociology and Grammar, and then I went home to prepare because I had some friends over for dinner on Valentine’s Day! I prepared a nice meal with bread, salad, cheese, chicken, wine, and some nice chocolate for dessert. We had a good time. Thursday I had one class and went to EDUCO to prepare for it, but while I was there they offered a spot in one of the cooking classes that someone had dropped out of and I decided to seize the opportunity and went to the cooking class instead of real class. Two older women taught the class in one of their apartments. We made salmon pate, quail with grapes, and a lemon tart for dessert. It was great and the women were really nice and funny. I think it was a good decision to go. After the cooking class one of my friends and I went back to my house, had some wine, and then I met some other people in the 6^th arrondissement. Friday I was really exhausted from a late night, but I forced my self to do some sightseeing. I went to the House where Balzac lived while in Paris which is only a few blocks from my house. Then I checked out the Turkish embassy which is right near Balzac’s estate. I also found a really cool park and this is all within 5 minutes of my house. I came back, made myself some dinner, and then went out with my friends to a bunch of really fun places in the Latin Quarter. We were out late enough to have some breakfast in the morning and see some light before getting back to our houses. Saturday I wanted to continue exploring my area and the guidebook my parents gave me had a self-guided 90 minute walk that was in my area. So I did this, but it turned into a four hour walk for me because I found so much cool stuff. I started by Radio France, and went to Place Rodin where this beautiful statue sits and right next to the circle there is a beautiful park. The tour led me to streets with really cool buildings and churches, and I saw a sign for Musee Bouchard which I decided to check out. The building was the old studio of Henri Bouchard, a Parisian sculpture whose works are scattered throughout the city and the world. Here is the website www.musee-bouchard.com and I would encourage everyone to visit, but the museum is closing in March. It is run by his children. They were there and his son or son in law gave me a personal tour for about 30 minutes and told me a lot of very interesting things. It was incredible seeing exhibits on his techniques, the progression of his style, and finally some of his most interesting work. After that I continued my walk and saw some more really cool architecture, some historic areas and houses, and a lot of buildings designed by Guimard a famous architect. The walk was one of my favorite things I have done since I’ve been in Paris because everything was very interesting and the day was beautiful. When I returned I got ready and met at my friend’s apartment with a group of people. We were going to cook, but it got too late so we got Chinese food and just hung out at his apartment for awhile. It was a much needed relaxing night. Sunday I had another busy day. I went to see a play that was about 8 hours long called “Les Éphémères.” Although it was long it was an amazing show. It was at a theatre in Bois de Vincennes which is a beautiful park on the eastern edge of Paris. The theatre was designed like a barn and it reminded me of a high school gymnasium because the stage was in the middle of the sets of “bleachers.” The sets were on wheels and were constantly spinning in circles so that both sides of the theatre were able to see everything and it also had a lot to do with the theme of the play. There was not one united plot, but many different events, some were tied together as the play continued and some were simple short skits. It was about life, death, and everything in between. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it although it is very depressing at times because it shows the worst parts of life and qualities of people. Sunday night I returned home and was ready for bed. Today I have to catch up on my work and get ready for the rest of the week! My class schedule is finalized and I have classes Tuesday through Thursday so Mondays and Fridays will be touring or travel days from now on.

One of the really cool streets that I saw...

Au revoir! KEEP IT UP HOYAS!