PARIS PAPERS VOLUME VII ~ April 3, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

Bienvenue to the latest volume of the Paris Papers. As always, you are in store for all the interesting and intelligent things I have to say! Without further ado, away we go…

It is SPRING in Paris! :o)

I am now “Over-the-Hill” so to speak in terms of my time here in France, last Wednesday was the half way point of my experience here in Europe. Pictures have passed the 4,500 mark, and Journal III has abdicated and been replaced by Journal IV. The weather is definitely getting nicer, we have had several days of bright sunshine with temperatures in the high teens (Celsius), but we have also had a fair bit of rain and a few thunder showers. Typical spring weather! Although, it has been beautifully warm the past few days, and I can’t complain. We also already observed Day Light Savings, we did it on March 25, and so for the past week I have been 7 hours ahead of you folks on the East Coast. Even with advancing the clocks it doesn’t get dark until around 8:30 PM, and the sun rises very early. I think the extra sun time has to do with being on a higher line of latitude (than home) and probably has something to do with the tilt of the earth, but this is NOT my field, so I am not sure. All I know is I get more daylight every day, and I am just so happy to see the sun.

The Riot Police roar past

NOTE: I WAS NOWHERE NEAR A PROTEST! I took this picture standing outside the US Consulate (I was perfectly safe!), and the protest was on the other side of the city! I just happened to be near the big police station I guess.

The Strikes have now lasted a whopping 5 weeks without recess. I am starting to wonder if I will EVER get back to school. The Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, is absolutely refusing to repeal the CPE (First Employment Contract in French, of course). He has recently issued statements claiming that he is willing to consider amending the law, but bluntly refuses to entertain the thought of its removal. The students and other protesting groups feel that this possibility of amendment is insufficient and refuse to back down unless the law is revoked. President Jacques Chirac has maintained his silence on the issue of the CPE. His only comments assert that this decision is up to the Prime Minister. Many people (myself included) believe that M. Chirac is suffering from “Second Term Syndrome” a cousin to the well-known collegiate malady “Senioritis.” In France, as in the US, a President can serve no more than two terms in office, and elections are next year so, M. Chirac may be set on coasting the next 18 months until he is out of office. Meanwhile, many labor unions have joined the student cause. Last Tuesday civil servants went on strike leaving those of us in the city, limited public transportation, and no mail. There are other such strikes being planned. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that things are not as bad as the American news makes it seem. Yes, there have been some fires, some violence, and the use of water cannons by the police, but these are isolated incidents. The majority of these movements remain peaceful and calm. They only seem to turn violent when a few radicals start trouble with the police. Also, thank you to everyone who has sent e-mails of concern, I am perfectly safe. The majority of the trouble is on the opposite side of the city from me. I live in the 17^th Arrondissement (district) and this area is not suited to protests. It is also mostly a “bourgeois” area. I also avoid the protests at all costs. I would rather not get into trouble during my stay.

Choux et Tomates Farcis

Choux en Profiterole

Madeleines, usually served with Jam and or Cream

Financiers

If it was not for my cooking class I fear I would lose all concept of time, because at the moment that is the ONLY thing I have in my schedule. Two weeks ago we cooked Gratin Dauphinois, which is an amazingly delicious potato “casserole.” We made salads to accompany it (I can now make a very good mustard vinaigrette from scratch), and Madeleines and Financiers for dessert. This past week we make Choux et Tomates Farcis. “Farcis” is sort of a hybrid of Thanksgiving stuffing and meatloaf. You mix up bread, eggs, ground meat (beef or veal and or pork), onions, and other spices, and you wrap it in cabbage leaves, or put it in hollowed out tomatoes, potatoes, or zucchinis and bake it. For dessert we made a French favorite: Choux en Profiterole. Yes, a choux IS a cabbage, but this only describes the appearance of the pastry (similar to when you eat a “Religieuse” pastry, you are not actually eating a nun). You bake the “choux” which are sort of cream puffs with nothing inside, and then you let them cool, cut them in half, stuff them with vanilla ice cream, and smother them in hot chocolate sauce. Again, there are no words to describe how yummy these are. On tap for next class… Mousse au Chocolat. Mmmmmmmmm.

I thought this was rather picturesque, a foreign dignitary was recently visiting Paris and so a giant French Flag was hung from L'Arc de Triumphe

After my sojourn in Belgium two weeks ago I was out of the line-up for a few days with a bit of a cold. So I did some relaxing and am back to feeling better. In recent weeks I paid a visit to St. Augustine Cathedral, which is very dark. I also went on a bit of a photo shoot with my good camera one very pleasant day. I loaded up some black and white film and went for a quick tour of some of my favorite spots. I don’t have the pictures yet, but I will eventually, unfortunately I don’t have a way to post them (no scanner).

La Dame à la Licorne

Golden Rose in the Middle Ages Museum

Just yesterday I took advantage of all the museums of Paris being free on the first Sunday of every month, and visited the Middle Ages Museum. It was very interesting. It is located right next to the Latin Quarter, and the ancient Roman baths are part of the Museum. They have quite a collection of medieval tapestries, jewelry, religious tokens and art, even some medieval waffle irons (not joking!). The Musée de Moyen-Ages is home to the very famous tapestry “La Dame à la Licorne” (The Lady and the Unicorn) which was created by hand in the 15^th century. The work people were able to do without modern technology absolutely astounds me. I also spend the afternoon wandering the Maurais, the Jewish Quarter, which seems to be one of the only parts of Paris that is alive on Sundays (as I have mentioned before, Paris SHUTS DOWN on Sunday, nothing is open). In the Maurais I found BAGELS! And my bagel with salmon was absolutely divine (I had not eaten a bagel since January), salmon on a bagel with vegetables is a fairly new thing to me.

Me at Chenonceau

Since my last entry I have been on two day trips to my Program. Last week we went to the Loire Valley, I trip that I have been looking forward to for a long time. The Loire Valley is home to the Châteaux of France, it is also where most French perfumes come from. I remember being in French class in high school and watching a documentary on the two most famous Châteaux in the Loire: Chenonceau, and Chambord, and I finally got to see them BOTH in the same day!

Chenonceau over the River

The Gallery

The Gardens of Chenonceau as seen from the Château

Chenonceau (pronounced: Shannon-sew) is also known as the Château of the Six Ladies because it was built, owned, and restored by six different women throughout its history including: Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henri II; Catherine de Médicis, the wife of King Henri II, who took the Château from her husband’s mistress upon the King’s death; and Louise de Lorraine, “The White Queen” who was so named after the assassination of her husband, King Henri III, (in France, the mourning color was white as opposed to black). The château is built over the Cher River, a tributary of the Loire River. The Château was built in stages by the various ladies, but the architecture (in my opinion) is very fluid. Chenonceau is well-known for its Gallery a long, wide hallway that spans the river with beautiful arcade windows and a black and white checker board floor. This space was used as a ball room by its pre-Revolution inhabitants, but it was also used as a hospital as World War I decimated the Loire Valley, the Gallery also served as a passage between the Free and Occupied Zones during the Second World War and was used by many people to escape the invading Germans. I loved the Château, and my only wish would have been for the rain to quit so I could enjoy the beautiful gardens.

Chambord

Da Vinci's Staircase

The hollow center of Da Vinci's double-helix

View from the Terraces of Chambord

Chambord is the most famous Château in the Loire Valley. It is positively massive. It was build by King François I as a hunting lodge. The Château has over 300 chimneys (not a typo!). It was designed to resemble a medieval fortress with walls surrounding a central living space. The central “keep” is divided into four distinct areas, and rising up through the middle of these four parts is an absolute wonder: Leonardo Da Vinci’s double-helix staircase. Chambord is home to the last masterpiece of THE Renaissance man. Da Vinci was invited to Chambord by François I. The staircase is beautiful. It has two separate marble staircases that wind their way around a “column of light” that is to say a cylinder of air with a glass dome at the top. The entrances to the staircases are exactly opposite each other and as you climb up them, you will never be able to see a person climbing up the opposite staircase. It looks exactly like those models of DNA you see in Biology classrooms. It is truly a wonder, and I will confess, I did get chills as I climbed the work of Da Vinci. He actually passed away before the completion of the staircase, and he is buried in the Loire Valley, it is actually through Da Vinci’s friendship with François I that France came to be in possession of the Mona Lisa. Also throughout the Château, one can see the emblem of François I, the salamander, carved more than 700 times. This Château was also occupied by Louis XIV as a vacation home and some of the apartments have been restored to his period. We also were able to walk around the terraces of the Château and survey the surrounding woods. Chambord is most decidedly incredibly impressive.

Champagne Pyramid at Mercier

Champagne

This past weekend, we forayed more into the cultural sphere of France by visiting Champagne. Champagne is the region in France where Champagne is made (duh). However, ONLY the sparkling wines from this Region in France have the LEGAL right to be named Champagne. Anything, from anywhere else, is NOT actual champagne. It’s like Wal-Mart Cola, no matter how much it may taste like it, it can never be Coca Cola. During our day we visited three different Champagne producing facilities starting with Tattinger, a very famous brand. We learned about the process of making champagne, which differs from wine in that it is fermented with yeast and sugar much in the same manner as beer to give it the bubbles that distinguish it from other wines. Champagne is also a “mixed” wine in that it is rarely made from entirely the same sort of grape, and can be mixed with wines produced in other years to give it different tastes. After Tattinger we visited Mercier, which gave the tour of their caves from a little train. Mercier was founded in 1858 by Eugène Mercier. Mercier was one of the first people in history to use film as a marketing technique; the first documentary film ever created was a film about the making of Mercier Champagne. Also for the 1889 World’s Fair, Mercier’s 20-ton Barrel of Champagne took second place as a spectacle only rivaled by the Eiffel Tower. Mercier was instrumental in making champagne a luxury beverage. Our final visit was to a small family operation called Blosseville-Marniquet. The owner was very kind and amusing and was very kind in showing us all his equipment and the steps in the process of making champagne. There are actually rules and regulations governing the quality of Champagne that is produced. Only grapes from the specific Champagne vineyards can be produced, and only 300,000,000 total bottles of Champagne are produced in a year, and if you think about the world population of 6 billion, and if you think about how many weddings, a ship christenings, and Hollywood parties there are in a year, that is not much champagne, and so, the rarity of the item makes it a “special occasion” beverage. If it doesn’t say Made in Champagne, then it’s just sparkling wine (but I don’t think I could taste the difference). We did get to sample champagne at each place, and I think it’s just too bubbly. I like it, but the bubbles can be a little too much at times. I know it’s slightly odd to say, but I really like the golden color of champagne, and I suppose the bubbles add to the sparkle.

Notre Dame de Reims does bear a striking resemblance to Notre Dame de Paris, but it was build much later, and is still gothic, but starting to resemble the Flamboyant style of Architecture

The Smiling Angel

Inside Notre Dame de Reims

The main stained Glass Window

Maybe you've guessed that I like stained glass windows...

While we were in Champagne we did have the opportunity to get our history fix (for those of us who needed/wanted it). We ate lunch in Reims (pronounced sort of like R-ance). Reims is home to a BEAUTIFUL late-gothic cathedral. This cathedral was horribly destroyed by fire bombs during the First World War, but was restored thanks to the generosity of America’s own John D. Rockefeller Jr. Reims is the cathedral where the first king of France, Clovis was baptized as a Catholic. Reims was the site for the coronations of France’s kings. Many of you may recall the name Reims from the tale of Joan of Arc, she was trying to get the Dauphin (the French term for the eldest prince and heir to the French throne) to Reims for his coronation as the rightful king of France. Reims is home to the most beautiful windows I have seen yet. Well, maybe tied with Sainte Chapelle. Reims is also home to a rather curious statue, it is known as the “Smiling Angel.” As you can see, the statue has a heavenly smile on its face, this is very uncharacteristic of medieval sculpture, and no one is sure why the angel is depicted this way. I just love the expression, pure happiness among the grimness of the other figurines flanking the entrances to the cathedral.

We have a tradition of it raining on all of our API excursions, but on the trip to Champagne we were rewarded with a brilliant rainbow.

Amidst my sight seeing, I also managed to complete a 7-page paper in French, which is quite a victory. In the meantime, API (my study abroad program) is trying desperately to figure out what they are going to do about all the school we have missed. They are promising we WILL get credits, it is just a question of HOW.

I am afraid that I do not have much in terms of witty cultural commentary this week, but you did get a fair amount of cultural and historical education. But I promise that I am sure I will have a lot of commentary once I return to business as usual in 3 weeks which brings us to…

As of right now, Dominic and I are FIVE days away from the kickoff to our great adventure. For those of you who are interested our itinerary is as follows: I am flying to Birmingham to meet Dominic on Saturday the 8^th. We are going to spend 2 days in Wolverhampton (his adopted town) and take a day trip to Stratford (former home of The Bard, William Shakespeare). On Monday the 10^th we are headed to London where we will spend 2 days touring London: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, King’s Cross Station (wink, wink), the works! On the 12^th we head to Paris where I will give Dominic the Grande Tour of my adopted city, and we will be taking a run out to Versailles while he is here. On the 16^th (Easter) we head for Italy, we are flying into Rome and taking the train to Florence where we will stay for 3 days in a hostel 100 yards from the Statue of David. Then on the 19^th we will take the train back to Rome to finish out our 2-week European tour with the Eternal City and a day trip to Pompeii. I will be back in Paris on Monday the 24^th. It is due to this impending adventure, that there will be no Paris Papers in 2 weeks; I will be quite occupied in Italy. It’s not that I don’t love you all, but Italy wins over Paris Papers. Therefore, you can look for Paris Papers VIII after April 24^th, management apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause, you may try complaining, but they will be on vacation, so it won’t do you much good I am afraid. :o)

So I guess I am signing off for a couple of weeks, because I am about to have the Spring Break to end all Spring Breaks! Who needs Cancun when Europe is your backyard?! I will be back with more exciting stories to tell and more pictures. Wish me luck! And until next time, I will remain your own personal Cyber-tour guide to Europe,

Monica :o)

So I look like a complete dork in this picture, but in my defense it was really bright out, and behind me you can see the vineyards of Champagne

PS. Just because I can: M-A-I-N-E GOOOOOOOOOOO BLUE!!! Bring it home Black Bears! Good luck at the FROZEN 4!!!!! I may be in Paris, but I am still a Black Bear at heart. :o)