PARIS PAPERS VOLUME X ~ May 24, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, here we go again. I am really going to miss doing this. Well, without delay, sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Well, I survived another exposé presentation in Sociology, my last one for the semester, thank goodness. You all know I have NO qualms about public speaking, but it is an entirely different beast when you are speaking in a different language. Quite frightening, but it is over now. My classes are finished now, and exams start in a week. Two weeks ago I took one of my final exams (earlier than the others) in French as a foreign language. I am glad that is over with. All I have left is cooking class, but tomorrow is the last meeting of that. Two weeks ago we cooked Tajine de Poulet aux Olives et citrons (a chicken dish made with olives and lemon), and we made Cigares Algérios (a delicious pastry consisting of a filling of almonds, walnuts, and pistachios which is fried in oil and glazed with honey). I very much enjoyed the dessert, it was reminiscent of Baklava. Last week we tackled a most traditional French dish: Soufflé. It actually was not as hard as I anticipated, you just have to do things slowly and in the correct order, and you absolutely CANNOT open the oven while it is cooking. It is very tasty, light and fluffy. We also made Tarte Tartin, which is sort of a caramel apple pie, and we made fresh Crème Chantilly (named for the chateau from Volume II where whipped cream was invented by Vatel from the movie in Volume VII). I have decided the fresh whipped cream is right up there with Nutella on the list of the most incredible “condiments” on Earth.

Emmanuel and Me on the bike tour, with the Eiffel Tower

Two weeks ago, on a Friday, I finally got to do the night time bike tour of Paris. The city rents out mountain bikes for six Euros for the entire night, and you can join the ride for free. The ride lasts about two and a half hours (9:30 to midnight), and goes all around Paris. We took a ten minute break in front of the Eiffel Tower, and rode past the Pantheon, Place de la Bastille, Place d’Italie, Invalides and more. I went with my friend Emmanuel. I cannot remember the last time I rode a bike, and the old adage “it’s like riding a bike, you never forget…” is not necessarily true. It took me a little while to feel confident and comfortable on the bike. But it was a lot of fun. There were 350-ish other people on the ride, some of them had speakers strapped to their bikes and pumped good fast-paced music while we rode. The staff was very organized, they shut down the streets as we passed, and we had our own EMT. Aside from the aching backside, it was fantastic, and I would definitely do it again.

Over the fammed water lily pond at Giverny

The water lily pond (though the water liles are out of season)

Monet's Garden

Flowers at Giverny

Me at Giverny

The next morning, with my four hours of sleep and my sore bottom I went on a day trip to Giverny. Giverny is home to Claude Monet’s house and famous garden where he changed the course of painting history as the leader of the Impressionist Movement. The gardens were INCREDIBLE. I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. His house was not overly impressive, and full of, strangely, Asian art, which is about as far away from Impressionism as one can be.

Honfleur

Boats in the Marina

After Giverny we headed to Douville for a beach day, but cold windy weather put an end to those plans, and so we headed to the small coastal town of Honfleur, home to St. Catherine, an ancient wooden church. We wandered around the town for the afternoon enjoying the medieval streets, old houses, and small shops.

Sunday Afternoon in the Tuileries

Boats for Hire

On Mother’s day (American, that is, Mother’s Day in France is at the very end of May) I spent the day wandering around Paris. I went to mass at Sacre Coeur, and it was quite nice, the choir was incredible, and the organ reverberated in my bones. I visited my artist friends in the square, I am going to miss that so much. I went to an art show at Place des Voges, and wandered under the arcades looking at the art. There was an incredibly good mini-string orchestra, probably about 16 violins and a few cellos. They were VERY good playing an array of classical music, so I listened to them for a while. I wandered up through the Tuileries Gardens enjoying the flowers and watching all the activities. I love the little cart where the man rents little boats to children that they send sailing in the fountains.

Hand-weaving tapestries

Close-up of the weaving tools

I recently visited the Gobelin Tapestry Manufacture in Paris. The industry was started by Louis XIV as a way to stimulate the economy. He invited artisans, particularly Tapestry weavers and Dye-makers to become employees of the state. Their works adorn the Chateaux of the Loire Valley, and Versailles. The industry survives today. The weavers of the Gobelin tapestries still work by hand and are employed by the state. Their works decorate government buildings. It was very interesting to watch them work. It is incredible to see them performing this old craft in our modern world. The tapestries they produce are of amazing quality. It can take years to finish one tapestry. No thanks.

I went to see the DaVinci Code the day it opened in France (2 days before it opened in the US). Movie going is a bit different. For starters the theater was VERY nice. The chairs were like big comfy arm chairs, and it was a very nicely decorated room. You cannot enter the theater until 15 minutes before the show starts. Then you go in and sit down, and there is a curtain in front of the screen. It opens and the “previews” start, only there are more commercials than there are movie trailers. That lasted for about 20 minutes. Then the curtain closed again and the lights came back up for about a minute, then the curtain opened to reveal a bigger screen, and THEN the movie started. Overall I thought the movie was very good, although the French Press has been dragging it through the mud relentlessly. They messed up the geography of Paris, mainly, the Bois de Boulogne is NO WHERE near L’Arc de Triumphe, and the US Embassy is 2 minutes from the Louvre (rather than the 10 it took them to get there, but it was a cool car chase). After the movie, I went over to the Louvre, just for fun, because I could.

A seriously angry cloud advances in Notre Dame, and I forgot my umbrella that day

Last Friday I had my last class at Paris VII, and I did some wandering around Paris. I found a food festival in front of Notre Dame, and tried some interesting cheeses, and some incredible chocolate. I also went back to the Craft Fair at Place de la Bastille. I went for a stroll along the Seine. I also relaxed for a little while in Shakespeare and Company. I am starting to prepare myself for the round of “Lasts.” My last trip to my favorite spots.

This was one of my favorite pieces at the Caen Memorial Museum (see below)

This past weekend, I spent my third straight weekend in Normandy. I went on another trip with Le Club International de Jeunes a Paris. We spent all day Saturday visiting D-Day sites and memorials. We started at the Memorial Museum at Caen. The museum was very well done, and there was a FANTASTIC film! It was the best explanation of the invasions and the aftermath that I have ever seen, and the best part was, there was NO dialogue. I had wondered how they were going to do a film for visitors of all different nationalities and languages, and so they just cut the dialogue. The computer graphics of the battles were amazing. The museum had a lot of great artifacts, and a lot of interactive components. It was a very good visit.

German Cemetery

Close up of a German Tombstone, they are double graves

From Caen we headed to one of the German Cemeteries. It was a very interesting experience being there. Historically speaking, having grown up in an “Allied” nation, I find it had not to think of the Germans as the “Bad Guys” as the aggressors. And you do not usually think of them on a human level, and it is easy to forget that they had enormous numbers of casualties, and every dead soldier was a person, a son, a father, an uncle, a friend, a brother. Being in the cemetery really humanized the Nazi soldiers. Seeing their names and graves lifted the generalization of having the German forces just being faceless masses of “Bad Guys.”

What remains of a German Bunker at Pointe du Hoc

The cliffs of Normandy

From the German Cemetery we headed to Pointe du Hoc. For those unfamiliar with the D-Day scenario, Pointe du Hoc is a high point on a cliff separating Omaha and Utah Beach. The Germans held a heavily fortified position atop the cliff, and could have very easily destroyed the landing forces at Utah and Omaha beach on June 6, 1944. Naval and Air force attacks did not succeed in destroying the German advantage atop the cliffs, and so it was determined that the Pointe du Hoc would have to be disabled by ground troops. The US 2^nd Ranger Battalion landed on the beach below the cliff, and scaled the 100-foot cliff face and attacked the German stronghold. The Rangers took and held the ground for two days until they were reinforced. The troops suffered heavy losses, but if not for their efforts, the D-Day Invasions could not have succeeded.

Pointe du Hoc, with all the craters from Allied Air Raids

At the bottom of a 3-storey crater

There is not much left at Pointe du Hoc. There are some incredibly deep craters from aerial bombings, and there are the vestiges of some concrete German Bunkers. You can also see the former positions of the Anti-aircraft guns. You also have a great view of the cliffs of Normandy that made the D-Day invasions so incredibly difficult.

This picture could be major black mail as the ultimate bad hair day, but it is the only way I could think to convey the force of the wind.......

I have never experienced wind like I did at Pointe du Hoc. I am not a small person, but I had trouble keeping my feet under me. The wind was incredibly intense. You ears and throat hurt from being out in such gale-force winds. I found out once I got back to Paris, that the wind was strong enough to cause power-outages across Normandy. It was crazy. The ocean was very choppy, we could see white foam everywhere from the wind. We had to yell to be heard. It was amazing.

Omaha Beach

Me at Omaha

From Pointe du Hoc we went to Omaha Beach. I think this needs no introduction. This was one of the landing beaches for the D-Day invasion. This beach was assigned to the American troops. At 6:30 AM on June 6,1944 the Allied Landing craft nudged into the shores of Omaha beach, the doors opened, and men went pouring out on to the beaches charging through barbed wire, other obstacles, and into the face of enemy fire. The 400-yard charge yielded heavy American casualties, but eventually succeeded, and the Germans were driven off of the beach.

Unfortunately when we arrived at the beach it was high tide, and so we could not see any of the remains of the battle. At low tide you can still see parts of the artificial landing docks, and some of the landing craft.

The memorial at the American Cemetery


10,000 White Crosses

"Here Rests in Honored Glory a Comrade in Arms Known but to God"

From Omaha Beach we headed to St. Laurent-sur-Mer (St. Laurent on the Ocean), the American cemetery. Technically speaking, this cemetery is a US Territory, American soil. The French offered it to the US Government as American soil in the 1960’s and it was purchased by the US Government for a symbolic franc. There are approximately 10,000 US Soldiers buried there who died on the Beaches, or in the aftermath of D-Day. These casualties represent a portion of the 40% of US Casualties that were no repatriated following the war. There are over 300 unidentified soldiers, 4 women, and 30 pairs of brothers. Each soldier’s final resting place is marked by a white marble cross, unless the soldier was identified as being Jewish, and then a white Star of David marks the grave. The American flag flies over the cemetery, and you can faintly hear the Star Spangled Banner being played at the entrance to the memorial. The cemetery is better kept than most golf courses and overlooks the ocean. People wander between the markers in silence. This was my second trip to the cemetery, but it is still as moving and poignant as ever. Standing there, you cannot deny the sacrifice, and you can truly understand the price of war. I think it is important to visit places like this, and for people to understand that each of those markers is a person, a young person whose life was cut short by war. I am not meaning to sound depressing, but this was truly an incredibly memorable point of my time here.

Cathedral in Caen

Chateau at Caen

Gigantic Cathedral in Caen

From the American Cemetery we returned to Caen where we spent the night. The next morning we took a walking tour of the city, past a crooked Cathedral (suffering from the same malady as the Leaning Tower of Pisa), to the Chateau of William the Conqueror. After a brief visit to the Chateau Nicole (another American on the trip) and I went Cathedral hunting. We found several, but could not go inside because it was Sunday morning, and we did not want to be rude and interrupt mass. But we did find a rather incredible pastry shop offering mini-pastries. Oh my, what a discovery. Mini éclairs, mini tartes, mini cakes. Needless to say, we did some sampling. :o) We also found a large flea market and spent some time wandering in there before we had to catch the bus.

Rainy day in Honfleur (Nicole and me)

We went to Honfleur (my second time in two weeks), where we spent the afternoon. We found a wonderful little café for lunch, and had mussels cooked in a creamy curry sauce, it was very good. We spent some time wandering around the town. It rained for most of our visit. We also walked out to the beach and wandered there for a little while until we saw another rain storm rolling in. The sun finally put in an appearance just as we were boarding the bus to return to Paris. But we had a good time despite the rain.

Chatres Cathedral, with the mis-matched towers built centuries apart

Chatres from the side

The Veil of the Virgin

Yes, I know, my obsession with stained glass has got to stop... but... for the time being.....

The famous stained glass at Chatres

The blue of the Stained Glass is unique to the windows of Chatres

No more blue sky :o(

Yesterday I spent the day in Chatres, France. Chatres is home to a famous cathedral that was once a sight of many pilgrimages. Chatres is home to an alleged relic of the Virgin Mary. The veil is said to be the one worn by the Virgin the night she gave birth to Jesus. The veil has survived several fires, and this has added to its fame. Chatres is also home to some of the most famous stained glass windows in France. The windows chronicle much of the Bible, and the blue glass is a very distinct color only found in the windows at Chatres. During WWII, ALL of the glass was removed from the windows and hidden to protect the windows in case of bombing. I also had business to take care of at the cathedral. As you all know very well, I am terrified of heights. When I was in France 5 years ago, I had a bit of an issue once I got up into the Bell Tower, and ran back down the stairs without walking around and seeing the gargoyles. Well, I decided to go back and finish what I started. Unfortunately, extremely high winds kept the towers closed for the duration of my visit, and I was unable to complete my quest. I did get to enjoy the windows, and I took a tour of the crypt helping translate for some fellow Americans who did not speak French (the crypt tour was only available in French). So the day was not a total waste.

In other news, I am still in the process of figuring out the French grading system. All grades are given as a number over 20. Now, in the stares, when you are given a fraction for a grade, you automatically divide the top number by the bottom number and multiply by 100 to get your percentage which equates to a letter grade. That is not how it works in France. I was handed back a paper that I wrote and I saw 12/20, which in the states, would have been approximately a 60% and an F. But that is not the case in France. I am still working on understanding the system, but in the Arts and Humanities, according to my friends, it is not possible to get any higher than 18, and even that is rare. You can get a perfect score in the sciences, as is math it is possible to have an answer be perfectly correct, because 2 + 2 does equal 4, there is no need for interpretation, it is a fact. When you are writing a paper, there is interpretation and bias, and therefore it is “impossible” to receive a perfect score. To make a long story short, 12/20 is approximately a high B, or a low A depending on the professor (according to one of my professors who studied in the states and knows both systems). I really do not know enough to pass judgment on the system. The French system seems a little harsher, but that is just my opinion. It does make me wonder if the American system is too easy, but, I am NOT complaining!!!

In the trying new things category, we can add smoked duck, and also Chocolate-Habenero (extremely hot chili pepper) ice cream to the list. With three weeks remaining until I go home (actually 18 days) I will be staying in the greater Paris region and enjoying the benefits of my adopted city before I return home. It hardly seems possible that I am mere weeks away from returning to the states. Until that time comes, I will have more adventures to share in two weeks! I hope every one is well (and all dried out, after the flooding), and I shall remain your shutter-happy quasi-journalist,

~Monica

PARIS PAPERS VOLUME IX ~ May 9, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s that time again, here it is, your bi-monthly dose of ME with a side of French culture! I promise that this one will not be as long as the last one (which was a 14-page word document prior to uploading to the web and adding the pictures), and although I cannot beat a whirlwind tour of Europe, I still have some interesting things to share! So don’t touch that dial…

As you all know, I returned from my trip with Dominic two weeks ago, and did not get Paris Papers VIII posted until Wednesday. In the mean time, school started again, and now students and professors are in a rush of trying to make up for lost time and cram as much as we can into the remaining 3 weeks before exams (exams last for 2 weeks here).

Two weeks ago in my cuisine class we made “Vol au vent aux quenelles et fruits de mer,” which is shellfish (shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, etc) in a curry-cream sauce served over a puff-pastry biscuit. I know this will shock you all, but I did eat it, and it was not bad. I am not usually a seafood person, but I thought it was good. We also made Ratatouille, which is a traditional dish from the south of France (Nice to be precise), and is sort of a vegetable stew. For dessert, we made Pear tart (I worked on that part) and it was delicious!

I spent a weekend in Barcelona, Spain! I met up with Rachel (from Madrid via UMaine) and her twin sister, Christie (from England via UMaine) and we had a great time touring Barcelona! We did all of the touristy things, and enjoyed the night life! The weather was incredible, warm (hot at some points) and sunny! At our hostel (which was INCREDIBLE) we met a guy named Asaf, and he was traveling alone (studying in Madrid) and so we adpoted him for the weekend. That is one of the cool things about hostels, you meet some really cool people.

Sagrada Familia (very hard to fit it all into a picture)

Our first stop was obviously, Sagrada Familia, the famous church that looks like (in my mind) a drip castle. It is sort of the “Eiffel Tower” of Barcelona. Construction started in 1883, and will not be completed until 2030. The principle architect was Antoni Gaudí, and we will be talking about more of his projects in a few minutes.

Impressive Living Statue

Sippin' Sangria

We spent some time wandering in the Ramblas, the long central street of the Gothic Quarter. There are some INCREDIBLE living statues and street performers along this street. There are also artisans selling their wares, jewelry, souvenirs, clothing and such. There are also a lot of open-air cafes. We decided to have a pit stop and take in some of the local culture in liquid form, that is to say, Sangria. The sangria we had was delicious (not that I am expert), and I am looking for a recipe to make it. So if anyone has one, let me know!

Land ho?

At the end of the Ramblas is the Christopher Columbus Monument, and the sea port. Atop the monument, Mr. Columbus is pointing out over the ocean! We wandered around there pondering some of the modern art, looking at the palm trees, and enjoying the ocean breeze.

Inside Saint Eulàlia

Gotta Love Gothic :o)

As we headed back into town we decided to visit the Cathedral of Saint Eulàlia. Unfortunately, the façade was completely covered in scaffolding, so I was unable to get a good picture to share with you. The inside was very nice. I find that the Spanish cathedrals are the most lavish inside (other than St. Peter’s in Rome), with alters made of gold in every alcove. The architecture was typical gothic. The Spanish Catholics, like the Italians, strictly enforce modest dress in their cathedrals, i.e., no shorts or tank tops for men and women. We went up to the roof of the cathedral and it offered a great view of the ocean. There was also a nice courtyard with pools of carp, and geese.

Sacred Heart Church

Christie, Rachel, Asaf and I atop the mountain with the ocean in the background

The second day we decided to climb one of the hills overlooking the city to the Sacred Heart Church. We were intrigued by the massive statue of Jesus affixed to the top. We hiked a good way up the hill and then took the ancient funicular the rest of the way to the top. We discovered an amusement park, and visited the church, which was surprisingly smaller than it looked from far below. The view was incredible and well worth the climb, we could see the whole city and the ocean stretching to the horizon.

The ceiling of the market place in Güell Park

A little break on the Longest Park Bench in the World

The Bench, I could not fit all of it, sorry, but it is HUGE

Detail of Gaudí's Bench

Gaudí Fountain (I like all the colors)

After we climbed down the hill, we headed to Güell Park, which was designed by Gaudí, and is home to the longest park bench in the world. All of the architecture is covered in mosaics made of ceramic pottery pieces. The whole park is very brightly colored and looks like something out of a child’s story book. Güell Park was originally intended to be a private community of 60 houses to be designed by Gaudí, but only two of these were ever built. I am not sure of my opinion of Gaudí’s work. It is interesting, but I am not sure I would want it for my house. The city of Barcelona is peppered with buildings designed by Gaudí, and they really stand out from the rest of the city.

After we spent some time wandering in Güell Park, we headed for the chocolate museum! It was interesting. Part of it was concentrated on the history of Chocolate, as the Spanish were the first western culture to come into contact with it through their conquests of the natives in South America. I took notes for my paper for my Cuisine class. The second part of the museum was chocolate art. There were all sorts of sculptures, including a copy of Michelangelo’s Pieta in milk chocolate. Probably tastier than the original, but I found it less moving. After the exhibit, we took in some Spanish hot chocolate, which is a steaming hot cup of melted chocolate. It is like drinking the hot fudge you put on an ice cream sundae. Thank goodness they only give it to you in an espresso cup. It is incredibly rich! After our dose of chocolate, we wandered the pier for a little while, and found a little flea market that was fun to browse.

The Olympic Torch

The Olympic Stadium

Calatrava Tower

Olympic Pool

Barcelona Arc of Triumph

The next morning Rachel and Christie headed back to Madrid. My flight back to Paris was not until the evening so I decided to do more sight-seeing before heading back to Paris. I hiked up to the 1992 Olympic stadium and pool. When you are down in the city and looking up at the hill, you can see this large white structure, and I would have sworn it was the Olympic torch, but it is not. It is the Calatrava Tower. The Olympic torch is in the stadium, and is a lot smaller than I expected. It is a little bit odd walking around an empty Olympic complex, sort of sad really, considering it was build to house thousands of spectators and athletes. I also visited the Barcelona Arc of Triumph. I like the one in Paris better, but theirs was nice too.

Me and my moment of Zen with an American Institution in Liquid form

A few observations about Spain: I find it interesting that one can find more American Products in Spain than you can in France. For example, they have more American food brands in their grocery stores, Gatorade, Cheetos, Cheddar Cheese, etc. They also have Dunkin’ Donuts (yes, I had a doughnut and a lemonade Koolatta and both were HEAVENLY). The Spanish (I found) in general, are friendlier than the French, but not as friendly as the Italians, and overall I found that the Spanish and Italians are more similar in mannerisms, and having heard the two languages within a week of each other, they are very similar. Of course, I do not speak either, so that is just my uneducated opinion.

Since I returned from Spain, I have been incredibly busy here in Paris. I had a paper due critiquing Emile Zola’s “Le Ventre de Paris” (the Belly of Paris, referring to the markets of the nineteenth century). Also all of my professors are in overdrive trying to compensate. I also am down to having only five weeks left of my time here! Sometimes it seems like I just arrived, and other times, when I think about how much I have learned and done.

Springtime at Notre Dame de Paris

Moulin Rouge Cow

Cow Chasing...

Yes, it is a Denim Cow..............

Beautiful Bovine

In the past week Paris has really started blooming. The lilacs are out at Notre Dame, and all of the gardens are alight with color. Paris is really beautiful in the spring time. I have taken a few walks recently enjoying the nice weather and the greenery. On one such walk, I stumbled across a line of life-sized, painted, plastic cows. Some of you may recall such an phenomenon in the states a few years ago. Well, the “Cow Parade” has come to Paris. I have now spent a couple of days chasing cows around Paris. Its kind of fun. There are cows: along the Champs Elysses, at the Paris Opera House, at the Louvre, at St. Germain-des-Pres, Les Halles, Le Maurais, Place de la Bastille, Passy Boulogne (near the Eiffel Tower), and La Defense. It has been fun to follow these bovines around Paris and rediscover the city, it is like seeing Paris with new eyes. I also discovered a similar exhibition with large decorated stars from around Europe.

In cooking class last week we made mayonnaise from scratch, and real French cheese fondue. We also made plum cobbler, and a prune cobbler for dessert. We also watched a film “Le Festin de Babette” (Babette’s Feast), and it was a lovely film, half in Danish half in French, thank goodness for subtitles (in French though). It was very enjoyable, but I doubt you can find it at Blockbuster.

I spent this past weekend between Normandy and Bretagne France. I found a wonderful club here in Paris. It is called Le Club International des Jeunes à Paris (The club of Young Internationals in Paris). They do weekend trips around France for 87 Euros (includes bus, admissions, accommodations, and breakfast). I wish I had found this group sooner. I spent a weekend with 50-something other international students studying in Paris, I was the ONLY American, and it was really neat, because there were so many nationalities and cultures represented, the only common language (in most cases) was French, so we had to use French to communicate, it was great practice.

Le Mont Saint Michel "Le Merveille" (The Marvel)

The streets of Mont St. Michel

We went to Mont Saint Michel, and I have waited five years to get back to this marvel. I think Mont St. Michel is my favorite place in France. It is an island off the coast of Normandy, and when the tide is low, it is surrounded by a long plain of sand and quicksand. But the tide comes into the basin and floods this plain in less than 20 minutes and (when the tide is decently high) this mountain becomes an island. It is quite cool. It just rises out of the middle of nowhere. There are no cars on Mont St. Michel, it is filled with narrow, winding, medieval cobblestone streets lined with shops and full of people. At the very top is the Benedictine Abbey and Cathedral dedicated to St. Michel whose golden statue crowns this one-of-a-kind spot. I remember being there when I was 16, and I found it exactly as I had left it five years ago. To quote Nelson Mandela: “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” (One of my favorite quotes). Returning to Mont St. Michel, was different than my return to Paris. I had more time to reflect without being bombarded by the emotions that accompany moving to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I will not bore you with my personal reflections, but Mont St. Michel is a very peaceful spot, and definitely worth a visit.

Inside the Cathedral

Inside the Abbey cloister

Lilacs (my favorite) at Mont St. Michel

We took a guided tour of the Abbey, with the BEST guide I have had in Europe (if not in the entire world). He was incredible, and as a tour guide myself, I really appreciate a good guide. He was very funny and animated, and gave us a lot of great information. So, if you ever visit Mont St. Michel, take Alain’s tour, even if you don’t speak French, he was fun to watch! I wandered the wall tops and the streets and passageways. I watched them making the famous omelets at Mere Poulard’s Inn. I wandered in the garden below the Abbey and smelled the lilacs. I tried to watch the tide come in, but unfortunately the “quotient” was too low for it to come into its full splendor. There are a number of factors that contribute to how high a tide comes in, the position of the moon and sun, etc, and all these things factor into a number called “the quotient” and if the quotient is low, the tide does not rise very much, but if the quotient is high, you had best not leave you car on the causeway, because Mont St. Michel will become an island very quickly. So, unfortunately, the quotient was only 13 that day. I am sure a science person could explain this a little more clearly and effectively, but either way, you just got a bit of a science lesson! Either way, it was incredible to get the chance to visit Mont St. Michel again.

The Beach at St. Malo

From Mont St. Michel we headed to Saint Malo, a coastal town in the Bretagne region of France. We spent the night in a very nice hostel, so nice it was practically a hotel! We had our own bathroom and shower in every room (you usually have a shared bathroom and shower like in a dorm when you stay in a hostel). After we arrived we took a walk along the beach to the center of the town. The beach at St. Malo reminded me very much of “my beach” (that is to say, Popham Beach) in Maine. It was a crescent shaped beach with rocky islands, and the walls of the fortress of St. Malo reminded me a lot of Fort Popham. In the center of town some of the other students and I sought dinner. We found a nice little place and ate there. I tried mussels. I kind of liked them. They are not as chewy as clams, and they did not have any sand in them like steamers tend to. So thumbs up for mussels.

The fortifications of St. Malo

Watching out for the English :o)... Or just a cool picture

On the second day we took a tour of St. Malo. St. Malo was a fortress, and also the launching point for the discovery mission of Jacques Cartier (who “discovered Canada while searching for the “Northwest Passage”). The English were also quite fond of attacking St. Malo, but were never successful in taking the city. St. Malo was also occupied by the Nazis during World War II, and 80% of the town was disturbed when the city was bombed while occupied by the German forces. The town is very well restored. It is a very nice town. It is enjoyable to stroll the ramparts, and wander the streets. I spent some time just walking on the beach picking up a few seashells and enjoying the air. Overall it was a very fun weekend. It was fun to have a relaxing weekend but still do some tourism stuff. I have found there are two types of tourism, the leisurely kind, and the Olympic-sport kind. Rome was of the Olympic type, Florence was more leisurely.

Parade

Yesterday we had a holiday in France, Fête Nationale en Mémoire de 1945, in memory of the end of World War II. There were ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider (at L'Arc de Triomphe). There was also a parade down the Champs Elysses. I saw President Chirac go by in a car, the window was open and he was waving.

That pretty much brings us up to date. Not the journalistic fireworks that was the previous Paris Papers, but I think we all needed a little break. My fingers are still sore from typing the last one! :o) I am starting to get to the point where I am “ready” to come home. I am still enjoying my time here, but I am starting to long for the familiarity that is home. Part of me wants my time here to last forever, and part of me is ready to get on the plane tomorrow. Well, five more weeks of adventures, and then it is back to reality. In the meantime, some reality calls (homework). I hope this edition of the Paris Papers finds everyone well. Good Luck on exams to all the UMainers! And Congratulations to those who are graduating, I will be thinking of you on Saturday! In the near future, I am going to be visiting Giverny, and going to the D-Day Beaches for the weekend (with the international club). So look for those adventures soon! Until next time, I remain your favorite quasi-journalist and voyager,

Monica :o)

At the Beach in Bretagne