PARIS PAPERS VOLUME XII ~ June 28, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

Here we go, your FINAL Paris Papers. I am going to start with a typical account of my last couple of days in Paris, and then I will move on to my Epilogue. So, here’s the wind up, and the pitch… (sorry, watching BASEBALL!!!)

I find it hard to believe that I have not made this little cultural commentary before, but in Europe, the floors of buildings are labeled differently. In the states, we call the ground floor the first floor. It is not the same system in France. In France, the ground floor is floor zero, and the floor above is the first floor. So technically speaking in France, I lived on the fourth floor of my building, but by American standards, I lived on the fifth floor. Sorry, I know it seems random, but I had to mention it as another little quirky cultural difference.

Stained Glass Window by Tiffany's

We left off with my last week in Paris. I spent most of my time either packing or playing tourist. Well, I must admit, I did do a fair amount of “nothing” as well. I did quite a bit of re-visiting in my final days. To be frank, I was low on energy at the end. I did visit a few new spots. I visited the American Church near Invalides. I went to see the windows designed by Tiffany’s in New York City. They were very different from the other windows I have seen. Rather than one layer of glass, the panes are laid one on top of another to create a more opaque look. And I finally made it back to Pere Lachaise to find Jim Morrison’s grave. I did not get chased out by hail this time around and did pay my respects. His is the only grave in the cemetery that is guarded due to the large numbers of his devotees who feel it honors his memory to graffiti the surrounding tombs.

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

(I have officially been umpiring too much youth softball)

Beautiful ancient craftsmanship, a broach from the Etruscan collection in the Louvre

Napoleon III's sitting room at the Louvre

I returned to the Louvre for one last visit. I did see the “Big 3” (as usual); though the Venus de Milo had been moved (her gallery was being cleaned). I visited, more in depth, the Greek and Etruscan collections, and visited Napoleon III’s private apartments. In terms of splendor, they were very much on par with Versailles, further proving that Louis XIV set the standard for royal luxury. I really miss having the Louvre in my “backyard.” It is such a cool museum. It is massive, and you can go loads of times, and never see the same things (except by choice), there is just such a diversity of collections.

The urban and somewhat ugly campus of Paris VII, a long way from the classic brick buildings of Orono

I also took one last jaunt to Jussieu, and actually took some pictures. It never occurred to me to take any before (other than the few shots of the barricades). I went the last day of exams, and the campus was deserted. It is funny to think about how little time I actually spent there, but more on that topic later.

Also in my last few days I took in a few more “cultural events.” I watched the French version of “American Idol” called “Nouvelle Star” on TV. I found it interesting that the final two contestants chose mostly American songs for their performances. I always find it very interesting, that though the contestants did not speak English, there was little or no perceptible accent in their singing. For anyone who cares: Christophe “the Turtle” won the title over Dominique “the Diva.” I was also privy to a match of the World Cup. I still am amazed how insanely popular “football” (what we call soccer) is in Europe, or the rest of the world for that matter. In my life here in the states I have never encountered the magnitude of enthusiasm about soccer that you see in the rest of the world. I guess Americans are more interested in Baseball and our Football.

Pont Neuf (which means "new bridge,") is actually the oldest bridge in Paris, it is called "new" because it was the first bridge to be made of stone. Prior to its construction, bridges were wooden and had houses and shops built on top of them.

On Saturday, my last day, I decided to walk throughout Paris. I walked from the Arc de Triumphe down the Champs Elysses, past the Obelisk, through the Tuileries Gardens, over Pont Neuf, and to Notre Dame. I went into the church one last time, and gazed at the windows. From there I strolled along the Seine down by the water. There are paths that are below street level that run next to the river, and I had been meaning to walk them all semester. And so I walked from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower to say my farewell. I thought about ending my stay there, at the Eiffel Tower, and have the poetic, “end where I began” scenario, but I decided to do something different.

Adieu to my Friends at Montmartre

I finished my sojourn in Paris with a trip to Montmartre, my favorite place. I spent some time just wandering around my favorite square browsing the art, and chatting with the artists. I sat in a café, and sipped a soda (too hot for coffee or hot chocolate), and just watched the world go by. I wanted that to be my last visit in Paris. From there I returned to my apartment and had dinner with my hosts. After dinner I stuffed every last little thing I could into my suitcases and sat on them to make sure I could get them zipped up. I couldn’t sleep, so I watched a couple of movies waiting for dawn.

On Sunday, M. Langellier-Bellevue got up to wait with me for my shuttle, I was very touched. I almost did not make it to the airport, due to a disaster with the shuttle service arranged by API, but thanks to a kind cab driver, I made it to Charles DeGaulle Airport just in time for my flight to London. I did have a stroke of luck, the scales and baggage conveyer belts were broken, so I got away with three bags which I am certain were over weight. I had a layover in London, and spent the time sorting through some of my thousands of photos. In case you were wondering, the final count comes in at: 10,766. Needless to say an elimination process is underway. For “The Crossing” I was on my first double-decker plane. Unfortunately the second deck was reserved only for first class but I did score a nice roomy seat. There was an array of movies to watch, so I caught up on my Americana by watching “Brokeback Mountain” (no clue what all the fuss was about, I did not think it was very good), and a couple of old sit coms. I dozed a bit too.

Home at last, with Mom in the airport

When I arrived in Boston, I was amazed at how much tighter immigration is in the US. I had to wait in a line for quite some time, and the security personnel actually studied my passport, whereas in Europe, there were times when I entered a country and no one cared to see my passport (Belgium, and Italy). Then as I was claiming my baggage, the belt jammed, and I had to wait a seeming eternity before I could move on to the next check point: the dreaded customs. Customs was not as bad as I thought. I assumed that I would have to pay taxes on my imported champagne and calvados (gifts for my family), but the guard just sort of nonchalantly waved me through. I saw my family right away, and was never so happy to see anyone in my life. They came bearing cheddar cheese and crackers (things I missed a LOT), and I swapped for them with fresh French croissants and pains au chocolat baked by my baker the night before I left Paris.

Once back in my house I distributed presents, and relaxed. My dad cooked Buffalo Chicken (another favorite that I had been craving) for me, and I struggled to stay awake for the Red Sox game, with little success. I crashed really hard around 8 PM, and woke up the next morning with my Jet Lag mostly licked.

EPILOGUE

As I sit down to commence this epilogue to my semester in France, I am not sure what it will turn out to be. A part of me still cannot believe it all happened, that it was not something I imagined or dreamed. A semester in France was something I had dreamed about ever since I can remember knowing about the concept of studying in another country. I have spent the two and a half weeks trying to get back into my “old” life, and trying to reflect upon all I have experienced and learned. You all have followed my adventures, and may have seen for yourselves some of the ways in which I have grown and changed. I apologize that this sounds very disorganized and fragmented; it has not been easy to write…

I suppose I will start with independence and responsibility: before I went to Paris, I had never been completely out on my own. I really don’t count my first five semesters at college as being out on my own, considering that I had the dining commons, and all the other amenities of living on an American University campus. I am not sure if I am embarrassed to admit this, but at 21 years old, I had never done my own grocery shopping. I still live with my parents when I am not at school, and I have always lived on campus. I had never really had to live on a strict budget before. Ever since I have had money to spend, I have had the opportunity to work and earn more money and therefore I never needed to strictly budget my funds. I did not have this opportunity in France. And so, for the first time I had to carefully monitor my spending. It was tough at first, and I made mistakes, but as time wore on I found ways to save money on food and other necessities, and therefore have more money for my adventures. I also successfully managed my first credit card. For some reason it gives me intense pride knowing that I did it all on my own. My parents would not have let me starve had I run out of money, but I wanted to see if I could do it, and I succeeded, and the best part was, I do not feel that I ever missed an opportunity because of lack of funds. As a matter of fact, I did come home with a respectable number of paintings, and little treasures, and I did a bit of traveling :o). I COULD have found a way to spend more money, and I spent pretty much every last bit that I had, but it was definitely enough.

This trip was the longest period that I have ever been away from home. This in itself was a challenge. I am a creature of habit. I like my consistency and my familiarity. For people who are more open to change the transition to living abroad is a difficult one, and I will admit that I had a very tough time at first. There were moments when I thought I had made a huge mistake and that I could not handle being abroad. There were material things I missed, certain foods, and comforts of home. I missed my habits and my comfort. I missed hockey and the Red Sox. I missed simple things like driving, and being allowed to walk on grass. I missed my family and friends most of all. I missed just having them around to talk to and be near. I thought about them all the time, and now I truly believe in absence making the heart grow fonder. When I left home I was not confident in my own abilities and so I was not sure if I could get through the semester. However, with the support of my family and friends, I made it, and as a result, I have gained some self confidence.

Beyond the more evident lessons I learned, I learned to be more relaxed and to take things less seriously. Anyone who knows me is aware that I am a tense person, and that I do not like situations that are beyond my control. I am still working at adopting the old proverb: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” At the onset of the strikes I was very stressed out and concerned about all of the ‘what if..’ scenarios I could conceive (most of them involving me failing everything), but eventually, I realized that there was nothing I could do to change the situation, no matter how much I worried or stressed. This was a big change for me, and it is still occurring, but I cannot deny that France helped me learn to relax a little more, and helped me mellow out.

Spending a long period of time in another country forces you to reflect on your own country and culture. The people you encounter challenge your beliefs about your country. For example: A French friend of mine compared the American Public school tradition of daily reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance to Nazi brainwashing. And I had to answer for my government almost every day. To be honest sometimes I found it simpler to lie and say I was from Canada. I am not ashamed of my heritage, but regardless of my personal politics, it was difficult to be an American in France. I do not think that the French hate Americans, but they certainly do not agree with our country’s politics. However, the French are concerned that all Americans hate them. I had to answer to that concern many times. It was very interesting to see how the French reacted to me as an American living in their country. I will not deny that there were those who were rude to me. I will admit that at times being an American was a disadvantage. I was never assaulted in any way, but the French never hesitated to show their disapproval if I was speaking English to another Anglophone in public. However, there were some who were excited to encounter an American and pepper me with questions about life in the USA. Living in another country is absolutely a globalization process in terms of awareness. You have to be more aware of your place in the world and have a greater understanding and acceptance of other cultures.

Of course I have to mention linguistic growth. I did speak French before I went on this trip. I started informally learning when I was very young when I met a group of girls from Quebec who were my age, and to communicated I started to learn from them. I also studied with my step-grandmother, and in middle school, high school, and in college. So I did have a solid grasp of the language, but I never realized how much I did not know until I went to France. Living and studying in Paris really helped me hone my French skills. My accent and pronunciation have changed, and I can access the vocabulary more easily when I speak. I no longer need to think in English and then translate my thoughts into French, and tenses come more naturally when I speak. There is something to be said for the immersion method of language learning. I had no choice, French was all around me all day every day, and I had to sink or swim, and I did my best to rise to the occasion. My hosts proved especially helpful with my language development. They were always patient and ready to listen to me muddle through an anecdote and always were able to help me with vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Living with the family really gave me an opportunity to have more practice with speaking and listening to French. I am personally very proud of my improvement in speaking as a result of my time in France.

Living in a city is a very different experience to living in small town New England. It was strange to go grocery shopping without seeing people I knew. Sometimes anonymity was a relieving and freeing, and other times it made me lonely. I enjoyed the metro for its convenience and ease; however, I did not enjoy the crowding. In a city there is no such thing as “a personal space bubble” not on the sidewalks, buses, or in the metro. This is something I take for granted living in a small town. Towards the end, I got very tired of being jostled, and bumped, and pushed, and nudged, and touched by complete strangers. When I walk around campus at Orono, I usually don’t need to pass within five feet of someone unless I choose to do so. When in such close proximity to other people, I was always checking my wallet and possessions of value. Speaking of value, living in a city is expensive, much more so than living in a small town. However, I cannot complain about the diversity of activities. Any time I suffered from boredom, it was merely due to lethargy on my part, in the city there is ALWAYS something to do.

Speaking of things to do, once you have seemingly exhausted one city, or are just looking for a change of pace, everything is so close and so inexpensive to get to. You can change countries incredibly inexpensively. From Paris, I was less than 2 hours away by plane from Rome, Barcelona, London, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, and many more. I was amazed at the ease of “country hopping.” It was a pleasure to bounce from city to city seeing the world as I chose. I will miss the constant ability to travel, it was one of the best parts of being in France, but I do understand that I have been living in exceptional circumstances and cannot expect to do the same now that I am back home. However, I know the itch will not lay docile forever, I have been bitten by the bug, and I suppose I will always long for distant places waiting to be explored.

Another thing I will say for my trip to Paris, my problems seemed much less significant from 3,000 miles away. I am sure all of you know that I did not have a good fall semester. Academically I pulled through, but with the cockroaches in my room, my train-wreck break-up, and then losing a friend to cancer, I had a very tough fall. I appreciate all of you who were there for me. Being in France gave me perspective, and helped me move on with some issues I could not seem to navigate my way around. Obstacles such as a broken heart seemed insurmountable before I left, but now that I am home, I feel as though I have moved beyond the things that were suffocating me. Time heals all wounds, I suppose. I would like to think that I did not run away from my problems, but perhaps putting an ocean between them and myself helped change my perspective.

Many people have asked me for my opinion on the Academic Programs International (API) study abroad program. I will be honest. I was not impressed with API. I did not find the program itself overly helpful. My cooking class was probably the most beneficial aspect of the program for me, and some of the excursions were very interesting. However, this is my council to anyone regarding studying abroad: you get out of it what you put into it. The program will get you there; the rest is up to you. I will not delve deeply into my personal grievances against the program, but will leave it at that. If you want to study abroad, and you want to be in Paris, API will get you there, but you need to make the most of your time there. If you want more information or details, feel free to email me directly.

Now that I have been home for a while, I am really starting to miss my adopted country and culture. I miss the language, and the people I met over there. I miss my favorite haunts, and some the daily things like fresh baguette, croissants, my market, and the ability to walk everywhere. I miss the independence, and I miss the excitement. I am not bored with my life at home, and I am not complaining or wishing I had not returned, but I do miss France and all the things that I loved about being there. I am not sure if I will ever be able to see Paris the same way again. For me, Paris always held a sort of magic. In my young mind it was the perfect city, and full of mystery. I will not say that I am completely disillusioned, but I am not sure if I can ever see Paris so naively again, or even with a tourist’s eyes. I am certain I will go back, and that it will always have a special place in my heart, but my perspective has changed. Some of the perfection and magic is gone, but then again, I now have my own memories to rely on rather than my younger fantasies. I am sure it will be like when I drive with my parents through the town where they grew up, there will always be memories, and I will torment my traveling companions with tales of the time I lived there.

I cannot believe I am going to admit the following to my professors who read this, but, I feel it needs to be said. For the first time in my academic career, I spent a semester without the pressure for academic excellence. Throughout my life in school, I have always had this internal drive to be the best, to achieve the highest marks. I always felt that anything less than an A was unacceptable. This semester was my first semester ever where A’s did not matter. The UMaine study abroad system only accepts grades on a pass/fail basis, and just so long as I achieved C-’s in all my classes I would receive my credits, and my GPA would not suffer. This was oddly liberating. I will confess that knowing that it did not matter if I scored an A or a C-, did impact my study habits. I was not nonchalant or lazy, but this system allowed me to perhaps put down the books and do something fun, where under normal circumstances I would have kept on studying. So, I suppose I will voice my opinion here, and say that I think this is a very effective system. I will explain this fully shortly.

Purely referring to a classroom academic perspective, I did not learn very much this semester. I am certain that I would have learned more about Roman History from Dr. Bregman; more about 20^th Century History from Dr. Janet Tebrake; and more about Sociology from Dr. Spiller. I did learn enough to pass all of my classes (grades are in), but some of the knowledge was preexisting from my studies in high school and earlier in my college career. However, as I am sure is evidenced by this blog, I learned many things that you cannot learn in a classroom. I learned more about the world around me, and some things you have to experience to fully appreciate and understand. I learned life skills from the greatest teacher: experience. I know it sounds cliché, but I also learned at lot about myself as a person. Had the normal academic rigors remained, I would have missed out on a lot of this informal learning. By alleviating the pressure for high grades, and removing the threat of a GPA nose-dive I enjoyed more free time that I feel I would have missed if the UMaine system were different. There are some things you cannot learn from a book, and I had the liberty to discover these things without the threat of academic inadequacy.

Study abroad is not about academics. There is an academic component, but in my opinion, that is not why people (myself included now) choose to study in another country. I did not realize the magnitude of this experience when I undertook it. I did not realize how much I would learn and how much would change. Studying Abroad is about seeing a new perspective, interacting with a new culture. It is about challenging yourself to adapt and to broaden your horizons. It is about growing up, and seeing the world. It is about self discovery and independence. It is about understanding, accepting, trying new things, and becoming a better person. Looking back, I can say that France was an enormous challenge, and there were some incredibly tough times, but in the end, I am absolutely sure, it has been the most rewarding and best experience of my life thus far. I am infinitely glad that I went, and I am equally grateful to all those people who helped me along the way, and those people, for the most part, are you who read this blog. And now, it is with a touch of regret that I end this final entry. It has been a pleasure sharing my adventures with all of you. Thank you for your attention and your comments and compliments. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. I am not sure how long this site will remain active after I stop posting, but I have a copy of all the entries and pictures on my hard drive. Again, thank you and keep in touch. And so dear friends, until my next blog-worthy adventure I remain your world traveling blogger,

~Monica :o)

My last official picture in France

PARIS PAPERS VOLUME XI ~ June 8, 2006

Dear Family and Friends

Well, here it is your last Paris Papers from this hemisphere, but don’t fret just yet, I will be doing one more once I get back to the states! So, on your mark…. Get set……….. GO!

Making fresh whipped cream, soaked from doing dishes, Paris has not cured by clumsyness

Two weeks ago was my final cooking class. We turned in our final papers, and had to give a short oral presentation (in French) of our topic. For our last meal we made roast pork with a sweet prune glaze and roasted apples, and we made a chocolate cake for dessert. It was very good, and very sweet. Overall that class was a very cool experience. So much of France’s culture and history is based around food, and if nothing else, now, I can make something presentable for when I have a home of my own and have dinner guests!

Angelina's

For touristy adventures, I visited to the Monet Museum (the Marmottan), which is home to the largest collection of Monet’s work. It was a nice museum, with an entire floor devoted to nothing but Monsieur Monet, and the rest of the museum was full of beautiful nineteenth century furniture (a round table made of 110 different types of marble) and a few other impressionist style paintings. I was, however disappointed that Monet’s famed Water Lilies were not in this museum, but more on that topic a little bit later. From there I took a lovely walk along the Seine just browsing the little bouquinistes (little stalls with books along the Seine), and people watching. As a send off for one of our companions, my friends and I went to Angelina’s café for hot chocolate. As a tourism point, I highly recommend going there. The hot chocolate is like melted chocolate ice cream, incredibly thick, creamy, and DELICIOUS.

I went with a friend to the Mosque de Paris, which aside from being a Muslim place of worship is also a café offering delicious Arab tea and middle eastern pastries. Middle Eastern pastries are QUITE delicious. They use a lot of nuts (almonds, pistachios), and honey usually in some sort of puff pastry or filo dough. They two pastries I tried were reminiscent of baklava. They tea was sweet and minty and served in small glasses like water glasses, which (I will explain how I know this later) is a Moroccan style. I think I prefer mugs, as you do not burn your fingers on the hot glass as you sip the scalding tea. But slightly singed fingers aside, very neat.

Me in the Sainte Chapelle

And just incase you forgot how amazing the windows are.......... :o)

I have begun to do the “Lasts.” I started with my last visit to Sainte Chapelle. This time, for a change of pace, I went in the morning (every other time I have gone it has been in the afternoon). The windows on the other side were well lit, and so I got a chance to explore them in full light, which was a nice change. Keeping with tradition, I took more photos than necessary, but when am I going to have the opportunity to take pictures at Sainte Chapelle again? :o)

The Bagatelle Roserie

Roses are red...

...and pink...

...and orange...

... and multi-colored...

...and tie-dyed?

Irises

There were just SO many beautiful colors...

Clematises... or is it Clemati?

Sculpture in the Palais Royal Gardens

I also have discovered the Bois de Boulogne and the Bagatelle Gardens. Yes, the DaVinci Code is correct, the Bois de Boulogne is quite sketchy AT NIGHT ONLY. During the day it is a regular park and perfectly safe and full of normal people doing normal park things. The Bagatelle Gardens are in the Bois de Boulogne, and are INCREDIBLE. They have an entire section called the “Roserie” (no religious connotation), which is full of a few hundred different types of roses. There was also a beautiful area full of all different sorts of irises, and a whole wall of climbing flowers such as clematises and climbing roses. It was really nice. I highly recommend a visit. While we are on the garden theme, I also recently discovered the gardens at the Palais Royal, which is adjacent to the Louvre.

I also have had a heavy dose of markets recently. Nicole (the red head from our last episode) and I stumbled upon an artisan market near Place de la Bastille, and then we went to the giant flea market at Porte de Clignacourt. There were hundreds upon hundreds of stalls selling everything, up to and including knock off Louis Vitton and Dior purses and sunglasses. There were all sorts of odd things, African art, and some very bizarre fashions.

I am finished with my exams. The exam session here in France lasts two weeks, but I was lucky enough to have all three of my exams in the first two days. French exams are somewhat frightening. Considering the lack of continuous assessment, your final is worth half of your grade (that would have been the case even if there had been no strike). Professors do not give study guides, nor do they discuss possible topics in advance. The exam usually consists of two choices, and you write about one of them. The first choice is a French style dissertation (a really difficult essay with a very rigid format), or a text commentary (you place the text in the context of what you have learned and explain it from the perspective of the class: Sociology, History, etc). You get your little exam booklet thing (nothing like the blue books of American Universities), and you have between two and four hours to respond. Not fun. I was fortunate in that I was permitted a French-English dictionary as a foreign student. In short, I miss multiple choice exams, continuous assessment, and the five-paragraph essay. Also, another discovery about the French University system: You may recall my descriptions of classes here in France. They are divided into two parts, the lecture and the TD (Travaux Dirigés, or small discussion classes). Apparently, the TDs are optional; however, if you do not take the TD (with the included exposé, or paper) you have to take two final exams, a written exam, and an oral exam. Either way, I am done and now I am on summer vacation! :oD

Now that classes are over, I sold back some of my books. There are no “required” texts in France, other than the primary sources distributed by professors, but there are recommended texts. Most of the learning in the French system is independent. You are given the skeleton of the knowledge you need in lectures and classes, but it is up to you to read and flesh out your knowledge. I chose to purchase the texts because it is what I am used to doing in the states. To buy the books was somewhat expensive, but not to the criminal level of American text books. However, when selling books back, it is about the same story, if not a little worse. I gained back about a quarter to a third of what I spent on the books, but I suppose it is better than nothing. Some things are the same no matter where you are, I guess.

Me and Nicole at the top of the Arc de Triumphe

A view from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Sunset with the threatening angry clouds

Night time view, Invalides in the foreground, the Pantheon in the upper right, Saint Sulpice in the middle, and Notre Dame in the upper left.

The Eiffel Tower at night

Eiffel Tower, 1:02 AM

To kick of my summer vacation I did some of the traditional touristy things around Paris again. I figure I might as well finish how I started. I went back to the top of the Arc de Triumphe, and I was disappointed to see that the exhibit about Napoleon had disappeared. I walked the Champs Elysses, past the Obelisk, and through the Tuileries Gardens. I also went back for my last Eiffel Tower scaling. I went up while it was still light out, and took in the view in daylight, then watched the sunset from the top, and then took in the twilight and night views. It was really neat. I thought about saving that trip for the last night, but with how the weather has been (all over the place) I thought it was best not to save that trip for the last minute. I also got to see the Eiffel Tower get shut off for the night. Nicole has quite the view out of her apartment, and the Eiffel Tower is right in the middle of her skyline. They shut off the yellow spotlights at 1 AM, but then just the little blue lights flash for ten minutes and it is really cool to see.

One of the huge Water Lilies

Up close and personal with a Monet Masterpiece

I have been on a bit of a Monet kick this Paris Papers cycle, first the Monet Museum, and then I went to the Orangerie. The Orangerie is a museum at the entrance to the Tuileries Gardens, and it has been closed for 6 years for extensive renovations. It opened up at the end of May. The building was reconstructed to house Monet’s Water Lilies (the big ones with are over 10 feet long), and display them in natural light, which is how Monet intended them to be viewed. I very much enjoy the Impressionist Movement, as an uneducated art viewer. I think more along the lines of “wow, that’s pretty,” rather than like true art aficionados who say “these paintings are perhaps the most influential works of art since the Renaissance………. (goes on about the effect of light, etc)” I just like to look at them. In regards to the ones displayed in the Orangerie, they are VERY pretty. I liked seeing the paintings after I had been to Giverny, first seeing the real location, and then the work inspired by the garden.

This church looks familiar... Chartres Part II, the Gothic tower is the one on the left completed in the Flamboyant Gothic style in 1513 and on the right is the Romanesque tower completed in 1164.

Flying Buttresses

The roof, you can clearly see that the cathedral is shaped like a cross, another feature of gothic architecture.

Victory.

Last Friday I returned to Chartres. This time I called in advance to verify that the towers were open and accessible to the public. When I arrived I headed straight to the tower, but found it CLOSED. Turns out the woman on the phone lied. The tower was closed due to a lack of personnel. I was so disappointed. I started talking to one of the Guardians, and I explained to him my story, and he took me up for a private tour! You can only access the Gothic Tower (the one on the left as you face the cathedral). The Romanesque tower (the older one on the right) is hollow. I got to examine the back side of the stained glass windows, and walk along the roof too look down at the flying buttresses. For those who do not know, the flying buttresses are a feature of gothic architecture that allows gothic cathedrals to have huge windows, unlike the cathedrals before them. The flying buttresses support the weight of the stone and lead roofs of gothic cathedrals. Because of course, stained glass windows cannot support much weight. Before the gothic style cathedrals had few, if any windows, and those that existed where very small. However the creation of flying buttresses alleviated the pressure to support the weight of the roof, and therefore allowed for the creation of the beautiful stained glass windows for which gothic cathedrals are famed. Either way, I got to climb the tower of Chartres cathedral after five years of regret after “chickening out” when I was 16. I was able to see all the gargoyles and the bells. The guardian even let me inside the roof structure, between the metal (formerly lead, but replaced in the modern era with copper, which explains the green color), and the stone. It looked sort of like an old ship turned upside down with the “ribs” of the structure. It was VERY cool. I am so glad I went back. I am still afraid of heights, but I feel like I triumphed over an old enemy. I have a much better memory of Chartres this time then I did in 2001.

Tour Montparnasse

Sunset from the Tour Montparnasse

The Lady of Paris at night.

I also went for the “double whammy” last Friday. When I returned from Chartres, I decided to go to the Tour Montparnasse for the sunset. The tour Montparnasse is a 259 storey office building with a terrace on the top floor. The Parisians call it “the Other Tower” (Eiffel being THE Tower). It only takes 30 seconds in the elevator to get to the top floor. I watched a beautiful sunset, with the Eiffel Tower in the foreground. It was most enjoyable. Just to complete the day I decided to go to Notre Dame to see it all light up. I have lived here since January, and had never seen Notre Dame at night. It is VERY beautiful all lit up. There was also a sort of exhibition going on, all sorts of “Fire Dancers,” people doing all sorts of tricks with flaming batons, and fire eaters. It was very interesting to watch.

Zineb and me at the Fountain of Apollo at Versailles

The grounds of Versailles stretching all the way down the the Fountain of Apollo and the Grand Canal

I decided to take another trip to Versailles, just to see the fountains. I went with my friend Zineb (pronounced: Zin-ebb), an exchange student from Morocco, living here in Paris with her brother and his family. The weather was amazing, and we passed a fantastic afternoon enjoying the fountains and the music (I bought the CD if anyone is interested in some incredible Baroque music). After our trip to Versailles, Zineb invited me to have dinner with her family. I had never eaten Moroccan food before. The food was not the most foreign part of the experience. Yes, the food was different, they use different spices, and started the meal with pasta with sugar and cinnamon, but the thing that was the most different was the actual style of eating. Moroccans do not use plates. Everyone sits around a round table and eats from the same dish. You also rarely use silverware. You eat with your hands, and you used bread to pick up pieces of meat or vegetables. They also eat very late, around eleven or midnight. You have tea and a snack around 4, but dinner is much later. Overall it was a fun time, and her family is very kind. I spent the night, because dinner started about the same time the last train was leaving the station. I slept on a home made Moroccan mat, which was intensely comfortable.

In the morning we went to the market. This market not only had the Dior knock offs, but an array of diverse cultural products. There were traditional Moroccan clothes, exotic fruits and vegetables, jewelry, and just about anything you can imagine. There were so many people everywhere! It was very full of life, and of course we had to stop every ten yards to chat with family members or acquaintances, it was reminiscent of going to the supermarket in my hometown on a Saturday! It was very interesting to spend time with a family from a culture so different from my own. Living in small town New England (be it Merrimack or Orono), I have not had the opportunity to interact with another culture so closely. The interesting part was, they had as many questions about my culture as I had about theirs, plus, our only means of communication was French, so it was good practice, though slightly mentally exhausting.

Chateau Malmaison

Emperor Napoleon I's Library and Study

The Emperor's Bedroom, which is meant to recall a tent from his campaigns in Egypt

Napoleon Crosses the Alps, by David

On Monday I paid a visit to the Chateau Malmaison, just outside of Paris. This small chateau was owned by Napoleon’s first wife, the Empress Josephine. Before their divorce, the couple spent time there together to escape the Tuileries Palace in Paris. After their divorce, Josephine retained the Chateau and lived there with her children. The chateau is small in comparison to the Tuileries Palace (which most people know as the Louvre Museum), and much less ornate than Versailles. However, I felt that it had a certain charm. It was lavish, but at the same time, looked more real. Versailles looks too elegant to be lived in. Malmaison had more of a residential feel to it. Some of the rooms were decorated to recall Napoleon’s campaigns in Egypt with the walls draped in fabric to resemble tents. The library was very nice. It is how I imagine a distinguished scholar’s library would look. The chateau also earned some points (in my book) for having an original Jacques Louis David painting, “Napoleon Crossing the Alps.” I love this painting because it is such a farce. As you can see Napoleon is glorified to the extreme. The true story of the crossing of the Alps has Napoleon sitting on a little donkey wearing a tattered gray overcoat and freezing his imperial buns off. Clearly, David’s painting is a more appealing image. However, it is a wonderful example of history being rewritten, or repainted (as the case may be) by the victors.

The Deportation Memorial

Inside St. Etienne du Mont

I also spent yesterday wandering around Paris visiting some of the smaller sights. I paid a visit to St. Merri Cathedral, which is near the Centre Pompidou (the modern art museum with all the pipes on the exterior). I visited the Deportation Memorial on Isle de la Cite behind Notre Dame. This is an underground memorial to all the French men, women, and children who were deported and or killed during the German occupation of France during the Second World War. It is not a massive memorial, but it is very poignant. There are two walls of a tunnel with one small white light for every life lost. I also visited St. Etienne du Mont, the Cathedral is home to what remains of the tomb St. Genevieve (the patron Saint of Paris). The architecture inside the church is quite striking, perhaps one of the more beautiful interiors I have yet seen. As you all know, I usually am drawn to the stained glass, but this time the architecture was really what grabbed me. To finish my day I took a stroll through the Luxembourg gardens, which are always lovely and full of people.

I am going to take a moment to comment/rant about France and customer service. I would like to start by saying there is no possible way to say “Customer Service” in French, because it is a concept that does not exist here. Having worked in customer service back in the states, I am well acquainted with the American outlook on customer service. All of my training taught me one thing: “Do whatever you have to do to please the customer and keep their business, just so long as you don’t cost the company an inordinate amount of money.” In France, they do not care about keeping your business, and actual Parisians tell me this as well. It does not matter if you are buying Metro tickets or an expensive dinner. If you want to buy a train ticket and the person behind the counter is having a cigarette, you will wait until they are done with their cigarette, it doesn’t matter if you are late and about to miss your train. If you have a question about a product or the location of an item, first of all if you are lucky enough to find an employee, you will usually not get a correct or helpful response. The really fun thing is when you ask to speak to a manager, because that does nothing. The managers are as nonchalant as their employees. Ok, rant over, I rather had an difficult time at the train station this week, and also in a store, but this is a common theme, I just happened to have it happen twice in a row.

Well, it has happened, the suitcase has come out from its lurking place beneath my bed. And what’s more, it now has stuff in it. A rather substantial amount of stuff, I might add. It is strange, I cannot decide if I am ready to leave. Granted, I WANT to go home and see my family, and my friends, and sleep in MY bed, and eat American food, and watch the Red Sox, but another part of me does not want to leave my life here, because it truly is another life. In the meantime, I still have a couple more days of my Parisian life to enjoy. So for now I will leave you, but I will be back in 2 weeks for the grande finale! Paris Papers XII, the Epilogue. See you on the other side (of the Atlantic). Paris Papers’ most popular columnist,

~Monica