Weekend (6/31-7/1)

Forgot to talk about my weekend in Paris!

Saturday morning (6/31) I woke up early to do some laundry. There's not too much different about the laundry here except that clothing you buy from France needs to be washed carefully and mostly hung dry. Supposedly the water pressure in the machines here is harder so if you wash a lot, your clothes may take a beating... luckily I only do laundry every 2 weeks. :P

It was Aly's (our TA) birthday so we went to meet our professor for lunch with her. But first we got to see where our professor is staying, a true French apartment. She rents from an italian architect who has an office here in Paris. The building is supposedly very historic, so historic that when they put a tiny (one person) glass elevator in, there was lots of protest. When you walk in from the street you walk right into a little tiny courtyard. I absolutely love how there are little courtyards hidden behind these great big walls of the city. You'd never know they existed unless you explored a bit. It's pretty awesome when you stumble upon one every now and then because they're just such an enchanting escape from the chaotic city streets! Up a few flights of stairs and inside the apartment we discovered a tiny little kitchen with windows looking out towards a fantastic view, a pretty decent size bedroom, a living room/office where at least 2 walls completely lined with books (As you can guess, I was in heaven). Above the living room there is a little loft that could be a makeshift bedroom (but was currently just used for decoration and a bit of storage) and a latter off to the side, should one decide to go up there. The toilet and shower are often in separate rooms in old French apartments.

A true French Kitchen... small but so cute!

Katy and I in our professors courtyard

Another court yard we stumbled upon while walking

Another little courtyard we found

We ate lunch at this little restaurant in the latin quarter. Aly told us to watch how the French people eat, specifically how they cut their food. Basically they keep a fork and knife in each hand at all times, always above the table (unless grabbing a napkin) and no elbows on the table either. The knife is always in your right hand and the fork in your left (despite whether your right or left handed). I tried it and after a little while I got the hang of it while eating my pizza but I'm no where near expert as these Parisians. Watching them eat is like watching a little synchronized dance on their plate... it's flawless; there's no effort, it's just natural. My margherita pizza et poulet (poulet is chicken) was delicious, and I even saved half it for another meal. Another thing I love about eating at French restaurants is not being constantly bothered by the waiters. The waiter can tell when you're ready to order by the simple gesture of closing the menu; don't expect him to stop by if you still have your menu open... you'll be waiting for awhile. So much of the experience here is learning how to communicate through body language. When you want your check or need something, catch the waiter's eye and lift your hand slightly. But of course expect to spend some time in a restaurant, the French don't rush through meals; and when you're not bothered by waiters you really feel like you can take your time and enjoy the food and atmosphere.

Where Rene Descartes used to live... we were just casually walking by when we noticed the sign. Paris is just so full of history! I love it :)

After lunch we headed towards Saint-Germain Blvd to watch the Gay Pride Parade. It was quite the experience and it went on for hours! They had to section off a few blocks at a time as the parade made its way. And wow was it crowded... all the locals were out either walking in the parade or cheering them on! It's also where we discovered our new favorite song here... "I follow rivers" by Lykke Li. Katy and I can only take so much of crowded areas so we left after an hour or so and walked over to some shops near the area, but it was still unbelievably crowded... (where did all these people come from?!) So we stopped at a little park, sat on a bench, and people watched which turned out to be such a nice escape from the craziness going on all around us!

The park where Katy and I sat and people watched after the crazy and chaotic parade.

Sunday, Katy, Morgan, Iesha, Kevin, and I went to Montmartre and visited Sacre Couer. The view of the city from where we were was absolutely amazing! We walked through the cathedral while mass was going on. Everyone who was walking through the church was very respectful... women had to cover their shoulders and the guards made sure everyone kept very quiet. The mass that was taking place was very nice; we even heard the choir singing some beautiful music. We plan on going back later in the week to climb to the top of the dome where the view is supposedly spectacular. Montmartre is also the region where many of artists line the streets.