What, again?! Oui. I probably can't keep being this irresponsible...but I'm also going to take advantage of being here as much as possible. A friend suggested a day trip a few weeks ago, and I was easy to convince. I still wanted to see the Orangerie, which, as it happens, is closed on Tuesdays. Ah well - like the Villa Borghese, I will get there someday.
So instead we saw the St. Louis exhibit at the Conciergerie, and popped into Sainte Chapelle again (because why not?). In the afternoon, the Van Goghs at the Musee d'Orsay more than made up for missing some Monets. And in between we had a number of cafe stops to relax and and refuel.
I love that I can do this. I want to squeal in jubilation at the fact that I can take a day trip to Paris - in no small part because I can visit all these museums for free [as a student/under-25 resident in the EU]. Obviously the spree must end, as term is starting again. But it's been fun. And until the novelty wears off, I will find it wonderfully odd how easy it is to hop over to another country and make a day of it.
So instead we saw the St. Louis exhibit at the Conciergerie, and popped into Sainte Chapelle again (because why not?). In the afternoon, the Van Goghs at the Musee d'Orsay more than made up for missing some Monets. And in between we had a number of cafe stops to relax and and refuel.
I love that I can do this. I want to squeal in jubilation at the fact that I can take a day trip to Paris - in no small part because I can visit all these museums for free [as a student/under-25 resident in the EU]. Obviously the spree must end, as term is starting again. But it's been fun. And until the novelty wears off, I will find it wonderfully odd how easy it is to hop over to another country and make a day of it.
We went to mass at Notre Dame in the evening because it was Epiphany and because it's beautiful. Epiphany is an all but forgotten holiday in the States, but I started to make the traditional Galette des rois at home after learning about it in French class. The northern and more delicious style is a crowned, almond-filled pastry cake with a charm inside; whoever finds it gets to be king or queen for the day. While I didn't buy one in Paris, I did bring home some creme de cassis so I could share the joys of Kir (a common French aperitif) in London.
So that was a day out of the ordinary. Apart from the trip I have mostly been occupied with cleaning, laundering, organizing and researching. I've also been steadily improving on the coughing front. And then on Wednesday came the sad news of the shooting at Charlie Hebdo. I wanted to acknowledge it here because as beautiful and wonderful as the world can be, there are also moments of the complete opposite. I know it's not an earth-shattering observation, but there's little else to do or say about contrasts like these. Life is beautiful; life is terrible; life is.
Love,
Annie
So that was a day out of the ordinary. Apart from the trip I have mostly been occupied with cleaning, laundering, organizing and researching. I've also been steadily improving on the coughing front. And then on Wednesday came the sad news of the shooting at Charlie Hebdo. I wanted to acknowledge it here because as beautiful and wonderful as the world can be, there are also moments of the complete opposite. I know it's not an earth-shattering observation, but there's little else to do or say about contrasts like these. Life is beautiful; life is terrible; life is.
Love,
Annie