Le Soleil au Sud

Being in 2 places at once would really be a handy trick this year in so many ways, but I've never wanted to possess that capability quite so much as this past weekend.

My fellow Californians were visiting Paris from Thursday to Sunday and I was leaving for the South of France Friday night for the w/e while trying to finish up school work. So, I wrote my paper in the in-between moments, gave Julia and Janina lists upon lists of things to do in Paris (as well as a few meals/snacks together). Seeing Jules for the first time after 10 months was amazing! Its been too long since I've had a piece of my life back home with me in Paris. Bittersweet moment came Friday when I left the Js at the Louvre and ran home to throw my swimsuit in a bag and head to the station.

Montepellier, our first stop, was a morning blur, then on down south to Marseille where we spent the afternoon on the beach and in the water (somewhat cold water admittedly). Winding our way through the see of blue and white (people this time, Marseille was in the running for the french football champs, making the atmosphere quite electric) We wound up our time there with a tour of the cathedral overlooking the port town and a trip to the chateau d'if, famous prison to fictional Dantes. Then it was back on the train to stop by Montpelier, but while chatting with a lovely old couple from Nimes, we decided to stop by the city who was having a huge festival for the Pentecost weekend. We danced through the stalls with sangria in hand before racing back to catch the train for the last part of the journey. Sara and I headed back to Paris (we both have rather large assignments for Tuesday) while the rest continued on to enjoy Montpelier for the holiday.


everyone safely arrives in Marseille

more Marseille :)


Nimes' arenes

Stumbling back this early morning was made much more pleasant by the flowers and note from my guests I had left to fend for themselves in the city. Many thanks to everyone who made this w/e fabulous and I wish I could spend more time with each of you (Julia, we will have an August reunion, not a worry) :)

29 Juin

Recently realized that my flight home is exactly 365 days after my arrival date, which is amusing, but also painfully bittersweet. I desperately miss people at home, but I am not looking forward to missing the people who have become dear, close friends here. Hopefully, I'll find excuses (and funds) to travel around next year ;)

Rolland Garros

For my 12th birthday the mom of one of my best friends arranged for me to take some tennis lessons, unfortunately, I was not destined to be the next Williams sister or even Sharapova, and since setting down my racket, tennis and I have had nearly no interaction until today.

The name Roland Garros meant little to me before Olga, a dear friend from Spain explained that it was not in fact some other int'l student we had met from uni (as I had mistakenly thought the first time she said it), but the French Open, one of the big tennis tourneys. She then mentioned what is called 'evening visitors' which allows people, beginning at 5pm to buy tickets for literally 1/10th the cost (say 10 to 30 versus over 200 euros), availability limited to the number of people who have left the establishment. I was not one to miss an opportunity to get involved in French culture (and a buddy back home insisted that it would be well worth it), so Olga and I went to catch some tennis, promising ourselves we'd get our essays done later.

Well, we were not the only ones in on the good deal, and despite arriving 2 hours beforehand, had to settle behind a considerable line/blob forming in front of the gates. We chatted up some gatekeepers to no avail as we didn't magically get to pass behind the green barricade, but they did offer a few handy tips on where to be in the more blob then line and so we decided to wait it out, getting some homework done and meeting people.

Then after a terrible rush as the floodgates opened (my feet never touched the ground, as people swarmed inside), we had to decide quickly if we wanted to chance a wait for the much demanded center court tickets or be happy with a less well known game. We opted for the assurance of at least seeing some matches after our long wait (and again discussions with some nice employees about the number of places available), and Olga assured me that once we were at least INSIDE we'd find a way to get to the center court...


the line, and the big court where we watched our first match

After wandering around the booths and little stadiums we went to the court for which we had tickets to see a few games(I think thats the right term?) between France's Ouanna and Russia's Safin (who was NO favorite of the crowd, the ref had to keep asking everyone to cut the noise). After evidence of a lengthy battle to come, we thought we'd make another go and try to get in to see the number 1 in the world, Rafael Nadal, in action on the court that we did NOT have tickets for (believe me, not having the right number on your piece of paper made was a problem, it was a well controlled access system enforced by non-humorous men in red jackets). Luckily, a light rain had started just before we arrived outside one of the entrances to the court where Nadal was to play, and as people left, expecting the game to be postponed due to weather, they handed their tickets to those outside (Olga and I at one point had 6 tickets between the two of us, which we then had to try and pass on to others). The game with the young man from Spain held especial interest since Barça plays ManU for the Euro title in futball today as well. There were several Catalan cheers going around the stadium and a few calls for him to hurry up and win so everyone could catch the game, which he did in quick and neat form (oh and style, who could miss that PINK shirt). We finished off our day with the first part of Venus Williams' match before back to central Paris and the barça game. It was almost enough to make me want to pick up the racket again...


Finally courtside to see the man in the pink

Fete de Pain

France is known for great bread: croissants, pain au chocolats, tartelletes, venoisserie, tarte aux fraises, chaussons pommes and of course the traditional baguette.

In 1992, due to falling sales of this long-established and time honored product, the hexagon initiated a "Fete de Pain" or bread festival every year, to honor the bread makers through competitions for the best breads and rekindle interest and tastes for the yummy goodness. Of course, free bread means it is a requirement to attend, and so this past weekend Em, Ash and I wandered through the tents in front of Notre Dame tasting, smelling and of course eating our way through the afternoon.

Learning the ins and outs of bread making; hot from the oven


tasting some mint milk (much better than it sounds, comparable to melted mint chocochip ice cream)

Following the very filling bread session, was some wandering through the Marais thrift shops (I have a debate for a class in a few weeks where I will be portraying a military general, and as we are encouraged to dress up for our roles, I decided to hunt for something official looking, no luck yet) and stumbled across an 'open to the public' fashion show and market based on designs from Africa. The temptation to open my wallet was getting too great, so I finished the evening at a friend's EuroVision party.

Eurovision is a sort of American Idol, but for Europe and for a single night, where each European country (and Israel) sends a group or single artist to represent its nation, people can call in to vote, and each country divides up points to hand out to other countries. Jeremy, our German host for the event, describes it as both an interesting political moment and the one evening where all of Europe simultaneously hates one another. This year's contest took place in Moscow, where Norway walked away with first place. For videos of the contestants from this year, please see youtube link below, as well as the video from one of the favs of past contests :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/esc2009tv?blend=2&ob=4

Ukraine entry, 2007

La nuit

As spring settles over Paris, she brings flowers and sunshine (as well as the occasional inexplicable rain shower, especially if one is without an umbrella) and late sunrises. All of which make studying difficult, but enjoying the company of others and the beauty of the city easier.

Combining the ability to enjoy the outdoors AND the company of comrades has become the new endeavor. Examples of how to combine the streets of Paris and fun with friends include sitting on the steps of Sacre Coeur to watch the evening light over Paris (apologies again to the man who's bottle opener we borrowed and didn't return, if you still want it, please let us know) as well as rooftop get-togethers. A close friend has 'direct' access to his roof (and by direct I mean climbing through his next door neighbor's TINY window), where we recently spent a lovely bonfire night while surrounded by the glowing monuments of Paris.

We all hope to make the most of the short time left to us in Paris... Its hard to think of leaving not only such an amazing locale, but all the people with whom I've bonded since arriving in June. I'll just have to come back ;)