Le vieil accordéoniste

On the metro this morning, an elderly man and his accordion got on the ligne 4 at Cité. His frail fingers lifted up in anticipation of the first note and then hopped magically along the pegs and keyboard like young dancers. His choice of songs was perhaps cliché, though I prefer to call it classic. Something inside me longed to burst into tears as his wrinkled eyelids closed for Edith Piaf.

He didn't stop playing or ask for money until St. Placide when a woman pressed a 1 EUR coin into his hand before two policemen escorted him off the train. When I walked up the stairs at Vavin, I could still see their hands coaxing the frail elbows of the still-smiling man off the car, waiting for him to put away the accordion that made him come alive. As I made my way to the top of the stairs, the skies were gray.

I thought of the accordionist's lingering smile and hopeful melodies but I felt that a world where an old man got punished for a 1 EUR coin was not "la vie en rose."

Paris is still a mystery to me. Part romance, part tradgedy, she's like the girlfriend you could never figure out, the Emma Bovary of cities. I may never understand her.

______________

Budget tips for the day:

I packed a lunch to-go today. Just picked up a fresh baguette and filled up tupperware with some goodies: brie, salami, jam, cucumbers, grapes.


A good way to save money on tupperware containers is to reuse the containers from ice cream. The tupperware here is really expensive -- like 4 - 9 EUR per box. Why not just buy the ice cream for 2 EUR (or 4 EUR if you want the expensive kind) and get the tupperware for free at the end?


Total Damages today:
Salami package: 1,10 EUR
Fresh baguette from the wednesday boulangerie (Biatrix is closed on wednesdays): 80 centimes
hefty bag of red grapes (at 1,29 the kilo): 74 centimes
month of october on the navigo: 56 EUR

Mardi gras!

Ok, it's not really fat Tuesday, but it is Tuesday and I did make some amazing food today (on the cheap, of course).

This morning I got a French wake up call from Madame R-G wanting to change our apt. time to earlier in the afternoon. I stumbled to remember my French in my sleepy haze and stumbled out of bed with just as little ease. I decided to wake myself up with a little walk down to the local ED where I picked up a six pack of eggs and some mustard to keep on stash. Now that I'm going full force with this cooking at home thing, I figured I should have some of the "basics."

I came home, got myself all cleaned up, and began to prepare lunch. I remembered the delicious crêpes salées I had at the farmer's market by the grove in LA and wanted to duplicate one of my favorites. Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:
1 ready-made crêpe (you can get a pack of 12 for 90 centimes at Franprix)
2 eggs (you can get a pack of 6 at ED for 1,19 or a pack of 12 for 1,89)
1 tomato (my 2 kg bucket cost me 1,49 at ED)
some slices of brie (2,99 for the wheel at ED)
olive oil
dijon mustard

Preparation:
1. Cut up tomatoes and put in a hot frying pan with some olive oil. When cooked to desired consistency, add 2 beaten eggs and cook as if an omelet or frittata.
2. While eggs and tomatoes are cooking, spread some mustard on the crêpe. Distribute slices of cheese evenly on crêpe. Toss into the microwave for 20 seconds.
3. When eggs are done cooking, take crêpe out of the microwave and put the omelet on the crêpe. Season with salt and pepper before rolling the crêpe up on the omelet like a burrito.

Bon Appétit!


I think that crêpe didn't stand a chance. I've rarely gobbled up anything so fast. I was very satisfied -- very filling meal. It was so cheap too. Let's do the math: the whole thing cost less than 80 centimes.

Feeling pretty proud of myself, I began preparations for tonight's dinner. I wanted to marinate my chicken breast but didn't want to break out fancy (and expensive) spices in order to do so. I now present to you the "paris on a student's budget marinade."

Directions:
Turn a plastic bag inside out and rest the chicken breast on the bag. Rub dijon mustard all over the chicken generously. Ground pepper over each side. Turn the plastic bag inside out again so that the chicken is now on the inside of the baggy. Pour some balsamic vinegar on the chicken. Seal the baggy. Throw in the fridge.

After inventing my very own cheapo marinade, I headed over to pay rent for October and have my first "tutorat" with Madame R-G. Looking for a little snack for the road back, I grabbed a pack of the famous "petit ecolier" cookies for 87 centimes at franprix.

Remembering the chicken marinading in the fridge, I grabbed a 12 pack of Stella bottles, hoping that the beer would pair well with the chicken. Since the beer here is cheaper than most sodas, I didn't feel bad opting for what would be a "special occation" beverage in the US. And since Stella is a belgian beer, it was also one of the cheapest beers on the shelf -- 1/2 the price of a six pack of bud!

I took my beer home and began preparing my meal. Boy was it a feast. The cheapo marinade turned out better than I expected. The balsamic gave the chicken a sweet and glazed taste while the mustard gave it a little bite. I paired my chicken with some ratatouille that I got from a can, peas, and a stella -- I was surprised at how large of a meal it ended up being.


How to make the chicken:
Before cooking: prepare some extra marinade mixture in a separate bowl (just mix some mustard, oil, balsamic, and pepper together).
Heat up some oil in a frying pan. When you see steam, add butter. When the butter begins to bubble and turn brown, add the chicken. Sear both sides before coating generously with extra marinade. Cover with lid and cook for 6 minutes on each side or until done.


It was so delicious. Do I need to mention butter again?

The chicken cost about 1,10 per breast, the ratatouille was 89 centimes for the jar but I only used about 1/4 of it (and still couldn't finish it), the peas were 70 centimes and I used maybe 1/6 of the jar. In short, the meal cost: 1,44 EUR. If you include the stella, we're up to a massive 1,86. I'm still under the Resto U price and enjoying every minute of it.

I've also been craving Tomme ever since that salad at le parc aux cerfs. They have it at Franprix. It's only days now until I cave.

On a side note, I've been thinking of going to Bruges and Brussels on a side trip for the weekend of the 17th and 18th. This student's international club offers discounted (and I mean discounted) student trips. It will cost 100 EUR including travel, lodging, a guide for both cities, all museum entrance fees, and breakfast. I have to decide before Oct. 9th. What do you guys think?


Total Damages Today:
6 eggs: 1,19 EUR
jar of mustard: 50 centimes
cookies: 87 centimes
12 pack of stella beer: 4,98 EUR

First day of offical classes

I got to sleep in today and decided to celebrate the occasion with a hot-out-of-the-oven baguette from Biatrix. The man in front of me asked for his baguette in English and got one of the cold ones. I asked in French and got a fresh-out-of-the-oven baguette. Coincidence? I think not.

I then made myself a little sandwich of pesto, tomatoes, cucumbers, and melted brie that I packed into my bag for lunch later. I must say, there is nothing better than a sandwich on fresh bread. The sandwich must have cost less than a euro in total, but tasted like a million bucks. Upon arrival at school, I grabbed a can of cola light from the local ED and went into the computer room to print out my homework for the day.

My first class was "La France Multiculturelle" with M. Mongo-Mbussa. He was incredible. I've never seen a professor get so passionate about a subject that he actually breaks a sweat and has to pause in order to get out a tissue.

After class, I snagged a free coffe and cookie with Natalie, the activies director, and chatted about possible extra curriculars during the semester. I'm hoping to be able to work with kids somehow, doing volunteer work or something of the sort. M. Mongo-Mbussa says he might be able to put me in touch with someone he knows who works at a ZEP.

Finally I got to see a familiar face when we reunited with M. R-G for the offical start of our French class. She is as adorable as ever. I have my first "Tutorat" with her tomorrow and I am very excited!

I finished the eveing with a walk home and a pit stop at Gibert Joseph to pick up some of the reading materials for my classes.

Tonight's dinner brought back an old favorite: the ever cheap and ever satisfying pasta with tomato sauce alongside a tomato and cumcumber salad with pesto and balsamic. Dessert? The rest of the baguette in some delicious faux-nutella.




Total Damages today:

Baguette at Biatrix: ,85 EUR
Cola Light: 19 centimes
Lined paper for notes: 2,79 EUR
2 books for "la france multiculturelle": 9,70 EUR

Slowly coming in with the pictures

Since blogger has not been nice to me on the uploading photos end, I've opened up another photo account to get the photos up ASAP. For the most impatient of you, here's the link:

http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/

Enjoy. The pictures are a mix of nice camera pictures and point-and-shoot pictures. I'll try and post them to their corresponding blog post asap.

Le Parc aux Cerfs and the walk back

So I'll preface this post by informing all of you that Blogger is being evil and not letting me post pictures right now, so I can't show you all the gorgeous photos that I took yesterday and today until their system gets unclogged or I find a better way to upload photos.

That being said....

It was a beautiful day in Paris. So beautiful that I wore a sundress. Word on the street is that this will be the kindest winter in Paris yet -- they expect the sun to stay out until December. Wishful thinking or not, this brief optimism turned Paris into a sea of smiling sunbathing hopefuls stocking up on what could be the last few summer rays.

I, too, wanted my share of sun exposure, so I went over to the jardin de luxembourg to hang out with Balzac for 30 minutes before my lunch at the Parc aux Cerfs on rue Vavin. The jardin was gorgeous -- they were having a "honey festival" and it was like the sweetness rubbed off on all the parisians around me. Everyone was so happy -- it's funny how the sun can do that to you.

When it was time to go to the Parc aux Cerfs, I gathered up my appetite and met my group at the door. The Parc aux Cerfs is a great little place on rue Vavin that, like La Closerie de Lilas and Le Selet, was frequented by artists and writers when Montparnasse was where you went to be an artist or writer. The Parc aux Cerfs remembers it's custom of letting its talented customers pay via painting or drawing by letting its current customers draw on the paper tablecloths (except, we don't get exempt from paying). Luckily SLC was paying for our food today (a 35 EUR meal was a nice way to end orientation), so we were able to indulge like the artists of another age.

The first course was a choice between a cucumber soup with goat cheese, a tomme (a type of cheese) and candied cranberry salad, or a poached salmon. I chose the Tomme salad and was very happy. I think this was actualy my favorite course, though I didn't get a picture of how beautiful the cheese was displayed before I gobbled the whole thing up.

Next came the plat: a choice of chicken, salmon or duck. I chose le canard and was very pleased. The sauce was a lavendar sauce, but had a sweet citris like tang to it that enriched both the duck and the mound of snap peas it was sitting on. I must say, the French really know how to cook a duck. Maybe they put it in butter -- who knows -- but it melts in your mouth.

For dessert, we could have a berry dish, a orange crême brulée or a chocolate molten cake with salted caramel ice cream. Being torn between the chocolate cake and the crême brulée, I remembered that I didn't have an oven and should probably eat cake at every opportunity I get. Plus, it sounded to perfect with the glass of red wine I was having. I was not dissapointed.


I must say that the crême brulée looked very good, too, though. It was not a little dinky thing like I've found at most restaurants. It was pretty sizable. I would try it should I ever go back to le Parc aux cerfs.

The meal finished, like any good French meal, with a café. I took mine décaf, not wanting to be wired for the rest of the beautiful afternoon.

Taking advantage of the clear skies, I walked home via a slightly different route today. I wanted to go to the île st. louis, which is the island on the Seine next to the île de la cité (the one with Notre Dame and all the fancy stuff). My new route took me along the Seine and gave me an incredible view -- all the parisians were out on the seine like it was a beach. What a great idea for a cheap lunch, I thought, noticing a couple sharing a picnic on the left bank.

Being as hot as it was, I wasn't surpised to find that many parisians were out looking for ice cream, but I had no idea how many of them would wait in ridiculously long lines for what seemed to be the most popular ice cream label on the île. Many cafés and stores boasted this label on the canapies and I noticed that the ones who did not serve this type of ice cream had literally no customers.

The ice cream seemed kind of pricey to me at 2 EUR a boule (scoop), but for the ice cream connoisseur, this could be the best deal of a lifetime. I think that's about the same price as a coldstones in the US, right? The prices also get cheaper if you buy larger quantities, so if you really like the stuff, it might fit well into a student's budget.

My trip to the cute little island was a great, but I found an even more exciting pitstop on the other side of the river -- a flea market! It was like all of the 4th was having a yard sale right along the Seine. I looked around for a while and talked to some French people before asking someone how often this happens. Apparently, for one sunday a month, you can pick up someone else's parisan treasures on the cheap! A great idea for souveniers. They also have cheap clothes and anything else you might expect at a yard sale. I highly reccomend it.

I finally got my full belly and tired feet home at about 5pm, and began to work on my homework. Classes start tomorrow!

Total Damages today:
0,00 EUR!

L'opéra Garnier, les champs elysées, and le marais!

One of my favorite things about my neighborhood is that I'm pretty damn close to everything. Even by foot.

Money-saving tip of the day: don't spend money on a movie ticket when the city is your théâtre!

I woke up this morning, put on some walking shoes, and trekked the couple blocks down to the gorgeous opéra garnier. The air was crisp, but the sun was out, so the golden angels adorning the enormous rooftop glistened like a royal crown. Although it was only 9 am, the tourists were already out and about. I suppose I blended right in, taking out my camera and snapping a few shots.
I continued on to tourist spot number 2: the Riz. Surrounded by Cartier, Chanel, and Tiffany's, the Riz fits right in. It even has a red carpet. I think the doormen felt bad for me and the way that I was longingly looking into the lobby like a starving child because they waved at me and said the very polite, "bonjour madamoiselle." I took out my camera and snapped a picture so that they knew I was merely a tourist and they didn't actually have to open the door for me.

I walked by the Westin and D&G on my way to the Place de la Condorde. I think I have found the money hole of Paris. It's funny that just a couple streets down I walked past a homeless man sleeping next to the ED, and here there are thousands of dollars being spent on one handbag.

Walking along the very useful street Rivoli, I came across the place de la concorde. While the photos look gorgeous, we have to remember that this is the place where everyone was guillotined all those years ago. I looked down at the Madeleine as Napoleon had remodeled it, and the place de la concorde itself, noticing how fabulous a landscape for monuments it is. Facing the Madeleine from the opposite side of the place, the Madeleine fits in seamlessly with the two symmetrical buildings along side the Place de la Concorde. Standing in front of the Madeleine, the flatness of the Place allows you to see all of Paris' tall monuments, peaking out above the skyline.


After my fix of skyline, I went down the jardin that leads to the acclaimed champs elysées. I started humming to myself as I walked along the tree-lined pathway feeling the crisp autumn breeze rustle the leaves on the ground, which are just beginning to change color.


Then a startling thing happened -- as I crossed the line from the garden area to the land of shopping heaven, the tourists multiplied, jumped out of nowhere, and flooded the streets. It was like an adult disneyland! I don't think that my neighborhood is devoid of tourists (I live so close to the centre pompidou, after all), but this place made my neighborhood look like the "locals only" side of the beach. Where did all these people come from, I thought.

I looked at the street, too, and noticed that the traffic was terrible. Partially due to the fact that taxis scour the streets like tigers waiting to feast on the weak.

I did my duty and went into Sephora, walked to the end of the street, and took a picture of the arc de triomphe. At this point, I was not willing to walk through the sea of tourists on my way back to la concorde, so I took the metro home.


After a delicious (I don't think that word even does the meal justice) piece of brie, apple, and nutella crêpe, I got the idea to start my photo project. M. Vermès wants us to "get to know our neighborhoods" through photography, so I decided to get myself lost in the 3rd, and the Marais (since I really want that to be considered part of my neighborhood. It sounds more chic saying "I live in the Marais" than "I live in the 3rd," even though technically I think that "marais" means marsh or swampland since the area used to be the marshes of the Seine. Anyway, since everything got paved over for the residences of the noblesse in the 18th century, "le Marais" has sounded very chic).


My journey to get lost in my own neighborhood took a very bad turn when I realized I was on a street I know well: rue de rosiers. However, I noticed something different about this street. I usually come down at nighttime, during the week, so I failed to notice that this street was basically a "jewish street." Being saturday morning, most everything was closed, and almost every sign was written in Hebrew as well as French.



As I passed the falafal joints and the delis (all of whom boast the "best pastrami in paris") I felt compelled to take pictures of this very distinct part of my neighborhood. There was gafilta fish in many a window, often next to Manischewitz brand anything. I loved the labels -- first English, then French, then sometimes Hebrew.

After my tour of the best jewish bakeries in town, I cruised down by St. Paul, which is said to be the "center" of the marais (though who really knows -- supposedly it's the triangle made by the hotel de ville, republique, and place de la bastille -- but everyday I get asked by other lost souls, "is this the Marais?"). Center or not, the area around St. Paul is adorable with lots of cute vendors, markets, and chocolatiers.

I was really enjoying how multicultural my neighborhood was -- not only is there this rue de rosiers, but we have a very established chinese community. I've come across a couple japanese stores with people who actually speak japanese working inside them (this is a big deal) as well as brazilian market places, and lebanese markets. This was such a relief from the Champs Elysées.

As I cruised back up toward the 3rd, I stumbled upon the Marché des Enfants Rouges. I wanted to scream in delight! I had forgotten that this wonderful marketplace was in my neighborhood. Basically you take this back-alley-type street off of rue de bretagne and end up in the mecca of all outdoor street markets. It's like the farmers market in Santa Monica multiplied by 10 and plus wine!

I couldn't stay long and many of the eateries were closing up shop for the day anyway, but I shot some pictures while taking in the delicious smells of all the international and gorgeous cuisines around me. The marché is not just a bunch of eateries though, there are local vendors who sell produce, international products, specialty items, flowers, etc... Just fabulous. I can't wait to go with Jay and grab at seat at one of the many canopied picnic benches to enjoy an afternoon of great dining, great people watching, and great community.


Feeling so proud that my little community had this great big gemstone at its heart, I decided not to take myself home quite yet. I cruised down to the local park by Square du Temple for some more people watching and photos. When I got there, I discovered that the park was more full than usual. In fact there were big white tents all around the park, with lots of teenagers waiting in long lines.


What is this, you ask? What else could this be: they were waiting in line to get their comic books signed. They have comic books in France? Yes they do! And they are gorgeous -- pretty much works of art from the very limited glances I got of these kids' new purchases.


On my way home, I passed a bike with wheels that looked like a Salvador Dali painting (we're talking tires that literally melted into the pavement) and palmiers that really were the size of elephant ears. I dropped off the camera and did my afternoon shopping:

1 ENORMOUS bottle of balsamic vinegar (gotta stock up): 1,99 EUR
1 extra bottle of cab sav: 1,79 EUR
1 kg of pasta (the first one lasted me all month, I think it's a pretty good deal): ,91 EUR

I remembered that I wanted to write my name and the date on my food so I could keep better track of how far my budget was stretching, but I also remembered that they don't seel sharpies in France (I remember when Jay's friend, Richard, came to visit us in the US, he bought almost 30 sharpies). Luckily, there is an Office Depot right accross from my apt, and I figured they would have permanent markers. They did -- but the only come in packs of 4. Tant pis -- I guess I can color coordinate my labels now.

Pack of permanent markers: 2,01 EUR

After talking with my mommy for a bit, I made some dinner. Tonight I had an old favorite: tomatoes and cucumbers (this time with pesto and balsamic), and a heaping bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce. I finished off the first bottle of cab sav and sat down to a delicious feast.

After eating, I got a call from Davis, one of the 2 boys on our program, saying that some of the kids from the program were getting together at Jessica's apt. Since Jessica lives literally 2 blocks down the road from me, I headed over post dinner. We all had a great time just chatting and listening to old music. Unfortunately, we never made it out of the apt. as planned, so I didn't get to meet any more French people that night.

However, I had a great day exploring the city and meeting new people from the program.

Total Damages:
1 bottle of balsamic vinegar: 1,99 EUR
1 extra bottle of cab sav: 1,79 EUR
1 kg of pasta : ,91 EUR
Pack of permanent markers: 2,01 EUR

Better butter

I've discovered why I love French cooking so much (and perhaps why the French love cooking): butter. The butter here is amazing -- I just made myself some chicken in a beurre blanc that I'm sure I could have never made at home. The chicken came out perfect, oozing with the brie I stuffed it with, and I wondered why I ever thought that butter was "the enemy." It is certainly not. The butter here tastes like someone forced two butter sticks into one -- it is such a silky and luxurious taste that after my meal, I feel like I've already had dessert.

It's not a greasy taste like the one I've always found in American butter, it's much more rich. It's like a stick of cream. Cream that makes ordinary chicken taste like ... well ... butter. In short, if I had all the money in the world, I would have all my butter imported from France. It's that good.

I think I'll like cooking at home quite a bit! I'm trying to pair these butter-licous meals with something somewhat more acidic to cut down on the heavy and bloated feeling often associated with butter. Tonight I've done tomatoes and peas in a balsamic with a red wine, but I think a simple vinegarette on some salad would suffice. I'm thinking of getting a huge bottle of balsamic tomorrow since I've almost already gone through the little bottle in the cabinet, and the balsamic can make a mean vinegarette when mixed with some olive oil and dijon mustard.

Today's lunch was also quite a feast. I cut open some of the baguette so it lay on a plate open-faced. I coated each side in some berry jam, covered that with thinly sliced apples, and covered that with some brie slices. Off into the microwave it went for 20 seconds where it became an oozing delicious concoction for my taste buds before I headed down the street to the centre pompidou for the exhibition, "elles."

Out of my groceries, I've so far used:
1. 3 tomatoes
2. the baguette
3. 1/5 of the cucumber
4. 1 chicken breast
5. 1 apple
6. 1/8 brie wheel

Tentative list of supplementary groceries for tomorrow:
1. balsamic or vinegarette (roughly 2 EUR at ED)
2. more butter? (roughly 1 EUR at ED)
3. more of this ridiculously cheap and delicious cab sav? (1,69 at ED)

I'm loving the gastronomy here. I feel like a princess even though I'm eating some of the cheapest foods around. Good thing I like cheese, wine and bread!

I think it will be pretty hard to adjust back to American life. Many times I've thought, 'I could really use a bagel right now' but then realized I would still take the fresh baguette smothered in goat cheese over the bagel any day. When I think that I would like some Yogurtland right about now, I see the nutella across my desk and think again. I know that food will be relatively cheaper in the US -- certainly restaurants are -- but I'll miss the few things that are so accessible here. Until then, I'm trying to frequent the boulangeries as long as I can, hoping that they will spring up in America one of these days. I suggest the same to any student in Paris.

Easy and cheap meals I've found to be incredibly satisfying:
Baguette and Cheese
Do-it-yourself nutella crêpes
Apples (they come in season in the fall/ winter) with cheee or nutella
tomatoes (they come in season in the summer/ fall) and cucumber with vinegar
Pain au chocolat with a banana
Petit beurre crackers and jam (or cheese, or nutella...)
Tomatoes and Mozzarella (only ,60 EUR/ ball at Carrefour or ,90 EUR at Monoprix)

I feel like all the above are good ways to save a little money here while still living what would be an expensive lifestyle in the US. I bet you all of those meals cost more on average than they do here. For the vegetarians, living like this is pretty easy. For us carnivores, we have to learn where to invest our pretty penny.

Total Damages today:
0,00 EUR!

Last weekend before classes start

After a long nights sleep, I woke up and prepared myself some breakfast that I made with the baguette I stashed from last night's dinner at CROUS and some jam. I had a cup of fauxrangina with it and felt ready to take on the world.

Today we finished our 2 part series of lectures on the formation of Paris, its architecture, art, etc... I remember learning this when I was in Mme. Saigal's class , but it feels so much more authentic now that I'm here. When Mme. Moll mentioned the various walls that defined the territory of Paris throughout history, I remember that I had not quite understood this in Mme. Saigal's class. However, now I know those streets that mark the walls. I know the buildings that expanded them, too. I feel like history is so much more interactive here, and it is so much more engaging!

For lunch I had the other half of the pizza that I got at CROUS last night, as well as a banana from the local Franprix. Since I wanted to start cooking some real food at home instead of relying on CROUS all the time, I bit the bullet and did some real grocery shopping after my french class with Mme R-G.

I bought what I thought would last me at least the weekend and perhaps a few days after that. If it only lasts me until Sunday morning, I still saved money in comparison to eating at the RESTO U.


At ED, I got:
3 chicken breasts (3,41 EUR -- meat is SO expensive here!)
2 gala apples (only ,26 EUR there, not too bad)
a kilo of tomatoes (1,49 EUR was pretty good)
a cucumber (,50 centimes, pretty decent)
a huge wheel of brie (SO cheap here, only 2,99 EUR)
canned ratatouille (I had to try it for 89 centimes)
cab. sav. (1,79 EUR -- it's pretty good -- I'm drinking it now!)


At Franprix, I got the desserts for the weekend:
1 container of generic nutella: 1,15 EUR (which is less than half the price for the same size of nutella, and it takes the same)
1 package of 12 crêpes: ,91 EUR

Basically I can make 12 nutella crêpes for the price of one on the street! They will also be good for crêpes salées (salty crêpes) -- eggs and brie sounds good to me!

I also stopped at Biatrix for a baguette to complete the meal (I just spent 13 EUR on food, so I thought "what's another 85 centimes?").

I came home to the apt and dipped into the nutella with some baguette because I just couldn't resist. I felt I needed to do some laundry before actually making dinner, so I put in a load, cleaned up the room, and began to put the pasta to boil.

Tonight's dinner:
dessert: nutella
entrée: tomatoes and cucumber in balsamic with ground pepper
plat: spaghetti with peas in marinara
boisson: cab sav


I'm falling more and more in love with this place every day. I can't wait for Jay to get here!

Total damages today:
banana at Franprix: 26 centimes
Groceries at ED: 10,99 EUR
Groceries at Franprix: 2,06 EUR
Baguette at Biatrix: 85 centimes

Bibliotheque st. Genevieve

Today we took a tour of one of Paris' largest public libraries, Bibilotheque St. Genevieve. The library is enormous but has certain inconvenient differences from American libraries.

1. You can't check out books. Apparently some of the documents and books are really old and they don't want you to ever take anything out of the library. Some libraries do let you check out certain books for very short periods of time (less than 3 weeks), but you have to pay a membership or be enrolled in the institution that supports that specific library. And since the public libraries are extremely well stocked, the alternative libraries often do not have such depth.

2. When you leave the library, you have to tell them how long you'll be gone. 20 minutes? 1 hour? permanently? Apparently you only get one 1 hour break per day, after that, you have to permanently exit the library. Scary, huh?

3. You can't search for the books yourself. You have to tell the librarian, via computers in the library, what book you want. Then you wait 20 minutes, walk up to the counter where the books are waiting for you, and bring them to where ever you can sit. When you're done with the books, you have to bring them to a different counter.

4. They open at 10 am. Seriously? What if I want to work at night? Or in the morning?

I feel like I've been spoiled with the Honnald-Mudd library. I will try out this library and hope for the best, but this is one of the first things that I haven't liked about "the French way of doing things."

After getting my library card, swinging into French class for some more Jaques Brel and fun times with Mme. R-G, and a delicious (though expensive) 3 fromages sandwich, I got to hear a presentation on 2 of the courses that really interested me. I absolutely loved the second professor, who's course ("La France multiculturelle") will cover not only franco-africain and franco-arabe cultures (which the French typically concentrate on), but other multicultural communities in Paris (such as the franco-chinois and franco-portugeuse communities). He was so enthusiastic and seems to be very passionate about this subject.

After listening to his presentation, I went down the rue saint michel to Gibert Joseph to pick up some books for the lit. class that I'm going to take this semester. The class focuses on 2 "grands romans": La peau de chargrin (Balzac) and Madame Bovary (Flaubert). I snagged used copies of both for 2,40 EUR a piece and realized this was probably the least amount of money I've ever spent on the reading materials for a French class. In the US, the import fees jack the books up to 14 bucks a piece (at minimum). Here, a new copy of a classic is about 5 EUR (7.50 USD) and the used ones run under 3 EUR a pop.

I finished my day with a trip to CROUS, where I got a pizza, salad, watermelon, and an overly full belly for 2,90. I met a Taiwanese boy who was studying French and Photography at the universities here and we talked briefly (in French) about learning French as a second language.

My walk home was as beautiful as ever. The Seine is a beast of beauty, Hotel de Ville glows like nothing else, and the smell of nutella crepes fills the air.

Total Damages:

3 Fromages sandwich: 3,90 EUR
2 books for class: 3,80 EUR
dinner at CROUS: 2,90 EUR

Spéos and the Opéra Bastille

Today I visited the other photo atelier, Spéos, and was disappointed to discover that they make all students start with a non-digital, black and white camera. And they have class on Friday. I'm thinking Vermès is looking better and better.

After an afternoon French class, our group got a private tour of the Opéra Bastille. I am still in shock of how utterly fantastic this tour was. When we arrived, we descended down 6 stories and arrived at the bottom of the theater's massive elevator which is in charge of bringing up and down any and all sets for upcoming shows. The first thing I saw when we walked through the doors was the set for La Bohème.

I don't know how to say how happy I was. I got to walk around on the set for La Bohème. Me. Pretty much a dream.

We saw many other fabulous things as well (the Opéra Bastille is HUGE!). They even make all their own props, costumes, sets, etc... right on site, so we got to see some of the crazy things in progress. I did not know that such amazing things could be done with styrophome.



When we finally stepped out into the seating area, I plopped myself down in a seat that I thought was assez bon only to hear a huge gasp come from the mouth of our adorable and hilarious guide. "Madame la Présidente!" he says as he reaches for my hand. Apparently I had chosen the seat in the Opéra where the President sits. My butt has touched the same seat cushon as President Sarkozy (I don't know if I should be proud, amused, or disgusted by this...).

Feeling pretty proud of myself for having such expensive taste, I went and bought myself some really dirt cheap fruit and veggies to add to my dinner for the night.

For dinner:
entrée: tomato with oil and vinegar
plat: spaghetti with bolognese sause
dessert: tiramisu gelatto (and 1 petit ecolier cookie)

Total Damages today:

kinder bar for petit déjeuner en route: ,80 EUR
Orangina: ,80 EUR
Petit Ecolier cookies: ,80 EUR
Apple: ,14 EUR
Tomato: ,17 EUR

Visit to Vermès!

Today after French class, I went to a photography atelier called Vermès with 3 other girls to meet Phillip Vermès himself and discuss studying photography at his studio. He checked out Jay's camera, gave me a thumbs up, and gave us our first "theme" to start thinking about: our neighborhoods. I already have so many good ideas of where to find things that would make good pictures in my neighborhood and I'm glad that this gives me a reason to explore a little bit more.

Vermès is also much closer to my place than Reid Hall (Vermès is right by Opéra Bastille while Reid hall is on blvd. du montparnasse), and since class is on Thursday mornings with flexible lab times (I get to choose whenever I want to go in), it may turn out to be the superior studio to Spéos, the other photo atelier that we're visiting tomorrow.

M. Vermès was an interesting character himself. He took pictures of all of our ears with his super-mega-awesome-high-powered digital camera and his clothing made him look like someone who just walked out of Venice beach. Come to think of it, the whole studio looks like it could comfortably fit on the boardwalk.

On my way home, I picked up some "groceries" (just some pasta sause with meat to add to my spaghetti, some tiramisu gelato for one of these nights, and a soft drink) and made myself a delicious meal. As I sat by the window, I finished my French homework for the evening and decided to walk down to Reid Hall to print it out.

The walk down St. Michel is amazing, and the detour I took through les jardins de luxembourg was incredible. What a place for a picnic! The place itself is gorgeous and the people watching can't be beat. They even have lounge-style chairs -- it's like they know I want to get comfortable. I've decided that I will come back down here with a baguette and fixings one of these days, maybe I can convice Sam and her French friends to go with me.

In the middle of my super leisurely dinner at the Resto U (pasta, steak, green beans, salad, bread, raspberry tart), a man who appeared to be in his late 30s came and sat across from me. I think he could tell I was American because I was reading some information in a guidebook when he sat down. He was really cordial and explained a lot of things about Paris that he thought were amusing. It wasn't until 1/2 way through the conversation that I realized he didn't have any fingers on his left hand. I was absolutely impressed that he was cutting his steak, eating his apple, and explaining things with his fingerless hand so naturally that I had not even noticed there was anything different about it. More shocking was that when went our separate ways, I had learned nothing about the man's life, what he does for a living, how he lost his fingers, or even his name, but I felt I still had had a great conversation. I think that's the amazing thing about parisians -- they don't talk about themselves that much but still manage to be interesting in a world that is built on "profile pages."

I walked home, enjoying the hot parisian air (I have no idea why it is still this hot here -- I can't even wear pants at noon without breaking a sweat) and found that I didn't even want to dip into that gelato yet. A walk home in Paris was enough of a dessert.

Total Damages:

Pain au chocolat for breakfast from the boulangerie by my school: 1 EUR
"groceries": 3,45 EUR
dinner at CROUS: 3,45 EUR

I'm back!

We were all told it was raining in the south, so when we arrived to a crystal clear morning in AIX, we tore off our rainboots and slapped on our ballerines that we brought in spite of our instructor's warnings. After checking into our cute hotel, Artéa, we walked past la rotonde and took the famous cours mirabeau into town.

After visiting a museum about AIX's history, we walked around the quartier, learning about AIX's architecture and visiting some of its museums, churches, and historical landmarks. Being the weekend of patrimoine (the days when the French allow public access at no charge to a lot of typically closed cultural attractions), we were lucky to see many things that we might not have been ordinarily given access to. For example, we got to go inside the salle des mariages at the Hotel de Ville and see where probably 10s of 1,000s of couples got hitched.

We were not so lucky, however, that the expected rain returned and left many of us quivering in our little ballerines. Luckily, one of the cloitres we visited had installed roofing so that we could stay dry while we listened to a wonderful guide inform us about the history of the cloitre's diverse columns.

One of the best ways to avoid the rain was our visit to the most visited "expo" in France this year: Picasso/ Cezanne. Not surprisingly, the exhibit was pretty crowded, but absolutely gorgeous. I never realized how much Picasso admired Cezanne until I saw the paintings side by side. I recommend this to anyone in AIX!

Feeling kind of soggy and definitely hungry, we returned to the hotel to prepare for our dinner (payed for by SLC) at la bastide du cours. The food was definitely a step up from what I've been eating normally -- a salad with typical fixings from provence, a chicken with a tomato sauce and potatoes, and a rich chocolate cake with an espresso for dessert. Amazing. I wish I had taken better pictures!





That night I slept like a log before our 7 am wakeup call and our 8am petit déjeuner. I know that the French petit déjeuner isn't as "meal"-like as an American breakfast, but I want to clear up the misconception that just because the French breakfast is not typically cooked it is somehow smaller or inferior. It is not. I have to say I have never been so full after a complimentary breakfast at a hotel. Coissant, baguette, two jams, a hot beverage that comes with an extra pot, fruit, yogurt, orange juice and sometimes cheese and meat, too. What a way to start the day!

Although it was raining, we toured AIX some more, stopping by various indoor sights and 1 outdoor market where local farmers sold their very best. I couldn't help but buy some herbes de provence from an adorable man who wore a hearing aid and kept telling me that he also made spices for pizzas. My friend, Pia, got some herbed goat cheese free of charge from yet another kind AIX local.

We continued our exploration of AIX, noticing that this weekend there was a big "fête" going on and many cyclists were launching themselves off of ramps and onto a giant soft landing mat. I enjoyed the Michael Jackson and other American music before exploring some beautiful gardens outside the building that currently holds a photography exposition on Picasso.

For my hour of free time, I returned to the hotel and munched on my breakfast leftovers. This is when I came to the conclusion that French butter is the best butter in the world. It's like someone put twice the butter in the same amount of butter we usually use.

We decided to go to Cassis and Marseille now that the sun had come out again, so we all filed into a rented bus and headed down to the coast. We stopped at Cassis first and I knew I had found my favorite place. I felt right at home with the marina, the beautiful coasts, and the fortresses and castles above head in the mountains. Every restaurant looked delicious and every stretch of beach looked gorgeous. I'm coming back and bringing Jay whenever I get the chance!

Having only enough time to jump into the water and walk around the town, we left Cassis hungry for more. When we arrived in Marseille, we headed first to an expo of some of Marseille's museums' collected pieces and followed our visit up with a short free Opera concert in the sculpture room.

Marseille was full of all sorts of cool things. The graffiti was even cute. It was one of those cities where everyone hangs their clothes outside on clotheslines, each building is painted a different pastel colour, and no one looks like their in a hurry to get anywhere.

After walking around the ports for a while, we headed back to AIX for dinner at Chez Laurette -- I would highly recommend this place. The food was delicious. We had a tarte salée, followed by salmon with pesto (or lasagne with generous helpings of cheese for the vegetarians), and a simply delicious tiramisu for dessert. Wow. They also kept the carafe's of wine coming. A fabulous evening to be in AIX.

The next morning, I woke up for a petit dejeuner with all the fixings. I think I may marry French hot chocolate. How do they make it so delicious?

I stashed away some bread and butter for our early bus ride out of AIX and up into the small little town of St. Remy, where Van Gogh spent much of his time in a mental house that was converted from a monastery.

Our first stop in St. Rémy was at some very old structures that used to serve as an entrance into the city. Now they are basically just old ruins on the side of the closest thing to a freeway you'll find near St. Rémy. Luckily, we were able to walk from these old ruins across the street to the mental institution where Van Gogh stayed many years ago.

Walking up to the building, you can see a lot of things that show up frequently in Van Gogh's work. It was really cool to compare the real thing to the artist's interpretation. I always thought that Van Gogh's painting style reflected his craziness (and some of it does), but after seeing some of the trees in St. Rémy, I realized they look exactly the same as they do in his paintings.

We went inside the building to discover another cloitre, as the building used to be a monastery. All throughout the corridors were paintings by current patients who, like Van Gogh, found an outlet through art. There was some very cool work.

Upstairs, we explored the room that is believed to be Van Gogh's bedroom at the time he stayed there. Not a bad place to be cooped up in -- the view was fantastic. While in the room, we met another visitor who had brought along his little puppy! The puppy was adorable and his little face reminded me so much of my Aunt Barbara's little doggy.


After exploring the gardens, we headed into the main part of the village for some walking and lunch. St. Rémy is just as cute as is it's size would have you believe and I found that despite it's twisty streets, it was impossible to get lost. Every store was so cute and so distinct, you would remember exactly where everything was within 30 minutes of walking around.

We were lucky, too, because many musicians were staked out in front of the Hotel de Ville and various other places with in the city, giving free concerts to us travelers. After a nice lunch with some jazz in the background, we hopped back on the bus and headed for Avignon.

When we de-boarded, I was really anxious to go to the pont d'avignon and dance, but our guide did not seem interested in the bridge and informed us that "on n'y danse pas." Our guide was less interested in the children's song and more interested in the heart of Avignon as it used to be a papal city filled with abbeys and monasteries.

We entered the city which seemed to be built of stone and were immediately struct by the pure size of everything around us. It was massive! It wasn't just vertical mass either -- the buildings were wide and built like castels, with huge and elaborate facades but very few windows.



We checked out the main cathedral wich seemed to be a beast of a buiding, especially up close. The cathedral had some very interesting things inside of it, too. Most notably, there were 2 crypts for former popes. Each crypt seemed to be a mini cathedral, white and massive.

We wandered into the rest of the city and looked at architecture that spanned the ages. We learned, too, that the city has a large Jewish population as the city protected them and alowed them to practice their religion there when it was dangerous to do so elswhere.



After a long tour through the old papal town, we slept like babies on the train back to Paris. I arrived hungry and went over to the local Franprix for an easy microwave dinner.

Total expenses this weekend:

bottle of wine from Monoprix in AIX: 3,50 EUR
2 sachets of herbes de provence (yes, mom, you're getting one): 2 EUR each = 4 EUR
1 beer in Saint Rémy: ,79 EUR
Microwave lasagna from Franprix for my lazy dinner tonight: 1,70 EUR