Last night in Paris

My last night in Paris (last Friday) I went back to the Louvre even though I've been there several times. I actually found a section I had never seen before- 18th and 19th century French paintings. I stayed until they closed, which I had never done before. I think they stayed open later than usual so that all students can go for free.

View of Paris from Erin's apartment.

Eiffel Tower sparkling at the top of the hour

with the Louvre on the right.

I took this photo from Pont des Arts.

Some Parisian musicians annoy me,

especially the accordion players on the metro

who use a CD to cover up their bad music.

These musicians were actually good,

and it was nice listening to stringed music

while walking around here.

Egyptian sculpture of a Nubian

"Venus de Milo"

"La laitiere"

Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805)

Greuze dabbled in moralist art, but

he also had "erotic" paintings that

annoyed critics because they couldn't

pigeonhole him. This painting is supposed

to be one of the "erotic" paintings.

"Magdalena-Bay"

François Biard (1798-1882)

"Les Religieux du mont Saint-Gothard"

Louis Hersent (1777-1860)

Is Scotland in the Netherlands?

Last Thursday I tried again to use my St Andrews student ID to get into a museum since EU students get into these museums for free. The lady at the front desk was confused when I told her the university was in Scotland. She asked, "Is Scotland in the Netherlands?" Once we explained it was in the United Kingdom, she was really embarrassed and gave me the ticket without any other questions.

I'd like to digress here- when I lived in France and met people for the first time, I told them I was from the United States because they rarely knew exactly where Mississippi was. Even if I started my answer by saying I was from Mississippi, many were confused and then asked, "Is that in America?" Most of them knew about the river and not the state. However, the British are different. They get annoyed if I tell them I'm from the states without saying which state. One time I answered, "I'm from Mississippi in the states." The Brit responded with a condescending, "Uh, I know where Mississippi is." Recently, I met a Brit who told me she was from Norwich. She was annoyed when I didn't know exactly where that was in England, and naming off random towns in the area didn't help.

Now back to my peregrinations- the museum was the Conciergerie near the Palais de Justice on the Ile de la Cité. This building is on the location of the original Roman settlement, and Frank kings later built a palace here. This building dates back to Phillipe the Fair (1284-1314), and the French kings lived here until they moved to the Louvre. During the French Revolution, over 2,700 condemned prisoners spent their last days here before going to a number of guillotines around Paris. The prison became known as the "antechamber to the guillotine." The famous prisoners included Marie Antoinette, Andre Chenier, Charlotte Corday, and Robespierre.

Erin hiding in an art exhibit in the Hall of Men-at-Arms.

A view of the art exhibit and the Hall of Men-at-Arms.

This room is one of the finest examples of secular Gothic

architecture. I read that this room was part of a larger

structure that made one of the largest dining hall in

Medieval Europe. This room served the 2,000 staff

who worked for the king.

Marie Antoinette's cell, which we

couldn't visit due to restoration.

It's not her entire cell since a chapel was built

on it. Instead, this is part of her dungeon.

Robespierre stayed in her old cell before his execution.

This chapel was built on the exact

spot of Marie Antoinette's cell.

The chapel was built in 1815.

I Really Did Read during Reading Week

I'm not sure if those who stayed in St Andrews actually did work for class. I talked to a couple friends who admitted that they did nothing even though they stayed so they could accomplish a lot. I have a couple essays due soon, so I knew I had to do something this week or I would get too far behind. If I realized how much work I needed to do, I probably wouldn't have gone to Paris. Nevertheless, I tried my best to find time to read. Especially during the mornings I would find a cafe where I could read while my friends were either at school/work or otherwise busy.

After Betsy and I left La Defense, we went to a cafe near Les Halles. While waiting for Julien and Erin, we decided to do a little work. I read the book I brought with me, and she graded tests for her class. Afterwards, we went into the Latin Quarter where we ate kebabs after an aperitif. Finally, we did a quick photo shoot in front of Notre Dame.

Café Creme avec Café

Betsy and I doing work at the cafe.

From left to right:

Erin, Betsy, Julien, Me

I kinda like this photo in front of Notre Dame

Whenever I travel, I forget to get pictures of me.

I think this one is cool.

Armistice Day in Paris

Originally, I wanted to get into Paris early to watch some military parades for Armistice Day. I later heard that Sarkozy and Merkel made a joint appearance at the festivities. Unfortunately, I slept in a little too late and missed it. After getting a late start, I went around with Betsy to where she teaches English at a university on the Parisian outskirts. We then went into Paris where we planned on meeting some friends. Along the way our metro had to stop at La Defense because of an accident on the tracks. Betsy explained that these "accidents" happen when someone commits suicide on the tracks or someone gets pushed onto the tracks. Since all the other metro lines from La Defense were busy due to the accident, we explored this area. Basically, La Defense is a relatively new urban area where the Parisian laws prohibiting tall buildings do not apply. It feels like a typical American city.

Betsy and her university.

Walking to la Grande Arche.

View of La Defense from the Grande Arche.

In the distance you can see the Arc de Triomphe.

La Grande Arche at night.

This building was briefly in the Bourne Identity.

Exploring the Canals

After spending my morning and most of the afternoon in a cafe reading for class last Tuesday, I went on a walk with Erin around her neighborhood, including the canal near the Bastille. We met her Julien at a cafe near Gare de Lyon for a couple happy-hour beers plus popcorn (the popcorn made me very happy) and olives (I was kinda hungry, so I forced myself to eat a few). I couldn't stay too ling since I was spending the next couple nights with Betsy in the Banlieue, which was about 45 minutes out of the city center.

This summer I read a food magazine in a doctor's office

that said there were some good restaurants near this canal.

We didn't go to any restaurants around here.

There's a more famous canal north of the Bastille, and

maybe that canal had the good restaurants.

We had a little trouble finding a way out of the canal

because we walked to the other side where

all the exits were locked. Here Erin walked towards the Seine

and found a bunch of homeless people sleeping there

and no exit.

Just a side street between the Bastille and Gare de Lyon.

Le Terminus Lyon- a relatively cheap

cafe next to the gare. We looked at another

cafe, but Erin said it would be more expensive

because they sold seafood. For some reason

even non-seafood items in Parisian restaurants are

more expensive if they sell seafood.

Au Pied de Fouet

Last night we went to Au Pied de Fouet at 96 rue Oberkampf in Paris. Erin suggested we eat at this inexpensive restaurant for some traditional French food, and it was a great idea. Normally, I would have walked past this hole-in-the-wall joint that doesn't look too different from any other restaurant on the street. In fact, the restaurant looked more sketchy than the others except for a pizzeria a few doors down. The man who served us is apparently the same man who is there every night, and he was courteous when I didn't understand the question about how I wanted my steak cooked. We all ordered the potato & carrot soup, and my steak and mashed potatoes were good even though the steak was a little more bloody than I expected. I tasted my friend's pasta, which was really good even though she didn't expect a fried egg on top.

Here are some photos from last night:

The group from left to right:

Erin, Gillian, Betsy, moi, and Sarah

The coolest part of the restaurant

Ambles through the City of Lights

After dinner tonight (which I'll blog about later) we went on a walk around Paris to see some of the lighted buildings. The problem with night photography is getting the settings just right and holding the camera perfectly still since I don't carry a tripod with me on vacation. I feel like a few came out all right.

Opera

Erin walking underneath the Louvre streetlights

Louvre

Louvre plus Eiffel Tower's light

I really like the lights reflecting off the clouds

One of 10,000 Eiffel photos I've collected

over the past 5 years

Erin running out of the store.

I'm a little disappointed this

photo came out blurry, but

I still like it.