Le Scenario Apart Boulogne-Billancourt

... But, I wouldn't want to disappoint everyone. Plus, this will be functioning as my journal as well. No sense in blogging and writing in the journal!! It is 12:30 am and as soon as the pictures for today are uploaded, I will be going to bed. Sorry that there aren't a lot of pictures for today, but we didn't do much. Tomorrow we go to Montmare (sp?). There is a festival and the Sacred Heart church is there. Should have plenty of pictures tomorrow.

... in the room were starting to get extremely anxious. The Europeans and I thought it was kind of funny, and we started laughing but that prompted some nasty, nasty looks from the Tunisians. If I could have bottled the looks we got, I'd sell it to mothers everywhere to use on their kids. What cultural divide we had inadvertantly crossed by laughing at the crazy lady in yellow I don't know but we seemed to now be hanging over a cliff. By ...

... every hour of my five days. The family had an ambitious itinerary of museums and monuments, but informed me at the start that I was not required to do anything with them, as I was on vacation and thus free to roam around as I liked. I knew that I wouldn't be able to see everything, and contented myself to see one or two big things each day and spend the rest of it wandering side streets, taking the Metro as little as possible, listening and talking to all sorts of ...

... the difference between private and public. The latter still embraces the "starving artist" mystique that even contemporary artists run from as soon as they make the big bucks, while the former brazenly markets itself in the same ruthless manner as a Target or a Walmart. I'm not really convinced that one system is better than the other. Is it better to fend for yourself by selling your soul to trustees who have the final word on museum acquisitions, but also bring ...

... Spanish in school, and I have Spanish homework. We are also reading this fiction book in Spanish for class. I am starting to get homesick-not missing home as much as just the ease of the language and communication, ha ha. Anyway, I am glad I am here. I feel like it has helped me grow in many ways. I also feel slightly lonely here, but I suppose that is also to be expected. Wish me luck on my exam. I will be posting pictures of Paris soon ...

... specifically the Napoleonic Wars. We viewed the impressive arch then it was a walk down the Champs-Élysées the widest road in Paris known for its cafes and luxury shops it is second only to 5th Avenue in New York for the most expensive real-estate in the world. It was then off to the Eiffel Tower the tallest tower in France and from 1889-1930 it was the tallest building in the world. It was originally constructed simply as an ...

... it was full of all type of historical paintings and statues and stuff, from the greeks to the Egyptians to the mona lisa (which was, predictably, rather busy). However, feeling well painting-and-statued-out, benny and I left early to go check out the Arc de Triumph, which is some sort of massive war memorial (although given france's recent military record, calling it arc of triumph is somewhat misleading). And afterwards we met up with ...

... and had amazing old world charm. The street where narrow and winding, with cafes at every corner. I hope the pictures do it justice. Took the train to Bordeaux (first class!). It was so nice, not to mention very fast. Made it to our hotel which is wonderful. Much better than our place in Paris. We have a little tv, bathroom and a great view. We are smack in the middle of the city centre so are able ...

... in the grass by the Eiffel Tower for awhile and then headed back to the hostel for dinner. We didn´t go out at night because we were afraid to get attacked, as we would have had to walk through the ghetto to get to the metro and then ride the metro back and forth....it wasn´t something we felt like doing. The next day was the first Sunday of the month so we headed to the Notre Dame and the Louve because they had free admission. The Notre Dame was ...

... pack instead of cracking my head open. I was unable to move. My entire body was numb and shaking. A huge crowd surrounded me as I lay starring at one of the dirtiest ceilings in Paris. Suddenly, I said some blabber about being okay in English (DENIAL, TOTALLY, BECAUSE I WASN"T). A young woman came shoving through the crowd and started gathering men to help me up; I needed to be elevated to even out the blood flow. This is, of course, after they rolled me away from the track ...