A long week!
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2008
1
14
26
Trip End
Aug 11, 2008
Paris,
Île-de-France,
France
Friday, July 11, 2008
The group of girls that I went with (Laura, Tina, Anne, and Nikki) decided that we should have a weekly Wine and Cheese club meeting at different places we want to see around Paris
A very French picnic
. Next week we are walking the Champs Elysee from the Arc de Triomphe to the Tuillerie gardens and eating dinner at the gardens. Its a great way to see all the sights in Paris in a slightly more liesurely way.Tuesday I had 6 hours of class! Then tons of homework on top of that. We have essays, grammar exercises, and verbs to memorize all the time it seems. I'm glad to have so much to do because I love the opportunity to learn but it is quite difficult to balance seeing everything and sitting in my room studying. Tuesday there was not much time for much else beyond classes and work.
Wednesday I was still quite tired from a long day of work on Tuesday so after class I went to see a movie called Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis with a couple of friends. I understood a surprising amount (enough to laugh at the important jokes and follow the story in pretty good detail). The film is a quirky comedy about a man who gets transfered to work in a far-away town and must commute home on the weekends to be with his family. Definitely good French practice!
Thursday was the ballet in the evening after class and lectures. We saw Dame Aux Camelias which is a fairly new (1980s) ballet at the Palace Garnier
And a little rain
. The Garnier is a huge theater with marble and murals and mosaics everywhere you look.As for the ballet itself, the music is basically a random selection of Chopin pieces and the story is based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas about a courtisan and a man who falls in love with her. The costumes, music, and theatre were all brilliant. The choreography was a little off here and there in my opinon. There seemed to be a huge focus on lifts (guys lifting girls, guys lifting guys, girls lifting girls... kinda crazy and unexpected for me) and very little foot work at all. However, it was overall a very moving and sad ballet.
Today I am taking the day to rest and get caught up on homework since this weekend is going to be very full! It is Bastille day (French independence day i.e the start of the French revolution) on Monday so we have a three day weekend (yay!). Tomorrow I am going to see how I feel but I might wander over to the catacombs. Sunday I am planning on going to mass at Notre Dame or one of the other major churches in the area, then to a market, and at night to the Bastille Ball which is a huge open air concert in the Bastille area of Paris. Monday morning I'm hoping to be up bright and early for the military parade down the Champs-Elysees (and maybe catch a glance of Sarkozy and his Italian-model/sing/songwriter wife, Carla Bruni). Then the evening there are fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. I am sure I will be battling lots of crowds and crazies but I think its a cultural experience that I shouldn't miss.
I feel like there are such multitudes of things to do here I have to take a moment every day to just slow down and think about the fact that I am here in Paris or else it seems like it will all pass me by way too fast! Hope everyone is doing well back at home.
Comments
We're back and what a treat to read your updates
Hi Kristina,
We're at the OR house and checking e-mail and your blog for the first time in a week. There was no internet or phone in the parks. Your blog update was so great to read. The photos are great and your friends and you look like you are really doing up France right. It sounds like you continue to balance studying French and seeing the sights and sounds of 'real French life'.
Glacier was spectacular. We have lots of photos of course. I dropped my camera and it broke on the 2nd day, and Tony's camera ran low on batteries, so I was resigned to cheap disposable cameras....a shame. Still we got lots of great photos and had a fantastic time in the back country where we backpacked 2000 ft. up in just 4.5 miles! (wow and ouch at the same time). After dropping our packs we did an off-trail hike to the top of a 5100 ft. ridge which overlooked 2 lakes and many ragged mountains (somewhat challenging but breathtaking). Also hiked 10 miles round trip with a 1150 ft. ascent to Iceberg lake where we hiked the last 1/2 mile in 2-4 foot snow. Dad and I saw a juvenile grizzly booking it toward the path - Tony and Robert were way ahead (on the other side of the bear). We stopped and let the bear pass and alerted Tony and Robert. They stayed where they were and missed the view of the bear, which was definitely the safer alternative. The views on the way up to Iceberg Lake were stunning. Going to the Sun Road had remarkable vistas, and we saw both Big Horn Sheep and Mountain Goats along the way. One of our favorite fun moments was when dad decided to drive through the 'weeping wall' which emptied out onto Going to the Sun road, so we got a 'car wash' in a series of waterfalls. The Prince of Wales Hotel was a Swiss-style hotel with a view of Waterton Lake, the quaint Waterton village below and a full Scottish/ English tea with piano in the afternoon and wait staff in kilts! You'd love it! Glacier NP and Waterton are parks you'll want to visit. It was very reminiscent of the Alps. We missed having you on the trip, but know you'll get a chance to do the parks at a later time. We'll send on photos through a Picassa email.
Dad says he's glad things are going well in France. We all miss you and love you!
Love,
Mom, Dad, Tony and Robert