Wednesday, July 31, 2013

An Average Parisian Day

I've been meaning to do this for ages and finally got around to it on our last day of classes. Here is my day in pictures. 


Wake up & get ready in my room.

Walk down to the RER station.

Await the train.

CROWDED.

Crossing Place Denfert-Rochereau on the way to the Institut Protestant de Théologie where our classes are held:

Breakfast!

I always wonder where people go when they disappear through doorways. This is the doorway through which I disappear.

The front courtyard at IPT:

Up to my classroom. This is where I am for most of the day.

If not in class I'm in the faculty office:

The resident cat at IPT. Several of the students have given him various names; one calls him Jambon because she feeds him some of her ham sandwich at lunchtime. So I call him Jambon also.

Get the train back at the end of my afternoon class.

Today I did some work on the terrace of the café at Cité U.

Then I had to go into the library to use a computer there. While there I picked up Le Point (Newsweek-type magazine) to read about "Better Living with Aristotle and Plato." (Only in France where philosophy features on high school graduation exams.)

Dinner at FIAP Jean Monnet, another student residence, because our cafeteria is closed for renovations.

Walking back from FIAP as the sun begins to think about maybe setting in another hour or two. (This was around 8:30.)

And so to bed.















Tuesday, July 30, 2013

All cats are grey in the rain?

Last night we returned to Shakespeare & Co. for the launch of Adam Biles's novella Grey Cats. I bought it last month and not only devoured it but also persuaded my students to read it for class as an extra project. So four of them came with me last night to hear Mr. Biles read and then get our books signed. We got there early enough to get chairs in the courtyard, which was exciting, but then a few minutes into the reading there was a huge clap of thunder. It started to rain a bit and everyone spontaneously moved their chairs under the store's awnings like an unsolicited group hug for Adam Biles. (Who, by the way, handled all this with much grace and good humor.)

The rain got heavier and the organizers decided to move everyone inside, to the upstairs "library" section of the store. Not everyone would fit but at least a couple of us got in. The remaining three, including me, listened from the corridor and browsed around the store--not a bad way to spend a half-hour anyway. At the end of the Q&A, a lot of people cleared out (as I was hoping) and my students and I were first in line to have our books signed. One of them told Mr. Biles that they were reading his book for a class and introduced me as their professor. So I told him that his book was already on its way to being canonical literature if profs are assigning it to their classes. When he signed my copy he wrote "Thanks for introducing the cats to the canon!"

We'd had a pre-dinner gelato (eat dessert first, they say) but we wanted Real Food so we let ourselves be talked into a couscous restaurant on the edge of the Latin Quarter. It turned out to be a great choice: very tasty, very filling, very inexpensive. Plus everyone who had never had couscous before had a new experience! I had a vegetarian tagine that was just the thing after getting a bit wet and chilled.

After dinner I came back to Cité and went to bed because today was my morning class's excursion to Versailles. Ultimately we all had a good time but the crowds were very intimidating. My advice to those who want to see the château is go early. It opens at 9:00 and you should be there waiting when they start letting people in. My students took Rick Steves's advice and went through the gardens first, then visited the château toward the end of the day when people were clearing out. I actually left a bit early myself--I'd been through the château before and got some good time in the gardens today. I wanted to rent a bicycle in the park and ride out to the Trianons and the Hamlet (why oh why is it "le Hameau" and not "l'Hameau"?) but the sky was threatening. I had no umbrella; it had been sunny when we left! The students reported that it barely rained; nevertheless I am glad not to have been cycling through the park in a skirt with the wind gusting. I have another chance at Versailles when Daniel, Vicki, and Samantha come to town next week. 

Tomorrow morning I'll be eager to hear from the students about their experience and their thoughts. I gave them a blog assignment about whether Versailles is a potential target for satire. At the time I was thinking of the famous excesses of Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, etc. but I think the crowds of tourists are equally likely topics--reminding us, as Juvenal said, that it is difficult not to write satire.

I've got to go to bed but I'm pleased to report that more photos will be coming soon. I added several to Flickr this afternoon and just need to slap the captions on. À bientôt!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to America...

Internet, I have a confession: 

When I got up this morning I was tired of being in Paris and ready to go home.

Actually, it is probably closer to the truth to say that when I got up this morning I was just plain tired. I wore myself out at the flea market yesterday but then did not sleep well last night. So when the alarm went off this morning I was less ready for another day's adventures in the world's most beautiful city than I was for another couple of hours of sleep and a big pot of coffee. There was no help for it, though. Another busy Monday was on the docket so I hurried out of bed, got ready, and hustled over to the Institut Protestant with plenty of time to spare for a coffee-and-croissant run.  Mondays are coffee-and-croissant days because I cannot break the habit of grocery shopping on Sundays but most stores here are closed Sundays. Ergo, no groceries; instead a visit to a local bakery for un croissant et un café crème à emporter, s'il vous plaît. That bakery is going to miss the USG European Council when we're gone, I'm here to tell you.

On the way into the IPT to put my book bag down before heading to the bakery I noticed that the men from J. C. Deceaux were changing out the affiches (posters) in the advertising display on the street corner. These posters are everywhere--standalone displays like the one on the corner, bus shelters, the outside of newspaper kiosks, etc. And all the displays seem to be maintained/managed by this one company, J. C. Deceaux, whose name appears somewhere on the display frame (Compulsive readers notice such things). The men happened to be taking down an affiche for the "La Mechanique de Dessous" exhibit at the Museum of Decorative Arts--the very poster I'd wanted to buy at their bookshop but no such thing was for sale. It has a black background with a beautifully lit photograph of a yellow velvet eighteenth-century corset with silver bows and paniers attached. The museum did not offer the same image even as a postcard, nor did I see the piece in the collection. Now here it was in a compellingly enormous format coming out of the frame right before my eyes--and still in great condition; those frames must be very sturdy.

I went up to the man taking the poster out and said, "Excuse me, sir, but what happens to the posters that you are changing out of the frames?" "They go in the trash," he told me--exactly what I expected/hoped for. "May I have that one?" I asked. "Bien sûr," he said, rolled it up for me nicely, and even put a rubber band around it.

And that, Internet, is when I stopped being tired of Paris. But on the matter of how I will get this huge poster home on the plane, let us remain silent.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen

After yesterday's rain, today was bright and clear but much cooler (hooray!), so I set out this morning for the huge flea market near Porte de Clignancourt on the north side of Paris. It is just inside the périphérique, in the department of Seine-St-Denis where the racailles live. (That was a Nicolas Sarkozy joke. Also, Autocorrect wants "racailles" to be "racial lens," which is painfully apt.) Actually, inside the Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen, as the flea market is properly known, I mostly saw and heard other tourists--Americans and Germans, judging by the accents. Plus some French people seriously engaged in decorating their homes with the antique furniture and accessories that make up a huge part of the huge market. 

Neither my budget nor my suitcase would accommodate an antique chair but I had hours of fun walking around looking at everything and eavesdropping on the merchants' conversations. This flea market is kind of a fancier and denser version of the one in Canton, Texas. No Beanie Babies or Fiesta ware but lots of fine jewelry, vintage clothes, antique books and prints, china and silver, and of course a healthy dollop of miscellaneous bits and bobs: watches that might or might not be working, old postcards, fountain pens, beads, toys, etc. Instead of being spread out over acres of land it is all contained within a series of buildings, stalls, alleys, and squares. I stayed for way too long just looking around because it just goes on and on and on! In the end I bought very little: some postcards that I plan to use on the cover of my scrapbook from this trip, and a teeny yellow pitcher emblazoned with the Ricard logo. I must have been thinking of Canton because the pitcher actually looks a lot like Fiesta ware. 

By the time I came back it was after 3 pm. St-Ouen is all the way on the other end of the #4 Métro line, about as far from Cité U. as you can get and still be in Paris. So getting there and back means riding for a little while. Back in my room I did my nails (walking in the rain in Caen yesterday wreaked havoc on my pedicure) and talked to Daniel on Skype. He will be here in only 6 days. I can hardly wait!

Tomorrow will be jam-packed: class, a meeting, other class, other meeting, then back to Shakespeare & Co. for Adam Biles's appearance at the Grey Cats launch event. I'd better rest up. À bientôt!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Caen Adventure

Today I went with 4 students to see my friend Nicole and spend the day in Caen, in the Basse-Normandie region (lower Normandy, on the west coast of France). We left Cité U. at 7 am to get an 8:00 train from Gare St-Lazare. I was worried that we'd be late; in the end we were on time but the train was late! The weather in France has been very stormy the past few days and there were problems with loss of power on some lines. I'm not sure if that was the case on our train but in the end we were delayed about 45 minutes. The delay did not stop the students from sleeping through almost the entire train trip. I don't blame them--trains are very relaxing! Nice big seats, quiet, pretty scenery. 

Nicole was waiting to meet us at the station and we hustled right off to the Men's Abbey (l'Abbaye aux Hommes) where she had arranged us a tour in English with the help of a gentleman who lives in her building. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgable and told us a lot of interesting facts about the abbey in a short time. It was a good mix of historical, architectural, and religious description. We learned, for instance, that today only William the Conqueror's thigh bone is buried in his tomb. His original tomb was destroyed when the abbey was sacked during the Revolution. This is his tomb as it exists today:

This is looking back toward the abbey entrance from the tomb:

And this is the pre-Vatican II altar:
One of the many things we learned a little about today was Vatican II and the liturgical reforms involved in it--such as moving the altar closer to the congregation and turning it around. 

Our tour guide told us his background was in international business but he was obviously a giant freelance humanist brain of the kind that can ask "What do you mean you don't speak Latin?" and make you think "He's right, I should learn Latin!"

After the tour it was lunch time and we wanted something quick and inexpensive so we opted for a French classic: McDonald's. There went my "no American fast food in France" streak. But we all had a nice time chatting with Nicole and taking a break. It was also good to get indoors; unfortunately it rained on and off all day in typical Norman unpredictable-weather fashion. So we stayed for a while and got coffees and pastries (McCafé in France is the real deal) before heading on to the château. 

The château in Caen is of course William the Conqueror's castle and dates back accordingly. It is not, therefore, an elaborate confection like Chambord but is obviously a fortress:
The château and its outbuildings now house the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Musée de Caen, each of which had special exhibitions in addition to their permanent collection. So we saw a great selection of Impressionist paintings--including many depictions of Normandy beaches--and an exhibit of early color photographs from the turn of the 20C. I could not take pictures in the special exhibitions but in the permanent collection I photographed this painting because it made me laugh:
It's just titled "Man with Fig" and you can see he is holding a fig in one hand and making the rude gesture of "the fig" with the other. I immediately thought of Iago: "Virtue? A fig! Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus."

We also got to climb around the château a bit and take a few more pictures: 
(You can see how pleasant the weather was not--though it helped me to imagine William and his troops roughing it in a chilly castle with not even a little Facebook to help pass the time.)

That's Jessica standing in the other tower!

Before we knew it, it was time to go back to the train station and return to Paris. We rode the tram and got off into a DOWNPOUR. It was barely sprinkling when we got on; when we got off we needed an ark. And a snorkel mask. And waders. Nicole said her goodbyes and rushed off to get back to her car. We stood under the tram shelter for a few minutes till the rain slacked a little and then dashed into the station. Our wet feet led us into the station café for dinner (a slice of pie is a perfectly cromulent dinner choice) and then onto the train. 
Our seats are in a compartment. We feel very Harry Potter! Just waiting for the trolley to come around and sell us some chocolate frogs. 
 




Friday, July 26, 2013

Going Back

On our first day here, Tour Guide Josh told us that a lot of people come to Paris for only a week. They run around to see all the major tourist attractions sort of like checking off a to-do list. We are lucky, he rightly said, to get nearly 5 weeks here (nearly 6 in my particular case). I've found that a benefit of having more time is the opportunity to go back to places. Today I didn't really want to go anywhere in particular; I just wanted to flâner. I started at Repetto near Place de l'Opéra (not as much dancewear on display as I hoped), cruised the streets, and ended up at Place Vendôme, a beautiful square of Hausmann buildings with high-end jewelers occupying the ground floors. In total Breakfast at Tiffany's style I walked around and picked out what I wanted from all the window displays. After an espresso and a croissant (not eaten in front of Tiffany's window; wish I'd thought of it) I went back to the Museum of Decorative Arts to see if they sold copies of the "La Mechanique de Dessous" exhibit poster. No luck, but they did have gorgeous postcards of several of the pieces so I picked out three of those. 

From there I decided to walk through the Tuileries because the last time I was there (Bastille Day) it was closed. I got a great spot under a tree in a green metal chair and stayed for almost an hour. It is a lovely place. I am totally sold on jardins à la française. Talked to Daniel on the phone while I was there and took a couple of pictures before I left. I followed the path down to Place de la Concorde and was wondering where a Métro station was. In a moment of inspiration I followed a small crowd and they led me right to it.

By this time I figured I should get lunch and I wanted to go back to a jewelry store in the Marais so I headed over there to buy a bracelet and a falafel. The saleswoman in the jewelry store wanted to know where I was from, so I asked her to guess.  Her first guess was Germany which I thought was funny. I gave her the hint that I am not European at all and then she figured it out. She was fun to talk to and I was glad I could keep up with her--native speakers, especially young ones, talk FAST.

My nose led me down the street and around the corner to L'As de Falafel, which is the famous Parisian falafel place. I don't even know why it's famous; I just know there's always a giant line. Directly across the street is its competitor, which had less of a line and was moving people faster, so I went there. Falafel is one of the few foods that Parisians will eat while walking down the street. I ate some of mine while walking and took the rest into the public courtyard of one of the hotels particuliers nearby. I absolutely love falafel. My colleague Dr. Carroll says he thinks it's funny that all of us have become such falafel junkies on this trip as if it's something exotic when in fact it is really common street food. I know that's true but I have never seen falafel in Macon. Maybe I just haven't looked in the right places or maybe I need to learn to make it when I get back.

After the falafel I had a gratuitous gelato for dessert in the Place de Vosges, then came back to Cité U. (by way of Monoprix where I bought mascara because mine had run out) to do some work. I'm sad to report that I forgot my camera's SD card when I went to the library and did not have time to go back for it. That means no pictures yet. D'oh! I also did not get my photo odyssey in this morning because it was pouring rain and thundering at 6 am when I wanted to go out for the morning "magic hour." Double d'oh!

Based on the forecast I was expecting all-day rain but it stopped by 9 if not sooner and turned into a good day to wander around and take lots of breaks in parks. Unfortunately I skipped sunscreen (expecting cloud cover) and got a bit red as a result. Won't make that mistake again.

Tomorrow is our day trip to Caen so I'd better call it a night. Leaving Cité at 7 for an 8 am train. Bring on the espresso! À bientôt!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Last Excursion

Our walking tour of Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur today was my afternoon class's last official excursion. We followed the Michelin Green Guide's walking tour so we got to see some nice little bits of history--a historic theatre, an apartment building frequented by Picasso and his contemporaries, the chapel where Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuit order, and Montmartre's tiny vineyard (the smallest in France, planted in 1930 to discourage overdevelopment of the area). And then, of course, the showpiece, the Basilique de Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre, still my favorite place in Paris. Begun in 1876, consecrated in 1919. It is so beautiful. I smile every time I see it. Another couple of visits and I will have it memorized, which is good because photography is not allowed inside. Unfortunately one of our students almost wasn't allowed inside today. A Mass was going on when we arrived and as a result they were being more strict than usual about tenue correcte (appropriate dress). My student had shorts on and the woman at the door made her wait in the vestibule (along with several others) until the Mass was over. That was only a few minutes later and apparently the lady made a point of getting my student's attention and letting her go in. So that was nice. But a good lesson for next time: wear long pants or a skirt to Montmartre just in case. It was lovely being there during the Mass with the choir singing. Sacre-Coeur is another Parisian place that just does not disappoint. It is at least as beautiful as you imagine; possibly more so.

We took a break on the steps outside and then made our way down with pauses to take photos. Everyone was ready for lunch so we veered down a side street away from the worst of the crowds and found a café with a nicely varied menu. I had a croque-monsieur that kept me full the rest of the afternoon. A croque-monsieur is a slightly fancied-up grilled ham & cheese sandwich and I think it's a good go-to item if you aren't sure what to order. The café staff were very nice and managed to remember all of our crazy orders and requests--every time a waitress takes 6 orders delivered in our hesitant French, writes nothing down,  and gets all the right food to the right people, I'm impressed. Café wait staff have a bad reputation but I have only had good experiences.

A couple of people in our group had afternoon plans so we said our good-byes after lunch and headed off on our respective adventures. I went with one student to the Museum of Decorative Arts, where we had a grand time looking at furniture, housewares, advertisements, and underwear all afternoon. This museum is right next to the Louvre and houses 3 collections: graphic arts, decorative arts, and fashion/textile. The graphic arts area was showcasing advertising items: a whole room full of fans; another with key chains, ashtrays, and lighters; a couple of rooms of posters; and so on. Cool stuff to see going all the way back to the turn of the 20C. In the decorative arts section we wandered through several centuries' worth of beds, chairs, armoires and vases--the Art Deco section features some particularly beautiful things. We skipped around a bit because it was getting a little late and ended up in the 60s-70s gallery which is dominated by a pyramid-shaped display of chairs. My colleague Dr. Hochschild had posted a photo of it on Facebook a few days ago. As my student and I joked, after he posted that photo half of us said, "Ew, a room full of chairs, forget it!" The other half said "A room full of chairs? When can we go?" For better or for worse my artistic taste boils down to whether I would like to own something and see it every day or not, so I love decorative arts. The room full of chairs was right up my alley.

The underwear exhibit--"La Mechanique de Dessous"--was also a winner. Corsets and gowns, but also men's padded coats, waist cinchers, codpieces, etc. from the 17th to the 21st century. Seeing all that in one place really emphasizes the extent to which our ideas of physical attractiveness are culturally constructed. The preferred look for an 18th-century man was slim but with a curved back, a sort of barrel-chested look with muscular calves in breeches and stockings. So men wore padded stockings and coats cut as tight as possible in back but padded in front. Women, of course, wore tiny, pointed waists and huge paniers--not round hoops but exaggerated hips with the skirt flat in front and a train flowing from the shoulders in back. It couldn't have been comfortable but until the 20th century people thought babies' bones were soft and needed propping up, so they were corseted from early ages. In other words, a girl might grow up always wearing some kind of corset and never knowing anything else. I actually love the 18C look because it's so elaborate, but thank goodness I never have to wear it!

We took a quick tour through the jewelry gallery just before leaving but the halogen spotlights in that room made it quite warm and we were already tired. It was time to get the Métro back to Cité U., which we did just in time for dinner. I am wiped out but some days are worth being wiped out and this has been one of them. 

If the weather cooperates tomorrow I will get up early (EARLY) and go on a little photo odyssey, not trying to see and experience anything but just going for good photos. Then I'll be back in plenty of time to organize and post a few days' worth of pics. À bientôt!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Maps Promiscuously Read

Another good day in the classroom today. Yesterday's Bibliothèque Nationale visit dovetailed nicely with today's discussion of Milton's Areopagitica. Of course, no one on a Study Abroad trip can reasonably "praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue" so Milton was a pretty easy sell to this crowd. Afternoon class wrapped up our regular class days with a discussion of an article about the version of France that appears in French cinema. Most students know more about movies than I do, so I'm always happy to learn from them. We came up with some interesting questions about uses of language in movie titles. Why is The Hangover retitled in France as Very Bad Trip? Why was the Edith Piaf biopic La Môme changed to La Vie En Rose for English-speaking audiences? Inquiring minds want to know!

When classes got out, I felt a little tired and out of sorts for some reason, so I went to a café to regroup and decide what to do for the afternoon. The past two days I've been working in my room in the afternoons so today I decided to go out. It was a little late to hit a museum so I thought I'd make my way to Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Hausmann. GL is one of the "grands magasins" that the area is known for--in fact it is probably the best-known and certainly the most posh of the lot. I got there slowly; had a little trouble remembering the exact location and I only had my small Métro map so I had to triangulate a bit. But I was not in a hurry and it was a good geography exercise. I did find that I need to get a Métro map with streets on it. Just as Tour Guide Josh predicted, you start out with the plain Métro map from RATP and pretty soon you graduate to Paris Avec Rues. Dr. Winchester thinks I should buy a Plan de Paris book--it's like a London A to Z (or a Mapsco for you Dallas types). Not sure I would get the most out of it since I still mostly use the Métro.

So at length I arrived at Galeries Lafayette and had my breath taken away at least 3 times. First, it is full of high-end designer brands. Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Prada, Gucci, and many more. Those really premium names each have their own separate niche within the store and they can control how many people they let into their niche at a time. There were lines outside Chanel and Longchamp but barely anyone at YSL or Dior. I did not go to visit any of them--what if I found the perfect handbag or sweater but it turned out to be €6000? Second surprise, it is full of people. Of course it is a tourist attraction and les soldes are still going on, so what did I expect? I did not expect visitors with their suitcases as if just coming from or going to the airport. Third, it is a beautiful space. 6 floors whose elaborate, gilded balconies overlook the ground floor, with an incredible stained-glass cupola overhead. Very "light and bright and sparkling" as Jane Austen said. I did not buy anything although I did check out a perfume display (Acqua di Parma) and had a nice chat en français with the saleswoman about the different fragrances (Parisian Accomplishment). This is a good way to practice your French--perfume talk is heavy on adjectives. Luckily for my wallet the scent I liked best on the sample card dried down on my skin to smell exactly like Dial deodorant soap. 

Near the end of my visit I was looking around for a snack bar or similar and followed the signs all the way up to the top level. The signs said "8th floor" but it is actually an open, Astroturfed roof deck with seating areas and a mind-boggling view of the city. That alone made the whole trip worthwhile and makes me want to go back. The only thing you can't see is Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre and if my mental navigation is right (HAhahahaha) the view of it is blocked by the store itself.

It was close to dinner time when I got ready to leave, so I wanted to take a more direct route back. From the roof deck I spotted an RER station, made my way down to it, and got back to "my" side of town in good time. Tomorrow I'm taking my afternoon class on a walking tour of Montmartre from the Michelin Green Guide. I had better rest up--Montmartre is steep!

Another Parisian Accomplishment: found myself speaking French on my cell phone while standing on a train platform this morning. You know, like you do.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

All around the houses

Annabel used this expression last weekend in reference to buses with roundabout routes: they go "all around the houses." Perfect for a day like today. We kicked off with an excellent excursion to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, which is a cool place to visit. It is a research library and the official book depository for France (like the Library of Congress in US), so visiting is not quite as simple as going into a normal public library. I had booked a guided tour and we got this very nice guide named Edouard who told us a lot about how the library works and about its history. It is comparatively new--built in the 1990s after the BNF outgrew its old space near the Louvre (Bibliothèque Richelieu), but the Richelieu site is still used to house historic manuscripts, the BNF's coins/medals collections, etc. This new building--Bibliothèque Mitterrand--is comprised of 4 towers with a garden in the center and big corridors connecting the towers. It's a little hard to describe but very impressive! We got to see the reading rooms, which instead of being beautifully medieval or beautifully Victorian, are beautifully mid-century modern. We saw two enormous globes, one of the earth and one of the sky, that belonged to Louis XIV (mais bien sûr) and are now part of the BNF's maps collection. We went into the basement to see the system of tracks and receptacles that ferries books between parts of the library. If you have seen the part in Monsters, Inc. where Sully and Mike are flying around the factory among all the bedroom doors, you have an idea of what this system looks like. Each reading room has a selection of books that is open to the public but the vast majority of their holdings are in closed stacks. It takes about 40 minutes to retrieve a book once a patron has requested it. To get books from the closed stacks you have to be a credentialed researcher and even then you cannot leave the library with your books--hence the gorgeous reading rooms. It was a great tour and good material for our discussion of the rise of moveable type printing in British Lit.

I left the BNF with Dr. Guglielmi to get some lunch before a meeting with him and Dr. Kirk. Métro line 6, change at Denfert-Rochereau (not at Raspail which is an easier change but then you double back on yourself) to line 4, out at Port d'Orléans. As we ate salads on a café terrace--fueling my love of café terraces--we noticed the sky darkening and the wind picking up. By the time we hurriedly paid the bill, the paper placemats were trying to escape and patrons' napkins were rolling down the street. The rain started as we dove under the tram station's overhanging shelter. Normally we would not have bothered to take the tram two stops to Cité Universitaire but by the time we got out at Cité it was pouring. We waited for small breaks in the heaviest rainfall and dashed from the tram stop to the Cité entrance. As we waited it out there, Dr. Guglielmi got a call that our meeting was canceled. Dr. Kirk appeared 5 minutes later with an umbrella (smart man). By the time we got the meeting rescheduled, the rain had ended and we all went our separate ways, battered but unbowed.

Between 2:30 and 6:30 I managed to do two loads of laundry (consecutively, not simultaneously), go to the post office, hit the library computers to update my grade spreadsheets and take care of some necessary record-keeping at MGSC, go to the grocery store, and start this blog entry. At 6:30 I was in the "red room" (one of the common rooms at Cité) to help organize this week's pizza night. At 7:00 we had an informal faculty meeting. And now it is bedtime. I feel like I've been all around the houses today!

Monday, July 22, 2013

La Canicule

There is such a thing as vocabulary you wish you didn't have to learn, or at least vocabulary you wish did not apply to you. Today's undesirable word is canicule: heat wave. As in Paris est en plain canicule et les étudiants fondent. (Paris is in the middle of a heat wave and students are melting.) Les profs are melting too! I heard the heat index was 40°C today--just Googled the conversion and that's 104° Fahrenheit. This in a largely un-air-conditioned nation! Whew. No wonder we are all drinking tons of water and taking 2-3 showers per day. Of course, life does not stop for la canicule. We still ride the train, go to classes, and take excursions. We just don't smell good doing it.

This type of weather is not unheard-of in France but it is not typical either. There was a prolonged heat wave in 2003 or 2004 that resulted in several fatalities; since then the government has been more careful about issuing warnings, checking on the elderly, etc. when the temperature rises above a certain level. This year, winter was long and cold, spring was chilly, and summer was slow to arrive--our first week here we were happy to have sweaters in the mornings at least. There was some mirth in the press when the government rolled out its annual Heat Wave Plan for the summer at a time when it wasn't even warm yet. But clearly the powers that be knew what they were doing.

Before you ask, let me go back to the "no A/C" issue. The French are many things but they are not masochists. They enjoy comfort, but they are also very energy-conscious, as seen in la minuterie, automatic lights on timers in corridors: as I understand it these were installed as an energy-saving measure after WWII (7 decades ago) but are still in use, and not just in really old buildings. Most of the time, air conditioning is not necessary here. It would cost a lot to install and operate--I can't imagine trying to retrofit hundreds of Paris apartment buildings with A/C, nor do I want to see the Hausmann buildings bristling with window units. Some people even say that relying too much on A/C is unhealthy, that we're better off adjusting our lifestyles a bit and letting our bodies adapt. After sunset, I agree with those people, although I also know people whose bodies react very badly to the heat. I don't want to suggest that everyone should just toughen up--we are all different and have different sensitivities.

I admire the minimal approach to air conditioning in France because so many public spaces in the American South are overly air-conditioned. We all carry cardigans into restaurants; otherwise you order a flambé dessert just to have a chance to warm up a little. Going to a movie? Better put on warm socks and a hoodie. (I'm not joking.) This heat is not comfortable, but it is livable. If there were A/C here at Cité we'd never leave our rooms. This way, we might as well get out and at least lie under a tree in a park. Or eat some gelato as I did earlier today.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Eurostar

Just about to leave in the Eurostar back to Paris after a great weekend with Annabel & Robert, my favorite hosts in London. I managed to change my leftover £ back into €, all except £2.25 in change which I used to buy a yogurt parfait at Caffè Nero. Caffè Nero is a Starbucks-ish chain in London but their signs use a square, all-caps typeface that causes me to think of the name as Caffè Nerd. Which is a better name anyway, right?

Rolling out now in a packed train. The Eurostar is excellent: runs on time, smooth, fast, comfortable. Crossing under the Channel we were in the tunnel for only 20 minutes. It's amazing. Of course it is, or can be, more expensive than flying on something like RyanAir but I think it's worth it. Less of a pain in the neck than flying and the seats are roomier. 

Now passing under the Channel. Human accomplishment is an amazing thing. À bientôt!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Excavating London

Now back to base (well, London base) after another great day touring around with Annabel. We went by bus to the City with our first stop in Spitalfields to see the medieval charnel house recently excavated there. No bones, but foundation, walls, etc. that you could walk right into through an unassuming grey basement entrance. English Heritage employees were on hand to explain the site's history: the charnel house was probably built by a bishop's wealthy patron in the period of famine after the Little Ice Age and before the Black Plague (i.e., early 14th century). At the time it was near the 12th-century St. Mary's priory and hospital (contraction of "hospital" is where the first part of "Spitalfields" comes from) and stored remains from the churchyard so that graves could be re-used. The archaeologists found many bodies but presumably they are stored/catalogued elsewhere. It was amazing to see something so old and exciting to learn about it. 

On the way to Spitalfields we passed through Southwark and Annabel pointed out a tavern called the George that is mentioned in Dickens, was known to Shakespeare, and is now a National Trust historic building. I proposed that we return there for lunch, which we duly did, and enjoyed it muchly. Annabel had a burger and a pint of Perroni and I had fish and chips (how could I not?) with a pint of cider. We walked through Borough Market glad we'd eaten, because it is all upmarket local foodstuffs and we'd have gone broke buying ourselves Turkish olives and fancy cheese if we'd been hungry. 

Then we continued on through Southwark (do not ask me to say it out loud) to what turned out to be another cool archeological site, the Elizabethan-era Rose Theatre where Marlowe became famous and Shakespeare got his start. The Rose fell out of favor as other theatres were built; its owner let the lease expire and the theatre was gradually demolished so that the timbers could be re-used. Other buildings grew up around/over it till 1989 when its remains, preserved by its marshy location on land "reclaimed" from the Thames, were excavated. The site has had to be re-covered with sand and water till it can be properly excavated and preserved, but you can see the outlines of the structure (smaller than one would imagine) and the stage. The site has been protected from future development but fundraising efforts are still under way to complete the necessary work. 

While at the Rose, I had a surprise celebrity encounter: Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora Crawley (Countess of Grantham) on Downton Abbey was there--not in any official capacity but with a couple of friends or family. I said "Are you who I think you are?" And she said "No," which is really the only polite answer. Handicapped by my inability to remember her last name EVER, I said "But are you Cora Crawley?" to which she (logically) said no again. I added, "Not all the time," and she smiled and said "Not all the time."  Was starstruck and did not want to make a fuss so I did not ask for a photo or even an autograph. Thus, dear readers, I must fall back on the travel writer's traditional claims of veracity and assure you that this really happened, though I have no proof!

We left the Rose and walked on till we came to the Globe and I took a few photos from the outside. I'm glad the Globe exists again so that people can have that experience but at the same time it will never really be the same. My question all weekend has been "Why does London feel so different from Paris?" and I think one reason is that London is always aggressively modernizing and changing--often because it has to, like after the Great Fire and again after WWII. The Globe pops up between sleek modern buildings; the Monument (commemorating the Great Fire) looks squeezed among office towers. It's exciting in a whole different way, as if all of London's history is coming at you at once. 

We walked all the way down the South Bank to the London Eye as the clouds were breaking up and visitors were thronging around some kind of festival. I thought I wanted to ride the London Eye but just seeing it up close was exciting. Annabel says it is beautiful to ride at night but slightly less gratifying during the day. I also got some great views looking across and down the Thames though I think I missed my best chance to photograph Tower Bridge. Still haven't been to the Tower of London but given its longevity so far I expect it will still be in operation when I get around to it. 

So it was another great day sightseeing and history-learning. We were glad to get back here and sit down with a cup of tea. (There really is something to the whole "afternoon tea" tradition!) Tomorrow, back to Paris and I will hopefully have time to do a big catch-up photo post. À bientôt!

The opposite of "touristique"

For dinner last night Annabel, Robert, and I went to Brixton Market. They live in Brixton, a diverse section of London that apparently has not always been a peaceful place to live but that has become fashionable in recent years. Brixton Market is "famous" according to Wikipedia and was voted the best local market in England (or some such) last year, but it is the opposite of a tourist destination. The market space looks very ordinary, kind of like the flea market on Eisenhower Pkwy. for those of you that know Macon. You would expect to buy cheap phone cases and flip-flops there. But when we arrived last night it was full of young hipsters, music playing, and a dozen or so (is it possible?) small restaurants of every description: Japanese, Mexican, barbecue (American-style BBQ in London!), burgers, Italian, Thai, etc. 

The one we finally chose--partly because it was unencumbered by a giant queue--was Colombian, and a good choice it was. Great-looking meat dishes but I got a vegetarian plate and thus got to try all the side items: beans, rice, cassava, plantain, and cornbread. It was delicious! We each drank a Colombian beer (also good) and then went to the gelateria opposite the restaurant for our dessert. Gelato is spoiling me for regular ice cream (though I haven't tried the famous Berthillon yet). It is so yummy, somehow rich without being heavy. I had mint chocolate chip (my favorite since forever), Annabel had salted caramel, and Robert had coffee. 

We ate them while walking back to the bus stop and then consulted Annabel's London Transport app to see which bus to take. I have fallen in with public transit nerds/trainspotters here which is great since I am a would-be transit nerd myself.   

Today we will see the City of London a bit--Annabel says London has two centers, Westminster (where we were yesterday) and the City. And we might go to the Lambeth Country Show which is a county fair-like event. Or we might go to a medieval charnel house in Spitalfields. But right now I have to get in the shower as an all-important first step. 

Friday, July 19, 2013

London Calling

Yesterday afternoon following an excellent Eurostar experience I arrived at St. Pancras station in London and met my very own Native Tour Guide, Annabel! (See "Annabel's Travel Blog" over there in the sidebar? You should read that blog. Also her recipe blog and her sermons. Multi-talented, that Annabel.) We have known each other online for probably 10 years but this was our first face-to-face meeting and she and her husband Robert have been kind enough to let me stay at their apartment this weekend and show me the sights. Today we took a bus tour around London. Protip: take a public bus instead of a tour bus; sit up top of a double-decker one for best photos. Prepare to swing around a random, unassuming corner and have the Houses of Parliament jump out in front of you. We got off our bus near St. Mary's Hospital where the media vans are all staked out awaiting the birth of the future monarch. No sign of Their Royal Highnesses; my hosts are betting that Kate will have the baby elsewhere and the St. Mary's thing is a decoy for the press. 

We made our way back to Russell Square (just as beautiful as Helene Hanff described it) to sit down for a few minutes before meeting Annabel & Robert's daughter Emily for lunch and a visit around University of London's Senate House, where she works. It is this imposing late-30s edifice; I told Annabel it looks like it houses a totalitarian government. Very elegant on the inside with somber wood-paneled rooms and paintings of past chancellors, e.g., the Queen Mother (wearing emeralds and an academic robe at the same time). From there we went on to Pret A Manger and picked out sandwiches for lunch. I chose cheddar & pickle, which was yummy. English "pickle" is vaguely like a sweet relish or chutney and it's a great sandwich topping. I think this was the first time I'd been into a Pret that wasn't in an airport. Their selection is great and the prices are good. 

Emily had to go back to work and we went on to the National Gallery. I promised myself I'd go and visit Hogarth's "Marriage A-La-Mode" series so we sought those out first. Thank you, Mr. Hogarth, for illustrating my book centuries before I wrote it. Jan Van Eyck's "The Arolfini Marriage" is there too, so we went to see that and took in a lot of good stuff along the way. It was nice to have specific targets instead of feeling like I had to See Everything, which is too tiring!

Outside the National Gallery is Trafalgar Square where I took some good (hopefully) pictures; then we got on the Tube to visit a sari shop that Annabel knew because I'd mentioned wanting another shalwar kameez. She wasn't sure she'd remembered its location correctly but it was just around the corner from the Tube, Reshma Sarees. Bad news: they are closing! Good news: everything was 50% off! I considered many outfits, tried on two, and settled on a red-and-black one that I think I will wear to faculty convocation. Could not convince Annabel to buy anything but I did my best. 

Finally we took the bus back here and we are all relaxing--and using the wifi--before heading out for a look around Brixton Market and dinner in one of the restaurants there. It's been a Grand Day Out (Wallace & Gromit style) for sure!


Thursday, July 18, 2013

Famous Dead People

Today's excursion was to Cimitière Père-Lachaise, an unlikely but durable tourist attraction. We followed Rick Steves's excellent walking tour (props to Jessica for bringing her guidebook so I could leave the iPad in my room) and got to visit the highlights:

Oscar Wilde--now enclosed in a glass box to prevent people kissing the monument


 Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas--I'd forgotten they were buried together until Brian said "Someone else's name is on the back!"

Edith Piaf--my students do not know her music so I told them to check YouTube later today. 

Moliére--the first celebrity to be buried (actually re-buried) here when Père-Lachaise first opened in 1807 and was trying to build a reputation. 

Jim Morrison. 

Frederic Chopin

Héloïse and Abélard

Haussmann family crypt--Georges-Eugène Haussmann is the 19th-century architect who made Paris look like Paris as we know it today.

I did not take any pictures of them but there are several memorials in one section devoted to French deportees to concentration camps. Those are incredibly moving. Our living memory of World War II will not be around very much longer and it makes the "N'Oublions Jamais" on the monuments that much more poignant. We also saw the Mur aux Communards, a memorial to a small group of Parisian socialists who held out against a Prussian invasion in 1870-71 and were buried in a mass grave after making a final stand in Père-Lachaise. None of us had known the story so we all learned something amazing today. 

We got an early start so the cemetery was not at all crowded and it was not too hot. It is hilly & cobblestoned, though, so wear good shoes and eat some breakfast. I had eaten breakfast and was still more than happy to have a tartine and a café crème when we were done. God bless our waitress at Café La Factorie, who managed to keep all our orders straight and generously allowed cappuccinos to be ordered even though they weren't supposed to be on the €6,50 breakfast formule. 

I am off to London in a couple of hours or so. Will report from there if I can, or after I get back Sunday afternoon. À bientôt!



Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Friends everywhere!

Spoke to a Parisian friend by phone today as we discovered this week we will not get to see each other while I'm here. That is a huge bummer but we have made a date for next year AND she gave me a bunch of recommendations for restaurants, parks, museums, etc. that are interesting but less touristique than what I've been doing so far. I suspect that as soon as a guidebook says an area is "less touristy" than other places, that area is immediately overrun. Anyway, it was splendid to be able to talk to her. We have also been trading text messages which is fun. It is so nice to be in the same time zone for a while! She is off for a much-deserved vacation soon and I get to hold down the fort here in Paris for a few more weeks. 

But! Tomorrow I am crossing the Channel via Eurostar for the first time and will spend the weekend with my Internet friend Annabel in London. I am excited to see her and to see London, where I haven't been since 1993. That was my junior year undergrad, before I really knew anything about British lit., history, etc. So it should be a great trip in all respects. I predict tons of pictures!

We had a bit of excitement this morning en route to class as there was a "security action" on the RER B line so they suspended service from Cité U. to the stop after ours (ours is Denfert-Rochereau, the next one is Port Royal, for those of you playing Mornington Crescent). Had to walk to the Institut Protestant where we have classes instead of taking the train. It was a lovely walk but if I'd seen it coming I'd have left earlier! I heard later that a "suspicious package" was left at Denfert-Rochereau but I don't think anything came of it. Security in French rail stations--and on the streets, for that matter--is a little intimidating if you aren't used to it. Some officers look like regular police but some are in camouflage fatigues with large rifles at the ready. It all makes sense in an environment where most people spend large parts of their day out on the street, in stations, or on trains. My students said today that they feel at least as safe here, if not safer, than they would in Atlanta, for instance. You do have to be smart and observant but at a certain point your brain gets accustomed to being surrounded by strangers at all times. 

Time to go check the laundry room and see if a machine is free. I've already been in twice. The one time I need to do laundry as a matter of urgency and every washer is full!

À bientôt!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Jardin de Luxembourg--Shakespeare's sonnets illustrated

My British Lit. class went to the Jardin du Luxembourg today. Their assignment was to choose (in advance) one Shakespeare sonnet about nature (however they chose to interpret that emphasis) and then, in the garden, take 3 photos to "illustrate" their sonnet. I gave them an hour to walk around, look at everything, take their photos, and get in some classic Parisian lounging in a green metal chair if they so desired. (I definitely desired!) Then we all met at the Medici Fountain to read the chosen sonnets and see everyone's photos. It was a good way to get them to do close reading and I think they enjoyed it. I filled in with a little history about the gardens and the French gardening style, which I love disproportionately. Call me a child of the Enlightenment, I guess? I did not do my own assignment today (sometimes I do) but I did take several photos and even managed to get them uploaded and captioned on the same day! Efficiency, that's my motto. (HA.) I have to cut this post short to go and meet colleagues over dinner so please enjoy the pictures: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGSBXxR Parisian Accomplishments today: told someone where the toilets were; successfully navigated an encounter during which I barely understood a word my interlocutor was saying (non-native French speaker whispering in the library). Context clues FTW!

Monday, July 15, 2013

The Hangover, Part (July) 14

I'm afraid Bastille Day celebrations took a certain toll on the student body last night. Apparently the Métro was so crowded after the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower that it took forever for everyone to get back. But 8:30 classes come around just the same. Fortunately the coffee here is strong and, if you know where to look, cheap. A €1 espresso will set you right for at least 4 hours. My students survived the day; we are headed next to our program meeting at 5 and then to our new cafeteria destination, the FIAP Jean Monnet. FIAP is an international education complex kind of like Cité U. In fact, the EC Paris program has been housed there in the past but Dr. Guglielmi (program director) says Cité U. Is nicer and less expensive. The only drawback this year is that Cité U. has closed its "Resto-U" (restaurant universitaire, i.e., cafeteria) for renovations. So for the next 3 weeks we are eating at FIAP a couple of nights a week and getting pizza, sandwiches, etc. delivered to Cité on the other nights. It's kind of a roundabout solution but it will work. I'll be interested to see the quality of food at FIAP. Cité U. was obviously cleaning out the pantry shelves by the end of last week and we found ourselves eating some slightly peculiar things: large quantities of buttered noodles, wax beans (made from actual wax?), frozen breaded fish fillets, etc. Of course, next year's crew will have none of these worries as the renovations will be done and they'll be able to eat at Cité the entire time. And I trust that the food there will be proportionately better as well.

In other news I am very excited that my "Dangerous Liaisons" class is going along with my harebrained scheme to add another novel to our syllabus. Last week at Shakespeare & Co. I bought Adam Biles's first novel, Grey Cats, and devoured it in 14 seconds. It is another expatriate-in-Paris story but with mysterious post-apocalyptic overtones. I was hoping they'd agree to read it so we could all go to Biles's launch party at S&Co. on the 26th and then discuss the novel at our last class meeting. They said they were interested so we are going for it. I'm also welcoming the chance to read the book again. One of the cover blurbs said you will want to start it again immediately after finishing, and that's totally true!

British Lit. class goes to the Jardin de Luxembourg tomorrow and I have cooked up a little assignment involving the garden, their cameras, and Shakespeare's sonnets. We'll see what results. I haven't yet spent any time there on this trip so I am looking forward to the visit as well as the class activity. 

What else? Ah yes--Parisian Accomplishments of the Day:
-- Found post office, used self-service stamp machine, got stamp, posted letter.
-- Stared down a small van trying to cut me off at a crosswalk. 
-- Got asked for directions. Not sure this is an accomplishment exactly, but it Just. Keeps. Happening.

Time to get ready for program meeting. À bientôt!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

14 juillet--Bastille Day

Today is Bastille Day. People here just call it le 14 juillet, July 14, just like we usually say "the 4th of July" and not "Independence Day." It is the French national holiday and of course commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789 but also a holiday called La Fête de la Fédération that was celebrated first in1790. In Paris there is a military parade, fireworks and a concert in the evening, and public dances hosted at many of the fire stations around Paris. They are also doing something called  "Parisians Welcome Their Soldiers" where service members participate in meet-and-greet events around town. We saw a group of sailors with a model submarine meeting the public at Place de l'Opéra.

Our plan--it was Dr. Kirk, Dr. Hochschild, and me--was to spend a little time in the Louvre (admission is free on July 14) and then see the flyover that is part of the parade. We got to the Louvre around 9:30 and the line was already all the way around the courtyard! So instead we moseyed through the courtyard, taking a few pictures, to the edge of the Tuileries and then sat down at a café right along Rue de Rivoli. By accident we ended up in the perfect spot: we saw the opening flyover, which was magnificent, then drank some coffee and relaxed, then got to see some of the parade come past as it broke up. It was not too crowded and we had not had to wade all the way down to the Champs-Élysées. But come to think of it, I should try to go down there this week and take a few pictures while the tricolor is flying in the Arc de Triomphe. The highlight of sitting in the parade's wrap-up area was seeing a whole line of soldiers march down the sidewalk in dress uniform, through the café tables and spectators, with their bayonets fixed to their rifles and their white-gloved hands covering the bayonets so that no one accidentally got stabbed. Secondary highlight: watching the huge military vehicles (tank...tank...truck...tank...) pass by, interrupted at one point by a tiny Renault Clio belonging to the fire department. Local equivalent of tiny Shriner cars in our parades.

We could probably have seen a bit more of the parade if we'd stayed, but Dr. H. and I decided to seek out Paris's one and only Chipotle for a Bastille Day celebration lunch. Apple's Maps application performed as expected (imperfectly) but we got there, cheerfully overpaid, and ate Chipotle looking out over the Boulevard Haussmann. It was just like our Chipotle except no fountain drinks--only bottled drinks, so I had lemon fizzy water. I absolutely do not seek out American places when in France--have not been to Starbucks or McDonald's since arriving--but I love the incongruity of a Chipotle down the street from the grands magasins. I'd love to know what Paris thinks of Chipotle. There were some French people in there with us but I think they were outnumbered by Americans.

On the way back we were crammed into an RER with the half of Paris who had been doing the same things we'd been doing.  (The other half took Tour Guide Josh's advice and stayed home to watch the parade on TV.) We returned just in time for a quick nap--or blog post--before a game of pétanque that is coming up at 4:00. A chance to hone my skills before the next réunion des Boudreault.

À bientôt!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Congés

After a busy week (and then some) it has been great to have some free time with nothing on the schedule. Today I did a tiny bit of work while sitting on the bed in my pajamas, went in search of Prosecco for tomorrow night (no dice but I did get a bottle of Vauvray, a bottle of Lambrusco, and my very own Wine Guy), and then set out with Dr. Winchester to flâner. We went back to the Marais to see the Musée Carnavalet, had lunch, and then I saw him off to visit a friend in Amiens before returning to finish off the Carnavalet and my wanderings around the quartier. I actually walked longer than I meant to--got confused trying to find the bus stop near the Hôtel de Ville and finally had to make for a familiar Métro stop instead. Today I did not take my "big camera" so I have only a few phone pics:

One of the few medieval houses within the city of Paris

The garden and main gate of the Carnavalet, which occupies two hôtels particuliers in the Marais. 

Carnavalet garden

The Carnavalet has lots of interesting stuff but I especially liked the last 2 rooms I went through, which were full of advertisements and shop signs from the 19th century and earlier:

One of a set of 3 signs advertising insurance by showing things you should be insured against (in this case, hail). 

One of two different "À la Tête Noire" (Sign of the Black Head) signs on display. (You can also see all 3 of the insurance signs here.)

Scale model of a diligence or mail-coach. The real thing would have been bigger than I ever imagined them. 

Place de Vosges was very popular today. 

Hôtel de Ville is all dressed up for Bastille Day tomorrow. 

I am going with Dr. Kirk to visit the Louvre (free on 14 juillet!) and see the military flyover at the end of the parade. Then Dr. Carroll is leading a game of pétanque in the afternoon. It's gonna be a great Bastille Day!

À bientôt!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Adventures in Transit

Last night I went with three students to hear Charles Simic read his poetry at Shakespeare & Co. My friend Darin was right: it was a treat! His poetry seems to be quotidian (in a good way) and profound and funny and bleak all at the same time. I like to hear poetry read aloud but now I want to read some of his poetry on paper as well--a reading is ephemeral and you don't quite have time to really consider what you're hearing. In any case it was a perfect night and, of course, an excellent turnout. S&Co. had set up folding chairs and a sound system outside the shop (I don't know how I thought they would do it inside; there isn't room to swing a cat in there) and the whole little courtyard was filled. 

We arrived about 1 minute before Simic was introduced, which was a lucky break because we had an adventure getting there. We were on the RER B when it slowed down, stopped briefly between stations (unhelpful recorded announcement: "This train has stopped between stations. Please stay inside the train and do not open the doors."), slow-rolled through one or two more stops and finally parked, for lack of a better word, at Port-Royal. Incoherent announcements came over the intercom as  is the practice in all transit systems, everywhere. "Mesdames et Messieurs, mumble mumble crackle static mumble. Merci de votre comprehension." (That last part is the killer: "Thank you for your understanding," when you have not understood a thing.) I finally worked out that there had been a fire at or near Gare du Nord. It must not have been serious because I can't find anything about it in the news, but after several minutes they made us all get off the train.

Port-Royal does not connect to any other Métro or RER lines but I remembered Dr. Winchester's favorite 38 bus and thought we'd try that. Of course, so did the rest of the train passengers, so we were packed into the bus tighter than I thought possible. But it worked! We got out at St. Michel-St. Germain, spotted Notre Dame, and successfully made port at Shakespeare & Co. After the reading we walked around Notre Dame and along the Seine a little bit, and a bouquiniste made some money from my students who bought souvenirs from him. I was the translator so he gave me two free postcards. Then we walked on in search of an uncrowded café and ended up at this small place on the Right Bank with a crusty, white-haired proprietress and a menu on a chalkboard. Sarah ordered an assiette de fromage but she only liked one of the fromages, so Radiance and Lindsay and I helped her finish it. First time I'd eaten proper cheese since arriving, and the only relevant question is why did I wait so long?

Meeting with Dr. Kirk this morning, then some grading, then maybe a nap because it was late by the time we got back. All this daylight makes it easy to stay up late. This afternoon, perhaps a museum?

Foul disproportion?

If you know me well at all, you know I am directionally challenged. I have no internal compass or instinct for finding my way, so I have to use maps and GPS and careful planning when I go somewhere. When I met my classes for the first time I acknowledged this to them right away and told them it meant I would be extra careful planning field trips so that no one would get lost along the way. It has worked so far--on this morning's trip I had to Google-map but only because we emerged on a different side of a Métro station than I anticipated. What's consistently throwing me off about Paris is its proportions. Did I post this statistic the other day? The central city (inside the périphérique) is only 34 square miles. By comparison, the Atlanta metropolitan area (which does include suburbs) is over 8,000 square miles. So everything in Paris is much closer together than we are used to. The close proximity flummoxes me every time. I just can't look at a map of Paris and remember the scale of it. Hopefully I will adjust to this difference after more time around the city.

 I am slowly getting a few benchmarks in my head: I know we are on the southern boundary of the city. I know that the Louvre and the Palais Garnier are within sight of each other. I know that you can get on the 38 bus and end up at the Boulevard St-Michel, from which the cafés we went to today are readily accessible. And now I know that Shakespeare & Co. looks out onto Notre-Dame cathedral. To get there we came through narrow back streets from the St Michel-Notre Dame train station. We popped out alongside the Seine with the cathedral looming and it was a great Paris "wow" moment. Shakespeare & Co. was splendid as well: small and atmospheric and intellectual just like you expect. It was also a relief for all of our brains to be in an anglophone environment for an hour. I bought 2 novels set in Paris, The Merde Factor by Stephen Clarke (read 3 pages, laughed at least 5 times) and Grey Cats by Adam Biles (looks vaguely The Road or China Mieville-ish). It turns out that Biles will be at S&Co. on the 26th to promote his book so I'm going to try to go back. I'm also going back tonight to hear Charles Simic read. 

After a good wallow in bibliophilia we went over to the famous Deux Magots and Flore cafés and decided to venture the Flore. We had examined the menu and knew it would be expensive, but I felt it was worth it and the students did too. Nice, basic French food, pretty presentations, better service than I'd been taught to expect. It probably helped that we went before the lunch rush so our waiter had time to deal with our sketchy French and weird requests. All the students said they had a good time and all assured me that they had learned something, so I'm going to call it a success!

On the way back here I needed to answer a call of nature and the automated entrance to the toilette nearest me in Chatelet station was not working. I consulted a nearby RATP employee who was working at a conveniently placed information stand. (God bless the RATP, which has, I suspect, cooked up this info-stand scheme to aid hapless tourists while giving their summer interns something to do.) She sent me through the maze that is Chatelet-Les Halles and I found that the formerly sparkling food market of Les Halles has indeed been turned into a soulless multi-level shopping plaza. With toilets that are not as clean as they should be for €0,50. Live and learn--I'd missed a perfectly good opportunity to tour the ladies' room at the Flore, after all.

When I returned to Cité, I went straight to the library to check my students' most recent blog posts (good job, thanks, guys) and . . . download pictures! So here I present to you:

Giverny: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGJ1FrK

Le Marais: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGJ1M74 (the cover photo for this one accidentally turned out to be a falafel sandwich)

Shakespeare & Co. and Café de Flore: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGLY73w

Enjoy! À bientôt!