Autumn Already?

I adore alliteration...

No, really...

Another thing I adore is this super-warm autumnal weather that is somewhat surprising to everyone in France!  I visited with my sweet older neighbor this afternoon for a few moments to bring her some flowers as a thank-you for her warm welcome and she remarked about the weather, "We are having the month of April in the month of September!"  I say, so much the better...it's really adding to my current joie de vivre!

I find that I can't help writing a little bit about each day that passes.  My days have been filled to the brim with activities, both touristic and work-related...wait, work?  What work?  I'm here to work?  Oh, that's right...I am here to work!  Although, the French government doesn't seem to remember that it hired me to work for the next few months.  I still do not have my placements; however, I know once I receive them, I'll have to return to reality.  But for now, I'm enjoying this incredible dream...

Sunday evening was a treat because Espérance asked me if I wanted to go for a bike ride.  I had asked earlier if there was a park nearby (for when I can't get into the city).  There is one not far away so she wanted to show me the way to get there (by bike or by foot).  It's a lovely park - surrounding le château de Morsang (less a real castle, more a bourgeois home from long ago), but Savigny sur Orge and neighboring Morsang equally share the park.  There are trails everywhere, a few scattered play structures for the kids, a little lake with ducks and one beautiful white swan and men with fishing poles...It was idyllic!  And the best part of all?  I got to ride the family's electric bike!  It was downhill almost all the way to the park, so the way back was quite easy thanks to a little "horsepower"...well, maybe not horse...

It was decided that on Monday Susy and I would present ourselves au rectorat (basically the headquarters for the schools of Paris) to see if we could learn any more about our placements.  The answer came back:  We're still working on things.  Well, at least we know it's not something inachevé on our part.  Since we were in the same neighborhood as Père-Lachaise, a famous above-ground cemetery in the eastern part of the city, we decided to pay a visit (I'd never been before).  There are maps that show many of the famous burial sites (Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, etc.) but we just walked hither and yon, remarking on the beautiful iron work that was visible on almost every edifice.  Afterwards, we made our way to the neighborhood of my old academic haunts in the 6ème arrondisement...very close to ???  You guessed it - les jardins de Luxembourg!  There are grassy spots everywhere, but you can't sit on all of them.  We found the area where many other students were enjoying the sun and shade and ate our lunch on the edge of the grass.  Susy had an appointment to open her bank account and I decided to go back to my old school building to visit with the director of my university's abroad program (Audrey) who was the assistant director when I was there 10 years ago!  She looked great and the building looked very much the same, with a few updates and changes during the past few years.  It was a bit of nostalgie to be there again!  Susy and I met up again and this time decided to go to another nearby cemetery - La cimitière Montparnasse - it was quite a day for cemeteries!  This one also has many famous "residents" like Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Brancusi, la famille Boucicaut (not really famous, but I recognized the name because he is the man who started Le Bon Marché in Paris - the world's first department store - I almost wrote my Art History thesis about this man!)  I very much enjoyed my day filled with so much walking; however, my feet were less than enthused by the end of it...

I took it a little easier today - I slept in very late and headed out of the house just in time for my own bank account appointment.  Everything went swimmingly and I will soon receive the famous carte bleue - the debit card with the little micro-chip that makes a world of difference in France if you don't have it!  I was so worried about this process during the summer and before my departure, and now I can check it off my list!  Ça y est!  After the bank, I decided to walk back to the park.  I found a spot near the water (that wasn't already occupied - many people had the same idea today!) and as I lay on my back and watched the clouds, listened to the ducks, and felt the breeze I thought to myself that I could spend many hours of my life (and in some ways I already have) in just this way... :)

You'll find some photos of the past three days after the jump...

Electric bikes are extremely exciting!

A little wiggle in my walk at Susy's behest...

Impressive ironwork!

Père-Lachaise...

Sunny smile...

Aux morts...

Edith Piaf's final resting place...

The courtyard at Reid Hall!

I'm sure this plaque was always posted, I just don't remember ever reading it!  Thank you, Elisabeth Mills Reid for both a beautiful building and a wonderful abroad experience!!

The outside plaque was removed and the door painted black, but it remains the same Reid Hall...

N°4,

rue de Chevreuse...

La cimitière Montparnasse, just in front of la tour Montparnasse

(Montparnasse Tower)

Susy and I arrived at the end of this walkway, and I said, "Oh, it's a dead end."

No joke.

We burst out laughing!

Love the vert-de-gris...

Le Baiser de Constantin Brancusi ;)

Shot of color in the park - l'automne est arrivé...

Little bridge over a tiny part of the Orge, for which my town is named...

(Savigny sur Orge)

This was my view while sitting on the bank...

Weeping willows everywhere (and this one behind me)...

View of the skies above...and my knobby knees...

No planes, but something was missing...

Would that my days were always this sublime!

Did you catch my amazing, astounding, alliterative skills?

They're almost as good as my 'nac for puns...

Almost  ♥