Eiffel for Paris: Lately...

Busy, busy, busy!
What a whirlwind of activity of late...
The following includes a laundry list of sorts from the past month, in case you were wondering what I've been up to...

*I kicked off November by celebrating Guy Fawkes Day (Bonfire Day) as a guest of a friend at the UK Embassy in Paris. Sparklers were everywhere and a terrific fireworks display was enjoyed by all. The effigy of Guy Fawkes was atop the bonfire, as tradition states, because such was his demise in 1606, after unsuccessfully trying to ignite explosives placed beneath Parliament. The celebration has served as a good warning for the past 400+ years...Don't mess with Parliament.

*The first Sunday of the month is 'free museum admission day' (in most cases) around the city. I took advantage of this in November and visited the Musée de l'Orangerie where Monet's waterlily paintings are on display. The museum was under renovation when I was a student and lasted for about 6 years (comprising subsequent visits) so I had never had the opportunity to see them before. They were breath-taking!

*My first foray into French bureaucratic and necessary measures towards getting my Visa validated (and thus entering the health care system) was a bust. After arriving early and being the last one called (after 4+ hours of going through various other steps), I found out that I had the wrong kind of photograph (the woman literally shook her head when she saw my Costco version and stated that it had to be the French size) and the wrong information proving that I am living with a host family. I returned the next week with everything in order, and after waiting only 2+ hours, left with the stamp on my Visa.

*I attended two different Remembrance Day events on November 11th. The first was here in my town where the mayor spoke and shared the history behind French involvement in World War I, and a group of middle school-aged children sang about 5 verses of La Marseillaise (I had no idea there were so many!) I then headed to Notre-Dame where the British Council was hosting a similar event, in English. I got goosebumps when I saw the flags of various anglophone countries processing in, to include the flag of the United States of America!!! The cathedral of Notre-Dame was honestly one of the last places that I ever expected to see it!

*I've been to the Chateau of Versailles a handful of times over the years, but I've never really explored the extensive gardens, or the "Queen's Domain" (the little bit of countryside that was set aside for Marie-Antoinette). The best part of all is that entry to the gardens is free, and so I spent hours just wandering around. I can't wait to go back!

*I have been attending church at the American Church in Paris (ACP), and really enjoy their mid-day contemporary worship service on Sundays. I'm also finding numerous ways to get involved. Between meeting fabulous ladies in the knitting group, meeting other young adults, and preparing pizzas and baked goods for the ACP-hosted Christmas Market, I've been rather busy!

*The permanent exhibitions of most museums are open to the public so I met up with an assistant friend and we explored Le Petit Palais one Sunday afternoon. A gorgeous building, built in the 1920s or 1930s, it houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and includes many examples of jewelry and interior design from the Art Nouveau design period (my favorite!)

*The French love to exercise their freedoms...especially any of the ones dealing with going on strike or starting a social movement. I got to experience one involving train conductors, and therefore involving my commuter trains (I can take any of 4 trains into the city, and they were all affected!) In the space of two days, trains were "perturbed" and only running 1 out 2 the first day, and 2 out of 3 the second day. Lengthy wait times and packed train cars are all part of the charm, I suppose. Vive la France!

*One of my college friends who is living in the city invited me to join her and her friends at what they call the "Kir Club." Rather than a real club, however, she and her friends gather at a designated apartment and "have a kir"! I spent a lovely afternoon getting to know some lovely, English-speaking ladies from all over the world while eating cous-cous and watching rugby!

*I joined a group of 'speed-walkers' (a combination of ladies from the knitting group and some from the American Women's Group in Paris) as they circled the Luxembourg Gardens. We then enjoyed lunch at a typically French restaurant, that served Italian dishes!

*'Night work on train lines' doesn't happen in the middle of the night, like one might think. Oh no, it can start around 930/10pm. So when you are expecting to be able to catch a train well into the 11 o'clock hour and you find that there's only one remaining train at approximately 1015pm, and the furthest it goes is one stop before your own...well, you say a prayer and hope for the best. Thankfully, they had buses for those of us that live beyond that "last stop of the night." Whew! Definitely answered prayer!

*I enjoyed not one, but two, Thanksgiving dinners. A new friend from the knitting group invited me to join her family on the actual night which was so thoughtful and just lovely. I couldn't visit for as long as I wanted to (see above), but I really enjoyed their hospitality and enjoyed being with other Americans on that night so far from home. I must have shared the importance of Thanksgiving (along with some pertinent vocabulary) with my French students a dozen times during the week, and each time I realized just how much I've taken the holiday (and let's be honest, so many of the blessings in my life) for granted. Being separated from loved ones and being in a culture that has little to no prior knowledge of this holiday opened my eyes. I don't think I'll ever think of it the same way again! The ACP hosted a marvelous dinner as well over the Thanksgiving weekend. We enjoyed turkey with all the trimmings, and even real pumpkin pie (the ingredients for most of the dishes are difficult to track down and really expensive when you do, so it was nice to see so many familiar parts of the meal that I didn't think would make a showing here in Paris!) I met some new folks and stayed to help clean up, leaving close to 1130pm. No track work on the weekends...hunh.

*My French friend invited me to go to the Edward Munch exposition at Centre Pompidou. Before seeing the collection, I was really only familiar with "The Scream." But now, I have a much greater appreciation for his style, his use of color, and his repetitive treatment of certain subjects. The exhibit was called "Edward Munch: A Modern Eye" for good reason because he suffered from an eye malady and tried to sketch what he saw when he focused on what he saw. Definitely a new way of looking at creating art! A little surreal, but very intriguing!

A "few" photos...