Maman et Papa à Paris

It's been a while since I updated this, but I promise I have a very good reason: my mom and dad came to visit me last week, and between doing fun stuff with them and still managing to make it to my classes, I was kept very (albeit pleasantly) busy.

They arrived on Sunday morning, and after a quick breakfast and some essential caffeine, we hopped a bus (the one I take to school) for a ride along the Seine in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. We wandered around for a bit, but it was a bit too cold and windy for a leisurely stroll. Instead, we headed back near my apartment and their hotel, to the Marché Mouffetard, my favorite outdoor market. We stopped for a fondue lunch and had fun peeking in all the various stores and stalls. After a short nap for Mom and Dad, with warm cheese in our bellies and the sun breaking through the clouds, we decided to try to walk in the Jardin du Luxembourg. I was surprised at how crowded it was -- I think tourist season is officially in full swing. Once we soaked in our share of sun, it was time to go back to my apartment for dinner with my host family. Janine very thoughtfully insisted on having my parents and a few of my friends from Sciences Po over for dinner, and we even turned it into a combined early/belated birthday party for my dad and me. I made the cake, which was one of the more interesting experiences I have had here so far. The recipe called for one "soup spoon" of flour...that's right, the French don't have measuring spoons the way we think of them. It turned out as a sort of flourless chocolate cake with a matte glaze on top. It tasted pretty good, if I do say so myself, but it was not at all what I was expecting!

This entry could easily go on forever, so I will try to summarize the rest of the week's events briefly:

Monday: My parents and I went to the Musée de Cluny (a museum of the Middle Ages that is down the street from me, across from the Sorbonne) in the morning, then I left for class. In the evening, I met them for dinner at a really cool restaurant where I had a vegetable "millefeuille". I was intrigued when I saw this on the menu because a millefeuille is usually a type of dessert made with layers of pastry and custard. My millefeuille was like a vegetable lasagna, but without the pasta. Yum! After dinner, we went to a jazz show for the opening night of the Paris Jazz Festival.

Tuesday: We initially planned on going to the Eiffel Tower in the morning (because even though I have lived here for 2 months, I still have not been up in it) but got discouraged by the crowds. It was not nearly that busy even when B was here just a few weeks ago! Instead, we went to the Musée du Quai Branly, which I had been wanting to visit for a while. It specializes in non-European art and civilizations. In the afternoon, we (i.e. my mom and I, and my dad humored us) window-shopped our way through the 6th arrondissement before depositing my dad in a park to check out Le Bon Marché, a huge and very famous department store. We took a break for some Berthillon ice cream, and then I left again for class.

Wednesday: I left my mom and dad to their own devices in the morning because I had class...which turned out to be canceled. Zut. I met up with them again after lunch, though, and we took a walking tour of Paris' two islands: Ile de la Cité and Ile St-Louis. After the tour, we stopped by a little hole-in-the-wall bistrot that my mom found in her guidebook for wine (my parents), tea (me -- I was fighting off a cold), and a delicious assortment of cheeses. I went back to class (there's a trend developing here) and then crashed into bed after discovering the NyQuil hidden in the bottom of my suitcase.

Thursday: This may have been my favorite day of the visit. We took the train about a half hour outside of Paris to Versailles and spent most of the day there. I wasn't terribly fond of the chateau itself. There were way too many tourists shoving past one another, and I happen to think that the Louvre is the more beautiful palace, even if (or perhaps because) it's less gilded and sparkly. (But then we all know how I feel about the Louvre.) However, a half hour walk into the grounds brought us to "La domaine de Marie-Antoinette", composed of two smaller chateaux, a summer house, and my personal favorite "the hamlet". Yes, I realize it is completely ridiculous that Marie-Antoinette constructed her own small village in her backyard and that it is representative of the worst excesses of the French aristocracy...but they had bunnies! And goats, sheep, chickens, cows, etc. By the looks of it, the powers-that-be are still keeping the farm operational, and the result was a very pleasant "country" ramble. The formal gardens closer to main palace were very beautiful as well, with everything just beginning to bloom. We even got lucky a few times and happened upon some fountains as the maintenance crews were testing them. Oh, and I forgot to mention one other thing: the weather was absolutely perfect. 70 degrees and sunny. That, combined with all the green things, made it a perfect spring day.

Friday: In the morning, we took a walking tour in the 10th arrondissement, along the Canal St-Martin. This sentence requires a bit of an explanation. I was surprised that my mom's guidebook listed a walking tour in the 10th. It's not exactly a bad part of town, but it's definitely not very touristy. It's much more residential, and two of the main train stations are over there -- all in all, not quite what comes to mind when you picture a walking tour. However, the canal itself was pretty, and we stumbled upon another of Paris's many outdoor markets. It's a part of the city that I barely know at all, so it was nice to have a chance to explore a bit. After a yummy lunch at a pretty interesting and eclectic cafe -- warning: I am looking for a chance to take one of my many visitors back there -- I was, you guessed it, back to class. I met my parents back on rue Mouffetard afterward for dessert to celebrate their last night in Paris.

Saturday: I met my mom and dad for a quick breakfast at "our" patisserie across the street from their hotel before their shuttle came to take them to the airport. I spent the rest of Saturday doing absolutely nothing. It was like all the adrenaline rushed out of me. I wasn't tired enough to nap, but after forcing myself to run a few errands, I didn't have the energy to go out and do anything else. I decided that I deserved a break after such a busy week, and proceeded to spend most of the afternoon watching movies and catching up on a bit of reading for school.

Sunday: I went to Palm Sunday services at the American Cathedral, where I was slightly disappointed to realize that they don't process outside at the beginning of the service. My guess is that it has something to do with the laicité laws regarding public religious displays...either that, or it's just not practical to move a congregation of perhaps 200 people around an entire city block. One of the two.

I used Sunday afternoon to get myself organized: I am leaving on my spring break adventure in only 3 days! I have my train tickets, the confirmations for my various hotels and hostels, and I have reserved my ticket for the Uffizi Gallery in Florence (meaning I won't have to stand in line for hours). This is my first trip of the semester, and while I'm actually a little sad to be sacrificing 10 whole days worth of exploring Paris, I know it will be worth it. I'm excited!

I will be taking my computer with me (sadly, it's in order to get some necessary work done on the train) so keep an eye out for updates during my travels.