Acting like a tourist

With only 3 weeks to go, and only 2 of which being spent in Paris, I decided I should make a list of things I want to do here before I go and start doing them. The orangerie in the Tuilleries just opened after several years of reconstruction, so I tried to go there last Saturday. It's a deceptive name; there are no oranges or orange trees there, it's a museum designed by Monet and filled with his works. The weather was pretty bad, in fact a tempest was on it's way into Paris, but I walked out there all the same only to find that they had closed the orangerie, and the Tuilleries, due to the incredible winds which had almost stopped me in my tracks at one point they were so strong. Upset that I walked out there for nothing, I waited for the storm to die down some and then walked back home, vowing that I would be back.

On Sunday I went to the Parc Montsouris and on Monday I visited the Musee national du Moyen Age and the church St. Sulpice. The ancient galo-romain baths in the museum were really cool to see, and I was definitely amused by all the signs posted around the obelisk at St. Sulpice (featured in the Davinci Code) describing the actual purpose of the obelisk and assuring everyone that it had nothing to do with a religious cult or the Priori of Sion. Just as I vowed, I went back to the Orangerie on Tuesday in force (aka with my friends), only to discover that it was closed once again, this time because Tuesday is the day that most national museums in Paris close, so it was really my own fault. We decided to go the Musee Marmottan instead, which also features the works of Monet and was not closed. We then went to the Bois de Bologne (also appears in the Davinci Code) where I did not find any shady characters doing drugs or offering their "services". I did find some nice lakes though, and walked around for a bit before going to Rolland Garros to find out about tickets to the French Open, though I don't think I'm going to go.

Yesterday I took a day trip out to Chantilly, home of a nice chateau, gardens designed by Lenotre, and whipped cream. The chateau and gardens were good to see, though it rained for most of the trip, making a walk through the gardens not so much fun. The whipped cream however was the star of the show. I had a hot chocolate topped with the famous cream in a cafe that is part of the gardens and it was amazing, the best I've ever had to be sure. I could've bought a whole bowl of it for 4 euros, but I decided that would be overkill. Last night I ate at the Moroccain restaurant that's part of the Mosque here in Paris. The mosque also has a teahouse, a hammam where you can go to get messages, and a store; it's not your average mosque. The food was excellent, especially the mint tea, the lamb, and the bhaklava, though I ate FAR too much and had to walk for over an hour just to feel comfortably full again.

I still have a lot of things left on the to do list, but since I have an exam coming up Wednesday they might have to wait a bit, or I might have to try to sneak them in between bouts of studying. I'm going to have company soon, since a girl from Emory (Minoo if you know her) is coming to stay with the same host family as me for the summer program. I'm really excited, since we are pretty good friends, and since having her around might make the situation with my host family much more pleasant.

Exams and finishing up

Not much has happened in the past couple weeks; mostly I've been preparing for and taking exams though I'm only half way done right now. All exams here are essay format; I don't think multiple choice exists in France. For the Psychology exams (I had 3 for one class) I pretty much just used the essay question to write down everything I knew from the class so hopefully that's good enough to get a passing grade (10/20, getting an "A" - 18/20 - NEVER happens and a 13/20 is a good grade). I've got two more exams left but not until May 31st and June 7th so I have a lot of time to kill in Paris now.

I went to an oenology lesson where we learned how to taste wine and describe it - colors, scents, tastes, etc. She passed around viles that contained scents that we were supposed to identify (most of them fruits) and I didn't do a very good job of it. She also hid the labels of the bottles and had us try to guess what type of wine it was and what area it was from after we had tasted it. Needless to say, we weren't too accurate, but I did get rather tipsy and was able to make dinner out of the bread and cheese she provided for us. I actually managed to do the same thing (both getting tipsy and having bread and cheese for dinner) at the party the EDUCO president sponsored to celebrate the end of the Theater class she taught.

A few friends and I did a Cinco de Mayo celebration and found a pretty good Mexican restaurant in Paris in which to eat and have some margaritas. After we went to a bar and I had Grog for the first time. To me the name suggests a heavy beer like what you would expect Vikings to have drunk from their horn-mugs, but instead I got a cup of rum with lemon, honey and sugar and a teapot of hot water to add to it. It was good, and I think it would clear up just about any cold. It also made me very sleepy; I wouldn't be surprised if this drink is the origin for the word "groggy".

We had an Amelie day where we watched the movie (which I missed since I was taking my Psyc exams) and then went to the cafe where she worked - Les Deux Moulins - for happy hour, though we were an hour early and had to find a way to kill time. I got the cafe's signature drink - Les deux moulins - and it was pretty good though small. It wasn't the greatest experience however because our waiter had a terrible attitude and refused to bring us water, but it was nice to see the place anyway.

I went to the Da Vinci Code premiere last night and what did I find? If you guessed protestors you win! Seriously, there were a large group of very conservative Catholics protesting the movie and it was big enough so that cops with riot gear were surrounding both them and the people waiting in line to get in to the movie. I can't believe that they take the movie so seriously, but I think part of it is that Parisians will find any excuse to protest and/or go on strike. Even after the CPE was repealed students protested the proposed measures to prevent the school year from being annulled - make up classes at night/on Saturdays, delaying exams, etc. I'm just ready for the school year to be over so I can do some more travelling and come home!