The Past Week

I finally got my computer fixed and back yesterday! The motherboard was cracked and had to get replaced which from what I understand only took about 10 minutes or so. This post is going to cover a lot of stuff, mainly just me being a tourist.

Thursday was a good day overall I think. The big event was the Opera. We (the ISA group) went to see La Dames Aux Camielias, which is a ballet. It was nice. My roommate and I had box seats on the third tier almost right above the orchestra. They were good seats but we could only see 2/3 of the stage so that meant we only saw 2/3 of the ballet as well. The music was nice though so that made up for not being able to see the whole ballet. It was very long. Although I have to mention that I have never seen a ballet before so I didn't know what to expect. Overall though I enjoyed it. It was pretty cool to be able to see a ballet in the National Opera House. I didn't take my camera so there aren't any pictures...sorry.

Friday was more or less ordinary. I had lunch with some friends who I hadn't seen in awhile so that was nice. We ate at the student cafeteria called Le Crous. There quite a few of these all over the city but the closest big one is at Port Royal, just down the street. It was hard finding a place to sit and eat though because so many people just sit and chill for 30-40 minutes after they finished eating, which I understand but it is a pain when you're the one left standing there. After that I spent about an hour or so on the phone with a Dell tech person who spoke about as much English as I speak French so it was a little frustrating. All is well now since it has been fixed. I rounded out the day with some pictures that I took at Place du Saint-Sulpice The first one here. I made my up to Pont Neuf (yeah that's the bridge from the Bourne Identity) and took some pictures facing the Louvre and the Seine at sunset, like the one at the top.

Saturday was an interesting day. I basically walked around Paris. There is a street near Le Sacre Coeur that has about five or six model train shops on it. So I went to check that out. Of course as fate would have I got there just at about the time that they take their lunch so I didn't get to look much. I think I'll go back look later in the semester though. I moved onto the Marais district. There were a ton of people there. Of course it was Saturday but I didn't realize how touristy it was. However, I did find the house that Mom read about in her book and so I took some pictures. It really is a very nice part of the city. I had a late meal that night and spent about an hour or so taking pictures at La Tour Eiffel. Unfortunately though I missed the lights sparkling but that I am going to save for a much warmer night.

Sunday was a very fun day. I met up with a friend from my group and her friend and the three first had lunch and some coffee because it was very cold. That seems to be the trend around here lately. It is very sunny but very cold and windy. It was a good meal. We all had salads that were quite large, quite good, and comparatively speaking, rather cheap. After that we headed out to the Pantheon. Since it was the first Sunday of the month all the Museums and tourists attractions were free of charge so we got in for free. It didn't get us out of the cold though because it was still very cold inside. The architecture is pretty neat with columns and great big arches and of course the dome on the top. There are paintings all along the walls around the chamber. One in particular was about Joane d'Arc and another was about Saint-Genevieve. Perhaps the biggest attraction in the Pantheon is the worlds largest pendulum which swings from the dome some 200 ft or so high. The ball itself though is 28kilos and is made of lead. It looks to be just a little bigger than a basketball. There is a crypt below the main chamber which now holds the remains of many famous people of France. One is Jean Moulin who is the hero of the French Resistance during WWII. Next the girls wanted to go to Saint-Germain for mass which was in Spanish. It was an interesting service and I enjoyed it a lot even though I'm not Catholic and I can't speak Spanish. It was a very peaceful service though and the structure wasn't too much different from the Presbyterian services I've been too. The day was a lot of fun and it was a good way to finish the weekend.

Monday I had classes all day. Not so much fun. It takes a lot of effort by the time my second class rolls around to stay focused and keep my mind of French. It is so easy sometimes to just let your brain shut off and not hear a word the professor is saying which is bad especially in a class that is designed for the students to speak a lot. But yesterday was much better. Afterward I went to the Monoprix which is a grocery store and got some things for the week. Then I grabbed my computer from the ISA office and went to the apartment to do homework. Not a bad day, just normal.

Today was okay. I was tired more today for some reason and a bit irritated at some stuff. I was hoping to leave all the stupid things bureaucratic paperwork garbage back at school. I know it's a part of life and all but here it's at a whole new level. That's all I'm going to say about that. Anyway class was long but productive. We covered some heavy duty grammar so my brain is a little fried right now. That's okay I get to sleep in tomorrow. I didn't do much other than that; caught up with friends who I didn't see all weekend and went back to my apartment to work on this epic story. I don't have any plans for tomorrow as far as sight seeing but maybe something will come up.

I am working on a couple more pages of pictures from places I've been too. Oh by the way my picture count is at about 3,300...

If anyone has any random questions about anything here in Paris just leave a comment or something and I'll get you an answer because I can't write everything down here. Stay tuned...