Found a rosemary bush. Great day.

Jonah recently discovered a small rosemary plant/bush/whatever right outside our little patio thing. Today, we used some of the rosemary in our hamburgers (as of four days ago).

Sadly, I haven't been able to keep the promises I made in my last blog post. I've been kept extremely busy with school (not with work outside the classroom, but just with class time itself), traveling, and exploring Paris. So here's a recap: I've seen sunsets from the banks of the Seine, happy Frenchies basking in the afternoon sun on the hills of Montmarte, and our local jazz group perform live on Sundays at La Taverne de Cluny. The falafel in Le Marais is still as good as it was two months ago, as are the baguettes from our local boulangerie. We've been visited by friends from Madison (Curren, Voj, Eckhous, Kelly "she's so open" Maslow, Goldstein, etc), and are looking forward to a visit from the self-proclaimed "Dream Team" (Sam, Ian, AK). It is now springtime in Paris, which brings to mind countless (probably not actually countless) clichés and classic images of the city during this time. The gardens of Luxembourg and Tuilleries are now in bloom, and tourists crowd the plaza in front of Notre Dame. The lucky ones get to see the real crown of thorns, which is on display at Notre Dame once a month.

I've developed a newfound appreciation for art, furthered my passion for the outdoors, and obsessed over planning an epic spring break, which is now only five days away. Wednesday nights now consist of Louvre visits, since it's open until 22:00 on Wednesday, and visits to our favorite club, Barrio Latino. Google it. Sundays are the same as they've been since I first got here, and I don't want that to change. We wake up, meet people in Le Marais and get falafal, walk to Place Vosges and eat our falafel, walk to Le Centre Pompidou and watch street performers, walk to Hotel de ville, cross the Seine and head over to Notre Dame, and finally go to Saint Michel to catch a bus back to our place.

Jonah and I went to a Tunisian/Jewish/French family's apartment for the first seder. I really didn't know what to expect going into the meal, but it ended up being one of the most memorable seders of my life. The extremely Jewish mother immediately put my height to use, using me to get the kiddush cups from their highest cabinet. We hung out with their daughters and cousins, all of which were great kids and a ton of fun to be around. It really felt like I was at my long-lost, much more tan relatives' house.

We also went to London a number of few weeks ago, and I wish I had a lot of good things to say about it, but unfortunately that is not the case. Westminster Abbey is cool, London Bridge is pretty cool, House of Parliament is cool, the food is mediocre, and the London Eye is not actually an eye. Great beer selection though. The biggest issue I had with the city, however, was not the sights, but rather the lack of a palpable culture. I can feel Paris, and I could feel Barcelona (more on that to come), but London really didn't feel like anything special. Fortunately, I'm living on the other side of the channel.

We went to Normandy to see the D Day beaches and the American cemetery, all of which was much more amazing to see than I expected. I even got to have a rock throwing contest on the beach with Jonah. I won.

That's the update for now. Hopefully I'll have a Barcelona entry out by sometime before I go on break, but we'll see.

Here are some pictures.

La Seine, looking west

Place Vosges, finally with some color

Sacre Coeur

Montmarte

Louvre

Just for some perspective

Ridic

Wow so it's been a little while since I last had the drive to make a blog post, and even longer since I actually made my last blog post. Since either of those times, much has happened. Most importantly, I've decided that from now on I'm going to write most of my blog posts in tour book style. This will not be one of them.

I started class a few weeks ago, a major change from my three week vacation when I first arrived in Paris. I then switched into a more advanced French level for my grammar class (as detailed in my previous post). I then also switched into a more advanced French phonetics class. So after I had gotten those French wrinkles ironed out (aka forced the French administrators of their institute for higher education to heed my requests), things started to go more smoothly and I fell into a nice weekly routine. I fell into a little bit too good of a routine, because time started to pass way too quickly. I've been consciously having to remind myself that I'm living in Paris, that the buildings and people around me are actually French, and that the cathedral I walk past every day on my way to class is the real Notre Dame. Most of my physical sense (kinesthetic?) of my location in this world is determined by my scouring of Google maps, but now it's just weird because my default location for Google maps is a view France instead of the US. Clearly this issue is significant. If nothing else, it serves as a constant reminder of where I am.

I think that I recently have been able to actually understand my current location, but that's still questionable. Probably won't comprehend that until I'm back in Mass. That transition will be pretty ridiculous, but not something that I'll talk about for another two months or so, and by that time Jonah and I will be somewhere in Italy after hitting up the coast of Southern France's Provencal region and the Cote d'Azur.

Over the past two weeks I've been to two incredible châteaux, Chenonceau in the Loire Valley, and Fontainebleau, which is in a small town about 45 minutes south of Paris. They vary greatly in terms of architecture, interior decoration, and function, but they are equally impressive in their own ways. The placement of Chenonceau is over an active river, while Fontainebleau has a more standard French palace look and is surrounded by sprawling greens, gardens, and man-made ponds.

Aside from two day trips to see those châteaux, I've spent the entire past few weeks in Paris. Until this past weekend, the weather has been relatively incredible. We had over a full week without rain and nearly without clouds, and temperatures hovered in the low 50s during the day. Trees and various plants are not in bloom yet, but you can feel that the famous Parisian Springtime is not far away.

New discovery: the Paris bus system. I've recently started using the bus system instead of the Metro to get around, and I've found it to be much more pleasant. The only obstacle thus far is that the buses run at less frequent intervals than the trains, so I often find myself weighing risk versus reward in deciding which form of transportation to take. Usually, the reward of taking the bus (above ground, more relaxing, smells better) outweighs the risk of not getting to class on time.

My French has improved significantly since I've been here. I understand nearly everything spoken to me when I have some context, and I'm able to generate complex sentences and expressions without having to translate my thoughts from English. Jonah's progression is far more remarkable, and it's been fascinating to see how quickly he's been able to pick up the language. He will soon be able to identify every item in a clothing store.

Jonah and I both ordered our rail passes to use over our two week spring break. We plan on heading down to the south of France and making our way from west to east until we're in Italy. From there, our destinations include Florence, Rome, and Venice, as well as a stop to hike the Cinque Terre along the north-western coast of Italy.

Until break starts on the 17th of April, we will be kept busy with schoolwork, travel, and visits from distinguished individuals. This upcoming Friday we're heading to London after class to visit the one and only Shomer Negiah Shark. The following weekend we're going on a trip to see the D-Day beaches, and we'll then be spending the night in Caen. Amazingly, the weekend after that if already Wisconsin's spring break, which means that Curren will be traveling from the tundra to the City of Lights to stay with us for a week. Also Jon Goldstein will be visiting Paris at the same time, along with Eckhous and Kelly Maslow. Pretty prettyy cool. The weekend after everyone leaves is my bday weekend, and it also happens to be a three day weekend for us (thank you Easter), which means we'll likely be headed to either Barcelona or Amsterdam.

I think that's enough updating for now. I'm going to try to post more frequently from now on so I can write in more detail about trivial things.

Shoutout to Jeremy and Cody who are looking more relaxed than ever.

Shoutout to Ethan for dressing well today.

Fontainebleau

Library in Fontainebleau

Heading to Chenonceau

Chateau de Chenonceau

The French RPG

Before coming to Paris, I had read a few blog posts about how trying to do simple tasks in Paris was comparable to going on a quest in a video game, specifically an "RPG" (role-playing game). But up until a couple days ago, I hadn't been sent on a quest. However, my desire to switch into a higher level French language class was similar to my experience as Link from the Zelda and The Orcarina of Time trying to obtain the ice arrows from the Gerudo fortress. After expressing my desire to change levels to the teacher of my initial class, my teacher recommended that I talk to the secretary at the Sorbonne. So after class, I made my way over to the Sorbonne and waited in line for a bit to see the secretary, only to have the secretary tell me that I needed my teacher to fill out a form. So the next day I went to my 12:00 pm class and had my teacher fill out a form that I need to bring back to the secretary, but since the secretary's office takes 12-2 pm off every day, I had to miss my class (the teacher would not let me stay) and wait to see the secretary. Finally, I was able to hand in my form. I thought I had finally acquired the legendary ice arrows, but then I came to the harsh realization that I was dealing with Frenchies. The secretary's office could not deal with my request to change classes at the time, and they informed me that I would have to return at 10:00 the next morning. Annoyed but optimistic, I heeded their demand and returned sharply at 10:00 the following morning. Again, it appeared that the ice arrows were within reach. However, the office explained that the wording in my teacher's letter was incorrect and that I would have to go back and get her to change it. Sigh. So after returning to my teacher, they informed me that she couldn't change it because she "didn't know me". So in order to get to know me, she gave me a written test (very easy, basic) to prove my knowledge of French. To finish up this story, my dominance of the test allowed the teacher to give me her written permission to switch into the next level of French instruction.

So could this quest have been avoided? Probably not. Maybe I'll use the mirror shield next time, or perhaps some Deku nuts.

When in Bruges...

My classes haven't started, and Jonah only has class on Tuesday and Wednesday for now. This situation called for a Sunday to Tuesday trip to Bruges, which is a small (20,000 locals) town in Belgium. Bruges is often referred to as the "Venice of the North", as canals line many of its streets. Now, while I've never been to Venice, I have done a Google image search for it, and aside from the canals, there appeared to be very few similarities between Venice and Bruges. Bruges, however, has plenty to boast for itself.

There are only a few "wow" buildings in Bruges, but like Paris, the consistency of the beautiful architecture is really special. Bruges is an old Medieval town, and is nearly completely preserved from it's earliest years. There are town rules for building new structures, and there are even regulations for the placement of satellite dishes on the old houses. Because of the devotion to the preservation of Bruges, every street within a 20 minute walk from the center square is incredibly picturesque. Even with the misty and even snowy conditions, this unique town was always a sight to see.

As you probably know, Belgium is known for two or three products: chocolate, waffles, and of course, beer. Naturally, we sampled all three. ("We" refers to Jonah, Rachel, Vanessa, and myself). For me, it's hard to differentiate between varying levels of chocolate quality. But that doesn't mean that I don't know when what I'm eating is good. The chocolate in Bruges was fantastic, and the locals used it liberally and incorporated it into many different dishes and drinks.
The Brugians take pride in their beer. In Dublin, the locals worshiped Guinness and its rich history and traditions. In Bruge, the bartenders displayed a certain respect for their beer that I have never seen before. Before pouring, they rinse out the already clean glass. Once the head has formed, they use a little utensil to scrape off any excess foam from the top. Finally, they rinse the exterior of the glass if the beer had dribbled down the side of the glass.

I'm going to stop with the commentary now.

There isn't a whole lot to do in Bruges, but the slow-paced, food and drink oriented nature of the town was very pleasant and relaxing. We went on a boat tour of the incredibly beautiful canals in the early evening on our first day, and received a brief history lesson from our captain. He pointed out some very interesting details about the houses, namely how above many of the windows there were little faces, which remained from medieval times when they were supposed to ward off evil spirits. Also, there used to be no house numbers, so to distinguish each family's home from one another they had statues of different animals above the house's door. I already mentioned this, but it was fascinating to see a nearly fully intact medieval town, with details ranging from the complete lack of paved streets (all cobblestone), to the practices with marking the homes

I actually have to go to my first class this morning, so it's time to get going. More Paris updates to come.

Paris update, and Bruges tomorrow

I haven’t blogged about Paris in a while because the occurrences that were initially so exciting have become very routine. Still, though, there is plenty of excitement around Paris. I’ve been here for just over two weeks, and I’ve only seen a small fraction of the worthwhile parts of the city. I'm constantly being bombarded with new sights, and the old sights still do not fail to impress me. Standing on the Pont Neuf overlooking the Seine, having coffee with a view of Notre Dame, walking through the Luxembourg Gardends, or overlooking the city from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It really just does not get old. And then there are the little things: the consistency of the food, how every bakery is better than any I’ve been to before. The paralleled consistency of the architecture, with breathtaking buildings on every street, every corner. The structures of the museums are pieces of art on their own, never mind the paintings and sculptures inside. I was in the Louvre the other day, and I could not get over the architecture of the building. The glass pyramids and the outer courtyard of the Louvre are often focused on, but the internal architecture cannot be overlooked. I found myself taking pictures of the frescos on the ceilings and the great marble pillars instead of the paintings. The depth and history of this city is truly remarkable.

Because of the language barrier, doing the most standard tasks have become slightly scary adventures. Getting a haircut was a struggle, trying to describe how I wanted my hair to be cut without just saying “short”. But other tasks, because of the obligation to speak French, have been enhanced. It’s “fun” to run errands, to order coffee, or to buy a baguette. My French is definitely improving, but only in regards to vocabulary and how fast I can talk (as well as my ability to understand fast-talking Frenchies).

Although we came back from Dublin only a week ago, it feels like it has been much longer. So, it's time for another adventure. This time, fortunately, there will be no Ryanair or early morning shuttles. Jonah, Rachel, Vannessa, and I are taking our first high-speed train tomorrow at 11:25 to a little Belgian city called Bruges. You probably haven't heard of it before, but it looks like an incredible place. Google or Wikipedia it. We're coming back on Tuesday in the early afternoon, so look for pictures and such shortly thereafter. For now, though, here are some pictures from the past week in Paris.

Love it

Stained glass in Saint Chappelle

Grand hallway of the Louvre

Area in the 1st, I believe

The Catacombs

View from our lunch spot

Arthur Guinness: friend to all

Alright. I'm back from Da Dub, and there's a lot to write about. We arrived in Dublin at around 11 am to the wonderful Ryanair theme song, and caught a 2.20 euro Dublin Bus into the city. We were all very weary from our early morning travels, and we couldn't check into our hostel (the Times Hostel) until around 2 pm, so we decided to have our first Irish meal at a traditional Irish pub. The food was pretty good, but definitely not the best of our trip. As long as I'm on the topic of pubs, I'm going to end this play-by-play and just talk about the pub scene.

The best area of Dublin is called the Temple Bar district. It's Dublin's center of Irish tradition, music, and most importantly, drinking. I've never seen a more concentrated area of merriment in my life. It's an old, fairly narrow, cobblestone street, lined exclusively with pubs and restaurants. There's even a Hard Rock cafe. Most of the pubs have live music throughout the day (and night), and since we happened to be in Dublin for "Trad Fest", all of the music was traditional Irish, although we did hear some classic Green Day and Oasis. But with or without the traditional music, these pubs were RIDIC. Totally unlike any bar I've seen in the US. Since Irish people are naturally happy and festive, their presence naturally makes for a good time. Their attitude and passion for drinking is remarkable, and it seems like they view Arthur Guinness as a close friend or family member.

On our first night out at Temple Bar, after purchasing our Guinness and ignorantly wondering why the bartender was just letting them sit at the bar while they weren't filled (to be explained later), we tried to inch our way closer to the live music. We were unsuccessful, but found ourselves next to fellow Americans from Cincinnati. They were both in their mid 20s, and it was a treat to run into fellow travelers who spoke an unadulterated form of English. Unsurprisingly, we ended up seeing them at other pubs that night and at other locations over the next couple of days. Very easy to make friends here.

Our first full day in Dublin brought us to the Guinness Storehouse, Ireland's most popular tourist attraction. I initially questioned if it was worth paying 11 euros for a simple tour of a brewery/storehouse, but I very quickly discovered the brilliance of the Guinness franchise. I'll spare most of the details of our tour, but the storehouse is in the shape of a giant pint glass (the largest in the world), and is filled with information that covers Guinness's history, brewing techniques, advertising campaign, and best of all, a free pint at the highest point in Dublin. The bar at the top only serves Guinness, of course, and wow do they really take pride in their beer. They have a special technique where the pint glass is first filled nearly to the top. Then they let it sit for a couple minutes until they finish by topping it off with the perfect pour. Truly an art. But you can't drink it yet -- you must wait two minutes for the beer to settle. Finally, the beer is ready to be enjoyed.

Believe it or not, we did more than drink Guinness during our stay in Dublin. We went on a historical tour of some of the city's most interesting sites, led by a Trinity College history grad. Our tour covered the Dublin castle (very disappointing), the viking/medieval area ("dece"), Trinity College, the former parliament building which is now a bank (very cool), and the Temple Bar district. The tour guide was very animated, spoke well, and was very knowledgeable about Dublin, but by far the best part of our trip came just hours before our flight back to our new home.

Having basically seen everything Dublin has to offer, we had some time to kill at around 1:30 in the afternoon. So, naturally, we headed over to Temple Bar for what we thought would be our last Guinness of the trip. The bar was packed with jolly Irishmen who clearly had nothing better to do than drink on a Saturday afternoon, but we luckily got a table next to an older (50s, probably) couple. It didn't take too long for Grace to make conversation, and before we knew it, our new friend Phil and his wife were offering to buy us pints. He would not let us refuse his generous offer, and we ended up conversing with this kind couple for three hours before we had to catch a bus to the airport. This experience, while seemingly minimal, is to me what traveling should be about. You can see historical sites and landmarks, and learn about history, but by far the best memories are formed as a result of the people we met.

What the French do with their free time

First things first: I'm going to Dublin tomorrow, along with Jonah and a couple friends. It should be an interesting little adventure getting there, as Ryanair flies out of an extremely inconvenient airport. Basically, we have to catch the first metro train of the day, which gets to our stop at 5:32 am, and take it to a bus/train station about 40 minutes away. We then have to take the first shuttle bus of the day to the airport, which should take a little over an hour. Kind of annoying, but as long as we make it to Dublin, it'll be a more than tolerable adventure.

I went to the Arc de Triomphe and the associated Champs Elysees a few days ago. Much more impressive than I thought it would be. Although it appears to just be a large arch-like structure, its intricate carvings and inscriptions make it much more interesting than it appears on postcards. Still, it's kind of stupid that Napoleon had it built for his troops to walk through upon their return to Paris from war. But hey, I guess when you work five hour days, four days a week, you have a lot of free time on your hands to build random structures.

The coolest part about the Arc is it's location: it's on its own little island in the middle of a busy rotary. It marks the end of the famous section of the Champs Elysees (which, although is just shopping and dining, for the most part, is quite beautiful), and provides a view of another, more industrialized area of Paris. Also, the Arc can be climbed. We didn't climb to the top for the 10 euro fee, but we later realized that it's free for students.

I need to make dinner, and I really don't feel like typing right now. Dublin reports to come this weekend.