happenings

Since my last post, I wouldn't say much has happened. This week has been very busy, though, with a lot of different commitments.

Thursday after presenting our "works of art" in Mark's practicum class, ce professeur eccentrique (Mark) took Midori, Ashley, and I out for lunch in the Marais. Mark and I shared a cheese fondue that was very good. We learned at lunch that Mark never drank until a Danish family he was staying with forced him into being a wine connaisseur. (He still only drinks a glass at a time, or thereabouts.) He can tell you about the nose, the colour, and the legs of just about anything from Bordeaux. The wine he ordered for us was a 9/10 on his pocket wine chart, so essentially it was awesome. He told us stories about growing up as a musician, living in Paris, the States, and Denmark. He's awesome.

After that, we were supposed to meet at IRCAM (musical research school linked via secret tunnel to the Pompidou Centre), for a tour and a concert. It was pretty cool, we got to sit in one of those Cagean-silence rooms and listen to our nervous system and the blood pumping through our veins. It was really crazy. (Imagine a room so silent that the only sound is your body working.) The concert after was a bit of a letdown, but the musicians were top notch. (It was a string ensemble: 2 violins, a viola, and a cello.)

Friday we went out for karaoke, which was fun. Before that, Ashley, Mackenzie, Midori, and I ventured by train to Fontainebleau, an old royal castle situated just outside of Paris. I actually would recommend a visit to Fontainebleau more than a visit to Versailles. In the words of Napoleon I, "This is the true house of Kings." (Because pretty much all of the monarchs lived there for centuries, versus Versailles which was new and had much less history.) Or something like that... Anyway, Mackenzie lived in Fontainebleau for 2 years when he was nine, so he kept having weird flashbacks which was fun. The village there is pretty charming, and the castle's grounds are beautiful and full of peacocks of all sorts. It's easier to visit Fontainebleau, because it's pretty much devoid of tourists. The rooms are also immaculately restored, and oh-so-beautiful. I think the royal balcony in the chapel is the most beautiful room I've ever seen. Other highlights include trying to sneak onto the throne (used by Napoleon, etc.) in the throne room. (One of the few european throne rooms still intact.) Thankfully, Mackenzie spotted the motion sensors before I decided whether or not I wanted to go for it. I spent the rest of the tour listening to the audio guide and trying to assess the value of the castle, in preparation for buying it one day. I must live there. (I have a lot more to say about this place but it's going to be too long so meh.) Also, on our way back to the train we passed a patisserie that Mackenzie remembered from when he was little. He said he used to always buy the "religieuses" there, so we stopped in for pastries. Mackenzie and I each bought a religieuse, and it was the best pastry I've ever had in my life. Thus, I ate it all even though I was feeling sick by the end from all the chocolate mousse! (True to form.) Also mum I don't know if you remember that cooking show we all watched that one time with the French woman who made those cheesy bun-type puff pastries? They were an appetizer? Anyway, I got one of those for us to all split and it was AWESOME. We should make them sometime.

Yesterday Midori, JW, and I went to les egouts (the sewers) of Paris, where you can take tours and learn about the Paris sewer system. On the way I had the most terrifying cab experience of my life - think along the lines of "Where do you live? When can I see you again? What if I don't stop, I'm off work, you know..." All in all, no bueno. Les egouts was pretty cool, minus the awful smell. We learned all about the different periods of Parisian history, and funny enough, Napoleon I actually said one of his greatest contributions to Paris was the clean water supplies that he supplemented! My advice for any of you who might go there some day: don't stare too long at what's in the water. Afterwards, we fought the snowy wind over the Seine to a cafe. The cafe we stumbled into was very ritzy, so we just ordered coffees and sat for what seemed like hours talking about what seemed like everything. Last night we tried to go out on the Champs-Elysees, but didn't want to pay cover so ended up in a pretty cool lounge instead.

Today, my host family is leaving for their castle in the countryside. Literally, they have a castle. But don't worry, they told me it's really hard to heat. ("You know castles," they said.) They will be gone for 2/3 of the upcoming weeks. I wish I could go with them, and they said they would've invited me, only they'll be there during the week (back on the weekends), so looks like I'll be missing out. Oh, and they mentioned in passing the other night that last September they organized a conference of 600-1000 people at Versailles. It was for all of the nobles of Europe. The topic was, "How will nobles affect the future history of Europe?" Un.real. They are very nice, and I really like them. I was chatting with my host mum the other day about relationships (since all her daughters are married to French men she's interested in learning about how non-traditional non-French relationships work), and then somehow we were talking about what I'd be up to this week. I told her that a few of our girl friends were thinking of getting together, and I said, "Kind of like a sleepover." Obviously this led to me having to explain what a sleepover was, and my host mum thought that seemed like just about the "funnest" idea she'd heard in a while. Thus, I am allowed to host a sleepover for "filles serieuse" (serious girls) while they're gone. She said she trusts me and my judgement, which is nice of her. (No, friends from home, this does not mean I'll be throwing a rager. It means I'll be worthy of trust.)

Anyway, I need to actually have a shower and actually start being productive. I ate lunch with my host family, and can't access the Stanford library/research sites (because they're closed between 4 and 8 am West Coast time) to do my homework. I think I'll go out and get some groceries for the week.

Miss you all, bisous!

Jen

much to relate

Bon apres-midi from Paris,

I suppose I should figure out how to put in accents. Meh. There is much to relate. Stick with me.

Since my last post, Midori and I went to get our hair cut at this crazy salon called Jean-Louis Desforges, which is part of a chain. When we walked in, literally the whole salon turned to stare at us, and the guys who worked there kept asking, "So how did you find out about this place?" As it turns out, the place specialized in short haircuts, and there was a couture-like hair show being played on a flatscreen as we waited. There was only one woman who worked in the salon. Everyone was dressed completely in black, and the decor was really simple. Also, they seemed to have a few people on the go at one time, so the seating plan kept being juggled around. Evidently, since Midori and I were the only young girls in the place, "on a subi" (we were submitted to) typical service-industry-type flirting from everyone. Aah, Paris. Mid's stylist and I were conspiring behind her back to lose some length, and Meach took it like a champ. She made some good decisions, so her hair looks fabulous. I almost cried when mine was done, because I just told my guy to do whatever he wanted, and he cut me some blunt-cut bangs. I'm getting used to them, but it was pretty shocking at first! Also it's very short, but thankfully he kept some longer bits in front so i think the overall effect is good. However, the best part is that Mark told me that I can count it for my practicum project, so I can get reimbursed. (Don't ask me how that's possible. I need to find the receipt.) 

I think it was that night, Mark took the students in his classes to a CRAZY restaurant. It was one of the best culinary experiences I've ever had. We started off walking around the Marais district, where one of Mark's classes gave a fake tour to the other class. (i.e. Mark told us to make stuff up about our assigned locations, starting out with possibly true facts, maybe even mixing in some truth, then moving to things that were just absurd.) The tour finished around the Centre Pompidou (modern art museum), where he took us to the secret location of the restaurant. It was called "Dans le Noir" ("In the Dark"), and everything was pitch black except the lounge and reception. When you go into the restaurant, you have to put all of your belongings (especially things that emit light like watches and phones) in to a locker. Then you get in a single-file line, put your right hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you, and a blind server leads you to your table. You cannot see anything. Not even shadows of things. I literally had to feel around the table for my cutlery and glass, and good luck pouring the water or the wine! (You don't even know which one is which.) Our appetizers glowed. Also, the food was really good. You can imagine that, if you can't see anything, the food better be a good feature. Cutting in the dark is hard, and so is knowing where your food is. As a result, some of us resorted to primitive man techniques such as eating with our hands, or spearing something with a fork and biting it. After we were done and had filed back into the reception area, they showed us pictures and descriptions of what we had eaten. Like I said, crazy. We've been lucky to have Mark with us on this trip, that's for sure.

This weekend was our Bing trip to Flanders. If you don't know, Flanders is a region made up of the very northern tip of France, and part of Belgium. They speak Flemish, English, and French. Friday we took the train to Lille, where my host family's son-in-law is a Magistrat. (Roughly speaking he's a judge.) Lille was more fast-paced than the other places we visited. We ate in a brasserie for lunch called Les 3 Brasseurs, where they brew their own beer, and ate traditional food which I won't detail as this post is already too long. Unfortunately, this day marked the beginning of many walking tours, and our guide was awful. She was not interesting and seemed to always pick out the darkest, coldest, windiest spots for us to listen to her speak at. (That was an awkward sentence.) We also went to one of the coolest museums I've ever been to, which was located in the old communal baths of Lille! The tour guide there was very interesting. Dinner that night was on our own, and we sought out another brasserie where I tried frog legs for the first time! Props to Midori and JW for ordering them, I was too sketched out. (P.S. I have tried to teach the word "sketchy" to my host family. They pretend like they get it but I have a sneaking suspicion that they have no clue what I'm trying to say.)

The next day, we woke up really early and took a bus to Gent (sp? There are like a million ways of spelling that town's name). We crossed the border without much fanfare, as the north of France and Belgium more generally just seem pretty pastoral. Gent was my favourite place we went this trip, and I highly recommend seeing it if you're ever in the area. It's very picturesque, with crazy stepped roofs, and twisty-turney alleys that surprise you with glimpses of the river. Also, the beer is very good, and so is the waterzoi (supposed to have a symbol there that I don't care to find). Waterzoi is a traditional fish or chicken dish in a light cream sauce. We took a walking tour, this time with an awesome guide who could speak 5 different languages. For lunch, we split up and found a brasserie to order lunch at. It was pretty good, though there seemed to be only one waiter serving a full two-floor restaurant, so the service was very slow. We didn't get waffles, which we had highly anticipated. That afternoon we took a tour of a castle, which was freezing. (As a side note, this entire trip was freezing cold. I think our last day in Belgium it was -10 including windchill.) That night was when we had waterzoi for dinner, which was very good. Funny enough, Roberto (Stanford staff) chose a really hip and trendy restaurant for us to eat at. We got cocktails first up in the 2nd floor lounge before dinner, and then moved to the first floor to eat. The staff was young and good-looking, and there was a noteworthy failed attempt to collect a number amongst the guys. (Sorry, it had to be put in for posterity but I won't name names. :) ) The washrooms were very cool. The glass was transparent when you first walked in to a stall, then it became fogged as you locked the door. One last comment about the meal: the presentation was excellent. Good choice, Roberto.

The next day was all about Bruges, which actually was a bit of a disappointment. First of all, it was way too cold. Coming from a Canadian who has played sports wearing shorts, a long-sleeve and a jersey in sub-zero temperatures, hopefully you know that I'm not just being a wimp. People were wearing two pants, some people wore 7 sweaters = too cold. Our tour guide was pretty bizarre, and had very bad teeth. Thankfully, we still managed to have a pretty good time though at this point we were all veeery tired and somewhat cranky. Highlights of Bruges included hitting some skipped boxes on the list: moules frites, chocolate, and waffles, all of which were excellent and memorable. During our free time before the lunch break, Heimunn, Midori, JW, Michael, Mackenzie, Farah, and I went to the restaurant across the street from our lunch destination (with the rest of the group) to get mussels and fries. It was really good, and the food was made even more enjoyable thanks to a very warm fire that we were sitting next to! We ran across the street (it was going to take too long to put all of our layers back on) for our Stanford-sponsored lunch, which wasn't as good but was still nice. (FYI, Stanford is set-menu, that's why we went to the mussels place to make sure we got them before we left.) After that, we took horse-drawn carriages around the old town, and visited the museum inside the old hospital. It was creepy, our tour guide was boring, and we were too sleepy to care much at that point. Overall, the museum was a failure. After thaaat (I promise this is almost done), we had some free time and decided to gear-up and get some coffee and waffles after chocolate shopping. I had a waffle with bananas, whipped cream, and chocolate. The server didn't want to give me chocolate (which I had asked for) because he said the combo would be too heavy for the waffle. Well, it was still delicious if not traditional. After that, we bussed back to Lille to catch a train back to Paris. We watched "In Bruges" on the way back and pretty much came to the conclusion that we agreed with Colin Ferrell that Bruges isn't all it's made-up to be. Gent was definitely the winner.

So after all that adventuring, I decided to come home and get some sleep, right? Wrong. Even though I had had basically no sleep, I went with Natalia, Heimunn, JW, and Midori to a 24-hour, extremely popular art exhibit called "Picasso et les maitres". Props to Midori for finding this online, because it was packed and pretty cool. (But not pretty cool because it was packed.) The time we bought our tickets for was 2am, so no rest for the weary. Instead, it was unpacking, uploading photos, and getting coffee at a brasserie beside the Grand Palais, where the exhibit is being held. People were waiting in line for hours, so thank goodness we bought our tickets ahead of time. There were news crews, and even Europe 1 (I think a European radio station) was there. When we came out of the exhibit it was snowing, so we had a very chilly (and beautiful) walk to the Champs-Elysees to flag down some cabs. (The metro doesn't run at that time.)

So this is long now, but I pretty much woke up and started writing this while it was all fresh in my mind. I'm still very tired, but am feeling better than yesterday! I have painting class at 1:30, so I had better get a move-on before too long. After that, I'm going to Midori's host family's house for dinner at 7pm. I am living a crazy, busy life at the moment. Will try to add photos/details when possible.