un été en france: Life in the City of Lights

Bonjour!

We have been in Paris for nearly two weeks now. In some ways, it has flown by; however, when I think about the flight over, it seems like months ago! This has been a busy busy week. I'll start with last weekend.

We spent the weekend in Normandy, a province in northern France. We stayed in Caen, the capital of Normandy. While we were there we went to the Peace Memorial, dedicated to WWII. In it there are many pictures of and much to read about France before, during, and after WWII. There are a a few items on display (some letters, flags, clothes, etc) but mostly pictures. The memorial is set up in a downward spiral ramp, and the descriptions and photos line the walls. When you get the the bottom, it is much darker; this symbolizes the decline into the war. I've been to the museum before, in 2004, but going a second time was well worth it (except the 8 Euro sandwich that wasn't even what I ordered...).

Hitler Youth

After the memorial we went to the American Cemetery and two of the D-Day beaches: Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc. I had also been to Omaha beach, but as I said, a second time is was nice. Pointe du Hoc was very interesting because it has not been altered much since the war. The bunkers and craters are still there. The bunkers were a little scary because there are no lights, so you cannot see where you are going at all if you go inside. Pointe du Hoc definitely looks more like a beach that was part of a war than Omaha Beach does. Omaha looks like every other beach: quiet and peaceful...nothing like war. We didn't spend much time in the cemetery, although I imagine that it would be very meaningful for people whose family/friends may have died in the invasion. It is quite pristine and beautiful--an excellent tribute to those who stormed the beaches that day.

One of the bunkers

My new friend, Ami

The cemetery

On Omaha Beach

After the beaches and memorials, we got the chance to cheer up and lighten up a little. ISA (the study abroad association) took us to an apple farm where they, of course, grow apple trees and then make juice, cider, wine, and a harder liquor called Calvados. We were able to tour the preparation areas and learn all about the process of making each drink, then we could sample any/all that we wanted. It was a lot of fun. Although the drinks were good, they also had amazing preserves and cookies, too!

everyone trying the drinks

barrels of ... wine? juice?

After spending the night in Caen (we were lucky to stay in the older, very pretty part of town) in a very nice hotel--thank you ISA--we went to Mont Saint Michel, a beautiful monastery on the border between the provinces of Brittany and Normandy. This is definitely on my list of "favorite places I've ever visited." It was absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful, despite the high number of tourists! The monastery is on the top of a very large hill, one that is not so easy to walk up! We climbed hundreds of stairs! Its original purpose was, of course, to be a monastery, but it has been through some trials and changes, including being a prison for awhile. We were not able to see the entire thing (way too big), but my favorite was probably the cloister...not atypical for me. The architecture was beautiful, going back and forth between Gothic and Romanesque. Our tour guide was rather difficult to hear, so unfortunately I don't know all that I could, but the pamphlet was full of useful information. If you're ever in France, it is absolutely worth your time! Go, go, go!

After our big weekend, we started off the week with oral placement tests. In case you are wondering, they are not fun. Nicole, who has never taken French before, was beyond impressive in her exam, wow-ing the teacher with her already developing knowledge of the language (thanks to her wonderful tutor...me). :) Nicole is in Elementary 1 and gets to skip Débutant (baby French lol). My placement exam did not go as well, however. Taking 3.5 years off from French does not really make for a good oral exam, or any speaking skills at all, really. So, I even though I placed into Int 1 (approx. 2nd semester intermediate in the states) with my written exam, I was placed in Elementary 2 after the oral exam. After much discussing, griping, a little crying, and my lovely friends down at ISA fighting for me, I am now in Elementary 3 (about Intermediate 1 in the states). This seems to be perfect. It's a little hard because I am weak in spoken French, but I would much prefer to have a challenging class than be learning the vocab from my sophomore year of high school! I like my teacher very much, and I think I will learn a lot in the next three weeks...which by the way is sooooo fast for the equivalent of an entire semester!

Besides beginning our classes, we also went with ISA to the Batueax Mouches (the boat rides along the Seine river). This is always one of my favorite parts of being a tourist in Paris. It is so lovely to float down the river and see many of Paris' greatest buildings and monuments. From the river, you can see Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, The Musée d'Orsay, the National Assembly, and much more! It is peaceful despite the high number of people on the boat, and the coolness from the water makes it so enjoyable, even when it's hot outside

Musée d'Orsay

Notre Dame

The next day we finally made it to Père Lachaise, the famous cemetery with many famous people buried there. I say "finally" because we only live one métro stop away from it. It was really beautiful. We saw Balzac, Molière, Chopin, Bizet, Jim Morrison, Proust, Gay-Lussac, and Oscar Wilde (well those we the major ones we made a point to see. In a very non-creepy way, I promise, I think Père Lachaise will be a great place to go study because it is so quiet and there are lots of places to sit...and it's close!

Corina, my new friend from Ecuador

In front of Chopin's grave

Everyone kisses Oscar Wilde's grave...not me though

Last night I made my first trip to the Eiffel Tower since we've been here. Nicole and I had a lovely little picnic on the Champs de Mars (the park in front of the tower) and watched the sunset with hundreds of other people! It was slightly touristy, but there were also a lot of parisians there too. I now officially feel like I'm in Paris. So after two weeks and two blog posts, there ya go. Our friend Anna is in town this weekend (we think so, anyway), and we hope to spend some time with her in the next few days! She will be moving to Korea for a year before I return from France, so this is the last time we'll see each other for quite awhile! What a fun place to say goodbye, though.