Jour Férier

Bonjour à tous! Today was another glorious day. Really, it should be illegal to have so many perfect days like this. Well, not really because that would be tragic, but it's just a way to say that I'm having the most wonderful time, better than I could have imagined. :) Happy Armistice Day! All the buses had little French flags on them, and it was so cute! Just to see these big, lumbering vehicles driving around with French flags attached to them was so adorable for some reason. I love the patriotism! There was a huge parade down the Champs Elysées of course to celebrate the anniversary of the end of WWI, but we missed it, unfortunately. Since today is a national holiday, no internship or school! I was more than happy to take advantage of a day off and see more of the city. Em and I hit the road at 9:45 a.m. I saw SO many people around the city wearing berets, so I felt like one of the group with my black one :)

First we took the bus all the way to the other side of the city and the river to go to L'Hotel des Invalides. It was built to be a hospital for wounded soldiers. Today it still serves the same purpose today, although it also houses several exhibits and a museum. What better day to visit it than today? And we got into it for free because of our Sorbonne student cards! I really have to shoot IFE and IOU one of these days. First we saw Napoleon's tomb in the crypt in the part of the building under the huge gold dome. The ceiling was absolutely incredible with ethereal pastel-colored scenes and gold trimming. It was so huge and impressive. Napoleon's tomb is really big and it was so cool to see. We also went into the WWI/WWII exhibit. It was so big and it took so much time to move through it that we couldn't see it all. We got through all of WWI but I'd have to come back to see the rest. It was really moving and I just realized how much war and military history fascinates me. For as much as I hate war, it's so interesting. We left after a couple hours and found a nice bench to sit on outside. We lucked out again with blue skies and sunshine and I didn't even feel the cold. There was a man playing the flute nearby so we were delightfully serenaded during our semi-picnic lunch (peanut butter sandwich, anyone?). It was lovely.

We next walked along the Seine in a green, grassy park to get to Pont de l'Alma. The leaves are still changing and it's very beautiful--not a lot of reds though, mostly yellows. We crossed the river and walked down Avenue Montagne, which is where all the major fashion designer have their stores. Surprisingly, not on the Champs Elysées. I've decided that I don't care very much for the Champs Elysées because it's a little too in-your-face. I prefer quieter roads. We saw Gucci and Prada and Dior and countless others...I just wanted to see them and get my window-shopping full, haha. We walked from there over to Le Grand Palais because there was a Renoir exhibit I'd wanted to see, but the line was too long and it looked to be too expensive so we just left. Maybe I'll get back there again before I leave.

From there (I know, a lot of walking, but it's good!) we went to the area around La Madeleine. I'd wanted to explore some of the area around there too, so we did and found a small alley with red fake christmas trees and ornaments and it made me so excited for Christmas! I can't wait to be home for it because I really love the holiday spirit. First comes Thanksgiving, which will be interesting since it's not celebrated in France. Anyway, we took the metro up to the 18th and got out at Abesses. It's a really cool metro station because it has pretty wall art along the stairs. I do have a list of specific metro stops (on certain lines) I want to see. Does that make me a huge nerd? Maybe. We went to the Montmartre cemetery. I've been to Père Lachaise a few times but I'd wanted to see others, too. This one is a lot smaller and easier to get a handle on than Père Lachaise. Edgar Degas and Foucault are buried in Montmartre, but we didn't get to see their tombs. We did see those of Emile Zola and Alexandre Dumas, the latter after walking around in circles for a while, haha. It was very nice.

OH also on our walk before, we saw the American embassy! It's right in Place de la Concorde. We've gotten so used to not wanting people to know we're American so we can git in and not be judged and try to be as French as possible, that it was one of the first times it made us proud to see our flag and be proud. Why not feel that way? Je ne sais pas.

I knew of a really great place to eat in the 18th that is famous for their salads so we went there for dinner. Em was craving a salad, and the French really know how to make salads, so we ate there. I also had my first bowl of onion soup since I've been here! I can cross that off my list, too. Yes, I have a Things to Eat list. Next up: Mexican food. :) We came home and I've been doing "work" ever since. I got a lot done at my internship this week so I feel good about it, and I think I will get a lot done tomorrow. I've been working straight from 9-2 so I can get a lot of work done, even though my hours are only 9-12. Tomorrow I might actually leave at 12 and try to get some things done before class.

And then...London/Oxford for the weekend! AHH so excited! I'm seeing Ben and Matt, and it's going to be fantastic. Expect a blog post after that. Bonne soirée mes amis!

Bisous!