Vachement...chouette.

Coucou!

I promise I did not just make a bird noise...or did I?  Yes, "coucou" is a popular way of saying "hey!" and being cute about it - my host family does this all the time.  So the past few weeks have been busy and once again, I can't believe how the time is flying by!  I've been in Paris for almost a whole month and a half, though oddly my stay seems to be both shorter and longer all at once.  Since there is so much to say, and no eloquent way to say it, I'm simply going to revert to the old standby - list-making! (just in paragraph form...)

I visited Versailles.  It is way bigger than I ever imagined.  With my sense of direction, and Louis' idea of a garden, I would be a goner living within a mile radius of the palace.  The inside is, by any standard, enchanting.  And though I admittedly expected a fun-house kind of experience in the "Hall of Mirrors" (apparently I was being too literal), I was in awe and drooling over every elaborate square inch of the place.  Also, the gardens of Versailles, though not in bloom, did not cease to impress me.  I never imagined a garden could be so big.  I recall finding the very exact pruning of the shrubberies to be very amusing and "French" my first time here.  But in the dead of winter, I never expected to see trees the size of the ancient oaks in my backyard pruned so precisely, down to the last straight edge and ninety-degree angle.  Maybe that was naive of me...but, seriously.  I can't wait to return in the spring when everything is alive and in bloom!

Musically, I feel very busy - I did a three-day masterclass with my flute professor here, Mihi Kim, where I vigorously took notes and received criticism and advice on how to better my playing.  It was quite a learning experience, and I look forward (almost tentatively...but not really) to what else I will learn this semester with regard to my flute.

I visited a few fantastic "expositions" at various museums in the past few weeks.  I really enjoy being within métro-distance of any type of museum possible - everything from Rembrandt and Da Vinci, to Van Gogh and Monet, to Soulages and "De Stijl" Mondrian art.  This past Thursday, I was on a roll.  I first went to the Place des Vosges, where I visited the Maison Victor Hugo.  This was not his only home in Paris (apparently he moved a lot), but I was fascinated with the museum's attempt to remake some of the rooms of his various homes.  I enjoyed seeing the exposition "Portraits d'écrivains" which included portraits of Victor Hugo and his contemporaries.  The best part was seeing the writing desk engraved with the names, inkwells and pens from four famous writers (Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, George Sand, and Lamartine) - the piece was originally designed to raise money for charity.

While trying to find the subtle entry to Victor Hugo's house (I was not lost, I was just enjoying a few laps around the Place des Vosges...promise), I also stumbled upon an incredibly interesting boutique/store, covered floor to ceiling with very old, occasionally exotic, and professionally refurbished musical instruments.  It probably shocks you that I was in awe.  But maybe not... I actually walked in behind two French women who proceeded to talk with the owner and express interest in trying a guitar - just for fun (it appeared as though none of the price tags had fewer than four digits on them).  So, I watched as the owner demonstrated playing an instrument I have never seen before, nor know the name of.  It looked like a small keyboard from far away, but instead of pressing the keys to hear the kind of percussive tap of a piano mallet, the keys actually pressed down on a guitar-like string instrument, acting as the left hand would to change the pitch on a guitar.  But this string instrument only had one string, and you changed the pitch by playing the keyboard with your left hand, while using what appeared to be a violin bow to play the extension of the guitar at the end of the piano with your right hand.  What's more, you can change keys or registers by lifting the piano part and moving it to the left or right.  I was really enjoying this demonstration and took the opportunity to gawk around at the variety of instruments: about a dozen baroque bassoons, a few serpents, various sized cornetti, several flutes made from different materials (ivory, wood, etc.), dozens of string instruments hanging from the ceiling (guitars, violins, citars, lutes), ornate harps of various sizes, several Hurdy-Gurdys, natural horns and brass instruments I didn't even recognize, and so much more, all in tip-top playing condition in this tiny little shop in the middle of Paris.  This made for a fantastic twenty minutes out of my day.

In this very same day, I decided to hike over to the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum.  The Pompidou screams modern, scientific and asymmetrical.  It's all about a flash in the pan, pop art, feminism, abstract and surreal ideas, shocking, new, structural, animated, media-encompassing, architecture and neon lights.  I did not get to see all of it - I was only there two and a half hours and only made it to the exposition I purposefully went to see - Mondrian and De Stijl.  This was something my host sister, Serena, recommended.  And I quite agree that it was really incredibly interesting, despite not having any prior knowledge on the subject.  Mondrian started out with a kind of expressionist approach in the beginning of the 20th century - I was reminded of Van Gogh with his first paintings of trees and women, and then was startled by the shift to something like this.  It's kind of hard for me to explain how great the exposition was, so I think it would be best, if you're interested in seeing more, to look at the Pompidou website, which will give you a much thorougher and more informed recount of Mondrian/De Stijl.  Very fascinating stuff!

I also saw another great exposition two weeks ago at Le Petit Palais, situated on the Champs-Élysées across from Le Grand Palais (I bet you can guess which one is bigger!)... For my language class we were required to see "Reporters sans Frontières: 100 photos de Pierre et Alexandra Boulat."  It was a presentation of the works of a father/daughter duo who were both photo-journalists, a generation apart.  It fascinated me to see the similarities and differences in both bodies of work, and to compare them.  Pierre used what was available (black and white film) to capture moments in the lives of celebrities, marriages, American women, and even soldiers training at West Point.  Alexandra shocks the viewer more immediately with photos of people suffering in times of war, namely in middle eastern countries like Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Iraq.  Check out this link if you're interested in reading more!  I highly recommend even google-ing some photos... :)

So at the moment, I sound exposition-crazy.  This might be true, but I have a lot of "culturing" to do here!  (Not at all related to cheese...)

On that note, I will move on to food.  I knew you were looking forward to this part.

Things I have tried, or almost died trying in the past few weeks that were not afore mentioned:

• Mont-Blanc - the speciality dessert at Angelina.  My friend Jess and I nearly died when we realized Versailles also has this tea room.  Not shocking of course, because the place is probably meant for royalty.  So, as you might guess, we had to go there.  Mont-Blanc is simply so delicious it could kill you.  It begins with a bottom layer of meringue followed by a filling of incredibly fluffy and thick whipped cream, and topped off with chestnut paste.  It looks like an imitation mushroom cloud you are permitted to eat.  Here's an image of both the hot chocolate and the dessert described above/previously.
• Falafel in le Marais, an old, shopping/food and Jewish district of Paris - This meal from L'As du Falafel is heaven in a pita.  I don't even know how to describe this.  It does not taste like Paris, but definitely puts some zing into your lunch (especially if you ask for extra spicy sauce...I have no idea what it is but it's great!)  It was kind of sad to see the competing falafel shop across the street with a line less than half as long...but I suppose the word is out about who makes it best!
• La Crêperie des Canettes - a tiny, family-owned crêperie in what is known as "Pancake Square" in Paris.  I immensely enjoyed my meal there, especially the dessert crêpe with homemade caramel...mmm!
• Macarons from Pierre Hermé - I take back everything I said before about macarons being just so-so... Pierre Hermé won my heart over with the bizarre combination of flavors offered, as well as the traditional.  Chocolate was definitely good, but carrot/cinnamon was also bizarrely delicious, as well as passionfruit/chocolate...and rose-flavored...and...well, you kind of get the idea.

So, this is where I say "adieu" or "coucou" depending on which part of "So Long, Farewell" I'd like to do an impression of.  Thanks for reading, and I promise to update sooner rather than later next time!!

Love,
Laura