Get busy.

I've been doing so much lately that I haven't had a chance to post a quality blog update. So, here's something - it's not optimal, but, it's better than nothing.

My 21st birthday (June 20):

Le Bon Marché/La Grande Epicerie de Paris
(how I spent my birthday morning)

Spent the first part of my day at the amazing Bon Marché and La Grande Epicerie (the French equivalent of Whole Foods, with a huge selection of gourmet French pastries, desserts, and chocolates in addition), and met up with two people from my study abroad group for a low-key lunch at a nearby café. Afterwards, I explored yet another breath-taking French church (Chappelle Notre Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse) and visited the Rodin Museum nearby (for free, of course, because students between the ages of 18-25 get free admission to museums in France). Between escaping the intermittent rain showers and making friends with two American college students to take my photo in front of "Le Penseur" (The Thinker) because my camera died on my way to Musée Rodin, it was a pretty decent day...

A picture of me in front of Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker"
(I'm wearing the birthday dress I bought in Paris!)

... but the evening and night were the crème-de-la-crème of my 21st. After stopping by Palais de Tokyo (again, to see the exhibits for free), I met up with a few others at Centre Pompidou to go to Le Soufflé for dinner. For dessert, I had the most amazing, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate soufflé with hot melted chocolate sauce on top. So much better than a regular old birthday cake with sticky frosting.

Earlier during the day, I read in a Parisian newspaper (the Direct Matin, given out daily and free-of-charge to everyone at and outside of métro stations) that there was a free, live concert to reign in the Fête de la Musique; so, without really knowing the exact location of the park where the performance was, my roommate and I headed out, hoping to stumble upon the concert by pure luck... The concert was supposed to start at 10 pm, and we didn't make it out till after 11, so we were pretty sure we would miss the best performances (e.g., Sean Paul and Kelly Rowland). But, fate must have been on our side, because after walking on mostly empty streets rather aimlessly for over almost half an hour, crossing a dimly lit bridge through a park, and transversing a rocky gravel path, we heard the first beats of "Get Busy" in the near distance. I won't go into the minute details, but minus hilariously heart-attack-inducing run-ins with two different French police officers, the concert and the sketchy walk back were the most fun I've ever had on a birthday.

La Fête de la Musique (June 21):

Short and sweet, I rather serendipitously stumbled upon some really great musical talents and amateur performers throughout the course of the day (like Versión Originale and beat-boxer/rappers outside of Eglise Saint-Eustache), and then hit up the massively popular venue of Denfert-Rochereau to hear more popular French musicians like Alexis HK. It was really great discovering new local artists and just being part of such a huge, collective music event. Then had a late dinner with my roommate at Rouge Pomme, a restaurant near my dorm at Cité Universitaire, where the food was as delectable as the adorable French waiter.

The flyer for the Denfert-Rochereau concert

My cadeau/present to all you faithful readers: the link to the new Girl Talk album, for a pay-what-you-can price! Thought I'd share, since I'm a maven and not a connector (read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and you'll understand)... and since I'm going to hear them perform tomorrow night in Paris, as part of the Solidays concert series (for AIDS awareness) this weekend!

Updates on week 5/the last week in Paris are soon to come... expect copious amounts of description on purchases for the annual Soldes d'été (when stores all over Paris offer amazing sales for shoppers) and summaries of the must-see/must-do things that I finished off of my Parisian wishlist.

Et si s'aimer ce n'était pas regarder dans la même direction...

... mais fermer les yeux et voir la même chose.
- Quote in one of the ads posted in a métro car on the RER B

Belated updates from Week 4:

Monet's Gardens in Giverny

Sorry, I've been a bit M.I.A. lately. Here are a few brief and noteworthy recaps from this past week (a.k.a., the week of my 21st birthday & the amazing Fête de la Musique!)

On Monday, after classes, I saw my first movie (Sunshine Cleaning, with Amy Adams) in a French movie theater. Even though the film was in English, it was definitely a different experience because the French viewers in the audience didn't always react as expected to moments of irony or particularly comedic scenes. Wouldn't really recommend the film to anyone, though...

On Tuesday, I was thanked for the creation and subsequent success of Slumdog Millionaire. While I was getting dinner at the cafeteria on Cité Universitaire's campus, a jovial, middle-aged French man came up to me in the dessert aisle and struck up a hilarious conversation, in French, of course. After announcing his disappointment because "il n'y a pas de mousse chocolat!"/there wasn't any chocolate mousse left, he asked me if I was Indian. I responded a bit hesitantly, because I didn't understand why he was talking to me - and then, in rapid-fire French (i.e., what sounded like gibberish to me) he exclaimed something about "Slumdog". At first, I started blankly at him, with a confused look on my face, and then he asked, more slowly, "Tu n'as pas vu cette film?" (Haven't you seen that movie?). I realized he was talking about Slumdog Millionaire, so I said, "Oh, oui, Slumdog Millionaire." And, then he said that it was a fantastic and moving film, and he thanked me for the movie. Great end to an otherwise uneventful day.

What I do when I'm bored in class (which happens often... click on it for the best view)

On Wednesday, I bought a cute new dress from a boutique near our classroom location. The place, called MiM, is apparently a UK chain that recently expanded to international markets in Belgium, France, and Ireland.

Thursday afternoon was spent muddling around Palais de la Découverte with the rest of my study abroad group and then buying some cool artsy postcards (a new collection that was just released in Paris) from a newstand near a métro stop on the way back to my dorm. I'll try and post pictures soon, if I can get my camera to come alive again...

A bee in a flower in Monet's garden in Giverny

On Friday, our group took a trip to Giverny, where Monet's gardens (the classic water gardens with lily ponds and amazing floral scenery) and home are located. The entire area was incredibly picturesque, so much so that every photo I took looked as though I used Photoshop to enhance the graphics. We had a huge lunch at a really nice restaurant (Les Nympheas/The Lilies), and then I had my first pain aux raisins (instead of my usual pain au chocolat) from the boulangerie near my dorm. The best part, though, was ending up at the Seine after dinner that same night and celebrating my 21st birthday precisely at midnight. We met a few French business students who had studied abroad in the U.S. - all the people we met were genuinely interesting, witty, and charming, and we had a great time with them - and, exactly when the clock struck minuit, they all sang "Happy Birthday" to me in French and English. Everyone decided I should try something new and fun on my birthday, so one of the guys in the French group playfully pulled me over to the part of the river bank where musicians were performing and Parisians were dancing. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), he was gay and a really good dancer. Those two facts may or may not be inter-connected...

Dancing by the Seine on my 21st

... recaps of the rest of the weekend (complete with entertaining stories about birthday escapades and Fête de la Musique events) are to come...

In the meantime, here's a fantastic and classy music video to keep you entertained! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1_CLW-NNwc

Post-script: It's been brought to my attention that the link probably won't work if you're not in France... so just YouTube "Ok Go A Million Ways" and watch the first music video that comes up in the search results!

C'est un peu plus qu'une antenne.*

Updates from Week 3:

Monday through Thursday was mostly filled with all of the normal activities - my two classes each day, with the occasional pain au chocolat for breakfast and a crôque monsieur or crêpe for lunch or an afternoon snack. One of our classes had a huge midterm exam on Tuesday morning, which drained most of us, but luckily, someone from Emory's senior class, Nick, was visiting Paris (since three of his frat brothers are on our trip), so a few of us got to look forward to having fun with him.

Most of Tuesday was spent recuperating at Galeries Lafayette in the afternoon (shopping around the district) - I bought purple low-top chucks at H&M, my first personal purchase in Paris (with the exception of food, of course). A picture of them is below. And I got good use out of them on that same day, since Nick and I walked around the area near the Cité Universitaire (where we're living) and explored the scenic park nearby.

My Purple Chucks!

On Wednesday, before classes started, a few of us ventured out into the area near the Châtelet metro stop, since we transfer at that stop every day. We browsed around a few stores and had a quick luch there. In the evening, we went with the rest of Nick's friends to meet up with other study abroad students (different people, different program) under Le Tour Eiffel, for dinner and drinks. The weather was pretty insane - intermittent downpours of rain and huge gusts of wind - definitely turned half our umbrellas inside-out at one time or another (and walking in all the water and dirt broke in my shoes, too). After dinner, we briefly stopped by the Seine and Notre Dame and then headed back a little early to finish our work for classes.

The Peace Memorial and Le Tour (de Gustav) Eiffel

Thursday, though, was the creme-de-la-creme for the week. After classes, a small group of us spent the afternoon at Musée D'Orsay, then went out for a real night out in Paris. On the way to Le Club Mix, we had dinner at a nice restaurant and then most everyone bought wine or beer and we hung out in front of a small church in Montparnasse (there's something just iconically French about drinking in front of churches). Then, we went to the club - no way to put into words how overwhelmingly exhilirating the entire atmosphere was - the music and the intense techno house mixes of the DJ (check out the song "Day 'n' Nite" if you get a chance), the video graphics and lighting, and all the international crowds - it was all absolutely, unbelievably awesome. About five of us stayed the entire night (till 5 AM the next morning) so we could take the first metro back - we almost thought we wouldn't be able to make it, but we survived and it was definitely well-worth it. We looked like zombies by the end of the rave, but it was, hands-down, the most memorable night out I've had thus far in Paris.

On the moving walkway of the metro at 5 am

Friday was much more laid-back and spent recuperating (we didn't get back till almost 6 am, and we all slept most of the day away): having a quick dinner at the cafeteria on campus, and then relaxing on the banks of the Seine and stopping by a French karaoke event in our building upon returning to Cité.

The Glittering Eiffel Tower
(It lights up every hour, on the hour, for five minutes, between 10 pm and 1 am)

Yesterday (Saturday), though, I made up for an uneventful Friday by finally doing some of the random Parisian things on my to-do list: having an éclair chocolat and a sandwich from one of the infamous Pomme de Pain shops all around France, eating dinner at a classy and charming restaurant near Le Tour Eiffel (Le Bosquet) - the place had great ambiance, highly commendable waiters, and an even better culinary expertise. I ate every last bite of my "big" salad and finally got a tarte tatin aux pomme avec glace vanille (we'd wanted to order that at the restaurant the night before, but they were out). Another plus was that the food was decently priced and I got the chance to practice my French with my waiters. I ended the night by spending it around the liveliness of Le Tour Eiffel, surrounded by hundreds of Parisians and tourists, picknicking, drinking wine, just having a blast, celebrating everything and anything.

Convivial crowds surrounding the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night.

I've known this for awhile, and, at this point, I can definitively say that the French are not as rude or disagreeable as the stereotypes make them out to be. True, they don't have (fake) smiles plastered on their faces every time they go out in public, which might lead outsiders to think they're unhappy or unfriendly; but, during my short three week-stay in the city, I've noticed how most, if not all, of the Parisians I've encountered are incredibly helpful and clearly know how to have a good time. Le Tour Eiffel is "un peu plus qu'une antenne" (a little more than just an antenna) and Paris is definitely un peu plus qu'une ville stéréotypique de France (a little more than a stereotypical French city).

*Half of the ad for 1664, the Bud Light of France (will try and take a picture sometime and post it).

The Joy of Less.*

Street painter outside of Centre Pompidou... The French love President Oh-bah-ma.

My weekends officially start on Thursday nights, since we don't have classes on Fridays. Last Friday, our study abroad group had a planned excursion to Versailles, preceded by an incredibly filling and delicious lunch (on Emory's dime) at the Bouillon Racine - salad, canard (duck), creamy mashed potatoes, amazing French bread, and a gigantic crème brûlée. I asked the waiter for chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), and he almost had a heart attack, because it's an extreme faux-pas to request hot chocolate during lunch time, especially at a fancy restaurant like the Racine. Then, he interrogated me to make absolutely sure that I knew what I was getting myself into - "Chocolat chaud? You are sure?!?! You want chocolat chaud now? At this time of day?!?!" When he finally brought me the deliciously sweet concoction, he emphasized how it was especially made for me and that I would have to enjoy every last sip of it. I drank it down to the very last drop. Janet Folger would have been proud.

I first learned about Versailles (and all the French royalty, the French Revolution, etc.) in my 8th grade French class, and was really looking forward to the trip to the estate... but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Perhaps it was because the tour guide (a nice old lady) took forever to explain every little thing down to each minute detail, or maybe because I came in with so much prior knowledge about French history that the castle itself didn't tell me any more than I already knew from class and the books I had read.

View from the escalator of the museum (President Obama and his wife went through this exact corridor the next day!)

On Saturday, I spent the day at Centre Pompidou, explored the area and the Paris Museum of Modern Art, and finally learned how to use a camera. My favorite pictures from the day are interspersed, somewhat arbitrarily, amongst the paragraphs of this entry. Centre Pompidou wasn't on the official itinerary for the trip, as my friend Sam and I decided to check it out on our own, but it was most definitely a great (and free) way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

The side view of Centre Pompidou (The exposed colored pipes are not only decorative, but also functional, apparently.)

It turns out that tourist attractions aren't always exactly what they're cut out to be in guidebooks, especially when you're visiting a foreign place for something more than superficiality and sight-seeing, but moreso to actually experience the culture first-hand. More often than not, the best part of being abroad is truly spending time like a local - sitting on the crowded metro as your personal space is invaded by countless strangers, walking around the streets of Paris with a huge baguette sticking out of your purse, and spending entire weekend afternoons at small cafés, with a book in one hand and a steaming cup of chocolat chaud in the other, watching as city-goers pass by on the sidewalk. I don't have a cell phone, a car, or a TV here, but sometimes, less is so much more.

*Title deliberately taken from Pico Iyer's latest post in the NY Times' Happy Days blog - a definite must-read.

Look, Ma, I can take my own pictures now!

Highlights from Week 1 & 2 in Paris:

I've begun to realize that there's not enough time to post detailed daily updates on what I've been doing in Paris... hence, the following represents a consolidation of all the best parts of my trip, starting from my first weekend and ending with the close to Week 2.

Last Saturday was spent at Notre Dame, the BHV (Bazaar de l'Hotel de Ville), shopping around a bit, watching the French Open outside of l'Hôtel de Ville (City Hall in Paris), and then relaxing in the amazing atmosphere and view of Notre Dame (saw a flame thrower!) and l'Ile de France at night - an innumerable amount of wine, hilarity, live music, and conversations in foreign languages on the banks surrounding the Seine river. Recuperation and relaxation followed on Sunday.

Walking towards Le Tour Eiffel

Monday through Thursday consisted of the usual - pain au chocolat almost every day, classes for about 3 or 4 hours each day, and realizing that every meal we ate in Paris was the best we'd ever had. The best parts of the week were the Le Tour Eiffel on Monday afternoon (finally learned how to take pictures with my camera - see above and below!), eating dinner at a Michelin-rated Thai restaurant in Place D'Italie on Monday night, and watching the Federer vs. Monfils French Open game in front of l'Hôtel de Ville on Wednesday evening.

The view from Le Tour Eiffel

A shot of the city from the highest tier of Le Tour

Weekend 2 updates are soon to come. À Bientôt.

Art, religion, and disbelief.

Day 5, finally, as promised. A little lengthy, again, but definitely worth the read.


Day 5: "A blessing in disguise."*

First Friday in Paris - no classes. Instead, a trip to the Louvre (picked up pain chocolat on the way at a croissanterie), which was intriguing and overwhelming and tiring. Had lunch at a sandwich shop on the street near the Louvre (Rue de Rivoli, also the location of the famous Chez Angelina/Angelina's Place, a restaurant that serves the best hot chocolate in Paris, according to countless guidebooks and the Parisian man who gave us recommendations when we were in a café near the Seine, sipping our hot chocolate a few days before). The picture above was taken at one of the exhibits in the Louvre.

Lunch was interesting. Not the food, but the ordering. While ordering and waiting for my sandwich to be grilled, the Indian guy at the counter kept hitting on me (with his French words, his English questions, his creepy eyes...) At first, I made a cardinal "American" mistake and answered his question - in Paris, actually turning, making eye contact, and responding to the question of a man who is interested in you is code for, "Oh, I'm in love with you, too," - even if the question is something as simple as, "Where are you from?" Then, he asked me more questions in English and gave me more compliments in French (while my friends were all standing there, waiting, half-laughing inside because of the awkward predicament I was in, and half-concerned that I wouldn't be able to get myself out of this awkwardness) - "So, what part of India are you from? You speak French well. You're very pretty. What's your name?"

To all of that, I gave a resounding, "It's okay, I would just like my sandwich please."

SCORE. On my first Friday in France, I mastered the Parisian art of ignoring a man who hits on you in a public place.

Part 2 - the second half of the day.

After the Louvre, we were supposed to celebrate the birthday of a girl in our study abroad group, but three of us got separated from the group. We ended up at Montmatre, though, just as planned, and ate a dinner of four-cheese pasta at a quaint little restaurant at the top of a steep hill, after climbing a number of steps (it wasn't until later that we realized the hill was leading up to Sacre-Coeur, of all places). We kept climbing up the stairs after dinner and stumbled upon the church - they were having services when we entered, and it was absolutely breath-taking. There's no way to describe how intensely different it was from everything outside of it, how unbelievable it was to enter such a beautiful, peaceful, and pristine place after having trampsed around from one metro station to another and rushing through traffic-filled city streets.

The three of us outside of Sacre-Coeur

But the night was just beginning... on the hill outside of Sacre-Coeur, overlooking the entire arrondisement of Paris, were at least a hundred Parisians and tourists, picnicking, drinking wine and beer and everything in between, eating ice cream, listening to the live musicians perform - a complete contrast to what was going on inside the church. We walked around the area for awhile, bought a bottle of red wine (I tried the very last sip, since, according to the two friends I was with - "the last sip is the best"), and then explored the Red Light District of Montmatre, discovered hilariously entertaining musicians performing American songs (and tourists drunkenly singing every word of those songs) at Le Chat Noir and stopped by the Moulin Rouge - all part of our original plan with the group that we had split up from. Then, we picked up some mango ice cream and went back home, hanging out, talking, and listening to music till 5 am. We never did find the rest of our group, but getting separated from them was definitely a blessing in disguise, because we stumbled upon better things and ended up having a great time, all things considered.

*Quote from a friend after three of us were split from the group and went exploring on our own instead.