Kevin
Yesterday, the day after Fete de la Musique, was a relaxed one for me. I started off by waking up at about noon, after going to sleep VERY late.
Then, I took the Metro to the Tuilleries gardens, where I had lunch before visiting the Musee de l'Orangerie. That was a WONDERFUL museum. Very small, it managed to fit in two elipsical rooms wall-papered with Monet's Water Lilies, along with several works from Picasso, Matisse, and numerous other artists (that I actually knew!). There was also a mini-theatre, where I watched a 45-minute documentary on the Water Lilies, as a process and as a permanent exhibit.
Afterwards, while I had hoped to walk around more of central Paris, it was storming incredibly hard. So, I found a nice stationary boat on the Seine that functioned as both a bar and a pizza restaurant. I warmed up, tried my first French coffee, had an Italian-made pizza (I talked to the cook with my minimal Italian.), and later tried a drink called the Diabolo. It's peach-flavored grenadine, lemonade, and ice cubes. But, the word for "ice cubes" is the same as the word for "ice cream" in French; needless to say, after the waiter had given me my diabolo, I was pretty disappointed. (Nevertheless, regardless of the absence of ice cream, it was excellent.)
Later that evening, the sun shone once again, and I took the Metro over to Place de Clichy, near Inti's apartment. On the way between the Metro stop and his place, I found that there was a concert going on; I entered; and, it turned out, it was a HUGE Afro-French Catholic service, with a keyboard, three singers on microphones, two guitarists, and a drummer, along with about 50 people in the audience. After studying in school the spread of the AME, along with the diffusion of culture (especially Afro- culture) in the years since the Colombian Exchange, and the way that Catholicism has permeated various races and classes, it was an incredible sight to see. After about five minutes of looking in, though, one of the ushers walked up to me, greeted me, and invited me to join in. So, I figured, why not? They were singing some poppy-choral version of "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," but about Jesus and all in French. A lot of really cool things all at once. After that selection, I politely excused myself, explaining that I'd needed to pack my things, and I returned to Inti's place, where I helped to clean up dishes and pack up my things. While I figured we would just go to sleep then, he decided it would be the perfect time for crepes, and now, I can make crepes very well, with nutella, chocolate, or eggs and vegetables. This'll be a good skill at HC, along with my baguette-baking.
Later that evening, the sun shone once again, and I took the Metro over to Place de Clichy, near Inti's apartment. On the way between the Metro stop and his place, I found that there was a concert going on; I entered; and, it turned out, it was a HUGE Afro-French Catholic service, with a keyboard, three singers on microphones, two guitarists, and a drummer, along with about 50 people in the audience. After studying in school the spread of the AME, along with the diffusion of culture (especially Afro- culture) in the years since the Colombian Exchange, and the way that Catholicism has permeated various races and classes, it was an incredible sight to see. After about five minutes of looking in, though, one of the ushers walked up to me, greeted me, and invited me to join in. So, I figured, why not? They were singing some poppy-choral version of "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," but about Jesus and all in French. A lot of really cool things all at once. After that selection, I politely excused myself, explaining that I'd needed to pack my things, and I returned to Inti's place, where I helped to clean up dishes and pack up my things. While I figured we would just go to sleep then, he decided it would be the perfect time for crepes, and now, I can make crepes very well, with nutella, chocolate, or eggs and vegetables. This'll be a good skill at HC, along with my baguette-baking.
Today, I moved back into Michael's place for the day, took the Metro (I think the pay-station was broken, so it was free!) to Musee d'Orsay, and stayed there probably until close to 4 PM. Then, I grabbed a sandwich from a local cafe and an orange from an inexpensive vendor and had a late lunch in the Luxembourg Gardens, after which I read for a little while, as people were sailing ships still in the pond. Later, I got a dinner of mussels, and I walked back for a fairly early night back here at Michael's.
Tomorrow, I leave for Marseille!
Tomorrow, I leave for Marseille!
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