This is really just a teaser, since I suddenly had heaps of things to do this week and am too pooped to catch up in any comprehensive kind of way. But things you will soon get to read about: the fabulous visit of Jenna Devine and her sister Amanda, last-minute, 25-euro, front-row seats at the Opera, a morning at Versailles, a violent incident report in a Belgian hotel, and my very first oral presentation since my arrival in France. I have survived all of these things. The presentation (exposé) was a little overboard (43 minutes, by accident - how was I to know!?), and Belgium was one more country - a very underrated one, I thought - to add to the list. We hit 3 cities in 2.5 days: Ghent, Bruges, and Brussels, but the country is really so small that it wasn't too hard. Also, I have begun my spring project of mastering the Paris buses. There is nothing more glorious than sailing down Boulevard Saint-Germain at twilight, with Notre Dame aglow, the famous streetlights just turning on, and the little yellow flowers that are blossoming everywhere reminding you of the coming of a Parisian spring. The fact that I am now attempting to navigate the buses, which are infinitely more complicated than the metro, makes me confident that I'm getting my Paris geography down pat. It's an odd feeling to think that I know the layout of Paris better than any other city, but I think it's really true. I do so much trotting around from one place to another that I've had to memorize the map -- for all of you haters out there (cough cough, Dad) who are distraught at my poor sense of direction, there is cause for hope! But anyway, you'll have to wait a few more days before the whole story of my last few weeks comes out. In the meantime, here are some pictures from my recent adventures.
With my friends Rachel, Claire, Nathaniel, Allison, & Olivia for Nathaniel's birthday
Monet's waterlilies at the Orangerie, with Jenna
With Jenna at the gardens of Versailles
Ghent, Belgium as seen from the Gravensteen Castle
Canal in Bruges, Belgium
I love your pictures! That view of Ghent is unreal--I really absolutely have to go. And the picture of you and Jenna with the waterlilies is really sweet.
ReplyDeleteI think it is VERY positive that you are going to use the buses--I am mildly obsessed with the Paris buses, and you're right, at some points, you're riding down these big boulevards and there's so much to look at...definitely superior to the metro, and not just because I'm always on the devil train. And they're actually not that complicated, when you start really looking at the map--sometimes they're way more convenient than using the metro! Anyway...I'll join you in your bus adventures one of these days when we don't spend toute la journee with our travail.