A Very French Experience

I spent this Sunday out in the town of Versailles having lunch with my host mom's 87 year old aunt. She's lived in this huge house since 1952, and she was so great! Totally sharp and classically French. Aunt Madeline made us a sweet French lunch with a great cheese course, then we had coffee in her "salon," which was full of photos and portraits of her ancestors dating back almost two centuries. Her own father was born in 1886 and lived until 1988! I was studying my history textbook for my 19th century Europe class, and she wanted me to "see how the map has changed." So I bust out the atlas, and the thing is from 1894. It was awesome!

France Miniature: Talk about the highlights!

Aww, French lovers in front of the Tour
L'arc de Triomphe
John: AKA Quasimodo
Les Invalides
La Stade de France
The American Cemetery in Normandie
Chenonceaux
French kid going Godzilla on this town's ass
Chatres
Lourdes

Pont de Gaurd
St. Tropez
Les Arenes de Nimes

Paris Fermier

This weekend I had a few free tickets from my host mom for the Paris Fermier expo, which brings together a bunch of food producers from all different regions of France. It was a little like an afternoon at Costco-we went from booth to booth sampling everything they had to offer. We had foie gras, chocolate, cheese, sausage, jam, honey, spice cake, sweetened prunes, escargot, sorbet, tapenade, and lots of alcohol. My favorite was this aperitif made from white grapes, kiwi, and Armagnac. We also spent a half hour at this one booth where we got a lesson in authentic Champagne, complete with "degustations."

Parisian Sunset

Tonight I went with some real Parisian friends to the highest point in Paris, the Tour Montparnasse.  It was quite chilly, but the most perfect day we could have asked for--completely clear, with a perfect view of the sunset.  It was my first panoramic view of Paris from up high, and it did not disappoint.  As the sun went down, all the lights started coming on...

Nuit Blanche

Last weekend was the annual Nuit Blanche, where the whole city stays open till 7 in the morning, and different venues put on concerts and light shows and the whole nine yards.  In one of the photos below, they had some guy dripping paint onto a screen and then they were projecting the whole thing onto an apartment building.  The night was a trip.  

The fake mini-Arc de Triomphe

                   The Georges Pompidu Centre