It’s taken me awhile to write but I have a lot to write about!
This past weekend, ACCENT took us to the towns of Rouen and Giverny, both of which are associated with Monet. In preparation for our trip, Jackie, Lauren and I went to the Musée de l’Orlangerie on Wednesday and saw Les Nymphéas, Monet’s series of eight HUGE water lily paintings exploring the water lilies at different times of day. Monet donated them to the State of France with these large oval rooms in mind. The paintings are incredible.
Friday night, after seeing a really great Andy Warhol exhibit in the Grand Palais, we had a very unique experience. A group of nine of us went to a fondue place in Montmartre. The fondue place is known for the wine they serve in baby bottles. Drinking out of a baby bottle is not something you get to do every day so we were excited to try it! However, from the second we got there the wait staff was ridiculously rude to us. The salle (room) is small. Therefore, you sit literally pushed up next to your neighbor. The waiter that sat us was physically pulling us around him and placing us in our seats along the bench. Our main waiter was really impatient with our orders and watched over us the entire time we ate. One time he brought a fresh basket of bread and literally stuck it IN Jackie’s face. He would take glasses and plates from the table even if we weren’t finished eating. When my friends tried to order more wine he refused to serve it to them and walked away mumbling in French about how Americans drink too much. One of my friends, Megan, said it would be funny if we stole a baby bottle just to make him mad and pretended to put it in her bag. The waiter saw her, stormed over and started yelling “Voleur! Voleur!” (theif! Theif!) at her. He mumbled that Americans always try to steal the baby bottles and he would call the police on her. Just to put some icing on the cake, as my friend Lauren was leaving the restaurant, our waiter stopped her and insisted on searching her bag. I have never experienced such rude service, ever. That kind of service would never happen in America. The restaurant would be shut down. While at first we were laughing about it, I was pretty infuriated by the end and couldn’t even appreciate that it was good fondue. I will never, never go back. But it is just an example of the difference between the mentalities of businesses. In America, the customer is always right. As we experienced on Friday night, in France it is very much the opposite.
Saturday was a long but great day. We met to leave for Rouen at 7:45AM. That meant I had to get up even earlier than I do for class every day. Rouen is in the region of Normandy, about two hours north of Paris by bus. The weather was kind of cold and misty when we got there. We had a guided tour by a native who spoke incredibly good English. Rouen is known for its majestic cathedral which Monet painted several times over exploring the way it looked at different times of day. We got a quick tour of the Cathedral and saw how much of it was damaged during the war. The sad part is the State does not give them nearly enough money to repair everything that needs to be repaired on the Cathedral. It was sad how much of it needed to be cleaned and how many statues needed to be restored. The other thing the town is known for is Joan of Arc. Rouen is where she was burned at the stake. We saw the square where it happened and the small memorial that is dedicated to her there. A lot of Rouen reminded me of Strasbourg actually. I’m not sure if it was the weather or the hurried trip but I honestly wasn’t that wowed by Rouen. My host family told me afterward that they love the city so perhaps I went at the wrong time of year.
After Rouen we headed to Giverny. Giverny is a very small town about an hour north of Paris where Monet settled down toward the end of his life and painted his series of water lily paintings. You are able to visit his house and his gardens. Even though not everything is in full bloom yet, the gardens were amazing. I can’t put into words how incredibly beautiful it was (maybe my pictures can do some explaining…). After being there I can see why Monet was such a genius. The willow trees were huge and the bridges were beautiful. His house was equally as impressive. Everything was open with lots of windows and brightly painted rooms. They had pictures of Monet and his family in the house and in every picture he was smoking. Apparently, Monet smoked 40 cigarettes a day… whoa. I fell in love with Giverny and I wish I could see it in full bloom in a few weeks.
Saturday night, two friends and I decided to be adventurous. We went to the movies and saw “Monstres contre Aliens” (or Monsters vs. Aliens as you might know it) in French! It was exciting because I definitely understood more than I had expected I would understand. Most of the things I didn’t get where little jokes Pixar likes to throw in that just aren’t easy to translate. The movie was so cute, I definitely recommend seeing it! Now I want to see it in English because of all of the famous people who do the voices, including Kiefer Sutherland ;-)
Sunday was warm and spring like – which was perfect for the Paris Marathon! The Paris Marathon starts and ends on Avenue Foch, right next to my apartment. I decided to be brave and get up and try to run around the lake I usually run around even though I knew part of the course went through that area. I’m so glad I did. Part of the last mile of the course follows along one side of the lake. As I was running I could tell that people were waiting for someone to come by. I decided to stop and wait with a crowd of people and ended up seeing the winner of the marathon running his last few kilometers! (I later read that he was from Kenya I believe). It was funny to hear what the French were yelling at the runners. Of course they were saying “Allez! Allez!” (Go! Go!) but one woman even yelled “Cette Semaine!” (This week!). Haha, I thought that was hilarious. I ran around the lake the other way and saw about the first 20 runners run by before I decided to head back. So yes, I can now say I ran in a marathon ;-) Too bad the runners who had just completed 25 miles were running faster than me who had run maybe two…
This week I have had a lot of preparing to do for my spring break which starts on Friday afternoon! I will be going to Prague for Easter weekend and then returning to Paris eaarrrlllyyy Monday morning to immediately take a train to Switzerland, where we will be for the rest of the week! Jackie is traveling with me to Prague and we are meeting Grete in Switzerland. Not only am I excited to spend a week in two incredibly beautiful countries, but I am also excited to be traveling with both of my roommates. But perhaps what I am most excited for is the second week of my spring break because my dad and sister will be here! It’s weird to think that I am going to be able to play tour guide in a city I’ve come to know so well in only two months.
Due to the spring break plans, I’m not sure when I will next update y’all but hopefully I’ll be able to at least post some pictures from my week away!
One portal of the famous Rouen Cathedral.
The facade that Monet painted over and over and over. Each of the different towers were built during different periods of history.
Another jumping picture to add to the collection!
you didn't get a chance to eat at the restaurant in the museum just down the road did you? Because that place is unbelievably good.
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