So my first week of class ended 3 1/2 hours ago! Yay! And I came out of it with very little homework. The best part was yesterday...my poli sci professor told me and the other 2 kids who are taking both classes with them that we didn't have to stay for the second class, since we were just discussing the same thing in both classes (a basic intro to French political parties). So we got to leave 1 1/2 hours early, which was sweeeet. Megan and I used the time to go book shopping and relax, because later that night I had to go to the Louvre for my art history class. We walked around and talked about Nicolas Poussin and Charles LeBrun, two French painters, and guilds and academies and lots of stuff. It was cool.
Just a side note about buying books for classes in Paris (and prob all of Europe): A HUGE PAIN. There's no such thing as a university bookstore. You're given the info about your book and then you can go find it on your own...and bookstores don't stock more than a couple copies of each book. There are big chains like FNAC (a combo of Best Buy and Barnes and Noble) and Gibert Jeune, but the book for my history class isn't at either...this is going to be fun. And books in both stores are organized really oddly and it's just very annoying. End culture shock rant here.
Today I had class til 2 again. Art History is interesting, but it's kind of hard to keep up with since I've never taken a class in art history before and I don't really know anything about it. Since all of my friends still had class after I was done, I decided to do what I did on Tues. and pick something to do by myself. This time it was Ste-Chapelle and the Conciergerie, so I hopped on the metro.
Ste-Chapelle is a church built in the mid-1200s to house holy relics. It's actually now contained inside the walls of the Palais de la Justice. I waited on line for 40 minutes to get inside because of the security checkpoint. Once I got inside, it was absolutely gorgeous. The bottom level is all beautifully painted scenes and statues, and the top is breathtaking because it's ALL stained glass. It wasn't very big, so it didn't take very long to explore, but it was beautiful.
Next was the Conciergerie, which is a building along the Seine that looks like a castle, and was used as a jail. It's where Marie Antoinette and Robespierre spent their respective last days. I explored that for awhile, saw Marie Antoinette's chapel and the recreation of her cell, saw reproductions of what other cells were like, etc. Once I got out, I walked around the Seine for awhile, bought some raspberry sorbet, and walked around the Place Châtelet and the Pont Neuf (oldest bridge in Paris) for awhile, and sat in the park where the Tour St-Jacques is.
I think Thursday afternoons are going to be a lot of fun with just me, myself, and I exploring the city :-)
Here's the links to my Facebook albums:
#1: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053144&l=81ba1&id=15805278
#2: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053145&l=73239&id=15805278
2 comments:
ok so this is totally random, but all of your pictures of the city and sculptures made me think of it. I don't know exactly where, but according to my high school French book there is a statue somewhere in Paris called "Le pousse," which is, of course, a giant thumb. My friend Leah and I really wanted to go to Paris and find it and take a picture with it giving a thumbs-up. You should fulfill my dream. Also, if you know of anyone who needs a roommate at school, let me know cause I need one!
I totally understand your gripes about the bookstore thing...it's the same way in Spain. Plus, we have to read a bunch of articles this week and the professor has only one set of copies from which the students are supposed to photocopy...plus, the photocopier/room with the articles is locked during most normal hours. Sigh. Anyways, I am enjoying reading your blog and I think that we should find the aforementioned "Le pousse" when I visit Paris. We must Skype soon to discuss more of the details; the woman I live with said I could stay with her son in the city... :)
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