Vendredi Noir and Marie-Antoinette Groupies

Because there is no Thanksgiving in France, there isn't really a Black Friday (Vendredi Noir) here. But that didn't stop us from going shopping on Friday afternoon. We went to the Galléries Lafayette, a famous and ridiculously overpriced department store. It's like Neiman Marcus on steroids, as Maman (that's what I'm calling Mommy from now on). Just about every designer you can think of has products in this store. There was Prada and Fendi and Ferragamo and Jimmy Choo to name a few...

What I liked most about it was the holiday decorating. There was a HUGE tree in the center of the store. I'm sure it's not quite as tall as the tree in Rockefeller Center, but it was big. And it was suspended. Where there should have been a tree trunk, there were cosmetic counters and a few inches of air before the base of the tree. I kid you not, this tree was 5 stories tall and hanging in the air. Also suspended from the ceiling were large Christmas bulbs and ornaments. It was so very pretty.

On Friday night we met Cécile for dinner at a restaurant called Lipp. We haven't seen Cécile in about 6 years. She's a French attorney who worked at Maman's firm for about a year in 2002/2003. It was nice to catch up with her. The restaurant is located in Saint Germain des-Pres, a district historically known as a hangout for such great writers as Jean-Paul Sartre.

Our original plan for Saturday was to go to the Louvre, but we decided to do a guided tour of Paris instead. Boy were we in for an interesting 4 hours...

The tour guide arrived at the hotel and picked us up in a little van. We then made two more stops to pick up others for the tour. First, we were joined by 3 Brazilian women, one of whom was not much older than I and currently living in London. She spent the tour translating the English into Portuguese for her grandmother. Our third pickup was of a couple from New Jersey, Chatty Cathy and Mr. Chatty Cathy.

Chatty Cathy made me laugh so hard I cried, and Maman kept harassing me for giving her the evil eye. This woman was too much. She thought British food was good, is mother to 3 cats and is absolutely obsessed with Marie-Antoinette's "tragic life." That's what she repeatedly called it and before the tour was halfway over, we were ready to tragically behead her.

Despite the grand annoyance that was Chatty Cathy and her obscene desire to take pictures in the middle of overcrowded traffic circles, we did manage to see all of the important Parisian monuments and I took several really good pictures.

This is the famous Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral. Because of the time of year, there is a Christmas tree partially obstructing the frame, but it's a good picture nonetheless.

I hope you all know what this structure is. I did take this, evidenced by the blur. It was dark so I was shooting without my flash. I have some good daytime shots as well, but I really like this one. What's cool about the Eiffel Tower right now it has a ring of gold stars on its front and is illuminated in blue at night. This is because until the end of the year, France is president of the European Union. The EU flag is blue with a circle of gold stars in its center.

One of Maman's colleagues suggested a restaurant in the Latin quarter, which is where we had dinner tonight. First let me say that the Latin quarter in Paris is not like what you will find of a similar name in the United States. The Latin quarter is so named here because it is home of the University of the Sorbonne and where you are likely to find many academics. It is Latin because way back in the founding of the area, Latin was the only language spoken in institutions of higher education.

Dinner was sooooooooo good. For starters, Maman had foie gras, which she makes a point of ordering whenever she finds it on a menu and I had escargot in a mushroom sauce that was so delicious. Then for the main course, Maman had a scallop dish and I had filet of duck that was so tender and juicy. I have to personally thank Brian T. for the recommendation and hope to eat there again before I leave France permanently.


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia

Joyeux d'Action de Grâces!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone is having a truly blessed day.

I spent a Thanksgiving like none other in my life...

I guess I should start with yesterday, since many people became aware of the difficulties I encountered Wednesday afternoon (early morning for those I bothered in California and DC...)

Mommy arrived in Paris on Wednesday morning but never gave me any hotel information and due to a mix up with the cell phones in our family, I was unable to reach her for a very long time. It didn't help matters that her Blackberry stopped working at some point during the day. Anyway, I was without internet access once I left the school and I had to go to the train station to get to Paris. Unfortunately, I still didn't know where I was going and sat in the Paris train station for an hour and half before Lori, Mommy's always-informed secretary, was able to give me the hotel address. So I hopped in a taxi and went to the hotel where I found Mommy in...the bar, of course. Not for drinks, but because the hotel has 2 computers with free internet access located there.

She had clearly been there for some time, doing all of the e-mailing her Blackberry wouldn't allow and we managed to clear up the confusion with the cell phones and sent e-mails to everyone I had alerted the problems of the day....and then we went to dinner in the hotel where we talked until the restaurant closed, so we came back to the room and talked until I fell asleep.

We had big plans to get up early and go to breakfast Thursday morning before setting off for the Palace at Versailles. Unfortunately, we slept through breakfast. We did make it out to Versailles though, after I got us the wrong train there...All of you who know me well, know that navigation and directions are not my strengths and I get lost easily. But I did get us in generally the right place, so we just had a little extra walking to do.

We found a little restaurant for lunch. They were really busy and ran out of all the good desserts, which was unfortunate. Mommy had a chicken dish with an amazing mushroom sauce. I had steak. Then we finally found ourselves at the Palace of Versailles.
The first and last time that I visited this place, was in April of 2000. I came on a school trip and I was absolutely blown away by the grandeur of it. The buildings are so large and ornately decorated, and the gardens are absolutely beautiful. You can see scaffolding in the picture above because part of the property is under renovation. What I find most striking are the gold gates. In order to see everything that the property has to offer, you really need two days, but one full day will suffice. We didn't arrive until nearly 3 pm, so we got discounted admission, and indication of all that we were to miss.

Historical Note: The Palace of Versailles was the center of the French Royal Court from 1682 when Louis XIV moved away from Paris until the French Revolution of 1789 during the reign of Louis XVI. He and his wife Marie-Antoinette were infamously beheaded as a result of the Revolution. Versailles is a suburb of Paris, located 20 kilometers southwest of the city and is famous not only for the physical presence of the Palace, but as symbol of absolute monarchy and the Old Regime in France.

As I write this, Mommy is in the background complaining. Currently on display in the Palace are sculptures by an American artist named Jeff Koons. His work is a bit bizarre and seems out of place in a castle, but I didn't really mind it. I was able to look past it and still enjoy myself. Mommy keeps referring to it as "ghastly". I think she was most appalled by this one:
I'm pretty sure you can tell that it's Michael Jackson and his monkey Bubbles. According to the audio tour, this is the largest know porcelain statue in the world. Mommy says Michael just looks happy because Bubbles is sitting in his lap. What do you think...? The next one is sitting in front of the Palace. It's supposed to be a balloon flower...
There was also a giant magenta balloon dog, a lobster hanging from the ceiling of a room in place of a chandelier, and the Pink Panther on a half-naked blond woman, just to name a few. I thought it was weird, but I took pictures of everything and kept going. Mommy just said that Koons' work reminds her of Tijuana souvenirs, gaudy and in bad taste. All that was missing was a velvet Elvis...

We made it back to this side of town without getting lost, but then we did...Paris is confusing. And we were both confused, not just me. But we're here and safe and happy. We stopped at a bar right across from the hotel for champagne, then we came back to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Not at all our average Thanksgiving, but certainly enjoyable.


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia

Strikes, Swa-rays and Tapestries…

Those three words pretty much sum up the last few days over here in France, for me anyway. I suppose I can’t speak for everyone in this country…

There was a teachers’ strike on Thursday. I was in the office Wednesday morning getting keys to open my classrooms and there were several students asking the assistant principal for the next day off since none of their teachers would here. She informed them that a strike day is not an absence and their presence was still required at school. The teachers were protesting Mr. Sarkozy’s proposed changes to the education system, specifically regarding teachers’ training and the number of in-class hours they must work each week. Suzy said that teachers strike often here, but not all of them participated last week. Several teachers were in attendance on Thursday. I had the day off, but only because Vanessa was one of the strikers and I only have 1 scheduled hour each Thursday and it’s with her.

Remember I told you about the other assistants that I met at my medical exam? Well, they hosted the Assistants are the shizznit part-ay/swa-ray (our butchering of “soirée”) at the high school in Vire on Friday night. It was BYOEverything – boissons (drinks), sleeping bag, pillow, etc. because buses don’t run after about 8 pm out here so you had to spend the night if you attended. I had such a good time. Living at the school in Vire are two English assistants from the U.S. and one from Jamaica, one Spanish assistant from Columbia, and a German assistant. We were joined by two English girls, a two American guys and a Swiss-Canadian guy who all work in or near Caen, and an American girl from Tennessee who works in Argentan.

Late Saturday morning, we all got up, got dressed and went to one of the many bakeries located in Vire to indulge in some French pastries. Then, because we had about 30 minutes to kill before the buses and trains started departing, we hung out in a little café next to the bus stop. The bus line between Condé and Vire only runs Monday through Friday. When I discovered this earlier in the week, I asked Julie if I could spend the rest of the weekend at her house because I knew that the bus between Vire and Caen runs everyday and I wasn’t really particularly inclined to spend the whole weekend bored in the flat. She immediately said yes, and then asked me if I wanted to go see the Bayeux Tapestry on Sunday. I’ve wanted to see the Tapestry since I arrived in France so there was no way I could have turned it down.

And now it’s time for a quick history lesson:

The Bayeux Tapestry is a long cloth, 20 inches tall and measuring 230 feet in length. The images embroidered on the tapestry depict the events leading to the invasion of England by the Normans in 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, ending with the Norman victory, meaning William the Conqueror was king of England. While the Tapestry currently ends with the Normans leaving the battlefield, it is believed that there are lost panels depicting the surrender of London to William the Conqueror and his coronation.

The origins of the Tapestry are a subject of great debate, from where it was made to who actually commissioned the work. I couldn’t take pictures because of the specific conditions under which the Tapestry is preserved. It stays at a constant temperature and specific humidity to prevent deterioration of the fabric and the colors. Amazingly, most of the original coloring of the Tapestry is the same. The discolored areas are found on reconstructed panels that used different types of dyes for the embroidery.

There is a guided audio tour that narrates the story of the Tapestry as you walk the 230 feet following the pictures. It wraps around a room and takes approximately 20 minutes. It looks a lot like children’s drawings, something I didn’t really consider until looking at the coloring books in the gift shop. The lower border of the Tapestry often depicted aspects of daily life during the time period. The one that I didn’t understand was of a naked couple with very noticeable private parts…Anyway, after you view the Tapestry itself, you go to a room upstairs that gives details of the Tapestry’s history, including how it’s survived since the 11^th century and its travels around Europe. At one point, it was used as a tarp. Of course, the tour ends by dumping you off in the gift shop.

This evening I rode the bus back to Condé. When I got off the bus, I called Marie-André and asked her to pick me up so that I wouldn’t have to walk from the city center to the school in the dark. She had made a dish that she remembered I’d really like the last time she had given me some, so she had some set aside just for me!

And so ends my weekend. Mommy is coming this week and we’re going to Paris for a few days. You’ll hear all about it very soon.


À plus,

Mlle. Alicia

J'ai passé un bon week-end

J'ai passé un bon week-end = I had a good weekend. Did you?

I was scheduled off on Thursday because Vanessa was still on her trip. I got bored and picked up an hour with Julie, then worked my normal hour on Friday with Jocelyne.

I got to ride in a British car. On French roads. Jaguars are British cars, at least they used to be before Ford bought them anyway, so you're probably thinking, "Big deal, Alicia. Why should we care?" You should care because it was an American car, a Ford Escort to be exact, designed for British roads, meaning the driver's side is on what we know as the passenger's side.

I rode shotgun in a London taxi nearly 8 years ago. I'm sure I would have been terrified had I been able to see. But, thanks to an unfortunate incident with my contact lenses, I was unable to see and kept my eyes closed for the entire drive.

Anyway, I had this interesting driving experience in Jocelyne's vehicle. On Saturday, we went to Caen for lunch and did a little browsing and window shopping. Then we went to Julie's house for coffee and dessert before heading to the movie theater in Thury-Harcourt. The theater there shows films in V.O. (version originale). So, if it's an American film, the movie is in English with French subtitles. We saw Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen's latest release. I had a really good time.

Sunday was spent relaxing, nothing interesting to report there. Except that I now have a shower curtain. Marie-André brought it by and told me that she had ordered a dresser for my room as well. Hopefully the workers will put the shower curtain up in the next few days and the dresser should arrive next week.

They have Black Santas and snowmen in the grocery store! Not really. They're chocolate Santas and snowmen without coloring, except for Santa's beard which is white, so they look Black to me. I think I'll buy some soon...


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia

I'm thinking I don't really like French doctors...

Bonjour mes amis!

I had my mandatory government-ordered medical exam this morning and boy was it an experience. I'll spare you the icky details and just say that it was a lot of unnecessary disrobing and each assistant was equally displeased with his or her experience. I did, however, leave Caen with a souvenir chest X-ray and the next critical step to getting my carte de séjour.

The medical visit allowed me to make some new friends. I found out that the English assistants were divided into two groups for the purposes of our orientation meeting and I met most of the others today in the waiting room.

How was Barack Obama Week for everyone? Mine was uneventful. I did a lot of cleaning and laundry and spent a lot of time inside reading Pearl Cleage novels because it was too rainy and too cold to walk anywhere.

I look at these trees every day from my bedroom window. This is my true California showing but it amazes me. In school we always learned that seasons change and leaves fall from the trees and then the trees are naked for winter. Growing up in Southern California doesn't really afford one the opportunity to see this in action, and I clearly missed it in Atlanta, but these trees were fully covered when I first arrived here. Now they're almost bare.

I've had a couple questions posed about laundry. When I first got to the apartment, Mommy and I couldn't figure out how to use the washing machine, which sits right next to the refrigerator. Here are a couple pictures:
The first picture is what Mommy and I discovered when we opened the two lids that this particular machine has. There is a drum inside, similar to our machines at home, but it's oriented differently and latches closed. We initially weren't sure if the clothes were supposed to wash on the outside of the drum, thus limiting the size of the load, or if it was supposed to open and how. I've since been in several homes with the same style of machine so I'm assuming it's standard here. Dryers tend to be luxury items here, so I have to hang my clothes when they're done in the wash. We've set up one of the spare bedrooms as a sort of laundry room. The drying rack and iron are both found in it. The rack is about my height with several collapsible levels to suit the needs of the day. Those are my purple sheets hanging to dry.

I'm not working again until Friday, and only an hour at that. Hopefully it doesn't rain and I can go to the park for a while. I'm afraid I'm getting a little too acclimated to the climate here in Normandy. Most days don't feel as cold as they did when I first arrived and I haven't used my heater in over a week.


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia