Winding Down

After our return from Spring Break, Anna left to go back to the states for 5 days and Cara and I took the week to relax. We were fortunate that the weather was perfect for picnicking in the park and lying in the sun. As I live close to the Eiffel Tower, Cara and I spent several days laying out on Champs de Mars (the grass in front of the tower) with the rest of the youth of Paris. It's a fun and lively environment and I got a little color in my face!

Cara and I found little things to do in Paris to occupy our time for the rest of spring break. We visited the National Gallery of Contemporary Art which had some strange pieces (to be expected) and one really large installation of an artist I don't know. We also visited the Arc de Triomphe and saw the grave of the unknown soldier. We went out to a great vegetarian meal at a cute little place in Montmartre called le Soleil Gourmand. Before we chose this place though, we happened upon another vegetarian restaurant in the same area that was about the size of my studio here. Inside were about 5 tables and you could see into the kitchen where the chef/ waitress was the sole person working in the restaurant. The vibe was very odd as the restaurant was almost completely silent (despite every table being filled) and we opted for a more conventional dining experience.

As a last hurrah with our Abroadco group, we took a dinner cruise down the Seine. It was fun to see everyone again and a nice way to say goodbye.

One night later in the week, I was invited to a party by a Japanese woman in my french class. I had never really had a conversation with her up until that point and had no idea who was going to be at the party but seeing as I had nothing else to do that night and the opportunity to speak french is always welcomed, I decided to go. I dragged Anna along for emotion support. There were about 30 people there from China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Their french was hard to understand but they were friendly, and once they started drinking, they got REALLY friendly. What I liked most about the experience was the opportunity to hear all the reasons why people were in Paris. So many peoples' lives have taken such different trajectories than my own, it challenges my ideas about what a life "should" involve. Being in Paris has not only opened my eyes up to the lives of people native to this city but also to the lives of people from all over the world.

Anna and I, in the attempt to discover all the interesting things in Paris before we leave, went on an adventure last weekend in search of the Viaduct des Arts. It turned out to be a raised pathway above the streets of Paris that had been landscaped. It was a cool little world floating above the busy streets with rose bushes and benches at every turn. At the end of the long road, we discovered a little park in which we picnicked and sunbathed (this is a recurring theme in my last days here). We wandered over to Pere Lachaise which is a large cemetery which houses the remains of many famous people including Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and Jim Morrison. It was a beautifully landscaped cemetery with hundreds of years of history.

This past wednesday, my first guest since Prakash and my family arrived. Tommy is the longtime love of my best friend and after his semester of study in Berlin, he made a trip to visit me. He was a fun and easy guest, content to wander the streets of Paris with no agenda. The day he arrived was his birthday and Paris greeted him with a grand thunderstorm and unrelenting rain. He was a good sport though and the rain didn't stop us from seeing the important things. The best part about having him here is I got to see the stuff that I probably wont visit before I leave.

With two weeks left of my time here, I am getting impatient to come home. I am also shocked that my time here is almost over, it feels like I just arrived. I just have to soak up every day that I have left as there is not much else I can do.