Ahhhh...Medieval Paris

This past weekend was incredibly busy, my legs are still keeping up with me, how? I do not know.  I'm not sure if I have mentioned this yet, but in Paris you don't just walk. If you're only walking, you're being disrespectful to your fellow parisians.  No. Here, we move like the birds with a tail wind, but birds who have perhaps had too much to drink and are perpetually saying "pardon!," as we dodge and bump into each other searching for our destination.

Starting...Friday? This weekend was a tour de force of Medieval Paris (or Moyen Age). Starting with the catacombs. So our metro stop for school is also the metro stop for the infamous Parisian catacombs, created in the 19th century to curb the overwhelming spread of disease and horrible smell.  Over 6 million bodies' worth of bones are stacked down there, are you drawn in yet? Leg bones, skulls, arm bones, and all other accoutrements of decayed and decomposed bodies are fingertips away as you walk through the wet, cramped halls of the catacombs.  I wasn't supposed to...BUT, I touched a skull! Ah!
Sometimes the bones were arranged in patterns, sometimes they were just piled on each other one after another. All in all it's a very strange feeling to be surrounded in open air by the remains of millions of people.  Illegal flash pictures follow:

Saturday: We went to Saint Denis, which is located quite far outside of the centre-ville of paris, but was well worth the trip.  It was a tad rainy, no surprise here (it's january in Paris), and I can't even tell you how cold it was inside that cathedral. My toes were about to fall off. However, the beauty of the church itself and its history made up for the fact that the church interior was at least 10 degrees colder than the exterior, rainy street. Like I said in my last post, Saint Denis has all the intrigue one needs to visit it, so here are some pictures:

Now. You're probably wondering, why is there only one tower? Why isn't it symmetrical? Well, it was more or less symmetrical when they first built it, but alas lightning hit it (such chance!) and it is now comme ça. Later Saturday night some friends and I went to a bar on Rue de Lappe (the bar street of Bastille) called Bar à Nenette.  My review? Great! Cheap wine, great atmosphere, and fantastic people watching, exactly the kind of location I wish to seek for amusements in Paris.

So. Sunday rolls around, what do I wanna do? I want to experience more of medieval cathedrals in Paris, and where else could you find such a place...why, Notre Dame! With two fabulous ladies, Sarah and Carrie, we set our sights on tackling the cathedrale that most everyone knows, even if they haven't seen it.  Now, this turned out to be no ordinary day at Notre Dame because we happened upon an organ concert. At first when we saw the sign, we thought, 'oh! cool! There's going to be a mini recital, I wonder where we'll find it...let's walk around and wait for things to get going.'  So 16h30 (4:30) rolls around and all of a sudden...it happened.  There may be only one other moment in my life that I have felt the same thing that I felt when that organ started to play and that is when Carl Grapentine announces "Ladies and Gentlemen...Presenting the Michigan Marching Band. Bannnndddddd, Take the Field!" It's a feeling of complete and utter excitement mixed with a tiny bit of anxiety as well as, hmm...awe? Yes. Awe. We promptly took seats in the nave and listened for an hour to a fantastic repertoire that both highlighted the quality of Notre Dame's organ as well as the technique of the organist. I digress. Here are pictures:

 

Alright, I think I've sufficiently provided you with some food for thought.  London this weekend to see Daddio, which means I don't have to pay for dinner, whoohoo! Don't tell him that.

kels

So many choices, all the time!

So. I find myself between a rock and a hard place. What do you do in the city that has infinite things to do? What courses do I choose when I have infinite possibilities to choose from? I don't want to call this feeling I have "overwhelmed" because I don't feel exasperated, anxious...etc.  I feel exhilarated, and yet, I feel that that is mixed with some fear of success while here in Paris.  Perhaps after my courses are set, I will feel differently about it.  For now, I will solve all my problems with pain au chocolat. Not bad, right?

On a very different vain, I am really enjoying staying with my host family. They are so kind and so interesting. I'm not sure I've talked about them yet? It truly is a "family," mom, dad, kids, but the great thing is that they are eccentric, musical, and intelligent...perfect pour moi! Tonight, the older two girls (23 and 21), their cousin, and myself watched "Brideshead Revisited." My shortest movie critique ever: It's strange. Don't see it, or if you do, watch it with some french friends, some of whom don't speak much english, because it's way better that way!  There were some scenes that they didn't quite understand, so instead they made funny commentary on the different facial expressions and music of that moment with many "ooo's" and dramatic sighs. So fun! To save you the trouble of watching the movie and finding out it's terrible, here is what happens: Nothing.  Ok! Moving on.  My host mom is really wonderful, she teaches throughout the week, different things: music, language, and she helps me with my grammar.  I will post pictures soon of my very awesome, very comfortable room and of my first happenings in Paris!

This weekend I'm trying to organize a group to travel up to St. Denis, and many people have asked me, Why? Well. First, it was the first basilica in the gothic style in all of Europe. Second, all medieval kings and saintly people were buried there before it was looted during the French Revolution (since then many have been at least somewhat restored). Third, St Denis is said to have carried his chopped off head to the spot where you find the church, from the Sacré Coeur.  Thus, we have history, religion, power, money, and a little gore for the perfect amount of intrigue! Also, I'm in Paris and want to do things...so, that's also a good reason? Mm...yes. At any rate, I have bombarded this unfortunate website with enough mind babble for one night...

à toute à l'heure mes amis!