Friday morning I picked up Mom and Dad at Charles de Gaulle airport, which was magically easy given that we had no way of getting in contact with each other and that their flight was not listed on the arrivals board. We went back to their hotel, which was adorable. Mom wasn't feeling well, so she took a nap and Dad and I went around the area, scoping out neighborhoods and finding a grocery store (for Kleenex and chips) and a Starbucks (for tea and Wifi). We brought the tea back to Mom and discussed plans for the evening and then I went home.
Erin wanted to meet the Beyer parents, so we all met at the Fondation at 6:30 and went to Nenuphar, which is one of my favorite restaurants, and whose name, as I have just learned, is the name of the European white water lily. We had lots of yummy Thai food and then parted ways.
When I went home I heard a cat crying outside. Turns out it was stuck in a window-well in the basement, somehow. I went down to the basement and heroically saved it by... opening the window. Very difficult and strategic. Then it was in the basement, so we had to get it out. A couple of girls and I brought it outside but also decided that it probably wasn't a stray. No ticks, no fleas, no mites... and it came when I snapped my fingers. It was also clean and neither fat nor starved. So I brought it up to my room (very much against Fondation rules) and gave it some tuna and water and brought it back outside. I think it's still out there. Maybe I'll bring it some more tuna.
Clandestine cat
Saturday morning we all slept in, and I met Mom and Dad at their hotel so we could go to lunch. We went to Le Marivaux, which was near the hotel. They didn't have any plans of what to do, and I didn't really know either, so I just kind of threw out there the only thing I could think of that I hadn't done yet and wanted to do, which was to visit the Père-Lachaise cemetery. We were all a little tired and nobody had any better ideas so we hopped on the Métro and went. It wasn't that far. It was pretty cool. We went to Jim Morrison's grave first, of course. It was just a normal tombstone and such, but what was interesting were all the things people had thrown on it - there were notes, written on paper or metro tickets, flowers, photographs, and even a pack of cigarettes strewn across the grave so that Jim can have some smokes in the afterlife.
Me and Jimmy. I should start of collection of photographs of myself hanging out with famous dead people in Parisian cemeteries. I am sad looking at this picture because all that lovely hair is gone.
Afterwards we checked out the graves of some of the cemetery's other famous residents, including Sarah Bernhardt, Edith Piaf, Molière, Héloïse and Abelard and Oscar Wilde. I think my favorite was Oscar Wilde's tomb, which had an angel on it that almost looked Native American, and people had kissed the gravestone and written all sorts of messages on it in lipstick. The sign asking people not to deface the grave was ignored, and I think Oscar Wilde would have liked it that way.
Héloïse et Abelard
Sarah Bernhardt
Oscar Wilde
Mom kissing Oscar Wilde's grave
Edith Piaf. And Mom. And me. And my hair.
Mom and I
You can read more (of the same) and see (all of the same) pictures in my dad's new travel blog, created for this trip.
I had to get home and do laundry, so I did. I think I also hung out with Marc that night, in the lounge downstairs in the Fondation, lying upside-down on the couch with our legs up on the back and our heads hanging down on the ground, laughing as the blood rushed to our heads and we couldn't stand it anymore.
Sunday was brunch day! Of course I never eat brunch foods, but it just seemed appropriate that we should go to brunch at the American diner while my parents are visiting me in Paris. Rachel DeCuir was going to meet us for brunch, but her flight from Barcelona got diverted to Lille. She lives in Lille, so this would have been a good thing, except that she had left some things in my room the previous weekend so that she would not have to lug them around Barcelona. They were things like her coat, her subway pass and her homework, so she really needed them back. So she had to get back to Paris, but didn't make in time for brunch.
Brunch was fabulous. I had toast, a New Mexican omelette (DELICIOUS AND HUGE), three pancakes, two cups of coffee and a cup of orange juice. Oh, and a zillion homefries. Rachel managed to meet us just after brunch, and we walked around the Marais and found Victor Hugo's house. Afterwards Rachel and I went back to my room and she found a train back to Lille and hung out until she had to go to the station.
Sunday night was Au Lapin Agile night. I got a little dressed up (just a little!) and met my parents at the Metro stop. Or rather, I meant to meet my parents at the Metro stop and in fact saw them get on the train at Madeleine and ran into their car and surprised them. We found the place no problem and waited until nine and went in. I had had a cup of black coffee and was feeling extremely sick as I remembered why I never drank coffee before coming to France.
They brought us Cerises Lapin Agile which was some sort of cherry drink that smelled like bread and tasted like... cherries. Eventually the show started. It was a bunch of people sitting around a table singing. At first I thought, "Is this it?" But after a few minutes I started to really enjoy myself, especially when they played songs I knew. Mom and I did the little dance that we would do at Ste-Anne during the chorus of "Champs-Elsyées". One of the singers almost laughed out loud and asked me later where I learned it. The only other song that I knew was "À la claire fontaine," which is always lovely to hear, and everyone sang along with the chorus, which is where the title of this post comes from.
We left around 11:30. I was still feeling pretty sick on the way home, but still went over to my neighbor Marc's room because he was moving out on Monday, and we stayed up far too late, but it was worth it. He's moving to Delaware. Meaning I will never see him again. Because really, is anything or anyone actually worth going to Delaware for? But we had a good time, although combining that with not feeling well lead to basically not sleeping. Which was unfortunate, because I was meeting Mom at 9:15 on Monday morning to accompany her to INJA just in case the people she met and had to speak to didn't speak English. But I guess I must have looked pretty bad because once we were there she suggested I go home and take a nap before lunch. So I waited until she was talking to the woman she was meeting with (who spoke perfect English) and I headed home. Naptime galore, plus I got to say goodbye to my neighbor again. Also got to see Vaune for a bit, which was nice because even though we live in the same building, now that we don't have the exact same schedule we don't really see each other that much anymore... and I am accustomed to having Vaune in my life! So I caught her up on my life lately, and then headed out to lunch in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Lovely area... if you're rich. But lunch was delicious and it was nice to eat some really good food. I love going out to eat. I really do. But I don't usually do it because I can't afford it, and my most consumed foods are: 1) muesli and yogurt, 2) spaghetti and 3) salad. And snacks... but I don't eat a lot of meat because it's cheaper not to buy meat, and I don't eat large portions, and I don't eat dessert. So it's been lovely going out to eat, but I'm glad it's just temporary, because I've gotten used to my simple diet and all this rich food is almost too much to handle.
After lunch Mom and I went to Place d'Italie and I got a haircut. They cut it much shorter than I wanted, and I don't love it. But it is "très French" and "très trendy" and I am getting used to it I suppose, although French and trendy are not two adjectives that generally describe me, nor do I want them to be. And this woman, to whom I clearly explained what I wanted, basically stole a year's worth of my hair. But I am hoping it will grow on me - no pun intended. Heh heh heh... I haven't really been able to get a good picture of it, but here are a few tries. Of course, I am hiding the back and sides from you because they are the bad parts.
Unhappy about hair
Feeling closer to apathy than sadness...
Most accurate photo (you can see a little bit of the weirdness on the side/back)
Anything is okay if you can make a funny face
Last night we met Carolyn and her mother and sister in the Marais (where they are staying) and went to a falafel restaurant. God that's good, as they say (in Sweeney Todd). I guess in Sweeney Todd they are talking about humans, though. I prefer falafel. After dinner Carolyn accompanied me back to the Fondation to get her stuffed animal and glasses which she left here last time she stayed here. I was supposed to bring them to dinner but the whole not sleeping thing had addled my brain a bit. We caught up a bit and chatted and then she left and it was bedtime for me. Which brings us to today, a day that so far has involved class, Fritos, and running into Amy W in the RER. And writing this post. Which is way longer than I thought it would be. Which I suppose is why I have to update more often, so that I don't end up with these extremely long and overly detailed ramblings.
