A Spoonful of the Countryside

If you want to get your dose of nature in Provo, and looking at the mountains isn't good enough, you can drive some 15-20 minutes up the canyon and lose almost all signs of human life. Paris isn't quite the same. There are huge parks in Paris-même, but one must drive 45-60 minutes out of the city before you find a simpler life, with big open fields, deep forests, and scattered houses. I got to experience all of these when I went to a baby presentation with my host family. It was the baby of my host mother's son-in-law's brother, Sebastien. It was fun to attend a real French family function and I was able to learn a few things about family tradition.

First of all, if you attend a family function like this, you must greet everybody already there with either a handshake or a bisous (I will talk about the art of a bisous in a later post) and when you leave, you don't necessarily have to say goodbye to everybody, but definitely thank the hosts, and say goodbye to anybody with which you interacted. Not going to a party like this where a baby is being presented can be looked at as disapproval of the child and/or their parents, so be careful to rsvp beforehand. Even if you're not religious, or religiously affiliated, it's pretty normal to have a party like this, to present the child to friends and family. I guess it's the reverse side of a baby shower.

I got to try some neat apéritifs like prunes wrapped in bacon and baked, and they had a never-ending supply of cakes and fruit. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the French countryside is gorgeous. I definitely wouldn't mind owning a cottage out there for vacation time. Especially if it had a straw roof, because that would be awesome. Seriously, I saw a house like that, it was too cool. Okay, maybe a straw roof wouldn't be the best, because you'd have to change it all the time, but if I ever have the money enough to invest in a second home, it's going to be in French countryside.

A Spoonful of Can't Get Enough

I guess I can admit to the world, right here, right now, that I am officially a gourmande. Or in other words, I have a sweet tooth. And being in Paris might be the worst thing for it (or the best, depending on how you look at it) because your self-control and resistance is broken down one. window display. at a time. I really can't get enough which is terrible for my wallet and my figure. My metabolism is going to slow down eventually, and I don't fancy winning a spot on The Biggest Loser. Maybe I'm exagerrating a little bit, maybe I'm not. I guess you'll have to see when I get back.

Now, I'm not pregnant, but if I were, and I could blame all my cravings on it, I would, but then I would also have to tell you that my fake baby might just happen to be a lover of the following two things:
1) Falafel, and
2) Pistacchio-flavored desserts.

I have now had falafel 3 times in the last week, and something pistacchio-flavored 3 times in the last 3 days. I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH. I thought hazelnut was my favorite flavor, but it might have a very solid competitor. And have any of you had falafel? Sooo good! The best is if you can buy it in the Jewish quarter, at l'As de Falafel. You know it's good because it has a long line and the one across the street doesn't, and they give you at least 6 or more things of falafel. Look for it in the 4th arrondissement, a few blocks north of the Hôtel de Ville.

In case you're worrying that my taste for adventurous things has waned, I urge you to reconsider. I'm sure these are just cravings that will be satisfied soon and I will be back to sampling a little bit of everything. Until next time, readers!

A Spoonful of A Night at the Museum

...the Orsay Museum (musée d'Orsay) to be exact.

Orsay Museum from the other side of the seine. Photo by Dittmeyer (Available under a Creative Commons Attributin-NoDerivs license).

Saturday night was the European night of museums where museums allover the European continent opened their doors for free! My friend and I decided to head to this museum because it's one of the best in Paris, and because we can get into the Louvre free any Friday night. It was pretty neat seeing the artworks that I've studied in my Humanties class in real life. They have an amazing collection of Impressionist art from artists such as Manet, Cézanne, Renoir, Monet, and more. It was pretty crowded for a museum, but proof that Paris can be a small world: We ran into Americans we knew there!

My friend, Ariel, and me in front of the museum. We weren't able to take pictures inside, so this is the only picture of the evening I have.

Of all the artwork there, there were 2 that really impressed me, and that's not just because they were found in the Impressionist section. There was one painting of a woman in which her eyes were incredibly realistic and piercing even. I found myself returning to the painting over and over again because of how the poignant the eyes were. Sadly, I don't remember the name of the artwork or the artist, so I can't just say go look "Said artwork" up so you could see yourself. Ah, well, maybe you'll just have to the museum. There was another painting that struck me. Again, it was depicting a woman, but what was so fantastic about this one was the dress she was wearing--it was incredibly realistic looking. The way the artist had done the lighting and the texture made me feel like she could have been in the same room as us, even being stuck in a different era.

We got through most of the museum in the short time we had there, and then when we decided we couldn't look at another piece of artwork, we left and walked across one of the nearest bridges to check out Paris at night because we could. It is definitely beautiful by night. It was also pretty cold, so we didn't stay long. Plus, it was pretty late.

I'm hoping the next time I'm in Paris, I have a visa and I'm under 26, because then I can get into almost all of the museums for FREE! Yeah, I found out all the American exchange students (and missionaries) could get in free to a lot of places I would have to pay anywhere from  8-15 euro to get into. France, and Europe in general, have a great system for youth and I hope I can benefit from it again before I'm too old too!