J'aime Paris!

What is better than having great friends? Having great friends that live in Paris! Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit a couple of these great friends in the City of Lights. My first stop was to see the beautiful Georgette, a fellow "mono" (counselor) of Lac du Bois '06, who is spending the year teaching English to 10 yr. olds! Despite not having talked for a while, we picked right back up where we left off. It was so refreshing to have some good conversation...in ENGLISH! I had nearly forgotten what it was like to have a wide selection of descriptive words to explain every little nuance of what I am feeling and experiencing! Here is Georgette and I on the terrasse of her Parisian apartment:


My time with Georgette included late-night catching up, sleeping in (yes!), a delicious lunch in a creperie, a thorough visit of the Pompidou Center (the national museum of moden art), a valiant attempt to attend a French toga party, not finding the toga party and opting for falafel and mint tea instead. Below are some pictures of the Pompidou Center. It is a controversial building in Paris because it goes against all of the "rules" of Parisian architecture. You'll notice in the last picture that all of the structural elements are displayed like works of art! I think it is fabulous and it reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously. Plus, you have an excellent view of the city from the escalator!





Sunday morning, I bid farewell to Georgette and headed into town to visit my dear Charlène on her 19th birthday! En route, I stop by a neighborhood market to take a look: flowers, fruits and vegetables, jewelry, gadgets and gizmos of plenty, (oozits and whatsits galore...sorry, Little Mermaid reference). I especially liked the line to buy cheese that wrapped around the corner of the block! I picked up a pink, potted flower for the Birthday Girl and hopped on the metro.

It was WONDERFUL to see Charlène's smiling face again! I met Charlène during my last stay in France and she came to visit me for 2 weeks in the summer of 2006. Upon arriving at her apartment, we caught up a bit and had a birthday lunch with her brother and dad. Then, the two of us trekked out into the rain to see a fews sights of Paris. We stopped by the Opéra Garnier (the inspiration for the Phantom of the Opera) and to see the Christmas window displays of Les Galeries Lafayettes (like Macy's).



The displays are a highlight of the season for French children, but the last photo might be geared more for the French "papas". Apparently, it is sexy to wear dead forest animals on your head. I'll take note...


No visit to Paris is complete without a good ol' fashioned protest and this weekend was no exception. In the true French spirit, a large number of people marched in the rain to protest the high rent in city. Charlène and I took the apathetic route and decided just to have a hot chocolate with whipped cream in a nearby café. :) We said our goodbyes until Christmas (which I'll be celebrating with her family) and I jumped on the metro back to the train station. On my way, I snapped the following picture of the town hall. St. Louis' former town hall (I think it is the town hall at least) was designed after this building!