Cynthia Water Closet

I think I covered every inch of Paris on Sunday. It started with a lunch date with Obicus (Oby) , my mad yonk Kim-chi loving friend who surprises me every time I'm with her. Both dying for a hot hearty meal, we both agreed that Korean food would be a good choice. We took M è tro Ligne 12 toward Mairie d'Issy in the 15 è me to a highly-rated Korean restaurant called Bong , but ah-hah! it was closed like 90% of the stores in Paris. Oby was insistent on not giving in to the random Greek/Mediterranean sandwich shops we passed by, so we trudged for a good 2 hrs to find a suitable Chinese resto. We finally found a small Asian alleyway near Montparnasse and jumped into a Chinese resto that looked promising. Worse. Mistake. Of. My. Life. Seriously Cynthia, ni xiang shen me ah? (I thought the Mandarin would be more emphatic...it means "What were you thinking?") A Chinese person eating Chinese food in France. Haha okay, lesson learned. Here is what it looked like. Panda ...

I am truly so exhausted right now, but the idea of having to post 3-days worth tomorrow is even more exhausting. I spent all of Sunday exploring, so naturally I obeyed my body and went to bed really early. I woke up at 6am this morning to finish up some homework, and lo and behold, I ended up unproductive due to a 3-4 hour state of hallucinating/drowsiness. I went to my Society & Politics class at 1:30 and Sorbonne class at 5pm and then came home to take a nice hot shower and dinner. Despite being tired all day, I am still alive at 2:30am. Tonight, we had a special Alsacienne dinner -- Cooled white perfumed wine from Alsace (very savory) and a signature dish of that region. It was really yummy and hearty. Strangely, it reminded me of a very gourmet hot dog meal because of the sauerkraut and sausages (and mustard if you wanted). I swear, so many similarities -- whether French, American, or Chinese. Assortment of saucissons (sausages), jambon (ham), boiled pommes de terre (pot...

Verre dans le nez + Napoleon signature move = weird, crazy night + = ------------------------------------------------------------- At Picard (frozen food store): -------------------------------------------------------------- Near Mairie d'Issy: ------------------------------------------------------------- Sarkozy says "What's up homies!?" ------------------------------------------------------------- Just a regular advertisement on the streets... ------------------------------------------------------------ French textos (CRAZY!) to Bonnie: ------------------------------------------------------------ Our little bread nubbin': Broken bread = broken heart :'( *La figure coupable de Catherine Ames* ----------------------------------------------------------- At Versailles: ---------------------------------------------------------- Mignon! ---------------------------------------------------------- Je comprend pas (outside of Eglise St-Etienne in Latin Quarter)...

People think that a sugar bowl has no physiognomy, no soul. But it changes every day like everything else. These glasses, these plates -- they talk amongst themselves, exchanging secrets and never-ending conversations. I've given up on flowers, they fade straight away. Fruit is more loyal. The different fruits like to have their portraits painted. They remain to ask your forgiveness for losing their color. - Paul Cézanne (English audio guide at the Musée de L'Orangerie)

Balcony view from my bedroom Today one was of those "Oh my god" moments -- like a split second of surrealism in which my body and my mind SIMULTANEOUSLY acknowledged that I am in Paris, France, presque (almost) 6,000 miles away from home (if one can call L.A. that :/). I started the day with high hopes, waking up at 9am and making a list of things to do, places to go. But before I knew it, it was already 1pm after taking a shower, cleaning my room, eating breakfast, and catching up on some news (any more coverage on Octo-mom and I will shoot myself). Finally, après-midi (afternoon), I packed a textbook I needed to read for class, my lunch (reg ol' sandwich, yogurt, and h2o), my mp3 player, and headed out. The weather was gray and breezy, but nothing requiring more than a nice coat and boots. I took the mètro to the American Library in Paris (Mètro Ecole Militaire), and there I searched for books on France's Second Empire & Third République, because je suis ...