Springtime for Cynthia and France!

Doggy spotted on Rue Faubourg Saint-Antoine

Yesterday was definitely another hallmark day in Paris. I started the day off at Musee Gustave Moreau, a private house/collection that belonged to the artist's father but then donated to the state. It houses most of Moreau's collection. It has pinkish salmon walls. And it smells a little funky inside. Who is Moreau you ask? He is a symbolist who solely painted "destructive women," "spirituality/religion," and mystical creatures. Honestly, his paintings look like Venice Beach street art...the ones done by the vendors with long silver beards and ponytails who played one-too-many Dungeons & Dragon games as a child. For me, it was a little Madeleine L'Engle.

Afterwards, instead of having our free Wednesdays, we had to travel back to ACCENT to attend a Sorbonne review session with Madame Santos, a mouse-y (but charismatic) French lady who intermittently gives us grammar lessons (so we don't fail the Sorbonne test at the end of the semester). This woman is *pyahhh!!* (like a whip). She will correct every little mistake you make, and rub it in by applying the mistake to a real scenario (and 'quel catastrophe!' it would be) or describing a slippery slope if one was to say it incorrectly...like me. She means the best, but there is definitely some Santos fear instilled in me haha. Because I cannot pronounce my rrrrr's very well (it's kind of like an "L" sound but you gotta say it like you're about to make a loogy), she made me repeat "heureux" (happy) a good 8-9 times in front of the class. In the end, she muttered in French "BAH one can just say 'tres tres content'" -_-

I then rushed home, picked up a sandwich near my apt, and caught up on some emails before I had to dart out the door again. GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!! *cue Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes* FRANCE VS LITHUANIA @ Stade de France!!

But before the game, Bonnie, Catherine and I stopped at Le Pantalon, a bar in the 5eme near the heart of the Latin Quarter/Sorbonne area. Recommended highly by my host-sis, the scrubby dim-lit pub did not disappoint! The atmosphere was great, the bartender was so nice - it would be hard not to have a crush on him-, and the cheap drinks! First place I've ever found such prices. We tried the Ravioli that host-sis Celestine recommended (see photo, 5 shots for 10euros). It was part vodka, peach liqueur, and grenadine. Then, Bonz and I got a Stella while Ather got some Kir. We were in a rush so we couldn't stay very long, but I will definitely have to return.



We ran to Metro St. Michel to take some line (was not in state to know exactly which one...) to get to Les Halles, which is a freaking maze btw. Then we took RER D to go north to Stade de France- St. Denis. *An RER is similar to the metro, but there are less stops and travels farther*

We trekked what seemed like forever to get to the stadium, but rowdy Frenchies, the mouth-watering aroma of kebabs ("the ghetto dogs" of France?), and football gear vendors made the journey worth it; we each ended up getting a France football scarf. We finally made it to section L, and boy, the stadium was awesome. We were in the nosebleeds, but still got to see everything clearly esp with a jumbotron right behind us. We screamed random French words, flailed our hands around when a player made a bad move, buried our hands in our faces when we lost the ball, and even introduced the "GO HOME!" key jingle to the French fans, albeit us only having one key from our homestays and having to change the simple phrase to a wordy "Allez chez-vous...Lithuania." hahah. [At USC football games, all the Trojans would take out their keys and jingle them to motion the opponents & their fans to go home cuz the GAME IS OVERZ]

[photos: fervent fan doing the signature "What were you thinking!?" gesture, outside view of Stade de France, inside shot from our seats, and side shot of all the French flags after the goal]

France ended up winning by 1 (1-0), a goal made by my boy Franck Ribery, a very not-so-aesthetically-pleasing man, but plays soccer comme un dieu. The atmosphere was pretty tame. Other than the two or three overzealous fans, most just screamed at bad plays or calls, all while seated. And oh yes, the French do better waves. The crowd even does a climactic, "ooOoOOOh" five-second countdown before it arrives! :D

Then came the mad stampede to get on metro ligne 13 to head home. Ummm I pretty much felt every curvature of the man standing behind me, and many whiffs of the dinner menu of the guy next to me...I will most definitely post those captured photos when Catherine uploads them.

We felt like this, but more... self-sufficient. "You guys, investir dans une siege!!!" [poorly translated for "invest in a seat!"]



See all the photos from the bar & soccer match here.

Today, I slept in til 11 (grasse matinee for the millionth time), and then went to the American Library in the 7eme to return some books. I got to re-check out Obama's book for the upcoming trip, which made me uber happy. I strolled around admiring the luxurious, antique-y multi-million dollar apartments near the Eiffel Tower, and walked on the Champs de Mars, where families were picnic-ing, lovers were kissing, and tourists were unsuccessfully trying to capture every angle of the monument (but soon realizing the Eiffel's grandeur can never be captured thru a lens, but only in person).

Did I mention that the weather was beautiful today? Clear blue skies, a warm breeze, and touches of green from budding plants. I wore a white turtleneck, a black vest, and leather boots all the while hauling books, a purse, a jacket, a full water bottle and a sandwich...BRAVO, Cynthia. I was dying from the weight and warmth, so I turned around and took the metro at Ecole Militaire to go to Sorbonne class.

<---- distorted one that I took, but looks cool?


Because I gave my camera to my dad for parents' trip to China, I haven't been able to take any pics of my dinners. :( (Unless I want to bring iphone to dinner table, which is borderline interdit (forbidden)...) Tonight, we ate seared thon avec le jus de citron (tuna with lemon juice) and des courgettes (eggy zuchini casserole that tasted a little like a quiche) and had one of Brigitte's friend, Natalie, over for dinner. I got to experience a real French adult conversation! Natalie, the director of sales (I think) for Scotch & Soda, talks a lot and speaks very fast, but surprisingly, I think I picked up some of the conversation. I'll have to ask the host-parents before I give myself a big ol' pat on the back haha. Voila! some pretty Spring shots of the Eiffel Tower.

Bright and early @ 7am, I head to Normandie & Bretagne! :D Good night tout le monde, sweet dreams. Leave a comment if you can!

P.S. Did anyone get the "The Producers" reference in the entry's title?