Monday, I met my parents at Reid Hall. We went out to a famous cafe, La Coupole, with a friend of my dad's (who has, very kindly, invited me to the first night's seder in April), and ordered the profiteroles, which were tasty, if very expensive. After my stage, we were supposed to go out to dinner together at a kosher North African restaurant, but it was apparently out of business - quite odd, since I had called there just a few weeks before. Ended up going to a tasty Indian place instead.
Unfortunately, I didn't have much time on Tuesday to meet with parents, because of my classes. We found a good Middle Eastern place for felafel/shwarma for lunch, and a pasta place for dinner. Apparently, I have some kind of amazing power to cause restaurants to close, since the place I had made reservations at was closed that night.
The rest of the week (Mom and Dad left Wed. morning) was fairly uneventful. The poetry slam last night was indeed as I predicted. Finally, I checked out another gelato place today: Pozzetto. Much closer in quality to the American places I mentioned earlier; maybe I'll go there with Aaron.
Photos tomorrow, I hope.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
Wherein I recount...
the rest of my vacation, and a few other things.
Thursday the 1st, I spent a lot of the day at the science museum. Lots of interesting exhibits and scientific historical artifacts, though a few of the newer exhibits tried too hard to be "fun" at the expense of being informative; are kids really likely to learn anything about renewable energy from a bad Dance Dance Revolution clone? I also spent some time wandering around Picadilly Circus. Tacky, but amusing, much like Times Square.
Friday, I woke up early and took a train to Nottingham. After arriving, we had lunch at a vegetarian cafe and went for cocoa at a great place called Chocolate Utopia; after that, we went to the City of Caves, which was interesting, if somewhat tourist-trap-ish; Nottingham has a huge number of caves, and the tour there covered their use as tanneries and WWII bomb shelters. Afterwards, we vistited the Castle (no, it's not medieval) and a museum there. We avoided the Tales of Robin Hood, which apparently is an overpriced, Disneyesque indoor ride.
Saturday: went to synagogue with my parents, which was interesting largely because of the differences from the American services I'm familiar with - for instance, a prayer for the health of the Queen was given. After touring U. of Nottingham's campus (which is really quite nice) with Mom, Dad, and Aaron, and dinner at a Thai/Indonesian place, I went to a Purim party with Aaron. By the time it was over, I could still tell the difference between Mordecai and Haman, however.
Sunday, I had phô with Aaron at a Vietnamese place, and then took my flight back to Paris. It was great seeing him again - hopefully, his visit to Paris in a few weeks works out.
Sadly, I have to leave soon, for a French poetry slam on the outskirts of Paris; it should be fun, though probably mostly incomprehensible. I'll post more soon, probably including photos.
Thursday the 1st, I spent a lot of the day at the science museum. Lots of interesting exhibits and scientific historical artifacts, though a few of the newer exhibits tried too hard to be "fun" at the expense of being informative; are kids really likely to learn anything about renewable energy from a bad Dance Dance Revolution clone? I also spent some time wandering around Picadilly Circus. Tacky, but amusing, much like Times Square.
Friday, I woke up early and took a train to Nottingham. After arriving, we had lunch at a vegetarian cafe and went for cocoa at a great place called Chocolate Utopia; after that, we went to the City of Caves, which was interesting, if somewhat tourist-trap-ish; Nottingham has a huge number of caves, and the tour there covered their use as tanneries and WWII bomb shelters. Afterwards, we vistited the Castle (no, it's not medieval) and a museum there. We avoided the Tales of Robin Hood, which apparently is an overpriced, Disneyesque indoor ride.
Saturday: went to synagogue with my parents, which was interesting largely because of the differences from the American services I'm familiar with - for instance, a prayer for the health of the Queen was given. After touring U. of Nottingham's campus (which is really quite nice) with Mom, Dad, and Aaron, and dinner at a Thai/Indonesian place, I went to a Purim party with Aaron. By the time it was over, I could still tell the difference between Mordecai and Haman, however.
Sunday, I had phô with Aaron at a Vietnamese place, and then took my flight back to Paris. It was great seeing him again - hopefully, his visit to Paris in a few weeks works out.
Sadly, I have to leave soon, for a French poetry slam on the outskirts of Paris; it should be fun, though probably mostly incomprehensible. I'll post more soon, probably including photos.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
London
After finishing a difficult paper for my Gender in France class (on Madeleine Pelletier), I'm off on break now in London, until Friday, when I'll meet up with Aaron in Nottingham; I'm returning to Paris Sunday evening. I'm really happy to have a chance to relax. The hotel I'm staying at (Ridgemount) is quite nice with excellent service. Today I've visited the Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms (where I met Mom and Dad briefly) and the Tate Modern; I must admit that I found the latter considerably more interesting. Beside the art exhibits, I enjoyed the five-story indoor slide (check out the webcam). Tomorrow: more museuming, probably.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Misc. happenings
I haven't updated much lately, mainly because not much has happened. I'm still doing my stage at the French school; the language barrier is a problem, and a few of the adolescent girls there are particularly obnoxious (odieuses), but it's rewarding. I also have a lot of work to do - both classwork and the summer job search. I'm really looking forward to my vacation. Currently, I need to work on a short paper about a movie I saw recently, as well as a longer paper, which is an analysis of a reading on feminism.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
News, and a few complaints
Rouen is a fascinating city, and the Notre Dame cathedral is spectacular. Things are cheaper there than in Paris - surprise, surprise. The only real problem with the city is that there's too much tacky Joan of Arc tourist-trap stuff, especially around the site where she was burned. I'll post photos... eventually.
I've started some volunteer work; basically, I go to a school for a few hours on Monday and Thursday evenings and help the kids with English homework. It's difficult for me to communicate with them, but when I can help them, it's really gratifying.
Finally, a few complaints about Paris in general. Well, really, they're just minor frustrations, but anyway:
1. Everything that isn't a bar or restaurant is closed on Sunday. There are exceptions, of course, but don't count on getting much in the way of shopping or necessary errands done then.
2. Even during the week, everything except for bars and restaurants closes too early. By the time I get home from classes on Tuesday (which end at 7:30), all the supermarkets and most of the boulangeries are closed. There are exceptions (more than for rule no. 1), but in general, it's like Sunday by 8 PM or so.
3. For a city Paris's size, the Metro shuts down far too early (around 12:30-1 most nights).
4. Why do so few of the ticket machines in Metro stations accept bills? It's particularly annoying, since whether or not the machine accepts my credit card seems to be decided entirely by random chance.
I've started some volunteer work; basically, I go to a school for a few hours on Monday and Thursday evenings and help the kids with English homework. It's difficult for me to communicate with them, but when I can help them, it's really gratifying.
Finally, a few complaints about Paris in general. Well, really, they're just minor frustrations, but anyway:
1. Everything that isn't a bar or restaurant is closed on Sunday. There are exceptions, of course, but don't count on getting much in the way of shopping or necessary errands done then.
2. Even during the week, everything except for bars and restaurants closes too early. By the time I get home from classes on Tuesday (which end at 7:30), all the supermarkets and most of the boulangeries are closed. There are exceptions (more than for rule no. 1), but in general, it's like Sunday by 8 PM or so.
3. For a city Paris's size, the Metro shuts down far too early (around 12:30-1 most nights).
4. Why do so few of the ticket machines in Metro stations accept bills? It's particularly annoying, since whether or not the machine accepts my credit card seems to be decided entirely by random chance.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Misc updates
1. Going on a trip to Rouen with other students tomorrow. Should be interesting, though I'll have to get up earlier than I would like.
2. I'm finally moving into my permanent apartment tonight. Hope it works out.
3. I have a tentative schedule for volunteer work, found through Espace Benevolat: Monday and Thursday evenings, I'll be working at the Atelier Educatif, Culturel et Sportif, helping 6-13 year-old kids learn English.
2. I'm finally moving into my permanent apartment tonight. Hope it works out.
3. I have a tentative schedule for volunteer work, found through Espace Benevolat: Monday and Thursday evenings, I'll be working at the Atelier Educatif, Culturel et Sportif, helping 6-13 year-old kids learn English.
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