On Monday, I saw my first movie in France! It was called Ne Quelque Part, and I wish I could give you a good review of it. I could understand it for the most part, but I think half the movie got lost in translation. The tickets were only 3.50 euros!
On Wednesday, we took a trip to the Musee du Luxembourg to see an exhibition of Chagall. It was a bit more modern, and not my favorite style or art, but very worth it. On our way from the metro to the museum, we passed so many little shops and boutiques. I know where I'm shopping this weekend! Our professor also provided us with a mini-picnic afterwords: the classic bread and cheese.
Afterwords, we were on our way to another metro stop, and we passed by L'eglise St. Sulpice. It's a beautiful, beautiful (no exaggeration) church built under the reign of Louis XIV. It was quite inside, hardly anyone there except for two homeless men, one sleeping backpacker, and a dozen people walking around. In the cathedrals I've been in so far, there's the altar in the middle with the pews, etc, and around the altar against the walls are different chapels or statues dedicated to different saints. St. Sulpice contained a relic of St. Faustina! The wall directly behind the altar had a sort of alcove dedicated completely to Mary. It was really beautiful. I would absolutely love to go to mass here. I would argue that this is my favorite church so far, just because the atmosphere was calm and sacred. You can tell it's a respected church. Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur can't be beat, but with everyone walking around, talking, and people selling things on the steps outside, to me, it loses the feeling of being a holy place. I'm not saying these places are not holy, but it feels like it's 50% church and 50% tourist attraction. Although, if it brings people inside God's house, then I should be happy. St. Suplice was definitely 85% church and 15% touristy. I feel very touristy when I take pictures inside of a church, but I had to take these to show how amazing this place is.
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| The altar with Mary in the background (between the crucifix and the 4th candle) |
Departing from another hidden gem of Paris, we made it to the Conciergerie. It was a famous prison...way back in France's history (this shows you how well I'm doing in my history class ;) which housed Marie Antoinette until her beheading. It was huge, and worth a visit.
After dinner (nothing mouthwatering to describe that night), we found a chocolatiere :D I bought some GOOD chocolate and found my happy place. The milk chocolate wasn't all that great, but I could eat the dark chocolate for days! We then headed through the Latin quarter, where a lot of universities are. It's basically a neighborhood for students. Very hip, very happening. It was exploding with more unique boutiques, cafes, and more stylish people. Our journey ended at a movie theater to watch a movie for my history class. It was called Le Joli Mai, a documentary from 1962 about Paris right after the Algerian War...and it was 145 minutes. No one knew it was over 2 hours. After being out all day, my mind shut down after the first half hour, and I watched people talk in French. My comprehension level went way down along with my attention span. After a few false endings, the last false ending threw me for a loop. It was about two hours in, and there was a scene with a train leaving the station (a very artsy way to end a film), some silence...(fin?)...then another interview started. My mind couldn't take it, and myself and the people next to me started cracking up! It wasn't over! I started crying (tears of confusion, pain, and joy) and whipping out the tissues (you can only imagine). It was so unreal to be sitting there for that long and that confused. If I didn't learn patience from this film and the last, then I might as well fly back to the US right now.
Today (in Eastern Standard Time) I celebrated the 4th of July by listening to Luke Bryan, eating Subway for lunch, wearing red, white, and blue, and finishing the day with some Colombian food and a crepe. God bless America. Vive la France.
"Fear is useless, what is needed is trust."
Love,
Anna
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