Paris, Part Deux

So we had the misfortune of visiting Paris on what had to be one of the grayest, rainiest, coldest, most miserable November days of the year. But for a girl who has dreamed all of her life of seeing castles, her mother who's always wanted to show her one, and a North Dakota-born one-time wheat farmer who had never before been out of the United States, the weather was hardly enough to hold us back from seeing Versailles!

It was so great to see my Mom and Tom this weekend. They reminded me with their enthusiasm how exciting it is to be in France. We visited what has become my favorite restaurant in town, Le Montesquieu, which is just the perfect little French café. Only open for lunch, they change their menu each day. So I went in and talked to the proprietress the day before Mom and Tom got here and we picked out a special menu that Mom could eat so she could taste French cuisine without upsetting her allergies. She was so helpful and accommodating, and now the waiter knows me by name... Plus the food is excellent. I will miss that kind of service when I go back home.

Of course, not all French customer service is so exceptional. Today I was about ready to explode. First I talked to someone in the telephone store about a mistake with my bill and she acted like it was hard to understand me even though I'm sure I was perfectly comprehensible. I wanted to wipe that condescending smile off her face, let me tell you. Then she told me to call the 800 number because there was nothing she could do. I explained that it's hard for me to understand on the telephone and she repeated that she couldn't help me - not having even tried to understand the problem! - and added, by the way, I might not want to call today because they are too busy - call back tomorrow. As if that wasn't enough, I went to pick up my photos and one roll hadn't arrived, and the woman told me to call the lab myself to see what the problem was! She couldn't get a job at Kits Cameras! I was so frustrated...

Anyway, Versailles was amazing. Just so huge!!! I mean, I had no idea that 20,000 courtiers had lived there at once during the time of Louis XIV... And so excessive! Much of the furnishings are beautiful but I just couldn't take it all in. It was like all together you couldn't appreciate each object's individual beauty because it was just overwhelming. Every room was stuffed with gold, paintings, Sèvres porcelain, clocks, fireplaces, chandeliers - and there are sooo many rooms. The Hall of Mirrors - which the French call la Galérie des Glaces - was mostly closed for restoration, can you believe it? But we got an idea of its magnificence from the part that was still open, at least. Then we took what was meant to be a stroll in the gardens but turned out to be a 25-minute hike in the rain to see the Hameau de la Reine, that is, the little farm that Marie-Antoinette had built at the edge of the palace grounds so she could play peasant. It was so cute and charming, and yet - the idea is so outrageous of this queen pretending to be a commoner while the real poor people were starving to death. So I guess in comparison to their plight our situation of being freezing, wet, and extremely tired of walking seems a little less grave, but we were still really happy when we were finally able to call a taxi and be rescued from the middle of nowhere! Traveling - always an adventure!

Of course, the unhappy bourgeois got their retribution as well. But then just 15 years after the French Revolution, Napeleon crowned himself emperor in the most incredibly lavish and opulent ceremony. Ah France, the land where nothing makes sense... We visited Napoleon's tomb at les Invalides, which is appropriate as it is the 200th anniversary of his coronation this year... And had $10 sandwiches across the street. Somehow I hadn't realized that Paris is just as expensive as London. Ugh. But we did stay at the most beautiful hotel... Oh, just thinking of those huge fluffy pillows makes my eyelids feel heavy. And I got my first bath in about three months, so let's just say I was a happy camper.

Another highlight of the trip - there are so many! - was the Rodin Museum, which was incredible. I love sculpture, and I am rather fond of Rodin's revolutionary style, so shocking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His images of passion and sadness are particularly moving, thus some of his most famous works - Le Baiser (The Kiss) and Le Désespoir (Despair). He also has a talent for intertwining bodies or simply posing figures in novel ways. The hands and feet of his sculptures are particularly eloquent, and often over-sized. Anyway, I thought the museum was very well-done, and it contains almost all of his works as he donated them the year before his death. The garden is particularly neat because you can wander around and the statues are more spread out. I was particularly intrigued by Les Portes d'Enfer - the Gates of Hell - because many of his other works are inspired by it, including Le Penseur (The Thinker), who is meant to be Dante reflecting on the afterlife. It really made me curious about Divine Comedy, which I've never read...

Finally, one of the neatest things we did was go to a Gregorian Mass at Notre Dame. The bells were thundering as we approached, and then as we entered the organ struck up its overpowering entrance music. During mass we were treated to the Kyrie, Sanctus, etc. sung in Latin by a male choir. Throw in the stained glass, the vaulted ceilings, and just the knowledge of being in one of the oldest churches in the heart of Paris...! Overall the effect was awesome. No wonder people were so much more religious in the Middle Ages... :)

Anyway, it was a great weekend and I had a hard time coming back to regular life. Well, regular life in France, whatever that is. Classes, homework, ugh! I will be happy to finish finals, that's all I can say about that!