A sandwich similar to my homemade French version.
Saturday. I went grocery shopping, and I continue to be amazed at much produce I can buy for so few euros. While I was in the kitchenette making my homemade French sandwich, I excused myself when I burped even though I was alone, because that’s what my mother taught me to do: she said someone might be in the next room, and you wouldn’t want them thinking you were unmannerly. It was so funny…a chamber maid heard me excuse myself and came in and looked around mock-suspiciously for another person, as if to say: “Are you crazy? There’s no one else here!” I had someone tell her what my mother taught me. She laughed and smiled a weary smile, as though she were saying to herself, “Vive la difference!” (long live differences).
Spontaneously dancing on the metro with rappers was the most fun I had on this Paris trip.
I took my sandwich and left to go roller blading. Before I got off the metro on my way there, a few guys got on blaring loud music from a boombox, and they were rapping in French. I could tell from people’s body language that a lot of people disapproved of them. The next thing I knew, they played a song that sounded like a Sly & the Family Stone song from the 1970s, and I got up and danced with them. We were gyrating (a little, in a way my mother would approve) and whooping it up. People on the metro car started to cheer us on. It felt so good to see that many people who looked uncomfortable at first got in the spirit of the moment when I joined the rappers. One handsome bystander in particular smiled at me and gave the guys money. It was the most fun I’ve had during the entire trip. The guys and I all thanked each other. I got off the train saying, “Americans can boogey!”
I looked for the place that rents roller blades but I didn’t find it; honestly, I didn’t look for long, really. I walked along the Seine River, but from where I was, I didn’t see any distinctive photo possibilities. It was a gorgeous day, mild, unlike late-fall weather at home, so I walked all day. I walked aimlessly at first until I came upon signs for St. Sulpice Church. St. Sulpice was featured in The Da Vinci Code. (!) Yes, I enjoy sites of Paris for the sites themselves, but there is an added thrill to see sites featured in movies. (I love the cinema, plays, and opera.) Though a part of me thinks the main story was sacrilegious, certain aspects of it were fact-based, and if I look at it as merely entertainment value, it was a good story. The movie certainly made me want to see St. Sulpice for myself. It was beautiful, and…how else can I describe it? Serene, elegant, classic. I didn’t feel a heaviness I often feel in such churches; instead, I felt light.
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The nave of St. Sulpice Church.
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An altar in St. Sulpice Church.
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A close-up of an altar in St. Sulpice Church.
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Signage of Chapelle St. Joseph (St. Joseph’s Chapel) in St. Sulpice Church.
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Chapelle St. Joseph (St. Joseph’s Chapel) in St. Sulpice Church.
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The famous organ in St. Sulpice Church.
Some of the other pictures I took:
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Academie Nationale de Musique (Paris Opera). Under its original name, Academie Royale de Musique, it was established by Louis XIV in 1669.
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A street scene in Paris. Note the kiosk on the right side, which seem to be ubiquitous in Europe.
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A statue of Edouard VII. As King of the U.K., he was instrumental in the signing of the Entente Cordiale, which defined British and French colonies in North Africa, thus ending the frequent wars between France and the U.K.
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Edouard VII Theatre, off the Boulevard des Capuines. The statue of King Edouard VII is in the courtyard in front.
I had wanted to go dancing later at a nearby disco but I got an upset stomach. How (in)convenient. I organized myself into the new room with 2 roommates (sisters from Brazil). They both seem nice and easy-going.
Salut !
Monday. I have already started to worry about protesting in London and dread going back to the States. I am worried about how British people who see me protesting outside Buckingham Palace will react. Prior to my situation, I had always loved the U.K. My mother was part Irish. My father talked about him being an Anglophile. I’ve always loved the British people and their way of life, and as a city girl, I’ve always loved London, though Paris has always been my all-time favorite. Princess Diana was my favorite person on earth, and she helped me find myself. I even wrote a letter to The Washington Post after Richard Cohen wrote a disparaging column on Diana after her death. [Here is a link to that letter, but The Washington Post has it jumbled with other letters to the editor above it.]
