Whoa, it's been a long time

It would appear that I once more feel the need to post details of my life on the interwebs. Interesting.

Tomorrow, I'm going to San Francisco, where I will visit Betsy and Anna Bish. I was fairly excited at first, then I got caught up in a lot of things and kind of forgot about it, and now I am ex-TREME-ly looking forward to going. I've been to the West Coast only once in my life, and I was much too small to remember. I'm going to see the Pacific Ocean! And a cool new city! And, to top it off, I'll be getting a chance to visit and catch up with friends that I haven't seen in far too long. I'm not going to be there for very long, just a short weekend (I get there Friday and I fly back to Chicago Sunday morning), and I have almost nothing planned.

Scary.

While I'm not an extremely planned person, I do tend to like to have a general idea of what's going to happen. If I'm going to a new city, I like to read as much as I can about it, and just figure out what I absolutely have to see, just in case it's the only time I'll go there in my whole entire life. But with this trip, I'm just going to do whatever. I don't really know what's in San Francisco, other than a large suspension bridge and a farmers' market, and I'm kind of ok with that. I'll get to see the city from my friends' perspectives, and I'm going to trust both of their excellent tastes in life. I know, without a doubt, I will eat good food, drink something, and enjoy splendid company, and that's good enough for me!

If I remember my camera (which I am packing right now, along with batteries), I will probably post pictures from my journey to norcal.

Another reason for reopening the blog? I've been knitting a lot lately, and I really want to share pretty pictures. :)

My ass hurts and I'm pissed that the internet is only good in the hallway.

Also, I want to gorge myself on French chocolate.

Don't know why this is sideways, but I'm really tired and too lazy to move it. It's a gargoyle and the Eiffel Tower!


This is one of the amazing statues on top of the Palais Garnier. I love this building, and if I ever get a chance to perform here (which I won't) I'll be super happy and in awe. Once again, too lazy to try to contemplate rotating it. Just hold your head sideways while looking at the screen. There are only two people (I didn't just almost spell that too...) who look at this anyway....

These pictures are both pretty old, but some of my favorites from the one's that I've taken. They're probably a little more than two weeks old, I think, but since I hadn't posted them, I figured I should put them up. I'm going to start some other photo thing, to put up lots of pictures, when I get the chance.

I love Paris. Seriously. Last night was one of the most fun nights that I have ever had.

French people can't dance. They just kind of move around; it's the ancestral home of white people who can' t always find a beat. And I love it.

The world is ever so small sometimes. Yesterday, after a futile attempt to check email (the wireless was down), I ran into Chris Hopkins. Randomly, I was leaving one side of the building just as he was entering. It was very odd and coincidental. However, now I know he's here, and I know where he's staying, and he's really lonely. He was pretty shocked his first day in Paris, and overwhelmed, and really excited to see a familiar face. But it was ridiculously bizarre to see him. He kissed my check. It was rather amusing.

Some goofy pictures....

At a vintage jewelry store in the open air market. They had some real glasses from the 30s that I really wanted, but they were also 100 euros, and that is quite a bit of money, and I was also not sure that the eye doctor would be able to put my perscription in them. But it was very fun to look around.

The Opera Garnier! It's really pretty. Inside and out. And I got lots of pretty ballet postcards, since the Paris Opera Ballet has a large budget, and likes to do opulent productions.

Soon, the civ program will start, and I'll be reading works about the Romans in Paris, which excites me way more than it should. I also have French literature recommendations from my old lector (who wrote my letter of recommendation for the Paris program, interestingly enough.) and I am really excited to read some French literature. I love books.

Looking up at the roofs of Notre Dame. On the side that is not near the Seine. I thought it was cool; I really like looking at the parts of churches that other people kind of pass over.

The Eiffel Tower at night, when my camera is on its "night" setting, which as a really long exposure time, and my hand moves when hitting the button.


The Eiffel Tower at sunset.

I went over to the apartment of some of the people in the year round program today for dinner. It was a lot of fun, with great conversation, pretty good wine, and not bad food. Their apartment has a view of all the major landmarks, and is really awesome. (You can see Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur on the other side.)

The scene above the main door. It's the Last Judgement. (Or Le dernier Jugement)
The back. It was really pretty.


Pictures from almost a week ago.

It's the cathedral at Vezelay. It was really pretty and fun. We had to walk up this huge hill, a really narrow, windy street that was lined with cute restaurants and wine stores. This last picture is close to the first view of it, when the streets kind of opened up to a little square in front of it.

I have pictures of Notre Dame that I'll be posting once I get them onto my computer. I've just been fairly overwhelmed by the whole idea of really old churches. I mean, there are huge amounts of history in most of the churches in Paris, and many of them are still active churches. They are an active, ever changing historical monument. I'm not sure that I would be able to worship in a place like Notre Dame or the cathedral at Vezelay or St. Germain des Pres (which has a really fascinating little history. You all should look it up.). I don't know if I would be able to focus on the idea of a deity, rather than the little stories of all of the people that worshipped there before me. I mean, did people get married there? Did they hold funerals? What important events in their lives happened there? And what role in their lives did the Church really play? Was it actually a religious belief, and a worship of an omnipotent deity, or was it more that the political power of the Church as an institution demanded attention?

And then, in France, as well as in the rest of Europe, there were some pretty violent religious quarrels. I want to know what the people that went to those churches actually thought about it. Where was the line drawn between the people who were actually fanatic, and the people who were just sticking with the church that was in power? And when people defaced the churches, what were their reasons for it, rather than the obvious. That's where the word "defacement" comes from. Protestants would go around and hack at the stone carvings of saints and the apostles in order to send a message to the Church. What made them do what they did?

So, that's the end of the ramblings for the night. I'm super tired, and I'm goin to a flea market tomorrow morning. Also, the stupid internet connection is coming in and out. And it's really frustrating.