So Monday was another official French holiday. Apparently Sarkozy just recently made the Monday of Pentecost a holiday . . . I really don’t care all it means for me is another day without school. James called me Monday to see if I wanted to do lunch so we pick-nicked on Champ de Mars which is a large park between the Eiffel tower and L’Ecole Militaire. It’s been beautiful weather here lately mid to high 70′s with a beautiful breeze . . . I know you’re jealous. . . Nice weather apparently means French people begin to shed their clothing. There was a woman not far from us laying in her bikini in the grass and some guy in front of us took off his pants and was laying in his underwear. Classy. This was probably the most French thing to do on a holiday next to one of the most touristy places in the city. From our nice shady spot we had a beautiful view of that grand structure called the Eiffel Tower. After pick-nicking I went back to my neighborhood and found this little park full of old people and little kids riding bikes and playing, so I sat and attempted to read Moliere. yeah right. I at least got a bit of sun so I’m not so ghostly in short sleeves.
Tuesday I had grammar class in the morning and then an excursion with civilization class. We went to the Mosquee de Paris which is the largest mosque in Paris and was built after WWI as a thank you to the Muslims who fought against Germany. Since there is a large population of North African Muslims in Paris the Mosque is in the North African style of architecture and colors. Take a look at the pictures, which definitely don’t do it justice. After the mosque we went to this little cafe where we had some excellent Moroccan mint tea. Apparently according to Philippe cultures that are in hot climates traditionally eat and drink lots of hot things in order to warm up the body temperature to closer match that of the outside and thus make you feel less hot. It totally worked. It was in the upper seventies, sun scorching and wearing jeans and a black shirt made things a bit toasty. After tea we walked through jardin des plantes, which I definitely need to go back and visit, on our way to the institute du monde arabe. One really cool feature of this building was in all the windows there were these metal design which mimicked those of Arabic wall designs but they’re actually electronic dealies that open and close letting light in and keeping the light inside the building the same all day long no matter if the sun is blaring or there are clouds overhead. Nifty.
Tuesday night James and I went out for a nice little farewell dinner in the Marais and I was in a bit of an adventurous mood. The menu was full of wonderful looking things! James and I shared an entree (appetizer) of asparagus with what seemed liked a dijon/balsamic vinegar dressing. I didn’t think I like asparagus til I ate those. For our plat we both got a malgret de canard avec les pommes de terres (duck breast with potatoes). The duck was beautiful and fatty and inside it had some of the most divine dark meat. I can taste it just thinking about it! And it was only 17 euros which for a wonderful French meal it not too bad. Anyways I was in a food coma after that. I googled the restaurant today and found that they have a lunch special with an entree, plat and dessert for just 15 euro so I’ll definitely be back for a wonderful lunch sometime in the next month!
“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.” ~Antoine de St-Exupery
