France Oct. 5

Bonjour tout le monde!
Today I walked 6.8 miles (roughly 11 km) from my house (58 boulevard des Batignolles) to Park Montsouris (1 Avenue Reille). You can google it if you want to. It was a good time. I walked past the Gare St. Lazare and went to the Galerie Lafayette grocery store which was not as awesome as the Bon Marche grocery store, but I found cool things nonetheless. Like Chimay blue for €1.60 a bottle, skippy peanut butter in darling containers, chocolate from everywhere you can imagine, a lot of cool teas, this great Nuttella snack that includes a beverage, nutella and dipping sticks all in one container (seperated of course). I'm thinking I need to buy some just because it's so funny. Then I wandered down the Avenue de l'Opera (the avenue that ends with that one famous opera. The one by that guy Garnier) The opera is being renovated and I found these caryatid (a caryatid is a column that happens to look like a beautiful women, usually scantilly dressed) lamps and it was funny because the women were tied to the lamp post, so I took a picture. Then I walked past the Palais Royale to figure out where the major shoot out happens in Charade. I think I found it, but I also found a nice garden. Then I walked through the Louvre courtyard and crossed the Seine. I'm attaching a picture of the Musee d'Orsay and in the background you can just barely see the top of the Eiffel tower. It was kind of foggy/smoggy today, so I thought it was an interesting picture. Then I walked down boulevard Raspail towards the park. I was interested in seeing the park because it was part of this great french movie that I like, called "Cléo de 5 à 7" (Cleo from 5 to 7). I found a lot of the places from the movie, which also happen to be very beautiful. I'll attach a picture or two. Then I sat down on a bench to watch the duckies (there was also a heron I think) and read some of "The Second Sex" which I have to read for a class. So I read for a little while, unfortunately this guy sat down next to me and after asking me what time it was (which I guess is a pick up line now? I swear, the men in this country *eye roll*) wouldn't stop badgering me so I left, which was fine because I was a little tired and wanted a crepe. So then I rode the bus all the way back and got a crepe with nutella. Very satisfying.

Tonight I'm going with two of my friends to the cafe of Amelie (the Cafe des Deux Moulins) which is deliciously art deco and pretty cheap, especially during "happy hour." The french have this wonderful thing called "happy hour" which of course they pronounce "appy our" and it means that drinks are cheaper. So we're going for drinks (I'm going to try a gin fizz) and dinner. Yum yum.

I hope that "tout va bien" in Juneau, I'm enjoying a moment of quiet because the granchild "darrius" is not here. This morning he was being very naughty and my host mother kept saying that he "faisait les bêtises" which means he was making like a beast (translated literally, but you get the idea). So he went running around shouting NO! a lot and wearing a handbag on his head and insisting that it was a hat.

À bientôt!
REN