The sales are officially over and that means less shopping for me (insert sigh of relief). I really haven't bought all that much - maybe my suitcase will argue otherwise when I try to pack it up in April - but I have spent waaaaay too many hours looking at shoes, clothes, jackets, scarves, etc. the past few weeks.
For my birthday on Wednesday, I decided to step it up a notch and spend the day at the Musee d'Orsay, one of my favorite museums in Paris and home to an extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art (Monet, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, and the list goes on). For those of you who don't know about the Musee d'Orsay, it is housed in an old railroad station that was finished in 1900. The building is beautiful and a perfect setting for an art museum. There are also some amazing views of Paris from the upper floors of the museum.
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| A view of the Musee d'Orsay from across the street. |
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| Pictures inside are interdit (forbidden), but I secretly snapped a few |
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| Degas - one of my favorite painters! |
I love Musee d'Orsay because of the art, but also because I think it is a pretty do-able museum in a day (unlike the Louvre). In the 3 hours that I wandered the floors, I was able to see almost everything. Sure, there were some areas I rushed through (the furniture and decorative arts) and other areas I took my time in (the impressionist wing), but I made it through the entire museum in a little over 3 hours. And then I had time to sit and enjoy a snack and some wine (yes, they sell wine in the museum cafe - so nice!) before heading back to Neuilly-Plaisance.
On my way back, I saw a couple Asian tourists trying to take their own picture, so I asked if they'd like me to do it for them and they gladly agreed. In exchange, they insisted getting a picture of me, so here's what 30 looks like!
Honestly, the idea of being 30 doesn't really bother me, except for the fact that I just don't think of myself as that old. But, I'm not gonna lie, when the gentleman selling tickets for the museum asked me if I was under 26 (I would have gotten a discount with ID), that made me smile a little bit. Most people think that I'm younger than I am, and I'll take it!
Wednesday night, my French family really made me feel special, which was nice since everyone else is so far away (it is the first time I've really felt homesick since I've been here, but those moments passed). We had aperos (usually reserved for the weekends), I got a couple of gifts (Brice and I will be going on a 2 hour walking tour of Paris together at some point), Ophelie made a huge chocolate pear crumble that was delicious, and Marie-Christine skipped the gym to come home early and make a nice dinner. They even sang for me in English!
I also started volunteering this week at the youth center in town. It was great! From 4:30 - 5:30 I was with kids ages 8 - 10 and then 5:30 - 6:30 was with ages 12 - 14. We didn't really do much homework, but they asked me lots of questions about the United States (have I met any stars? haha), we looked at a map, and they sang me a Beatles song (Hello, Goodbye) that they have been learning in school. I realized that I've missed hanging out with kids over the last month, so it will be nice to do this a couple afternoons a week for the month of March.
Then, last night, I met up with a couple of au pairs in the area - Hannah (a recent St. Johns grad from NY) and Amanda (a Swede) - for drinks. I definitely miss going out and we had a great time at a cafe and then a local bar. I think we'll definitely do it again! The only thing that stinks is having to leave early enough to catch the metro/bus before it stops running for the night (I left around 11:30). But, lots of people just stay out until 5 am when the metro starts running again, so maybe that's what I'll do next time, haha. We'll see if this old lady can handle that!
I've also booked a couple more trips (the last ones I'll take before my stint in Ireland). Marcy and I will be renting a car to drive to Mont St. Michel and Saint Malo. Even though we'll have an automatic, it should be interesting and I'm sure I'll have fun stories to share. Then, March 21, I'll head to Lyon for a couple of days before meeting Aurelien in Montpellier for the weekend. This will be a trip by train, which should be something a little different.
Today is a low-key day - just preparing for my trip, doing a little reading (I'm reading l'appel de l'ange by Guillame Musso - it is a contemporary French romance-y novel and I'm enjoying it so far), and maybe a trip to the gym (but we'll see about that). Happy Saturday!
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