Rainy Days and Tuesday

Today I woke up to discover the overcast, rainy day I had been hoping for during my time in Paris. I slipped on my big rubber boots, grabbed my polka dot umbrella and headed for the boulangerie. I strolled through my neighborhood, enjoying the weather. Later in the morning we took a guided tour of the Opera Garnier commissioned by Napoleon the Third and built by Charles Garnier. It was an absolutely magnificent building and beautiful on the inside as well as out. After our tour, we walked over to the high-end department store Printemps. It was really overwhelming and the entire floor of designer shoes was like dieing and going to consumer heaven. There was this pair of oxfords that I fell in love with but they didn't have the right color in my size. Oh well, it was probably for the best. Amelia, Lauren, and I were walking around that part of town and found the Perfume Museum that I wanted to go to. It was really interesting to see the history of perfume making and the relics of the spice trade. It smelt amazingly good in the building, the complete opposite of perfume stores in America that are overpowering and sickening. The scent was warm and subtle, and understatedly sensuous. Then Lauren and I went to a really wonderful cafe that is said to have the best teas and coffees in all of Paris. And it defiantly lived up to that reputation. It was pretty expensive but had the best selection of tea I've seen and had a lot of high-end coffee. Defiantly will go back. This evening I went out to buy something to make for dinner and had a surreal international experience. I was trying to find Parmesan cheese, or something of the like, so asked one of the guys working there. We started in French, but then I asked if he spoke English. He said no, in English, then listed the four of five languages that he did speak. Somehow, instead of communicating in French, we ended up speaking Spanish, which seemed like his native tongue. Of course, now I speak Spanish with a French accent, but we understood each other perfectly and he lead me to the Parm. It was fantastic and a moment of shear joy and pride for me that I was able to switch between three languages, communicate coherently, and be living in a foreign country. I walked all the way home in the rain, beaming.

Opera Garnier

View from the Grand Staircase

Chagall's beautiful ceiling

Seating in the Opera