Friday afternoon, after surviving my first art history exam, I spent two and a half hours at the Museum of Art and History of Judaism. It was really quite interesting, and since I had nothing else to do, I just took my time and learned as much about Judaism as I could retain. It was cool, because there were personal narratives of people from all over the world talking about what it's like to be Jewish where they live. So there were a lot people from France, but also Jews from Israel and Northern Africa and Eastern Europe. Some of them talked about how they're very religious and some are more spiritual and some are more cultural. Others define themselves as Jews and others said it was just a minor part of their lives. There were some expositions on Jews in Jerusalem and how they deal with daily conflicts and racism, and it was very eye-opening. It reminded me of my dear friend Alex, studying in Jerusalem for the semester.

Later that night I went to a bar called Footsie, which is where drink prices change like the stock market. It's kinda cool, but it was a tad disappointing, because the prices don't change that much, and they didn't have a lot of variety. I was hoping to have to really gamble for things, but I totally didn't. Oh well. I learned that Porto is good.

I may have stayed out a little too late, because the next morning, I missed my train to Strasbourg. Oops. Go me. I was literally stamping my ticket a few feet from the train when it pulled away. Sigh...

But good news! The next train was less than an hour later, and I actually made 9 euros, because the next train was 12 euros cheaper and there was a 3 euro charge fee. Woot! Don't know how I lucked out on that one... but I'll take it!

Also, on the metro on the way to the train station, I had a very interesting confrontation. A man asked why I was in such a hurry at 7am on a Saturday morning. He didn't seem too creepy/homeless, so I answered. I said I have a train to catch. And he said, oh... where are you going? I said I was on my way to Strasbourg, and he said, that's great, will you send me a postcard? And I laughed and said sure. He chuckled too and pulled out a pen. He took my metro map and wrote his address on my map! Then he kissed me and said, I can't wait to hear from you, and walked away. What in the world??? Oh, French men.

So I took the two-hour TGV to Strasbourg, and I arrived at about 10:30am. It was only about a twenty-minute walk from the train station to the center of the old village, so I started there. I went to the tourist office which is right next to the cathedral to see if they had any good information. They kindly informed me that the astronomical clock in the cathedral would not be viewable on Easter, so if I wanted to see it (which I did), I would have to do it today. So I immediately went back to the cathedral to buy a ticket. I walked around inside the cathedral for about twenty minutes or so, and then I went back to the clock to wait for a short twenty-minute film to start. It was not that informative/necessary, but it did tell us what to look for when the clock struck 12:30pm. The clock is huge, and it has little angels that ring bells and a rooster that crows and the twelve apostles are blessed by Jesus. It's about a five-minute shindig, and I think that's why they only do it once a day, so as not to run down the mechanics on the really, really, really old cathedral. It was cool, and I'm definitely glad I saw it. Then I climbed up approximately eight billion stairs to go to the top of the cathedral. My legs are still sore. And then the view was ultimately disappointing. The view from the Duomo in Milan was way cooler, and I definitely didn't climb up as many steps. Oh well. C'est la vie.

Then I decided to try a Strasbourg specialty for lunch, so I had a tarte flambee. It's kinda like a croque monsieur with a layer of cream... except that this layer of sour cream is at least one centimeter thick the whole way through. It was absolutely abominable. I couldn't eat it. But then I made myself feel better by going to this biscuit place, where they had specialty biscuits (cookies). I tried about six different kinds, and I went back the next day to buy my favorites (raspberry, almond, and chocolate) for my host family. Delicious!

Then I decided it was freezing, so I was gonna spend the rest of the afternoon inside. I went to Palais Rohan, where there are three museums: Decorative Arts, Archaeological, and Fine Arts. I spent about an hour in each, and I got in free, so of course it was worth it. I actually learned a fair amount in each. Ask if you wanna quiz me.

Then I took a bus to a park called l'Orangerie, which was actually very small, and again, it was freezing, but there was a miniature zoo there. I randomly stumbled upon ostriches, wild goats, lynxes, monkeys, peacocks, chickens, lemurs, parrots, parakeets, cockatoos, flamingos, ducks, and geese. I'm really not sure why they're there, but it was something to do. I also witnessed a very happy wedding from a distance. I heard all these cars honking, like crazy mad people honking, and they didn't stop, so I figured it was a procession of some kind. Then they all pulled into the park, and a band got out with drums and brass, and they played all kinds of funky music, and they all seemed to be having such a great time. Then I saw the bride in her beautiful white wedding dress, and she seemed so happy. And I thought, that's gonna last.

So I went back to the town, and I found a cute place called l'Epicerie, and I had an aperitif (a kir) and a bowl of beef broth. I was freezing at the point, so it was very necessary. Then I went to dinner, and that was the first time that it really sucked to be traveling alone. In French, when you wanna ask for a table for one, you say 'toute seule,' which means 'all alone.' So that's a depressing reminder that you're eating all alone. Oh well. I had an amazing dinner. I started with grilled vegetables, and then my main course was beef with mustard sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans wrapped with bacon, breaded cooked tomato, and fries. I'm not sure why everything comes with fries in France (especially when I already had mashed potatoes), but I ate them! It was amazing. Then I had apple tart for dessert, and I drink a local white wine, which was a little sweet, and I always like sweet. I was quite satisfied.

I took a bus to the hostel, and when I arrived at my room, I couldn't get the door to open. It took me awhile to realize that whoever was in the room probably had bolted the door. So I had to knock and wake her up, but I didn't feel that guilty, cause she should know not to do that. Anyway, I started speaking to her in French, cuz that's what I do when I'm in French, and she just stared blankly at me. So I thought, okay, maybe she speaks German, since I was so close to the German border, and everyone seemed to speak only French or German. I discovered the next morning that she speaks English! Blahh... oh language barriers... nonexistent ones, that is. It was very interesting though that all the French people thought I was German instead of American. In Paris, everyone knows I'm American, but I guess I'm blond enough that I can look German, too. Also, at restaurants, I could overhear families who were clearly speaking German the whole dinner, but they spoke fluent French to the waiters. I was like, I wished I had grown up in Europe, because I would know like at least three languages. Lucky ducks.

The next day, it was snowing! I hadn't seen snow since I left Boston in January. So I decided I wanted to be inside again, and I went to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art for about two hours. It was cool. I saw a lot of trash, quite literally, and plain white canvasses. I just love modern art. I think my favorite was an exposition called Empty Space, and it was quite literally a room with nothing in it. I was like, right on, man, love empty space.

Then I went to a cute little area called La Petite France, which is kinda like a little Venice, because it has lots of little canals and waterways. The streets were cute little cobblestone paths with sidewalk cafes and a few accordionists. (Not many, recall that it was both snowing and Easter.) I wanted to explore, but my hunger and the thought of dying as a frozen ice cube convinced me that going into a restaurant to eat might be a better choice. So I ate at an adorable little French-German place. I had a delicious duck salad, and I even drank coffee... which, you know, never happens. It was kinda sad to see all the big families having huge Easter brunches while I was sitting all alone. Oh well.

Then I took a long walk back to the cathedral, because I was going to the Easter music concert at 3pm. That was fun. There were two pieces by Haydn and one by someone named Buxtehude. It was very nice.

Then I took an earlier train back to Paris, because there was nothing more to do, and I was cold. Also, I wanted to eat Easter dinner with my family. They made me foie gras, which is apparently duck liver smashed into a nice pate. Mmm. It was actually very good, and I didn't ask what it was until after I finished eating. Which was good, because I asked for more, and they told me to finish it all. So I did. Excellent choice.

Now I have a ridiculous amount of work to do this work, but I'm going to Venice this weekend with five of my friends! It's gonna be awesome! Wish me luck!

Last Wednesday, I saw a violin and piano recital with Yura Lee and Dina Vainshtein. It was amazing. It was a small, intimate performance hall, and Tufts paid for it, so of course I liked it. No really, they played Mozart, Prokofiev, Ysaye, Debussy, and Tchaikovsy. It was really nice, and the violinist was really quite marvelous. I don't know a lot about violin technique, but it was still amazing. One of the best parts of the performance was before the show when an usher asked if I would give flowers to the pianist at the end of the performance. I was told it was because I'm blond. (I'm still not sure why that's important, but c'est la vie.) So I said sure, why not? So I sat through the performance with a wicked large bouquet of flowers, and then I got to present them at the end of the concert. 'Twas quite random, but fun.

Friday night when I was waiting at the St. Michel fountain with Kelly, some guy asked where we were going and if he could come with us. And we were like, sorry, we're waiting for someone. And he asked, are you lady friends? And Kelly started to say no, but I took her arm and said yes. And he looked at me and said, oh, so you like girls? And I nodded, and he walked away. Good times.

Also, I saw a man coming from the grocery store, and all he had in his bag was cheese and cigarettes. How French, eh?

Saturday, Tufts took us on a short day trip to Fontainebleau where there is a lovely chateau. They also gave us 10 euros for lunch, which is always welcome. We even managed to eat a good sandwich with a pastry for only 5 euros. Mmm... chocolate eclairs. The castle was nice. I guess Napoleon lived there, and there are these huge entrance stairs where he descended and ascended. Good times. There were apartments inside, and it was nicely furnished, and there were lots of spectacular pieces of furniture and paintings, like most castles. It was cool to go, and I'm glad to say I've been.

Then that night was also technically St. Patrick's Day (some mumbo jumbo with the Roman Catholic Church and Holy Week...), so we went out to an Irish pub... what else? It was great! It was crowded and drunken, and they were playing great American 80's music. Kelly has a great video of us singing Tainted Love. Good times. Then I was the only one who had to take three metro lines to get home, and of course, I missed the last one. Ugh. So I had to borrow money from Chantel to take a cab. (I still owe her money for that.)

Sunday, Kelly and I went to see an opera by Stravinsky called The Rake's Progress at Palais Garnier. I didn't know that Stravinsky wrote operas, and now I know why. It was pretty terrible, but at least we got to say we saw a show at Palais Garnier. We even had our own private box in the nosebleed, can't-get-enough-oxygen section. It was great. However, I did have two extra tickets, cuz people flaked on me. So I awkwardly stood outside the theatre holding up the tickets, hoping someone would buy them off me. Some Spanish-speaking people came over and asked, but I think there were four of them, so that didn't work. Then some random dude came up to me, grabbed the tickets, peered at them, and handed me a 20. And I was like, sweet, fully reimbursed. Pure luck! I think he sold them to someone else for a higher price. Fneh. I was just happy to not be broke. Anyway, show was not so great... with a wicked random story about making deals with the devil... kinda like Damn Yankees.

Then Monday was a repeat of Saturday night cuz it was like real St. Patrick's Day. So we went to another Irish pub and did flavored vodka shots. Mmm... vodka caramel. It was pretty sweet, and the bartender was totally cute, so it was worth it.

I would also officially like to announce that I am finished planning my spring break. We have finished booking flights, trains, buses, hostels, hotels, and apartments. Phew! It's two weeks, and we're going to Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. I'm so stoked, cuz it's gonna be awesome! We leave one month from today, and also today, I've been here exactly two months! I guess it does go by pretty quickly. Be home in two and a half months.

So I was in Milan for the past four days, and I had an absolutely great time. I arrived late Wednesday night, and my friend Stephanie picked me up where the buses dropped us off from the airport. I stayed in her apartment for the weekend, and it was really great to not spend money on a hostel. She's studying in Milan for the semester doing a music program, and she has five other roommates in her apartment. It was huge, and I had a really comfortable bed and pillows.

Thursday morning, we walked down Corso Buenos Aires to the Duomo, which is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. It was absolutely amazing. It was so finely decorated and sculpted. There are 3400 sculptures on the outside. It's totally crazy. Inside was also a sensory overload. From the floor patterns to the ceiling designs, everything was so ornate. It was incredible.



Then we walked into the galleria, which is an indoor shopping area with such brands as Prada and lots of other ridiculous designer brands. The floor is also a cool mosaic, and apparently if you spin three times on the balls of the bull, you get good luck! So I certainly did that.



Then we got tickets to La Scala! Cheap ones, mind you. We stood in line the day of, and we got tickets for 12 euros! Woot! It was for 3 Puccini operas.



Then Stephanie fed me this amazing food called Panzerotti. It was deliciously scrumptious fried food. Who doesn't want that, eh? Then she went to class, and I went to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. It has lots of really cool old Italian paintings, like the first ever still life, Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit and the sketch for Raphael's School of Athens. And other cool stuff that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Then I went back to the Duomo, and I climbed the stairs up to the top. It really wasn't that far, but I got to wander around on the roof, and it was such a nice day that I could see the Alps!


Then I walked all the way across town to the church next to where The Last Supper is. Apparently, you need reservations one to two weeks in advance to see that. Whoops. Too bad. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be back. Then I went inside the museum of La Scala. It was kinda interesting. There was an exposition on Maria Callas, so that was pretty cool.

Then I met back up with Stephanie, and we picked up our tickets for the evening with her roommate Jamie. Then we met a man named Billy Ray, who is about 24, wearing a spiffy Italian suit, who was a math major from Colorado, and now works as an engineer in Siberia. He bought us dinner! It was amazing! Then we went to La Scala, and it was absolutely wonderful. I missed singing so much. It was three one-act operas by Puccini, and I can't get over how great it was to be in La Scala seeing Puccini! We were in the very top and back, and we had to stand the whole time to see anything, but it was sooo worth it! I gasped during the first, cried during the second, and laughed during the third. They were so fantastic. Even though they were really long, and we were there for four hours, it was still uber-cool. Then we met up with our buddy again, and we went out for gelato and then dancing! It was awesome... again. Great first night in Milan.



Friday, we slept a lot. Necessary after such a long day. We went back to La Scala to get 10 euro tickets for the ballet Romeo and Juliet! Ahh!!! Then we went to a castle, and we went inside it's museums. They were cool, especially the museum of musical instruments. There were sooo many old instruments, and they were all so cool and interesting. I was amazed with their collection. Then Stephanie fed me the most amazing cannoli ever in the world. I don't know how I'm going to survive without them in France. I'm sure I'll be able to find them. Then we showered, also very necessary, and we went to the ballet! It was just as gorgeous, and it made me miss dancing. It was also dramatic and sad and funny. I loved it so much. I was so happy to go to La Scala twice for 22 euros total and see such amazing works. Now I'm jealous of Stephanie for being in Milan. I'm gonna have to get down to the Paris Opera and see something cool.

Saturday we decided to take a day trip, since there's not as much to do in Milan. I randomly decided to go to Mantua (Mantova). It was actually quite fun, and it was an adorable little Italian town. Round trip train tickets were only 17 euros, but it was 2 hours each way. We slept a lot. The town was soooo old, the palaces and cathedrals were all from like before the 10th century. Everything was brick and falling apart. But there were small remnants of the beautiful frescoes, and it was really great that we went. We also tried this Mantovian delicacy called a chocolate tart, but it definitely didn't look like one. It looked like the amazingness of the top of an apple crumble, but it did not taste nearly as good. Not that it wasn't good at all, but we were expecting more. Furthermore, everytime we ate it, people stared at us. So we wondered if we were eating it wrong or something. Oh well.

Then today, Sunday, we finished up Milan by eating pizza in the canal area. It was nice, but the canal seemed really low on water for some reason. Then we went to Basilica Sant'Ambrogio. It was equally as old as other stuff, and it was very cool to see. Then we had another cannoli, and we walked through the Golden Rectangle, where all the designer shops are. And that was basically it. It took me forever to get home, cuz the Paris metro sucks late at night on Sundays. Oh well, I survived.

Now I'm home. I really will post pictures soon. It was a great trip, but I'm really happy to be back home in Paris!