Metro, Boulot, Dodo

Originally posted April 5, 2004

That phrase is the French equivalent of saying “all I do is commute, work, and sleep”. I am beginning to understand it MUCH better in this internship. But spring has come just in time to breathe new life into my world of database updates, suits and rush hour commuting. It’s amazing what the hour change and a little warm weather can do for a girl. I started going to this gorgeous park near my work to read in the sun and take lunch. It’s really good to get out of the office and walk around for a while, especially when you can people-watch while lying on the grass. Every day the police come and kick everyone off the grass because we’re not supposed to be on it, but it’s so wonderfully soft and green and smells so good, and all the benches are always taken.

I take the long way and sometimes walk a few extra metro stations to get home. Yesterday I walked about 4 miles from my work to the BU center across town. It was beautiful, sun setting on the Eiffel tower and the Seine, warm without any chill in the air, smell of trees and flowers blooming all over, just heavenly. Early spring is like sensory overload here. On top of all the monuments and beautiful things that are a normal part of the scenery, now there’s blossoming flowers, kids running around and playing, budding trees and outdoor cafés, music from street performers… everything I thought it could be.

I had the pleasure of dining with my host mom and her boyfriend one night this week and had such a good time chatting with them. He is very funny and was engaging in his conversation. The two of them have a sweet (even if it is still just a little weird to me) relationship. I had my first taste of Berthillon ice cream with them. I can’t do the taste justice with words. I can say this, all I ate was a little bit of vanilla and I have remembered the taste of it in my mouth everyday since. I could SMELL the vanilla in the ice cream. Ice cream is frozen. You’re not supposed to smell it. But you could smell the vanilla in this. It alone is worth a trip to Paris.

Charming streets of Strasbourg

I spent last weekend in Strasbourg with my friend Patrice. We enjoyed bright sunshine the whole time and the quaint small German influenced town. We saw all the major sites and the museums (which is not a tough task because it’s a small town). There’s not an insurmountable load of things to do, but we thoroughly enjoyed strolling around through the old village and going into pottery stores. We took a boat ride through the canals with weeping willows draped over them, and swans gliding in between the branches. We saw the EU Parliament building which is an interesting piece of architecture and worth a look, even if you can’t go inside. I had the first sauerkraut of my life which was surprisingly delicious;

EU Parliament building

I wasn’t sure how I’d like it. The Cathedral is gigantic and in it there’s an astronomical clock that has a procession of the apostles past Christ for a blessing every day at 12:30. There’s a rooster at the top that crows three times during the course of their procession.

Gigantic religious cuckoo clock

It was nice to get out of Paris into cleaner air and a peaceful setting. The first thing I noticed while walking through the town was how quiet it was. I guess I just got used to the sound to heavy traffic outside my window and motorcycles and sirens zooming past at all hours. Strasbourg is replete with pastry and chocolate shops, and has the best spice bread I’ve ever tasted. Alsace was also the birthplace of the pretzel so naturally we partook in it multiple times. It always seems that my little vacations like that become centered on the food I want to eat. You have to plan out all meals and snacks very carefully to make sure you have the time to try as much as you can, and also repeat the things worth repeating.

Early Spring in Alsace-Lorraine

The night before we went to Strasbourg, Patrice and I took in an Opera at the Opera Bastille. It was Verdi’s Othello, a work he completed at the end of his life. I have to say that the opening sequence when Othello arrives from the wars was just incredible. The entire chorus came out in the shimmering graphite colored robes with hoods and projected onto them and onto a translucent curtain that hung in front of them were black and white images of crashing waves. Together with the powerful, strong war-cry of Othello’s adherents welcoming him back and the swells of music, I was immediately enraptured and glued to my seat. They began to sway back and forth so the stage lights reflecting off their robes and the reflections of the crashing waves seemed to move and very effectively drew me into the story right from the start.

The entire opera was sung in Italian with no subtitles so it was all I could do to figure out which character was which. Iago’s character wasn’t as evil as I had hoped he would be. He seemed more geared towards self-glorification than insidious hatred of Othello which is what I had always considered his main motivation. Desdemona stole the show in my opinion. She was the picture of innocence, beauty and grace, and her movements and voice were sweet and sad. Her voice evoked tender devotion, a desperate yearning to change Othello’s mind, and finally a sorrowful submissiveness to the fact that she could not. When she told her nurse to put the wedding sheets on the bed knowing she is going to die that night, a tear came to my eye.

So that’s a bit of a recap for the last week. Lauren has arrived and there are already stories to tell but I figure I should devote an entire entry to her visit and the weekend in Barcelona with Brian which we leave for on Thursday. So with that suspenseful conclusion, I shall take my leave. Until next time.