1-6 May 2009

Le premier mai is known for at least five different reasons, most of which (surprisingly) do not seem to be associated with each other. First and foremost, the 1st of May is France's Labor Day. Perhaps because many people do not have work, the French find this to be a time to organise themselves; if so, they do it very well, as it is also one of the biggest rally days, covering all sorts of social, economic, and political issues. Third, one can see multiple vendors on nearly every street selling muguets, which are white, bell-shaped flowers that have an amazing aroma. Fourth, at Notre Dame, the 1st is also seen as a day to honour la Vièrge (Mary); a tree is often planted to symbolise this day. Finally, France shall know this day as the day that the Taylor family came to visit Paris (and Trevor, too).

1 May 2009
Trevor and I left around 7 to head over to the airport to pick up his family. After a bit of transport delays and line crossings, we finally made it there. I soon heard a loud Salut ! and turned to find Trevor's family excited to be in Paris and seeing Trevor after quite a bit of time away from home. We figured out transport and made our way via taxi to their hotel and then made our way to our apartment, where Trevor's brothers dropped off their stuff. We went to the brasserie right next door (Le Touring) and ate lunch outside. Afterwards, we bought three traditions and went to the Champs de Mars, where we meet up with Jill and Sam. We had a great picnic and enjoyed the sun, as we took a brief nap in front of the Eiffel Tower. Jill, Sam and I then later went to Häagen-Dazs on the Champs-Élysées and after waiting in line for what seemed like forever, found ourselves enjoying great ice cream.

2 May 2009
I had planned on leaving at 9 to complete some touristing I had been aiming to get to all semester. I eventually left, however, at around 12.30. I headed over to the Centre Georges Pompidou and before getting in the long line (about a 30-minute wait), bought Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, a great art shirt and a green bandana scarf. Finally in, I was fortunate to check out the Kandinsky exhibit, as was quite a bit of Paris that day. The wait to get into the actual exhibit would take another 20-30 minutes, and based on the electronic counter, there were about 650 people at one time. To prevent overcrowding, the wait somehow became an hour long, by the time I left. I then had a food experience at Flunch, and then went to Sainte Chapelle, which is known especially for the Throne of Solomon and the relics of the Passion which are contained a level above the altar. (I had studied the Sainte Chapelle as part of my Art and the Medieval Cult of Saints course last spring.) To round all of that off, I rushed over to Sacré Coeur to see the relics of Ste Thérèse of Lisieux, which were visiting the basilica for the weekend. After a bit of confusion, I eventually made my way to L'Hippocampus, where I joined the Taylors, and Sam, Jill and their friends from BU. After dinner, Trevor, his brothers and I went to Duc des Lombards, and took the night bus (for our first time; wish we had made use of it earlier and more often) back home.

3 May 2009
After another short night of sleep, Trevor, his brothers and I stopped by a boulangerie on our way to meeting up with the rest of their family. Finishing off almond croissants and pains au chocolat, we met up at the Métro station and headed over to Notre Dame. We got there a bit early and found ourselves midway through a Laudes service. At 10, the Gregorian Mass (which by nature included Latin) began, and Trevor's grandparents really got into it. After the service, they made the oval tour around the church, after which we then headed off to lunch (ending with delicious Berthillion ice cream and/or sorbet). Recharged by the food, we then made our way to the Louvre, where we split off for a bit. The Taylors went to check out La Jaconde, while I ventured off to check out the African art pieces. I found out that it's rather separated from the rest of the museum and quickly found out that most (if not all) of the pieces came from the Musée de Quai Branly. As such, the collection looked like a mini-Musée de Quai Branly museum. We met up afterwards and then split up again, this time Trevor and I heading back home and shortly thereafter helping Christine and Antoine prepare a rather big apératif course. Around 19, Trevor's parents and brothers met up with all of us and met our host family. Following the apératif, we went back downstairs and had dinner with Christine and Antoine at the brasserie.

4 May 2009
Just as it has been customary for the past week and a half or so at my internship, I continued working on my rapport du stage, and finally got the thing printed off and ready to go. In the evening, I met up with Trevor and walked to a restaurant to meet up with his family. Following dinner, we went to check out the Eiffel Tower, lit up at night, and made use of the bus transport.

5 May 2009
The big day finally came and it was time for me to do my oral presentation and hand in my rapport de stage (which I unfortunately found out afterward is not rapport du stage, which were in bold letters on the front cover). After the presentation, Camille, her brother, Jordan, Pat and I went to Le Week-end for lunch, where we all had croque monsieurs avec frites and where Pat nearly finished all of the ketchup single-handedly. I eventually made my way back to work and after 1,5 hours, went back home. I joined the Taylors for a final dinner in Paris and then went back home to think about packing.

6 May 2009
With my rapport de stage finished, I finished my final corrections to the three big projects I had been working on throughout the latter 2/3 of my internship. With those finished and copies organised and filed away in the computer system, I was good to go and leave early. I bought another suitcase (I should preface that I did a quick pre-packing to see if everything could fit in the suitcase I brought... pfft) and went back home to pack. Around 17.30, I left my room and headed for the Métro, which I then took to go to Noisy-le-Roi to see Marie-Léone and France for the last time this semester. We stopped by the commercial centre that was completed last year and then Marie-Léone and I went for a short walking tour of Noisy-le-Roi, throughout which she pointed out different plantlife. At the end of the tour, we stopped by her neighbour's house and found myself telling Véro--after saying bonjour and au revoir within a matter of 15 or 20 minutes--"Donc, à bientôt !"). Back at the house, France joined us and we walked right back out to Chez Momo (the local name for a Morrocan restaurant headed by a really sweet couple, Mohammed and Fati). Throughout the evening, we had joked that it has now become tradition to end my stay in France with a visit to Chez Momo for one of my last meals. If ever you're in the area, I highly suggest you check it out.