Finally, after being in Paris for six weeks, we finally have a friend coming to stay with us for a few days.
Noah "Biddy K" Kraft will be joining us from Montpellier with a friend, and he couldn't have come at a better time. The weather is finally starting to get a little bit better, and tonight brings yet another dinner party at the home of the "LA Boys." We're expecting anywhere between 22-24 people. How we will fit them all in without getting a noise complaint, and getting them out of here with full stomachs will be a task in itself.
But then again, if anyone can do it, it's us. I wouldn't trust anybody else. And, making things (hopefully) easier for us will be the presence of Grace during the setup process. If anything, it will make it more fun. I'll post (appropriate) pictures tomorrow.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Nostalgia hits, then gets conquered by Cordon Bleu
This past week has really been a blast. After starting French last Thursday, we really started getting in the swing of things, learning conjugations, vocabulary, possessives, etc. It's been pretty difficult, but I'm doing very well relative to the other foreigners in my class. Then again, we have a test on Monday, so we'll see how that goes.
In other news, this past Wednesday we went on our second class trip to the Louvre. The first was spent looking at some Caravaggio paintings and a bit of some early Spanish Baroque paintings, but I think this trip was better.
We spent most of our time looking at paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, who my professor says was the most successful painter of the 17th century. Many of his works were commissioned by Marie de Medici, including an entire set of 24 paintings that describe her life from start to finish. They are no doubt a lie, but nonetheless beautiful works of art.
The class trip made me feel even better about my choice to take Baroque and Rococo art this semester. I was originally signed up to take a Renaissance art course, but this professor is fantastic, and every museum visit is essentially a guided tour by an art expert. Unlike some of my classes at Wisconsin, I actually look forward to going to this one, and even though we do have to sit through hour-long lectures, I actually enjoy learning about something completely new for a change.
But the best news came near the end of our Louvre visit, when Jon — who had tagged along for the tour — reminded me that we had our demonstration and tasting at the Cordon Bleu (ever hear of Julia Childs?). Whoopee.
Aside from being a very entertaining two-hour presentation, we got to eat a lot of the desserts the chef made himself. He made coconut crème brûlée, pistachio crème brûlée, passion fruit sorbet, chocolate sorbet and tea lace tuile cookies, all of which were obviously delicious. Don't worry, I got the recipes and wrote down detailed instructions on how to make the dishes, so hopefully we'll be making them soon. The only unfortunate part about my Wednesday was that I forgot my camera. I didn't get any pictures at the Cordon Bleu, but our friend Emanuelle got a shot of me, Jon and the chef, so I'll post that when it's available.
As for the nostalgia, I talked to Benjy on Facebook for about 10 minutes, and he told me to look at his blog (benjysfoodanddrink.blogspot.com), where I saw his most recent post on Wisconsin food and drink. The Old Fashioned, Brocach, The Blue Marlin. While French food is really great, sometimes all you want is some good ol' Wisconsin comfort food. It's pretty tough to get mac n' cheese in Paris.
No worries though. Mom and Dad come on Tuesday, and they should provide ample amounts of restaurant dinners and bottles of wine (fingers crossed). I promise to show them my few secrets of Paris in return.
In other news, this past Wednesday we went on our second class trip to the Louvre. The first was spent looking at some Caravaggio paintings and a bit of some early Spanish Baroque paintings, but I think this trip was better.
We spent most of our time looking at paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, who my professor says was the most successful painter of the 17th century. Many of his works were commissioned by Marie de Medici, including an entire set of 24 paintings that describe her life from start to finish. They are no doubt a lie, but nonetheless beautiful works of art.
The class trip made me feel even better about my choice to take Baroque and Rococo art this semester. I was originally signed up to take a Renaissance art course, but this professor is fantastic, and every museum visit is essentially a guided tour by an art expert. Unlike some of my classes at Wisconsin, I actually look forward to going to this one, and even though we do have to sit through hour-long lectures, I actually enjoy learning about something completely new for a change.
But the best news came near the end of our Louvre visit, when Jon — who had tagged along for the tour — reminded me that we had our demonstration and tasting at the Cordon Bleu (ever hear of Julia Childs?). Whoopee.
Aside from being a very entertaining two-hour presentation, we got to eat a lot of the desserts the chef made himself. He made coconut crème brûlée, pistachio crème brûlée, passion fruit sorbet, chocolate sorbet and tea lace tuile cookies, all of which were obviously delicious. Don't worry, I got the recipes and wrote down detailed instructions on how to make the dishes, so hopefully we'll be making them soon. The only unfortunate part about my Wednesday was that I forgot my camera. I didn't get any pictures at the Cordon Bleu, but our friend Emanuelle got a shot of me, Jon and the chef, so I'll post that when it's available.
As for the nostalgia, I talked to Benjy on Facebook for about 10 minutes, and he told me to look at his blog (benjysfoodanddrink.blogspot.com), where I saw his most recent post on Wisconsin food and drink. The Old Fashioned, Brocach, The Blue Marlin. While French food is really great, sometimes all you want is some good ol' Wisconsin comfort food. It's pretty tough to get mac n' cheese in Paris.
No worries though. Mom and Dad come on Tuesday, and they should provide ample amounts of restaurant dinners and bottles of wine (fingers crossed). I promise to show them my few secrets of Paris in return.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Start French classes, learn how to say "Invalides"
Last Thursday I began my intensive French courses. After being in France for over a month, I can finally say, "Je suis americain."
Since I've only learned one foreign language in my life, it's been pretty difficult to gauge if this is how things are done at the collegiate level. I'm even majoring in Hebrew at Wisconsin, but before I went to college I had already taken the language for about 12 years. Starting French at age 20 is a bit different.
I'm taking my class at La Sorbonne, which, for those of you who aren't familiar with the French education hierarchy, is the top school in France. I, however, am taking my class with all foreign students, making it quite a diverse group. In my class alone, there are students from Saudi Arabia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, China, Korea, Japan, Russia, and I'm sure many more places that I have forgotten. So, obviously, not everyone speaks English, and our professor is forced to speak strictly in French.
Now, for someone like me, who has been around the language for more than a month, it isn't terribly difficult. I'm also proficient in a very difficult language that differentiates between gender, which many other languages do not. For the Swedes in my class, they have been having some difficulties getting used to it, but I'm sure they'll pick it up soon. Already, we've learned how to conjugate some verbs, and while I don't get everything my professor is saying during class, I get enough to be able to do the homework with relative ease. For a two hour class, however, it's pretty amazing how much Madame Lizska can get through. Today, for example, we went through conjugating verbs ending in "er," negation sentences (i.e. I do not like ballet = je n'aime pas le ballet), and we started learning prepositions. Yes, all of that on the third day of class. I think I'll pick this up pretty quickly. I hope.
Here's the rundown:
On Saturday, we went to Invalides, which is a huge, gold-domed building that houses Napolean's tomb as well as the military museum. We got there a little late, so we were only able to see the tomb, and like everything else in Paris, it didn't disappoint.
For such a short guy, Napolean has by far the biggest casket I've ever seen. Here's a picture of it, although it was very difficult to get a picture that really shows how big the thing really is. I don't really know much about the building other than what I just told you, but it's one of the French national landmarks, and it is definitely worth seeing. Especially if you're a student — it's free.
On Sunday, we once again went to the Marais (it never gets old). This time, I brought my camera, and we went to Place de Vosges, a sort of hidden park right next to the Jewish quarter. Victory Hugo lived there, and so did Louis XIII. It's a beautiful, perfectly symmetrical square with a big statue of Louis in the middle. It is surrounded by art galleries and cafés (where we were refused service because we didn't want to get food, only coffee).
That's about it. It was a long and fun weekend, and we ended it with our new tradition of going to La Taverne de Cluny, a little jazz bar near the Luxembourg Gardens. There, a guitarist named Christophe Brunard and his band play for free all night, and it's one of the most relaxing and entertaining venues we've been to thus far.
OH, almost forgot: Pitchers and catchers report in six days. Woohoo
Since I've only learned one foreign language in my life, it's been pretty difficult to gauge if this is how things are done at the collegiate level. I'm even majoring in Hebrew at Wisconsin, but before I went to college I had already taken the language for about 12 years. Starting French at age 20 is a bit different.
I'm taking my class at La Sorbonne, which, for those of you who aren't familiar with the French education hierarchy, is the top school in France. I, however, am taking my class with all foreign students, making it quite a diverse group. In my class alone, there are students from Saudi Arabia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, China, Korea, Japan, Russia, and I'm sure many more places that I have forgotten. So, obviously, not everyone speaks English, and our professor is forced to speak strictly in French.
Now, for someone like me, who has been around the language for more than a month, it isn't terribly difficult. I'm also proficient in a very difficult language that differentiates between gender, which many other languages do not. For the Swedes in my class, they have been having some difficulties getting used to it, but I'm sure they'll pick it up soon. Already, we've learned how to conjugate some verbs, and while I don't get everything my professor is saying during class, I get enough to be able to do the homework with relative ease. For a two hour class, however, it's pretty amazing how much Madame Lizska can get through. Today, for example, we went through conjugating verbs ending in "er," negation sentences (i.e. I do not like ballet = je n'aime pas le ballet), and we started learning prepositions. Yes, all of that on the third day of class. I think I'll pick this up pretty quickly. I hope.
Here's the rundown:
- Je m'appelle Jonah Braun
- Je suis étudiant et journaliste
- Je suis americain
- J'habite à Los Angeles, aux Etats-Unis
- Je suis célibataire
- J'ai vingt ans
On Saturday, we went to Invalides, which is a huge, gold-domed building that houses Napolean's tomb as well as the military museum. We got there a little late, so we were only able to see the tomb, and like everything else in Paris, it didn't disappoint.
For such a short guy, Napolean has by far the biggest casket I've ever seen. Here's a picture of it, although it was very difficult to get a picture that really shows how big the thing really is. I don't really know much about the building other than what I just told you, but it's one of the French national landmarks, and it is definitely worth seeing. Especially if you're a student — it's free.
On Sunday, we once again went to the Marais (it never gets old). This time, I brought my camera, and we went to Place de Vosges, a sort of hidden park right next to the Jewish quarter. Victory Hugo lived there, and so did Louis XIII. It's a beautiful, perfectly symmetrical square with a big statue of Louis in the middle. It is surrounded by art galleries and cafés (where we were refused service because we didn't want to get food, only coffee).
That's about it. It was a long and fun weekend, and we ended it with our new tradition of going to La Taverne de Cluny, a little jazz bar near the Luxembourg Gardens. There, a guitarist named Christophe Brunard and his band play for free all night, and it's one of the most relaxing and entertaining venues we've been to thus far.
OH, almost forgot: Pitchers and catchers report in six days. Woohoo
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Ye-Brugge-Alayim
It's been a pretty ridiculous week to say the least. Since last Friday, I haven't had much free time, but that's not to say I haven't been enjoying myself. On Sunday morning, I and a few friends hopped on a train to Brugge, Belgium for a early-week trip before Sorbonne classes start. I'm going to be a bit brief because I actually have class tomorrow, so here we go.
Brugge is a city of about 20,000 and is very small in actual size. It's less than 140 square kilometers, making it a great little town to walk around and see on foot. It was great to be able to see the city without riding the metro everywhere, and it also gave us some exercise after eating a disgusting amount of disgustingly expensive food.
Apparently, it's known as "The Little Venice of the North," probably because of the small canals that run through the city. But after looking at some photos of Venice, the two cities have pretty much nothing else in common. Brugge is a very well preserved Medieval city, and while the canals are definitely an aspect of the town, you can easily get around without stepping into a boat. That said, we went on a canal tour just for kicks, and it was totally worth it. We got some a amazing views of the architecture and got a bit of the city's history from our Flemish tour guide.
That Sunday night happened to be the Super Bowl, and while we found multiple pubs broadcasting the game (we had to make a throwing motion to see if they understood what we were talking about), we weren't about to stay awake until 4:30 a.m. to catch the whole thing. So we did what only terrible Americans do, and we missed the Super Bowl. I think it's the first time I can remember missing the game. Even on a flight home from Hawaii we were able to listen to it on the radio. Shame on me.
But life goes on. The next day, it was snowing in Brugge, and we trooped out of our hostel at about 10:30 a.m. to start touring. We went to the big bell tower in the marketplace, the chocolate museum, had Belgian waffles, and while Rachel and Vanessa went to the diamond museum, Jon and I skipped ahead to the "De Halve Maan" Brewery. There, they brew the most popular beer in Brugge, Bruges Zot. Really delicious. We had plenty of them during our stay, and unlike Paris where a beer runs between four and seven euros, we were able to get brews at our hostel between one and $2.60. Not too shabby.
The brewery was very different from the Guiness storehouse in Dublin. They showed us all around the fermentation chambers, which smelled great. We also got to go on the roof and saw a great view of the city, much better than the bell tower view that we saw earlier in the day.
That's pretty much it. Doesn't sound like much, but it was an awesome trip. We had a fun time roaming around the city, but once again it was so nice to be back in our apartment in Paris. Considering I have class tomorrow, I'm glad I was able to get back and relax for a few days before a French lady yells at me for not understanding what she's saying. It won't be anything new.
I don't know when I'm traveling next, but this is what I do know: Emily Eckhous and friends are coming in late March, and Zac and Annie Miller are coming in April. Somehow, we'll work an Amsterdam trip in there, and during our spring break, we're going all over the place. For now, I have a cover letter to work on for the NPR internship, and I really need to learn how to form a sentence in this strange language. I'll try to post more pictures tomorrow, and I'll make sure to write about my first few French classes.
Brugge is a city of about 20,000 and is very small in actual size. It's less than 140 square kilometers, making it a great little town to walk around and see on foot. It was great to be able to see the city without riding the metro everywhere, and it also gave us some exercise after eating a disgusting amount of disgustingly expensive food.
Apparently, it's known as "The Little Venice of the North," probably because of the small canals that run through the city. But after looking at some photos of Venice, the two cities have pretty much nothing else in common. Brugge is a very well preserved Medieval city, and while the canals are definitely an aspect of the town, you can easily get around without stepping into a boat. That said, we went on a canal tour just for kicks, and it was totally worth it. We got some a amazing views of the architecture and got a bit of the city's history from our Flemish tour guide.
That Sunday night happened to be the Super Bowl, and while we found multiple pubs broadcasting the game (we had to make a throwing motion to see if they understood what we were talking about), we weren't about to stay awake until 4:30 a.m. to catch the whole thing. So we did what only terrible Americans do, and we missed the Super Bowl. I think it's the first time I can remember missing the game. Even on a flight home from Hawaii we were able to listen to it on the radio. Shame on me.But life goes on. The next day, it was snowing in Brugge, and we trooped out of our hostel at about 10:30 a.m. to start touring. We went to the big bell tower in the marketplace, the chocolate museum, had Belgian waffles, and while Rachel and Vanessa went to the diamond museum, Jon and I skipped ahead to the "De Halve Maan" Brewery. There, they brew the most popular beer in Brugge, Bruges Zot. Really delicious. We had plenty of them during our stay, and unlike Paris where a beer runs between four and seven euros, we were able to get brews at our hostel between one and $2.60. Not too shabby.
The brewery was very different from the Guiness storehouse in Dublin. They showed us all around the fermentation chambers, which smelled great. We also got to go on the roof and saw a great view of the city, much better than the bell tower view that we saw earlier in the day.
That's pretty much it. Doesn't sound like much, but it was an awesome trip. We had a fun time roaming around the city, but once again it was so nice to be back in our apartment in Paris. Considering I have class tomorrow, I'm glad I was able to get back and relax for a few days before a French lady yells at me for not understanding what she's saying. It won't be anything new.I don't know when I'm traveling next, but this is what I do know: Emily Eckhous and friends are coming in late March, and Zac and Annie Miller are coming in April. Somehow, we'll work an Amsterdam trip in there, and during our spring break, we're going all over the place. For now, I have a cover letter to work on for the NPR internship, and I really need to learn how to form a sentence in this strange language. I'll try to post more pictures tomorrow, and I'll make sure to write about my first few French classes.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
One month, still alive
As of today, I've been living in Paris for one month. I've only traveled once — to Dublin — and while I've had three full weekends in the French capital, there's still so much to see. Today, for example, one of my friends suggested we go to Saint Chappelle. I was reluctant, but since I have my nifty art history card, I was able to get in for free, and I'm glad we went.
The stained glass windows were amazing, probably the most impressive I've seen. Considering the structure and its windows were built in only two years — something unthinkable in the 13th century — it is incredibly detailed and beautiful, despite being a relatively small building.
It was much smaller than I expected, but it was nonetheless an interesting little relic in the very center of Paris. Supposedly, it was built around Jesus' crown of thorns, which is apparently on display tomorrow at Notre Dame — yes, the "real thing." How, 2000 years after his death, the item has remained intact, let alone still remains in possession of the Church is pretty ridiculous. Maybe I shouldn't talk. Oh well.
Afterward, the girls wanted to get some chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), which is nothing like hot chocolate in America. Basically, it consists of a cup with melted chocolate at the bottom, and they give you a little pitcher of hot cream to pour into it. Really really delicious. The best part of our little snack though, was our view across the street of Notre Dame. That's something most Parisians (and even I'm starting to) take for granted.
Anyway, as a gift to myself for withstanding French snobbery for a month, I booked a train ticket to Bruges, Belgium for the weekend. I don't know much about it, but it's called "The Venice of the North," and apparently has some damn good chocolate and waffles. I'm always down for some good food, so no complaints there. I'm really looking forward to the trip, and since I begin my time as a full-time student starting next Thursday, it's my last chance to get out of Paris before having everyday homework.
Along those lines, I forgot to mention that I took my French placement exam last week. Well, I didn't really take it per say. I sort of looked at the sheet, and after about five minutes of staring blankly, the proctor came over to me and asked me if I spoke French. I told him I didn't, and he chuckled and told me I could just go outside. Go figure. Hopefully I'll get the time slot I want, and I'll be set for the next four or so months of my semester.
Meanwhile, Jon and I went shopping last week and stocked up on some essentials: olive oil, balsamic, cheese, pasta, herbs, etc. But after running out of a bottle of Nutella in about one week, we decided to go for the big boy. Hopefully this one will last us at least a few extra days.
That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll get a post in before Bruges, but if not, I'll make sure to post a lot of pictures and write about my travels. It's my first time taking a high speed train, and it should be pretty cool. Until then...
The stained glass windows were amazing, probably the most impressive I've seen. Considering the structure and its windows were built in only two years — something unthinkable in the 13th century — it is incredibly detailed and beautiful, despite being a relatively small building.
It was much smaller than I expected, but it was nonetheless an interesting little relic in the very center of Paris. Supposedly, it was built around Jesus' crown of thorns, which is apparently on display tomorrow at Notre Dame — yes, the "real thing." How, 2000 years after his death, the item has remained intact, let alone still remains in possession of the Church is pretty ridiculous. Maybe I shouldn't talk. Oh well.Afterward, the girls wanted to get some chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), which is nothing like hot chocolate in America. Basically, it consists of a cup with melted chocolate at the bottom, and they give you a little pitcher of hot cream to pour into it. Really really delicious. The best part of our little snack though, was our view across the street of Notre Dame. That's something most Parisians (and even I'm starting to) take for granted.
Anyway, as a gift to myself for withstanding French snobbery for a month, I booked a train ticket to Bruges, Belgium for the weekend. I don't know much about it, but it's called "The Venice of the North," and apparently has some damn good chocolate and waffles. I'm always down for some good food, so no complaints there. I'm really looking forward to the trip, and since I begin my time as a full-time student starting next Thursday, it's my last chance to get out of Paris before having everyday homework.Along those lines, I forgot to mention that I took my French placement exam last week. Well, I didn't really take it per say. I sort of looked at the sheet, and after about five minutes of staring blankly, the proctor came over to me and asked me if I spoke French. I told him I didn't, and he chuckled and told me I could just go outside. Go figure. Hopefully I'll get the time slot I want, and I'll be set for the next four or so months of my semester.
Meanwhile, Jon and I went shopping last week and stocked up on some essentials: olive oil, balsamic, cheese, pasta, herbs, etc. But after running out of a bottle of Nutella in about one week, we decided to go for the big boy. Hopefully this one will last us at least a few extra days.
That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll get a post in before Bruges, but if not, I'll make sure to post a lot of pictures and write about my travels. It's my first time taking a high speed train, and it should be pretty cool. Until then...
Monday, February 1, 2010
Six churros, s'il vous plait
So there's this stand right outside our metro stop that I always take a long look at before I get on or off the train every day, but I hadn't tried anything until today.
You see, these kinds of things exist all over Paris. You can get a crepe on pretty much every corner, and they pretty much all taste the same. But this place is pretty cool. Not only do they serve crepes (rather cheap too), this guy also has the assortment of sandwiches and...churros. Yes, churros. They're also popular in France.
Little did I know that, aside from them being two euros for six churros, they fry them right in front of you and completely douse them in sugar. How's that for a low calorie, low carb, low fat snack. Whatever, I'm only in France for another four months. I'll start working out later. Until then, I'll enjoy my cheap, fatty and fried dough sticks. Yum.
(I would have taken a picture, but they were piping hot and we ate them in about three minutes. I will next time)
You see, these kinds of things exist all over Paris. You can get a crepe on pretty much every corner, and they pretty much all taste the same. But this place is pretty cool. Not only do they serve crepes (rather cheap too), this guy also has the assortment of sandwiches and...churros. Yes, churros. They're also popular in France.
Little did I know that, aside from them being two euros for six churros, they fry them right in front of you and completely douse them in sugar. How's that for a low calorie, low carb, low fat snack. Whatever, I'm only in France for another four months. I'll start working out later. Until then, I'll enjoy my cheap, fatty and fried dough sticks. Yum.
(I would have taken a picture, but they were piping hot and we ate them in about three minutes. I will next time)
Some more Dublin pictures
Here are some more pictures from my trip to Dublin. Enjoy!
Live music at The Temple Bar
Live music at The Temple Bar
Some statues in St. Patrick's
Guiness is good for you.
Dublin's medieval district
An Irish marching band performs during Trad Fest
St. Patrick's Cathedral
We met some Frenchies at the pub
A little street music
Trinity College, Dublin
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