I'm here!

I'm here in Perigueux! I have been so short on free time, and I apologize to all those who have been waiting anxiously to hear from me. I'm doing well, but I've been too busy to post anything until now.

Let me catch everyone up on what I've been doing. On Saturday, we went back to inner-city Paris to the Louvre. Let me just say, an afternoon in the Louvre is definitely not enough. That place is HUGE! I mean, I knew it was big, but I didn’t know it was THAT big! You need about a week to get through the whole thing. We managed to see the Italian art, Ancient Greek art, and Ancient Egyptian art, and to be able to see those three exhibits in an afternoon is a pretty impressive feat, I must say. We were barely able to see the Mona Lisa. I'd really hate to be her - no privacy! I had to fight my way through a huge crowd to get a picture of her. It was the same story with the Venus de Milo. Crowds everywhere. Who knew amputation and decapitation could be so sexy! I jest, of course. It was a beautiful statue. My favorite part, however, had to be the Ancient Egypt exhibit. I wished I had more time to learn about it all and soak it all in. Unfortunately, we had to rush through a lot of it, but I tried to get a few photos as we ran down the corridors of the Louvre. We saw an actual mummy on display! It was the body of a child wrapped in cloths, perfectly preserved.

After the Louvre, we walked along the Champs Elysee, all the way to L’Arc de Triomphe. I repeat: WE WALKED ALL THE WAY FROM THE LOUVRE TO THE L’ARC DE TRIOMPHE. Ok, so I’ve walked farther distances in my life, but it took at least an hour and a half to get there. Fortunately, the Louvre is surrounded by beautiful gardens and fountains all the way to the Champs Elysee. We had a traditional French sandwich lunch on the Champs Elysee, and then proceeded to visit L’Arc de Triomphe. And if walking from the Louvre to L’Arc de Triomphe wasn’t enough, we decided to climb to the top of L’Arc de Triomphe as well! By stair number 250, I felt like my body was going to collapse. But I didn’t, of course, and the view was marvelous. After L’Arc de Triomphe, we decided to go to the Paris Opera House. I wandered around by myself most of the time there, wishing, praying, and desperately begging my lucky stars and all the gods and goddesses of history to give me the opportunity to perform solo there. Words cannot describe how beautiful and magnificent that opera house is. It’s like walking into every musician’s fantasy: lavish parlors, gold-trimmed everything, crystal chandeliers, grand winding staircases, statues and paintings everywhere… It’s truly a feast for the eyes. I’m a realist in most regards, but I think I am entitled to unrealistic dreams once in a while. But it gave me hope, as I walked through the galleries, that many of the famous people who have performed there were very average-looking, full-bodied men and women with amazing voices. Maybe you don’t have to be a barbie doll to make it in the business!

Afterwards, we headed back to Montmartre to freshen up and get ready for the evening ahead. It was tonight that we went out to escargot at L’escargot Montogeil. It’s difficult to fill up on escargot, so it’s really only an appetizer to be consumed with an appertif. I ordered six escargot, two of each flavor: garlic, bleu cheese, and parsley. I was a little nervous when they put out a large clamp and small two-pronged fork for handling the little escargot, but once I tasted it, I was in heaven. It wasn’t slimey at all, and it definitely didn’t look like snot the way I expected it to look. It had a similar flavor and texture to that of mussles, except less chewy and more tender. They were delicious, especially the bleu cheese. Afterwards, Julia and I split a meal - duck in an orange sauce. Now that’s what I call a 5 star meal! I knew I would love it; duck is probably my most favorite type of meat. We topped it all off with some creme brulee and ice cream, the perfect end to a great day.

On Sunday, we decided to go to Versailles to visit the royal chateau. The gardens, statues, and fountains were beautiful of course, and the chateau was lavishly decorated and luxuriously furnished, but after seeing the first half of the chateau, I had my fill. It became very repetitive after a while. I could have sworn I saw the same gold-trimmed end table at least ten times in ten different rooms. It was nice, but not something I could really relate to. It was just as beautiful as the Paris Opera house, but I felt I could relate to the Paris Opera house far more, since it's a performance space. I understood its purpose very clearly, and I could immediately relate. I couldn't really relate to Marie Antoinette's various parlors and what not. I understood why someone of that kind of wealth and mindset would have a place like that, but to me it just a little much. After the train ride back to Montmartre, all five of us went to bed. We had made plans to go out to eat for our final night in Paris, but instead we fell asleep at about 8 pm and didn't wake up until 8 am. It was a much needed sleep.

Monday was a day of travel. We had breakfast downstairs, re-packed our bags, and headed out to find a taxi to take us to the Austerlitz train station. We met up with a few fellow FAVA members, which was nice before the long train ride. It took us a total of about 5 hours to get from Paris to Perigueux, with a layover in Limoges. I fell asleep shortly after leaving Paris and woke up when we were about half an hour away from Limoges. It was like falling asleep and waking up in two different worlds. When I opened my eyes, the hustle and bustle of the city was gone, and I awoke to a beautiful provincial French hillside. Think "Beauty and the Beast." Little stone houses with red roofs and red doors, ivy growing everywhere, beautiful gardens and patches of farmland, herds of cattle resting in the shade, and not a building or car for miles. Finally, we made it to the Perigueux train station. We were greeted by Professor William Lewis and his wife, Frederique Added, and they drove us to our dormitories. I'm staying in a Catholic dormitory called Saint-Jacques. It's beautiful here. The rooms and hallways are very clean, and there is lots of natural lighting. I share my room with one other girl, Claire, and we have our own toilet and sink in our room as well as our own picture of Jesus and the apostles hanging over our beds, making sure we're on our best behavior! The best part of the room is the view from our huge window. It overlooks the entire city of Perigueux, including the Cathedral and the hills. Below is a sweet little cafe with a nice flower and rock garden. There are very few bugs here in Perigueux, which makes sleeping with open windows very nice. The allergens here are something that will take some time to get used to (lots and lots of grasses), but I'll learn how to deal with it in time. My new roommate and I decided to leave our door open the first hour or so of us being there, and lots of people poked their heads in to say hello to us. Everyone was so friendly. Before we knew it, we had already made a crowd of new friends! We decided to find a local cafe to eat dinner, and as we sat there more FAVA people came to join us. Before we knew it, there were nearly 20 of us at the cafe, and we all sat there eating, laughing, and drinking the night away (not to worry, Mom and Dad, "drinking the night away" means just a glass or two of wine for me - I've been responsible!). Fortunately, I was able to find some people here who are fellow Firefly fans, and we had a nice time watching the pilot episode on my laptop before bed.

Today, some of my new friends and I made the trek down to the Monoprix, which is kind of like Target, to buy food and supplies for our dorms. I quickly realized that Perigueux is actually one big hill. It's a pleasant walk down, but walking up is such a workout! I'll be in great shape before I know it! And now here I sit next to the cafe with my banana, yogurt, and peach, typing away at my blog. In an hour, we will be having a mini-orientation for the program as well as a social event/mixer for all the members of FAVA. And now you are all caught up on my journey! I miss you all very much, my friends and family, and I send my love to everyone. I wish you all could be here. It's been a magical experience. I hope you all are doing well and taking care of yourselves. Until next time!