I Call on Saint-Phalle (again)

This was not a day like any other. Then again, it wasn't quite so different either. I arose at a decent hour  and consumed a (more than) decent breakfast. I had greek yogurt this morning! And honey. I thought it was time to branch out into unexplored territory. That is, the dairy-ridden territory of calcium and vitamin D. Also, last night my père d'accueil mentioned that he thought I didn't like yogurt, because I never ate it. Well, now I eat it.

I didn't have class until 13h, but I needed to get some work done. Clearly, the perfect compromise between free time and work was a walk to a museum, and then some work time at ISEP before class. Well, that may not be the clear (or optimal!) solution, but, regardless, it was the course I chose. I went on a nice walk to the Grand Palais, hoping to catch the Niki de Saint Phalle exhibition one more time before it closed, since it really was quite interesting. I took care to choose a new path, so I could explore new grounds. I did, indeed, find some interesting sights.

l'Assemblée Nationale. This is where French politicians argue and, occasionally, produce laws.

Your Tour Eiffel du Jour. Complimentary tree included.

I found a bird. And le Pont Alexandre III, and the Grand Palais, and the Petit Palais. But a bird!

When I reached the Grand Palais, I was fortunate enough to be able to pass right in, since there was no line for those special possessors of a Carte Sésame. Of course, it took me a while to fish this card out of my wallet. In the meantime, I found a cat.

Meow.

Inside the museum, I covered the exhibition pretty quickly. I did, after all, have work to do. I lingered over my preferred areas, particularly the room with circus music and the spinning dancers, and the room with the garden statues (I use the term "statues" liberally; while it is by no means the ideal word, it is the closest approximation I can dream up in the English language).

Autoportrait. She needs to clean her mirror.

The dancers. My circus room.

Her lover… (cible)

Opening night?

Does this count as a halo? Is she a saint? Or just a Saint Phalle?

It pays to get ahead in life.

Island?

Dragon for Marina

After leaving the Grand Palais, I half walked, half Métro'd, to ISEP, where I promptly sat down and did some readings. Yes, very productively, thank you. My friend and I went to get lunch shortly before we had to leave for the Louvre. She got a delicious quiche, smoked salmon and spinach. I got a mediocre sandwich (hence the lack of picture). Lesson learned. Coeur de Blé has my sandwich heart forever. Thévenin can make do with giving me quiche.

We ran into the rest of our class en route to the museum, snuck in through the Carousel entrance, and experienced an excellent class period in which we visited the Salon of old and several of David's massive paintings. By massive, I mean Hercules is diminutive in comparison. By massive, I mean slightly smaller than the colossal paintings I saw last time I was there. Yes, that last comparison is quite the buzz-kill. Nevertheless, Les Hectores, Les Sabines, Brutus, Autoportrait, Napoléon (the coronation), and two other portraits provided a fantastic lesson that would not have disappointed me if it were twice the length.

After the museum, my friend and I headed out for a café, never achieved. It was rainy, but, more concerningly, windy. The gusts twisted our umbrellas, tried their best to wrench them from our grasp, and, when that failed, peevishly turned them inside-out so that we had to bow down, hair whipping around our wind-bitten faces, to pop the umbrellas back out. Needless to say, we took the Métro. Not, however, before I captured a couple photos.

Good Ol' Tour Eiffel

And then the Eiffel Tower began to disappear...

We decided to go to Monoprix first to obtain chocolate. In France, it is important to obtain chocolate on a regular basis because not only does the dramatically higher quality render much of it edible, but the prices are quite reasonable, compared to other foods (except bread and cheese). We both had too much work to do, so, sans café, we parted ways. I took the Métro to Concorde, giving me the chance to sample my newly-aquired goods.

Special Chocolate #1. Yes, 99%. Yes, I like it. No, you won't. It's not sweet.

This is fantastic. Dark Chocolate Blueberry Almond. Enough said.

Instead of transferring to Ligne 12 at Concorde, I bailed, hoping to get a bit of a walk in before my work-concience drove me back to my travails. I crossed the Tuileries and the Seine, enjoying the lesser wind, the empty park, and the lack of rain.

What a tree.

French lines.

I found a horse. No, of course it's a bird, just seeing if you were paying attention!

Waiting. For Godot to come get his globe back?

This bridge design is both brilliant and bizarre.

As you probably would not have guessed, I hopped back on the Métro at Assemblée Nationale (which, in case you are wondering, is only one stop on Ligne 12 past Concorde). My work-conscience, alas, got the better of me.

I arrived chez ma famille d'accueil at 16h30, mid-afternoon, where I was greeted by an empty apartment. This was very conducive to several hours of work (and potential 99% dark chocolate consumption), or, if you are particularly desperate for distraction, a thorough inbox cleansing.

My dinner tonight was elegant, consisting of several slices of mystery meat (ham, I suspect) with baguette and cornichons, followed by ravioli pesto and the same cheese last night, as well as some Comte, followed by crème caramel.

After watching the news (I am beginning to suspect, from my limited experience in these waters, that TV newscasters choose a couple stories, learn everything they can about them, and show slightly different aspects to the story every day for a week), I retreated to my room. I had a Skype conversation, which became a silent Skype conversation when the two parties involved realized that the sound was nonfunctional. This, in fact, added to the hilarity of the conversation, so if anyone wishes to experiment in silent Skype sessions, I am happy to facilitate your early experiences.

However, there is still work to be done, and no more adventures to discuss. so go off and have your own adventures while I study algorithms! Bonne nuit!