Day 12

During class, when we talked about what we did during our yesterday, I mentioned that I was planning on going out to Vaux le Vicomte on Saturday, for the candlelight evening, and the fireworks. Seems like I was the only one who knew about it. Anyway, after class, Pranali asked if I'd be interested in going out to lunch. Bien sur! To a cafe near her apartment new Les Halles. Pranali is quite young. Indeed, she's young enough to be my daughter, if I'd started really, really young. But she's quite lively, and fun to chat with. From Hong Kong, she's quadrilingual (Hindi, Cantonese, English, and Spanish). I don't know how she keeps it all straight in her head!

After lunch, she tagged along with me, as I discovered my new favorite museum in Paris. I don't know how I missed going to the Musee Carnavalet the last time I was here, but I'm so glad that I found it this time. The museum chronicles the history of Paris, and the permanent exhibitions and the gardens are free! Currently, there is an exhibition by Thomas Bilanges, and I think it's brilliant. He took photo portraits of 143 museum employees (from head curator to gardener to intern), and photos of their favorite portraits in the museum. He the scaled them to size, and created a dyptich, which I guess is a fancy word for two images side by side. It's a lovely representation of the staff, and the artwork that pulls them. I'm considering buying the book, since it's a great review of the charming portraits in this museum.

I just found the painting collection charming. The style of painting, the focus on Paris, the models of the city, the abundance of portraits that tell a story about the subject. The gardens are also quite beautiful, if small. I foresee that I will spend a lot of time here, rain or shine. I will definitely return and see the Atget exhbiti, and pony up for the audioguide, for a more indept study. Plus, the museum seems to go on forever.

Walked with Pranali to Les Halles, to take the metro down for another visit to Maison Larnicol. What a scene! Shops galore, myriad people rushing about. I had no idea that the temporary walls housed so much. Had spent the majority of the day dry, and had anticipated going for a walk after finishing the remnants of Alex's last bit of chefery. However, as I stood in the line at Larnicol, it started pouring rain. Not just spitting, but actual pouring. Good thing I'd carried my umbrella around, even though it's one of the things I groan about. Really, the weather in Paris is constantly changing.

Quick stop at the boulongere for a fresh baguette. After I got myself and my damp shoes (!!!!!) home, I supped and surfed. Twenty minutes later, the rain had spent itself. But I was really well into dinner, and decided to stay in. After my dinner, I had dessert. No, not the chocolates. Baguette and butter. Absolutely divine.