Day 31: Flâneuse

Being a flâneuse means that I am a loiterer or an idler, which in some situations may be a bad thing; in this case, it is not because it shows that I am taking in the city and this experience.

Instead of sitting through 362 yesterday, I read my book Des Colombes du Roi Soleil: Olympe Comedienne. I really wasn't feeling like I could sit through class again (I took 362 last spring, so technically every day when I've gone to class it has been to sit through a class that I've already taken; I don't have to do any homework or tests, but I need to be there most of the time so that they know I'm safe). It was a good book! It is at a 4-6 grade level, which is perfect for me because that's about where I'm at with my French reading--if I'm going to be reading with ease and quickly, like I have been with the past two books I've read by Anne Marie Desplat-Duc. I can read and comprehend harder and more complex texts, but for enjoyment purposes, it's nice to read children's/young adult books.

After our interviews with Drs. LeBras or Erickson, I went with Paris and Rachel to the catacombes. At least, that was our intention. However when we arrived we were met with this sign:

My hope of going through the catacombes has been buried because we leave Monday morning and it won't open before then. By this time it was about 3:30, a lot of day left, so I hopped on the RER, didn't stop at the Vesinet-Pecq stop and went to visit Saint-Germain-en-Laye since Dave and Leslie had told us they enjoyed it there (Dave is the bishop of the Paris ward). It was a really cute place. I wandered around the city, taking some pictures, bought a gelato, some guy asked me where a certain boulangerie was and I had to tell him I didn't know--but the fact that he'd asked me made me feel more part of the woodwork of Paris, rather than just as a tourist.

(Bust of the bishop of the Saint Germain en Laye parish; he died for France during WWII)

(Close up of the words on the bust; in English it says: "Put God first in your life")

(Cool castle/church building just by the RER station in Saint-Germain-en-Laye)

(It was a gorgeous day!)

(Sometimes I pretend I'm a photographer...I like doors, shutters, and gates in France)
(Blue door)
(I thought this door looked quite classy)

(The facade of a building)

I returned to the Vesinet and then left an hour or so later to go with Grace, Judy, Katherine, Mathilde, Eloise, and Theo to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I ordered something I've never had before.

(Maison crabe farcie)