The day immediately following my return from Egypt, I headed out for my first day-trip to one of the cities surrounding Paris. For this trip, a couple of my Alliance Francaise classmates and I chose to visit Chartres, a town located about 60 miles southwest of Paris.

Chartres, France

Chartres is best known for its Cathedrale Notre Dame, that sits on a high point within the town. While the Notre Dame cathedral located in Paris is far more famous throughout the world, Chartre’s Notre Dame is, in fact, the largest cathedral in France. Construction on this magnificent structure began in 1205 and took over 65 years to complete. It is now considered by many to be the finest Gothic cathedral in all of France. Evidently, Chartres was also a great centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and the cathedral still exhibits many of the famous relics of this period including the silk tunic worn by Mary on the day she gave birth to Jesus.

While the church is the centerpiece of this town, it’s not the only reason to visit. Walking around the town is a pleasure in-and-of-itself. Chartre’s is full of beautiful winding streets that are a joy to explore. Additionally, the city is built on the left bank of the Eure River, which runs through the town. Small, yet romantic, stone bridges take one back-and-forth across the river. There are a select few restaurants that sit right on the water that make for a wonderful lunch break during your visit.

The Bridges of Chartres, France

The round-trip ticket only cost about €27 and travel time is only 1-hour each way. You could easily see much of what Chartres has to offer in a few hours, making it very simple to only spend half a day on this excursion. Overall, this was a very successful trip and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get out of the city for a day.

La Semaine du Goût, Paris, France

Unlike other food-related weeks around the world (e.g. “Restaurant Week” in New York City), which focuses primarily on giving people deals on restaurants, La Semaine du Goût has pedagogic goals. According to the official website, the goals of La Semaine du Goût are:

1. Provide taste education for consumers
2. Teach the diversity of tastes and flavors
3. Provide transparent information and teaching about products origin, production methods and their specificity
4. Transfer skills and know-how
5. Highlight the pleasure of taste
6. Encourage behavior and food consumption as part of a balanced land sustainable lifestyle

Pretty great goals, if you ask me. Don’t get me wrong, however, La Semaine du Goût is not all about teaching, as there’s plenty of fun to be had. The website provides an extensive list of “Les Tables du Gout” or some of the best restaurants in Paris where France’s most famous cooks prepare their specialties at highly discounted prices for students, residents and visitors alike. Additionally, throughout Paris in schools, culinary institutes and various public spaces there are free cooking classes, taste testing and wine sampling.

It goes without saying but you foodies out there in Paris should make sure to take advantage of this week’s festivities before its over. And to the rest of you around the world, don’t miss out next year. La Semaine du Goût ends on October 18th.

Chére Eleonore,

Je suis à Paris maintenant pour un voyage avec mon ami Taylor. Paris est une ville magnifique, grand et peuplée. Il y a beaucoup des monuments!

Hier, Taylor et moi sommes allés à au musée de Louvre. Aussi, nous avons mangé dans un resto trés génial. J’ai mangé le meilleur déjeuner de ma vie! Après, nous avons vu un film dans sur les Champs-Elysées.

Aujourd’hui, nous avons visité Notre Dame–c’est une cathédrale très beau belle. Mais, il pleaut et il fait un peau peu frais donc maintenant, il faut porter beaucoup des vêtements! A 16h, nous  aurons irons a Les aux Invalides a voir le tombeau Nàpoleon.

Finalement, a demain Taylor et moi, nous visiterons l’Arch de Triumph, l’Opera, et la le Jardin du Luxembourg. Je pense que nous dinerons avec un amie de Taylor aussi.

Actuellment, j’aime cette ville. Je voudrais habiter ici et je ne veux pas partir de Paris! Mais, je devraisa aua lundi. Je suis te téléphonerai toi à lundi quand je rentrerai a chez moi! retourner travail

Bisous,

Miguel

The following is a rough translation for those of you who don’t speak French. Please bare in mind that I wasn’t really shooting for style or deep-thoughts!

Dear Eleonore,

I’m in Paris right now for a trip with my friend Taylor. Paris is a city that is magnificent, big and populous. There are many monuments!

Yesterday, Taylor and I went to the Louvre. Also, we ate in a great restaurant. I ate the best lunch of my life! Afterwards, we saw a movie on the Champs Elysees.

Today, we visited Notre Dame–it is a very beautiful Cathedral! But it rained and it is chilly, therefore it is necessary to where a lot of clothes! A 4PM, we will go to Invalides to view Napoleon’s tomb.

Finally, tomorrow Taylor and I will visit the Arch de Triumph, Opera, and the Luxembourg Garden. I think that we will eat dinner with a friend of Taylor’s, as well.

Actually, I love this city. I would like to live here and I don’t want to leave Paris! But, I have to return to work on Monday! I will call you on Monday when I return to my house.

Kisses,

Miguel

So that was my written exam for which I received a “bien!” from my teacher. A lot of red marks, but I’m not going to lie…I was quite pleased with myself. Considering that I had never studied a single word of French prior to coming to Paris, I think things are coming along quite well for 5 weeks. I guess there is hope for not being a mono-lingual American after all.

Sunday Dinner with Jim Haynes, Paris, France

In Jim’s own words,

“Every week for the past 30 years, I’ve hosted a Sunday dinner in my home in Paris. People, including total strangers, call or e-mail to book a spot… Every Sunday a different friend prepares a feast. Last week it was a philosophy student from Lisbon, and next week a dear friend from London will cook.

People from all corners of the world come to break bread together, to meet, to talk, connect and often become friends. All ages, nationalities, races, professions gather here, and since there is no organized seating, the opportunity for mingling couldn’t be better. I love the randomness.

I believe in introducing people to people…”

As you might imagine, Jim is an extremely interesting and personable man whose outlook on life is inspiring. The writer of a number of books, Jim has enough experiences with people, traveling and women (according to his books) to make just about any conversation and interesting and enlightening one. He does a wonderful job of going out of his way to make a personal connection with just about every person who attends his dinners.

I first heard about the “Sunday Dinners with Jim Haynes” a few years ago, but had completely forgotten about them since. Recently, my friend Ben visited Paris and recalled hearing about the dinners himself, so we decided to give it a shot. After a brief call to Jim (only 30 minutes before the dinner was to start), we were on our way. Immediately after entering Jim’s home, we felt welcome and began to meet people…from England, Germany, Australia, China…people who were traveling, lived in Paris, expats, newlyweds, and so on. A more eclectic and interesting group of people would be hard to find in one place on a random Sunday night in Paris.

The environment is perfectly set-up to encourage interaction among all the guests. Given the fact that there is no assigned seating or even a dinner table for that matter, we spent most of the night mingling with internationals in the kitchen or out in the garden. Dinner, which included three courses, was delicious.

Jim’s dinners attract a very international community, so the language of choice tends to be English, but there was no shortage of French and other languages being spoken. For the most part everyone was very interesting, though as you might expect you’re bound to meet a couple rather awkward people when you bring a group of 60 strangers together for dinner. Regardless, everyone had an interesting story to tell.

Sunday dinner at Jim’s was a unique and worthwhile experience, without question. I met some very good people, practiced a little bit of my French, discussed business with people from all over the world and may have even made a new friend or two. If you happen to find yourself in Paris on a Sunday evening and want to meet have a good dinner and interesting conversation, you should certainly make time to reserve a spot at Jim’s next time you’re in town.

Want to see this location on a map? Map of My Visits

If you wish to view and/or download the original images from Flickr, you can do so by clicking here.

]]> http://www.americinparis.com/2009/09/life-in-paris-beautiful-paris-sunset/feed/ 4 http://www.americinparis.com/2009/09/life-in-paris-journees-du-patrimoine-heritage-days/ http://www.americinparis.com/2009/09/life-in-paris-journees-du-patrimoine-heritage-days/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:06:00 +0000 Miguel Cancino http://www.americinparis.com/?p=289 I just added yet another thing to my list of “Wonderful Things About Paris”: Journees du Patrimoine. So what is it? For those who don’t know, Journees du Patrimoine (or “Heritage Days”) is a weekend of cultural events within Paris and throughout France. Taking place on the third weekend of September each year, Journees du Patrimoine is time when locals and tourists alike are granted free entrance to 250 events, museums, churches, monuments, and more. With few exceptions, just about every popular and well-known place in Paris is open and free. Additionally, there are a number of locations that are usually closed to the public that open on Journees du Patrimoine, such as the Palais de l’Élysée–the official residence of the President of the French Republic.

View of the Afternoon Sky from the Garden in the Petit Palais (Paris, France)

As one might expect, with lots of wonderful and free places to visit, the lines can get ridiculously long. I made an attempt to visit the Palais de l’Élysée, but after seeing the line (which was reputed to be 6 hours long), I decided to head elsewhere. I also tried to visit the Moulin Rouge, but when I arrived I only saw a sign reading “completo” (full/finished). I did manage to visit an exhibition of old Metro cars at Porte d’Auteuil, the Petit Palais, Les Invalides (home of Napoleon’s tomb), as well as Opéra National (home of the chandelier from Phantom of the Opéra). Each of these events/locations was great, but my favorite had to be the Opéra–definitely a worthwhile visit.

The concept of Journees du Patrimoine and its execution (other than the ridiculously long lines) is great. It appears as though the whole of Paris takes full advantage of the weekend’s events, so it’s just another great way that the city encourages locals and tourists to further appreciate Paris and all that it has to offer. Looking forward to next year’s events (and this time I’ll be prepared to arrive early).

Learning French in Paris...

While private tutoring is probably the best option (if you have a good tutor), it is also going to cost you a lot more than classes. On the other hand, while still pricey, both Alliance Française and La Sorbonne will cost about the same–roughly €800/month (4 hours/day, 5 days/week). While I have heard good things about both Alliance Française and La Sobonne, it seems to me that there are some key differences in the teaching style and atmosphere at each school.

La Sorbonne appears to be a much more “traditional” style of teaching French, with lots of notetaking, listening and repeating phrases from headsets, along with brief presentations. I’m also told the class moves very quickly (maybe too quickly?) and can be, at times, somewhat intimidating, especially for a beginner. On the flip-side, Alliance Française is a less-traditional and more free-flowing casual atmosphere. Casual is not to be considered synonymous with easy or unprofessional, however. Alliance Française is known to cater to students from all over the world and it has gained a reputation for being a top-notch school that will suit French-speakers of all levels well, especially beginners.

From my own experience at Alliance Française thus far, its reputation is well-deserved. I’m enrolled in “Intensive General French” classes (4 hours a day, 5 days a week) and the day is broken up well into listening to native french speakers, completing workbook exercises, practicing spoken french (introductions, counting, questions), group activities, etc. Each day ends with a few homework assignments, which I’m told increase in difficulty and length as the course progresses. Currently, my homework assignments take roughly 30 minutes, but that’s because we have so little to work off of in day 3. I’ve been spending additional time at the school’s library (roughly 2 and 1/2 hours) to run through complimentary exercises that are provided in workbooks free-of-charge. The library also includes many other bonuses, including movies (in every format: French w/ French subtitles, English w/ French subtitles, French w/ English subtitles, etc.), computer stations with practice lessons, books from beginner to advanced levels, and so on.

While it’s only my first week, I already feel like I’m starting to pick up a few things, though I know that having any real understanding of the French language is a long way off. I’ll continue updating my progress as the moth progresses and provide you all with an assessment of the program in the coming weeks.

[Please note, these reviews are only from the research I've done and what I've heard. If you have had a different experience with either school, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.]

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

While it was a magnificent view and something I recommend that everyone do at one point in their life, I would certainly have chosen the off-season (winter) to make this trek, had I been smarter about it.

Like I said, while getting to the top involved waiting in 3 ridiculously long lines, the climb to the top and the view from all sides was wonderful. I always enjoy getting a city-wide view from the highest point in any given city. For example, one of the all around best views in Prague comes from the Petrin Tower (basically a mini Eiffel Tower). And I recently enjoyed the view from the top of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland.

So, my advice for future Paris travelers and potential Eiffel Tower climbers…make the climb, but do it in the off-season if at all possible. If not, get there early, before most tourists want to wake up or do it late, when most of the families have gone to bed. Bonne chance!

Regardless, I have arrived in Paris safely and am officially ready to begin my journey, adventure, experience or whatever you choose to call it. i have no doubt that the coming weeks and months will hold lots of interesting, intimidating and, in the end, insightful experiences, and I look forward to make the most of all of them.