I Went to Paris...a Month Ago

As you may have noticed, I'm pretty bad at updating my blog, as it's been a more than a month since I posted. So I'm going to try to do a couple recap posts to cover what I've done since last time. First up: Paris!

I visited Paris February 11-13. On Friday evening I met up with my roommate from sophomore year, Marguerite, upon arrival in Paris. She was on an exchange last year; she lives in Paris and goes to school  there at Sciences Po. It was so exciting and wonderful to finally see her again! She showed me her apartment then we went to have galettes for dinner at a place called La Faste Breton. Galettes are a specialty of Britanny (Bretagne en français, its inhabitants are bretons), and "faste" doesn't mean quick, but auspicious or luxurious. Galettes are a lot like crêpes, but they're made with buckwheat flour, and they typically have a savory filling, so they're more of a meal than a dessert like crêpes (though I'm not opposed to making a meal out of crêpes :) ). After dinner, we walked along the Seine for a little while, taking in the beautiful City of Lights at night. We made our way to the Louvre. The LOUVRE!!!!!

That smile doesn't express how thrilled I was to be standing outside of the most famous art museum in the world. And I hadn't even gone in yet. That would have to wait for Sunday. But there's really plenty to enjoy about the exterior of the building itself. It is so grand. There are so many statues standing on ledges and brilliant carved architectural details. I said to Marguerite that the grandeur made it feel so non-American and very European. The only way you get away with constructing a building like that is if you are a king or an emperor, and there aren't any of those in the United States. Sure we have the White House, the Capitol, etc., but they're just not the same. That evening we also went over to the Eiffel Tower. That was especially surreal. But soon you're quite aware it's not a fantasy when people try to sell you tiny, glowing Eiffel Tower souvenirs. The tower itself was still certainly enjoyable.

On Saturday I walked to Notre Da(h)me and met other Notre Da(y)me students there. I loved the exterior decoration and sculpture on Notre Dame perhaps more than the interior. The central tympanum depicted Christ's final judgment, a scene that is practically ubiquitous in France. I think what really amazed me about this was to see the small scale of incredible detail in the context of the large scale cathedral itself. Take for instance this section around the door:

Each of those cities (not to mention each of the other sculptures) is interesting in itself and has its own unique character, and this is a tiny fraction of the entire church. But it's a fraction that makes a contribution to the overall shape of the building. In addition, the exterior sculpture really makes you stop and think about what sort of building you're entering before you do so. That is something that we could use more of in our modern American churches. The interior was gorgeous but the experience of it was perhaps diminished by the huge stream of tourists moving throughout. The ridiculous mid-20th-century altar plopped in the middle of a Gothic masterpiece also stung. There was a neat polychrome wooden sculpture frieze around the back of the church showing scenes from Christ's life.

After Notre Dame, we headed to the Conciergerie, also located on Île-de-la-Cité, in the Seine. This building used to be a royal castle, beginning in the late Middle Ages I believe. Saint-Chapelle, a royal "chapel" (it's quite large) renowned for its stained glass windows, is attached. The Conciergerie was used as a prison during the Revolution. The visit was mildly interesting, but not really a must-see site. We ate lunch at really good Italian restaurant, where I had lasagna that was much like what I am used to, but it had a different sort of cheese on top. During the  afternoon, we walked to the Louvre, through the Tuileries garden, then down the Champs-Élysées, stopping to shop along the way. We stopped in the Louis Vuitton store, and being wet, backpack-laden, and under-dressed, we felt like we were breaking some kind of rule by being there. At the end of the Champs was the Arc de Triomphe, which was much larger than I had envisioned. I kept wishing that it was the end of July, and that I was watching Mark Cavendish and friends sprint to the finish of the Tour de France. One of these days...

Next was round two of the Tour Eiffel, and this time I got to see it sparkle close-up, which was really impressive. I was sooooo happy to be in France at that moment. We then went to dinner, after which I left the group to meet up with Marguerite and a few of her friends. The guys also attend Sciences Po, and one of them also studied in the United States last year. He went to Texas. He is now a fan of American football. I never thought I would meet a French person who follows football, but there you go. The girls were both in medical school. I tried to speak a little in French, but that didn't go very far. I often spoke English with everyone, but they spoke French a fair amount to each other. It was hard to keep up, but overall the evening was very enjoyable.

On Sunday morning, Marguerite and I went to mass at St. Germain de Pres, which is close to where she lives. It was moderately-sized and quite old-first built in the 9th or 10th century if I remember correctly. It had some interesting Romanesque capitals that had more recently been painted, probably as close as possible to how they were originally. There used to be an abbey associated with the church, but one of the tragedies of the French Revolution-the widespread destruction of French patrimony-struck the religious community.

As I mentioned earlier, the little time that I had Sunday afternoon was given over to the Louvre. I wandered a little through the Greek sculpture section, seeing the Venus de Milo and fragments of a pediment from the temple of Zeus at Olympia, among other things. I remembered learning about that temple in one of my classes. From there I headed to the Italian art section so that I could see the Mona Lisa. Here's the unfortunate thing about the Louvre: they know that you want to see the Mona Lisa, but it's almost as though they encourage you to walk past many works in order to get to it. From the entrance of the wing in which it is housed, there are signs posted pointing you toward the painting. I got the impression that I would soon find it, but I just hit sign after sign, and meanwhile there was the Greek art (I took my detour), some Botticelli frescoes, a room full of glorious 15th century Italian work, then a massive, long hall that displayed most of the remaining Italian art. The room with the Mona Lisa was about a third of the way down the hall. Of course you have the choice to stop along the way, but that setup is unfortunate, especially the hall. They can't not use that space, but it's just not that great for showing paintings.

The 15th century Italian room had some breathtaking Madonna and Child paintings by Botticelli, Fra Filippo Lippi and a couple other artists. There were also a few works by Fra Angelico and some other works that had been discussed in one of my classes last semester. Other highlights include da Vinici's Virgin of the Rocks and Veronese's Wedding Feast of Cana. The next section I saw was the large-scale French work of the 19th century, including Liberty Leading the People. I also really enjoyed the works by Ingres in the Louvre. After that I was out of time so I headed to the train station. The pluses at the Louvre far outweighed any of the slight minuses.

On the way to the train station, in the subway, there was a small group of musicians playing Pachabel's Canon in D as well as a statue of the Virgin Mary from the 12th or 13th century, I can't remember. She was just hanging out there on the platform, in the subway. France, you apparently have more culture than you know what to do with, and I love you for it. I also heard that you have to audition to perform in a Paris subway station. So Paris gave me a nice farewell, and hopefully I will be back there to see the start of Paris-Roubaix and again to see other things that I missed, like Sacre Coeur and the Musée d'Orsay.

In more recent news, I went to a movie here for the first time last Friday. I saw a French film called "Les femmes du sixième étage" which is "The women from the sixth floor". It was a comedic drama, and it was quite funny. The women of the title are Spanish women working as housekeepers in Paris during the '60's, and they were big characters. The main story is how the employer of one of these women is enchanted by them and romantically attracted to his housekeeper. I didn't find the man very likable, but overall the film was good and very French, though I'm not sure exactly what I mean by that.

And that's that! I'm headed to Lyon this weekend. We'll see how long it is before I write about that :)

Market et Marché

I had a really wonderful first weekend in France! I'm pretty sure it's all going to be really wonderful :) On Friday night I had dinner with friends then went out to a bar and had a nice conversation with some other American girls who were from Michigan and Washington. Each Saturday morning there is a big market in the middle of Angers, so I went there with a few other ND students. We walked among all the fruits and vegetables first. There were a ton of clementines for sale! I guess they're pretty popular here. Then we went down the corridor of meat, fish, cheese and bread stands. The smell was incredible, and I mean in a good way. I myself like the smell of fresh fish and cooking meat. There was at least one eel for sale and some live shrimp. There were some people with dogs there, and I was surprised that the dogs didn't go crazy with all the scents wafting through the air. There was also another long line of booths that were selling clothes, accessories, and flowers. On the whole, the market was really interesting and fun.

I went to my first mass in France on Saturday evening. It was at the parish of St. Joseph, which has what appears to be a legit Gothic-era church, not just Gothic style like you see in the US. I haven't found info to confirm, but it appears to be very old, and it is very beautiful. The brilliant pipe organ was playing before mass, and the music surrounding me in the cold, stony building led me to reflect on the profound, lasting love of the liturgy that will remain infinitely longer than the beauty of the church. A bishop said the mass, and he talked about using facebook to make profound connections in part of his homily, as well as saying that we are the salt of the world together, among other things. I could also interpret the epistle and the Gospel, but most of the rest I couldn't understand specifically. I think I'm going to try to find a French missal.

On Sunday I had an incredible day with my host family, their friends, and my fellow ND student Kaitlin. On the first Sunday of every month (since ten years ago), my host family goes on a hike in the countryside with a group of friends, and stops in the middle for a big picnic. They are hardcore, with walking sticks and hiking boots. Last Sunday we walked in vineyards near the village of Martigné-Briand. We parked the car in the village near the church and chateau. These two buildings were so picturesque: there were doves flying back and forth between the eaves and the crevices left by 500 years of wear and tear, and later the church bell started ringing. The entire town was very charming. As we walked through the vineyards, we saw a windmill, and one of men, François, explained to me a few different types of windmill that one finds in France. For much of the walk, Kaitlin and I spoke with Jerôme, who has a daughter who is going to high school in Gladstone, MO right now, and will be visiting her in Kansas City this May. He is working on his English, so we practiced with him some, and, through the whole day, we got a lot of French practice.

It's pretty hard to describe exactly how awesome the picnic was. I was sitting at a petite table. In a vineyard in France. Next to a beautiful town. Under the shining sun. Eating and drinking a French feast. Surrounded by joyful people who were loving life. I'm telling you it doesn't get much better than that. We started with champagne as it was the 50th birthday of one of the men in the group (you say "chin, chin" when you toast). Among other things, we ate pâté de cochon (pig), smoked pig, routilles de poulet (not sure about the spelling on that one), andouille, tomatoes, mayo/carrot/celery salad, chocolate, and king's cake. The woman who was crowned queen got lots of kisses. Everyone was just having a lot of fun. All of the food was accompanied by baguette and red wine (côtes-du-rhône), of course. We finished it off with coffee, then rum with local spices. I was so full after that. During the meal, Jerôme offered this quip, or something like it: you know, in France, eating is like a religion. I am definitely a believer :) I don't know if I mentioned it before, but all the meals I've had with my family have been just as delicious, if not as large and extravagant.

Well, after that we had to walk some of the food off, so we continued. As we moved back toward town, we walked past a corral that held four gorgeous, enormous draft horses. I thought the day couldn't get better, but I was wrong:) We pet the horses, then made our way back to the town. Something I forgot to mention about the village is that it has been the subject of national news stories because the town council voted to cut down the 150-year-old Sequoia that is in the cemetery. They voted to do this because the roots are damaging the graves. Some of the villagers have been protesting the removal of the tree. All in all, I would say that the activity Sunday with the AREUH (Association de Randonneurs Extraordinaires, Urbains, et Huereux; one of them made buttons with the acronym) was probably one of the best ways to enjoy France.

Next post: classes!

La France est très belle (but you already knew that)

I have the first few days under my belt! They have been wonderful and often surreal. I am actually in France. Ahhhh! We arrived in Paris on Monday and took the Angers soccer team's (Angers-Sco) bus to Angers. There was some nice scenery along the way, including horses, sheep, cows, and lots of trees with spherical boughs on the larger branches. I was told these are mistletoe trees. Driving into Angers, we went past its 13th century chateau, which was very exciting. I met my host parents, M. André Thenie and Mme. Anne-Marie Thenie. They are very patient with me, very kind, and they have fed me very well! My first meal Monday evening started with a baguette and a soup that I think was a sort of squash purée. Then we had a quiche-like dish (they said it wasn't quiche, but I don't remember its name), salad, cheese, and an airy glace with caramel for dessert. One of the cheeses was a really fancy looking goat cheese. I tried it, and though I didn't outright dislike it, it was extremely strong. There was another cheese the name of which I can't remember except that M. Thenie said it was from a mountain region. Also, we had wine and water to drink.

After a very healthy sleep that chased away the jet lag, the group (sans one Katie) walked around town with our director P McD (AKA Paul McDowell) and stopped at a crêperie for lunch. He took us inside the Cathédrale de St. Maurice, which was built in the 12th century. It was incredibly beautiful, and there was a Baroque altar and 19th century lectern inside that were very elaborate and wonderful. The cathedral also has a magnificent pipe organ and stained glass windows. PMcD showed us the house where his wife stayed when she studied in Angers, and he said that one of its rooms was used as a secret chapel during the Revolution. Pretty awesome, huh? Angers on the whole is very beautiful. Many of the buildings are white with pretty details and tiny wrought iron balconies, like you might imagine in a French city. The doors of the residences are many different shapes and colors.

I myself live a fair distance to the south of the city center and our school (le Catho). It's about a 25-30 minute walk to school, but my family has provided a bike for my use, which has been very nice. I will also get a bus pass. People don't usually ride their bikes on the sidewalks because there are many pedestrians and the sidewalks are bumpy and often obstructed. I was a bit worried about riding in the street, but the drivers are very respectful of cyclists, giving them plenty of room and deference. Though it was quite cold on the bike Tuesday and Wednesday, it has been very pleasant to ride through town, and it also provides a bit of a workout. Today the weather was much nicer: though it rained this morning, the sun came out and it got up to mid-50's, I would guess. I stopped by a really nice park near my house in the early afternoon and just sat on a bench, as I had done a lot of walking that morning. I did some bird watching. Angers has this one really neat bird that has a black head and back, a white breast, and a really long black tail. The bird is about the size of a mourning dove. I also spotted some house sparrows and starlings exactly like the ones that live in Kansas.

Tuesday evening, several of us ND kids went to a bar called K'lypso, and that was pretty fun. I didn't stay for long because on Wednesday morning I had my placement test. It didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked, but it was okay. I had a kebab for lunch, then walked around the center of town. I browsed the big bookstore, Richer. It had many levels and lots of interesting books and magazines. I stopped in at a few different clothing stores. I have learned since coming that French stores only have items on sale during two periods a year. The sales have been going for about 3 weeks and I think they end soon. For dinner Wednesday I went with some friends to a restaurant that had an awesome, long spiral staircase with several levels of dining space. One of the specials was called "Kansas", though I'm not sure why, because the main part of it was chicken nuggets, and nothing else in the description seemed to be a Kansan specialty. Luckily, one can find food at a pretty good price here.

This weekend I may tour inside the chateau, and next weekend we have an excursion to Mt St Michel and St Malo. I will include more pictures in the future once I get my computer cable for my camera in the mail. Had to forget something, didn't I? That's all for now. Bon weekend!

The Saga Begins

Yesterday morning I got up bright and early in order to fly to NYC, where I spent the day with my very gracious cousins Chip and Sally and their kids Andrew and Emma. After a delicious lunch at Emma’s Ale House in White Plains (brimming with yellow Labrador retriever decorations, Emma being the owner’s pet), we headed to The Cloisters! This is the arm of the Met that houses a significant chunk of their medieval European collection. The institution was architecturally formed around the four reconstructed Cloisters and other architectural elements from medieval Europe. Highlights for me included the almost entirely intact chapter house from Notre-Dame-de-Pontaut, Les Heures de Jeanne d’Evreux (it’s a really tiny book of hours), the Unicorn tapestries, and the cloisters themselves. I was halfway to France already at the Cloisters ☺
We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Red Hat on the Hudson, and then upon returning home I began perusal of the very exciting library segment in the Hall’s guest room. It features titles such as Folktales of the British Isles, the three-book set Marvels and Magic, Heroes and Saints, and History and Romance, An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, Classical Mythology, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Blue Fairy Book, Legends of the Ring, The Bhagavadgita, Icelandic Sagas, and The Norse Myths. There were various other books of folklore, fables and mythology from around the world. In addition, there was a collection of Parabola magazine dating from 1992, one issue including a very interesting interview with religion scholar Huston Smith, author of Why Religion Matters.
I will leave you with a quote I found on the shelf from the incredibly intriguing Joseph Campbell, a scholar of mythology whose work I will be reading as soon as I have the chance. “The secret cause of all suffering is mortality itself, which is the prime condition of life. It cannot be denied if life is to be affirmed.”

About to embark on one more phase in my personal incarnation of the mythic archetype!

Walking is a Blessing

I walked my dog yesterday for the first time since returning home. A few observations:

The squirrels in Kansas are scrawny, grey and rabbit-like. They bounce in neat little arcs across the grass. The squirrels of South Bend, on the other hand, are plump (they probably weigh three times as much as a grey squirrel), red, and dog-like. They know how to walk slowly, one paw after the other. That's not what makes them dog-like, though. It is the fact that they do so in constant search for food, and they are apt to beg for food if a person is looking generous.

I stopped and looked up when I heard some geese honking, moving closer. As they flew overhead, they were close enough to the tree-tops that I heard the powerful whuuush noise that was made as the air moved over their bodies. I have heard geese honking so many times, and have even seen them come as close as they did today, but I have never heard the whuuush. It was thrilling. On today's walk, there were 50-100 geese on or around the pond in my neighborhood. Quite a few were just sitting on the frozen surface of the lake. That seems a bit funny to me. Why do they sit there instead of on the warmer, more solid bank, or in the part of the pond that wasn't frozen? I wonder if a goose has ever fallen through the ice after sitting on it for a while. Hmmm. That would be unfortunate :(

Even when things seem dead for the winter, there is so much vitality in nature. The 35-45 degree temperatures in Kansas are a kind of cold that is more invigorating than bitter, like the cold in South Bend. It is always refreshing and inspiring for me to go on walks. It's particularly interesting during winter when I spend much more time inside, and during these past 10 days of break when I've spent quite a lot of time in the internet world. Going from site to site can really feel like inhabiting a separate space sometimes. But then when I walk outside, and especially in the park, my experience seems to explode into something much more vast and much more visceral, even when I am, in a sense, more isolated. To be sure, the internet is a vast network of thought, ideas, and relationships (as well as cats and moronic YouTube comments). Whatever this network is, while on my walk, it seemed a reality that shrank to the background behind the more ancient sky and soil.

But thank goodness for the internet; I don't know what I would do without it! So I lied in the last post about Crime and Punishment. That will come soon. In the meantime, go take a walk! and Happy Holidays!

Introduction (That's Introduction in French)

Hi reader! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I have been meaning to start one of these for a while, but I haven't made the time. Since I'm now on winter break and my semester in France is approaching, it seems like the perfect time to start. Once I'm in France, you can read here to stay updated on all my adventures if you wish. This won't simply be a study abroad blog, however. I will post on whatever the heck I feel like. You can expect comments on literature (classic and of various contemporary genres), visual arts, performing arts, religion, Catholicism, theology, fun stuff on the internet, etc. Like I said, whatever I feel like.

I would like to make a note about the title of my blog. When I was thinking about what to call it, I decided on Overworld, which is a term that comes from C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair, chronologically the sixth Chronicle of Narnia. In that book, the heroes venture deep underground where they have a conversation with the deceptive witch who has dominated the inhabitants of the so-called "Underland" and kept Narnia's prince captive there. The witch tries to put the heroes under an enchantment and convince them that there never was any world other than her Underland, and that they have simply made up what they call "Overworld"-that is, the place where Narnia is and where the sun shines. Well, one of the heroes, Puddleglum, manages to stop the enchantment and say this:

"Suppose we have only dreamed up, or made up all those things...in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones...We're just babies making up a game if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia...we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland."

Just so we're clear: Overland=everlasting, spiritual world that we sometimes glimpse here, in Underland=temporal world that will one day pass away. Overland seems a good deal more important to me, so I pursue it and do my best to share it.  I am no expert on Overland, so I like to hear the thoughts of others on what is found there. One thing I do know is that Love is the law of the land.

That last sentence in the quote is the only time in the discussion that anyone uses Overland instead of Overworld. I don't think the change is particularly important in the book, but Overland turns out to have a little more meaning for me. It is one half of the name of my hometown, Overland Park. In as much as this is a travel blog, the title pertains to me traveling over land (and sea). So, I'm going with Overland instead of my original thought, Overworld.

Look for some thoughts on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment in the next post! It's really good so far! Also, please read The Silver Chair in its entirety, and for that matter, any C.S. Lewis work that you can get your hands on.

Bye now!