No rain today!

I’m not usually one to talk about the weather (although it’s impossible to avoid doing with strangers, aka my host family’s friends), but it sure makes a difference not to have to carry an umbrella with me everywhere I go.

He's been thinking for a long time.

To celebrate the sun, and as suggested by my mom, I decided to go to Le Musée Rodin today. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Because I have never tried sculpture myself, I tend to get less fulfillment out of looking at sculptures than say, paintings by the Impressionists (*cough cough Musée d’Orsay*). But Rodin was an exception.

There’s so much life in his sculptures. He manages to make every face and physique different, despite often times using the same material and even subject matter. And boy, does he know how to represent the human form. He captured back muscles I didn’t even know we had (well, I probably don’t have them, but you know what I mean). With sculpture, it’s especially apparent that the artist once touched – and indeed, toiled over for countless hours – the very same piece you grant perhaps a few minutes. Very cool to literally be able to trace his fingerprints.

The garden itself was beautiful. Lots of trees (and we all know how appealing that is to a foliage-deprived Oregonian). Very quiet, even in the middle of Paris. Although that’s something I’ve noticed here; if you’re not at one of the major tourist attractions (read: the Eiffel Tower), it’s possible to be very much by yourself. Which is nice sometimes. I was able to wander around as I pleased, not minding (too much) when other tourists got in my pictures because I could take my time perusing amongst the sculptures. Plus, the house was also beautiful. I should know the history behind it (it looked awfully historic), but alas, I was more focused on the artwork. An added bonus: I was able to quickly read a synopsis of the temporary installation—in French—without much hesitation.

[On a related note: I just saw a friend of Sophie and Vincent’s, here for dinner, who I’ve seen a couple of times before. The first time I saw her was a week or two into my stay here, and she stopped in the kitchen today to congratulate me on how much I’ve improved since then. Small victories, I tell you.]

For lunch, I had a millefeuille, a flaky, French pastry filled with an eggy cream. If I’m translating the name correctly, it means literally, “a thousand sheets.” Hence why it immediately collapsed as soon as I tried to dig in with my plastic fork (for which I embarrassingly forgot the word when I tried to ask for it at the bakery – it’s fourchette, by the way). The phyllo dough that was so nicely stacked sloughed off in what indeed appeared to be “a thousand sheets.” Oh well. It tasted just as nice.

Speaking of Nice… (see what I did there??) Reid and I leave for Nice tomorrow! Asdfkjlk! So excited. We were a little nervous because, earlier in the week, the forecast predicted thunderstorms just during the days that we were going to be there (really, France? really?), but it now appears to be just peachy. Again about the weather thing. Makes a big difference. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 8-something (pm), and then we’ll get back very early Sunday morning, just in time to greet our favorite German (or one of them, at least), Jan. He’ll be staying in Paris for a few days, which should be fun to re-do (or do for the first time, in some cases), the more touristy things with him. The next little while will be quite busy, but that’s a good thing, considering I don’t have all that much time left. Can’t wait to see you all…

xx