Maps and Chairs

One of the things I've discovered that I really love doing here is going for runs. Don't get me wrong: I've never been an exercise junkie -- in fact, until my freshman year of college, I was fundamentally opposed to sweating. But after a few too many baguettes and croissants, I am more than motivated to pull on my brand new sneakers, which I had imported from America in my boyfriend's carry on--running shoes for women (or actually running) don't seem to exist in Paris. Anyway, I've found that going for runs in my neighborhood is way less painful than in America, which is actually kind of surprising. My neighborhood is really not very exciting: it's completely residential, and it's hard even to find a grocery store that is open after 8 p.m. I think the most exciting thing I've seen on my street is a plaque that the President of the Republic in the '40s lived in one of the buildings. But one of the things I've learned about myself living in Paris is that I'm not very good of letting go of my maps; even on days that I set aside to just wander, I always kind of need to know where I am. Even when I went to the Louvre for the first time, I felt like my eyes were constantly flicking towards my floorplan to make sure I was heading towards the Flemish painters (which I never actually got to see) and missed entire rooms of Poussins (whatever, Poussin). When I go running (or at least the grand 4 times I've been running), I'm forced to go mapless, and even though I know basically where I am--one song past the park, one song closer to school than home -- it's easy to accidentally turn down a really long or short street, a dead end or one that suddenly pops out right next to my building. It's kind of freeing -- and scary -- to not know where I am, even if I am just a few blocks from home.

In other news, I've developed a new annoyance, which may not come as a surprise: the uncouth museum-goer. I'm not even talking about the superficial glances and tacky photos people take of the Mona Lisa. I'm talking about the just post-middle-aged lady who got a little too friendly with the Degas at the D'Orsay on Tuesday. You know how there's usually a space between the painting and the viewer, that sometimes its OK to cross (sometimes you really need to see something close!) as long as you aren't blocking anyone else...? Well it seems like people usually respect this (sacred!!) tradition of not walking completely in front of someone who was looking at the painting first, and not only did this woman park right in front of me (and other people!) more than once, she was carrying one of those fold-up lawn chairs you'd take to a kid's soccer game and, after walking in front of like 10 people (like, as close to the works as you can get without touching them), she'd just unfold and...sit. For probably not even one minute before she packed up. Even coming from someone who is a total proponent of close-looking, this was excessive. But really, not even she could really ruin such a wonderful exhibition. Degas wins again.

It's been awhile!

A quick post to recap the last two poorly documented weeks, I'll stick to my favorites:

-Today, a senior citizen sat next to me on the metro, and we were wearing the SAME identical skirt! Definitely a vintage win (or maybe I should rethink my wardrobe...at least she wasn't wearing a shirt with Karl Lagerfeld's face on it like I was).

-Saturday, Eric and I got some great cheese and bread (our favorite was fig bread with a little bit of rhubarb confiture and gruyere, but I really liked the cheese covered in herbs too!) and had a picnic in the Tuileries Gardens, which have DANDELIONS and PANSIES now! Also, we waited in a long line of very aggressive French hipsters (two of whom were marginally famous bloggers that I stalk follow regularly) for the Colette birthday Carnival extravaganza, where we hung out trying to hand-toss our way to as much free chocolate and t-shirts as we could. It was weird but really fun!

-Also, on the first sunny day in what feels like months, drinking a bottle of 3euro wine in the Luxembourg Gardens was pretty amazing.

-I got chastised by a monk and chased down the street by a waiter, all in one day! OK, here's what really happened: The whole week was cold and rainy, and after a crepe (or three...) Eric and I walked to Notre Dame, and I got soaked! I was really excited to get back on the train to get home, and started crossing the street even though the red "Don't walk!" man was still lit, and a monk yelled "Attention!" and stuck his arm out at me. But that still counts...The other thing was just that I left my umbrella in the restaurant, but the waiter definitely did chase me halfway down the street to return it!

-The best thing about Belgium, besides of course the beautiful canals and picturesque medieval whatnot, was by far the waffles. I really want to learn how to make them--they are unlike anything I've ever had before, flaky but not like a pastry, sweet but not syrupy. It's so strange how even though it was only an hour and a half away (on the slow train with a transfer, no less), that waffle thing hasn't made the jump over here. The frites were ok in Belgium, but I haven't found anything that surpasses Pommes Frites in New York...yet.

I was feeling guilty for not writing, so now that that's done, I can keep up with my normal pace! Today, I went to the Centre Pompidou (I feel like I'm there every week, and I am definitively OK with that) to see the new Matisse exhibition as well as 2 others that are up now that I hadn't seen yet. The Matisse show was amazing! They showed pairs of his paintings that he was working on at the same time, and it's really incredible to see how absolutely different they are.Then I walked to the Seine and read my book in the sunshine and it was lovely--hard to focus though! I've been asked a lot lately what I like most, or what I'll miss most about Paris (especially since my time here is halfway over!) and it might seem superficial, but I really think it's just how beautiful everything is. Everything is just so deliberate and lovely, and with this sunshine and the whole dandelion/tulip budding thing happening, I have a good feeling about the rest of the spring!