Omaha Beach

For me, the most meaningful part of our trip to Normandy was visiting the American Cemetery and Omaha Beach. I have been to military cemeteries before, but I think the one in Normandy is more impressive because the cemetery is where the actual battle took place and where the men actually died. The way the American Cemetery is set up is that you go inside the cemetery and then from the cemetery, you can walk down stairs to go right onto Omaha Beach. I walked down to the beach and it was very eerie. The beach is beautiful, like the entire Normandy region, but it was somewhat surreal to be walking in the exact place where thousands of people died. There weren't that many people at the cemetery, which also made the experience more personal. There are also British, Canadian and German cemeteries around the area. So, the picture on the right is the American Cemetery and the picture on the left is Omaha Beach. Just as a reminder, I have many more pictures on my Photobucket account. They can be viewed here: http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc149/mdherod/

Click on that link and then you can pick the album you want to see.

Le Havre

For the first study trip, our class went to Normandy. I originally thought Normandy was a city, but no, it is a region. This is confusing in France. For example, there is the Bordeaux region, but the only city in Bordeaux IS Bordeaux. In the Normandy region, there is no city called Normandy. We visited Le Havre, Bayeaux, and Caen in the Normandy region. The first one we went to was Le Havre. Currently Le Havre is a very industrial city, but it hasn't always been. In fact, it was the site of a major battle in World War II and was bombed over 130 times during World War II. But, the only advantage to being bombed over 130 times, is that the entire city gets to be built from scratch. Architects were brough in and Le Havre is now also a famous architectural site. There were some famous people who lived in Le Havre, such as Sartre, but the town is not that big and right on the beach. It's very nice. There wasn't a lot to see, per se, but there is a lot of history in the town.

La Madeleine

My all-time favorite church in Paris is La Madeleine, hands down. I don't know why. It's not that different than the other churches here in the city. It's not prettier or bigger or older. I just like it a lot. It's in the 8th arrondissement which is a nice area. I wouldn't say it's a fancy area, just a very nice area. When you walk out the front of La Madeleine you have an outstanding view of Place Concorde and the French National Assembly. One thing that I really like about Paris is the architecture. I'm taking an architecture class while I'm here in Paris and I really enjoy it. We learn both the architecture and the history of the city of Paris, in order to put the architecture into perspective. The teacher is Swedish but has lived in Paris for 15 years. As a side note, our most recent class trip in the architecture class was to the Crypt at Notre Dame. The Crypt is really interesting. In the 1960s, the city of Paris was going to build underground parking in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. When they started to dig, they found enormous archealogical finds. Now they have a small museum with the remains still in place. What I mean is that they kept the remains where they are and built the museum around them. It's really, really cool. These remains range from the 4th century after Christ until the 19th century after Haussmann re-constructed France. Haussmann is the architect that came into Paris and demolished areas in order to widen the streets and rebuilt houses to look like they do today. So the facade that is typical of Paris, the very 19th century look with buildings only about 5 floors high can be credited to Haussman. The pictures in this post are: upper left: view to Place Concorde and National Assembly, lower right: inside La Madeleine, lower left: Notre Dame.

I *think* I'm in Paris...

In case I forget that I'm in Paris, I can always go to the Trocadero métro stop and get this view:

A Da Vinci Code Theme

In my last post I talked about how Place Vendôme was filmed for the movie The Da Vinci Code. I also visited another place cited in the same movie, but not filmed. Where am I talking about? Why, St. Sulpice, of course! St. Sulpice is a notorious church for followers of Dan Brown's novels. * Warning: Time to put on your Tin Foil Hat * According to Dan Brown's theory, St. Sulpice is a cover up for the Catholic Church and that in reality it was/is a building used by the Priory of Sion. He cites such examples as the large Ps in the stained glass. However, I have to admit, upon entering St. Sulpice, I found it to be one of the most peaceful churches I've ever entered. It was stunningly beautiful and the stained glass was gorgeous. There were not a lot of people there and during the time I visited, Mass began. Obviously I'm not an expert on religious history, but I have to agree with the Church when I say that I do believe that the Ps in the stained glass are for Peter, one of the patron saints of the church, and that the Priory of Sion is a ridiculous idea. Nonetheless, Dan Brown is a very gifted author. I was surprised more people weren't at St. Sulpice. Everyone flocks to Notre Dame, which is an outstanding church, but St. Sulpice is the second largest church in Paris, after Notre Dame, so that's why I was surprised. The high vaulted ceilings made me feel like a tiny person. There is also a huge pipe organ in the church and I'd really like to hear it. If there is a concert at St. Sulpice, I will go back. I felt like it was one of those places in Paris which is simple overlooked. Normally, I like those places the best.

Place Vendôme

With so much to do in Paris, I haven't had much time to update this blog. So I'll star from about a week ago and update with what I've done. The first thing to talk about is Place Vendôme. The thing is that Place Vendôme is not a touristy place. In fact, there's not a lot to do there...except if you're rich. Place Vendôme is home to the Ritz, Chanel, Dior and various high end boutiques. It also happens to be the last area Princess Diana was in before she died and was also filmed in the movie The Da Vinci Code. Compared to other areas of Paris, it's more or less deserted, probably because most people can't afford to shop or stay there and that's the only things to do there. However, I wanted to see Place Vendôme because it is famous among Parisians. It's a status symbol in Paris to say you live, work or shop in Place Vendôme. So, I went with my friend, Christine, and we walked around for a few minutes then went to the next metro stop, Châtelet, where we could actually afford to buy things. As a sidenote, Châtelet is the largest subway station in the world. So, without further ado, the picture on the right is of Place Vendôme and on the left is the entrance to the Ritz, which I highly recommend if you have 900 euros and don't know what to do with it.

The Apartment

I've been living with my host family for 9 days. It feels like I have been here in Paris a lot longer. At the same time, I am still adjusting quite a bit. It's the little things that really are the hardest to adjust to, like not having the pencils that I normally use, while the bigger things, like using the Métro, are much easier to get adjusted to. That might sound odd, but I've found that to be true no matter where I go, weather it is Paris or Monterey. But I digress. I've been living at 16 rue Denoyez for 9 days and I really enjoy my host family a lot. The man, Jean-Charles, is very friendly and helpful. He speaks better English than Anne, my "host-mom". For those that don't know, one of my goals in coming to Paris was to meet an Algerian. Well, I am living with one! Anne is Algerian and actually lived in Algeria during the Algerian War of Independence. Alot of Westerners don't know much about this war, but it is very significant and it's eerily similar to the current situation in Iraq. I highly suggest reading the Wikipedia article on it, if you're not familiar with the war: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_War -- My classes started this week. I am taking French Civilization, Architecture in Paris, Impressionism and Symbolism and the Cultural Formations class which is about the relationship between France and America before, during and after both World Wars. It's a very interesting class, and we take lots of day trips and weekend trips together as a class.. We are travelling to Normandy this upcoming weekend as a field trip.
* The pictures are the apartment I'm living in. *

50%

So today was my first free day since I've arrived in France. I arrived last Monday and we have had orientation everyday and we finally finished yesterday. I was really excited about today but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I knew in the afternoon I wanted to go to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. For one my classes, there is a really big research paper involved and so I thought I would go and find the American Library in Paris. I mapped out how to get there and everything but when I got on Line 1, the stop that I was supposed to get off on wasn't there, so obviously I didn't map it out correctly. But, I didn't really care what I did today, so I got off at the George V stop and walked down the Champs-Elysee. I went inside FNAC, the French version of Best Buy, and was amused to see both Grey's Anatomy and Arrested Development for 19,99 euros. Then, I went back to the apartment for lunch. At lunch, Jean-Charles told me about an outdoor market going on at a street near the Voltaire metro station. I decided to go. I got off the metro stop and couldn't find the market anywhere. I walked in all directions until I reached the next subway stop in that respective direction and looked all around and found nothing. I gave up and decided to go to Pere Lachaise cemetery because 1) I knew where it was and 2) It's very close to my apartment. Why would I want to go to a cemetery? Jim Morrison is buried there, along with a handful of other famous Americans, Oscar Wilde, quite a few famous French people and about 300,000 other average people. It's the largest cemetery in Paris and actually very pretty and peaceful. I got the pictures that my Dad wanted (that was his one request, that I get him pictures of Jim Morrison's grave). I recently got back to the apartment and realized that even if I only achieved 50% of what I set out to do (go to the American Library in Paris and Pere Lachaise) that I still had a really good day.

*The pictures in this post are the entrance to Pere Lachaise, pictures of Jim Morrison's grave, and a picture of what the cemetery looks like.*

16 rue Denoyez

Bonjour from Paris! I have moved into my apartment and am getting settled into living in Paris. First, I will give the basics. I live with Anne and Jean-Charles Guillien in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Anne and Jean-Charles have two children, neither of which live at home. They live in a moderate size apartment with a living room, piano room, kitchen, toilette, study, my room and their room. Anne works for the government and works with the department that deals with unemployment in France. Jean-Charles is an artist and he is also a teacher in Versailles. They are both very nice and pleasant people. They speak very limited English, so we speak French most of the time. This is good because it is exactly what I wanted. I live in the 20th arrondissement, as I said before, in an area called Belleville. It has a large immigrant population, mostly Jews, North Africans and Chinese people. I've been having a great time here so far. The only negative thing I can say is that I arrived in France on Monday and things have been going non-stop since then. I'd love to have a day to rest and wander around my neighborhood. I should be able to do this on Sunday. On this post are pictures of my room and bathroom. Don't worry, I will post more pictures in the following days. I hope everyone reading this blog in the States is doing well. Enjoy the pictures!

Laon, France

Before I start, let me say that I am keeping my word...I am writing this post from my apartment in Paris, but I am saving that for a later post. This post is about Laon, France. Laon is a town somewhat close to Compiegne. Laon is a medieval city. In fact, it still has a wall around it. Laon has a beautiful church and just a really cool atmosphere. There is a part of Laon that is not enclosed by the wall anymore, but 6,000 residents live within the old, walled city. Walking into the walled city is like walking back in time. The streets were all cobblestone and the houses were so quaint and medieval looking. The huge cathedral was old and we were able to walk up to the very top of one of the towers The view was beautiful. Of course, Europe is much older than America, but it seems that people appreciate the history of buildings more in Europe than they do in the States. Because of this, the buildings are all very well preserved. Although, it might be that when America is as old as Europe is, it's buildings will also be well preserved. Probably the coolest thing was climbing to the top of the tower. The picture to the left shows the view from the top. The picture on the right shows the tower of the church that we walked up. We probably had to walk about 200 stairs and the stairway kept getting narrower and narrower. It was really cool. Also, this city has the only automotic operated cable cars in the world. The cable cars connect the old city (walled city) to the newer city below. And for those reading this blog saying: That's not right, San Francisco has the most cable cars...Yes, but they are manually operated and these are automatically operated. The drive to and from Laon was very pretty. I haven't seen an ugly part of France yet.

Compiegne, France

As promised, this post is being written in France. Compiegne, France to be exact. The last few days have been very hectic, but I will try to make a long story short. I was on the group flight on United Airlines that was schedule to go from Dallas to Chicago then on to France. However, at the last minute, our flight to Chicago was cancelled so the four of us on the group flight got transferred to Delta. We flew from Dallas to Cincinatti then on to Paris. It turned out to be fine. We arrived in Paris on Monday at 9:45 am only to find that I could send and receive text messages but I could not make calls on my phone. After all day yesterday and halfway through today, Dad finally was able to tell me how to make the calls...AT&T had messed up so it was their fault. What else have I been doing? Well, our orienation is being held in the imperial city of Compiegne, France. It is a nice little town on the Oise River. If you're interested in knowing more, click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compi%C3%A8gne

The picture to the right shows where Joan of Arc was arrested by the British. The picture on the left is the Town Hall in Compiegne. It was very beautiful and was so well kept with lots of colorful flowers out front. The picture on the bottom right is the castle in Pierrefond. It was an older castle, and actually is called a fortress, because it is not a leisure castle like those in the Loire Valley.

We've been very busy. In the morning, we have French language class and in the afternoon we take tours around Compiegne. We return to Paris on Thursday and that is when we meet our host families. Hopefully my next post will be from my new home in Paris!

Would you like to travel?

Before I went to Paris for the first time, my Dad bought me a 1 gig photo card for my camera. At the time, he got it for a great deal and we thought that it would be enough for my trip. What an understatement! It is the *only* photo card I have used in my digital camera. On this one card I have pictures from all the trips I've been on since I've been in college, more or less. I've spent the past day going through the best pictures and putting them into folders so everyone can view them.

So all you have to do is decide where you would like to go!

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Paris so my next blog will be from across the Big Pond!

All the above pictures and more can be viewed on my Photobucket: http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc149/mdherod/

On my Photobucket there are pictures from New York City, Washington DC, Boston, Northern California, San Francisco, London and soon there will be pictures from Paris!

Stay tuned!