Day Seven & Eight

We woke up early and went across the street from our hotel to the loveliest little market.  The market in Calais opens twice weekly and all of the lovely Calais people do their shopping there.  Which means that those lucky chums get to eat fresh produce, fresh and delicious cheeses and meats, and being a shore town, of course they have fish of every variety.  We didn’t get breakfast that morning and opted to buy a variety of goods at the local market.  We got more pastries of course, a raisin and cream bun that was oh so delicious, and a strawberry tart.  The tarts here vary depending on the patisserie, some of the crusts taste more like a sugar cookie and other crusts taste more like a ghram cracker crust.  In any case, the tarts have a crust that is like an individual pie shell, and then they are filled with a cheese custard filling and topped with fresh fruit preserved in a lovely sauce.  I have yet to figure out what is in that sauce, but it is divine and it is in all the pastries that have fresh fruit.  It preserves them perfectly for a day or so, and doesn’t have a strong flavor which would distract from the fruit itself.  The best I can describe it is like a clear sugar gelatin that is a little on the thin side.

Anyway, we ate that and bought some other special things for some other special people we know… Then we got some great produce to snack on the train.  Having really eaten no veggies recently my body is crying out for them.  So we got peas, a very strange looking tomato, some DELICEOUS radishes which are long, (more carrot shaped) small, soft, and somewhat spongey, and have a much softer flavor than the round radishes.  They were perfect to snack on and we ate most of them on the train as well as four blood oranges and the rest of our market finds.  J  We then got our train to Paris and rode there.  The countryside is very similar to England but much more open and sunnier.  It is still very green and this is where I’ve found the rolling green hills I was telling you about.  Pulling into Paris Nord I was NERVOUS, first of all, this place had WAY more graffiti than London, and the people were no longer the conservatively dressed, assertive Londoners.  But getting off the train I Immediately recognized the difference.  Parisians don’t hurry anywhere.  In London I always felt like I was in people’s road.  Here you still can be, but people are much more laid back.  The pace is much slower.  So getting through the train station was much less scary.  What was more scary however was not knowing the language.  And people don’t know a ton of English here.  Most ticket people or retail people know enough to help you, but it is a little nerve wracking.  Paris also smells gross.  For some reason, many people here (and there are MANY) have not heard of or do not believe in deodorant.  BELIEVE ME PEOPLE:  YOU ALL NEED IT.  You may think you don’t or think you are being healthy or whatever, but you are a gross festering mass of foul stench.  SICK!  Paris is also more multicultural than even London.  I’ve seen every nationality here, and people dress to express.  As for the porn advertising, I can tell you now it is a myth.  Some very conservative people may be terrified of a woman’s bare back, but those are the same people who think that women shouldn’t wear shoulder bags at BYU.  It is in no way pornographic.  I’ve only seen a few advertisements that are “risqué” and even then they aren’t sexually suggestive, just more skin than would be shown in the US. 

Getting to our hotel was a struggle through the rail system.  I hope every town doesn’t have a learning curve, but it probably will.  We got there safe though and it is a nice room, though unfortunately in spite of it being a nice hotel, you have to pay for internet.  I’m not paying 100 Euro a week for internet, so Jennifer and I are going to buy an hour or a day and then send you one email this week.  I hope I have good internet access at the next place, but expect the internet to be spotty in Italy, which is where we are headed next. 

Day 7

Today was a great day, though tired and stressful.  Jennifer ate something bad so she was throwing up in the night.  I have no clue what made her sick but am glad I didn’t eat it.  I’m praying it wasn’t the flu or anything.  We hung out this morning until her stomach calmed down and she could take some medicine.  Then we walked to the train station and went to La Musee du Luvre.  We were going to go to church today but our eurorail passes can’t be activated until next week or we’ll have to pay through the nose to get out of Belgum.  The only two branches in Paris are on the other side of the city in zone 4 and our cheap day tickets were only good for zone one.  Anyway we went to the Luvre and it was an amazing experience.  We estimate walking around seven miles just inside the Luvre.  Our legs are KILLING US. J We’ll be sleeping sound for sure.  Anyway, I saw the most amazing stuff today and pictures can’t even touch it.  I hope they can though.  I saw Michaelangelo’s slave sculptures, I saw ancient Greek statues, Phrudon, Rembrandt, Halz, Van Eyke, and so many more.  My mind is still reeling with all of the art I saw.  The Luvre is enormous but even so we might only go back for another day.  I had planned three days but there is so much of the Luvre which is more old and historic art.  It is good for history but I don’t want to study it for hours.  Tomorrow we’ll go to La Musee de D’Orsay which has Bouguereau, etc.  More technically skilled works which I like.  I did get to see some greatly skilled works though.  I saw the Gericault room, Ingres, David, etc.  I also saw many new artists that I haven’t heard before.  I am very excited to look them up and see more of their works.  I loved seeing their brushwork, etc.  There is just so much that I can’t remember without looking at my pictures.  I want to see more of it but think La muse d’orsey is probably the better bet though, as I saw a huge amount of more historic art.  Don’t get me wrong, gothic art is fascinating and wonderful but not as much my favorite as far as learning from it technically.  I do feel like I had a very spiritual experience today though, one swing through the Luvre and you get a history of art depicting Christ clear through the 18^th century.  All 19^th and 20^th century works go to La Muse D’Orsey.

We came back to the hotel and re-grouped, then came down the street to a Laundromat and are now doing our “lavage”.  I SO wish I had the internet and could keep you all informed, but I would rather pay for souvenirs for all of you than a few hours of internet. So don't expect an update for a few says but I'll still journal and you can get a ton of updates all at once.  


Love you all.