You know, sometimes as I type those subjects (especially the clichés) I realise that I will probably end up reusing the title someday. Kinda disappointing, eh? To be so unoriginal...
Anywho, we got Ash's Japan Rail Pass sorted out and dropped off all their bags in a locker for the time being and set off to wander the station. As her mum sought out the post office, we wandered through some shops; rejoining her mum, we found some small, cute, cheap gifts for some of our friends back home, and there was much rejoicing.
Now, as this post has just started, you have no real sense of the hour, but let me assure you that, by this time, we were quite hungry. Our search began in the vicinity and took quite a meandering route, though perhaps for the best as we found an Italian restaurant. In Sapporo, Japan. I believe "Italian" food is reasonably popular in Japan, but I've got to say that the experience of eating that food must be akin to the Japanese eating "Chinese" food in the US--they've had something notably different called exactly the same thing...
After lunch it was time to head to the tracks, so we headed toward their train after picking up some snackish pastries from a patisserie of sorts. I won't bore you all with the details, but I will say that I was quite sad to see them go: I've had a lovely time with Ashley here and started missing her the moment she walked away from me.
I lingered for a bit, spying on them as they walked off down the hall, but as the crowd hid them from view I decided it time to move on into the city. Glancing at a map just long enough to have a general idea of a few sites worth seeing and how to get to at least one of them without getting horribly lost, I strode past the somewhat odd white statue at the end of the hall and past the necessarily attractive exterior of the station on my quest.
I always thought the idea of giant TVs on the side of buildings was a little strange, and never had I imagined that they would actually have sound, but immediately out of the station this was the first site to behold. Alright, not so much of a "site" as an obnoxious form of street advertising, but it was something different anyway. (Is this how those TV/sign things in New York are, too? ::has never been to NYC:: )
An older man walking in front of me dropped some piece of paper that I picked up and returned to him with a smile. There was a clear lack of foreigners in the streets, which I suppose shouldn't be surprising, but having stayed in Australia Town (the Kutchan-Hirafu-Niseko area) for the past few weeks, their absence stood out. Ran across a sign that indicated a somewhat more interesting site to see than the old Hokkaido Government Building: the old Hokkaido College of Agriculture (Agricultural University? some other title?) drill hall / clock tower thing.
For about two bucks they let you into the building to wander the...lovely museum inside. The museum is on a par with similarly priced venues (about 2 USD for entry) insofar as there isn't too much that's terribly exciting in there. Perhaps my lack of Japanese fluency colors my opinion, but the highlights of the visit were: paint chips analysed to show you the past colors of the building; a segment of road representative of...something; a small model of the old campus; a fully visible example (model?) of the inner workings of the bell-tower's clock; and the gift shop.
This is the bit where I get to give you invaluable marketing advice. Are you ready for it? This is pretty big... If you ever have something that's a tough sell, people just aren't that interested in it, make a chibi-fied character that represents it, and business will improve. This, by the way, is exemplified by the Clock Tower's Tokke and the Terebi Tower's Terebi-Tousan (though he's apparently an unofficial mascot). [As an aside, the Tokke charm in the picture costs about 4 USD in the gift shop O.o]
At Terebi Tower (actually called the Sapporo TV tower, or some similarly boring name), I grabbed a melon-vanilla swirl ice cream cone before setting off to wander Odori Kouen. Unfortunately, I'm easily sidetracked by the sound of music playing and wandered off down another street. In so doing I stumbled across some sort of street festival involving children's games (activities?) and music. I even managed to get a picture of some random Japanese band playing music (maybe the closest I come to a pet Japanese boy as a gift for my sister?).
They finished their set shortly after my arrival, but I was not discouraged--ever the optimistic traveller, I headed back to Odori Park. Somewhat aimlessly I wandered the length of the park, stumbling upon the Sapporo Beer Festival in the process. As 'twas the middle of the afternoon and I hadn't much time, though, I did not partake.
Speaking of not having a lot of time, I shortly thereafter headed back toward the station at a diagonal (well, as diagonal as you can get walking city blocks) and managed to pass via ye olde gov't building and snap some photos on the way. [I should be posting some Japan photos soon, and you might even get all of them as I've not been quite so prolific in my photography this trip.] Made it to the station and bought my ticket (from an automated machine that I figured out in Japanese! ...and then verified in English), and I was on my way back to Kutchan.
Once here (about six in the evening at this point), I set about the wonderful task of walking back to Bouken Kazoku. Oh...did I forget to mention? I left my bike there and got a ride with Ash and her mum to Kutchan Eki (eki = station; learn some Japanese already!). I could've waited for the Niseko bus at 19 18, but I don't like standing around for hours and wanted to have a good wander anyway, so I took in as much of Kutchan as I could on my way back, even stopping in the "100 yen CD store" (as Ashley affectionately calls it) and, of course, MaxValu (where I bought an orange ice thing to keep my mind off the fact that I was walking so bloody far).
Anyway, an hour's walk after arriving back in Niseko (though an hour and twenty-six minutes time-wise, what with the stops and all), I arrived at Bouken just as that Niseko bus that I decided not to take passed me by. Apparently that walk only takes about 8 minutes by bus u.u
A brief "hello, good evening, how are you?, no, I haven't eaten" with Otousan later, my bike rolled out of the parking lot and back up hill, complete with Ash's bag of cra--stuff she so kindly left for me to bring back to the States for her (that I nearly forgot but didn't thanks to Sylph-san...or was it Kaka-san...?).
That's the story of my jaunt in Sapporo...
Work Resumes
Yeah, I seem to be getting lazy with the multilingualism in this journal--maybe if it weren't so pesky to click the language bar to switch input styles I'd do more of it. [I'm pretty sure that excuse is entirely invalid, because there's some keystroke that'll switch them right away, but I'm too lazy to figure out what that is. Go figure.]
The past three days have been alright, never working too hard (you know me ^.~), and even afforded me the time to compile some lists and bios and stuff to share with you guys this week--stuff about tasks I've done at SAS, the Nepali guys and other staff I've been hanging out with, and so forth.
Past...Present...Future?
So now that I'm reformed, I've started... PLANNING! Yup, planning. I know. Let me repeat that again, more explicitly: Dave has been (relatively) organised and planning ahead!
What the heck am I talking about? Isn't this all just crazy talk? Well, no, not entirely. If you'll recall, creating this summer experience in the first place did require it's fair share of planning and legwork on campus last year. I've decided to get a Japan Rail Pass myself and worked out the details so that I can go to Akan National Park (at the very least I've got to see the Ainu Museum and some marimo) and travel to a few other must-see parts of Japan. I've also discovered that hitchhiking is relatively safe and easy in Japan (by web research, not experience), that I may actually be able to visit North Korea sometime in the future, and that there is a WWOOF program in China now.
Also of note, I intend to climb a mountain tomorrow.
...
...
...
(How's that for a cliffhanger?)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
And Then There Was One
Yesterday morning I was up at sparrow (read: 7am) to head over to Bouken Kazoku to meet Ashley and her mum. I made it there by about 8 30 and we were off to Sapporo by 9 40 (having arrived at the Kutchan station by 9). Yeah, that's right: Ashley left me yesterday u.u
I'm actually going to miss having an excuse to chat with her hosts, as they seem like they'd've been just about perfect for this experience: more farming, more Japanese, more culture, more familial bonding. Alas, 'twas not to be and shall not be in my remaining week here. I could theoretically head down there for the next ten days as a WWOOFer and try to get as much from the experience as possible, but I feel like that arrangement would be somewhat difficult, awkward, or otherwise odd. I've got a good deal of reading and writing to do for my studies, anyway, in order to earn my Ecology credit for these travels.
Anyway, the train to Sapporo was pleasant, and I got to see the Sea, unlike on the original trip to Kutchan. Once we got to Sapporo we got Ash's Japan Rail Pass sorted out and moved on to -- crap, I was sidetracked by planning for the rest of my trip; now I'm going to bed late, too. Still, I'll post this for now and update it (or post anew) tomorrow.
Sorry about that...
I'm actually going to miss having an excuse to chat with her hosts, as they seem like they'd've been just about perfect for this experience: more farming, more Japanese, more culture, more familial bonding. Alas, 'twas not to be and shall not be in my remaining week here. I could theoretically head down there for the next ten days as a WWOOFer and try to get as much from the experience as possible, but I feel like that arrangement would be somewhat difficult, awkward, or otherwise odd. I've got a good deal of reading and writing to do for my studies, anyway, in order to earn my Ecology credit for these travels.
Anyway, the train to Sapporo was pleasant, and I got to see the Sea, unlike on the original trip to Kutchan. Once we got to Sapporo we got Ash's Japan Rail Pass sorted out and moved on to -- crap, I was sidetracked by planning for the rest of my trip; now I'm going to bed late, too. Still, I'll post this for now and update it (or post anew) tomorrow.
Sorry about that...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
So yesterday I left out something of a mildly important nature: Tej said that I could stay longer if I wanted to. Basically, while I should probably try to go somewhere else for a couple of weeks, there's not any overwhelming pressure to do so ^^
This morning I spent most of my time sorting out one of the tents for customer reception. This involved a great deal of carpet-hauling, vacuuming, and so forth, but only took about 2 hours (I think?). I'm not actually sure what else I did this morning, so it may've been the whole time ::shrug::
About 11 45 I took my lunch break and didn't have to work again until 2. I'd gone back at about 1, but Sanjay told me to come back later and help Binod. We went out and bought some stuff at Homac, which is kinda like a Home Depot or Bricomarché, and stopped for a few minutes for me to say hi to Ashley on our way back to SAS. After installing the "carpet" we'd bought (plastic grass stuff as a door mat?), we made a prototype awning for the tents and tried it out.
I realise this is all incredibly boring, but at least I'm writing again ^^
I've even started taking photos, so I might get some up sometime soon.
Also, please comment with your thoughts as to whether I should stay here or go elsewhere.
^^
This morning I spent most of my time sorting out one of the tents for customer reception. This involved a great deal of carpet-hauling, vacuuming, and so forth, but only took about 2 hours (I think?). I'm not actually sure what else I did this morning, so it may've been the whole time ::shrug::
About 11 45 I took my lunch break and didn't have to work again until 2. I'd gone back at about 1, but Sanjay told me to come back later and help Binod. We went out and bought some stuff at Homac, which is kinda like a Home Depot or Bricomarché, and stopped for a few minutes for me to say hi to Ashley on our way back to SAS. After installing the "carpet" we'd bought (plastic grass stuff as a door mat?), we made a prototype awning for the tents and tried it out.
I realise this is all incredibly boring, but at least I'm writing again ^^
I've even started taking photos, so I might get some up sometime soon.
Also, please comment with your thoughts as to whether I should stay here or go elsewhere.
^^
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Success!
Managed to get myself out of bed on-time-ish this morning and will hopefully do so again tomorrow. We rode over to a small lot behind NAC & JoJo's (another rafting, etc, company and a cafe/bar/restaurant respectively) with a trailer and loaded up a bunch of logs to add to the wood-chopping. [I'm assuming, given the few times I've posted in Japan, that I haven't said too much about chopping wood.]
When there's not too much to do at SAS, the Nepali guys head over to another SAS property, the Forest Star Lodge, and cut and stack firewood for the coming winter. So far I've managed to hurt myself a few times: this morning I tripped and cut myself up a bit, and one of the previous times I chopped a piece of wood and, in pulling the axe out of the as-yet unfinished cut, got my finger pinched inbetween the two pieces of wood. Pinched doesn't quite describe the moment well enough, though--the grip was vicelike and it was a few moments (minutes to my perception?) until the others were able to spread the gap enough for me to get my finger out. The first day we went to cut wood, I didn't cut any at all, but we did move wood to the space upstairs by chucking it up to the balcony (where I was balanced on top of the stack to receive the wood).
Anyway, we got back to the office at about eleven and they sent me off to lunch. I had ramen and a mini pizza and some Diet Pepsi. Clearly I've picked up a lot of Japanese culture.
I got back at about 12 30, but we didn't have much to do until after one, at which point I helped with some de-/construction and cleaning until the end of the day.
Well...I've finally managed to post about my most recent day; yesterday I made some notes on previous days, so I guess the next update might be on time and include a bit more of life here in Niseko.
When there's not too much to do at SAS, the Nepali guys head over to another SAS property, the Forest Star Lodge, and cut and stack firewood for the coming winter. So far I've managed to hurt myself a few times: this morning I tripped and cut myself up a bit, and one of the previous times I chopped a piece of wood and, in pulling the axe out of the as-yet unfinished cut, got my finger pinched inbetween the two pieces of wood. Pinched doesn't quite describe the moment well enough, though--the grip was vicelike and it was a few moments (minutes to my perception?) until the others were able to spread the gap enough for me to get my finger out. The first day we went to cut wood, I didn't cut any at all, but we did move wood to the space upstairs by chucking it up to the balcony (where I was balanced on top of the stack to receive the wood).
Anyway, we got back to the office at about eleven and they sent me off to lunch. I had ramen and a mini pizza and some Diet Pepsi. Clearly I've picked up a lot of Japanese culture.
I got back at about 12 30, but we didn't have much to do until after one, at which point I helped with some de-/construction and cleaning until the end of the day.
Well...I've finally managed to post about my most recent day; yesterday I made some notes on previous days, so I guess the next update might be on time and include a bit more of life here in Niseko.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Good Reasons for Delays, I Assure You!
じゃあ、今日本練習ですよ。 授業から、たくさん忘れましたね。 だから、今日日記は日本語で書きます。
アシリーと自転車して、ご飯を食べたので、昨日は本当によかった。
今日あまりしなかった。七時十五分に遅れて、起きた。でも、八十二SASについた。今朝靴をより分けて、着替える部屋で写真をはった。昼ご飯はハムサンドを食べて、ペプシ･ダイエトを飲んだ。
Well, there should've been a lot more than that, but I spent most of my time studying otherwise this evening. I also did some laundry. Short version of today is that I don't feel like I did all that much.
Short version of yesterday is that it was amazing <3
(PS - I meant to click publish last night)
アシリーと自転車して、ご飯を食べたので、昨日は本当によかった。
今日あまりしなかった。七時十五分に遅れて、起きた。でも、八十二SASについた。今朝靴をより分けて、着替える部屋で写真をはった。昼ご飯はハムサンドを食べて、ペプシ･ダイエトを飲んだ。
Well, there should've been a lot more than that, but I spent most of my time studying otherwise this evening. I also did some laundry. Short version of today is that I don't feel like I did all that much.
Short version of yesterday is that it was amazing <3
(PS - I meant to click publish last night)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Brief Interruption
Observe!
/shameless plug
(I'm tired and going to bed early, but I did start writing a post earlier, so you'll have a real entry within about 12 hours.)
/shameless plug
(I'm tired and going to bed early, but I did start writing a post earlier, so you'll have a real entry within about 12 hours.)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
First Impressions are Important
But first impressions are also just a starting point. I hope.
Met Tej Rana, my (Nepalese?) manager who seemed rather disappointed with my Japanese skills. Right now there's not a lot of work to do around here, so I was supposed to be an assistant guide for their "fun kayak", which seems to be a guided kayaking gig geared toward (high school?) students. Unfortunately, in order to deal with customers, my Japanese has to get a helluvalot better...maybe in a week I'll be able to do cool things like that? I hope so. I just know that I've got to keep these notes short and try not to use too much English--the more Japanese I study, the better my experience here. If we're happy with my performance at the end of my stay, I can stay on, though I'll have to live in an attic-space. Also, if my Japanese were better and I had a month, I could've trained to be a rafting guide! How awesome would that have been!? I'll have to try to make it back to SAS sometime in the future...
Anyway, this morning I went in and they scanned my passport and WWOOF card and all that jazz and set me up to start work. I helped them move a bunch of mountain bikes and then move carpet (to recarpet one of the rooms here) and folded a bunch of plastic seat covers for the bus. After that we had a bit of a lunch break. About one I walked back from Australia House (where I'm staying) to the SAS office to meet Tej. Our meeting involved the lovely discussion mentioned above, but I generally have a pretty good feeling about this place. The afternoon had me vacuuming for a couple of hours and--horror of horrors--cleaning their bathrooms!
I don't know if I mentioned it, but they had me clean the bathroom once in France, and thereafter never again. Apparently, I have no bathroom-cleaning skills. Still, they seemed okay with my job there, though the place wasn't very dirty to begin with.
I'm going to try to go to dinner with Ashley tonight, so I'll cut this short for now. Maybe another update this evening with the France finale included?
Later!
Met Tej Rana, my (Nepalese?) manager who seemed rather disappointed with my Japanese skills. Right now there's not a lot of work to do around here, so I was supposed to be an assistant guide for their "fun kayak", which seems to be a guided kayaking gig geared toward (high school?) students. Unfortunately, in order to deal with customers, my Japanese has to get a helluvalot better...maybe in a week I'll be able to do cool things like that? I hope so. I just know that I've got to keep these notes short and try not to use too much English--the more Japanese I study, the better my experience here. If we're happy with my performance at the end of my stay, I can stay on, though I'll have to live in an attic-space. Also, if my Japanese were better and I had a month, I could've trained to be a rafting guide! How awesome would that have been!? I'll have to try to make it back to SAS sometime in the future...
Anyway, this morning I went in and they scanned my passport and WWOOF card and all that jazz and set me up to start work. I helped them move a bunch of mountain bikes and then move carpet (to recarpet one of the rooms here) and folded a bunch of plastic seat covers for the bus. After that we had a bit of a lunch break. About one I walked back from Australia House (where I'm staying) to the SAS office to meet Tej. Our meeting involved the lovely discussion mentioned above, but I generally have a pretty good feeling about this place. The afternoon had me vacuuming for a couple of hours and--horror of horrors--cleaning their bathrooms!
I don't know if I mentioned it, but they had me clean the bathroom once in France, and thereafter never again. Apparently, I have no bathroom-cleaning skills. Still, they seemed okay with my job there, though the place wasn't very dirty to begin with.
I'm going to try to go to dinner with Ashley tonight, so I'll cut this short for now. Maybe another update this evening with the France finale included?
Later!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Japanese is not my Strongpoint...Yet
Well I'd hoped that I'd have time to finish off the description of my final days in Paris and to let you know when I was leaving for Japan, but apparently I ran out of time. I'll try to finish that stuff up this week; I'm sure you're all just ever-so-anxious to know how my trip went.
じゃあ、日本に行きます！
Me being me, I didn't finish my packing until eleven or so the night before my departure, despite the fact that doing so gave me just enough time for about four hours of sleep before heading to the airport. Got up and stumbled through the daze of waking up too early to make it to the airport a little later than intended, just after 5am.
Lucky for me, my baggage allowance is two checked bags up to 50 pounds each and one carry-on (and one "personal item"?). As such, my sleeping bag got stowed separately, because I wasn't allowed to have it loosely attached to my bag like it was. One fairly uneventful flight later, I arrive at Chicago (O'Hare) and find it to be one of the nicest airports I've been through, save the somewhat small waiting areas.
Boarding the flight to Japan, the gate doesn't seem all that crowded--in fact, it seems downright empty. Once on the plane and seated I discover that, well, this is the truth of the matter: the flight must've been half empty. It was at least that empty in my section, which means that I got a full center section of the Boeing 777-300 to myself: three seats to lie down on. Hence, one of the best flights I've had in many years was also the best sleep in an aircraft I've had as well.
At Narita (one of the Tokyo airports), I could've gotten online for about five bucks, but decided (for some reason) not to, so I spent a few hours hanging around waiting for my flight doing...well...nothing. I caught my flight to Sapporo (on which I think I was the only Westerner) and had another three seats to myself, so I managed to sleep a little more.
Arriving at the New Chitose Airport, I clear customs and collect my baggage without any problems and head to the Japan Rail line to get my ticket to Kutchan (where I'm staying) sorted out. Buy the ticket for about 25 bucks and draw some money from an ATM, and I'm on my way.
The train rides were boring, though notably cleaner than France.
That's also a bit of a lie. Not the cleanliness part, but the boring bit. You see, as I climbed onto the third train I was startled by the vision that appeared before me--my far too tired brain absolutely could not believe my eyes: Ashley was sitting on the train in front of me. Smiling like an idiot, I asked her what she was doing there, and she explained that she'd been to the airport to try to find me. I really don't deserve her, do I? ^^
Anyway, we arrived at the station only to find that my host wasn't there. I tried to call, but to no avail. We ended up taking a taxi to her place where I stayed the night as a guest before calling this morning to get a ride to my place. Turns out I should've checked my email at the airport--I would've known how to get to my place by taxi if I had.
Today I got moved in and slept a bunch and tomorrow I'll be meeting my "manager".
So far I'm most disappointed with my Japanese--I've a lot of studying to do!
Oyasumi!
じゃあ、日本に行きます！
Me being me, I didn't finish my packing until eleven or so the night before my departure, despite the fact that doing so gave me just enough time for about four hours of sleep before heading to the airport. Got up and stumbled through the daze of waking up too early to make it to the airport a little later than intended, just after 5am.
Lucky for me, my baggage allowance is two checked bags up to 50 pounds each and one carry-on (and one "personal item"?). As such, my sleeping bag got stowed separately, because I wasn't allowed to have it loosely attached to my bag like it was. One fairly uneventful flight later, I arrive at Chicago (O'Hare) and find it to be one of the nicest airports I've been through, save the somewhat small waiting areas.
Boarding the flight to Japan, the gate doesn't seem all that crowded--in fact, it seems downright empty. Once on the plane and seated I discover that, well, this is the truth of the matter: the flight must've been half empty. It was at least that empty in my section, which means that I got a full center section of the Boeing 777-300 to myself: three seats to lie down on. Hence, one of the best flights I've had in many years was also the best sleep in an aircraft I've had as well.
At Narita (one of the Tokyo airports), I could've gotten online for about five bucks, but decided (for some reason) not to, so I spent a few hours hanging around waiting for my flight doing...well...nothing. I caught my flight to Sapporo (on which I think I was the only Westerner) and had another three seats to myself, so I managed to sleep a little more.
Arriving at the New Chitose Airport, I clear customs and collect my baggage without any problems and head to the Japan Rail line to get my ticket to Kutchan (where I'm staying) sorted out. Buy the ticket for about 25 bucks and draw some money from an ATM, and I'm on my way.
The train rides were boring, though notably cleaner than France.
That's also a bit of a lie. Not the cleanliness part, but the boring bit. You see, as I climbed onto the third train I was startled by the vision that appeared before me--my far too tired brain absolutely could not believe my eyes: Ashley was sitting on the train in front of me. Smiling like an idiot, I asked her what she was doing there, and she explained that she'd been to the airport to try to find me. I really don't deserve her, do I? ^^
Anyway, we arrived at the station only to find that my host wasn't there. I tried to call, but to no avail. We ended up taking a taxi to her place where I stayed the night as a guest before calling this morning to get a ride to my place. Turns out I should've checked my email at the airport--I would've known how to get to my place by taxi if I had.
Today I got moved in and slept a bunch and tomorrow I'll be meeting my "manager".
So far I'm most disappointed with my Japanese--I've a lot of studying to do!
Oyasumi!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Paris! Then... Home!
Alright, so I've not been so good about this whole updating thing, even if the internet is now readily available, but I've a semi-legitimate excuse: I've been sick. A bit about that and life back at home after the fun and exciting bits (y'know, the stuff about Paris?).
Je Me Repose un Peu
So after my wandering Parisian adventure during La Fête de la Musique, I definitely wasn't going to spend all day wandering around museums. I crawled into bed at about seven that morning and finally slid out again about four thirty in the afternoon. Managed to type up that update about the previous night and get my photos onto my PC before rushing (late) to mass at Notre Dame.
A gorgeous cathedral in a large city with people from all over the world and great music has got to be mass the way God intended it. Mass in a setting like this, with so many people (happy to be there, I might add), really heightens the spiritual connexion, even if you are half-an-hour late. Normally I'm quite happy with private faith, but I'm definitely going back if I'm ever in Paris again.
After mass I tried to make it back in time for dinner but only made it back a little late. Happily, I had some bread and a sandwich and a small tart that I'd picked up on the way back. Bed sometime, getting ready to go out the next day.
Les Musées sont Fermées
Monday morning I get up at a reasonable hour and manage to get out of the building by 10 or so, heading over to the Museum d'Orsay and Rodin Museum for the day. Turns out the Museum d'Orsay is closed Mondays, so I start walking toward the Musée Rodin via the National Assembly. Got some photos of the National Assembly and carried on down a small-ish street toward the museum.
Down a side street, since this is Paris, I saw two random churches and decided to head over to investigate. Turns out the larger of the two is the Basilique de Clotilde (if I remember correctly) and in the middle of the second reading, so I stop in for Mass. If I remember correctly, on his way out, one of the priests thanked me for being there (I assume because I'm young and the Church isn't so popular with the youth?), and we had a little chat, which was nice. I hung around for a while, walked the Stations of the Cross and thought/prayed a while.
After a good hour or so in contemplation, I continued toward the Musée Rodin, only to pop in the smaller church on my way past. Just so happens that there's a group of musicians in the chapel, preparing for a concert, so there's no expression of surprise when this random guy shows up and watches for a while XD
Finally make it to the Rodin Museum and find out that it, too, is closed Mondays. Lovely.
Sacré-Cœur et Dali
Having been thoroughly disappointed with the museums (though understanding that they need days to do restoration and so forth), I hopped the Métro and shot across town to Montmartre. Wandered up to Sacré-Cœur, grabbing a cheese hotdog en route and managing to be duped by a street vendor (fun and shameful story; for more details, ask), and went for a wander about the basilica. I never quite realised before that visit that Sacré-Cœur was a continuous prayer center: people pray twenty-four hours a day for the Church and for the World and Humanity. Pretty cool, eh?
Anyway, I recalled that there was a pretty cool, if touristy, courtyard around the corner, where we ate escargot when I was here with the exchange program in high school, so I made my way over there. Artists set up on the street and tourists eating ice cream wandering around and dining in lovely outdoor restaurants set the backdrop for my discovery of a random piece of advertising which informed me that I could (within two minutes) find a Dali Exhibit.
Unable to resist such a surreal opportunity, I convinced them to accept my UGA student ID and let me in for massive savings! (Four eurobucks.) The exhibit was really something else: lots of sculpture and stuff you never knew Dali did mixed in with the traditional melting clocks and so forth. I've since decided that if I can take a course on Dali or otherwise discover more of his life and works, I'll jump at the opportunity.
At the moment, I don't much remember how I spent the evening, though I think I made it back in time for dinner.
I'll write about the last day tomorrow, but wanted to submit this before it sits open on my screen for another 24 hours.
Mata ne.
Je Me Repose un Peu
So after my wandering Parisian adventure during La Fête de la Musique, I definitely wasn't going to spend all day wandering around museums. I crawled into bed at about seven that morning and finally slid out again about four thirty in the afternoon. Managed to type up that update about the previous night and get my photos onto my PC before rushing (late) to mass at Notre Dame.
A gorgeous cathedral in a large city with people from all over the world and great music has got to be mass the way God intended it. Mass in a setting like this, with so many people (happy to be there, I might add), really heightens the spiritual connexion, even if you are half-an-hour late. Normally I'm quite happy with private faith, but I'm definitely going back if I'm ever in Paris again.
After mass I tried to make it back in time for dinner but only made it back a little late. Happily, I had some bread and a sandwich and a small tart that I'd picked up on the way back. Bed sometime, getting ready to go out the next day.
Les Musées sont Fermées
Monday morning I get up at a reasonable hour and manage to get out of the building by 10 or so, heading over to the Museum d'Orsay and Rodin Museum for the day. Turns out the Museum d'Orsay is closed Mondays, so I start walking toward the Musée Rodin via the National Assembly. Got some photos of the National Assembly and carried on down a small-ish street toward the museum.
Down a side street, since this is Paris, I saw two random churches and decided to head over to investigate. Turns out the larger of the two is the Basilique de Clotilde (if I remember correctly) and in the middle of the second reading, so I stop in for Mass. If I remember correctly, on his way out, one of the priests thanked me for being there (I assume because I'm young and the Church isn't so popular with the youth?), and we had a little chat, which was nice. I hung around for a while, walked the Stations of the Cross and thought/prayed a while.
After a good hour or so in contemplation, I continued toward the Musée Rodin, only to pop in the smaller church on my way past. Just so happens that there's a group of musicians in the chapel, preparing for a concert, so there's no expression of surprise when this random guy shows up and watches for a while XD
Finally make it to the Rodin Museum and find out that it, too, is closed Mondays. Lovely.
Sacré-Cœur et Dali
Having been thoroughly disappointed with the museums (though understanding that they need days to do restoration and so forth), I hopped the Métro and shot across town to Montmartre. Wandered up to Sacré-Cœur, grabbing a cheese hotdog en route and managing to be duped by a street vendor (fun and shameful story; for more details, ask), and went for a wander about the basilica. I never quite realised before that visit that Sacré-Cœur was a continuous prayer center: people pray twenty-four hours a day for the Church and for the World and Humanity. Pretty cool, eh?
Anyway, I recalled that there was a pretty cool, if touristy, courtyard around the corner, where we ate escargot when I was here with the exchange program in high school, so I made my way over there. Artists set up on the street and tourists eating ice cream wandering around and dining in lovely outdoor restaurants set the backdrop for my discovery of a random piece of advertising which informed me that I could (within two minutes) find a Dali Exhibit.
Unable to resist such a surreal opportunity, I convinced them to accept my UGA student ID and let me in for massive savings! (Four eurobucks.) The exhibit was really something else: lots of sculpture and stuff you never knew Dali did mixed in with the traditional melting clocks and so forth. I've since decided that if I can take a course on Dali or otherwise discover more of his life and works, I'll jump at the opportunity.
At the moment, I don't much remember how I spent the evening, though I think I made it back in time for dinner.
I'll write about the last day tomorrow, but wanted to submit this before it sits open on my screen for another 24 hours.
Mata ne.
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