Let
me tell you, I’m not starving in France. I am eating very, very well. I’m
always full which is nice but makes me uncomfortable since I am used to eating
5 small meals a day because of a busy schedule. But since this is vacation (for
me) and I am a guest, I can justify stuffing myself.
After that, Kacy and I parted ways for the afternoon. She
headed to school and I headed out to find the Musee Garnet for a few hours of
alone time. I pride myself on being very good with maps so finding the Museum
wasn’t a problem; I just couldn’t find the entrance of it! But I
arrived at the entrance just before it opened at noon. There was only one other
woman waiting for the museum to open so I was very excited to spend some quality
time with the loudest inanimate objects there are. That’s always what I’ve enjoyed about
museums. They’re quiet because whatever it is you’re looking at whether its
sculpture, paintings, installations, or archeological findings, they say all
that needs to be said so it’s more than acceptable to simply be alone with your
thoughts.
In the permanent collections, I fell in love with the
sculpture gallery. It was full of towering marble figures, particularly
Mirabeau and Bartholemy. The way the room went on forever and ever and the way
the sun came in through the windows reminded me of the scene in Pride and
Prejudice where Elizabeth Bennett is at Pemberly looking through all the
statues. I almost wished I’d brought my iPod so I could have listened to that
soundtrack but that would have been a bit weird.
After
going through the rest of the permanent collections, I decided to walk the few
blocks to where the newest exhibition could be found. The exhibition is the
collection of Jean Planque. I wasn’t really sure what that meant and if I
wanted to see it but I figured since I’d been admitted to the museum for free,
I might as well take advantage of the entertainment.
I’m glad I did! This collection is housed in a beautiful
cathedral that was renovated into an art gallery. I walked in an instantly knew
this entire building would be a close second as far as my favorite part of the
museum as a whole (the sculpture gallery was my first). I immediately saw two
Monet’s and an entire hall dedicated to Picasso. I found the work Kosta Alex, a
modern sculpture, on the third floor (think balcony but for art) overhang. Jean
Planque’s collection really had a wide variety of art and the exhibition made
it apparent that he supported these artists as a kind and helpful friend but he
always struggled because despite his artistic talent, he could never create his
own style that he’d be remembered for. Perhaps though that is what is beautiful
about the collection. His passion for helping these artists out made a
difference and I think that’s all the difference.
After leaving the cathedral, I was starving. I spent 2.5
hours in such a small museum! But I quickly found a small sandwich shop and had
a chevre, ham, and sundried tomato Panini before heading to the post office to
buy stamps and send post cards. After that, I headed toward Coco Boheme, a
little tea house about 500 yards from where Kacy lives. On the road there, I
stopped in a few boutiques to look at their clothing but didn’t find anything I
couldn’t live without so I kept going.
Upon arriving at Coco Boheme, I took my shoes off and went
downstairs to grab a table and a menu. Yesterday when I went, I went down the
wrong stairs and wore shoes and couldn’t remember any French for the life of
me. But today my confidence was renewed so I ordered AND asked for the wifi
password AND understood everything she said to me. I like to know the rules.
That’s always my biggest problem in new places, knowing the rules. I can blend
in well aside from the little things like taking off your shoes and using the
right stairwell.
After
getting my tea, I opened up my book while waiting for Kacy to be done with
class but she arrived almost immediately! She also ordered a pot of tea but we
soon realized it was unnecessary because there’s literally enough tea for
2298472 people in those pots. We drank as many cups as possible before rushing
out around 5 to drop some things off at Madame’s before heading to a small bar,
Wohoo, near her school for happy hour with some of her friends!
The
bar was indeed small but cool, most places here have “basement caves” and so
did this bar but I guess they didn’t really know that until I suggested it
because I saw some stairs and it was super small upstairs. So we waited for her
friends and they seemed late but Kacy went upstairs and found them so that was
nice. We ordered drinks upstairs, I ordered a black pearl which has coca cola…
and something else that I do not remember and Kacy ordered “Sex in Aix” which
is funny because it rhythms and its where we are so yeah. The happy hour deal
is that if you buy one drink, you get that drink free! So we swapped for our
second drinks. Kacy and I agreed that the Black Pearl was better. We continued
to chat with her friends Johnny, LaSia, and Sally. They all seemed like good
friends to have and were all chatty and great to talk to a bit so that was
nice. I know it can be kind of tough to have one friend group meet another
friend group so I’d say it went very nicely. After finishing our drinks, we
talked for a bit and around 7 we parted ways.
Kacy and I came straight home. Madame ordered pizza as Kacy
studied and Paul told me how tired he was because he played basketball today.
For dinner, we had some of the freshest pizza I have ever come to enjoy. It was
very nice. It had arugula, pineapple, and ham on it! I like the arugula garnish
a lot! Madame also brought out a special dessert, tarte tropezzienne, which is
kind of like a hard bread with vanilla custard in between it! It was really
cool and very sweet. She’s a great woman; she knows how to make people feel
special and is very thoughtful! After dinner, we watched Pretty Woman as I have
never actually seen it which they just couldn’t believe! Considering it was in
rapid French, I didn’t catch a whole lot but I kind of get it. I’m pretty tired
and now that Kacy’s falled asleep, I probably should too…
Tomorrow, we are going
to the Spa that’s built on top of the ancient Roman Ruins! We’re really excited
despite not really knowing what we are doing! Then tomorrow night there will be
a potluck for Kacy’s school! We head to Paris on Thursday night! We have plans
to see Versailles and the Louvre! Perhaps the Musee D’Orsay! It should be a
great weekend! I’m loving my stay and couldn’t be more lucky to share it with
Kacy and her kind host mom!
Hopefully you enjoyed this little tid bit and I didn’t bore
your eyes out!
Kacy Again: You didnt miss much in my day besides my professor bringing us bilinis for finishing our russian book. They ae like russian pancakes. I didn't really like them. Also I tried licorice absenthe. It was disgusting so I pawned it off on someone else. And then my professor told us about the time his neighbor was crazy and shot him in the butt. So then he beat the crap out of him with a stick. It apparently was a pretty bad day for him!
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