Long Day

I went to Versailles again. I didn't think that they were doing to take us there, which is why I went in the first place. But they did...to see the Opera house there. A fantastic 18th century place made entirely out of wood (as were all the opera houses...but most of those other ones burnt down; this is one of the only ones that survived). All of the decorations that look like gold reliefs on the tiers are actually wood carvings that have been covered in gold paint or leaf. While building the opera during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they had to stop several times because they ran out of money. So when the building was finally finished, it was immediately put to use as part of the wedding celebrations of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. After the opera, we saw the apartments of Louis XV and Louis XVI. So, it was a good trip because I ended up seeing nothing of what I saw before! Go me!

So, I got up at 7 to go to Versailles and I was back in Paris around noon/12.30. Lunch, I bought at the sandwich shop that Milena and I have become regulars at. Every time we go in now, the proprietor says "Bonjour!" and once before Milena could order, he asked "Cheese panini yes? Small? and a sandwich?" (which is indeed what she usually gets). And then we went to the center before class to get my French teach to help us reserve a hotel room. Did I mention that we are going to Le Havre this weekend (Saturday through Monday...no internet then, so don't expect updates)? It is on the English Channel in Normandy. I am expecting it to be loads of fun. Beaches and cider. Yum. I want to see if we can rent bikes to ride along the coast for a day.

Meh, back to my day. So...yes. I got us a room with the help of my French teacher, Karen, who is awesome. And we talked about my BA for a while. Then we had class. Yeah, that was smart: go to Versailles in the morning and then have class! Whoo! And then we went back to Lila and went to Champion to buy wine for our conversation sessions this evening. Then the conversation sessions! My conversation teacher says that my vocabulary is very good and my grammar is pretty good, but sometimes I mix up the order of words in a sentence. But overall, that my French is improving. Go me. I still feel like my French is terrible, but I don't have a good perspective on that, so...yeah.

Alrightly then. Look at the photos for new stuff. More later when I am less tired.

Oh and tomorrow we are going to the Foire de Paris (a huge food festival/fair/exposition-y thing) and to the opera to see Rameau's Platee. Wheeeee!