La Fin

After the trip to Rouen, my time left in France was ending. I didn’t take any more trips out of the city, I just focused on exploring Paris more and doing cultural events with friends.

The first even was the Fête de la Musique that is held in France every year. Everyone who knows how to play an instrument goes to the streets and gives it their all. Restaurants opened up booths outside so that people could grab and go, and in Jouy there was a mini race track set up for the kids.

Some of the bigger singers/acts were in the newspaper, so we tried to organize the day around them. I wasn’t too bothered about where we went, so we started out by trying to see someone at Place des Vosges. Then, we just wandered around and stumbled across all sorts of things. There was a hip hop group encouraging kids to dance with them, and a restaurant had a woman singing karaoke from the second floor window. It was worthwhile to see this aspect of French culture, and I’m glad I went out for it.

Next, we went to Solidays in Paris. This was a musical event to benefit aids. It was unlike anything I had ever done before, and was a bit crazy. There were food booths set up all over the place, a few fair rides, and musicians playing on and off all day in different areas of the park. We listened to The Virgins, Creature, a little bit of Benabar, and finished the day off with the Ting Tings. To be honest, there were so many people there that I felt really claustrophobic at times. I ended up leaving the last concert to get away from the huge crowd, but I didn’t really have to go far since there was a point that blocked view to the stage and there was no one there, so I ended up listening to the music and not really seeing the performance. This was a fun day out with friends, but I could’ve left a bit earlier than we actually did.

Since I didn’t have any other trips planned based on Joan, I decided to explore the city trying to find her. There are many statues all around, and I was able to see some parts of Paris I would have never gone to otherwise. Even though Joan never really entered the city (travelling just around the border at the time), it was refreshing to see her presence reflected in the monuments of modern Paris.

I also went on a walk with Mandira and Anna in the city. We came across the history museum ***** and discovered dinosaurs lurking in the bushes. We also walked through the Arenes de Lutèce, an old Roman Arena that is still used today by people who want to throw a ball around with their friends.

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And just because I had never seen it (yes, even after a year in France it’s possible), I stopped off by the Moulin Rouge. Also, about two blocks away is where Amelie was set, so I walked by to see the café.

For Bastille Day those of us who were still in Paris went into the city to see how the French celebrate it. We ended up at Invalides and had a picnic while playing cards. There was an exposition about transport going on, so there were different military vehicles everywhere and several planes flew overhead. There were also parachuters that landed near us. I was leaving in two days, so I decided not to stay out all night and see the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. I looked it up on youtube, though, and it did look breathtaking.

My last day was spent packing, and wondering what my next adventure in Spain would be like (not too mention how much time I would spend driving to get my visa!)