Paris

…found this in Paris….Thank God we have some French people who have seen the light…

the first set of pix was posted on the medill global blog

The server asked: “….viande ou formage?”
Then he looks at my confused American face…and asks again: “Meat or cheese?”

Fondue was tasty.
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Mark said hitting all these “tourist” spots is like being on a Scavenger Hunt….that’s pretty close.

We managed to cram in more sightseeing in the past few days….

So far, my biggest thrill is from this tiny bookstore….according to one web description, you can see it from Norte Dame.

This is the site of Sylvia Beach’s bookstore. Ernest Hemmingway and other writers borrowed books from Beach in the 1920’s. Hemmingway writes about it in his book, A Movable Feast.
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I posted this on the Medill Global Journalism Blog

Many things to love about the Lourve….

It’s home to an amazing collection of art work and archelogical treasures. It’s easy get there by Metro (get off at Musee du Louvre and NOT Lourve-Rivoli). It’s also easy to buy tickets at the ticket vending machines. It’s like buying movie tickets at the vending machines of American movie theaters. I spent half my Saturday inside the museum and I know I only covered a fourth of the collection. I need to come back.

I did hit the world-famous art work – like the Mona Lisa.
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I filed a report from the 11th arrondissement….it’s on l’Op�ra Bastille…what do you think?

In addition to interviewing 19 people in my shoddy French, for this story….I also flagged down fifteen people for another survey:

“Si vous �tiez am�rican, pour qui votierez-vous: Kerry ou Bush?

• Kerry: 10
• Bush: 3
• Neither: 2

I wonder how people from the other arrondissements responded.

We visited Normandy on Friday. The Tom Brokaw Foundation funded the trip.

It was one long bus ride….

Normandy is a province of France. The name comes from the Vikings – after they invaded. They were called “North Men” or “Nor Men.” Caen is the capital city.
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There are many musicians out in Paris. It’s like having a soundtrack follow me on my way to school and on the way back….

At the Chatelet Metro station, I can find a jam session next to the Relay newspaper stand. According to one Medill student, these performers need a license to play inside the station.

The acoustics are awesome inside the Metro walls. It haunts me as I walk off the train. It’s a plesant surprise to hear the music grow louder as I near the exit. Many times, Metro travelers will pause for a bit to watch. I’m not sure it they’re tourists or not.

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We end up going out for lunch and making dinner at home. We found some tasty spots in our neighborhood….

like Moroccan cusine…

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We found this cute place by Les Halles….off the Boulevard de Sebastpol.

Tasty kafta sandwiches…my new favorite fast food…Last night, we found a Lebanese stand that sold kafta to go. Yummy.

We also had some hookah loving – 7 Euros for the hit….and it lasted a few hours. My first hookah.

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We visited the American cemetery and Utah Beach. More than 20,000 American soliders died on D-Day – when the allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy.

Suzelle summed it up best – it’s incredible to have these battlegrounds preserved – the German bunks and the craters. She pointed out that we don’t have anything like Normandy in the US because we never had a war of this mass level of destruction.