I didn't have a plan for my days in Paris. I was still tired from the course! So, I just set out in the morning with a few ideas in mind, but no real agenda. On this particular day, I had a very late breakfast at a creperie on the Rue St-Jacques in the 5th and then walked north. The streets led me to the Luxembourg Gardens where - despite the on and off rain - lots of people were enjoying an afternoon break.

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I'm back in the U.S., but here are a few pics from my few days in Paris. I was staying in the 7th, so a visit to the nearby Rodin Museum was a must. I wrote a short poem a few years ago about a Rodin statue of Adam that I saw at the Art Institute of Chicago (in marble, interestingly), so I was captivated by the bronze statues of Eve at the museum in Paris. And by the Gates of Hell where both figures would have been placed.

Having said all that, even The Thinker pales in comparison to the simple roses in the garden (IMHO). The works of man are great, but Mother Nature is the greatest artist of all.

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Just in case you're wondering where in the world all the teaching (and input sessions and observations and feedback sessions) took place over the past month... here are a few photos of the Pole Information - Chambre de Commerce de l'Industrie. On our last evening of teaching, the students gave us each a bottle of Alsace wine and served us snacks and cider.

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During my time in Strasbourg, I managed to find a couple of quiet corners to sip tea and read a book. It was such a busy month that those moments were few, but special. This cafe was in Petite France overlooking the River Ille. While I watched the world go by, a man began flycasting just across the river...

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Just a few blocks from the residence hall is a cute little portion of Strasbourg known as Petite France. Canals and restaurants and little parks...

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This one's for Lolo... Aside from Paul's home-cooked meal, this has to be the best food I've eaten in Strasbourg thus far. I spotted this cozy little restaurant on Place St-Etienne as I was looking for a different restaurant. But the thought of a good French crepe propelled me across the plaza and though the doors. I was immediately charmed by the menu, each copy of which was printed inside the front cover of a children's book. I ordered the Printaniere: salad, egg, tomato, anchovy, olives. And then of course how could I not order a chocolat citron crepe for dessert? Heavenly!

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One of my classmates, Paul, hosted a barbecue for the class at his home in Colmar. A 30-minute train ride south of Strasbourg, Colmar is a pretty town with tiny canals. Unfortunately, it was raining, so no wandering about for us. Barbecue was moved inside and we had a lovely time.

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Did I mention that Paul's been to cooking school? :-)

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We were off to see the fireworks tonight at Place de l'Etoile. "We" means Sian (with her camera), Xuan and Cathy.

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Postcard photographers must have no problems getting good snaps of Strasbourg. Everywhere you turn, you see another perfect vignette. Sorry for the lack of captions, but the wifi in the dorm is a bit shaky. I'm uploading in small batches whenever the connection seems good.

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Blink and you might miss it, but it's locatedin a very nice neighborhood near the Botanic Gardens and the University.

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The Rhone River delineates the border between France and Germany and does run along the edge of Strasbourg, but when you are living in the city center, it is not the river you are concerned with. Instead, your world is bounded by the River Ille. Since today was Sunday, and I had my homework under control (I hope), I took a walk along the Ille to see a bit more of Strasbourg than the inside of my dorm and the inside of the Pole Information (where the classes are located).

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Almost every night, there's a lesson to plan or another piece of homework to complete: a language analysis or a phonetics exercise, for example. True story: I had to cross one example off the phonetics chart. The Brits keep using "cat" as an example of the /ae/ sound. But it's actually the sound in shot or got or hot. The word 'cat' is not a helpful cue for us Americans! :-)

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In the second photo, Xuan begins working through his lesson for tommorrow's Teaching Practice.

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No, I did not eat here! This one's for Terri and Gale. The obligatory Domino's shot from anywhere I travel. Don't worry Grant Thornton; I've already Google mapped the Strasbourg office. I'll get a photo at some point so that you can check the brand. :-)

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I must admit, the food in the Alsace is not to my taste. Heavy meat and potato dishes seem to be the norm. But I do appreciate a good fruit pie, and I found a heavenly <<tarte de myrtille>>, or blueberry pie, at a local cafe called <<Feuilles d'Artichauts>>.  I think that roughly translate to Artichoke Leaves. I may gain weight on this adventure.

[Apologies for the photo quality. This was taken with my iPhone.]

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Just so you don't think I'm living it up here in Strasbourg, I offer some photos of La Residence de Saint-Thomas. It's a seminary school that rents space to special groups in the summertime. Apparently, the CELTA group qualified as special - although only 5 of the 12 students are actually living here. 

The rooms are basic, but clean. Probably bigger than a freshman dorm room at the University of Illinois, but smaller than what I lived in at my private liberal arts college in the 'burbs. The building, itself, is charming - as you can see.

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The ESOL Strasbourg director picked up four of us CELTA students from the train station and drove us to a hotel for the night - getting lost just once. Granted, we stayed at a Formule 1 hotel in the suburbs. Very cheap. Shared water closets and showers that can be hosed down each day.

But, I did go back into town with a classmate to see some of the sights before classes start and we were joined by the other CELTA students for dinner. We made it back to the 'burbs on the very last bus of the evening.

The four of us are staying at the Saint-Thomas residence, while most of the rest of the students are local to Strasbourg or live close enough to commute each day. Interestingly, there are several other Americans, but the gentlemen married French women and live in the area, and the woman from Chicago (by way of New York) just married a Frenchman, so they have bought a house here. It's quite an interesting group.

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Cathedral is amazing. It's the second tallest in France; the tallest is in Rouen.

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So.... arrived in Paris on Saturday morning and successfully navigated the metro from airport to Gare du Nord thanks to the wonderful gift from my coworkers: a chip and pin credit card! I was able to skip the long line of Americans queueing for the live ticket seller and use the automated ticket machine. Zipped into Paris and left bags at my hotel and wandered about in the 10 Arrondissment until 3pm (check in time). Had tea in a cafe... walked along Saint-Martin Canal... watched all the fathers and mothers bringing their children to the park... Lovely, but by 3pm I was so tired I could hardly stand. Took a 2-hour nap at the hotel and woke up to my rookie mistake: a sunburn. Forgot to reapply lotion on the plane. Ah well. Out again for dinner at La Marine and back for 5.5 hours of sleep. Not too bad for Day One.

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Interesting photo exhibit at Terminal 5 about Illinois River... Some of the writing is quite poetic.

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Sent from my iPhone

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Will a small one-bedroom apartment fit into a 5x10 storage unit? Sure, said the man on the phone. Well, it was a tight fit! The movers were wonderful; they slotted almost every box and every piece of furniture into that space like it was a puzzle. Had to ditch 3 old bookcases, but c'est la vie. Perhaps if I didn't own 11 boxes of books.... :-)

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Photo 1: Suzanne, Carol, me, Sharon, Susanna
Photo 2: Angela, Carol, me Sharon, Susanna 

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