24 July 2008

days 24 & 25: mmw midterm & musée de carnavalet

Dates: Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 and Thursday, July 24th, 2008

Most of Wednesday afternoon was dedicated to studying for the MMW Mid Term on Thursday. I don't really feel confident about the exam because I was pretty brain dead. I didn't even stay up late the night before, I just felt so exhausted and somewhat discouraged from the previous exam. It was just a matter of a slight discrepancy between my own expectations based on how much I thought I knew and how much I was able to show my knowledge on a test. In any case, after that we still had a full lecture, a visit to the Musee de Carnavalet (Museum of Paris) and dinner at night. We were lucky enough to have a few hours in between the Museum and the dinner to recuperate so I made it through the day, easily.

The Museum is in the Marais district, an area that I've stumbled upon a few times before, mostly to visit the Place de Vosges. After learning about the area in Sawyer's lecture, it makes sense that the modest, unassuming (yet still classically Parisien and classically beautiful) exterior of the Museum would house a panoply of 16th century (and on) paintings. It's not just the paintings that it has, it's the way that the Museum is organized. It takes you through the chambers of old aristocrats / royalty and dots the walls with chronologically relevant (OK the chronology is an assumption on my part) paintings. Unfortunately the sections that were the most relevant to the period that we were studying, Roman Period and Medieval, were closed for renovation... But we got a good glimpse of some artifacts, paintings, and busts all from the 12th century and on. More pictures when I have the chance to update...

After that I elected to head back and got some rest. I took a two hour nap that felt deceptively short. I did wake up refreshed though, so that's what counts. We gathered for dinner and hopped on the tram to take the 13 one stop. Dinner was pretty good, but not one of the best. The appetizer seemed like pickled vegetables and I ate some of the tomatoes with the bread but couldn't get it all down. The main dish seemed like a hamburger patty / steak-esque meat with cheese and bacon on top paired with frites. The dessert was the best though! Mountainberry tart... Everyone had charming little blackish blue smiles by the end. We headed back. A few of us wanted to go out as our days in Paris are quickly dwindling... Instead we watched Toy Story. After it ended though, some boy were hungry and we decided to head to St. Michel for some shwarma, crepes, and ice cream. We sat in front of Notre Dame just chatting and eating our food, enjoying the beauty of Notre Dame by evening. I'd say it was a great day.

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