Once again the sky was grey and really very threatening as Alana and I bought our delicious morning patisseries, and headed down to the Metro, just in case umbrellas in hand. We jumped on line 1 up to nation and then line 2 to the cemetery, where we met up with Matt, broke down and bought a map of the cemetery (which actually turned out to be an excellent and very worthwhile purchase.)
On our list of people to see were the likes of: Chopin, Jim Morrison, Ingres, Molière, La Fountain, Edith Piaf, some mime Matt wanted to see, Gertrude Stein and her lover Alice, Oscar Wilde, and Max Ernst (for Mac.) There were a few others on our list as well, but we made a plan and tried to navigate the cemetery as best we could. We saw lots of interesting and really old graves, and some newer ones, and it seems that this old and infamous cemetery is home to several black cats,
which can give one the willies, if you are not careful. We went around finding each person, and paying a little bit of homage to these people, whether they were rock stars, French authors from the 17th century, patrons of Picasso’s, or flaming homosexuals, we sort of felt like we were going to say ‘hi’ to these people, to pay some respects, and feel a little more connected to some of these famous names that we have heard our parents talk about, or our professors rave about, or have read for research papers, or just feel some sort of strange connection to (mimes?) for some inexplicable reason. It was a lot of trekking around, and by about half-way through our visit, we had to put up our umbrellas, (including the POS umbrella, which is REALLY REALLY wearing thin) so by the time we were ready to bid the cold wet, and kind of eerie cemetery good bye, no one was sad to be going.So we bid farewell to our departed comrades, and made our way over to the Louvre, since that was the next stop on our list. However, it was a bit past lunch time, so we were all super hungry, and what better food could there be in the world than a hotdog, in a baguette with melty cheese on top and ketchup?
Clearly the answer is that there is no better food in the world, and when in Paris it is completely necessary that you eat one of these random delectables, at least once during your visit. So we decided that this was as good a time as any for Alana to fulfil this Parisian duty, so we had some yummy hotdogs for lunch just outside the Louvre. The rain had subsided, but it was still far from being a lovely clear Paris day, and we headed into the massive expanse of the Louvre to take refuge from the yucky day. Honestly, one could spend weeks, probably even months in the Louvre, and not see everything there is to see, and appreciate it for what it is, and what it is worth, and we were only going to be able to spend about three hours there… which was kind of sad, but when you are only in Paris for four days (like Alana) that is all you get!
So in making decisions about what we wanted to see, we prioritized all of Alana’s interests. She is an art history major, and she is trying to decide currently if she is going to focus in Classics (she is in Rome for the semester) or Medieval art (she is a student of Anne Harris who can make a biologist fall in love with the middle ages). I guess now she is considering maybe doing something that involves studying Medieval appropriations of Classical art? But anyway, we wanted to see all of the classics and a lot of stuff from the middle ages, so we had our work cut out for us! We also wanted to see all of the ‘not to be missed stuff’ like the Mona Lisa etc, and of course we had to pay a visit to Ingres Odalisque. 
We really tromped all over the museum (I thought I might die at some points, but clearly I survived…) And Alana shared with us her dream of becoming a running tour guide of the Louvre, that way should could combine her two great loves in life: Running and Art. Actually, running in the Louvre is prohibited, but look for that to change in the future when Alana gets her running tour of the place installed after we graduated from DPU. Seriously, get ready. 
The Louvre closed at six, so we made a quick stop at the Mona Lisa (smallish, and swarmed constantly by crowds of tourists taking illegal pics with their flashes on!) And we made sure to see the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory. But at about 5:55 we left the museum by way of the inverted pyramid (where Dan Brown assures us that Mary Magdalene is buried), and headed back out into the street. So at six o’clock, on the Sunday after Daylight savings started, after having trekked all around Père Lachaise and the Louvre, we were pooped. There was no way that we could have had the stamina to make it up to Montmartre at that point, and plus we were scheduled to meet up with Mac at 8pm right outside the Centre Pompidou for dinner, and we thought that to get all the way up there and back in 2 hours might have been pushing it anyway. So instead we decided to kick back, have a snack and some coffee, and people watch for a while, and eagerly await Mac to come out of Centre Pompidou and have dinner with us.
We walked around then for a while, trying to find a restaurant to suggest to Mac (Although I know Anne really loves Dame Tartine where everything is served on toast) and watching the ever entertaining things that go on in front of Centre Pompidou. Finally we saw him strolling over to meet us, and we jumped up to exchange hugs, and excited smiles since it can be very funny to see a familiar face, in a place where they don’t usually belong. But we then went to have dinner at a little restaurant that served French food and Moroccan food, so there was something for everyone. We easily passed almost three hours discussing Mac’s research (and new found hobby of bird watching?) and European politics, and the politics of what is going on back home at DePauw. We talked about everything would could possibly talk about I think, even though I know that that is impossible! But by around 11 our eyes were drooping, and I had to wake up early for work the next morning, so we all walked down to the metro together and bid Mac farewell until the fall, and a safe trip back to Josselin, and hugs and kisses for all the kids! Then, dragging our absolutely exhausted feet down into the metro, and made our way back to Sainte-Mandé.Monday morning, Alana once again climbed aboard the 86 bus with me to come have some coffee (which I really like, but she is more inclined toward her Italian cappuccino) and I went to work for the morning, and she set off to see the inside of Notre Dame, and walked down to la chapelle, but once again you will have to look at her blog to get the full story on her adventures for the day. Then she came back up to the IMA and Matt met us for lunch. Alana wanted to go to a place which is called BIA- Breakfast in America, where you can get American style pancakes and bacon and burgers and stuff for pretty cheap. We all miss home a little bit, and so we did not feel guilty about indulging ourselves in a little American culture (and some bacon!) It was very yummy, and then I went back to work and Alana went down to try to go to Musée d’Orsay which is home to all of the impressionist paintings. But sadly it was closed on Mondays so Alana just had to do some shopping instead. When she came and met me at work at the end of the day, we went up to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur, and Alana wanted to walk down and see the infamous Moulin Rouge… which was kind of disappointing. But we stopped in Matt’s room for Alana to say good bye, and we went back to my apartment for the night. We stopped and bought Marie some good luck flowers because her big test was on Tuesday, and then we went back home. As a going away celebration, we made our very own dessert crepes and covered them in yummy things like sugar and strawberries and all kinds of lovely things! Then Alana and I snuggled up in bed for her last night in Paris… and we won’t be seeing each other again until we spend a day together at Cedar Point in July.
So as I said good bye to Alana on Tuesday morning, I was very sad to see her go, since she very much enriched my “France Life” for the weekend, and we will have to survive talking to each other on skype for a while… but I am so glad she got to come visit, and one day we will have to come back so that she can go see all the things she didn’t get a chance to see! Love love love you Alana!
Next weekend I will be in Berlin, and the next weekend I will be in Reims in the Champagne region, so look for some more posts about that in the near future!
Bisous!
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