Paris 2.0: Day Two

On our second day in Paris we woke up (both a bit sore from the awful mattress) and left for another day of adventures.  We had a train to catch that afternoon to Amsterdam, so we had to decide what we really wanted to do with our day.  In the morning we went to see the Opera House of Paris.  Even though it was raining lightly, we made the most of it and enjoyed seeing the beautiful building and the fun neighborhood surrounding it.   

 

Kristin and I in front of the beautiful Opera House

The rain was picking up, so we went to the Musée d’Orsay to take shelter and see some more art.  We saw lots of impressionism, a few Van Gogh’s, and great sculptures.  I always love the setting of the museum the most.  The museum used to be a train station located in the heart of the city.  It was eventually converted, but the architecture and some elements, like the large clock, remain to remind visitors of its history.  

 

For the last outing of the day, we took the metro towards the Mosque of Paris.  I loved it so much on my last trip and figured that Kristin would enjoy visiting it.  The tiles, colors, and atmosphere are impressive.  It has such a calm and serene feel to it.  We then walked over to the tea garden and enjoyed some sweetened mint tea.  It was great since the weather was still a bit on the chilly side.   

 The tiles of the mosque

On our way out of the neighborhood, we stopped by a pattiserie.  Kristin had only had croissants at breakfast, and I couldn't let her leave France without getting to pick one yummy baked good.  We thought that since we had a 5 hours train ride ahead of us, it would make a great snack.  Kristin picked a lemon tart, and I had my favorite chausson aux pommes (filled with apples). 

We headed back to the hotel, grabbed out suitcases, and were off to the train station.  Despite technical difficulties, we managed to get on the train with about ONE MINUTE to spare.  We sat down to the announcement that our train was delayed fifteen minutes.  So maybe the slight panic attacks were maybe not completely necessary, but moral of the story is we made onto the TGV. 

An awesome Haussmann building

The TGV ride was enjoyable after we decided to move out of our assigned seats into a small, empty cabin area.  We weren’t going to put up with the screaming children and their unintersted parents for three hours.  We relaxed, watched the countryside, did some reading and napping until arriving in Amsterdam!

 Country side of the Belgium!

 Welcome to the Netherlands!

 Nap after a long day

 During most of our 10 day trip we are staying at people’s apartments in different cities.  They usually have an extra bed or bedroom and their places are well located and less expensive than hotels.  In Amsterdam, we stayed with John.  He was a super nice Frenchman who had been living in Amsterdam for a year now.  His apartment was a five-minute walk from the train station and really close to basically everything else.  That night he came and met us and showed us the apartment.  The stairs were really something to see, and getting our big suitcases up was even more intimidating!! 

We had a nice dinner at an Argentinean restaurant close by.  Tons of people were out and about, and it didn’t even get dark until about 10:30-11PM.  We slept super well on the comfortable bed!

Paris 2.0: Day One

On Friday I woke up early, and loaded my bags into the car… in the pouring rain.  I was hoping that it would be clearing soon so that Kristin and I would have a nice day in Paris.  I hopped on the TGV and was at Charles de Gaulle airport in a quick 35 minutes.  Of course, I had to walk across the entire (or so it seemed) airport to get to Kristin’s terminal.  We found each other quite easily, thank goodness.  We walked back across the entire airport to where we could catch the RER into Paris center.  Of course the dumb French machines only took coins, and we didn’t have nearly enough in order to buy our two tickets, totaling up to €18! After attempting to pay with three different credit cards, the fourth one finally worked! We were on our way into Paris!

Our map of Paris (after day 2)... thought you might enjoy this Dad!

Once we got to the metro and transferred to the appropriate line, we made it to our hotel.  We quickly dropped off our bags and took the metro over to the right bank.  We did lots of walking around, seeing the neighborhoods and I showed Kristin lots of the cool parts of Paris.  We walked around Notre Dame Cathedral, we found a bridge of love where the fence is completely covered in locks, put on by couples.  The tradition also includes throwing the key into the Seine below.  We had nice salads for lunch (Parisien for me, and warm goat cheese for Kristin) , stopped by the Louvre where Kristin saw her favorite painting (The Astronomer, by Vermeer), and then over to Ile St. Louis for a drink at our favorite Brasserie.  I bought Mme. Bertillon’s famous ice cream… I tried the coconut flavor, and we both approved. 

Kristin and Vermeer

To kill some time before dinner, we took the metro over to the Arc de Triomphe.  There was a ceremony that occurs daily.  It’s when the flame under the Arc is extinguished.  There drummers, and veterans, along with school children who all took part in the ceremony. 

 

Arc de Triomphe

We walked down the Champs Elysées and made it to Bistro Henri.  I wanted Kristin to experience true French cuisine while in Paris.  She had pork tenderloin and I, of course, ordered the honeyed duck :) We briefly stopped by the Eiffel Tower but decided we were both too tired to climb to the top.  It had been cloudy and sprinkling on and off all day, and we decided we wouldn’t see too much from the top anyways. 

The Bridge of Love

Back at our hotel we settled in after a long day.  The only disappointment of the day was discovering that our “mattress” wasn’t a mattress: it was a brick wall.  I think it was one of the fake mattresses they use in big stores to showcase duvets etc…. but it was for one night, and we survived!

Last Days in Reims

My last week at the hospital went very well.  I spent time in both pediatrics and psychiatry.  I was super excited to go to pediatrics because it's one of the fields that I've been thinking about.  I'm not at all sure what kind of doctor I want to be, but pediatrics may be an option.  Being in that unit was super interesting.  I also really enjoyed psychiatry.  I had never been in that sort of environment, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  But I managed, even though the doctor through me some challenges (ie. here, do an exam on this patient... yeah, never done that before, totally freaked me out!) But overall it was a new experience that I learn lots from.

On my last day I went to say goodbye to the cardiologists per their request and they surprised me with a pair of the hospital scrubs and a bottle of champagne. I had mentioned how comfy I found the scrubs (what they call pajamas)... so they were kind enough to give me a pair :)

That night the Durlach’s and I went out to dinner at a fun restaurant in Reims.  I ordered something that sounded really good, and then twenty minutes later found out it was raw meat!! But it’s okay, I survived and it wasn’t too horrible! That night back home I packed up my bags and got ready for the next morning.  Here are some pictures of me with my host family, the Durlachs.

 

Left to right: Camille, Vincent, Anne, Abby (Olivier not pictured)

Me on the porch of their house (beautiful view) and Channel, the cat

Champagne Weekend!

For my last weekend in Reims, I took plenty of time to relax after a long week at work, and I also toured several champagne caves.  Each champagne company has a "house", which is where there business is located.  They are usually very old, historical mansions where the champagne is made and where huge parties can also be held.  Underneath these mansions are the caves, usually about 20-40 meters underground.  This is where much of the maturation of the champagne takes place since the caves provide dark, cold, and humid environments.

Mercier Champagne

On Saturday Anne and I drove to Epernay, the next town over, also well known for it's champagne production.  We went to Menier Champagne, where they have a cute little train that drives visitors around the cave.  After the tour, where we saw thousands of bottle at different points in the champagne making progress, we also tasted one glass of their champagne.  On our way back we drove through the country side and stopped in a few cute little towns.

 

Mercier Champagne

Later that evening I went out with Camille and Olivier, the twins of the family.  We went to a bar and listened to a band from their school perform. It was a super fun environment (minus the cigarettes) and the music was good!

The next day I went with Anne and Clement to watch them vote (not much different than in the US) and then we stopped by the Cathedral.  We figured since I had never actually gone inside that I should do that.  It was beautiful, and I especially liked the stained glass windows that Chagall made.  The other fun/famous things about the Cathedral is the "smiling saint", seen in the photo below.

 

In the afternoon I stopped by another champagne cave that was near the center of Reims just to be able to see a different company.  The caves and process were mostly the same, though this company's caves are much more recent and now quite as charming.  But we got 3 glasses of champagne instead of just 1! ;)

Finishing up my last week at the hospital then off to my travels with Kristin! Can't wait!

Exclusive Blog Pic: Operating Room!

Here is a blog exclusive picture from my work at the hospital! On Wednesday I shadowed in the operating room at the hospital.  I got to wear scrubs (my new favorites), which they call pajamas here in France.  And since all the operating rooms are sterile, I also had to wear shoe covers, a hair net, and a face mask. 

I was mostly in the operating room to observe ophthalmology operations, which are eye surgeries.  I saw a few cataract repairs, and some few retina detachments.  They use microscope that also stream video, so I could watch both what they were doing, and see in detail on the TV screen.  

In the afternoon I heard news of an emergency surgery that was going to be arriving at the hospital soon.  Later as I was walking around the floor I saw the operating room where the patient was.  They were doing emergency abdominal surgery for an aneurysm on the aorta.  A nurse invited me in to watch.  It was super cool, and much more gory than eye surgery :) They were able to place a prosthetic link between the severed area on the aorta.  I saw all the organ and the added connection to the large artery.  Not sure if surgery is for me or not, but it's good to know I'm not squeamish about blood!

Saturday Market

 One of my favorite things about French culture are the outdoor markets they have at least one a week in each town, no matter how big (Paris), or how small (Vernou-Sur-Brenne).  Everyone gathers with their usually home grown produce, creating a huge melting pot of colors and smells.  Everything from flowers, to fruits, veggies, fresh fish, smelly cheeses, gigantic pots of paella, tables full of strawberries and homemade jams.

The family that I'm living with buys all of their fresh produce each Saturday at the outdoor market in Reims.  They hardy every go to the grocery store! Everyone has their favorite vendors, and always return to them.

 

I accompanied Vincent and Anne this Saturday to the market, even though I went last weekend. It was fun to see how they navigated and what they bought.  It was interesting how they bought certain fruits from one vendor, certain veggies from another.  If one table is out of rhubarb, they head to their second favorite.  And you know the produce is really fresh when you hear the vendors talking about how they aren't selling rhubarb because their plants in their garden are done growing. 

And as it always is in France, touching is strictly forbidden.  In the US, people like to take their time and find the perfect orange or mango, feeling, smelling, and sometimes tossing it to test its ripeness.  In France, that won't happen.  At a fruit stand, you tell the vendor you would like four nectarines and when you're planning on eating them.  He then picks out your fruit for you.  Last week I saw a lady (she was french, not a poor unknowing tourist), get yelled at for touching the fruit.  Reminded me of the market rules :)

 I really wish we had things like this in the US.  I know that we have farmer's market, but they just aren't the same, or maybe just not as widespread. But maybe it's something that no matter how good it is in the US, it will never be the same as it is in France.  The atmosphere just isn't the same.

Celebrating!

Although I would have loved to be home to celebrate the good news I received on Tuesday, it's hard to complain when I'm in the Champagne capital of the world! I simply hop off the train from work, sat down at a cute bistro, and ordered myself a wonderful glass of champagne...