My SABRINA Day

My battle with laziness is never-ending. However, it seems not as likely to happen here as it did back home. There were days at home that I didn't feel guilty about laying around, watching a movie, eating cereal, watching another movie, checking email, then realizing that the sun had already set and I never changed out of my pajamas. I know some of you can relate. If you can't, I don't believe you. I've had a couple of days like that here in Paris and it's something I hate to admit. I owe it to so many people to get out into the city and see it for all it is. Most of you would slap me if I wasn't taking advantage of this time and I would too if I were anywhere else but here. It's a pure waste to sit around and look at this 20m2 space that I call home.

I've become a little anal-retentive or rather, obsessive-compulsive about my time here. I have all these plans: learn French, get to know the city like the back of my hand, study French history so that I can fully grasp the splendor of this city, make friends, improve my mind, train for a marathon, etc. I've spent many hours trying to structure my time so that I can fit this all in. It's basically impossible, but I am doing better. Improvement is good, progress is good. I'm happy with that.

I've had many ideas, but one of them is cause for me to toot my own horn. I have studied movies that have taken place in Paris. There are some places that I can't find, so I pull up the French Yellow Pages (Pages Jaunes) and type in the restaurant name or business name that's in the background. Then I can find the location. Voila! It has been one of the great tools for me learning the city.

Today's tour was of the movie Sabrina. This movie is good, but I wouldn't put it on my top 10 list. Julia Ormond is classy and perfect for the part, but Greg Kinnear and Harrison Ford give rather mediocre performances. I am not actually sure if it's their acting or the screenwriter's poor choice of lines that come out incredibly corny.

After mapping out my tour, I grabbed my camera and set out on my adventure. I left around 11:00am, which gave me five and a half hours before I needed to pick Zacharie up from school. My first stop was Parc Monceau in the 17th arrondissement. I got all the way there which took thirty minutes and two metro stops. I began my photo session but my camera wouldn't work. I had forgotten to put my battery in my camera. Of course, bien sur! There I went, back on the metro for another thirty minutes, up six flights of stairs, grabbed the battery, back on the metro on my way back to the park. Good thing I had some good Matt Chandler sermons on my iPod. The park dates back to 1778. The landscaping has been changed a few times and half of the land was actually sold off for development in 1852. The remaining twenty-two acres are now public gardens. The basin surrounded back Corinthian columns still remain. I love this park. In the movie it's where Louis, the French photographer, takes Sabrina to teach her how to take photos.



I had to take the next train across Paris to the Montmarte area near Sacre Coeur. I managed to get myself lost because I wasn't paying attention. This wasn't the greatest area to have that issue. However, it was beautiful because it was ugly. Even though it's Parisian and historical, the ugliness made it pretty because it showed life. It was a testiment to the people that lived there. Graffiti spanned the walls of buildings. Trash littered the streets. However, that is life for some people. It helped me appreciate where I live. Every city is the same. They all have the really nice and posh areas that would never accept you if you were to wear your sweatpants, the area known for crime, and a Chinatown. I think most cities have these three if not more. At the metro stop before my switch from the 2 line to the 4 line, I took these pics.



After exiting Chateau Rouge, I walked down Rue Poulet and up Rue Muller to the restaurant where Sabrina sat while writing her father and quoting Gertrude Stein - "America is my country, but Paris is my hometown." It's right near the side steps of the Sacre Coeur. I walked up the steps and looked around. The air was fresh. I loved looking to my right to see a sacred, beautiful building and seeing the fallen and broken world to the left. There seemed to be something so biblical about it.

As I was walking up the steps, I noticed a feather being taken away by the breeze. It was blown on to a railing. I took the picture and found myself feeling like the feather. Being blown whichever way the Lord takes me until I find a place for a while having His breath on me. Then being blown another way, still feeling the lightness of His yoke and the peace of walking in it. Pardon my Sunday school analogy.

The walk back down to the metro reminded me of a street in New York City or out of the movie Barber Shop. This whole street was full of barbers and wig and extention shops. I came upon an intersection and saw a beautiful building that showed it's age. I looked up to one of the balconies and saw the legs of a mannequin. I was tempted to rig the door code and walk up the stairs to ask the tenant why he had a mannequin's legs on his balcony. I might save that for another day.

Back onto the line 4 to Saint Germain des Pres. This is a nice area that is close to home. As soon as I entered the street level, I heard a little band playing. I don't remember what the song was, but it was famliar. It reminded me that I was in Paris.

I walked down Rue Bonaparte to 13 Rue des Beaux Arts. This is the location that Sabrina moved to at the end of the movie. It's the home that the Larrabee's bought for her, kind of a bribe to get her out of Long Island. It's a lovely street just a few meters away from the Medical School that has a story of it's own, I am sure. You can actually see it in the movie at the end of the street. The location is currently a posh Hotel.



The Medical School on Rue Bonaparte


I walked back to the metro to get on line 10 over to Cardinal Lemoine. There is a little area in the movie where Sabrina bumps into her boss. They walk around this little square and talk. She tells Sabrina that she met herself in Paris. She took long walks and learned to enjoy her time alone.

Over the rooftops I could see Pantheon. There's no way that I could be that close and not go visit. The skies were shifting from grey to blue in places and there was a strangeness in the air. It was about a mile away and the walk was incredible. While walking in Paris, you find yourself in the middle of others' lives. In their conversations, in their thoughts. You can constantly be surrounded by so many people from around the world, but still find yourself alone in your own thoughts. I find this magical.

Across from Pantheon, I saw a sign that was rather comical. I can attest that there are no signs like this in the states. I didn't know electric cars really existed. I have decided that I will make a blog in the future of all the strange signs that I have seen in Paris. Here's a little glimpse of what's the come.

Onto Pantheon.


Just another church across the street.


By this time it was 3:30 and I had an hour to spare before fetching Zac from school. I continued on with listening to my podcasts. I managed to listen to five messages. I'm now a podcast addict. My plan for next week is to do the tour of the movie French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. I stumbled upon a couple of locations yesterday that was from that movie. It was a good day. I saw so many things in the city that I wouldn't have otherwise.