Ok so I wish I could post more but I have to run (not literally) to Lyon now so stay tuned for more later. ciao ciao

La Fete de la Musique

So it seemed like the entirety of last week was some sort of buildup to what is here in France, and now like over 50 countries worldwide, the biggest festival of the summer. Its a music festival (hence the title) and people were really talking it up and everyone where I work checked with me nearly every day to make sure that I was going to be here in Paris for it and not off on some excursion. One of the first times the head of the Experimental Nuclear Physics division here at the CEA stopped by my office to see how things were going, in response to all I told him, he said that it sounded good...and then said that I was not to miss "La Fete de la Musique". So I had what I would say are normal expectations. I have been to music festivals (ie Burlington Jazz Festival) so in my mind I just scaled it up to fit the size of the city and I had what I thought would be a pretty fun night, but nothing out of the ordinary.


So on Friday night, Marouan and I went to Orsay to meet his cousin and my friend Hassan to go to what we thought would be the Orsay festival on Friday. While we were waiting at the gare Orsay, Marouans friend (Im pretty sure Marouan literally knows everyone in Orsay) Amine stopped by and talked with us for a bit. It was great and I learned a few phrases in Verlund which is like a slang version of french that is spoken "on the street" . The basic concept is to reverse the spelling of the word but usually doing so adds some sort of vulgarity to the meaning so I dont think I will try to speak it at work. Although it was fun to learn for a bit, along with some other things that I would have never learned in the classroom. :) When Hassan and Marouans cousin finally arrived we walked into Orsay but to our dissappointment, there was no festival, so instead we went back to Marouans apartment and watched the Euro match. (Honestly, the Euro cup has taken a large role in my stay here this month and it seems like every night there is a game, there is always much conversation about it at work and everyone has their opinion of why which team will win or lose. and the drama surrounding the French coach is pretty high right now for some reason and it seems like the news reports are very foreboding, but i cant understand them all)

The next morning I woke up early and took the bus to Massy and went to the train station there to buy my ticket to go to Lyon (this weekend) to visit my friend Flo. And the funnest part for me was that I did it all in French. It was very fun, even though im pretty sure the lady knew I was not French. Ive since been informed by Franck that I have an "American" accent in French. I never really thought about this before but it makes sense. Its weird for me to think I have an accent. anwyays, I then went into the city and picked up breakfast at a small boulangerie (again, I echo that these little boulangeris are amazing and what they make is out of this world, especially when it is fresh). I then went to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur for the morning because we had decided to meet "in front" of Sacre Couer. I think that this area of Paris is becoming one of my favorite parts, in tandem with the Latin Quarter. They are both so full of life and Montmartre especially with all of its artsy people and little boutiques and cafes. Its just so robust (I think that would be a good word to describe it). Sitting down at a cafe, I started talking to two women (mother and daughter) from South Africa. They were really nice and gave me some tips on tours to see the city because I have yet to take an organized "Hey, Im a tourist, " type tour of the city. I then went to meet Hassan "in front of Sacre Coeur" and ended up waiting for nearly an hour before deciding to call him, only to find out that to him "in front of Sacre Couer" meant at the bottom of the hill about 800 yards away. So we decided to meet up at the Adidas store on Champs Elysees. (However, waiting in front of the cathedral was great because there was a guy who was juggling (football) standing on a pedestal and he was absolutely amazing, Amazing! So I just sat and watched him the whole time). This (the Adidas store) is unmistakable but when I got there, I found him on the other side of the road. I guess his conception of "meeting" at a place is to be far enough away so as to confuse the person enough to think you are not there. So we walked around and finally found a place to eat before Hassan showed me the way to cross the Etoile to get to the Arc de Triomphe which is surrounded by a huge roundabout which I thought you just had to make a mad dash across. We walked around a bit more and popped into a few shops (not buying anything on account of the fact that the cheapest shirt I saw, which i would never be seen wearing, cost nearly 100 euros.

We then took the metro to the Trocadero station and got off to walk to the Eiffel tower. I can guarantee you that if you ever go to Paris, this is the stop you want to get off to walk to the Eiffel Tower because it gives the most spectacular view the entire way. By this time it was getting very hot and so we took our time wandering about because we were to meet Marouan at the Eiffel Tower at 7:30. On the opposite end of the plaza, near the Ecole Militaire, we found a volleyball tourney going on. One entire side of the huge park was covered with sand and an entire stadium had been erected opposite the Eiffel Tower. It was the most bizzare sight I have seen and felt very out of place here. Inside, we watched a match with America vs Brazil (America won and it really put a marker on me as American by the way I was cheering seeing as how the rest of the stadium seemed to either be from Brazil or just cheering for them) Outside, there was free stuff! Sweet! So I got the chance to share the art of getting "les gratuits" with Hassan, something that seemed to be very astounding to him.

We walked back and met Marouan at the Eiffel tower with his brother and cousin, although I think I must have looked like a crazy person shouting his name across the seas of tourists and locals crawling about. We walked back up towards Tracadero, stopping to watch some sort of African dancing troupe, which considering the amount of people gathered around, was fairly anticlimatic. We then took the metro down to Porte d'Auteil because Marouan swore that that was the best venue with the biggest stars. Although when I asked him who they were, he didnt seem to know, only that they were big stars. When we got there it looked like the cattle were being herded in to some corral, most of them drunk, some still on there way. So we waited for what seemed like forever, squiched up against each other, making new "friends" with every pulse of the crowd. Finally we got into the stadium and walking for a long while found ourselves as close to the stage as we could get.......and we were (no joke) 1km away still. It was quite ridiculous. And the music wasnt even that great I dont think. Just poppy type bobblehead stuff. So after about 2 songs, I left and decided to go down to La Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter (Jacques had recommended this area). And he was right. This was definitely the place to be. People were everywhere. Everywhere! Crossing the streets (which had seemed to dissappear except for the few cars every once in a while) people would move from one band to the next, a group literally on every corner (no joke) and then more. More! Music was everywhere. It was unbelievable. And it was bizzare because each group had a different style and genre they were playing. So I grabbed a bite to eat and then a drink to go and started walking around from group to group, sometimes stopping for a bit, sometimes not. But it was great. It was literally like one huge party going on in the city and everyone was in on it, everyone! From the baby strapped to a moms back I saw, to the child dancing with his parents, to the swarms of young people, middleaged and seniors, and people who I thought would have gone to bed by 7pm. Everyone had the same energy and seemed to be enoying it all. I walked around a bit more and found my way across the Seine past Notre Dame and on the other side of the river I heard a badn playing Red Hot Chili Peppers. (That was also bizzare. You would hear American music being sung quite well and I would swear the vocalist was American but then when they would finish it was always, "Merci, tout les mondes") So, I stopped by this band and started to listen when this man next to me started talking to me. He said his name was Saib and he was there with his friend Sebastien and his mother (who Im pretty sure was like 84 - it was 2am by this point) Yah de yah de yah, and then he asked me to go get drinks and essentially was trying to pick me up. Um, what? It was a fairly bizzare experience to say the least and for me got awkward fast so I did my best to tell him that "J'aime les femmes" and left as soon as I could. I stopped for a bit to collect my thoughts and rest at the Pompidou centre before walking all the way down towards the Bastille and arriving there at about 3:30am. By this point, the music had started to let up and the streets had essentially turned into places for all the people (many drunk) to walk for the night. But there was no sign of any of them stopping any time soon. From the bastille, I walked all the way back to St Michel along the Seine (not curling up to nap along any bridges this time, dont worry) and took the train back at 4:30, getting back to my room at about 6am just in time to see the sun start to rise. Nuit blanche numero 2, mais cette fois c'etait tres bien.

work so far

So far this week at work has been going well. We are making progress with the work, although at times it can be very frustrating I have found. But things are coming along. For now it is pretty much purely computer programming to try to wort through tons and tons and tons of data that we took in like 10 minutes last week and throw out trashy stuff after figuring out why it is trashy. Its a big challenge for me but so far I have found it fun to try to think in an abstractly practical (oxymoron?) about the physics and principles behind the detector to be able to write the analysis code. Hopefully next week we will get a chance to go back into the lab for more data takeing and some more hands on work. And this time, we may be getting to use a different detector setup inside a magnetic field. For me, this will be very exciting I think.

London (4) Sunday?->Monday?

So after Liz dropped me off at the bus I fell asleep and woke up at the airport at around 1am. Going in, I found many more people than I expected there. It seemed like some whole new subculture of people I had discovered who travelled at strange times....like me. And the most amazing part was that barring those who were curled up in sleeping bags or had made forts with their luggage, everyone was functioning like it was a normal hour. So I waited around, sleeping at times in different places, more confident that I would not be mugged in an airport until 4 am when I could finally go through the gates and wait for my plane at the terminal.

The plane ride back to France was pretty good (I slept) but landing at 8am, I was nervous if I would get back in time. So I ran to the RER (metro) stop at Charles de Gaulle and hopped on, finding it a bit cramped at first but eventually finding a seat. And then, arriving at Paris Nord, I found my train to Le Guichet and oh wow, was it ever packed. Like nothing I had experienced before. When the doors would open at each stop, the people getting out would barely be able to exit without being pushed back onto the train. At one point even, I was watching a girl on the other side of the car who did not look like she was having fun and then all of a sudden, her eyes rolled back and she passed out. It was very hot, extremely sweaty and in no way enjoyable. And the worst thing of all, the train was going extremely slow. It was as if the conductor wanted us to throuroughly enjoy our experience, and I didnt know why. So it took me until about 2 hours, twice as long as the ride up, to get back to Paris and I ran to my room, grabbed some things and got to work by 11:30 where, talking to Jacques, he explained that the public transportation service was striking and this is why it went so slow. Then, he added with a smile, that it was another part of the French experience, protests. Luckily, I made it in time for lunch though, I still cant get over how good the food is here.

London (3)

Today we got up and went back to the Globe arriving right at 10AM to get tickets for the show later. And there were some still left. For standing seats on the ground, which were a must so as to get the full experience, we only paid 5 pounds and we were going to get to see The Merry Wives of Windsor. Splendid. So we left and crossed the Millenium Bridge, passed St Pauls Cathedral and walked towards the British Museum (where Liz is working). It took us a while and we at first missed it, I dont kow how as it is a huge building, but when we finally got there it was amazing. And I was elated and in heaven when I got to actually see the Rosetta stone. This was probably, in addition to Liz telling me about her Elgin Stones, the highlight of the museum for me even though we spent nearly 3 hours touring everything there was to see from Egypt to Japan and Back to the Roman Empire.

Our legs were feeling like rubber when we finished so we took our time walking back and took a few side tours through parks and such, getting to the Hornimans Tavern with a couple hours until the show began. And it was here that I had th famous Fish&Chips that London is supposed to be so reknowned for. It was quite good, yes, but it did not have nearly the same effect as the cheese the previous day. We got to the show pretty early to get good...standing room, and while in line met a couple of Canadian girls who had been touring all around Europe for 6 weeks and were flying out the next day. It was great to get to share our experiences and get a few pointers from them. And then the show. It was Amazing! Absolutely splendid and I can hardly put into words how I felt. I was leaning on the front of the stage the entire time, so close that I could have reached out and grabbed the actors, and once, due to the mans Precise ProNuNciation of ProPer EnGlish, I almost got hit by a stray bit of spit. You may now get the picture of how this felt. And the actors were amazing as was the entire performance, which, to our surprise we could understand. It was like being on cloud 9 the entire time being in such a reknowned place for theatre.

After the show, Liz and I went back to her place and I packed, she came with me to the bus stop and we said goodbye. And getting on the bus, I thought it would be an easy time getting back to where I lived for work at 9am the next day ...

oops, my keyboard got unplugged so this is actually just a continuation of the last entry.....


It was a beautiful service but the room was very echoey and I couldnt understand the words because nearly the entire mass was sung. Although, Unlike Notre Dame, there were not tourists milling about the entire time. In fact, they only let you in if you were there to attend service (I thought this was a good thing).

After mass, we started to walk. Our plan was to walk across town (far across town) to Harrods for cheddar cheese. Coming from Madison, Wisconsin I feel that I have a pretty good appreciation for such things and so when I was told by Tony ( a man I met at dinner the the thursday before) that cheddar came from England and Harrods was the place to go, it was a must on the list. So we walked. But as we were going down the street, I saw coming on a bicicyle a man. Yet this was no ordinarily dressed man. In fact, he was not dressed at all. And then another, and another and...there must have been ove a thousand of them, coming down the street escorted by police on either side. Some wore various skimpy articles of clothing but for the most part, they were bare naked from head to toe. Liz and I were stunned and as we watched we talked to a London couple who even themselves were amazed.

Nothing could top this on the trip to Harrods for crazy t hings seen. However, we did see the changing of the guards (I think) at the national treasury, but it was unlike anything I have seen of the wort before and was very loud and ruccousy. After this we walked back past Buckingham Palace and through St. James Park before happenning on, yet again, the brigade of naked biker. This time they had stopped and were gathered about some monuments. Being adventurous, we decided to walk straight through. It really was bizzarre and is difficult to describe as being anything than a swarm of naked people. Although I would have many apprehensions about doing something like that, escpecially in a city, I do think there is an upside in the fact that pickpockets would have a very hard time with me :)

Walking past some more parks and some very very "posh" shops we made it to Harrods and "oh my God" it was amazing inside. Liz and I agreed we could both lose all our money here if we had to because it had so many great things from shopping (very expensive) to chocolate (very expensive) to coffee (very expensive) to tea (very ...). So after some browsing we went to the cheese place and bought two nice cuts of cheese to be eaten later. Although the samples she gave us were absolutely splendid and almost succeeded in making me weak at the knees.

Leaving, we walked a bit down the road and found a small English pub. So, until the pictures are here, picture for yourself the most stereotypical little English pub where everyone seems to know everyone and its smaller than a dorm room and you could swear that it had not changed anything since the turn of the century and you have yourself our pub. I loved it and having a hot plate of Shepherds pie and a tall English beer I really felt like I was in London. And best of all, outside, gathered, was a small group of the naked bike brigade. Who would have thought. We had found an afterparty.

Walking some more, we crossed theThames and were going to go to an outdoor movie but a slight miscalculation landed us very far away. So we walked nearly the entire length of the Thames seeing everything there was to see, including the Globe theatre where we agreed to go to a show the next day. We then took a rest when we saw the London Bridge, making it to where the movie was supposed to show a bit later, but as our good luck for the day had run out, there was no movie. so, sitting by the Thames, Liz and I ate our cheese and crackers and relaxed, we were exhausted. We ended up getting back to her place at nearly 12 and went straight to sleep. An amazing day I must say.

London

So London... the plane ride was good. I got into Luton airport at about 10:30 and had to wait till 11:15pm to take a bus to central London. On the way I met a Polish lady who helped me figure out a root to get to Tufnell Park (where liz lives) if I missed the last tube train. She was really nice and asked me if it was my first time in America when she noticed I was laughing a bit because we were driving on the left side of the road, something totally new to me. But my luck, which seemed to be fantastic this weekend, found me able to catch the last trains to Tufnell park and so I got off the train at about 1am in some residential like urban London district with drunk people stumbling about and carz whizzing by. So I took a quick look at a sign map and walked...in the wrong direction for about 15 minutes before realizing this and realizing that trying to take a short cut may make me spend another white night but now in London. So I walked back and finally found myway to where I thought Liz lived and after shouting her name a few times in the general viscinity of the building, she came out. It was very nice to see her then. So we went in and after talking for a while went to bed, both staying in her room which some may call...cute.

The next day we got up and went downstairs for a "traditional English breakfast". The place she is staying is like a bed and breakfast and the people are so nice. And it was really good. Probably the best breakfast I have had since being here. And then we were off, with great weather despite the warnings that London always rains. We took the tube back in to Picadilly Circus and sat down in a park to plan our day. There was so much to do. Starting on our way, we were going to go toBuckingham palace right away but as we neared the Mall (its a street) the crowds seemed to build and there were police everywhere. So getting closer and asking a local, we discovered that it was the Queens birthday today (whoa!). So we stood and waited and watched as many many royal troops walked by. And then, following a band mounted on horses, was.. The Queen. And the streets went wild. Everyone was cheering so loud and she was in her little buggy all dressed in turquoise waving to the crowds. Walking a while more after she went by we made it to Buckingham palace and then walked back up towards the Thames. We went to Westminster Abbey and outside saw what was called Morriss dancers. It was this group of like 20 people all dressed up in old English garb doing a traditional dance. We then went inside and took the tour of the Abbey which was amazing. Although, I must say in honestly that I am partial to the cathedrals here in Paris. Leaving, we walked by Big Ben and Parliment, both of which are very amazing to look at. crossed the Thames and had lunch on the other side during which we both tried what the waitress could only describe as "rocket". Its some sort of British thing that is like an "intense" lettuce or spinach. Very hard to describe. We then went back to the abbey for mass

A blog...at last

Bonjour tout les mondes. Ok, so after the advice of my friend Anna and the realization that massive emails are hard to keep up, I have realized that a blog may be the best thing to do to let everyone know what Im up to. So this is it...TA DA! However, I shall not regail with stories of my past adventure, beyond this weekend, however, I am thinking that a massive dump of pictures may be in order when I get around to it. So stay posted for those. However, I will update this when I can to let everyone know how I am doing and the things that I have been doing. So stick around and check it out. A bientot.