Besançon (finally!)

I kept going to centre-ville and forgetting to take my camera!

Well, here are some photos of Besançon at last:

Reflections after the rentrée

I wish I could say that I didn't have the time to post an entry because I was busy doing exciting things, but this was unfortunately not the case. During the second week of my Toussaint vacation I spent a great deal of time with my good friend Monsieur Voltaire, and other than being "contrôled" on the bus there were very few events of interest.

Coming back to school yesterday, I discovered that I had worked too hard on an unimportant assignment and had not even begun the two-page essay on the connections between Humanism and the Age of Enlightenment. Luckily for me, my literature teacher is very nice and will allow me to turn it in late. But first I have to start it.

Yesterday I was riding the bus home at six o' clock in the dark and thinking about all the homework that I wasn't going to have time to do, and I started to get really stressed. It's not easy for me to not turn something in. I can't help but worry about it. But then I remember that I've only been in France for two months and that being confused and tired is understandable. Even permissable. As my good friend Monsieur Voltaire reminds me, I am living in the best of all possible worlds. It's called France. What am I complaining about?

Paris

 They are somewhat out of order... but that's the way it is.

Above is the loverly Paris appartment that we got to stay in

 There is an interesting mix of graceful beauty and stripped-down rattiness in Paris.

 Bicycles you can rent

Vive la France!

 Ummm... I don't know what this is, but I thought I'd include it anyway.

 We didn't actually visit the Eiffel Tower but we saw it peeking out here and there.

 My last minute Halloween costume

 La Seine

 Contemporary art of some sort- it didn't really fit in with all the old buildings.

 I took a lot of pictures of random people. Parisians are interesting!

 There was a sign on the side that said 'JEUX DE BALLONS INTERDITS' or something like that...

 There was a bird on a lamp. Therefore I took a picture.

 Another old building, another French flag

 I'm going to stop trying to justify why I included these picures.

 This is the Louvre, but we didn't go in because of WAY too many people.

 So much awesome fashion! Aaaaah!

 We visited the Centre Pompidou instead of the Louvre which turned out to be REALLY cool.
I got to see a real Picasso!

 This portrait was my favorite. "Jeune Finlandaise" by Sonia Delaunay

 The Sainte Chapelle at Château Vincennes

 They don't make 'em like they used to, eh?

 This worn off painting was on the wall in a cell in the castle.

 This is the king's bedroom. I think.

 The paintings are an exhibition of Francois Schuiten.

 Paris seen from the château

 Ah, the rascally rascal.

 Our appartment was on the sixth floor. There was no elevator.

And this was the last photo I took before saying goodbye to Paris.