Bastille Day

This morning, I headed to the Champs-Elysées for the big military parade for Bastille Day. I had never been in Paris for Bastille Day before, so I was unsure what I was going to see. I was running late and part of the parade had already occurred. It's not really even a parade in the normal sense of the word. It's more of a chance to show off all of the military equipment that France has in an extremely timed manner. There were lots of points where nothing happened for 15 minutes and then suddenly all of the jeeps would come by. Then another long wait and planes would fly overhead. It was very strange to see tanks rolling down the most well-known street in Paris though.

After the parade, I wandered through town some, bought lunch, and visited some shops that were actually open despite the holiday. I also took some time to lay in some grass near the river and nap for a while. I knew that I wasn't going to sleep until I made it on the plane to Dublin the next day, so I took the chance to get a few z's.

That night, there were fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. I tried to go early, but in the end, I made it to my final spot about 30 minutes before the extravaganza started. I got lucky and found a spot not too far from the bottom of the tower. The place, as you can imagine, was packed! Once the fireworks started, they piped music throughout the area - different songs from film soundtracks which, of course, made me very happy. The fireworks were nice and while I stood there watching them, I thought that it made a fitting end to an amazing year in France.

Following the firework show, I wandered through the city one last time, stopping to admire the Assemblé Nationale which was lit with the tricolore. Another great sight! Then I headed back to Montmartre and went up to Sacre-Coeur for a while, sitting on the steps with all of the other people celebrating. Around 2 a.m. I was getting cold, so I headed back to the hostel where I had stored my luggage. I hadn't bothered getting a room for the night because I knew I had to catch the bus to the airport in Beauvais very early. Luckily, the girl working at the hostel let me hang out in the TV room for a while before I gathered my luggage and headed off to catch my bus.

Books!

Today I finally got the books that I needed for my class. Granted, it took me like two hours of searching through the six-story building. That night, HP for a third time. I know, I'm addicted! Other than that, it was just a day and night of wandering through the city. Tomorrow's Bastille Day!

Trip to Fontainebleau

Today I finally had the chance to go to Fontainebleau. This trip was something I had been wanting to do all year, and originally I had thought that it could be one of our camping trips since there's a great forest near the town. At the Gare de Lyon, you can get a forfait to the castle that includes entrance, train and bus transportation, and an audioguide for just over 20 euros.

The château was nice, but even with the audioguide, I found it a little bit boring. I think I thought there would be more information about Napoleon since it was used by him. Instead, I found it was more about its original use and the king who had it built. Still there were times that I felt myself thinking about the history of this château and could imagine Napoleon walking through its hall or Josephine descending its staircases. I was very happy to have finally visited though.

In particular, I found the throne room to be an interesting place. Originally the bedroom of Louis XV, Napoleon converted it into a throne room. Napoleon preferred this château to Versailles since Versailles was more highly linked with the Bourbon monarchy.

After Fontainebleau, I headed back to Paris and went on another exploration for books in the Latin Quarter. While this time, I had a little better success, I decided against buying anything since I didn't have enough time to try to find everything. I made up my mind to come back the next day and not leave until I had thoroughly searched for all of the books I needed.

Not being able to resist, I decided to see "Harry Potter" against tonight. I got there very early, so I was near the front of the line and got to sit in the second row of the balcony in the very middle. On the second viewing, the film was just as good. I'm really impressed with the writing and casting of Luna Lovegood. She's perfect!

The Big Departure

This morning, Coline, Timothée, and Guillaume came to my apartment about 11 a.m. to accompany me to the train station for my farewell send-off. It was really nice to see them one last time plus the help getting my luggage to the station was much appreciated. While we waited on the platform, Timothée had gotten a luggage trolley and Coline decided to take a ride. I'm not sure how safe it was since they seemed out of control most of the time, but no one went off the edge onto the rail at least!

When my train arrived, the luggage area was overflowing. I later found out that my car was full of children coming home from a camping adventure. They were all wearing Harry Potter costumes, so I'm not sure if it was an HP camp, or if it was just a special thing since today was the release of the new Harry Potter film. The four of us said our goodbyes at the door, and as the train pulled away from the station, this was my last view of my friends from the window:

I couldn't have asked for a nicer send-off!

On the train to Paris, I sent Matt a text to let him know I was on the road. It's odd because I didn't really feel any different today than I felt any other time that I've left Le Mans to travel. I think I just had a long time to say my final goodbyes to the town and my friends, and the fact that I saw everyone the day before made it seem like I had really good closure.

My goal for the night in Paris was to see "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" since it was opening night and I knew that I could see it in VO. As soon as I got checked into my hostel, I headed to the UGC George V cinema on the Champs-Elysées to get my ticket for the evening showing. Luckily, there were still tickets and I walked away with my ticket in hand. I headed tothe Boulevard St. Michel where one of my future professors had suggested I go to find some of my books for his class. The bookstore was very overwhelming with its six stories and strange system for separating books. If you didn't know the publisher, finding the book yourself was nearly impossible! After an hour, I hadn't found anything, was quite frustrated and decided to head back to the cinema to see the film.

The film was the best one of the series. Maybe it was because I still had some pent-up emotional stuff, but I was continually moved by the level of emotion in this film, especially the Harry-Sirius connection and the interpersonal relationship among the trio. The scene in Dumbledore's office when Harry yells in frustration at his headmaster sent chills down my spine. When I walked out of the cinema, I was completely satisfied with the film and felt that it really couldn't have been any better than it was.

After the film, I headed back to the Latin Quarter to get a crêpe for dinner and just to wander for a while. As I walked back toward Concorde, the sun was setting and I got this wonderful picture of Paris. What a view!

My Last Night in Le Mans

For my last night in Le Mans, I asked everyone to join me for drinks at Le Lézard. Of course, Coline had to work, but I had had a drink with her earlier in the day, and she had promised to come to send me off at the train station. The day turned out to be really good because I saw almost all of my French friends before leaving.

Julie and Craig were the first to arrive at Lézard, joined shortly thereafter by Timothée, Guillaume, and Valentin. We had been hanging out, talking for a while when Twiggy dropped in for a drink. All of us guys went to the bar for shots of flavored vodka. It's interesting that we haven't really done shots at all this year. The French seem to save them for special occasions (at least my friends seem to), so as it was my last night, shots were poured.

It's impossible to really talk about the night. It felt so wonderful that everyone came out to see me and spend this last night with me. I made sure to get addresses, so I'll be able to write to them once I get home. Pictures I do believe say a thousand words, so here are a few:

The goodbyes came one by one throughout the night as people headed off. Twiggy and Julie were the first to go. Everyone else stayed until Lézard closed. Then I said goodbye to Craig, but the rest of us went back to Timothée's apartment. Now, luckily my train didn't leave until 12:30 the next day, so I knew I could enjoy my night properly.

Back at Timothée's, Valentin took his love of horror films to a bizarre level, donning a ghostface mask and playing the guitar. I don't think I'll ever watch "Scream" the same way again after this:
The four of us piled onto Timothée's bed to watch a cheap, poorly-made horror film that one of them had bought earlier in the day. I'm not sure what was up with the sound, but at 100% volume, you could only hear the faintest of sounds. Not being people to be easily dissuaded by the little things, we decided to watch the film and make up our own dialogue for it - in French of course! It was quite amusing at first, but at some point, I must have dozed off because the guys woke me up when the film ended. Valentin and I left, and he walked with me for a way before turning toward his place. Saying goodbye to Valentin seemed bizarre since he's been with us since almost the beginning of this adventure.

On the rest of my walk home through the deserted streets of Le Mans, I had the chance to see most of the places that played an important role in my year here. It seemed odd knowing that this would be my last walk through the town. While people who have lived here for a long time don't see anything special about the town, I'll always have a fond place in my heart for this city that I've called home for the last year.

My Bank

Today I had an appointment with my conseiller at my bank to make arrangements for my departure. Since we are going to be paid through the end of August and then receive our overtime checks sometime in the September/October time range, I had to be sure to leave my account open and make sure I knew how to close it when I needed to.

Now, my bank - Le Crédit Lyonnais or LCL as it's commonly known - is located in the Place de la République. I have been extremely satisfied both with the service I've received in the branch when I've needed to visit as well as with the few number of charges that I've incurred during the year.

My conseiller, Mme Lacôte, is such a nice person. I don't think I've ever dealt with anyone in the banking industry who is as nice and knowledgeable as she is. My meeting with her went very well and we got everything settled for my departure.

Afterwards, I met Valentin and Coline for a drink at Le Lézard before Coline had to go to work. Then I headed home and continued with my cleaning and packing.

Film Night with Valentin

After I had spent a full day of laundry and cleaning my apartment, it was time to relax for a while. Valentin had planned to come by and bring two films from the "Halloween" series to watch. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to find his copy of "Halloween" and the video store no longer had "H20", so we decided to change up the game plan. We hit Vidéo Futur and picked up two horror films: "Jeeper Creepers 2" and "Dawn of the Dead". One of the big common points between Valentin and I has been our love of scary films, so we each chose one film we hadn't seen although the other one had. I paid for the films and Valentin bought our dinner at my local kébab shop. It was a fun night and one that we had been planning most of the year, but things kept coming up to get in the way. Things are really starting to feeling like they are wrapping up here...

My Last Saturday

For my last Saturday night in Le Mans, I met up with Valentin, Craig, Julie, Romain, and Guillaume at Le Lézard. Given the fabulous weather, we sat outside and enjoyed some pints. Eventually, Twiggy and Timothée also joined us. Before the night was over, we ended up back at Twiggy's apartment. It was a really good time and I had the chance to really talk with each of them individually, especially Craig, Valentin, and Timothée. Timothée and I had a long discussion on the balcony about cuisine and cooking, a subject that I thought was somewhat bizarre for the evening but was entertaining none the less. It was good to really talk to Craig, too, because I had been a little concerned about him. I knew that with Emily's departure, things might be tough on him. He seems to be doing really well though. About 4 a.m., he gave Julie and me rides back to our places before going home himself.

It's odd to think that this time next week I'll be preparing to head to Dublin for the beginning of my journey back to the States.

Le Roi Soleil

This afternoon, I boarded a train to Paris to see the French musical "Le Roi Soleil". I had wanted to see it when it was touring and came to Le Mans, but at the time, I couldn't find anyone to go and I didn't want to go alone. Seeing that the last performances ever were this weekend in Paris, I couldn't help but finally get a ticket to go see it. It was absolutely great! The crowd was really enthusiastic, singing along and clapping and stomping along. Now for those of you who are thinking this is not appropriate for a musical, let's just say that this musical is like a cult phenomenon and very upbeat with strong rock and pop songs. Having seen it many times on DVD and listening to the soundtrack, I was able to join in with the crowd.

My seat was awesome I was on the floor, dead center stage about 30 rows back. I had an excellent view and at the beginning of the show when part of the cast is in the audience, they were only one row in front of me. Merwan Rim, who plays the Duc de Beaufort, was directly in front of me.

There were only two disappointing parts of the show. First, since it was the first show back in Paris, I don't think they had all of the sound equipment working properly because sometimes the mics didn't broadcast the voices at a decent volume. The other problem was that they allowed people to take photos during the show, and although they told them they couldn't use flash, flashes were firing throughout the performance. I took a few photos without my flash, but in the end, I just wanted to watch the show.

During the finale, I did get a couple of pictures that turned out all right, including this one with Kamel Ouali. He was one of the professors on Star Academy and was the choreographer for the show. If you want to see clips of the show set to one of the main songs, you can check it out here.

After the musical, I hadn't planned to get a hotel. I had planned to just wander the city, visit some bars and late-night stores, and then head to the train station to wait for my 7 a.m. train back to Le Mans. In the end, I just wandered the city most of the night, walking through the safest areas of the city and enjoying Paris on a cool summer evening. I did eventually get really tired, so I found a bench near a police station in a nice part of town and sat down for a while, dozing on and off. By the time I got on the train at 7 a.m., I was zonked and slept all the way back to Le Mans. Luckily, it was the end of the line, so I didn't have to worry about oversleeping again!

Last Visit to Greg and Chrystel's

Today I went to campus to establish what we hope will be a new tradition for the lecteur office. It called "The Wall of Lecteurs" and basically just has a couple of pictures of us from the year posted with our names. A note lets future lecteurs know the purpose of the wall and encourages them to continue it. Hopefully, that will happen... plus this allowed us to leave our mark on the office.

This evening, I went to Greg and Chrystel's for dinner with them, Thomas, Ninon, and Ninon's brother. As always, the conversation was lively although it was a bit odd to not have Matt there. Greg shared out some of his whiskey and we made it through a couple of bottles of wine. It felt really good to be out and social, especially with such a fun group. Thomas, Greg, and I spent most of the time discussing films and eventually played around on YouTube looking at different things. I introduced him to Weird Al's "Amish Paradise" and he found it just as hilarious as Matt had. Chrystel had made a marvelous meal of duck and boiled potatoes with cèpes. Add in pâté for an appetizer and banana tarts for dessert and it was a meal to die for. It was also really good to see Ninon and Thomas one last time. Although I haven't seen much of them this year, they are always good for an interesting evening of conversation and laughs.

Eventually, they left and Greg, Chrystel, and I sat around sharing a last hookah and chatting about the year. Their apartment was basically all packed up, as they are moving on Saturday. Greg is going to continue with his translation job for the moment, working by correspondence. Chrystel got lucky and found a new job this week. She's be making a good deal of money and working with students in the master's program at a management school in Périgueux.

I wish that we had seen a little more of Greg and Chrystel this year. They were both always up for great conversation and nights at their apartment were always a lot of fun. I'll have to be sure to make a trip to the Dordogne to visit them the next time I'm in France!

Nutso Weather

So today it hailed and sleeted in Le Mans. I think the world is coming to an end, but global warming is *NOT* a real problem supposedly... bollocks! (sorry needed to throw in a little Britishness)

Despite the weather, I made it to the post office to send Matt's shirt and blanket off to Liverpool. I dropped in a CD with pictures from his final night in town as well as discs containing "Coupling" episodes. Hopefully, the cheapo DVDs that I had laying around will work OK!

The Great Shirt Adventure

Today I had decided I needed to get Matt's t-shirt for him. I had planned to go around to Jean-François's house to borrow a key, but since I knew that David (the third roommate at the apartment) would be home around 5 p.m., I decided to just head out to meet him. I arrived just as he was coming home from work, and he let me in to get the shirt.

As soon as the door opened though, I immediately got a sense of dread. The apartment had been immaculately cleaned and rearranged since Matt's departure. I assumed Jean-François had come around Saturday afternoon. I searched through the apartment, trying to find the bag with the wet t-shirt. The longer I searched with no luck, the more I became convinced that he might have thought it was trash and threw it out. I did find Matt's picnic blanket and thought I'd take it in case he had mistakenly left it. When I couldn't find the shirt, I had David let me into the trash room and the two of us dug around in the garbage bins, looking for the bag. It wasn't there either, but with the small amount of trash down there, I thought it might have already been picked up.

I left the apartment feeling really dejected, upset that I should have tried to get the shirt on Saturday. I sent Matt a text to avert him to the bad news. I decided on the walk home to just swing by Jean-François's house though just to see if he remember throwing it away. I figured a definitive answer was needed. When I rang his doorbell, his head popped out of the upstairs window. Luckily, I had gone around with Matt on Friday and he immediately recognized me. When he opened the door, I explained why I was there and he grinned. He had taken the shirt home to dry it, thinking that Matt had washed it and forgot to dry it before leaving. The shirt still had red wine spots on it, but it hadn't been tumbled, so I thought there was still a possibility of saving it. I sent Matt another text to inform him of the triumph of retrieving the shirt to which he replied with great enthusiasm.

I brought the shirt back to my apartment and tried a home remedy that I found online - a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dishwashing liquid. The results were not great, but it did help some. I decided that buying a bottle of oxygen-activated stain remover made more sense. That mixed with some boiling water slowly did the trick. After three applications and a complete washing at the laundromat, the shirt looked good as new and was ready to be shipped back to its owner. Seeing as it was nearly 10 p.m., that would have to wait for tomorrow.

Help from Home

Waking up today, I still felt pretty sad. I decided to go see Matt's landlord to see if I could get a key to retrieve the lost t-shirt. It got me out of the apartment for a while plus it made me feel like I had a mission to achieve. Unfortunately, Jean-François wasn't at home, but I talked to his son Christophe. He told me that his dad would be back the next day, so I decided I'd just come back tomorrow.

Tonight I spent a long time on the phone with both Clint and Talia. We made plans for my return - the midnight release party for Harry Potter 7 in Tulsa at Barnes and Noble! Oh, I can't wait for some HP goodness. It was good to have a long chat with them. They both belong to that list that I mentioned in yesterday's post of the people who I know I'll always be in touch with no matter what happens. It's also nice to hear people who are excited that I'm coming home and can't wait to see me... It's nice to be loved :)

By the time I went to bed, I felt better although it would have been nice to have talked to Matt as well. I just can't call his English cell phone because it costs him money and I know things are going to be tight for him for a while until the job situation works itself out.

Saying Good-Bye to Matt

I knew that the final good-bye would be the hardest, and it didn't disappoint. After we left Timothée's, Coline and Matt dropped me off at my apartment because I was going to cook breakfast for us. They drove to Matt's apartment to get the last of his stuff and came back to mine. The three of us had a huge breakfast - scrambled eggs, sausage, croissants, coffee, tea, orange juice, and all the needed accessories. Luckily, we had about an hour before Matt's train, so we were able to eat in peace and relax a bit before his departure. I was able to pass on a couple of going-away presents to him, but he refused to unwrap them until he got on the train to try to avoid getting overly emotional. He gave me a box of tea that his parents had brought from England. It was a perfect present to remember him by. Since he introduced me to drinking tea, I will never drink a cup without thinking about him.

While they were at his apartment, Matt had left the bag containing his wet, wine-covered t-shirt in the apartment when he shut the door, locking the keys inside. We promised to make sure that we got the shirt and sent it to him. After all, it was a birthday present and just a cool shirt.

About 8 a.m. we loaded up his bags and trekked to the train station. Standing on the platform waiting for his train, the conversation continued normally. When the train arrived, we got all of his bags on and he stood in the doorway. We said one set of good-byes, but the train seemed to be delayed, so we just stood there a bit. At the final whistle before departure, we took the opportunity for a final hug before the door closed. Coline and I watched through the window, expecting him to take his seat. Instead, he stood by the door and as the train prepared to pull away, he slapped his hand against the window - a final goodbye. I reached up and touched the window as well as the train pulled away. As Coline and I walked back into the train station with our arms draped around each other, the sense of emptiness finally hit. I had assumed that Coline was going to be the stronger of the two of us, but once we got inside the main hall, the tears in her eyes became a full-fledged cry, as she buried her head into my chest and sobbed heavily. My watery eyes didn't give way to a full-on cry although tears were definitely running silently down my cheeks.

Coline and I walked back to my apartment. She sat on the window sill, smoking and staring blankly at the street. I sat on the sofa and contemplated the amazing friend that I had made this year in Matt. After about 20 minutes, I got a text message from Matt. He had apparently read the letter that I had left for him in his bag with the photos. It's funny how we can say things in texts and letters that we can never say in spoken words. His text was kind and just what I needed to hear at that moment - although the sentimental nature of it drove me over the edge and I finally had a proper cry. I've made and lost many friends throughout my life, but there are only a select few that I believe I will always treasure and be able to remain close to despite the distance between us. Matt is definitely on that list. I treasure him truly as a brother and no matter where life takes us in the future, I'll do my best to make sure that we remain part of each others' lives. Le Mans will definitely not be the same without him in the coming week, and at that moment, I wasn't sure how I would survive without him. There are so few memories I have of the last year that don't include him. Anytime I remember my year in France, both he and Emily will be at the forefront of my thoughts.

Coline went home about 10:30 a.m. and I finally went to bed. The rest of the day was filled with waking up several times and just feeling this huge pit of loneliness in my gut. I had promised to go out that night. Prozac was playing at the Backstage. As 9 p.m. approached, I really didn't want to go, but I knew it would be better if I did. As I walked up at the Backstage, Craig was standing outside. Just seeing him made me feel a little better. Apparently, no one else had shown up yet, so we just stood around outside and talked. Eventually, the others came by, but since there were three bands before Prozac played, we had a while.

The concert was basically just for us since no one else was at Backstage. Tonight was the big parade for the circus so everyone was out in town. Guillaume suggested that he and I wander through town and see the festivities. It was a good chance to be out with him, but it was really strange. The entire town was celebrating, dancing in the streets, throwing confetti and streamers, and playing music. Considering my state of mind, it was all very bizarre, but I'm glad I got to see at least a little of it.

When we got back to The Backstage, it was just about time for Prozac's gig. Adrien and Stefan didn't seem too happy about the low attendance, and the performance had to be the worst one I've seen. The tempo was all over the place and the level of enthusiasm was at a negative level. In the end, Stefan just decided to end the gig after about 5 songs. I was still exhausted from the previous night and the emotional day, so I headed on home and crashed for the night.

Matt's Last Day in France

As today was Matt's last day in Le Mans, we had a full itinerary planned to maximize our last day together. I was supposed to meet him at his place at noon so that he could spend the morning going for a final run that morning. I took the opportunity to pop into town and print off a few photos of us from the year to add to his going-away present. When I got to his apartment, he was ready to roll. We loaded up all of his luggage, said good-bye to the apartment, and headed to my place. Since my apartment is so close to the train station, it made more sense to leave all of his stuff at mine instead of hauling it across town the next morning.

There were a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied up. We started by heading to the post office to send Matt and Em's NeufBox back to Neuf. Now this has been an ongoing source of contention since they never did get Internet service even though they've paid for four months of it. I had spent more than an hour on the phone with Neuf earlier that morning, trying to get everything cancelled for them. The box was sent back and hopefully everything else was correct. Matt also had to send a box to his home, as he had too much to take home on the train.

Following the post office, we headed to Matt and Em's landlord's house to recuperate Matt's deposit check. Luckily, that didn't take very long, and Jean-François was as good of a host as always. After completing this task, Matt suddenly seemed a lot more relaxed and ready to really enjoy his last day in Le Mans.

Matt had been talking about trying to get a green Lacoste polo and with the semi-annual sales on, we decided to drop by the Lacoste store to check out what was available. Unfortunately, they didn't have the polo in Matt's size, so the polo quest was a lost cause.

One of the big things that I wanted to do on his last day was go to Le Lord's one final time for some billiards. It was a particularly fun hour of pool with the last game coming down to an eight-ball shootout. In the end, Matt won (as usual) and we closed the billiards chapter of the book known as Le Mans. Leaving Le Lord's for the last time was particularly memorable for me since this had become one of the main activities that we did in Le Mans on a regular basis.

We popped back to my apartment for a cup of tea and an episode of "Coupling" before dinner. We also took time to look at a lot of pictures from the year and reminisce about the fun we've had. Matt, who is not always the most openly sentimental guy, made a really great comment about our trip to Dinard that I really took to heart. For me, that trip was one of the highlights of the year and definitely one of my fondest memories of our time together.

We had a long-standing plan to visit our favorite Indian restaurant for our "last supper" together. In proper French fashion, we spent two hours eating dinner and sharing a couple of carafes of rosé. The evening's conversation was entertaining and of course on occasion sentimental. It was funny to think back to those first few meetings we had - lunch at Richard's, our first pints at Mulligan's, and that first day of inscriptions in the fall. We've come a long way since then and had so many exciting adventures that both of us will remember fondly.

Following dinner, we were set to meet up with the Frenchies at Le Lézard. We sat on the terrace and spent the evening enjoying pints of Kronenburg and the company of many of our favorite French friends. Matt had originally planned for an early evening because of his early train the next morning. However, a few pints and some coaxing by Coline convinced him to sod it all and stay up all night to get every last ounce of fun out of Le Mans before his departure.

When Le Lézard closed at 2 a.m., we headed to Timothée's apartment since Coline had the keys. We just sat around, listening to music and talking through the night. There was a wine accident though, and Matt found his shirt (a birthday present from his girlfriend) splattered in red wine. We got it into cold water to try to prevent long-term damage. Eventually, it was photo time, and this picture of Coline, Matt and me is one of my favorites from the evening.

It was almost 6 a.m. when we finally decided to leave Timothée's. Since that technically belongs in Saturday's events, I'll save the rest of the story for tomorrow's blog.