Autumn in Paris
Today was one of those days that perhaps I will not remember years down the road, but it is of the kind that, when strung together with other days like itself, leave the impression of immense happiness and form fond memories of a particular place and time.
I woke up late; my phone let me know it was already 12:30. I rolled back my shades and was greeted by a grey sky struggling to hold back the cool autumn sun. The air was damp, but I was strangely optimistic that the sky would clear in a matter of a few hours. I dressed, grabbed the Proust reading I am slowly consuming, and left my house with a sole thought in my head:
“Today is too beautiful for school. Today, I am playing hookey”.
And so I did! I took the metro over to Place St. Michel and bought a rather delicious kebab. Afterwards, I strolled into Gilbert Jeune, a massive bookstore with a section “d’occassion” that makes my mouth water. I bought four books I’ve long been craving: La Chute by Camus, En Attendant Godot by Samuel Beckett, Exercises de Style by Raymond Queneau, and Dom Juan by Molière. I hope that in reading these great works in French- though I have read two of them in English before- I can adopt some useful phrases and expressions into my everyday conversation.
I left the bookstore and passed by Notre Dame over to one of my favorite crêpe stands. Today, my Nutella crêpe exceeded expectations. As I ate I strolled on down to the banks of the river Seine where I took a seat and mulled over my newly acquired books. By this time, my earlier optimism had been rewarded; the sun hung in the bright blue sky, unmolested by pestering clouds. I sat back and took in the boats gliding along the water and people walking along the far bank.
Unable to totally neglect my obligations as a student, I walked over to the Place Bastille, where I sat in a cafe for the next two hours pouring over “Swann in Love”, an excerpt from Proust’s monumental work À La Recherche de Temps Perdu. Around five I caught the metro home, and I have only a little while to wait before heading back out to the Opéra Bastille for a performance of Rigoletto. I am quite excited for my first operatic experience, so expect a review in the coming days! But, I must be off.
À bientôt,
Austin
