Cité des Sciences et Industries

When we went to Paris for the second time, we saw a lot more things. My favorite was the Cité des Sciences et Industries. It was a science museum that covered everything from math to sounds to genes. All the exhibits were really interactive and most of them explained things in French and English, except the one concerning infinitesimal calculus, of course. We spent a lot of time in the math section. The exhibits explained the Pythagorean Theorem, regular polygons, fractals, and how Galileo figured out where some of the other planets were. The sound section explained sound modification for commercial purposes. Did you know that they actually modify cereal to try to make it sound more crunchy? There was also a place where you could take sounds and speed them up, slow them down, or play them backwards. My favorite was the bell going backwards. The light section was filled with illusions of all kinds. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend much time there. I could easily have spent a week there, and I hope that one day I get to go back. 

Versailles, Paris

The Palace of Versailles

My Crazy Cousins

The Hall of Mirrors

During our time in Paris with our cousins we decided to take the train to visit the palace of Versailles.  Although it had once been a hunting lodge for King Louis XIV I have to say either it was a very grand hunting lodge or they did some major construction, because even the word palace seemed to be an understatement. All this was our impression as we saw the front before we even saw the grounds which are miles of carefully structured and incredibly beautiful gardens. Oh and with their own private man made canal/lake  built to reflect the sunrise. Awesome, right? We spent most of the day wandering around the grounds, eating extremely sour lemon sorbet and watching musical fountain shows. We also visited the Petit Trianon which was Marie Antoinette's private  retreat.  I have to say it was not very petite. It was a lot bigger than most houses but was still dwarfed by the palace. It was sad to see that the king would rather spend France into ruin keeping his wife happy instead of just letting her go home to Austria to visit. At the end of the day Bridget, Dad and I stayed to see the inside of the palace. We saw the famous hall of mirrors and the king and queen's bedchambers which I don't think I would been able sleep in, because for one thing the bedcovers were embroidered with gold and were undoubtedly very heavy. Also the bed was the only piece of furniture in the room apparently to leave room for the thirty or so nobles and servants who came in to dress the king and queen every morning. Imagine having to wake up with that many people staring at you. Suffice it to say the kings and queens of france who lived at Versailles lived in unimaginable luxury right up to the beginning of the French Revolution.

Carvnival

The Carnival is a celebration in France that is most famous in Nice. It differs in each town, but there are some things that stay the same. For example, there is always a big parade with floats, confetti, streamers, and the like. This year, the theme for the Carnival in Aix was Tim Burton movies. He directed stuff like Edward Scissor-Hands and the new Alice in Wonderland, so as you can imagine, the costumes were amazing. Each float was decorated beautifully, and there were people playing music and dancing in the parade as well. It moved pretty slowly, but it was fun to watch. Some floats had made up a routine. Everybody had big bags of confetti that they threw at everyone. Even the bystanders had put on costumes. The Cours Mirabeau, which is the center street, was littered with streamers and venders selling cotton candy. Even the statue of Roi René was decorated in blue.
     The Carnival used to always be held before Lent, kind of like Mardi Gras. However, as France is a 'nonreligious' country, it can be held at any time. Ours was actually during Lent. I believe that the Carnival is held in most cities in France, at varying times of the year. It was fun to get covered in confetti and watch the happy people dance by in their hilarious costumes.

Pont du Gard, Nimes

We decided to go kayaking down the Gardon river under the Pont du Gard. We went for dad's birthday and we ate his birthday lunch sitting on a rock in the middle of the Gardon river with a beautiful view all around us. The Gardon river was much bigger than anyone coming from Santa Fe, or any other desert, would have anticipated. It was twice as wide as the "Rio Grande" in New Mexico and probably at least three times as deep. In fact it was deep enough for Bridget and I to jump off a small cliff into the river, something we would not have even considered as a possibility in New Mexico. Bridget and I paddled fast in ordered to beat our parents to the Pont du Gard, but we didn't have to worry because for one thing the river was doing most of the work for us and for another our parents were just drifting down the river enjoying the scenery. We passed a castle on the river's edge which was very picturesque and put us in mind of medieval times. Just as we were beginning to worry that we wouldn't reach the Pont du Gard in time we came around a bend and saw a three tiered aqueduct that Bridget and I figured must be the Pont du Gard because it was the only Roman aqueduct around. The day before our lovely english teacher gave us a history lesson about Agrippa who had ordered the construction of the aqueduct. He was also the founder of Nimes which we visited the day before. The aqueduct carried water to the town of Nimes and although it is no longer in use, it is still perfectly intact. After a break to go swimming and eat chocolate we kayaked under the Pont du Gard which gave us an up close view of this ancient monument.

First Post

4/5/11 Bridget

Bonjour. We are twins living in France. Our names are Darcy and Bridget. If you see a reference to a Weirdo, it means that I am mentioning Darcy. Darcy has not yet come up with my nickname. So far, the vocabulary is 'bonjour, merci, s'il vous plaît, and gezundeit,' the last one being German. As you can see, we know quite a lot of French. Just kidding. So anyway, this is for an English assignment assigned by our dear mother, who also happens to be our English teacher. So some things might sound slightly forced, or not entirely truthful. For the most part, though, the facts are right. Hope you like it.

4/5/11 Darcy

People who know me will know my family and I are living in France right now. It has been a great adventure (yeah right). As Bridget said this is being edited by our lovely english teacher. So although that last part wasn't entirely truthful you still get the point. Before we came here I was under the impression that we were here to learn French, but as we are all still struggling to comprehend the incredibly confusing language spoken by people living in France, Dad has amended that impression and we are now here for a "cultural experience". So my sister Bridget and I will try to give "an impression" of our cultural experience and I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did.