European vegetarianism

So school started this week.

I'm in level 5, or C-1. That's the highest level I can be in for the time I'm here. C-2 exists, but it's only for people who are here for more than one semester. So woo C-1! As it stands, I have 15 hours a week of necessary classes, and I have to choose 3 out of 8 options to follow. If I wanted to I could go to all of them, but that would be a lot of work. So I'm going to try them all, and decide what ones I want to do for the semester. It's kind of neat that it's only 4 a week, though, so the classes alternate. This week is Theatre, Contemporary Art History, Literature, and Politics. Next week will be Economics, Philosophy, French Song, and Contemporary History. Theatre was ok Monday, but it's the only class I have all day Monday. If I can find something that works better with my schedule, I'm going to go for it. Art History sucked. Bad. The prof lectured for an hour and a half, and showed us pictures from a book at the front of the class. No slides. He opened a book and pointed at pictures. It was not good.

In other news, there are chickens on campus.

These guys live in a huge glassed-in area in the middle of a bunch of offices in one of the buildings on campus. I was looking for a quiet place to study, and was shocked and wildly amused to find them. 

Which brings me to the topic of vegetarianism. Meat here, frankly, sucks. The chickens (maybe because they're organic, I don't know) are small and tough, and I don't even want to get started on the beef. Boeuf bourgignonne is alright, but I had a dish for lunch yesterday that had "beef" in it that looked like mushrooms and tasted like urine. It may have been goat. I also tried a burger today at a bakery (homemade bun, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, cheese, beef patty) that gave me food poisoning. The patty wasn't cooked enough, and I've been throwing up for about the last hour. Not cool. So I'm seriously contemplating taking up vegetarianism for the rest of my stay. 

After classes this morning, my friend Miriam and I went back to the Musée des Beaux-arts. We paid for the audio tour, and were there about 2 hours. The place was huge. 

A cool-looking staircase that I took to get from one area of the museum to another. 

This museum is in a building that used to be a royal palace of the Dukes of Burgundy. I bet there's a sweet dungeon downstairs, and other creepy things upstairs. 

This is a smaller version of a statue in one of the gardens here. Its bigger brother is a life-sized polar bear. When I get a chance to do the walking tour of the city, I'll take pictures of the big one. This little guy was pretty cute. 

The view out the window of the museum. We finally had sun today, after 2 days of rain. I can picture Disney characters frolicking through the streets. I could be (and probably am) mistaken, but I think the church in the back is Notre Dame de Dijon. 

A wooden sarcophagus in the Egyptian wing of the museum. This was closed the last time I came here. 

A gorgeous picture that used to be attached to a stone tablet. I don;t know how it got separated from the tablet, but I'm amazed it's in one piece. It's millimetres thick. 

A couple of stone sarcophagi. Very different styles, but both are incredibly detailed. 

A female burial mask. 

This is a smaller, earlier version of one of the scenes that appears on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It shows Lady Victory leading the French soldiers. Apparently they're naked because they're brave. 

This is a bust of the guy who carved a lot of the images on the Arc de Triomphe. His name was François Rude, and I think he had a sweet beard. 

A painting of the room that the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy originally rested in. The tombs themselves are currently in the States. This painting is hanging in the room where the Pleurants are being exhibited. 

A sculture room that I didn't see the first time I visited. The ceilings are incredible!

This is about the size of a dinner plate, and is on the ceiling where the lines intersect. You can see one in the picture above this one. Amazing detail. 

At this point, I was really tired of looking at statues. I was way more interested in the walls and ceilings than I was in the artwork. 

But this guy was really cool. 

I got colossally lost on my way home. At first, I was pretty worried, but I decided to suck it up and take in the scenery. Downtown is set up in a way that, if you walk enough, you either find the Chouette walking tour stones on the ground, or you find the Rue Darcy. It's the major street downtown. So I wandered, and took pictures of the beautiful day. The sunlight really makes the Burgundian roofs shine. 

A little courtyard just off the street. There were chickens in the coop on the right. These little green spaces in the middle of the noisy downtown area always take me by surprise. Charming.

The back of Notre Dame de Dijon. When I found this, I wasn't lost any more. This is the church that has the little stone owl on the wall that brings luck to tourists. I was relieved. 

Mom, this one is for you. This is a vendor on the street outside the market. There are a lot of stores along here that have tables that they pull out for market day, or any day the weather cooperates. Even though today wasn't a market day, this vendor was loving being outside. 

Another store with a street-side display. I promise to take more pictures of the street vendors on Friday when I go to market with Frédéric. 

This is what the market looks like when it's not Market day. Just as a point of reference for later this week. 

Another neat little alley. As I finished taking this picture, I looked up to see two very serious-looking police officers looking at me very seriously. They asked why I was taking a picture of an alley. I batted my eyes at them, smiled, pretended to not know what they were saying, and swiftly walked away. 

A sidewalk café and carousel in the middle of a public square. I definitely wasn't lost any more. The Rue Darcy is to the right of the carousel. 

From there, I hopped on a bus and found my way back to the house. All told, the museum took about 2 hours, and being lost took another 3. But it was time well spent. Today was wonderful, but it's time to hit the books. I'll post again after Market on Friday. With special pictures, just for Mom. :)

À bientôt!

p.s. Valentine's Day was rough. I was super homesick, and ate far more chocolate than I should have. The electronic pubic notice boards in the city displayed love notes from one person to another all day, and I felt terribly lonely. Even the ducks in the canal had dates. That's the first time I've ever been jealous of a duck. I miss my boys (Jason and Samson), my family, and my friends a lot. Thanks to everyone who sent thoughts and wishes of love. I do appreciate them. As of this very moment, there are 121 sleeps before I return home. I will do my best to get everything I can out of the days that are left here, but I want them to go by quickly. I need a steak and some Tim Hortons coffee. Badly.