Woche 23 & 24: Trip to Tours and Visit from Germany

The tenth week of the calendar, starting on March 8th, began with International Women's Day, for which we released a video of the song 'Kaleidoscope' by Bubs. Ronja also played around with our photos and created some really beautiful collages! The whole video is very creative because we only sing in 4-part harmony, Ronja didn't have a part, but because we didn't want to release anything without her, she wrote a text that was recorded multiple times, and we used it as a little intro to the song. I think it's a true piece of art!

Before teaching in the afternoons as usual, I took advantage of the beautiful weather to visit my favorite bar Petit Carillon and see the waiter Hacène in the morning. Then I took a trip to the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery. Among other things, there is the grave of Chopin, which is a really impressive place.

On Tuesday morning, because I ran out of oat milk, I poured cow's milk into my cereal, then I drove to school and practiced in the music room. But then, with increasingly worse stomach pain, I decided to go home. Romain, with whom I would have shared the classes today, thankfully understood completely and I was able to rest for the rest of the day. On Wednesday, I received a very sweet message!

Fortunately, I didn't have to work on Wednesday and was able to recover from the really bad stomachache (lactose intolerance?). I wrote my report for the Pedagogical Exchange Service and talked with a few friends on the phone.

On Thursday, after my singing lesson, I returned to the street where I bought the champagne for my birthday (Rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth). I noticed two very nice shops there that I wanted to have a look at. And indeed, I found some jewelry in one of the shops that I could buy with my birthday money from Grandma :)) I also found a lined denim jacket in a hidden second-hand store right by the Centre Georges Pompidou, and in the evening, I ate delicious chocolate from Mathilde while reading. The day could have been worse!

On Friday evening after work, I finally had the opportunity to record 'When the Party's Over' by Billie Eilish for Bubs. I'm excited to see how it turns out when it's finished! I also tried playing 'Wenn ich geh'n muss' by Tua on the guitar, but that was probably a bit too ambitious.

On Saturday, I visited Rémi and Quentin again, and we played a lot of card games. And because the two of them are rugby fans and there is currently a big rugby tournament where France is participating, I watched rugby for the first time :D

On Sunday, when I returned to the apartment (it doesn't feel right to write 'home'), Florence was celebrating her birthday, which was on Friday, with four friends in the living room. They were all very nice, and two of them sing in a professional choir, which is currently allowed to rehearse. I exchanged numbers with one of them, Elisa, so maybe I have the opportunity to simply listen to a choir practice! There was also an artist there who paints really great pictures. His name is Antonio Cacciatore. The joke of the afternoon had to do with the poor working conditions in the pastry chef profession. If a sexism scandal is brewing there, is it called #Tiramitu?

In the evening, I had plans with my own art friends! :D At Caroline and Jonathan's place, the four of us had crêpes (yes, again) and spent a very fun evening together. By the way, Jonathan offered me a piano for €225. He works as a prop master in the film industry and bought a piano on eBay Classifieds for the last film (with Gérard Depardieu), which they now have to sell again. All the keys work, and I could seriously buy it. I've already thought a lot about where it could be placed (maybe even at a friend's place?), but I would still have to test it to see if the sound is okay. But otherwise, €225 for a piano is just nothing!! Caroline and Jonathan also offered me a place to stay anytime if I ever have problems with shared apartments again, or if I just want to come to Paris. Sooo nice!

I set the alarm for very early because: Luca and I are spontaneously going to Tours tomorrow!

Tours is a very beautiful city. After our one-hour train journey that started at 07:27 am at Montparnasse station, we arrived there before 9 am. After walking 30 km through the city, experiencing a few raindrops, seeing a donkey, many beautiful little houses, the grave of St. Martin, and women endlessly praying the Ave Maria in the crypt, enjoying a delicious Indian lunch, and feeling a bit lost myself, we boarded the train back to Paris at 6:05 pm, completely exhausted.

Tuesday. Bad news: a lot of excitement about the AstraZeneca vaccine. After 7 cases of cerebral thrombosis, the vaccine is being withdrawn from circulation to check whether it caused the thrombosis or if there is another connection between the patients. The only problem is: Mom and Dad were scheduled to have their first vaccine appointment with it this week!

Good news: Sarah, Lisa, Anna, and I got tickets for Jupiter Jones!!! Unbelievable but true! On January 8, 2022, as always, in Cologne, hopefully! It's just crazy.

On Tuesday afternoon, I had a date with Chloé, who cooked specifically for me <3 Pauline also came by, and the three of us worked in the afternoon. In the evening, we relaxed with a sweet white wine and had a nice aperitif, then we both slept there.

On Wednesday, I held a debate in school on the topic of artistic freedom vs. sexism in rap, and talked about Fridays for Future in another class. By the way, FFF is hardly known here in France, which really surprised me. I thought it was a successful demonstration movement throughout Europe. The highlight was seeing this cute cat again.

On Thursday, I had a very early (9:00 am) singing lesson, and sometimes the Italian language in Mozart's 'Rosenarie' pushes me to my limits. But it'll be fine! After that, Stéphane, the music teacher, continued working on recording a song with four girls, and I was able to listen. Furthermore, the instructor of the seminar 'String Instruments for Non-String Players' sent me an email and offered me a spot in the seminar, even though I specifically DID NOT sign up for it, although I had considered it. But it must have been fate, and now I have a spot for the viola (I actually always wanted to play the cello :() in the course.

For lunch, I was invited to Julia, the German teacher's, place with her husband. Romain was also invited with his girlfriend, they picked me up, and we went there together. The whole afternoon was really nice! We started with an aperitif in the living room (beautifully newly upholstered old sofa set in old rose), after a small house and garden tour. I got to know Julia and Romain a bit better. Julia's husband Nicola is a singer at the Paris Opera, and their daughter is in a class where I have taught with Romain before. It got a bit emotional when they talked about the recent death of a good friend who was a very well-known actor in France (Jean-Pierre Bacri), and Louise, Julia's daughter, wrote a text for his funeral, which she also read to us. Julia and Nicola sing together in an ensemble with Jean-Pierre Bacri's former wife, Agnès Jaoui, who is also well-known in France. It's totally crazy! After a total of 5 courses (aperitif, salad, main course, cheese, dessert) with three different drinks (champagne, white wine, red wine), Julia and Romain surprised me with gifts. I was completely overwhelmed because I didn't expect that at all! Apart from delicious chocolate, a pencil case, a 'dictionary' with words in colloquial language, and a very sweet note, there was also a graphic novel. It's called 'Culottées - Women Who Did What They Wanted' by Pénélope Bagieu and is the first part of a series of books that tells stories of interesting women. Rémi already gave me the second part as a birthday present, so I know the concept and I was incredibly happy about all the lovely gifts and of course about the invitation to dinner.

On Friday, after work, I had to hurry to get to Gare de l'Est as quickly as possible because my brother Philipp was already waiting for me! With an empty suitcase so he can already transport some of my things home, we went to my place, cooked, and spent the whole evening playing cards. We shared a beer, and he said it was the first time he ever shared a beer :D

On Saturday, we spent the whole day in Paris and visited some typical tourist spots: Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre-Dame, and the bookstore Shakespeare & Co. Since today, there have been some changed conditions regarding dealing with Covid; there is officially another lockdown and all shops are closed (except supermarkets, flower shops, and bookstores), but the curfew has been moved from 6 pm to 7 pm. That's why we were able to enjoy the day relatively relaxed and in the evening, we watched the movie 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. On Sunday, after the video call with Mom and Dad, we took a walk to Place de la République, and he left at 1 pm.

I spent the rest of Sunday working on some small to-dos that need to be done and on this blog. For example, I took the final OLS language test and actually improved my result from B2 at the beginning of the exchange to C1! (Unfortunately, my grammar is still at a B1 level, that needs to change urgently.) I also bought a very small painting to hang in my apartment in Cologne.

Yesterday, Leon and Felix went to Amelie's place and set up my bed and desk there, so there's already one room where I can almost live properly! It's true luxury. Tomorrow, my last ten days begin. Unbelievable!