Monkey Business in Barbados

 IT'S HAPPENING!!!

If I spoke to you in person about my Barbados plans in the weeks leading up to it, you probably heard me mention the monkeys. 

Yes, Barbados has white sand beaches. Yes, I would have the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream and learn to properly surf. But did you hear that THERE ARE MONKEYS???

At one point, I had been talking about the monkeys so much that I panicked and ran to the internet to do more research and confirm that there really in fact are monkeys in Barbados, and I wasn't getting all worked up over nothing. And there are in fact monkeys here, they are called green monkeys, and they are have been in Barbados for about 350 years. 

But my research did also indicate that they don't hang around the population centers down south where I was going to be spending most of my time, and I might have to take a day trip to an animal reserve up north in order to see them. 

BUT NO. 

Monkeys on my street! At least 5 or 6 of them tightrope walked that power line into that tree, and a couple even ended up crossing the fence of the property I am staying at. I don't actually know proper monkey protocol, so I didn't try and engage them beyond sort of excitedly chattering at them in the first few seconds while trying to wrap my brain around the fact that IT'S REALLY HAPPENING. 

But how unexpectedly easy! Monkeys, right outside my front door! Barely a week after I got here! 

Little Moments: Minuit a Paris

I just walked in my room from seeing Minuit a Paris. I guess it must actually be called "Midnight in Paris," because all of my French professors keep referring to it in English, but the only promotions I have ever seen for it are Parisian.

I'm not actually very versed in my Woody Allen, so I wasn't really going to bother seeing it, but everyone insisted to me that seeing it in Paris is a must-have experience before I leave. I am SO glad I listened. First of all, you should see it regardless of the city you are in. It's a wonderful, sweet, adorable movie with a lot of intelligence and heart. Someone described it as Woody Allen's love letter to Paris, and I think that is apt. But having lived here for the past 5 months, it was extra special, I think. During the opening montage, I kept checking off whether I knew exactly where each snippet was. I knew a lot. Not all, certainly. There are many areas I haven't spent much time in. But give me another stay here, maybe living in a different arrondissement. I'll get it down.

Part of me wishes that this had come about about three months ago, when I was feeling annoyed by pretty much everything in Paris (that feeling is long gone, trust me). But there is also a certain melancholy to the film that fits nicely with my last week. It's evening now, so I will be erasing today on my wall- 5. Four more days. Wow.

Paris, it's been a life changer. Je te remercie.

Class is Cancelled!

Yesterday, it reached 80 degrees in the City of Light/Love. It was gorgeous. It was also a Wednesday, which usually means I have class from 9-noon and then from 1:30-3:30. Not so yesterday! My 1:30 is cancelled while my professor is in the US for a few weeks, and yesterday morning, when I arrived at 8:45 for my class, there was a note on the door proclaiming class canceled.

!!!

I was already dressed and out, and it was so lovely outside... and really, how often do I have the chance to hit all of the tourist destinations on a Wednesday morning, when they won't be overrun?

I hopped the first bus to Trocadero.

This is the Theatre Chaillot building, one of the two buildings that flank the Trocadero plaza

It's the first time I've been there in daylight, at least this time around in Paris. I rather suspect I was here during the day back when we visited in high school, but I have no specific memory of it. I do have a memory of the crepe stand down at the bottom, though, so it stands to reason that we went up to the top of Trocadero then as well. 

I was at Trocadero by about 9:30am, so it was relatively empty, emphasis on the relative. Probably still close to 100 people there, but nothing compared to the crowds that pack it when it sparkles at night. 

I decided that I would take further advantage of the smaller crowds by hitting one or two touristy spots where I can use my Student ID to get in free. So, I intrepidly set off in what I assumed was the general direction of the Arc du Triomphe. 

Can you guess where this is going?

I actually didn't get spectacularly lost in any fashion, I just overestimated how far down the Seine it was, and added probably a total of half an hour of walking time. Lovely sights, though, so I'm counting it as worth it. 

Looking up the Champs-Elysee!

As you can see from that last picture, I ended up on the east side of the Champs-Elysee. I started out to the west of the Arc du Triomphe. So that was a blip. But it meant that I strolled up the Champs-Elysee in bright sunlight. There are worse mistakes. 

My student ID got me in for free, and though the stairs were quite terrifying, it's actually not that tall and scary once you are on top. 

Sacre Coeur up on Montmartre

Evil staircase of death

At this point, I was starting to realize that I had definitely not headed out that morning with the intent of sight-seeing, so I returned home via a lovely bus ride to change and empty out my bag, then I hopped back out to the area of the Seine just west of Notre Dame for about an hour.

Got some writing done, Skyped with Mom, studied for the test I had today. All in all, an excellent first Wednesday in April. 

Little Moments: Little Horses

I have pretty much renounced the Metro due to all of the creepers who ride it, and instead budget in the extra time for the bus. It allows me to see more of Paris, as well! 

Yesterday, it was fortunate that I had left early, because we were at almost a stand-still for a few blocks because these guys were walking down the street:

Three little ponies and a little donkey. So cute!!

Someone told me later that apparently they have pony rides in the Luxembourg Gardens every day, so that is where these kiddos were headed. 

Little Moments: Love on the Seine

I was walking along the Seine to grab a bus home after stalking the last day of Paris Fashion Week outside the Louvre, and I came upon this scene:

Aren't they adorable??? I'm guessing mid-70s?

Little Moments: Traffic on the Seine

Just a quick shot I took, while in a bus that was stuck in traffic on a bridge over the Seine: