Two weeks ago (it's been a busy two weeks or I would have written earlier), my dad came to visit me and officially became my first visitor of the semester to whom I could show off my knowledge of Paris. Needless to say my usually decent ability to find my way around without a map completely evaporated and I managed to get us lost two or three (maybe four?) times. Still, for three and one half days we had a great time getting lost in Paris, enjoying beautiful sunny days, great food, and good company. Dad arrived Sunday night after spending about a week in Belgium following two bike races - Tour de Flanders and Paris Roubaix. I picked him up from the train station, Gare du Nord around 20h (8pm). The last time I was at that station I got completely lost trying to find Camille, my Parisian friend, so this time I made sure I knew exactly where to find him. As soon as I got off the escalator from the metro and he saw me before I even saw him. It was almost surreal seeing him in Paris, actually coming to visit, after three months apart. But he was there, it was real, and I had lots planned for us already. First we took the metro back to Odeon and walked to my apartment so he could put down his bags and get settled in. Once that was done and he'd seen my (now) clean apartment, we walked down the street to get some pizza and catch up. It wasn't the best pizza in the world, but it was the best time since I have to say, I don't think I've ever hung out with just my dad for more than a day - so starting out three days we had tons to talk about (such as his ridiculously cool adventures biking through Belgium and my ridiculously not cool final papers and presentations - well somewhat cool but I liked hearing about biking more than talking about papers on Raison d'Etat). After dinner we stopped to get the first of just a few more gelatos during his visit, then walked across Pont Neuf and by the Seine to Notre Dame, ending in a loop back home. The night proved to be warm and comfortable, the walk a perfect way to end the first evening and start his time in Paris.

The next day we got up early and walked to Luxembourg Gardens where Dad read and enjoyed the morning air on a bench like a true Parisian, and I did a few laps around the perimeter per usual (Luxembourg is undoubtedly my favorite garden for running). Afterwards we ran home, quickly got ready, and headed out to go to my final sculpting class. One semester and ten classes later and the results are in: a wood carving of Lake Tahoe - a present for Mati - since we started dating after spending three nice days at the lake (I wanted to prove Reno is actually pretty nice - he doesn't believe it still, somehow!). Dad patiently sat through my class and gave me tips on what he thought I could do to improve the piece. Two hours flew by and suddenly my first class of my last week of classes had come to an end and the sculpture was complete. What. It couldn't be. Not possible. Twelve weeks complete. It was a strange feeling flooding over me, needless to say.

Class ended and I had planned to take Dad to Places des Vosges, one of (if not the) oldest garden in Paris in the Marais (the mayor's arrondissement). Unfortunately, this turned out to be one of those times when I overestimated my ability to find a direct route to Places des Vosges and also my perception of what a long walk is - I consider anything up to forty minutes a short to medium length walk. So after wandering through what was indeed a beautiful area on a beautiful day, except for two hours, we finally found a grocery store (this was the true culprit in the confusion since I didn't actually know where one was) AND the gardens, so around 16h (4pm) we had a picnic on a bench, then laid in the sunshine with the Parisians, taking in the rays and Vitamin D we had so been lacking. It turned out to be lovely once we arrived and despite the difficulty in finding it, both of us agreed it was worth the walk (although walking back proved that we went a completely indirect route). We got back to the apartment around 19h and decided to see a movie before meeting up with Camille for dinner, but realized she had a test to study for so we scratched those plans and decided to meet her down the street at Cosi for a casual dinner. It turned out to be the perfect place where we could hear each other and enjoy the conversation. Dad hadn't seen Camille since summer so there was plenty to talk about - like her plans to come to America and finish her fifth year of law school (possibly at USC!). We ended up talking for three whole hours before parting ways. 

Tuesday morning I had another class from 10-12 so I left Dad at home, went to my final Raison d'Etat (celebrations!!), and then met him at the apartment to head over to the Musée d'Orsay. It turned out to have a massively long line we didn't want to wait through, so instead we went to the Champs Elysée and the Eiffel Tower to take some photos with Flat Stanley. For those of you who don't know Flat Stanley is a children's story character who is a little boy that got flattened by a bulletin board his dad gave him. As a result he can be sent on adventures to other places and travel the world in envelopes. A nurse at my dad's work asked him to take photos of her daughter's Flat Stanley in Paris, since she apparently loves the city. We took Flat Stanley everywhere, from the Eiffel Tower to the Champs Elysées to the Musée d'Orsay, to Parisian cafés. In the evening we got lost for the second time, definitely couldn't figure out the dumb Google Map directions (plus the street of the restaurant we were going to was completely a dead end on one side and a windy entrance on the other). Finally, at 21:30h (9:30pm) we met Kaeli and Nandi for a fantastic Thai dinner. Called Baan Kanya, this restaurant was tucked away down a small flight of stairs to what was essentially an underground room decorated in Parisian Thai style (white fur waiting couch and giant gold hindu diety head on the wall). The menu changed each day and was set, with nothing vegetarian unfortunately. But it all smelled so delicious I decided to pick around the meat, even trying some chicken, so that we could enjoy some truly flavorful thai cuisine. The appetizer was a series of three little dishes with a crab miso style soup, a glass with beef and vegetables covered in a sweet sauce, and something I now forget (of course). For our meals everyone but Kaeli got a chicken curry dish (she tried a pork dish - I think it was pork?). Dessert was a lychee with a raspberry sorbet, a square of coconut cake, and one other thing (why can I not remember the third part ever!). Either way, all was delicious and satisfying and everyone left happy. It was great my dad actually got to meet some of the amazing friends I've met this semester.

Wednesday was our final day, so after my final class I met my dad to see a movie. We rarely get the chance to do this other than during my breaks from school, and even then it hardly happens, but movies have always been something special for my dad and I. Whether it's watching Casablanca or Father of the Bride or It's a Wonderful Life - my dad loves movies and for years we've had a list of movies to watch (about half of which we've made it through). So for our last day we went to see the Grand Budapest Hotel at the UGC Danton theater down the street. 

I'm not much of a movie critic, but I though the Grand Budapest Hotel managed to entertain and provoke thought while maintaining a quirky plot driven by a very talented cast (there's my big intellectual quote on the film). Really, though, even though it was a decent length, the time flew by and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire film. After the movie we had a nice lunch at Comptoir du Relais across the street - trying some very French cuisine as recommended by one of his new friends from Australia that he met while biking in Belgium (wow so many countries in one sentence it's a little crazy). After we had finished our wine and cheese we headed out for another day of exploring. Towards 15h (3pm) we walked back to Notre Dame to meet up with Mati, who was coming to visit for a week before he and I travelled to Prague. We waited in an exceptionally fast line to get into Notre Dame, which he hadn't seen from the inside for many years, and which I hadn't been inside all semester. No matter how many times you've been to Notre Dame, it never fails to strike you with its incredibly beautiful and intricate architecture and interior. We took our time walking through, lit a candle for Noni (his mom), and then said a prayer before leaving. 

For our last evening we met Mati at Notre Dame (he was ending his Spring break with me after spending ten days in the Greek Islands - what a trip - three weeks!!), then once he got settled in we went to print tickets to see a show at the Moulin Rouge. Dad had come up with the idea a few weeks prior, so I went online and found some tickets for a show at the infamous theater hall (formerly a dance hall where women did the cancan and Toulouse-Lautrec painted his infamous pieces of dancers and prostitutes working there). We started the night at Le 404, a Moroccan restaurant in the 3rd arrondissement, on a little street that looks like it has nothing of interest - but in fact has some of the best vegan food at Bob's Kitchen and an amazing Moroccan selection at Le 404 as we discovered. We walked in and immediately knew we had listened to good advice (again from my dad's Australian bike buddy). The seats sat low to the ground and the room was dimly lit with fake candles flickering wildly on the wall. The food itself was fresh, flavorful, and unique - especially for us, since North African food isn't really on the menu in Reno (though I can't speak to its existence in Portland or LA). After dinner we took two metros, thinking we'd be late to the show (we cut it close on time), only to discover a typically crazy French line that extended about five blocks from the theater. Like Notre Dame, though, it surprised us and moved quite quickly so that within ten minute of the doors opening we were inside and being seated. 

The show itself didn't have much of the traditional material of a racy dance hall - but that was to be expected since the age minimum was 5. When it first started we all agreed we got nervous we'd walked into an overpriced tourist trap. The dancing and singing was cheesy and mediocre, not everyone was in sync nor was it particularly stunning. But, the first of four acts between dance numbers showed us how wrong our initial fears were. A man and a woman on roller blades skated around a small circle - probably no more than 7 feet in diameter - and as the music played they began to perform incredible feats of strength and skill such as the man holding the woman by just her feet while spinning faster than you could clearly see him - on roller blades. At one point she climbed on his shoulders and leaned backwards, then slowly moved off his shoulders so that only her feet were hooked around him as he spun rapidly. I had never seen an act quite like that and it stunned the entire theater, watching as the woman's head was nearly touching the floor as she hung on by just her feet or just a rope around her neck while whipping around in circles. 

The second act were three acrobatic men, incredibly fit and full of amazing tricks (one could leap from the group into the air as if he weighed nothing). The third was a beautiful blonde mermaid-like woman who dove into a aquarium containing three massive snakes whom she danced with and put on an act as if they were strangling her, though she proved to escape unharmed. Finally, a comedian and a juggler brought some audience members from Mexico, China, and Uruguay to help him with his amusing antics. 

At the end of the night Mati, my dad, and I agreed the show was well worth the time - a true Parisian tourist experience.