Eventually it was time to head out to meet Rosie downtown. I left a little late but I also didn't know exactly when the bus would be there, so there was a chance I would catch it just as I walked up. I got there and realized I had just missed the last bus, but the next one would be there in about 8 minutes. The sun was out and I was feeling terribly excited about my day. I decided to walk just across the street to the center of the round-about and sit on one of the shaded benches while I waited for the bus. I really love this round-about: it has a mini park in the center, surrounded by trees and benches, and is more often than not full of about 40 to 60 old Frenchmen wearing berets, playing pétanque (similar to bocce ball). I have walked by this round about so many times to find these old men- who have probably been playing this game together for the past 4 or 5 decades- joined by small groups of guys my age playing the same game. The old-timers and the young-bucks will spend hours in that round-about under the sun. It's one of the coolest things I have seen here.
So I was sitting there on a bench when I realized that I was the only one in the park; so I decided that now was a good time to pull out my video camera and record the moment. I recorded the park, the streets I could see, the little cafés, and talked to the camera like a friend. I hope that I can watch that back one day and it will take me back to this experience with a great rush of detail so that I never forget it.
Finally the bus came. I ended up making it downtown to our meeting spot (the big beautiful fountain in Place Clemenceau) way before Roshanna. I decided that I might as well walk to Musée Bernadotte while I was waiting and see when it closes for lunch. Well, that didn't really happen. I thought I was walking in the right direction but I was not even close. I ended up walking down this alley that winds and curves its way downhill and is lined with rickety gates leading up to ugly apartment buildings and run-down houses. It was beautifully decorated with colorful gang symbols and crafty graffiti. I seemed to be the only one on the street and as it was broad daylight and a car would pass every now and then, I felt just safe enough to keep walking expecting to be dumped out onto a main street. A few minutes of uncomfortable walking passed- where I also walked under a bridge topped with a rowdy gentleman playing the accordion and spitting out darling cat-calls as I walked by- and then I came across a dark tunnel that curved in a way where I couldn't see inside, nor could I see the end. It was nearly covered with graffiti and I couldn't hear the accordion-player anymore. See ya! I turned on my heels and made the whole trek back to where I came from only to find Roshanna now waiting for me at the fountain. Such is the way of things!
Needless to say, we did not take that blasted street to try to find the museum. We knew it was close but couldn't remember exactly what street. We were standing there trying to remember where to start walking when we saw a group of three elderly people sitting on a nearby bench. We decided to ask them if they knew where to find it. No sooner had I said, "excusez-moi monsieur," was I greeted with very firm and fairly rude "no we are not interested in what you're selling" kind of remarks. The man would hardly let me speak, and since I felt like he was being rude on a rather ridiculous level, I persisted. "Non non, je cherche le musée Bernadotte. Connaissez-vous où le trouver?" Well he kept talking over me shaking his head. So I said "merci" (and almost added "pour rien!" *for nothing!*) and we walked away. I looked back at one point and saw that the three of them where watching us and talking quietly; I think they were asking each other if it was really possible that a stranger could actually simply be looking for a place in Pau and not be wanting to sell them devilish items. Take that snobby french people!
We ended up finding the museum pretty quickly after asking a shopkeeper which street to go down. We should have known- we had walked that area on our USAC tour way back on like January 5 or something. However, we were running pretty close to lunch time at this point (12p) and the place would be closing in 15 minutes. We decided to just head to lunch first and would come back when it opened again at 2p. Where do you think we went to eat?? Visnu of course! My third and possibly my last time eating there- and it was as good as every other time. There was a lunch menu that offered an entrée, a plat principale, and a déssert for only 8 euros so we each went for it. I had eggplant fritters for my starter, mushroom curry for my main course (Roshanna and I split saffron rice and nan with our main plates), and the house cake for my dessert. We also split 50cl of the house rosé and ended with coffee. It was a fantastic lunch!
My eggplant fritters are on the left
Our wine
Mushroom curry and saffron rice (nan not pictured)
The house cake: a lovely shredded coconut concoction
Coffee break!
After lunch we took our time walking back to the museum. After all, we had the rest of the day ahead of us! Visnu is just around the corner from the château so of course we walked past it. And we were so glad we did: there was one of those cute kid's trains parked right in front that was probably waiting to be driven when its conductor was done with lunch! We took the opportunity for a photo-op.
We took a few pictures of the outside of the house and then we went in to pay our admission. We walked up to the front desk (which is literally a desk that originates with the house but now has a computer set on top of it) and pulled out our student I.D. cards for our reduction. But the woman at the front desk stopped us and said, "c'est gratuit" (it's free). Sweet! She reminded me that french people aren't usually mean like those old folks we came across earlier today. So, we started at the second floor and took our time admiring the history in this house.
There it is! On the left you have the flag of the EU, and above the front door are the French and Swedish national flags
There were many window displays like this throughout the house- mostly they just contain artifacts and remnants of the original family's possession from when they lived here.
Bernadotte's sleeping nook
As old as it is, it retains so much of its beauty and elegance
Bernadotte had a turbulent relationship with Napoleon, but it didn't start out that way: they were originally very close friends and Napoleon even appointed Bernadotte to Marshal of France where he served until he became King of Sweden. I don't know if you can see it, but that letter on the left starts with the name "Napoleon" and the most elaborate cursive "N" I have ever seen in my life.
A print of "The Coronation of Napoleon." The original is about the size of your average 10mX6m wall (aka: it is massive) and sits in the Louvre in Paris. There is an exact replica that sits in the palace at Versailles. I would like to take this moment to brag: I have seen both of these paintings and will see them both again in about a week. Okay, I'm done now. :)
Bernadotte
"Roshanna, take a picture of me in the fireplace!"
Lovely royal crockery
Back down in the lobby, we came across this photo that is entitled "Blondes." The museum's curator was telling us that this photo was taken as part of a project to re-intrigue Swedes with their history. I didn't find it interesting (nor did I get how this represents Swedish history) until he turned us around to look at the table and chairs behind us. One table and four chairs that also originate with the house.... they were also replicated almost exactly in this picture above: --->
See the resemblance?
We spent the next 15 minutes or so looking through the photos, prints, and newspaper clippings that were organized in the lobby.
The next generation: the Prince and Princess.
The current King and Queen of Sweden
I found this collage to be so exciting: in the two pictures on the left you can see parts of the royal family standing at the place we just visited today! Look at the bottom left picture, and then.....
...check this out!
We both had a lot of fun exploring this little piece of unique Pau history. It was a good way to start our last weekend in our city...
Next, we headed to the nearby Musée des Beaux Arts. This is the same museum I went to by myself a few weeks ago but I knew I wanted to come back so I didn't have to rush through it. By the time we got there, Rosie was feeling worn out. She was tired of walking and I don't think she can take being in museums for as long as I can. So she walked through the temporary exhibit with me (which I wasn't allowed to take pictures of but was very cool- it was a gallery of photos called "Women of the World" by Titouan Lamazou) and then she headed back to her place at the residence halls. It was fine with me- I think I prefer to appreciate art by myself. For one, I can take my time with it and move at my own pace. And two, there are no interruptions as I look at different paintings/sculptures and try to find the stories or messages within.
In the museum:
"Le Baiser de Judas" (The Kiss of Judas), by Vincente Basabe, 1604
"Le Portratit de la soeur" (The Portrait of the Sister), by Joseph-Paul Mesle, 1886
"Place de la Concorde sous l'averse" (Place de la Concorde in the Rain), by Alfred Smith, 1888.
I've been there! That's the mirror in Bordeaux
"Henri IV enfant" (Henri IV as a Child), by François Joseph Bosio, 1823
"Matinée à Trouville" (Morning at Trouville), by Casimir Wielhorski, 1908
"Bacchus enfant" (Bacchus Child), by Henri Allouard, 1881
I love this museum
"Christophe Colomb à la cour de Ferdinand et Isabelle" (Christopher Colombus at the Court of Ferdinand and Isabelle), by Eugène Devéria.
I found this painting to be very interesting: if you look closely, you'll notice that the court on the right is mirroring the court on the left (or vice versa). There are the same amount of woman on each side, posed in the same way or making the same facial expression, and it's the same with the men. I just found this intriguing.
"Une fille d'Eve" (A Daughter of Eve) by François Etcheto, 1885
"La Fin de Madame Gardénia" (The End of Mrs. Gardenia), by Jacques Monory, 1964-66
And then I was in the more modern section. I'm not a huge fan of modern or contemporary art but I at least try to appreciate it and find something of interest/skill in it. This one I did like: it's so pretty and feminine with the colors and the big flower but then you notice the "bullet holes" all over it and realize that this piece was "shattered" by gunfire. A very interesting juxtaposition.
"I Barcatori," by Paul Eugène René Sieffert
"Pêcheurs de Saint-Yves" (Fishermen of Saint-Yves), by Anders Zorn
I thought this was beautiful.
I think I strolled, stood, and admired in here for about two hours. When I left it was 5:30p so I once again made it close to closing time (6p). Next I headed to the bus stop to head to the house and relax a little before dinner. When I got home, I chatted a little with Lionel out front (we talked about his flowers), said hi to Côme and Christine, and then I went up to my room to facebook, take off my showers, refresh, and read. I took one of my favorite books, "My Life In France" by Julia Child, out to the backyard to crack it open for the third time. I've been trying to read a USAC recommended reading called "60 Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong" for the past three months. While it is very informative about the French, it is kind of slow. Plus, I'm not going to be in France much longer and it is high time I sit down with Julia for a little while. So there I sat, on a long chair, in the sun, reading this voice I have grown to love. It was a great half hour.
A little after 7p, Lionel invited me in for an apéritif with the three of them. We had three choices of snacks this evening: a Chex Mix type of thing that was a little spicy, salted cashews, and Pringles. Lionel offered to make me a "Sous Cassis" and, thinking that was the wine mixed with black currant liquor thing, I said yes. Unfortunately, this was that drink he had made for me a while back with the yucky flower juice that got me too tipsy; but I made myself drink it. At least I learned from my mistake and turned down a second one this time. While at our apéro (slang), Lionel suddenly asked, "est-ce qu'aujourd'hui est ton dernier vendredi à Pau?" (Is today your last Friday in Pau?) *Silence* "Uhh, oui. Je suppose que c'est vrai." (Uhh yea, I guess that's true). *Glances between Lionel, Christine, and I. Côme didn't exist right then.*
Soon after, the three of them went to the table and I went to my room to get ready for dinner. There is an American fifties-themed restaurant downtown called "Fifties Dream" that a bunch of us USACers have been wanting to go to. When I walked in, I happily realized that we were a table of about 12 girl- this was going to be fun! Us ladies hung out for the next couple of hours, eating our burgers, hot dogs, and fries, listening to the fifties jams (complete with "Greased Lightening"), and just enjoying the atmosphere- not to mention, our last friday night in Pau...
My "American Dream Hot Dog." Guys, I'm dead serious: this hot dog came with grilled onions, cheddar, and GOAT CHEESE! It was actually really good too
After dinner, I had wanted to walk to a bar that has been frequented by most USACers but which I have yet to visit called "Le Garage." For whatever reason, that didn't end up happening. I did, however, go back to the residence halls with a lot of the girls to do some more hanging out. I ended up sitting in Allie's room with Rosie, Chai, and a couple others who you don't yet know until about 1a. Eventually, I got to walking. Because these are all wonderful people here, I was offered an escort repeatedly. It would have been nice given the late hour and the length of the walk, but I knew I was going to be fine and I really didn't like the idea of them having to make the exact same walk all over again after saying bye to me at my house. So I turned them down. I did, however, call my mom on her cell to see if anyone was home to call me through Skype. That worked out nicely: Spencer was home and my mom and sister showed up soon after. The four of us skype/cell-phoned for all of my walk and then I got right back on it safely in my bedroom. I talked to them until my dad got home from work, got to say hi to him, and then THEY kicked ME off because of how late (or early) it was my time. It was a lovely day. :)
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