La renaissance

IN LIVING COLOR! My parents (visible below) breezed into town last week (during my SECOND week of spring break, good choice, France) and brought along a lovely new shiny silver digital camera, which will be brightening this blog address until I run it into the ground/leave Paris. You know, whichever comes first. Because they didn't come until the second week of break, I have no pictures in share-able format of the first week, which I spent in Berlin and Krakòw with good buddies and future apartment-mates Liz 2 and Bianca (although Bianca has a few up on her photoblog, which is linked to at right). It was quite a trip - I loved Berlin much more than appearances would have led me to believe (their unofficial city motto is "poor but sexy, which I think sums things up pretty well), and Krakòw was just as charming as appearances would have led me to believe (and so CHEAP).
Since I've been back, I've spent as much time as possible trying to soak up the 80-degree weather and bright sunshine that's been illuminating this city of mine for the last week and a half. It's getting harder and harder to get home for dinner at 8 when the sun doesn't set until 9 and there are so many places for me to sit outside and look at pretty things. I'm working real hard on all kinds of awkward tan lines (the sleeves-pushed up, the one-arm-in-the-shade, the jeans-rolled-to-mid- calf-while-wearing-sneakers-and-socks). I've heard so much hype about Paris in the springtime (haven't we all?), but god damn, is it ever justified. Every doubt I've ever had about this place has been washed away by constant sunshine and blue skies and flowers blooming EVERYWHERE.
I don't have much to add beyond that -- school started again today, although my class at Paris III is over, so it's just my two Sweet Briar classes and my stage from here on out. I'm doing my level best to not think about the fact that I have to leave this place in six weeks or so. It will be tough. I predict a certain degree of bitterness upon my return.
In other news, related to my return, it's a sure thing now that I'll be in Philadelphia from mid-June to the end of August working for the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival/Philly Fringe, with brief séjours in Vermont on either end of it. It's likely that I'll be subletting an apartment in the city with friends, which I'm excited about, although I'm not particularly looking forward to all that humidity. It looks to be a pretty rad summer.

I leave you with a couple of extra pictures which I don't have enough text to wrap around. This picture was taken after 9 PM. No long exposures. It just stays light out that long.

Roger took to Paris immediately.