Thursday, September 17, 2009

sunday

emily and i woke up early and spent several hours in downtown/centre ville/ vieux mans. we discovered the regional archeaological museum, which was free for students (europeans know how to treat students right!) and filled with tons of amazing things dating several thousand years ago, all from this part of france. we went to our first market, which was half food and half antique/secondhand goods. i bought some juicy nectarines, green olive basil tapenade, all natural grape juice without additives, pimento cold sausage, fresh green beans and a french pig-in-a-blanket. after a satisfying grocery trip, we checked out the interior of the cathedral for the first time. saint julien was built in three major stages in history, so the architechture is this great combination. there are dozens of stained glass windows, two massive organs, about a dozen smaller alcoves dedicated to different saints and two tombs of famous frenchmen. we were too late for mass, but two teenage boys were playing one of the organs and we just sat and listened, reading about its history beginning in the fifth century.
i came back and joined claudia, a swell german girl, for three hours of relaxing in the sun outside. we talked, read, laid and swapped chocolate and cookies. then i met up with michel from gabon and we swapped some christian music. i stayed up late finishing le petit prince, potentially the most famous french kid's book of all time. i started reading this 800-something page book on the history of the christian faith, and it's fascinating.

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