Toussaint = non-commercialized Halloween and two weeks of sweet vacation!

So, I'm not sure if I already updated about my day trip to Dordogne to see the Prehistoric caves in the Dordogne area, and I'm too lazy to actually look at my previous posts, so I'll write a short synopsis now. This particular area of France, among other things, is known for the discovery of the caves of Lascaux with prehistoric paintings. Later other caves were discovered, one of which is in the Eyzies area. I visited the caves with the students and also went to some museums where I got more than my fill of silex and stone tools discovered at these sites. The area, however, was extremely beautiful.

The French also celebrate a holiday called Toussaint (meaning All Saint's Day), and it's actually the day the Halloween (All Hallow's/Saint's Eve'n) precludes. However, in France it's all about going to visit the graves of your loved ones and going to the occasional fair. It's also about taking a huge vacation, because I got two weeks of paid vacation to go gallavanting around Paris. I actually stuck around La Réole for a few days, and then I took of to Paris to visit my good friend Pauline and see the sites.

Pauline, unfortunately due to living costs, lives in the sex shop part of town. It was interesting to get off the metro and come up onto the street to be greeted by signs for lap dances and sex toys. But, one interesting note is that her papa teaches in a school where they filmed a recent movie. So, I stayed at that school in the apartment upstairs.

I also saw the Sacré-Coeur basilica and the area of Montmartre. Then, we decscended into the center of town to see the Patheon where the bodies of France's greatest men are housed in an underground crypt with a huge greek-looking monument on top. I've learned after seeing that, that the French have a weird tradition of transporting the heart of their great men to burial sites, but not the entire body. For example, I saw the shriveled heart of Marie-Antoinette's son at the abbey of St. Denis...

Speaking of which, I think that was one of the most interesting places I visited (St. Denis)! This abbey features the burial monuments of the kings and queens of France, and in the underground crypt it has the actual bodies of the last reigning monarchs of France. I saw Marie Antoinette's and Louis XVI's tombs. They are buried next to their children; it's really really sad, actually. But, as I have a fascination with her, I also found it incredibly interesting. The main attraction of this church is the tombs, but in the actual church itself is the crown of Marie Antoinette and the emblems of the royalty. You don't have to pay to see those, but you do have to pay to see the bodies down below. I thought it was rather fitting that I spent my Toussaint vacation wandering the tombs of fallen kings. Ha! I certainly know how to do Hallween in style.

Among shopping at Paris' biggest shopping malls (Galeries Lafayette, Printemps and Les Halles), I also managed to find time to see the garden of Luxembourg, which is very beautiful at sunset, and I also saw the church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. In addition to that, I saw the Eiffel Tower at night lit up like a Christmas tree. I must say I'm thoroughly impressed with the sparkly display they had going on.

Finally, I visited the Musée d'Orsay, and get this: I didn't realize how freaking HUGE it is, but it has just about as much to see as the Louvre. I walked around in it for a good portion of the day, and I didn't even get to the third level. I gave up after a while, because I was too tired. This coming from the girl who did the whole Louvre in an entire day when everyone told her it could not be done. I'm a little ashamed of myself. So, after I left people start telling me that the best stuff to see is, of course, on the fifth floor. I guess I'll have to finish it when I go back for Christmas.

I came back from Paris and fine weather to La Réole, which was pouring rain in the middle of it's huge Toussaint fair. I barely made it home from the train station and I was completely soaked through and freezing. I wanted to go the next day, but it rained again, so I finally made it out in the afternoon, and was highly disappointed to find that it wasn't as cool as everyone told me it was. Mostly, it was a lot of gypsies trying to peddle their junk. I think the only reason the people I talked to told me it was so amazing is that they go every year just to get drunk. I guess you need to be three sheets to the wind to enjoy a mediocre carousel ride and overpriced designer perfume knock-offs.