Too Much and Not Enough: 7/29-8/01

It seems to be easier to learn a foreign language when in a foreign country. I'm learning more French vocabulary per day than I ever did at home. It is piling up in my brain. Oiseaux is bird, avec is with... I learn it in one of three ways. Sometimes I can figure out the definition of the word I see because it looks like an English word I know or it has a familiar context. Other times, I see a word repeated a lot and later ask Robin for its definition and pronunciation. And when I was with Pierre-Noel (see the previous post), he'd teach Kenna and I animal names in French. He'd say them, then we'd repeat them rather clumsily. We'd make noises, too, sometimes. My vocabulary has expanded greatly.

Notre Dame

We tried to go to Notre Dame the day after we came back from Robin's friend's family's house, but it was much too crowed to go inside. We stood outside and observed, then walked across bridges to see the city nearby. Kenna wanted to go to souvenir shops in the hopes of finding a small treasure, while I wished to explore the local English bookstore. We split up.
At the bookstore, I found a number of interesting books, though there was a surprisingly small mathematics section.

The locks

On the bridge, there seemed to be an interesting custom of married couples attaching locks to the bridge, possibly to signify an unbreakable bond. This was amusing to view. There was a motley collection of locks. Large and small, black and gold. Some couples had engraved their names into the lock, while others had inscribed them in black permanent marker.
The next day, much to the approval of Kenna, we journeyed to large department stores. There was a lot of browsing on the lower floors. Kenna and I grew impatient. At last, we were accompanied to floor 5, which encompassed children's clothes and toys. The highlight was a lovely baby doll, which Kenna purchased on a subsequent visit.
Everyone had high hopes for our Tuesday excursion. After all, what could go wrong at Versailles, the extravagant castle?
While Versailles by itself was interesting--and very extravagant--the crowd of people hampered movement and the view. It took several minutes, at one point, to get from one room to the next. The whole family was tired, hungry, and, I suppose, relieved when we emerged. Luckily, I got some interesting photographs. There was also some unusual modern art mixed in with the paintings and sculptures aged centuries.
Today was a visit to the Musee d'Orsay--a museum of more art. There were some wonderful and awe-inspiring paintings and drawings hanging on the walls. It was also less crowded. Kenna purchased her baby doll. I think it was a pretty good day for everyone.

Nory mange baguette. Tres bien! Oui?

If you would like to see the rest of the photographs that accompany this post, please use this link. The photographs for the previous posts are located here.