As I sit in my room on a Sunday night making attempts at 'productive procastination' - that is to say updating this blog, responding to emails, online window shopping, and doing other important tasks in lieu of writing a paper - I realize how quickly my program will be over. I have less than 6 weeks left in this beautiful city and I have no idea how to best take advantage of the time. I will be traveling for my spring break during two of these weeks and continue to remind myself that I have finals to contend with for most of these weeks, but I can't appreciate just how little time I have left. At this point six weeks still seems like a sizable stretch of time and Washington D.C. is so very far away. The weather has just become warm and sunny, and I can't imagine having to spend my last times in Paris sitting inside reviewing French modernist painters and their political system.
This past weekend I traveled to Giverny with my program to see Monet's home, gardens, and grave. It was completely worth the day trip and one of the most gorgeous sites in France as far as I am concerned, but the tourists (specifically American) were out in full force and it was incredibly bizarre to be surrounded by so much English for an afternoon. I can completely understand though; the water lilies, his private garden, and his house filled with a collection of his pieces and Japanese ukiyo-e prints that any museum would fight over were completely fantastic. The grounds and the adjacent village were straight out of a fairy tale, and one can't help but wish they had some water colors with them to capture the scene. Although the water lilies were not yet in bloom, most of the trees were flowering and the garden scene was a perfect complement to Monet's Japanese ink-block prints. He, and many other French artists obsessed with Japonisme, loved the ephemeral beauty of Japanese nature and art. This influence was abundant throughout his grounds, and only reinforced how little time I have left in this place.
This weekend was the last day trip I will take with my program; the emails from my directors are now all about personal travel plans and the French university finals system (much less exciting). It's terrible to think that it's all coming to an end so soon, but that also makes the experience that much more beautiful and appreciable. The last few weeks are to be savored and I intend to take advantage of them. Hopefully while also finishing this paper.