Giverny and week

Another boring Paris week.... or as boring as it can be in this city.... Mon Tues just chill/work, standard Paris lovelinesses like pastries and cheese... Wednesday out with a group of American students in another group to get cheap Pho (indonesian?) soup, asian noodles anyway delicious, way out in the 14th - haven't gotten out there in a way, we got to eat outside! makes Paris even lovelier - green trees too?

On Thursday our teacher successfully planned and implemented an outing to Giverny. Education value was provided on our own however - it was the house and gardens of Monet, so I got to see the Japanese bridge and all the spring tulips, really a large wonderful garden in a cute little old French town. Did some sketching there, haven't scanned yet.

The coolest part was riding bikes - classmates ducked out, and it was cloudy, but I keep meaning to rent bikes (amsterdam and berlin particularly) and it hadn't happened, so I still did. Left Kober in the dust unintentionally, sometimes hard to remember I'm more fit then other people (besides unbeatable walking stamina I haven't been exercising much here). Amazing time bike riding though, Giverny is on the edge of a tall-hill ringed French valley - I made it up to the top of the hill on almost unrideably steep pavement - then gravel - then tracks through grass - then singletrack hehe.... Amazing views rising up above trees, calm fields, little villages, ring of trees. No pictures - I was almost glad not to have a camera, not like you can take pictures while biking, and they'll stay in my head pretty well. Headed down the hill - ha i'm rather of the opinion that the challenge of muscling through to the top of hills is more fun then the slightly uncontrolled decent.... interesting to realize when I mountain bike and ski and skate and other fling-yourself-downhill sports :P. oh well, should be good at both right? through the town, tried to go up another direction but time ran out. Biked past a Huge flock of sheep - lambing season done and there were adorable lambs honestly frolicking around. Bells on the neck, and black sheep too - so cute!