Lilou

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I was doing my homework. I really was. My host mom's granddaughters are over, though. The older one is two. Her name is Lilou and she has been over lately so many times that she now knows my name. It's kind of a problem. Not one that I mind, but definitely a distraction. The window from my room goes out on to a balcony which also is accessible by another window that leaves from the dining room. Lilou discovered that she could look out that window and through mine to see me sitting on my bed. Then commenced a solid ten minutes of banging on the window, waving, and "Cou-cou, Abbey! Cou-cou!" She also licked the glass a couple times. I'm not sure what that was about. Maybe it was cold? Anyway, that was yesterday, and tonight she started looking down the hall to say hello again. She tried to bring me an old french fry when Meredith and I were eating dinner. When I went back to my room to do homework again, she camped out in front of my door and pulled out all her books and baby dolls. I have heard the speed versions of almost all the books, all with running commentary. "It's what? It's WHAT??? A frog! Yay!" At the moment, she is sitting next to me on the bed with Papa Noël. He has a candle, plays loudly-pitched Christmas songs, and dances. The best part is Lilou's imitation of the dancing. It's more of a graceful wiggle.

In other news, Devon and I went to the Jacquemart-André Museum. It's an old townhouse of a wealthy Frenchman in the 18th century, filled with his collections, and currently a large van Dyck exposition. The coolest part was the double staircase. It's all stone and bronze which is pretty fancy and at the bottom is a winter garden with plants. The museum wasn't cheap, but I think it was worth it and you get an audio guide to explain everything. Thursday afternoon, we went to Centre Pompidou. I thought it was interesting, but I am not a huge fan of modern art. There were some pretty interesting pieces, though, once we got past the ink splatters and canvasses with only a solid color. The top floor of the museum had an amazing view. You could see all the big landmarks of Paris. The construction of the building was really interesting, too. All the pipes are visible from the outside and they're all color-coded. Blue for water, green for air, etc. It makes for a pretty interesting facade.

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