Istanbul: vignettes from glynnis on Vimeo.

1. Coffee, tea, nargileh, and shesh besh at Café Meşale our first night in the city.  They had musicians as well as a whirling dervish.
2. Breakfast and drinks across from the Blue Mosque, just before we went to the Aya Sofya.  Ayelen asks Adis how to pronounce "water" in Turkish; Adis speaks Bosnian and as a result knows some of the words and pronunciations of Turkish.  This clip makes me smile because Ayelen, a Spanish-speaker, is asking in English about the pronunciation of a Turkish word, yet she spells the word aloud using the French alphabet.
3. The call to prayer in front of the Blue Mosque.  It's even louder than it sounds -- it woke me up every morning around 5am, and our hostel was at least half a mile away.  It probably doesn't help that most of the mosques in the city broadcast (is that the right word?) their call to prayer at exactly the same moment.
   

Il neige! from glynnis on Vimeo.

Of course right after I made this video it started really snowing, but whatever. It's very rare to see snow in Paris, and Alabamians are forever impressed by even the tiniest bit (thus, this video).  For those of you itching to hear me speak French, this one's for you.

Now I suppose I should get back to writing that paper...

There's a new group on flickr called My Day, Yesterday, which features videos of < 90 seconds.  The videos serve as a catalog of events.  Here's my first go at "My Day, Yesterday," which I filmed this past Friday.  You can click over to the flickr page to read more detail about its content.

Had a small celebration with some friends just beneath the Sacre Coeur, despite the rainy weather.  Thanks to everyone France, State-side, and globally, for all the pleasant birthday wishes.  Here's a video to keep you occupied while I spend the weekend gallivanting through Prague.  And yes, I know.  Take lots of pictures.

The birthday baguette from glynnis on Vimeo.

More photos of the parade on flickr.

Techno parade from glynnis on Vimeo.

Five vignettes: The Pope Comes to Paris from glynnis on Vimeo.

The pope was in Paris this weekend, which on certain occasions made the city a little nuts.  Several metro stops shut down for most of the day surrounding the various pope-related events in the city.  Friday night after class I went to Saint-Michel to find a textbook I need for French class, only to stumble upon masses of people (see the first vignette) crowding around the Seine and Notre Dame, where the pope was giving a private mass.

Saturday morning he gave mass at Les Invalides, a giant field/park in front of the building by the same name, which houses Napoleon's tomb.  An estimated 200,000 people showed up, including my room mate and I, who were curious about the spectacle.  We arrived around 8AM, and the pope arrived in the popemobile around 10AM.  After his arrival and a few prayers, we headed back to the apartment to catch up on sleep.

Perhaps it's revealing of my small-town roots, but I think that's the most people I've ever seen before in one place.  Many people brought chairs and picnics with them, which they ate as we all waited for the pope to arrive.  I'm sure for the rest of my life, I'll never see as many nuns at once.



More photos on flickr.

Last night my room mate and I went out for some jazz.  There's a little club in Saint-Michel called Le Petit Journal.  It opened in the 1970s and features primarily New Orleans style jazz.  You can eat a two-course dinner from a set menu for 48€, or buy your first drink for 17€.  Or, if you're students and know the secret password ("nous sommes étudiantes"), the first drink is 11€.  Pretty good jazz, and we managed to run into Ayelen, my Argentian friend from French class.  They have jazz every night of the week.  More info on their website.

Bike tour of Paris from glynnis on Vimeo.