du cafe

Today, I went back to the Musee D'Aquitaine to finish looking at the Medieval stuff and then to go upstairs because I hadn't been there yet. It's pretty cool, because it's a really nice, really big building, with really well laid out exhibits, all about history that happened WHERE I WALK HOME FROM SCHOOL EVERY DAY. The little plaques practically read: "Oh, and you know that square you go to all the time? Well, this really cool [insert either Roman, Medieval or Baroque] BUILDING/THING/EVENT used to be RIGHT THERE". But then, because that isn't enough, a well-preserved fragment of the thing the plaque will be referring to that used to stand where I pass by everyday will be RIGHT THERE IN THE MUSEUM IN FRONT OF ME. I don't know how they managed it, but the Musee D'Aquitaine has everything. And it is a LARGE, two-story building, full of real stuff, so I'm relatively impressed with it. Like, you know those big, BIG, round windows way up high in cathedrals? They have the skeletony-remains of one, mannny feet across, just sitting there. And also, you know how Romans in Bordeaux wore leather sandals? They have those too, still well-preserved. It's kind of amazing.

I ended up leaving earlier than I planned, just as I reached the upstairs Baroque stuff, which was frustrating, but it was okay because the museum is free, and because my friends had called telling me they were getting coffee, and I wanted coffee, and too see them (obviously).

I've come to a decision about "coffee" in Europe. Before I left, everyone was always telling me that, "Ooooh, coffee in Europe is so great!", but actually, that was a lie, because they don't drink coffee here, they drink espresso, and it's expensive as well as gross. But the latte I had at the cafe with my friends was amazing. What I really have been wanting is a cappuccino, but I can't find one for less than 3Euro50, PLUS I ordered one at this brasserie the other day, and they gave me espresso with WHIPPED CREAM on top, and ever since I've been kind of paranoid.

In the mornings (and, sometimes at 11AM, and then also at night) I make coffee with the French press that I brought, so at least that's okay. But the other thing is that it's hard to find regular (i.e. non-espresso) roasts in the supermarkets I've been in. I've been making my French press coffee with espresso, and that actually tastes fine. It just means that whatever immunity I had to caffeine before I came here is not going to disappear anytime soon.