Choses Amusantes à Paris

While I've been busy updating you all on my spring break, I've also been trying to experience as much of Paris as possible!  As of today, I only have 32 more days here so I absolutely must make the best of them.

On Sunday I slept in to recover from spring break, then met a friend for lunch.  We then talked our way into the Picasso Museum for free.  I really enjoyed seeing the progression of Picasso's artwork and the many different art forms-- including painting, collage, sculpture, and photography.  

On Monday I had a conversation exchange after class!  This is where you meet up with a French-speaker who wants to practice their English, and you get to practice your French as you help them with English.  For some reason, the guy I met up with is used to hearing English with a Scottish accent so he could barely understand my 'very thick' accent.  I didn't leave feeling like I'd improved my French at all- so don't think I'll be doing another one of those.  

On Tuesday after class, a few of us went to an amazing place for tea & dessert to try to escape the torrential downpour.  It had a great, comfortable atmosphere that reminded me of a place I really like in D.C. (Tryst), so we sat and talked for hours!  We split a really intense slice of lemon meringue pie.

Today I met friends for a lunch at a great vegetarian restaurant called Foody's, then we trekked out to the Grand Arch at La Defense to check it out.  This is basically the (modern) 'mirror image' of the Arc de Triomphe except it is supposed to represent successful industry, etc.  La Defense is outside of the city and, like where I live, there are lots of big companies because it is easy to access the city, but taxes are much cheaper.

 

It was MASSIVE and cool to see- I am glad I made it out there.  To get an idea of the size, see those three metal things that kind of run down the middle?  Each one is an elevator shaft!  You can also go to the top part and there is a viewing area, but it was 8.50 euros for students...I have seen plenty of great views of the city, thankyou very much!  Also while we were there, someone launched an upside-down umbrella with a bunch of balloons.  I wonder what was in there...

 Now I am packing and doing some homework because this weekend, I am going to the South of France.  Friday is Labor Day here so we have the day off from class, and I decided that Monday would be a good day for a personal day, so I'll be in Nice, Monte Carlo, Marseille, and Aix-en-Provence.  

I am also excited because tonight I am seeing the French movie Coco Before Chanel!  Now that I've confirmed that I can see movies in French and actually understand them, I should really see a few more before I go.  Also, this one was filmed in Paris so hopefully I'll recognize some locations.  

A great weekend in Paris!

A few fun things that we've done this weekend:

-Got a picnic lunch at the Grand Epicerie, walked to the Luxembourg Gardens and picnic-ed

-Climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle

-Went to Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre

-Had a successful dinner with my host family

-Went to the Louvre

-Walked around Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter, saw my classroom

My friend Kim and I at Sacre-Couer.

The view when you walked just outside of our hotel.

The Eiffel Tower sparkling at night, seen from the Arc de Triomphe.

I've been letting the visitors take the bulk of the pictures so here is the only proof that they are actually here!

Tonight: Easter dinner at a restaurant called Chez Francoise, and heading off to Brussels tomorrow morning!

PS: On the metro there are some seats that are on a hinge/spring so that when you stand up, they fold up to make more room for people who are standing.  Yesterday my Dad stood up to get something out of his bag, didn't realize that the seat had folded up, and sat back down again!  He was practically on the floor by the time he realized his mistake...it was hilarious!

I am a whirlwind!

Yesterday was fabulous: I finally made it to the Musee Marmottan, which features the largest Monet collection in the world.  Next weekend, my program has a day trip to Rouen and Giverny, where Monet's gardens are, so I wanted to see the museum before going on the trip!  

The museum was absolutely incredible and once again I so appreciated being physically in front of the actual painting rather than looking at a picture in a book!  The abstractness of the works stuck out to me much more in person than in photos, and I could totally see how abstract art developed post-Impressionism.  I especially love the variation on the sky in all of the paintings, even though it is not a focal point in most of the works, I couldn't stop looking at it.  

I also got very excited while I was there because on one of the paintings, underneath his signature, Monet wrote "Belle Isle" aka (almost) my last name!  

Here's a few of my favorites...

"La Barque" (The rowboat)

"Nympheas" (water lilies, too hard to pick an exact favorite out of all of them!)

"Le Pont Japonais" (Japanese Bridge)

Ever wondered what the Arc de Triomphe looks like at 3:45 am?  Here's your answer.  It wasn't my best life decision, but last night I was out pretty late (got in bed at about 4:15 am) to celebrate a friend's birthday.  I made it to class and stayed awake for it, so a nice relaxed night tonight should bring me back to a normal state of existence.  

Now I can't wait to go to Giverny, as well as to the Orangerie museum here in Paris, which has the Monet's very famous giant water lily paintings that take up the entire room.  

In other exciting news, today I booked train tickets for a weekend in the south of France in May!  It is over one of our three day weekends, and a few of us have also taken the liberty to decide that Monday will also be a day off.  We will be hitting Nice, Marseilles, Monte Carlo, and Aix-en-Provence in a whirlwind weekend of (hopefully) sun and sand!  I can't wait.   

The 17eme and the 8eme

As you probably (possibly?) know, Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements which spiral out from the center of the city.  

I go to class in the 5eme and the 11eme (in French 5eme is equivalent to 5th) so I spend lots of time in those areas.  You may have also heard the 5eme referred to as the Latin Quarter, which comes from the initial language of the Sorbonne and its students when it was a religious school in the 1200's.  The 11eme is where the Bastille was-- now there's just a monument and the new Opera house.  I live en banlieue (in the suburbs), in Levallois on the northwest of the map.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon I spent time in the 17eme and the 8eme arrondissements.  In the 17eme the main attraction is l'Arc de Triomphe.  I had forgotten how huge this sucker is!  The Arc also serves as the center of a huge traffic circle-- it is like six lanes with no actual marked lanes and no traffic lights.  Luckily you can go underground to get to the Arc!   

On one side of the Arc is the Champs Elysèe, where you will find my personal mecca, the Sephora flagship store.  

On the other side is La Defense, a booming business area.  Since it's outside of Paris, skyscrapers are allowed and taxes are lower.  You can also see the Grand Arch out there!