23 novembre 2012
did this walk with cori, olivia, mallory, carine, and caitie.
i think this was both the coolest and most confusing walk that i have been on. for sure père-lachaise is a place that people should visit. it's beautiful and gray and kind of sad. but it's also so confusing. i can't even begin to tell you how turned around we got on those little streets (yes, this cemetery has streets). they're not very well labeled.
we saw soooo many graves of famous people. i can't even begin to remember all of them (thank goodness i have a list). i'm only going to talk about the ones that were the most impressionable for me!
georges seurat
ok so who doesn't love seurat? mr pointilism himself is buried in paris. his grave was awesome - it was the chapel kind, with a small stained glass window and name plates for all of his deceased family members. it was super cool because just the night before we were in the orsay looking at his pieces! crazy. i love how everything i do in paris is so connected.
georges-eugène haussmann
remember my grand bouelvards walk? and i talked about haussman who basically leveled paris and rebuilt it all for napoleon iii? yep. saw his grave. that was pretty fun.
so for this next grave to be fully appreciated, i have to back up. when we first entered père-lachaise, two guys walked up to us. they had kinda ratted hair, some grungy clothes. they looked like the nomad type, if you know what i mean. one of the two said to me, "hey, do you know where jimbo's grave is?" so i showed him on my map. he said they were from new jersey. i said i was from san francisco. he said, "oh yeah? what part of frisco? i've done the bumming around cali thing." it didn't surprise me. he then proceeded to ask, "isn't there someone else here who is pretty wild?" so i responded, "you mean oscar wilde?" (i found that ironic because i honestly don't think he meant to do that. at all.) anyway. back to jimbo.
jim morrison
jim morrison was a member of the doors, as we all know. for some reason, i was expecting his grave to be a whole lot more exciting than it was. the best part of it all, though, was the lovely harmonica version of light my fire. i was trying to figure out who it was, and surprise! it was my friends who had asked for directions. they had jumped the little fence around jimbo's grave and were playing the song in his memory. a small rock pilgrimage. honestly, it was the best thing i've ever seen.
a few days later, i saw harmonica boy in the marais. now you tell me, what are the chances of that actually happening? because i honestly have no idea what they would be. next to impossible, i'm assuming.
frederic chopin
this man was polish - born in warsaw - and lived in paris. he is one of the world's most well known composers. it was cool for me because i have now seen his two resting places - here at père-lachaise, and the church where his heart is buried in warsaw.
thédore géricault
this was kind of an epic grave. géricault is depicted as lounging across his grave, full sized, with his palette in his hand. there is also a low-relief of his piece raft of the medusa on his grave.
oscar wilde
one of my all time favorite quotes is by this guy. how can you not love a man who once said, "with freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?" he also wrote pieces like the picture of dorian gray and the importance of being earnest (a personal fave). anyway. the tradition of this grave is to kiss it with freshly applied lipstick. but now there is a plexiglass guard around the whole thing so people can't actually kiss the grave itself.
holocaust memorials
these mean so much more to me, now that i have been to places like auschwitz and birkenau. i feel like i can more fully appreciate these memorials, now that i have a greater understanding of the pain and suffering that those who were murdered felt.
so anyone visiting paris...go to père-lachaise. it's like a fantasy land for ghosts. if i could put photos up on my blog, it would blow you all away (all 4 of you who read this, that is! :) ).
Showing posts with label french 345. Show all posts
Showing posts with label french 345. Show all posts
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
saint ouen's labyrinth : navigating the world's largest flea market
24 novembre 2012
took this walk with alicia, carine, and olivia.
this walk was super exciting. i didn't really have my book out to follow all of the instructions - we didn't want to seem like complete tourists. some of the markets were a little more sketch than we were expecting, but they were so fun!
we explored through multiple different marchés, the marché malassis, marché dauphine, marché des rosiers, marché serpette, and marché paul bert. my favorite one was the marché des rosiers. there were so many fun antique things - and some were even reasonably priced! it was a great place to find some souvenirs and presents :)
i loved this walk, mostly because we got to explore and see things that we wouldn't normally find in central paris. so many handmade and antique goods. it was also really great people watching. i loved being able to search through things at my own pace, and enjoy myself.
very fun walk!
took this walk with alicia, carine, and olivia.
this walk was super exciting. i didn't really have my book out to follow all of the instructions - we didn't want to seem like complete tourists. some of the markets were a little more sketch than we were expecting, but they were so fun!
we explored through multiple different marchés, the marché malassis, marché dauphine, marché des rosiers, marché serpette, and marché paul bert. my favorite one was the marché des rosiers. there were so many fun antique things - and some were even reasonably priced! it was a great place to find some souvenirs and presents :)
i loved this walk, mostly because we got to explore and see things that we wouldn't normally find in central paris. so many handmade and antique goods. it was also really great people watching. i loved being able to search through things at my own pace, and enjoy myself.
very fun walk!
Friday, November 23, 2012
time travel, tricks, and treats around saint-sulpice
23 novembre 2012
did this walk with alicia. surprised? you should be.
we started by walking past the first art deco hôtel built in paris called the lutetia. don't worry, if you want to spend a night there, it's only 2500 euros.
then we walked to the place alphonse deville. the buildings just kept getting older and older the farther we walked down the street. it was crazy! we started in 1720 and moved backwards from there. a little mindblowing to realize that these buildings are so old.
then we walked past the théâtre du vieux colombier. it was built in 1913 and then was renovated in 1993. from the théâtre, we could see saint-sulpice, which was cool! i guess its the church in the da vinci code...but i wouldn't know cause i've never read it. i know, i'm lame. ha.
we then took a little detour to pierre hermé, which was easily my favorite part of the whole walk. i know - i am a foodie. don't judge me. i just love my pastries, okay? you would, too, if you could taste these things. leash and i both got two pastries. and i may or may not have gotten some stuff to bring home for my family. i had an ispahan - raspberry macaron with whole raspberries in the center - and their signature macaron - passion fruit chocolate. SO HAPPY.
after our pastry stop, we made our way into saint-sulpice. it's the second largest church in paris, second to notre dame. the interieur is beautiful, and i could have happily stayed there for a while, just soaking it all in.
then we did some more walking through little side streets, discovering even older buildings! our last stop was l'abbaye saint-germain. it was built in the 6th century. THE SIXTH CENTURY. paris is so old, sometimes it's hard to comprehend. our book told us to go into the gardens and look around, but it was raining, so we were lame and skipped that part. plus, it really only looked like there were two trees and some mud, so it was alright.
this was a fun walk, especially the pierre hermé part. but i highly recommend that anyone visiting paris see saint-sulpice! it's pretty cool.
did this walk with alicia. surprised? you should be.
we started by walking past the first art deco hôtel built in paris called the lutetia. don't worry, if you want to spend a night there, it's only 2500 euros.
then we walked to the place alphonse deville. the buildings just kept getting older and older the farther we walked down the street. it was crazy! we started in 1720 and moved backwards from there. a little mindblowing to realize that these buildings are so old.
then we walked past the théâtre du vieux colombier. it was built in 1913 and then was renovated in 1993. from the théâtre, we could see saint-sulpice, which was cool! i guess its the church in the da vinci code...but i wouldn't know cause i've never read it. i know, i'm lame. ha.
we then took a little detour to pierre hermé, which was easily my favorite part of the whole walk. i know - i am a foodie. don't judge me. i just love my pastries, okay? you would, too, if you could taste these things. leash and i both got two pastries. and i may or may not have gotten some stuff to bring home for my family. i had an ispahan - raspberry macaron with whole raspberries in the center - and their signature macaron - passion fruit chocolate. SO HAPPY.
after our pastry stop, we made our way into saint-sulpice. it's the second largest church in paris, second to notre dame. the interieur is beautiful, and i could have happily stayed there for a while, just soaking it all in.
then we did some more walking through little side streets, discovering even older buildings! our last stop was l'abbaye saint-germain. it was built in the 6th century. THE SIXTH CENTURY. paris is so old, sometimes it's hard to comprehend. our book told us to go into the gardens and look around, but it was raining, so we were lame and skipped that part. plus, it really only looked like there were two trees and some mud, so it was alright.
this was a fun walk, especially the pierre hermé part. but i highly recommend that anyone visiting paris see saint-sulpice! it's pretty cool.
follow the money : palais royal, bourse, covered passages
23 novembre 2012
took this walk with alicia, as usual.
definitely my favorite part of this walk was the beginning at the louvre des antiquaires. it houses the finest and most expensive antique shops in paris. and i loved it. leash and i window shopped for quite a while. there is an amazing antique jewelry collection in there. i think that everyone should stop in, just for a look. it's incredible.
from there we made our way to the palais royal. these apartments used to house members of the royal family back under louis xiii. then the comédie-française was built there in the late 18th century. the comédie-française is the most important of france's national theaters. the apartments of the palais royal are now super ritzy apartments. there is a beautiful garden in the center of the building, and it was fun to walk through all the fallen leaves.
then it started raining.
we were supposed to go in the bibliothèque national || national library, but it's currently under construction, so that was sad.
we then found the la bourse, the french stock market. it's basically the equivalent of the new york stock exchange on wall street. outside was a fun little flea market. i didn't get anything, but i think alicia bought a ring. i can't remember haha.
after walking past the bourse, we found our ways into some covered passages that are awesome. they are all filled with shops of various sorts. annie, sage, alicia and i wandered through them for a good 45 minutes, browsing and enjoying ourselves. the passages we went through were called passage des panoramas and passage jouffrey. super fun!
took this walk with alicia, as usual.
definitely my favorite part of this walk was the beginning at the louvre des antiquaires. it houses the finest and most expensive antique shops in paris. and i loved it. leash and i window shopped for quite a while. there is an amazing antique jewelry collection in there. i think that everyone should stop in, just for a look. it's incredible.
from there we made our way to the palais royal. these apartments used to house members of the royal family back under louis xiii. then the comédie-française was built there in the late 18th century. the comédie-française is the most important of france's national theaters. the apartments of the palais royal are now super ritzy apartments. there is a beautiful garden in the center of the building, and it was fun to walk through all the fallen leaves.
then it started raining.
we were supposed to go in the bibliothèque national || national library, but it's currently under construction, so that was sad.
we then found the la bourse, the french stock market. it's basically the equivalent of the new york stock exchange on wall street. outside was a fun little flea market. i didn't get anything, but i think alicia bought a ring. i can't remember haha.
after walking past the bourse, we found our ways into some covered passages that are awesome. they are all filled with shops of various sorts. annie, sage, alicia and i wandered through them for a good 45 minutes, browsing and enjoying ourselves. the passages we went through were called passage des panoramas and passage jouffrey. super fun!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
the alsace
19 - 21 novembre 2012
we went to the alsace! the alsace is on the eastern border of france, just across the rhine river from germany and switzerland. the region has been fought over many times, and ultimately is now a part of france. politically, it is one of the most important regions in the european union. pretty cool. it is also known as the birthplace of both christmas and the bretzel || pretzel.
19 novembre
we met super early at dr erickson's apartment and got on our bus to drive to the alsace! we love buses. we feel so at home on the bus :)
after a long bus ride, we got off the bus and into our hotel. we were given some money for dinner and were sent into strasbourg. once in strasbourg, we all headed to the strasbourg cathedral. there was a thick fog that was hanging low, so we couldn't even see the towers. it was so amazing. after looking through the cathedral, we decided to explore. it was kinda hard to see things, because it got dark at like 5, and the fog was so thick, but we explored petite france which was cool. it was all sorts of old buildings that were hanging over little cobblestone streets. we also ate bretzels at a little bakery we found. everything was decorated for christmas, which was super fun. sadly we missed the big christmas markets, but it's okay because we got to see most of the decorations.
we got dinner at this restaurant that was amazing. i got a tradition alsacian dinner of spaetzle and sauerkraut. the spaetzle was good, the sauerkraut was...well, sauerkraut.
that night, we sat in our hotel room and laughed really really hard because i just have a knack for saying things that are completely innocent but come out all wrong. story of ma vie || my life.
20 novembre
got up early and ate breakfast. i love hotel ibis and their breakfasts. it's so much good food. haha. then we went back into strasbourg. we took an hour long boat tour of the city (there is a river that runs through it), and that was fun to see all the major sights. after that, we explored a bit more. we had bretzels again, because that's just what you do in strasbourg. i also got this pastry that i thought was going to be delicious. it was made with creme des marrons || chestnut cream. it was, however, incredibly un-delicious. it was the first thing in france (besides fish) that i actually didn't like. i was surprised.
then the bus picked us up and we went to kaysersberg! it was a super cute little town that was COMPLETELY decked out for christmas. did i mention that the alsace is the birthplace of christmas? i can't even tell you how cold it was in kaysersberg. i was wearing a shirt, a sweater, a sweatshirt, a pea coat, and a scarf. i was also wearing leggings under my jeans. and i had gloves on. i was frozen.
we found a wonderful little "stroll" to take up to a 13th century castle on the hill overlooking kaysersberg. it was so beautiful! kayserserberg literally looked like home. i couldn't get over it. it was such a bright green and the hills were covered in vineyards. (the alsace is also a well-known wine region in france.) it made me miss the valley so much! oh i loved that place.
at dinner that night back in strasbourg, i sat near dr erickson and sage and cori. dr erickson told us all about how he met his wife. it was the best thing ever. dr erickson loves his wife so much, and i've mentioned this before, but i hope that one day i can find a man who adores me as much as dr erickson adores jean.
that night, we watched music and lyrics in sage and annie's room. alicia and then tried to watch anastasia in our room, but we were both falling asleep so we turned it off.
21 novembre
we left the alsace. triste! || sad! when we got on the bus, alicia and i opened up my computer and realized that anastasia was still loaded! so we watched it. we were so happy! and it was so exciting when we realized that the bridge where anastasia kills rasputin is in paris! and we've been on it! (don't worry, we know it's just a movie. but STILL. it was exciting.) and then the whole trip, i did homework. who's proud of me? i am.
we also stopped in reims, where we got to take a look at the reims cathedral. this is where kings and queens were traditionally crowned. it's the coronation cathedral! we got lunch at this little chinese restaurant. it was so AMAZING to be able to have some other taste in my mouth besides sandwiches and cheese (although those things are amazing).
after we got back on the bus, i successfully got natey to watch some fun episodes of tv with me. we watched my favorite episode of the office called the injury (if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it because seriously, it makes me cry every single time), an episode of say yes to the dress, and an episode of mythbusters. i'm pretty sure we covered all the important tv shows.
and then we were back in paris, just in time to go home for dinner with our host families.
such a wonderful trip! thank you, dr erickson, for planning such a good one!
we went to the alsace! the alsace is on the eastern border of france, just across the rhine river from germany and switzerland. the region has been fought over many times, and ultimately is now a part of france. politically, it is one of the most important regions in the european union. pretty cool. it is also known as the birthplace of both christmas and the bretzel || pretzel.
19 novembre
we met super early at dr erickson's apartment and got on our bus to drive to the alsace! we love buses. we feel so at home on the bus :)
after a long bus ride, we got off the bus and into our hotel. we were given some money for dinner and were sent into strasbourg. once in strasbourg, we all headed to the strasbourg cathedral. there was a thick fog that was hanging low, so we couldn't even see the towers. it was so amazing. after looking through the cathedral, we decided to explore. it was kinda hard to see things, because it got dark at like 5, and the fog was so thick, but we explored petite france which was cool. it was all sorts of old buildings that were hanging over little cobblestone streets. we also ate bretzels at a little bakery we found. everything was decorated for christmas, which was super fun. sadly we missed the big christmas markets, but it's okay because we got to see most of the decorations.
we got dinner at this restaurant that was amazing. i got a tradition alsacian dinner of spaetzle and sauerkraut. the spaetzle was good, the sauerkraut was...well, sauerkraut.
that night, we sat in our hotel room and laughed really really hard because i just have a knack for saying things that are completely innocent but come out all wrong. story of ma vie || my life.
20 novembre
got up early and ate breakfast. i love hotel ibis and their breakfasts. it's so much good food. haha. then we went back into strasbourg. we took an hour long boat tour of the city (there is a river that runs through it), and that was fun to see all the major sights. after that, we explored a bit more. we had bretzels again, because that's just what you do in strasbourg. i also got this pastry that i thought was going to be delicious. it was made with creme des marrons || chestnut cream. it was, however, incredibly un-delicious. it was the first thing in france (besides fish) that i actually didn't like. i was surprised.
then the bus picked us up and we went to kaysersberg! it was a super cute little town that was COMPLETELY decked out for christmas. did i mention that the alsace is the birthplace of christmas? i can't even tell you how cold it was in kaysersberg. i was wearing a shirt, a sweater, a sweatshirt, a pea coat, and a scarf. i was also wearing leggings under my jeans. and i had gloves on. i was frozen.
we found a wonderful little "stroll" to take up to a 13th century castle on the hill overlooking kaysersberg. it was so beautiful! kayserserberg literally looked like home. i couldn't get over it. it was such a bright green and the hills were covered in vineyards. (the alsace is also a well-known wine region in france.) it made me miss the valley so much! oh i loved that place.
at dinner that night back in strasbourg, i sat near dr erickson and sage and cori. dr erickson told us all about how he met his wife. it was the best thing ever. dr erickson loves his wife so much, and i've mentioned this before, but i hope that one day i can find a man who adores me as much as dr erickson adores jean.
that night, we watched music and lyrics in sage and annie's room. alicia and then tried to watch anastasia in our room, but we were both falling asleep so we turned it off.
21 novembre
we left the alsace. triste! || sad! when we got on the bus, alicia and i opened up my computer and realized that anastasia was still loaded! so we watched it. we were so happy! and it was so exciting when we realized that the bridge where anastasia kills rasputin is in paris! and we've been on it! (don't worry, we know it's just a movie. but STILL. it was exciting.) and then the whole trip, i did homework. who's proud of me? i am.
we also stopped in reims, where we got to take a look at the reims cathedral. this is where kings and queens were traditionally crowned. it's the coronation cathedral! we got lunch at this little chinese restaurant. it was so AMAZING to be able to have some other taste in my mouth besides sandwiches and cheese (although those things are amazing).
after we got back on the bus, i successfully got natey to watch some fun episodes of tv with me. we watched my favorite episode of the office called the injury (if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it because seriously, it makes me cry every single time), an episode of say yes to the dress, and an episode of mythbusters. i'm pretty sure we covered all the important tv shows.
and then we were back in paris, just in time to go home for dinner with our host families.
such a wonderful trip! thank you, dr erickson, for planning such a good one!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
paris saint-germain soccer game
17 novembre 2012
on saturday evening, i went to the paris saint-germain soccer game with alicia, annie, kayla, maddie, natey, noah, and maddie. it was such a blast!!
the tuesday before the game, we met up at the psg (paris saint-germain) store and bought our tickets. they were way cheaper than we were thinking, and we got seats all together. so on saturday after learning how to make macarons with a woman in the stake (yeah. we did that.), we headed off to the parc de prince.
the soccer game was super hardcore. there was one section of fans that i swear never stopped yelling. i LOVED it! the huge stadium was so alive. people were jumping up and down, yelling in french, and everyone was just so excited to be there. i loved that.
while we were there, the things that i noticed the most were the pride and the lifestyle. soccer in europe is such a source of pride for the people. it's like americans and their sports teams, only i feel like it's even more important. maybe that's just me. and it's a way of life. people at the stadium were all about soccer - nothing else. there were entire families, people from 7 to 70 in that stadium. it's part of these people's lives - for their whole lives. i love it!
on saturday evening, i went to the paris saint-germain soccer game with alicia, annie, kayla, maddie, natey, noah, and maddie. it was such a blast!!
the tuesday before the game, we met up at the psg (paris saint-germain) store and bought our tickets. they were way cheaper than we were thinking, and we got seats all together. so on saturday after learning how to make macarons with a woman in the stake (yeah. we did that.), we headed off to the parc de prince.
the soccer game was super hardcore. there was one section of fans that i swear never stopped yelling. i LOVED it! the huge stadium was so alive. people were jumping up and down, yelling in french, and everyone was just so excited to be there. i loved that.
while we were there, the things that i noticed the most were the pride and the lifestyle. soccer in europe is such a source of pride for the people. it's like americans and their sports teams, only i feel like it's even more important. maybe that's just me. and it's a way of life. people at the stadium were all about soccer - nothing else. there were entire families, people from 7 to 70 in that stadium. it's part of these people's lives - for their whole lives. i love it!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
sights and smells around the madeleine
14 novembre 2012
before we started this walk, alicia and i had to stop in gap to buy scarves. when we got out of the metro at the stop for the madeleine, i swear it was 17 times colder than when we left. and i left without a scarf. i should know by now to not do that here...and i've learned my lesson, i promise.
just outside of the madeleine is a little flower market. it smelled so pretty! i love the flower markets here in paris. they aren't as plentiful as i had imagined they would be, and they are nothing like the flower markets i saw when i was in poland (the polish are obsessed with flowers and use them for every occasion), but it was still pretty great.
the madeleine itself is a massive church. it has these monumental corinthian columns that surround it. it's pretty unusual for a christian church, but pretty fantastic.
when you step outside of the church, there are awesome views of place de la concorde and the dome of the invalides. it's so fun to be able to put together a little map of paris in my head and know where things go.
the next stop on our list of places to go was ladurée, which is a famous pastry shop. it's especially well known for it's macarons. they compete with pierre hermé to claim the best macarons in paris. i personally like pierre hermé better. but that's just me. we didn't get any pastries because...well i'm not sure why, now that i think about it. that was silly of us. oh well.
after hitting up ladurée (or not hitting it up, as the case may be), we went to the chapelle de l'assomption. it's not a super famous church at all...it's not very easily accessible to tourists. you don't really see it if you're not looking for it. leash and i stopped in for a minute. it was cool because they have a really large polish congregation that meets there, and we had just been in poland. however...it was completely under construction. as in scaffolding everywhere inside the chapel. and i don't think we were even supposed to be inside. so that was awkward.
after visiting the church, we went to the fragonard perfume museum. it is super tiny, and super smelly. now, i love a good perfume as much as the next person, but my nose was going crazy in this little place. it was fun to see all the different perfume bottles, and we enjoyed identifying some smells, but i had to get out of there before too long.
and that was the end of the walk! it was fun and short, and cold, oh, and smelly. but it was really fun!
before we started this walk, alicia and i had to stop in gap to buy scarves. when we got out of the metro at the stop for the madeleine, i swear it was 17 times colder than when we left. and i left without a scarf. i should know by now to not do that here...and i've learned my lesson, i promise.
just outside of the madeleine is a little flower market. it smelled so pretty! i love the flower markets here in paris. they aren't as plentiful as i had imagined they would be, and they are nothing like the flower markets i saw when i was in poland (the polish are obsessed with flowers and use them for every occasion), but it was still pretty great.
the madeleine itself is a massive church. it has these monumental corinthian columns that surround it. it's pretty unusual for a christian church, but pretty fantastic.
when you step outside of the church, there are awesome views of place de la concorde and the dome of the invalides. it's so fun to be able to put together a little map of paris in my head and know where things go.
the next stop on our list of places to go was ladurée, which is a famous pastry shop. it's especially well known for it's macarons. they compete with pierre hermé to claim the best macarons in paris. i personally like pierre hermé better. but that's just me. we didn't get any pastries because...well i'm not sure why, now that i think about it. that was silly of us. oh well.
after hitting up ladurée (or not hitting it up, as the case may be), we went to the chapelle de l'assomption. it's not a super famous church at all...it's not very easily accessible to tourists. you don't really see it if you're not looking for it. leash and i stopped in for a minute. it was cool because they have a really large polish congregation that meets there, and we had just been in poland. however...it was completely under construction. as in scaffolding everywhere inside the chapel. and i don't think we were even supposed to be inside. so that was awkward.
after visiting the church, we went to the fragonard perfume museum. it is super tiny, and super smelly. now, i love a good perfume as much as the next person, but my nose was going crazy in this little place. it was fun to see all the different perfume bottles, and we enjoyed identifying some smells, but i had to get out of there before too long.
and that was the end of the walk! it was fun and short, and cold, oh, and smelly. but it was really fun!
Monday, November 12, 2012
"i'm trying to tell you guys!!" || musée rodin, invalides, tour eiffel
13 novembre 2012
i took this walk with alicia, annie, and sage. it was one of the best walks! i mean, they're all great. but i loved this one because we got to talk the whole time. it was super fun.
we started this walk on the pont alexandre iii ||| alexander iii's bridge. this bridge is, of course, where anastasia killed rasputin once and for all by stepping on his talisman. "this is for my family! and this is for dmitri! and this? this is for YOU!" and then he dies all dramatically. good movie. you should watch it if you haven't seen it before. it's also the bridge that her father, nicholas ii, built to symbolize the friendship of russia and france. it's a very nice bridge.
after crossing the bridge, we walked over to the musée rodin. i am absolutely in love with that museum. i think we were there at the perfect time. the garden was cold, but it wasn't unbearable. the leaves were all yellow and were just beginning to fall on the ground. and of course, we had to stop at the thinker and take the classic "thinker" photo. the whole museum is inside a small château built in the 1720s. it's gorgeous. easily one of my top favorite museums in paris.
after visiting the musée rodin, we went to the hôtel des invalides. this huge building - part museum, part veteran's home - was built in the 1670s. the dôme of the invalides building was dedicated to the god mars during the revolution, and was later over-hauled by king louis-philippe because of political pressure. he had napoleon i's remains placed there. i have never seen a tomb quite so momentous. it was really quite ridiculous (and i mean that in the kindest way possible). one day when my blog lets me upload photos again, i will fix all of these posts and put in some photos. i'm really sorry it's not working. sometimes the internet really stinks.
anyway, part of the invalides has been tranformed into the musée de l'armée. it's also still used as a veteran's home, which i think is way awesome. the museum is really cool. and massive. it's filled with war artifacts. i think the thing that i will never forget about that museum was napoleon i's horse. yes, his horse. the french had that horse taxidermied after it died and it is on display. it was more than a little creepy. but also kinda cool. in a morbid sort of way.
another fact that is kind of horrifying is that during wwi, at the battle of verdun, the french lost more men in that single battle than america has ever lost in all of its foreign wars combined. pretty sobering. during the entire war, france lost over 4 million men. that was 11 percent of the entire population. it puts things into perspective - made me realize just how big of a scar this war left on france.
after visiting this museum, the walk led us over to the champ-de-mars in front of the eiffel tower. its where military exercises were conducted in the past and is now just a large park. we didn't go up to the top of the eiffel tower, though, because we've done that already with dr hurlbut and jennie for an fhe activity! that was super fun, and the views of paris are fantastic from the top.
the tower was originally built in 1889 for the exposition universelle to demonstrate france's engineering power. it was hated at first, and it was built to be removed, but it was saved because it functioned as a broadcasting tower. it has since become a symbol of paris and is now the most recognizable building in the world.
i took this walk with alicia, annie, and sage. it was one of the best walks! i mean, they're all great. but i loved this one because we got to talk the whole time. it was super fun.
we started this walk on the pont alexandre iii ||| alexander iii's bridge. this bridge is, of course, where anastasia killed rasputin once and for all by stepping on his talisman. "this is for my family! and this is for dmitri! and this? this is for YOU!" and then he dies all dramatically. good movie. you should watch it if you haven't seen it before. it's also the bridge that her father, nicholas ii, built to symbolize the friendship of russia and france. it's a very nice bridge.
after crossing the bridge, we walked over to the musée rodin. i am absolutely in love with that museum. i think we were there at the perfect time. the garden was cold, but it wasn't unbearable. the leaves were all yellow and were just beginning to fall on the ground. and of course, we had to stop at the thinker and take the classic "thinker" photo. the whole museum is inside a small château built in the 1720s. it's gorgeous. easily one of my top favorite museums in paris.
after visiting the musée rodin, we went to the hôtel des invalides. this huge building - part museum, part veteran's home - was built in the 1670s. the dôme of the invalides building was dedicated to the god mars during the revolution, and was later over-hauled by king louis-philippe because of political pressure. he had napoleon i's remains placed there. i have never seen a tomb quite so momentous. it was really quite ridiculous (and i mean that in the kindest way possible). one day when my blog lets me upload photos again, i will fix all of these posts and put in some photos. i'm really sorry it's not working. sometimes the internet really stinks.
anyway, part of the invalides has been tranformed into the musée de l'armée. it's also still used as a veteran's home, which i think is way awesome. the museum is really cool. and massive. it's filled with war artifacts. i think the thing that i will never forget about that museum was napoleon i's horse. yes, his horse. the french had that horse taxidermied after it died and it is on display. it was more than a little creepy. but also kinda cool. in a morbid sort of way.
another fact that is kind of horrifying is that during wwi, at the battle of verdun, the french lost more men in that single battle than america has ever lost in all of its foreign wars combined. pretty sobering. during the entire war, france lost over 4 million men. that was 11 percent of the entire population. it puts things into perspective - made me realize just how big of a scar this war left on france.
after visiting this museum, the walk led us over to the champ-de-mars in front of the eiffel tower. its where military exercises were conducted in the past and is now just a large park. we didn't go up to the top of the eiffel tower, though, because we've done that already with dr hurlbut and jennie for an fhe activity! that was super fun, and the views of paris are fantastic from the top.
the tower was originally built in 1889 for the exposition universelle to demonstrate france's engineering power. it was hated at first, and it was built to be removed, but it was saved because it functioned as a broadcasting tower. it has since become a symbol of paris and is now the most recognizable building in the world.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
salon du chocolat || chocolate fair
3 novembre 2012
on saturday morning, we all met up at dr erickson's house and headed off to the salon du chocolat! it was a massive chocolate fair that lasted for 5 days. i didn't really know what to expect...but i was so pleasantly surprised!
inside there were hundreds of booths, all selling chocolate. each booth had something different. there were chocolate pops, chocolate bars, hot chocolate, chocolate fountains, chocolate pillows, chocolate cookies, chocolate chocolate chocolate.
there were all different kinds of chocolate. chocolate from around the world, chocolate with special ingredients, vegan chocolate...you get the idea.
it was fun sampling things. i loved that part. i also bought some specialty chocolate! delish!
i loved it because you could see just how prevelant and important chocolate is in the french culture. i mean, they had a 5 day fair celebrating and promoting it, for heaven's sakes! it also showed me that chocolate is a huge part of cultures all around the world. i loved that one delicious food can bring together people from all walks of life. it just goes to show you that good food can unite the world :) cheesy? yes. do i regret saying that? pas du tout. || not at all.
i wish i could upload photos to show you how great it was! i swear i'm working on fixing that. it's just taking forever to figure it all out. sorry!
on saturday morning, we all met up at dr erickson's house and headed off to the salon du chocolat! it was a massive chocolate fair that lasted for 5 days. i didn't really know what to expect...but i was so pleasantly surprised!
inside there were hundreds of booths, all selling chocolate. each booth had something different. there were chocolate pops, chocolate bars, hot chocolate, chocolate fountains, chocolate pillows, chocolate cookies, chocolate chocolate chocolate.
there were all different kinds of chocolate. chocolate from around the world, chocolate with special ingredients, vegan chocolate...you get the idea.
it was fun sampling things. i loved that part. i also bought some specialty chocolate! delish!
i loved it because you could see just how prevelant and important chocolate is in the french culture. i mean, they had a 5 day fair celebrating and promoting it, for heaven's sakes! it also showed me that chocolate is a huge part of cultures all around the world. i loved that one delicious food can bring together people from all walks of life. it just goes to show you that good food can unite the world :) cheesy? yes. do i regret saying that? pas du tout. || not at all.
i wish i could upload photos to show you how great it was! i swear i'm working on fixing that. it's just taking forever to figure it all out. sorry!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
montmartre
30 octobre 2012
i did this really fun walk with natey and alicia!
nate and i met up on line 12 and went to our metro stop at jules joffrin. alicia met us there and then we took the bus up to sacre coeur, the huge cathedral that overlooks all of paris.
from the basilica, there is the most amazing view of the entire city. i can't even get over it. it was so fun to look out over paris and pick out places that i know. it made me feel like i am beginning to understand this city. i can't say i understand it - not completely. i think that it would take years to even begin to understand it. it is so complex. my host mom says that even she doesn't know everything about it, and she has lived here her whole life (minus 15 years in nyc).
anyway. i feel like i'm finally beginning to understand this amazing city.
i loved being inside sacre coeur. it is such a massive church. it was built after the franco-prussian war of 1870, when france lost. it was a complete disaster. napoléon iii lost his power and was ultimately defeated at waterloo. (yes, click on that link, you won't be sorry.) ashley benning says that it is her favorite place in paris. i lit a little candle for her there :)
then we wandered into the église saint-pierre. it has been around since 1147. that is a long time, if you ask me.
we also found the place du tertre, which was a really fun little square where street artists sell their pieces. some of them weren't that impressive...but a lot of them i absolutely loved. i may or may not have bought a little tiny one for myself. i just couldn't resist!
we also found the musée du vieux monmartre, but we didn't get to go inside because it was closed (a lot of museums are closed on tuesdays - boo).
just a little ways away from the museum, there was a little vineyard. nothing too impressive, but a vineyard nonetheless. it was so awesome. it was a little piece of home for me in the middle of a big city. i loved it.
we saw lots of little places where people like gertrude stein and pablo picasso loved to hang out or eat. it reminded me of the movie midnight in paris. i wish i could have seen paris in those times. especially after seeing peoples' houses, like renoir and van gogh. i would have loved to casually run into either of them.
awe also found a park, with a statue of saint-denis holding his head. he was beheaded by the romans in the 3rd century, and legend has it that he carried his head down the north side of montmartre before collapsing. craaaaay craaaaaay. alicia and i played on the teeter-totter at the park. and then we went on it with natey, who flung us into the air. i feared for my life a couple of times and could not stop laughing. sometimes i think i am still five years old at heart. and when i say sometimes i really mean all the time.
we wandered around a few more streets, up and down some hills, and eventually we found the outdoor-dance-hall called moulin de la galette. renoir painted the piece, bal du moulin de la galette, from a dance here. it's in the orsay, and we actually looked at it a few weeks ago in our art history class! i love how everything here connects in all of our classes. it's so cool to actually SEE history as i am learning it. i love that about paris.
at the end our our walk, we found the moulin rouge. it wasn't part of the walk, but since it was only a few blocks away, we decided we needed to go see it. it wasn't anything super impressive - in my mind - but it had to be done because it's such an icon.
good walk! :)
sorry, still won't let me upload photos.
i did this really fun walk with natey and alicia!
nate and i met up on line 12 and went to our metro stop at jules joffrin. alicia met us there and then we took the bus up to sacre coeur, the huge cathedral that overlooks all of paris.
from the basilica, there is the most amazing view of the entire city. i can't even get over it. it was so fun to look out over paris and pick out places that i know. it made me feel like i am beginning to understand this city. i can't say i understand it - not completely. i think that it would take years to even begin to understand it. it is so complex. my host mom says that even she doesn't know everything about it, and she has lived here her whole life (minus 15 years in nyc).
anyway. i feel like i'm finally beginning to understand this amazing city.
i loved being inside sacre coeur. it is such a massive church. it was built after the franco-prussian war of 1870, when france lost. it was a complete disaster. napoléon iii lost his power and was ultimately defeated at waterloo. (yes, click on that link, you won't be sorry.) ashley benning says that it is her favorite place in paris. i lit a little candle for her there :)
then we wandered into the église saint-pierre. it has been around since 1147. that is a long time, if you ask me.
we also found the place du tertre, which was a really fun little square where street artists sell their pieces. some of them weren't that impressive...but a lot of them i absolutely loved. i may or may not have bought a little tiny one for myself. i just couldn't resist!
we also found the musée du vieux monmartre, but we didn't get to go inside because it was closed (a lot of museums are closed on tuesdays - boo).
just a little ways away from the museum, there was a little vineyard. nothing too impressive, but a vineyard nonetheless. it was so awesome. it was a little piece of home for me in the middle of a big city. i loved it.
we saw lots of little places where people like gertrude stein and pablo picasso loved to hang out or eat. it reminded me of the movie midnight in paris. i wish i could have seen paris in those times. especially after seeing peoples' houses, like renoir and van gogh. i would have loved to casually run into either of them.
awe also found a park, with a statue of saint-denis holding his head. he was beheaded by the romans in the 3rd century, and legend has it that he carried his head down the north side of montmartre before collapsing. craaaaay craaaaaay. alicia and i played on the teeter-totter at the park. and then we went on it with natey, who flung us into the air. i feared for my life a couple of times and could not stop laughing. sometimes i think i am still five years old at heart. and when i say sometimes i really mean all the time.
we wandered around a few more streets, up and down some hills, and eventually we found the outdoor-dance-hall called moulin de la galette. renoir painted the piece, bal du moulin de la galette, from a dance here. it's in the orsay, and we actually looked at it a few weeks ago in our art history class! i love how everything here connects in all of our classes. it's so cool to actually SEE history as i am learning it. i love that about paris.
at the end our our walk, we found the moulin rouge. it wasn't part of the walk, but since it was only a few blocks away, we decided we needed to go see it. it wasn't anything super impressive - in my mind - but it had to be done because it's such an icon.
good walk! :)
sorry, still won't let me upload photos.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
les grands boulevards || the grand boulevards
23 octobre 2012
yay grands boulevards!!
this walk was super cool. it's in a super ritzy part of paris. during napoléon iii's empire, he asked baron georges-eugène haussmann to help with the new layout of paris that napoléon had in mind. much of paris was leveled. a new network of streets and over 40,000 new buildings were erected. streets were widened, buildings were made equal. haussmann tried to keep things very uniform. when looking around paris, i can definitely tell the difference between haussmann's style and previous architecture. it's really cool to be able to see the difference between them.
this walk started on the boulevard haussmann, behind the opéra garnier. all the buildings are uniform. we found printemps, which is a departments store that is made up of several buildings connected by covered walkways. it's super fancy - i can't imagine the money people spend there! crazy! when we originally did this walk, it was october. i have since returned a few times and now there are christmas decorations in all the windows and the shops. so good. so happy. i like to walk through with my christmas music on. :)
the next main store we found was the galéries lafayette. it's very similar to printemps - several buildings connected. we went inside the store and went straight to the center of it. when i looked up to the ceiling, i saw the most amazing stained glass dome i have ever seen. it was so wonderful. i was obsessed.
after we explored the galéries lafayette, we went to the opéra garnier. we didn't go inside (we were waiting for phone calls from the airline about some tickets for our upcoming trip to rome), but i went inside later and it was amazing. such a breathtaking building. this building was originally built for opera, but it is mostly used today for ballet. the phantom of the opera is based in this building, and there really is lake under the opera house! it's really small, but it's there.
then we walked down the rue de la paix. it is lined with fancy shops like cartier. that was fun. we also saw the place vendôme, where people like chopin (who's heart is buried in warsaw - saw it when i went there!), puccini, danton, and john law. it wsa turned into a royal square later, and now it is private residences. the column in the middle of the square was erected in 1806 to celebrate napoléon's victory at austerlitz.
then we turned down rue saint-honoré. we went into l'église saint-roch. i knew i recognized this church - and it turns out it is the church where sasha's dad charley went to church when he lived in paris as a boy. i was here 5 years ago when we visted the de limurs! crazy. it has been so cool to be able to piece together where things were and understand paris for myself, instead of blindly following charley and gretchen around. i've loved it! anyway, this church was built in 1653 by louis xiv.
down the street, there is a statue of joan of arc just outside the tuileries gardens in the place de pyramides.
this was a fun walk! good times :)
yay grands boulevards!!
this walk was super cool. it's in a super ritzy part of paris. during napoléon iii's empire, he asked baron georges-eugène haussmann to help with the new layout of paris that napoléon had in mind. much of paris was leveled. a new network of streets and over 40,000 new buildings were erected. streets were widened, buildings were made equal. haussmann tried to keep things very uniform. when looking around paris, i can definitely tell the difference between haussmann's style and previous architecture. it's really cool to be able to see the difference between them.
this walk started on the boulevard haussmann, behind the opéra garnier. all the buildings are uniform. we found printemps, which is a departments store that is made up of several buildings connected by covered walkways. it's super fancy - i can't imagine the money people spend there! crazy! when we originally did this walk, it was october. i have since returned a few times and now there are christmas decorations in all the windows and the shops. so good. so happy. i like to walk through with my christmas music on. :)
the next main store we found was the galéries lafayette. it's very similar to printemps - several buildings connected. we went inside the store and went straight to the center of it. when i looked up to the ceiling, i saw the most amazing stained glass dome i have ever seen. it was so wonderful. i was obsessed.
after we explored the galéries lafayette, we went to the opéra garnier. we didn't go inside (we were waiting for phone calls from the airline about some tickets for our upcoming trip to rome), but i went inside later and it was amazing. such a breathtaking building. this building was originally built for opera, but it is mostly used today for ballet. the phantom of the opera is based in this building, and there really is lake under the opera house! it's really small, but it's there.
then we walked down the rue de la paix. it is lined with fancy shops like cartier. that was fun. we also saw the place vendôme, where people like chopin (who's heart is buried in warsaw - saw it when i went there!), puccini, danton, and john law. it wsa turned into a royal square later, and now it is private residences. the column in the middle of the square was erected in 1806 to celebrate napoléon's victory at austerlitz.
then we turned down rue saint-honoré. we went into l'église saint-roch. i knew i recognized this church - and it turns out it is the church where sasha's dad charley went to church when he lived in paris as a boy. i was here 5 years ago when we visted the de limurs! crazy. it has been so cool to be able to piece together where things were and understand paris for myself, instead of blindly following charley and gretchen around. i've loved it! anyway, this church was built in 1653 by louis xiv.
down the street, there is a statue of joan of arc just outside the tuileries gardens in the place de pyramides.
this was a fun walk! good times :)
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| galéries lafayette |
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| galéries lafayette |
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| adorable baby clothes on rue saint-honoré |
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| saint-roch |
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| cartier - the mother of all engagement rings. i hope any interested boys are taking note of this ring. |
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
la défense
16 octobre 2012
after finishing my marais walk, i met up with alicia at la défense for another walk! two in one day. i know, i am a little crazy. but it was fun.
this walk was the complete opposite of the marais walk. la défense is just outside of paris. it is a very modern area, full of sky scrapers.
we started this walk at the esplanade de la défense. from this view point, you can see straight down the champs-élysées to the arc de triomphe. it's fun, because the arc de triomphe lines up exactly with the grande arche, a marble office building that mirrors the arc de triomphe.
this area was super fun to walk around in. i almost felt like i was in space, it was so modern and different from the rest of paris. the more time i spent there, the more i liked it. it was just so surreal!
we found lots of cool art pieces, like the grande mosaïque, a mosaic fountain that is made up of 10 cylinders, and is possibly the largest mosaic in the world.
we also found le somnambule || the sleepwalker. this one creeped me out a little bit, but i still thought it was kinda cool.
my favorite piece that we found was the chiminée d'aératioin (the moretti tower). it is made up of 672 colored tubes. i loved the colors! it was so fun.
in the center of the square of the grande arche, there is a multi-colored fountain called the fontaine monumentale d'agam. it was super fun to watch the water shoot up from the fountain at different times.
there was even a building where it felt appropriate to take a "beam me up scotty" photo. alicia was kind enough to take one for me.
i really liked this area of paris. it is so different and foreign from anything i have seen in the heart of paris, but it was so fun! i loved the weirdness of it. and the fact that there was a mall at the end of the walk. where i bought some boots. i love those boots. :)
after finishing my marais walk, i met up with alicia at la défense for another walk! two in one day. i know, i am a little crazy. but it was fun.
this walk was the complete opposite of the marais walk. la défense is just outside of paris. it is a very modern area, full of sky scrapers.
we started this walk at the esplanade de la défense. from this view point, you can see straight down the champs-élysées to the arc de triomphe. it's fun, because the arc de triomphe lines up exactly with the grande arche, a marble office building that mirrors the arc de triomphe.
this area was super fun to walk around in. i almost felt like i was in space, it was so modern and different from the rest of paris. the more time i spent there, the more i liked it. it was just so surreal!
we found lots of cool art pieces, like the grande mosaïque, a mosaic fountain that is made up of 10 cylinders, and is possibly the largest mosaic in the world.
we also found le somnambule || the sleepwalker. this one creeped me out a little bit, but i still thought it was kinda cool.
my favorite piece that we found was the chiminée d'aératioin (the moretti tower). it is made up of 672 colored tubes. i loved the colors! it was so fun.
in the center of the square of the grande arche, there is a multi-colored fountain called the fontaine monumentale d'agam. it was super fun to watch the water shoot up from the fountain at different times.
there was even a building where it felt appropriate to take a "beam me up scotty" photo. alicia was kind enough to take one for me.
i really liked this area of paris. it is so different and foreign from anything i have seen in the heart of paris, but it was so fun! i loved the weirdness of it. and the fact that there was a mall at the end of the walk. where i bought some boots. i love those boots. :)
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| awkward selfie in a skyscraper window with the grande mosaïque in the background |
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| la grande mosaïque |
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| the sleepwalker |
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| chiminée d'aératioin. |
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| fontaine monumentale d'agam and the grande arche. |
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| i love la défense. |
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| alicia loves la défense. |
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| we both love la défense! |
marais walk 1
16 octobre, 2012
i think of all the walks i have done so far (and i am speaking after having done a lot), this walk was definitely my favorite. i did this walk all on my own, with no time constraints. i just let myself wander and explore and go where i wanted (while still following the map, of course).
just a little background - the marais is a neighborhood that was built upon reclaimed swampland. it was a very popular place to live until the revolution, when it fell into disrepair. it wasn't until andré malraux, the minister of art under charles de gaulle, saved it from destruction. now the marais is full of life. it contains parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondisements, the jewish quarter, and so much more.
this walk started at the seine. i walked from the seine to the hôtel de sens, which is the one of the oldest buildings in paris. it used to be the home of the archbishop of sens, and then the first wife of henry iv. now it contains la bibliothèque fourney || the fine arts library of paris.
then i turned down rue charlemagne. along this street, there was a part of the wall that philippe auguste built around 1200 to enclose and protect paris. it's just connected to a school. not a big deal, really, to go to school and hang out around this wall that was built 800 years ago.
then i turned down rue des jardins saint-paul, where i turned into a little courtyard called village saint-paul. because i did this walk on a tuesday, most of the shops in the courtyard were closed, but it was so cool. all the little shops were filled with knick-knacks and tchotchkes. i found one shop that had day of the dead skulls and i thought of my aunt maryn. it was really cool.
after wandering through the village, i turned down rue saint-paul. there were so many good antique shops on this street. i want to go back and wander some more, for sure. i stopped in a shop called "ew," which i found especially funny. it turned out to be the best little antique store EVER and i may or may not have picked up a few choice finds from there. so family members...be excited for christmas. :)
from ew, i took myself to l'église saint-paul saint-louis. this is a church that stands opposite the apartment that sasha and her family lived in while they were here in 2006-2007. for some reason, when we were visiting them, i never went into this church, even though it was right across the street. i can't believe i never went it...but i'm so glad i got the opportunity to come back! inside the church was awesome. it was painted and sculpted and wonderful.
after spending a good half hour in saint paul, i got myself a crêpe citron. i think those are my favorite crêpes. don't get me wrong, i love a good nutella crêpe as much as the next person (and sometimes i like it with bananas yum). but the citron...so good. the french take a crêpe, sprinkle some sugar (white, not powdered) on it, and add some lemon juice. it is soooo good.
i took myself and my crêpe citron to place des vosges, which is paris' oldest square. it was built by henry iv, who wanted to create an elegant square in the marais where people could walk around and where members of the royal court could hold public and private celebrations and parades. the houses surrounding the square were sold to nobility, and later to other people.
place number 6 of place des vosges was once the home of victor hugo. i went inside his apartment - now a free museum - and enjoyed my time there. i ran into a couple from salt lake who were on vacation, so we talked for a few minutes and recommended a few cool places to check out. i love americans :)
after visitng victor hugo's home, i went to musée carnavalet. on my way there, i talked to an old man who was selling art on the side of the street. we had an ENTIRE conversation IN FRENCH. it was like 10 minutes long. i ended up buying one of his pieces that he has had since 1985. he told me he wanted it to go to a good home and thought i would be good to it. that made me happy. the painting is kinda weird...but i kinda like weird, so it worked out nicely. i also got gelato at amorino, this really great gelato and waffle shop that is all around paris. i tried the speculoos and the passion fruit. i wandered in and out of a few more shops before entering the musée carnavalet.
the musée carnavalet is on rue de sévigné. it is such an awesome museum! the entire thing is housed in one home - the home of madame de sévigné, who is famous for writing witty letters about paris. now it is a museum that tells the history of paris. i have never been in such a museum. i vaguely remember coming to this museum with the de limur's back in '07, but a combination of jet lag and being a 14 year-old caused me to not pay too much attention the first time i was there. this time, i got myself completely lost. i am talking "couldn't find the exit and no one could help me find my way out because no one spoke english and i don't speak enough french to understand detailed directions" lost. it was a little frustrating to not have any idea how to find my way out...but i made it, eventually. besides getting lost, the museum was amazing. there was so much information it was a little overwhelming. if you go to the musée carnavalet, don't try and do it all in one day. but do it. you won't regret it :)
after visiting the musée carnavalet, i walked around outside a little more. i walked through the jardin georges cain, and saw some interesting sculptures. and i saw some cool hôtels, which aren't hotels in the sense of an american "hotel" where you can stay while on vacation. these hôtels are private residences.
this was such a fun walk. it reminded me so much of my family, probably because of all the antique shops and because the last time i was here 5 years ago, i was with them. it made me miss them. i think that is partly why i loved it so much - it reminded me of how much i love my family and of how excited i am to see them in person in a month! :)
i think of all the walks i have done so far (and i am speaking after having done a lot), this walk was definitely my favorite. i did this walk all on my own, with no time constraints. i just let myself wander and explore and go where i wanted (while still following the map, of course).
just a little background - the marais is a neighborhood that was built upon reclaimed swampland. it was a very popular place to live until the revolution, when it fell into disrepair. it wasn't until andré malraux, the minister of art under charles de gaulle, saved it from destruction. now the marais is full of life. it contains parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondisements, the jewish quarter, and so much more.
this walk started at the seine. i walked from the seine to the hôtel de sens, which is the one of the oldest buildings in paris. it used to be the home of the archbishop of sens, and then the first wife of henry iv. now it contains la bibliothèque fourney || the fine arts library of paris.
then i turned down rue charlemagne. along this street, there was a part of the wall that philippe auguste built around 1200 to enclose and protect paris. it's just connected to a school. not a big deal, really, to go to school and hang out around this wall that was built 800 years ago.
then i turned down rue des jardins saint-paul, where i turned into a little courtyard called village saint-paul. because i did this walk on a tuesday, most of the shops in the courtyard were closed, but it was so cool. all the little shops were filled with knick-knacks and tchotchkes. i found one shop that had day of the dead skulls and i thought of my aunt maryn. it was really cool.
after wandering through the village, i turned down rue saint-paul. there were so many good antique shops on this street. i want to go back and wander some more, for sure. i stopped in a shop called "ew," which i found especially funny. it turned out to be the best little antique store EVER and i may or may not have picked up a few choice finds from there. so family members...be excited for christmas. :)
from ew, i took myself to l'église saint-paul saint-louis. this is a church that stands opposite the apartment that sasha and her family lived in while they were here in 2006-2007. for some reason, when we were visiting them, i never went into this church, even though it was right across the street. i can't believe i never went it...but i'm so glad i got the opportunity to come back! inside the church was awesome. it was painted and sculpted and wonderful.
after spending a good half hour in saint paul, i got myself a crêpe citron. i think those are my favorite crêpes. don't get me wrong, i love a good nutella crêpe as much as the next person (and sometimes i like it with bananas yum). but the citron...so good. the french take a crêpe, sprinkle some sugar (white, not powdered) on it, and add some lemon juice. it is soooo good.
i took myself and my crêpe citron to place des vosges, which is paris' oldest square. it was built by henry iv, who wanted to create an elegant square in the marais where people could walk around and where members of the royal court could hold public and private celebrations and parades. the houses surrounding the square were sold to nobility, and later to other people.
place number 6 of place des vosges was once the home of victor hugo. i went inside his apartment - now a free museum - and enjoyed my time there. i ran into a couple from salt lake who were on vacation, so we talked for a few minutes and recommended a few cool places to check out. i love americans :)
after visitng victor hugo's home, i went to musée carnavalet. on my way there, i talked to an old man who was selling art on the side of the street. we had an ENTIRE conversation IN FRENCH. it was like 10 minutes long. i ended up buying one of his pieces that he has had since 1985. he told me he wanted it to go to a good home and thought i would be good to it. that made me happy. the painting is kinda weird...but i kinda like weird, so it worked out nicely. i also got gelato at amorino, this really great gelato and waffle shop that is all around paris. i tried the speculoos and the passion fruit. i wandered in and out of a few more shops before entering the musée carnavalet.
the musée carnavalet is on rue de sévigné. it is such an awesome museum! the entire thing is housed in one home - the home of madame de sévigné, who is famous for writing witty letters about paris. now it is a museum that tells the history of paris. i have never been in such a museum. i vaguely remember coming to this museum with the de limur's back in '07, but a combination of jet lag and being a 14 year-old caused me to not pay too much attention the first time i was there. this time, i got myself completely lost. i am talking "couldn't find the exit and no one could help me find my way out because no one spoke english and i don't speak enough french to understand detailed directions" lost. it was a little frustrating to not have any idea how to find my way out...but i made it, eventually. besides getting lost, the museum was amazing. there was so much information it was a little overwhelming. if you go to the musée carnavalet, don't try and do it all in one day. but do it. you won't regret it :)
after visiting the musée carnavalet, i walked around outside a little more. i walked through the jardin georges cain, and saw some interesting sculptures. and i saw some cool hôtels, which aren't hotels in the sense of an american "hotel" where you can stay while on vacation. these hôtels are private residences.
this was such a fun walk. it reminded me so much of my family, probably because of all the antique shops and because the last time i was here 5 years ago, i was with them. it made me miss them. i think that is partly why i loved it so much - it reminded me of how much i love my family and of how excited i am to see them in person in a month! :)
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| hôtel de sens |
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| wall built by philippe auguste |
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| skulls for auntie maryn! |
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| a fun tchotchke store |
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| ew |
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| blurry photo of ew. |
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| place des vosges |
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| victor hugo's house |
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| place des vosges from victor hugo's home |
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| a fun watch store |
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| saint paul |
fontainebleau and vaux-le-vicomte
three weekends ago, we took a group trip to fontainebleau and vaux-le-vicomte.
i back-dated this post so everything would be in chronological order. just in case you were confused.
(good thing i'm up to date on my blog. jokes.)
anyways...our first stop was fontainebleau.
fontainebleau is a lovely little château || castle just outside of paris. it has housed royalty of france for centuries, and is now a museum of sorts. this "little" château boasts over 1500 rooms and over 130 acres of parkland and gardens. (when i said little, it was sarcasm. the place was massive.)
fontainebleau has been around since the medieval times, but it wasn't until the renaissance that it became a true palace. rulers such as charles v, henry ii, catherine de medici (she had six kids here), charles iv, and henry iv.
fun fact : in all of his portraits, henry iv is smiling! (i told you it was fun.)
in the 17th century, the bourbon family took over and lived there.
it eventually became the home of napoleon.
it was amazing. i can't even tell you. for some reason, i have always had this image in my head of castles being cold and slightly less than inviting, although beautiful. however, the châteaux of france have definitely changed my mind. these places, while over-the-top extravagant, don't feel so lonely. they are ridiculous, gorgeous, frou-frou, and a little bit homey. how that works, i'm not quite sure. i would never have told you that i would have wanted to live in fontainebleau before visiting it...but now i'm sold. if that place ever goes on the market...i'm gonna be first in line to purchase it.
our next stop was a château called vaux-le-vicomte.
in 1641, nicolas fouquet purchased an old château (vaux-le-vicomte) to fix up. he hired louis le vau as his architect and andré le nôtre as his gardener.
(nicolas fouquet was the financial secretary of france under louis vix. just to clear some things up for ya.)
to make a loooooong and very political story short, when louis xiv saw vaux-le-vicomte, and how much money was spent on it, and how fouquet was living in a nicer place than the king was...let's just say fouquet was out of a job and out of a home.
when louis xiv later built the palace of versailles, he modeled it after vaux-le-vicomte. having been to both places, i can definitely see the similarities in style between the two châteaus. especially in the gardens.
while vaux-le-vicomte was pretty neat, it was the gardens that stole my heart. i can't even tell you how much i loved them. all i wanted to do was wear a long and flowy dress and walk around the gardens for hours on end. and then spend some time reading under a tree. and then walk around some more in my flowy dress. i didn't even care that it was raining while we were there. it was gorgeous.
enjoy the photos of my adventures!
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| fontainebleau |
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| love me some audioguides. |
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| who wouldn't want to sleep here? |
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| the H stands for "henry"...but i like to think it stands for "hughes" and that this is my family's castle. |
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| dance hall. |
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| henry iv is ALWAYS smiling. |
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| king and queen of the chateau |
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| i...don't know. |
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| a tiny chair at vaux-le-vicomte. it is so small! |
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| alicia and i overlooking the gardens at vaux-le-vicomte |
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| in front of the chateau |
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| THERE WAS A MOAT |
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| remember when this happened in normandie? well...it happened again. |
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
place de la concorde
dates : 5 & 9 octobre, 2012
sage, annie, alicia, and i did this walk in two parts. partly because we didn't have enough time and partly because we felt so under-dressed. not an exaggeration. we had been serving lunch to the homeless earlier that day, so we were all in our grungy clothes haha. and we were in a pretty ritzy area, let me tell you what. i very much enjoyed it :)
we started our walk on the champs-elysées, and then crossed over to avenue de marigny, where we saw the théâtre marigny, which was designed by garnier in 1853. garnier later went on to design the famous opéra garnier - think : phantom of the opera.
after that, we saw multiple government buildings. i loved that none of them actually looked like government buildings. well, except for the security guards. ha. we saw the hôtel marigny (used for guests representing foreign governments), the ministry of the interior, and the palais de l'elysée (think : the french version of the white house).
we saw the palais de l'elysée better from rue faubourg saint-honoré. we were only allowed to walk on one side of the street because no one is allowed to walk on the sidewalk next to the president's house!
rue faubourg saint-honoré was fairly mind blowing. i have never seen so many designer stores all in one place. not to mention southeby's - the famous art auction house. i nearly peed my pants when i stepped foot in there. we really didn't get past the front door, but still. it was a magical place. trust me.
at one point, we were walking along the rue faubourg saint-honoré when suddenly there was money flying everywhere. it was very bizarre. i started picking up the bills and realized they were all 1,000 rubles each! we gave them back to the man who lost them (they fell out of his coat pocket), but it was seriously so weird. it wasn't really all that much money, considering the conversion rates, but seeing bills for 1,000 rubles flying in your face while you're walking down one of the most expensive streets in paris, dressed in grungy clothes? it's a really weird experience.
after crossing on to rue boissy d'anglais, we walked past two of the most exclusive hotels in paris, as well as the us embassy. it was all blocked off. apparently you can't just walk in, even if you are a us citizen.
then we made our way to the place de la concorde, which was originally built to commemorate louis xv. it is the huge square where marie antoinette, danton, and robespierre were all beheaded during the revolution. it's crazy to think that i stood where these people died. i've read about them all in text books, and i know that they lived...but now i am starting to think about them on a more personal level. they were real, they lived, they died. i stood where they once stood (and died). isn't that kinda cool?
we took a few minutes to look at the luxor obelisk, which was given as a gift to charles x in 1829 from mohammed ali, the egyptian governor. it is over 20,000 years old. say what?!
we then took a little stroll through the tuileries garden, which is a jardin a la française || traditional, symmetrical french garden.
super fun walk, over all! definitely one of the best :)
sage, annie, alicia, and i did this walk in two parts. partly because we didn't have enough time and partly because we felt so under-dressed. not an exaggeration. we had been serving lunch to the homeless earlier that day, so we were all in our grungy clothes haha. and we were in a pretty ritzy area, let me tell you what. i very much enjoyed it :)
we started our walk on the champs-elysées, and then crossed over to avenue de marigny, where we saw the théâtre marigny, which was designed by garnier in 1853. garnier later went on to design the famous opéra garnier - think : phantom of the opera.
after that, we saw multiple government buildings. i loved that none of them actually looked like government buildings. well, except for the security guards. ha. we saw the hôtel marigny (used for guests representing foreign governments), the ministry of the interior, and the palais de l'elysée (think : the french version of the white house).
we saw the palais de l'elysée better from rue faubourg saint-honoré. we were only allowed to walk on one side of the street because no one is allowed to walk on the sidewalk next to the president's house!
rue faubourg saint-honoré was fairly mind blowing. i have never seen so many designer stores all in one place. not to mention southeby's - the famous art auction house. i nearly peed my pants when i stepped foot in there. we really didn't get past the front door, but still. it was a magical place. trust me.
at one point, we were walking along the rue faubourg saint-honoré when suddenly there was money flying everywhere. it was very bizarre. i started picking up the bills and realized they were all 1,000 rubles each! we gave them back to the man who lost them (they fell out of his coat pocket), but it was seriously so weird. it wasn't really all that much money, considering the conversion rates, but seeing bills for 1,000 rubles flying in your face while you're walking down one of the most expensive streets in paris, dressed in grungy clothes? it's a really weird experience.
after crossing on to rue boissy d'anglais, we walked past two of the most exclusive hotels in paris, as well as the us embassy. it was all blocked off. apparently you can't just walk in, even if you are a us citizen.
then we made our way to the place de la concorde, which was originally built to commemorate louis xv. it is the huge square where marie antoinette, danton, and robespierre were all beheaded during the revolution. it's crazy to think that i stood where these people died. i've read about them all in text books, and i know that they lived...but now i am starting to think about them on a more personal level. they were real, they lived, they died. i stood where they once stood (and died). isn't that kinda cool?
we took a few minutes to look at the luxor obelisk, which was given as a gift to charles x in 1829 from mohammed ali, the egyptian governor. it is over 20,000 years old. say what?!
we then took a little stroll through the tuileries garden, which is a jardin a la française || traditional, symmetrical french garden.
super fun walk, over all! definitely one of the best :)
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| would you believe me if i told you this was a hair salon? |
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| oh that HAT! killed me. |
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| dear future husband, THIS. love, sydney |
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| sage, alicia, annie, and i in our grungy clothes in front of chanel. classy. |
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| sotheby's!! |
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| this was cool. it was in the tuileries garden. |
Sunday, October 7, 2012
la nuit blanche || the white night
date : 6 octobre, 2012
la nuit blanche is an annual all-night arts festival in paris. soooo cooooool, right?!
(ps this is counting as my "anti-walk" for my paris walks class because we did SO MUCH walking.)
so that night, annie, sage, alicia, and i made some ravioli chez annie & sage. then we bundled up (it was raining, boo) and trekked into paris for what we were planning on being a 3 hour adventure.
we explored a lot that night. like...a lot. anyway, we didn't actually really know what we were doing, if i'm being completely honest. we just liked walking around and seeing everyone who was out all night long.
we did see some art, though. we didn't get into any of the major museums (we didn't plan this out very well) but we DID get into some churches with some pretty cool installation pieces.
after that, we met up with maddie and nateybabes. and we decided to head over to the eiffel tower. and stay out all night until the first trains at 5 am.
we spent quite a bit of time at the eiffel tower. it was really pretty. and i needed to find a bathroom. good thing paris has public restrooms. (note sarcasm)
so then we got on the metro...and then we tried to transfer metros, but we were informed that it was closed. it was 2 am at this point.
so the only logical option is to walk from the arc de triomphe to our metro stop, châtelet, right? yes. that was the only logical option we could come up with.
we finally found refuge on the champs-élysées in a quickburger. we got french fries and i found a bathroom and we felt pretty happy about that.
then we walked and walked and walked and walked...for a really long time. we pretty much walked over half of metro line 1, if that gives you any idea. we walked from the arc de triomphe, down the champs-élysées, past place de la concorde, along the seine, by the louvre and palais royal, and finally ended up at châtelet at some time around 4:30 am. and we sat down in the station waiting for our train and i felt very happy to be sitting.
it was quite the adventure! i wish we had planned it out better and had gone into more of the museums...but it was still an awesome night! i will never forget it. dead serious. haha.
la nuit blanche is an annual all-night arts festival in paris. soooo cooooool, right?!
(ps this is counting as my "anti-walk" for my paris walks class because we did SO MUCH walking.)
so that night, annie, sage, alicia, and i made some ravioli chez annie & sage. then we bundled up (it was raining, boo) and trekked into paris for what we were planning on being a 3 hour adventure.
we explored a lot that night. like...a lot. anyway, we didn't actually really know what we were doing, if i'm being completely honest. we just liked walking around and seeing everyone who was out all night long.
we did see some art, though. we didn't get into any of the major museums (we didn't plan this out very well) but we DID get into some churches with some pretty cool installation pieces.
after that, we met up with maddie and nateybabes. and we decided to head over to the eiffel tower. and stay out all night until the first trains at 5 am.
we spent quite a bit of time at the eiffel tower. it was really pretty. and i needed to find a bathroom. good thing paris has public restrooms. (note sarcasm)
so then we got on the metro...and then we tried to transfer metros, but we were informed that it was closed. it was 2 am at this point.
so the only logical option is to walk from the arc de triomphe to our metro stop, châtelet, right? yes. that was the only logical option we could come up with.
we finally found refuge on the champs-élysées in a quickburger. we got french fries and i found a bathroom and we felt pretty happy about that.
then we walked and walked and walked and walked...for a really long time. we pretty much walked over half of metro line 1, if that gives you any idea. we walked from the arc de triomphe, down the champs-élysées, past place de la concorde, along the seine, by the louvre and palais royal, and finally ended up at châtelet at some time around 4:30 am. and we sat down in the station waiting for our train and i felt very happy to be sitting.
it was quite the adventure! i wish we had planned it out better and had gone into more of the museums...but it was still an awesome night! i will never forget it. dead serious. haha.
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| strolling along the seine |
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| alicia, annie, sage, and me in front of notre dame |
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| this was a cross made of broken screens of some sort |
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| me, sage, annie, maddie, alicia, and nateybabes in front of the louvre. this was like 3:30 am. |
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| 5 am. waiting for the train. |
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