Après

"Paris is always a good idea." ~Audrey Hepburn

Paris was the best idea. And now it is over, for now. Paris has become a part of me and I will always yearn for it. But now that I am back in the good ol' US of A I have some reflecting to do. I won't go into detail about my last day other then I went to the boulangerie and got myself some goodies and waited at the bus stop for quite some time. But that was the least waiting I did all day. Let's just say that I dearly missed the customer service in the US and I hate Icelandair with a fiery passion. 

My life in Paris was wonderful and I hope that I can one day make it more permanent. It has opened my eyes to the world that I had always hoped was there. I seem to see everything now through a filter and in contrast to the French. I can't even begin to describe what Paris was like for me, I can sorta equate it to a nutella crepe, sometimes it was the best crepe on earth and sometimes all I wanted to do was throw it trash but because it was a nutella crepe I didn't. I said at the being of this blog that I had a romanticized view of Paris and I still do. It is still the perfect city for me even while trip on the little cobble stone that is left and get ridiculously lost on the metro. It is the only city that I could ever imagine living in, and if you know me you know how I don't like the city.

Paris was my teacher but it didn't teach me exactly what I thought it would. It taught me that I talk too much, Europeans must always be dehydrated, I am even more independent than I thought, I need to learn to trust people more and so very much more. All of that along with more tolerance for things not done the "typical" way. Paris has inspired me to strive for my own version of greatness, what that is I still have no idea. It just looks like I will have to go back again and figure it out. This journey has inspired me to write more and learn about things I never would have thought were interesting enough to learn about like Haussmann and the construction of Paris in the 1860's. 

This trip has expanding my view on what can be considered art. I see things in a much more critical way. Not as in looking for faults but looking for meaning. I look at the intricate that are in simple art works or in the simplicity that is contained in a sculpture. I see things rather than look at things. And that is one of the greatest gives that I got out of this adventure. I still love Degas but see him in not such a shiny light and my repertoire of French literature and music has a laundry list of things for me to still experience. 

I was given a list of things by my lovely Aunt Boots about my trip and here are my answers. 
Best food: nutella crepe (I know boring)
Worst food: sweet pickle (can't they just have normal pickles??)or this weird mint ice cream that I had on the smaller island, Ile de St. Louis
Best experience: well disregarding the whole thing as an answer I would have to say Giverny. The way that day was is indescribable.
Most disgusting experience: It's not a eww experience but all the gypsies that were around that tried to get you to sign there petitions so you would be distracted and rob you.  
Best painting: Way too many to choice from but any of the Degas paintings I saw or I really loved the Marie Laurencin paintings that I got to see. 
Best building: Sainte-Chapelle Church. I had never had my breath taken away as I did with that church.
Scariest moment: Getting on the metro the wrong way and heading out to the sketchy suburbs. 

I am going to make my thank you's quick because I can't express how grateful I am in words; they pale in comparison to how I feel. I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to live my dream and doing everything they could to help me achieve it. To my lovely sisters who are so supportive. Along with all of my friends and family who kept up with my blog and listened to me for years go on and on about Paris. I have to give a special thank you to Rachel, you know why and I could never have gotten through that without you. I would also like to thank the best professor Adriana Zabala, you are a truly gifted person and educator. And you the reader who read through my rambles even if you didn't know me, I hope you enjoyed the insight into my world.  Oh and of course to the great country of France and the marvelous city of Paris, she opened her arms to me and guided me though like an old friend. I never felt like a fish out of water, just a confused one once in a while.

Well that's it. I am no long that 19 year old student of the prairie who had never traveled abroad. I am now a 20 year old student of the world who wants to see not only Paris again but the rest of the world as well.

Merci pour tout,
Bisous Janice 

Laissez-les manger le gâteau!

"I stayed tree weeks in Paris, fell in love with the city, and decided that I was born to live in Paris." ~Ed Bradley

This blog update is for June 14, 2013

I woke up kinda early because I wanted to go into town and spend my last day in Paris really in the heart of the city, or what I think of as the heart of the city. I hoped on the metro, because you know I can ride that all by myself now, and got off at what I thought was going to be the stop right by the Seine. Yah so maybe I am not as skilled at the metro as I thought because I came out, well I don't know where. My pride had stopped me from looking at my map or turning around and going back the way I came so I continued onward. However I just went back down the metro entrance that was down a little ways and finally found my correct exit. I thing I got the train part worked out finally it just the maze that the metro tunnels and platforms are that mix me up. Finally I went to where I wanted to go and grabbed my final neutella crepe and sat down to read my book in the park along the Seine and next to Shakespeare and Company. It was a relaxing morning and sorta confusing train ride back. But I don't think that I will ever get the hang of public transportation, it's just not my thing.

I woke up on the early side because that afternoon my group and I were heading out of town to Versailles. It was a very short tram and RER ride out there, shorter then you'd think about 25 minutes or so and you feel like you are hours away from the city. I didn't get to see much of the town but what I did was kinda quaint but not in the nostalgia way that I had expected. It seemed as though it was a town that happened to have a palace there not a town the revolved around the palace. The group and I approached the castle from the side but once we were in front of it I had to have a moment to take it all in. The castle only really stands three stories high but each story could probably fit two inside if it so you are looking as a deceptively large palace.

We had a wonderful tour guide that was very knowledgeable and insightful. Even though he palace is huge we were only allowed in a small portion of it. We got to look inside the chapel that was very extravagant and I wish we could have explored. We got to see the king's rooms which got more luxurious and exclusive as the further you went. His rooms were themed after Roman gods (maybe Greek, I don't remember) those gods were the same ones that the planets were named after so there was a Mars, Venus and Jupiter room along with others. I liked the rooms expectantly the ceilings because that was where all the gorgeous art work was. Just like everywhere else historical in France you have to look up in order to see the beauty in the room.  There were large paintings of the gods the room was in honor of and propaganda for the king as well. I was impressed with the king's chambers but my jaw dropped when I was the Hall of Mirrors.

The famous Hall of Mirrors is truly breath taking. The mirrors themselves are alright not totally impressive seeing as the mirrors aren't the good at being mirrors but the view out the windows and the ceiling is what made the room for me. The windows mirror the mirrors and the sunlight streams in and bounces of the mirrors and lights up the room. Looking out the windows on the sprawling grounds was incredible.  A mixture of natural looking trees and perfectly manicured lawns and hedges with fountains and pools of water would have been amazing to have as a back yard. The room had gorgeous low hanging chandeliers that reflected the natural light as well. Looking further up there was the intricately painted ceiling that you could spend days looking at and still wouldn't see nor understand everything. I took some time wandering around and just gaping at the grandeur of it all. I also thought of the great men who sat here and signed the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I and what they must have thought siting were I stood almost a hundred years ago.

The Hall of Mirrors then led us into the queen's chambers. My favorite room was the bedroom. I loved the bright floral print and the larger more comfortable looking bed. Her rooms were not named after any gods if I can remember correctly but seemed to be more based on the royal family. I can say the same things about the majesty of the rooms and the extravagance that the royal family lived in but you can just scroll up a little and see that in the kings part.  We had to rush through the queen's chambers because the palace was closing.  It was six o'clock by then so we decide it was time to find subsidence so we walked into town and had food. I had a three meat platter that included pork, veal and steak with fries. It was quite good once I got ketchup. 

We then went on to the grounds of the palace for the light and firework show that was to start at 9 pm. I would equate the show it a warped version of the Renaissance Festival since people came dressed up in 18th century clothing but not everybody did and there was no rides or period food so it was sorta like that but not. It was cool seeing the period people walking around and it was cool walking around the grounds of Versailles. There was a spectacular fireworks show at the end and we saw most of it on the grounds but some of it we saw as we rushed to the metro to catch the last train into the city. We said goodbye to our professor there and I really do hope that is not the last time I see her or the last time I get to speak to her. She was a wonderful professor and I could not have asked for a better educator and I wish that I could go again next year and all the rest of the years but I can't. Yet I know that that train ride into the city back to the campus will not be the last train ride I ever take in Paris, I will go back. 

Jusqu'à demain,
Bisous Janice

Look at what I found

Ceiling in the Hall of Mirrors

View out of the Hall of Mirrors

The queens bed

View of a side garden

It's hard to take pictures of fireworks

Art moderne?

"I stayed three weeks in Paris, fell in love with city, and decided I was born to live in Paris" -Ed Bradley

This post is for June 13, 2013

The day started out fairly boring with logistical things needed to be done at the ACCENT center. We did a review of the centers involvement with our trip and they gave us a snack as a sendoff.

We then headed down the rainy streets of Paris to La Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou. Which is a center for modern history. It is a very cool building with the escalators on the outside that make it look like different tubes are attached to the side of the building. I have to be honest here and say that the Pompidou was a pleasant surprise to me because I am not that into modern art. My feeling is that conceptual or kinetic art need an audience to be art and modern art need a plaque next to in and say its art. They need something more than the pieces of "classic" art that are displayed in the Louvre or the Orsay in order to be art in my mind. 

At the Pompidou I did find a piece that I really felt connected to, it sorta leaned more on the classical side of the modern art they had on display but that is apparently what I like. It was the painting Le peintre dans son atelier by Henri Matisse in 1916-1917. 

I love the fact that the man and the painter is the one who is unclothed. That is so far from just about every other painting that I have seen on this trip. The man is naked and in not a sexual or blatant way he just kinda is. I also love the way that the woman is dressed. And not only is she dressed but she seems to be swaddled by her dress. She is fully clothed and yet she is the focus of the painters painting. She is the muse of the painter and she is not some naked beautiful woman. She sits in her chair and just is the object of the painter's attention. This woman doesn't have to be some archetype to be the object of attention of a man. This shows that any woman can be the object of beauty. Nakedness does not equal beauty. 

After doing way too much over analysis of modern art I went across the plaza to have dinner and then go to the shops along the Seine to get myself a crepe. I walked along the Seine for possibly the last time and took in the night life around me. I then had an exciting night of packing my luggage as tomorrow was my last full day in Pairs before I left. It wasn't hard packing I just didn't want to because that meant that I was leaving and I never wanted to do that. 

Jusqu'à demain

Bisous Janice

La Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou.

View riding up the esclator tube.

Walked up to this and thought "Freaking dadaism!" 

and I was right "Mechanic Head" by Raoul Hausmann  

Yep so that's art

And this was a cool metal thing t

hat shone pretty light through its holes.

Bachotage tout à la fin

"It is perfectly possible to be enamored of Paris while remaining totally indifferent or even hostile to the French." ~James Baldwin

Sorry about the delay in blogging once again. I promise that I will about all the days of my trip and probably a couple of days after so keep looking for those. This blog post is for day June 13, 2013. 

This day started out early and was packed full of many many things. I started out by going to Le Panthéon in the Latin Quarter in Paris. I went in not having a clue what it was and was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it was a church. It was very large but by no means was it the largest nor the prettiest church that I had been in. It was very empty but with many statues along the walls. I assume that it is no longer a working church since there were no pews and no formal alter. The church would have been unremarkable in my eyes if they had not had a crypt.

The crypt itself was not impressive for it was not large nor richly decorated but it holds some very impressive people. Such people as Marie and Pierre Curie, Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. The rooms were very cold and everybody was respectfully solemn. The end of the crypt was kinda weird as in it ended in a large room that had two picnic like tables in the middle and in alcoves there were TVs playing the televised procession of the interment of the Curie's. There were no guards and the place, although there were a fair about of people felt, empty and slightly abandoned. 

After leaving Le Panthéon we went to a crepe place and I had the best crepe of my entire trip (and that's a lot of crepes)!
I then rushed across town and took a tour of the opera house since I was not able to get seats for the show the night before. It was beautiful and I wished that I was able to see a ballet preformed there but that didn't start until after we left. I loved walking around the place and seeing the ballet costumes they had around and being able to see all the places that if I had gone to a show I would not have seen like the front balcony and the ridiculously decorated reception hall. I hope that I haven't over used the word ridiculous too much in the blog but I really could describe everything in France as ridiculous either the decoration is that extravagant or the historical context is amazing or the price of things are spendy. C'est la vie!

I than took my chance and inadvertently wandered around Paris for a bit. I was trying to find La Madeleine but instead found La Place Vendome  which I think is the spendy-ist place every. I wandered in to the square after I walked through the Tuileries Garden and the Place de la Concorde. La Place Vendome has Garland, Cartier and Tiffany's lining the street to it. In the place they had stores like Chanel next to Dior across the way from Rolex. I felt out of place and miss dressed to even look in the extravagant window displays. I eventually found La Madeleine which turned out to be a church (I had no idea). It had actually started to rain on my way up the street to the very Roman looking building and I ran inside seeking shelter and when I left the rain had stopped. Paris works in mysterious ways like that. 

The class had its last seminar that day in the Montparnasse Cemetery. When I walked out of the metro I was assaulted by the Tour de Montparnasse which is a monstrosity of a building that stands alone and towers over the level Haussmann buildings. The only reason that I would go to the top of it is so that I don't have to see it when I look at Paris. That is the same reason that Parisians give when they talk about the Eiffel Tower (which they hate). The cemetery was eerie since it was still a cloudy rainy day. This cemetery had the same deal as the one the day before, as in if your family doesn't pay for you to stay where you are buried or if your tomb looks abandoned they will remove your body and bury you somewhere else that is less of prime real-estate. I realized walking through that the newer graves (and there were a lot) are because the person who was buried there before them were either neglected by their family (or didn't have any more family) they could not afford to have you interned there forever. It was a hard concept for me to take and I had to stop for a moment and collect myself. Those new graves are there because somebody else's "final" resting place was not theirs forever. They are buried where somebody else was once buried. This is a hard concept for me to understand, but the French and I am sure most of Europe understand and are fine with it. 

After the cemetery which had the likes of Gertrude Stein and Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi the designer of the Statue of Liberty among many others. I then went on a boat ride down the Seine at sunset. I was a wonderful way to cap off the day. We went down and back up in the open air part of the boat as a group and had so much fun. I could tell you all the things I saw but just think of every manor monument along the Seine that I have talked about and I saw it that night at dusk. A smaller group of us then hoped on the metro and went to go see the Eiffel Tower sparkle for one last time. It was a beautiful sight. 

So the day was long and the night just as long but I loved every minute of it, even though we ended up waiting a half an hour for the train since we were out so late. It was totally worth it though. 

Jusqu'à demain

Bisous Janice

Marie Curie's Tomb.

A ceiling in the Opera house.

Dior display case.

La Madeleine

The prettiest grave I have ever seen. It was a young person and

the figures on the top represent different scenes in life.

Sunset on the Seine.

The Eiffel Tower all prettied up.

         

Où est la Seine??

"Coming [to Paris] has been a wonderful experience, surprising in many respects, one of them being to find how much of an American I am." ~Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Oh where, oh where to begin? I have so many things that I want to talk. My day didn't start too early; I was up by 9:30 and out the door by 10:45. Today we had class in Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It is a cemetery where such famous people as Jim Morrison, Chopin, Gertrude Stein, Baron Haussmann and Oscar Wilde among many many others are buried. It is way the heck out there; I took two new train lines that I had never taken before. The cemetery it not that old it was established in the early 1800’s but there are over a million Parisians buried there. It was a semi-guided tour down by girls in our group who did a very good job. The cemetery is huge something like 11 acres and it is very hilly (steep hills too) and the paths are cobble stone. And I have problems with walking normally and then you add in uneven stones as the walking surface, and I am headed for trouble. Thankfully I stayed mostly upright during the tour.  

After the tour a big group of us walked around the neighborhood and found this cute cheap café. I paid 12 euro for steak with pepper sauce along with fries one of their weird salads and chocolate mousse. I had a wonderful time eating out on the sidewalk. However I learned that I am terrible at maps. I spent the whole time we were waiting for our food trying to find where we were on the map and could not find it. I got the whole group of eight involved and boy oh boy it was a struggle bus. I was trying to find where we were because there was supposed to be Le parc Belleville nearby that if you climb to the top there is a beautiful view of the entire city. Well needless to say I did not go. The delicious lunch took too much time and I wanted to get back early enough to change and go to the opera.

I got back early enough and changed and by 5:30 a group of six girls were headed to the opera house, the one where “Phantom of the Opera” is set. We planned on getting rush tickets. This means we would buy random seats for really cheap the hour before the show, but that didn't work out. There were only tickets for either 70 euro (not going to pay that for an opera let alone one in another language) or ones for 10 euro with no visibility. So I said nope and hope on the metro back to the river or so I thought.

A friend and I got out at what we thought was going to be right by the Seine on the right bank, but since we were following my directions (and as we learned earlier, Janice and the metro do not work well together) we got out at a very random place. We followed the exit signs which lead us to this underground shopping mall, and we had to wander around that for a while to find an exit. After we finally found fresh(ish) air I had no idea where we were. The Seine was nowhere to be found. I still have no idea where we got off but it was a very happening street. It was crowded with young people, there were fast-food restaurants everywhere and trendy places to shop. We ended up stopping at KFC and getting chicken. I have only had chicken once since I have been here. I think that chicken is fairly uncommon they prefer their snails. It was kinda nerve wracking because it is fast-food so they take your order fast and want everything done right away. I got a Pepsi (!!!) to drink, but even that tasted different. The chicken was also weird; I don’t think we share the special recipe with the French.

After eating and feeling gross from eating KFC we tried to find the Seine again. But we ended up next to the Pompidou Museum and sat down next to modern art in a pool and watched some skaters do tricks. After resting the quest for the Seine continued. We found a main road but had no idea which way to go since roads are not clearly marked (the street signs are often hard to read and/or obscured). And as we know I suck with directions and maps so I was no help. We walked down one way thought we were going the wrong way turned around and found a city map with the big “Vous est ici” (you are here) dot. We were told by a kind strange man that the Seine was the other way, we went that way and stopped and tried to find were where were in regards to the direction of the map (which had no compass) which then the man came back and told us the Seine was actually the other way. Eventually we found it along with a few monuments.

We crossed the river and headed for Shakespeare and Company (the bookstore). It was wonderful in there. It wasn't as crowded as last time I was there and upstairs there was a man playing classical piano music from memory. It was a wonderful experience. I ended up buying a beautiful book. After that we found a crepe stand (side note, never pay more than 2,50 for a neutella crepe and only 3 euro for a neutella crepe if there is nowhere else) and meet a student from San Diego. We kinda freaked her out by saying that in Minnesota 40 degree weather is shorts weather, but she was nice and I always enjoy talking to other Americans in Paris.

We walked with our crepes to the bank of the Seine and spent the rest of the evening eating our crepes, waving at kids on tour boats and talking. It was a lovely way to see the city of Paris become the city of lights. We took the RER back to the dorms and I ended up spending about an hour reading in the little lawn/garden in front of dorm the book that I bought today. I love the book and wish I was reading it right now.

Hope you get to see the sunset tonight where ever you are.

Jusqu'à demain

Bisous Janice

Jim Morrison's Grave, part of the 27 Club

It is so different form grave yard in America

Super yummy and cheap dinner.

Modern art on a pool

Found La Tour Saint Jacques

View for my crepe snack on the Seine, 

which we finally found!

Une promenade sur Paris

"The whole of Paris is a vast university of Art, Literature and Music… it is worth anyone’s while to dally here for years. Paris is a seminar, a post-graduate course in everything." -James Thurber

Today was the day of my seminar June 10, 2013. I had to talk in front of the class about the city planner under the Second Regime, 'Baron' Haussmann. He is the one who made Paris the way we see it today. So my day started at 8 AM with straightening my hair and getting ready to do the presentation. I think the presentation went fairly well and I got out most of the information that I wanted to. My project partner and I decided to split up our presentation with an unguided walking tour of a fairly Haussmannian avenue.

While we were waiting for the rest of the class to show up at our meeting spot we went to find me orange juice (jus d'orange) because I am getting sick. I have a sore throat and I keep coughing which hurts a lot. After the successful hunt we sat down at a cafe and got cafe au lait et chocolat chaud. We sat out on one of Haussmann's wide tree lined sidewalks and watched the world go by. I had not sat out with a hot drink on a Paris street before; it is difficult to do when you are in a group of really more than two people. The cafes set up there outside seating so that only two are at a table at a time, which works great for small groups that Parisians tend to go in but Americans are used to large groups so doing the classic drink at a Paris cafe outside becomes difficult to achieve.

We then met the group at the Michel Ney statue that Hemingway made famous, and walked to the Luxembourg Gardens to finish up our presentation. Side note, I paid 50 euro cents to go to the bathroom in the Luxembourg Gardens; it's crazy to have paid to pee. After that I went with a group of friends to the boulangerie: Gerard Mulot, which was recommended to me by my Aunt Boots. I must say I want to go back and get something I have never had before but I got the best croissant of my life. I also got pain au chocolat, but I am saving that for breakfast tomorrow. After that we wondered around this classy neighborhood and walked through a passage (that Haussmann made unnecessary. Passages are covered alleyways that are lined with restaurants, cafes and stores.   

After our wondering we went to the Sainte-Chapelle Cathédrale. It was built in the 13th century and doesn't look like much from the outside but the inside took my breath away and made my heart race. It is as impressive on the inside at Notre-Dame is on the outside (and if you remember I was all that impressed with the inside of Notre-Dame). The church is spectacular check out this link because I was stupid an didn't charge my camera after Normandy, so it died. I do have pictures put they are on my dumb phone so I will have to wait until I am in the states to up load them. So sorry there will be no pictures with the post.  

After the church my group split up and I ended up in my favorite area, the sidewalks along the Seine next to the Norte-Dame with all the little shop boxes filled with wonderful things. I got myself a savory crepe of ham and cheese and ate it on the steps leading down to the Seine. I have good pictures of my dinner view but they will have to wait. The night ended with watching Le Hunchback du Notre-Dame with friends in the TV room down stairs. 

Jussqu'à demain,
Bisous Janice

P.S. The pictures will come, I promise. 

Here they are!! 

The first level of the church

The windows are about four me's stacked 

one on top of the next (I'm 5'3" on a good day)

The whole chapel. My favorite church in all of Paris.

Mon week-end

Paris is the only city in the world where starving to death is still considered an art. ~Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The post is for June 8 and 9, 2013. I am combining the two days because not whole lot happened. 

On Saturday June 8 I slept in late because that was the day after my lovely Normandy trip. I just lounged around and watched my assigned documentaries until I was ready to go grab a crepe (which I am now addicted to) from the stand down a tram stop. And then it was off to a classical concert of Stuztmann Melodies at Cité de la musique. It was in a fairly modern building and there of course was a major fountain right outside like there always is. The concert was a woman with a very low voice singing in either German or French so I didn't understand squawk but she was a very lovely singer. The musical majors in our group just worshiped her because she is such a good singer and her voice was such a rich earthy low tone for a woman.

After the concert a group of us tried to go to a piano bar but they only took reservations and conveniently didn't tell us that until after we left and ate and then came back for the music. But I had delicious lasagna without ricotta cheese(!!) from an Italian restaurant. We ate out on the street and although it was windy it was fun to eat out on the sidewalk.

On Sunday June 9 I worked on my project the whole day with my partner. So the only real work (all the other work is too much fun to consider work) that I have to do is present in front of the class a topic that I picked before we left for France. My project was on 'Baron' Haussmann, the city planner who made Paris the city that everybody loves today. I won't talk about him here but if you ask me (and you really should since it really is very interesting) I will talk your ear off. I did with my project partner take a baguette break (which I am also addicted to them. But we set right back to work. We took a dinner break around 8 (that's typical French dinner time) where I proceed to look like an idiot in front of French guys by boiling water for about twenty minutes because I don't understand how to work their stoves so it took me forever to make dinner. The day was very uneventful except academically. I hope your weekend was exciting and not rainy like mine was.

Jusqu'à demain Bisous Janice

Cité de la musique, outside

Cité de la musique, inside