walk 14: 18th century lifestyles of the rich and famous

wednesday may 16.
after the jewish quarter walk melissa and i decided to get another one done since it wasn't too late in the afternoon. neither of us had done the one titled '18th century lifestyles of the rich and famous:musee jacquemart-andre, the musee nissim de camondo and the parc monceau.'

 The walk took us to the Musee Jacquemart-Andre first. It once was the home of a wealthy man who collected works of art, especially Italian art, along with his wife, who was a painter. He collected furniture and objects from the 18th century to decorate his home. We got to walk through the home and see the different rooms as well as an egyptian exhibit going on at the same time. I think we were already burned out on museums by then and we were mad that we had to pay 9.50 euros to get in, so we weren't too crazy about it. There were no photos allowed but I snuck a couple..

I didn't get to take any pictures in the egyptian exhibit but this is the poster for it.

I still remember my favorite thing I saw in the Egyptian exhibit. It was an old man with his hair dyed hot pink. Made my day.

A taste of the decoration in the home.

i liked the floors and the old sheet music.

We left a little disappointed and feeling completely ripped off. I took a look at the guest book on the way out and it seems like we weren't the only ones who thought that way.

Back out on the street the walk book told us to note the ironwork along the way. I totally thought of my mom.

Next we walked to the Parc Monceau, a huge park built in the 18th century. The first entrance we tried was locked up, and once we got in there were a ton of park benches turned on its side like the one below. I don't know what happened but once we walked into the park a little bit it was much nicer. I just love being in the outdoors, especially in Paris where everything is so urban. This park was adorable too, there was a carousel and duck ponds and horseback rides and playgrounds and roller skating tracks and huge patches of grass to picnic on. And there were people there of all ages enjoying it together.

Of course I loved the carousel. I love how many there are in Paris. This one was cool because each panel (they are actually called crestings) had an illustration of a different Jules Verne story and along with horses you could ride in a submarine, airplane or even on a giraffe. It was cute.

 There was also a little group of kids riding ponies. I think Melissa and I were a little jealous.

 There were several neoclassical structures randomly scattered through the park. They look like ruins and were actually built to look that way in the 19th century. It was a nice, peaceful place and fun to be around so many kids.

 The walk took us next to Musee Nissim de Camondo. We walked in right before it closed so we decided it wasn't going to be worth the expensive admission price to only see it for a few minutes. Here is the outside though:

 We ended the day with some gelato at Amorino. It was my first time there and wow it was amazing. Even the vanilla flavor is to die for. I may be getting fat but I do not regret a minute of it.
xoxo Heather.

walk 8: marais 2, the jewish quarter

wednesday may 16

today I did the marais 1 walk again with melissa since she hadn't done it yet and then we did the marais 2/ jewish quarter walk together. i didn't know what to expect in the jewish quarter but we had a great time. the highlight of the walk was lunch! i stepped out of my comfort zone and tried felafel for the first time and loved it.

left: the Jewish synagogue designed by Hector Guimard, its supposed to look like an open Torah scroll. right: my first felafel experience!

the jewish quarter was so funny because it was such a mixture of cultures. example: kosher pizza. there were also bakeries where you would see a window display of croissants and pain au chocolats with a menorah.

this is where we got lunch!

 Next we went to the Hotel de Soubise, which is now the National Archives. Inside there was a photography exhibit, which I dind't particularly like, and then a few rooms designed in the rococo style. SO pretty.

Rococo architecture in the Hotel Soubise.

 Next we went to the Musee Cognacq Jay. It was a small home with some rococo art, including works of Fragonard. I was excited because I thought that maybe his swing painting would be there but it wasn't, it was mostly just portraits. The strangest thing about that museum was the top floor, which was part of the museum but it was basically like an attic with the most beautiful sculptures just stuffed into dark corners. The visit was free, and the art was beautiful, but I probably wouldn't go back to this museum any time soon. There was just nothing memorable about it.

Cool Phoenix sculpture at the Cognac Jay

 Last on the list was the Musee Picasso. I would have absolutely loved it but unfortunately it has been closed for an extended period of time. I actually listened to a podcast about this for my French class last semester. The works are on the road, traveling to museums all over the world. The paintings are stored in super high tech individual cases that stabilize the temperature and humidity. They are transported by bulletproof trucks guarded by national police. How cool is that?
I'm sad I missed it but luckily there were some wonderful Picassos at the Pompidou center that I got to see, and maybe the pieces will make it out to LA this summer (wishful thinking)

Thats it for the walk but since I am still about 15 days behind in blogging I thought I should just give a little update on how I'm doing right now. Today was day 2 of our bus trip, and although I was so sad to leave Paris I am loving the coast. It is absolutely beautiful and its so fun to be together with the whole group. Today we went to Mont St. Michel which was just the cutest fairy tale little town. We toured the abbey and listened to monks sing in the chapel. Then we went to St. Malo and walked along an ancient city wall next to the most beautiful foggy beach. I stuck my toes in the English channel and took lots of pictures that I'm hoping to paint when I get home. Then for dinner tonight we went to a fancy little restaurant and the food was simply amazing. I am still full 6 hours later. I don't know what we're doing tomorrow but I can't wait, I'm sure it will be another adventure. I'm happy as can be here in France! I feel so blessed.
xoxo Heather

memorial day.

Monday May 28, 2012

I am going to go a little bit out of order and post about what we did today rather than waiting until I get caught up on all the other posts. Today was our first day in Normandy, it also just happened to be Memorial Day in the US. Usually on Memorial Day I think about getting the day off of school and going to the beach, having a barbeque, and kicking off the summer. But today, as I walked through the American Cemetery in Normandy, overlooking the beaches were so many young soldiers were killed defending our country, I really thought about what it means to be brave. I know that there is no way I would ever be able to do what they did. And its not that I wouldn't be willing to die for something I believe in, I at least like to think that I would. However, I am so terrified of war and violence, I know that there is no way I would have been able to fight back. I would have surrendered and let them kill me before I would pick up a gun and start shooting, even if it was for the greater good. The more I thought about this, the more gratitude I felt for those soldiers who did not back down, even as they watched their friends get killed all around them. It is because they were brave enough to fight back in defense of their country that we are able to enjoy so many freedoms today. Although I was not in the US for Memorial Day, I have never felt so much love for my country as I did today. God Bless America.

embarassing moment

Today my friends and I did a little photoshoot in some of our favorite spots around Paris, just for fun. I decided to wear what I thought was a cute vintage style outfit with a new blouse that I just got and a skirt that I've had for years and wear all the time. I felt so put together when I left the house this morning. 

We were getting on the carousel when the guy working at the ice cream stand started talking to us, asking us where we were from ,etc. (We told him California). Then he asks us randomly if we are religious. We kind of laugh and said yep! Then he asks if we were Mormons! I asked him how he knew that we were Mormons and he said because of what we were wearing. 

This is what I was wearing:

I totally look like a polygamist wife! My hair was even in a braid at the time! How embarassing is that?

I still love the blouse, it has the cutest lace collar, but I will definitely not be wearing it with that skirt again. At least, not until I get back to Utah. ;)

big oops.

xoxo Heather

group visit to versailles

tuesday may 15, 2010

today we went to versailles as a class. Everything about it was ridiculous. People everywhere, practically wall to wall bodies. There was no way to get a picture without someone in it so I kind of just went with it and started taking pictures of other people taking pictures.

To be honest the entire thing felt fake. This whole trip has felt like a dream but I think today with all the people it just felt like Disneyland or something. Dad, you would have hated it. Everything was so over-the-top ornate, like Fontainebleau, but I just couldn't even imagine how anyone actually lived there. I'm not trying to sound like a sourpuss- there were definitely some beautiful details that I really loved, especially the floors and windows, and some of the rococo designs.

After seeing the main part of the chateau I wondered through the Dauphin apartments, which I liked much more. They were full of colorful rooms that were tastefully decorated, not too extreme, and not as many people were there. Afterwards, it was so cold and windy and raining on and off  so I just wandered through the gift shop for a little and then went home rather than seeing the gardens. (side note: luckily this week we have had much nicer weather and I was able to go back to Versailles with some friends to see the gardens and especially the hameau. "stay tuned")

check out that ceiling. the tromp l'oeil seen at the bottom was meant to 'ground' the rest of the painting.

pretty details

left: pretty wallpaper pattern, right: bust of marie antoinette

oh hello hall of mirrors. it was actually pretty anticlimactic.

marie antoinette's bedroom, on the right is the hidden door they snuck through when fleeing the castle.

i liked the peacock feather details. cute, no?

and the chandelier

looking out one of the windows into the gardens. sad rainy day.

rococo window shutters in the dauphin apartments.

i liked the green chairs and matching wallpaper. i apologize for the crappy picture.

a small area of the gardens. i didn't stay.

heart puddle.

i loved this chair.

beautiful floors. everywhere.

xoxo Heather

tips for visiting versailles:
-don't bring a large purse or backpack.
-to see the gardens on saturday, sunday, or tuesday, you will have to pay to get in because they play music. all the other days are free. the chateau is closed on monday (that includes the trianons, but not sure about the gardens.)
-to see the Hameau, you enter through the petit trianon. Its a separate fee than the main chateau, but parisian students are free. It is very much worth it, in fact one of the most charming places i have ever been. I wouldn't miss out just to save a few dollars. There is a little train that will take you there for about 7 euros but its not too far to walk if you know where you're going. Wear comfortable shoes and look at a map beforehand.
-you can rent little row boats on the grand canal for 11 euros/ half an hour, but you can rent the same boats for 10 euros an hour in the bois de bologne. I guess its up to you whether its worth it or not.

walk 11: lutetia pulchra est: musee national du moyen age, sorbonne, pantheon, saint etienne du mont, arenes de lutece

tuesday may 15.
Chloe and I decided to get up early today to get a walk done before we had to meet up with the class to go to Versailles. It was cold and rainy which meant miserable for me since I have no umbrella and no jacket. the first museum was closed (which neither of us were too sad about) so we walked around the sorbonne, past the college de france, and to the pantheon.

the sorbonne-founded in 1257. Tourists and visitors are not allowed inside

the college de france, founded in the 16th century by francois i (who I did a report on during the prep class). today it is used as a research institution and public lecture hall.

hippy market- I kind of wish I had time to go inside.

The Pantheon (temple of the nation)

The Pantheon is where some of the most influential people of France are buried. The ground floor is full of beautiful sculptures and murals and a pendulum in the center. The architecture (by Soufflot) was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome- very neoclassical. It was originally a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, but due to the Revolution it was transformed into a mausoleum for the heroes of France. Fun fact: Rodin's 'The Thinker' was kept here from 1906-1922 (today it is in the beautiful Rodin museum-read more about that here)

this pendulum proved the rotation of the earth.

the construction work distracted from the beautiful architecture. um, rude? we should have asked for our money back.

joan of arc murals. for some reason i thought i read that joan of arc was buried here so i was totally looking at these thinking her body was somehow buried in the walls behind it! well thats completely false. its just for looks.

if you ever go to the pantheon, do not miss the little door at the back that leads down to the crypts. this is where you will find the tombs of some very well known and influential people. Also bring a jacket.

voltaire and rousseau's tombs. ironic that they hated each other and now their tombs are facing each other for eternity.

also the tomb of Marie Curie-probably lots of radiation in that room. i wouldn't linger.

also in the Pantheon: Victor Hugo, Jean Paul Marat, Emile Zola, Jean Jaures...etc. Lots of the people we've been learning about in class.

Eglise Saint Etienne du Mont-built in 13th century as a monastery, rebuilt as a renaissance church

i love looking at the windows now that I know how to read them :)

wall that surrounded Paris in 1210

Left: this looks a lot smaller on here but it was actually a huge painting on the side of a building. Not sure what it was for but I thought it was cool. On the right is the fountain at Place de la Contrescarpe.

The last part of the walk was the Arenes de Lutece, which we didn't have time to see since we had to meet up with our class to go to Versailles. I read a little bit about it though-it was a Roman arena for plays, built in the 1st century CE. Not super interesting to me but I'm sure its a cool place to visit nonetheless.
hope this wasn't too terribly boring, more fun stuff coming soon but right now its 2am and i am getting up early in the morning to hit the flea markets one last time (i leave paris on monday!  heading to the loire valley for a week and then off to nice, milan, and venice.) so i should probably go to bed. i am such a bad blogger. sorry.
xoxo Heather