JP in Paris! (Saturday-Monday)

For the second week of Spring break, JP took a week off from work to come and visit me. It was so awesome to get to explore Paris with one of my favorite people, with no need to see ALL the tourist attractions or plan every minute of a short stay. We had 8 1/2 days to fill however we wanted. We did a few touristy things, but also just wandered neighborhoods and visited anywhere that tickled our fancy. From Monet's house at Giverny to the Ménagerie de Paris, no corner of the city was left undiscovered!

After meeting JP at the airport, the first thing we did was get chocolate croissants. Pierre Hermé wasn't open yet so we improvised, but it was the perfect way to start our trip! We rented an adorable little apartment near République, and set out to the supermarket to stock up for breakfast the next day.




After exploring the neighborhood, we went for a walk and ended up in Saint Germain. We were both hungry, and jet lag was catching up with JP, so we stopped for dinner and then went home to watch a movie and plan the rest of our week.

On Sunday, we went to visit the Madeleine, which I had never been inside of before. It was during mass, so we couldn't tour the whole building, but it was beautiful! After, we walked by the Louvre, and wandered until we found a little supermarket, then got some bread, saucisson, and cheese, and went to the park by Châtelet for a picnic. It was absolutely beautiful out, and it kind of felt like Columbia on the ONE day when it is sunny and they actually let you out on the lawns: people EVERYWHERE benefiting from the weather.





Some cool graffiti :)


After lunch, we walked to Notre Dame and discovered that they were in the middle of afternoon mass. For two non-Catholics, we seemed to be attending a lot of church services! I have to say, it was breathtaking to see the church full of people, to smell the incense, and to hear the organ playing.



We made our way back to our apartment, cooked dinner, and then went toward the Eiffel Tower to go on a Bateaux-Mouches ride at dusk. It is always so cool to see Paris lit up at night! We were surrounded by a rowdy tour group of Italian high-schoolers, who yelled under every bridge to hear the echo. Not a typical Bateaux-Mouches ride, but definitely entertaining! After, we wandered toward the Champs Elysées, found an open crêpe stand (which is hard at 11pm on a Sunday!), and then decided to go back to the apartment. If we wanted to climb Notre Dame the next morning, we needed to get up early!





When we got to Notre Dame on Monday morning (after stopping for pastries at the bakery on the corner of our street), I was shocked to only see 10 or 15 people in line... apparently tourists aren't active before 11am! We got in line, and only waited for about 20 minutes before going inside to climb the towers. By using my Sorbonne Student ID instead of my Barnard ID (and letting JP talk... so nice to not have to do all the French-speaking!), I managed to get in for free (a gift reserved for EU residents between 16 and 25, as well as anyone under 16). We climbed what seemed to be thousands of spiral stairs (it is really about 400 steps to the top) and arrived at the first level, the platform at the base of the two towers.


We saw tons of gargoyles and the huge bell in South tower, named Emmanuel. This is the bell that marks the hours. The smaller bells play songs during holy festivals and services.



We then faced another spiral staircase (smaller and steeper than before!) and made our way to the top of the South tower. The view was breathtaking! You can see the 12 apostles at the transept (beneath the spire), the stones in the plaza marking the church that stood before Notre Dame was built, and basically every major building in Paris. Those golden domes are way shinier now that they are clean!



We made our way back down the stairs and out of Notre Dame, pausing whenever we found a window to check out the view (and attempt to un-dizzy ourselves!). We went into the Cathedral once more, to see the whole thing since our visit was limited when we stumbled upon Mass on Sunday. I don't know how many times I've been in Notre Dame (at least 10 since I've been here this semester), but I just LOVE seeing the Rose Windows! We got lunch nearby, then walked to the Luxembourg gardens. We watched kids playing with boats in the fountain, and the old men playing Pétanque.



From there, we went to the Tuileries (why go inside when it was so gorgeous out?), took silly pictures with the statues and by Place de la Concorde, and found dinner. After all the walking, we definitely needed a rest!




**Check the next blog post for what we did Tuesday-Thursday!**

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie

L'Orangerie

Last Sunday, I decided to counteract a rainy morning with a healthy dose of Water Lilies. I hopped on the Metro and headed over to the Tuileries Gardens to visit the Musée de l'Orangerie. I can't say how many times I've walked around Place de la Concorde, over to the Tuileries and to the Louvre, but I have never been into this museum. When I was little I was convinced it was the part of the palace where they made orange juice (EVERY major palace in France has an Orangerie... and Versailles has fresh-squeezed orange juice vendors in the gardens... can you blame 5-year-old me?). The Musée de l'Orangerie does not, in fact, make orange juice. Instead, it is home to some pretty amazing Monets!




Two oval-shaped rooms hold four Water Lilies each. These paintings are absolutely HUGE, rivaled only by the room-sized Water Lilies on display at Giverny, Monet's home outside of Paris (also VERY high on my list of things to do when the flowers bloom!).




Downstairs is the collection of Paul Guillaume. From Renoir and Cezanne to Picasso and Matisse, it was the most impressive (formerly) private collection I've ever seen. Guillaume was a Modern Art dealer in Paris in the early 20th century, and was wildly successful. He helped turn American collectors on to some of the incredible modern art coming out of France.





Water Lilies were definitely a wonderful cure for the rainy day blues!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie

Allison comes to visit!

Last weekend, my friend Allison from Columbia came to Paris for a few days with two of her friends. It was a wonderful excuse to meet some new people and be a tourist in Paris. Friday morning began at the Champs Elysées. We visited the Arc de Triomphe, and wandered down one of the most famous streets in France. I was the only one singing, though...



We walked by Place de La Concorde, then found Rue St. Honoré, where we were on a desperate search for Poisson d'Avril. Poisson d'Avril (April Fish) is the French equivalent of April Fool's Day. It has something to do with taping pictures of fish onto people's backs. The best part, though, are the actual poisson (fish) - hollow chocolate fish with mini chocolate fish and other sea creatures inside. We didn't find any on Rue St. Honoré, but found a delicious Italian restaurant where we rested our feet and filled our bellies before heading to the Louvre.




At the Louvre, we started with Winged Victory, then visited the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. After spending a little time in the Greek and Etruscan section, we went to the food court in the Carousel du Louvre. The Carousel is essentially a mall underneath the Louvre, complete with Paris' Apple Store! And I thought the Apple Store next to FAO Schwartz was cool...





We took the Metro to Montmartre to visit Sacre Coeur. We couldn't find the funicular and climbed the steps, which is probably part of the experience anyway. The view from the top of the hill is breathtaking: the best way to see Paris! We wandered back down the hill, realized our feet hurt, and decided we'd done enough touring for the day.





We headed back to the girls' hotel to rest for a little while before going to dinner. I got caught up on my American magazines (thanks Allison!!!), then we walked to St. Michel to meet Nikki and her friend for dinner. We found a street with three pizza restaurants, and basically made the men standing outside (offering passers-by the best deals and trying to sweet-talk them with free drinks) convince us that we should eat in their restaurant. After dinner, we met up with Lily and her boyfriend and went to Galway, a pub near St. Germain. After a drink and some music, we decided it was probably time to get some sleep before our Saturday adventures!



Saturday, we started the day at Notre Dame. I will never get tired of visiting the Cathedral, it is absolutely gorgeous! Our visit was followed by a stroll around Ile St. Louis. We FINALLY found Poisson d'Avril at Cacao et Chocolat, which are now in a box being shipped home to my mom and my sister. We found a cute restaurant for lunch, then went to Berthillon to get ice cream. If you have never been there, it should be at the top of your list! The ice cream and sorbets are absolutely amazing. And if you're in Paris for a while, like me... go a few times and try as many flavors as you can!





From Berthillon, we walked to the Musée d'Orsay. They are currently renovating the museum, so they've hidden the Impressionists on the first floor. We found them and took in as much as we could, though it was clear that part of the collection was in storage. For example, they had a few of Degas' studies for his "14-year-old Ballerina", but the sculpture itself was nowhere to be found. However, between the Monets, the Van Goghs, and the Cezannes, we were covered!



After a stop in my favorite café by the Musée d'Orsay to caffeinate and rest our feet, we walked along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. It was definitely Spring Break! We waited for almost two hours to get tickets and get onto the elevator. The wait, however, was worth it. By the time we were on the elevator to the second floor, the sun had set and the Tower was completely lit up. The view of Paris at night, with all the monuments shining, was spectacular. We even got Allison to go all the way to the top, though she was quite happy when we got on the elevator to go back down!







We took the RER and Metro to Saint Germain, where we had dinner at a great sushi restaurant. The girls had early flights, some back to Dublin, and Allison back to the States, so after dinner I pointed them in the direction of their hotel and said goodbye. It was awesome to have them here. I went to places I hadn't been yet this semester, and had so much fun catching up!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie

Père-Lachaise Cemetery

Yesterday I learned that, contrary to the "hold your breath when you drive past" view of cemeteries in the states, cemeteries in France are pretty cool. We spent the afternoon at Père-Lachaise yesterday, wandering around in awe of the sepulchres that looked like mini-Notre Dames, in search of a few famous people. It's amazing that architecture like this is in a cemetery!




After realizing we maybe should have gotten a map from that guy at the entrance, we found one - Isadora Duncan!



Once we oriented ourselves, the searching went much more smoothly. Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Chopin, Jacques-Louis David, Balzac, La Fontaine, and Moliere!








As fun as our "celebrity hunt" was, I was more amazed by how gorgeous the cemetery was. The trees, the lighting, and the incredible sepulchres and tombs made it way less creepy, though a few "open" graves creeped us out a little bit!







We escaped, un-possessed and free of zombie wounds! I've come to the conclusion that the suggestion of dead bodies outside is way easier to handle than piles of bones underground! Cimitière de Montparnasse is next!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie