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

Aix-en-Provence, Marseilles, and Monaco

Last weekend, I went down to Aix to visit Fernanda for the weekend. It was an absolute BLAST! After a quick train ride (2 1/2 hours, 475 miles!) I made it to Aix and found Fernanda. We got really yummy crepes, then headed to Mt. Sainte Victoire, the mountain made famous by Cezanne's many landscapes. About half way up the hill, a monk built a small chapel. The view was absolutely GORGEOUS!





After our hike, we went out for pizza and discovered what we now know is a Monaco:


Beer, Lemonade and Grenadine - sounds kind of gross but it is DELICIOUS!!!

The next day, we went to Marseilles. It was so nice to be by the ocean, eat lunch outside in the sun, and explore! After lunch, we took a boat to the Chateau d'If, where Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte-Cristo takes place.






After our trip to the Chateau d'If, we went on a quest for Navettes, which we assumed would be delicious. They weren't. They are orange-flavored chalky cookie things that kind of look like boats. And they were not worth walking far away from the bus stop to find! We tossed our Navettes and walked as quickly as we could to catch the bus back to Aix. We made it, safe and sound, and got some sleep to prepare for our big trip to Monaco!

Monaco was absolutely gorgeous! We watched the changing of the guards, visited the cathedral, and then spent a few hours in the Museum of Oceanography, essentially a tribute to Prince Albert I's love of the ocean. They have an amazing aquarium downstairs!






We then got back on the bus to head to Monte Carlo. Because it was 60+ degrees out, our list of things to do included finding Magnum ice cream bars, gambling in the casino, and drinking Monacos on the patio of the café. We started with Magnum bars, buying them at a gift shop in the parking garage and eating them as we made our way toward the casino along the cliffs of Monte Carlo. Ice cream never tasted so good!



We walked towards the casino, amazed by the views and the shopping! Gucci, Prada, Hermès... All along a single road! We made our way toward the casino doors, and of course found a selection of Ferraris parked out front, most likely to inspire big spenders to gamble! We had to check our cameras at the door, so unfortunately there are no pictures of Fernanda and my first slot machine experience, which is probably a good thing... bye bye 5 euros!

After our foray into the world of James Bond, we found ourselves a table in the sun and FINALLY had Monacos in Monaco! We sat and talked until it was time to head back to the bus. Our choice to take a more scenic route almost got us lost, but we again discovered a testament to the car culture of Monaco and found the bus just in time!




Though it took us almost 4 years (since Spring Break junior year with Mr. Perrin's Honors French Class) to get to Monaco, it was well worth it! Nothing like the sun, clear blue water, and ice cream to chase away the gray Parisian winter!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie

Hello, London!

Last weekend, Nikki and I hopped on the Eurostar to spend the weekend in London. We had an AMAZING time, filled with both grown-up and childish adventures, and made use of every moment.




We got to London on Friday morning, checked into our hostel (it was AMAZING!) and then went to meet Joe at Trafalgar Square to take a double-decker bus tour. Of course, we sat on top to get the best views! We saw the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and Westminster Abbey.





After the tour, we had lunch (fish and chips!), then toured Westminster Abbey before going on a Harry Potter walking tour.




Our self-guided tour took us to famous locations such as Gringotts and Diagon Alley, complete with a "Leaky Cauldron" pub!




And of course, you can't go to London without stopping at King's Cross to visit Platform 9 3/4!




After dinner and drinks with one of Nikki's friends from high school, we went back to the hostel to rest up for another full day. Saturday, we started at the Natural History Museum, which was apparently one of Alexander McQueen's favorite places in London. I'm not surprised, it was a BLAST! Dinosaurs, fish, mammals... The perfect place for someone who is still a kid at heart.




After lunch, we went to Vinopolis, then grabbed some more chips before heading to the O2 Arena for the highlight of our weekend: Dave Matthews Band!!! It was Nikki's first DMB concert, and we were in luck! Dave had decided to bring Tim Reynolds to London with him!!! While it was strange seeing the band without LeRoi, the new sax player is fantastic! And of course we had our fill of Boyd solos and Dave's awkward dancing!






By the time we got back to Paris on Sunday, we were absolutely exhausted, but it was worth it! London is one of my favorite cities, and it's amazing that I can get there in 2 hours on the train!

More adventures to come: off to Aix and Monaco this weekend with Fernanda!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie