Museums and rainy days… A perfect combo.

July 13, 2014July 27, 2014 / sarapiper / 1 Comment

The family vacation has begun! My mum and sister arrived on Saturday afternoon, and after their first fresh croissants of the trip and a jet-lag induced snooze, we had a relaxing evening with a short walk around the 5th Arrondissement around the Pantheon, down by the Sorbonne, and complete with crêpes on our way home.

It was a beautiful night, as it often is, but we didn’t stay out too late as we planned a free-museum Sunday packed with plans.
Our apartment is awesome, but if you don’t have earplugs, and aren’t a heavy sleeper, you are hooped. There was some sort of event at the bar below that went later than the usual patio restaurant din that lasts till 1 or 2am, and the noise and celebration went on past 3am. As well, first thing the next morning there were some sort of renovations happening in our building above us, so needless to say it was a rough first-night sleep for the travelers, and they slept in while I went down the street to pick up some breakfast pastries.

We ended up not doing a museum day after all as the adjustment to Paris time was harder than expected. 😉 That was fine, as we chatted about our plans for the rest of the trip, researched museums we hadn’t been to before, and my sister and I went on a walk down to and along the Seine. We discovered several spots along the Seine with groups of people dancing, so we watched for a while.

I had seen this one group before from the other side of the river on a walk a few weeks ago. They just have a small speaker set up and couples practice various styles of ballroom dance. It’s a little semicircle of steps to the edge of the wall, which makes it a perfect place to sit and watch, or join in.

That was the end of the clear skies for a while. And now: for the weeks’ activities! Time sure flies. 🙂 Especially when it rains for almost an entire week in Paris! 🙂

We had to get our mum to see the Eiffel Tower, and there were rumors the rain was letting up, so we headed to Trocadero metro station for the fantastic best first view. Unfortunately the rumors were wrong and it rained a lot. All that really means is that most of our photos include umbrellas! (And perhaps, the reason we decided to wear pants the next day….)

We needed a warm up and lunch so headed to a small spot on the south side of the river. We had quiche and tea, and my sister had her first chocolate chaud, which was not as thick as the melted chocolate bars I spoke of earlier, and she only added a bit of milk. I was impressed. 🙂 And then we had our first macarons of the family time trip: pistachio, raspberry, and coffee.

We then headed to the Musee D’Orsay.

I have really noticed a huge surge in the number of people everywhere in Paris. Parisians are on summer vacation, and all the tourists from Europe and elsewhere have now arrived. And it is busy! Lines are way longer and museums are quite congested, and on top of that, there are all sorts of outdoor venues being set up for Bastille Day (July 14). The line for the Orsay was gargantuan, but it still moved surprisingly quickly, and we were only in line for about 30 minutes. Inside was packed, but we were still able to enjoy an afternoon snack in the Cafe D’Ours (The Bear Cafe) on the main floor, explore my favourite Impressionist paintings and sculptures on the 5th floor, and marvel at all the incredible marble figures and the Post-Impressionist gallery before heading back out into the rain.

We then spent the good part of a day at the Louvre, with our main focus in the Egypt exhibit. That place is so huge we stayed primarily in the Sully Wing and we were there for hours!

It was pouring outside, so we were content to spend the day in such a fantastic place.

I think it was this night we walked across the street from our apartment (and when I say ‘across the street’, I mean, a few steps away from our front door) and had a delicious fondue dinner.

Next up: L’Orangerie! I was thrilled to go back, and would be happy to go often if I lived here year round… 🙂

The Jardin Du Tuilleries, L’Orangerie in the background on the left, and a cloudy sky around the Tour Eiffel. 🙂

And like the others, this museum was busy, so much busier than when I was there last, and unfortunately the quiet atmosphere of the last time I was there wasn’t the case this time. The “silence please” signs were entirely ignored, and there were loud conversations, noisy kids running around and even one woman chatting on a cellphone (who was thankfully asked to take her conversation outside by a security guard) and it was a lot less calm than it had been a month earlier. Luckily, the waterlillies paintings still had a magic effect on us, and we all loved our visit. I did not take a single photo here, so you’ll just have to come and see for yourself. No really. Come to this place. It’s at the top of my must-see list.

Thursday spot: the Musee D’Arts et Métiers – a museum full of inventions and design in the Marais. They were open late on Thursday which was perfect for us again, as we had a late lunch and were happy to spend the evening there.

Our favourite room was the Automaton Theatre, full of animatronics, from toys to clocks to music boxes, it was filled with amazing and detailed work dating as far back as the 18th century.
We went to the Arts and Métiers Museum, which was fantastic! Inventions and design, industry and innovation, for practical or entertainment reasons, this place touched on it all. We actually discovered that the main exhibit wad free, and only the temporary exhibit on the history of cinema cost money to get it. We decided we would come back for that as we arrived three hours before the late-night museum hours ended. We saw all sorts of amazing things from ancient sun dials, gears and prints machines to hidden cameras and space station robotics.

We truly were part of the last few people escorted out of the museum as they closed, so we felt we made the best bang of our buck… Oh wait- it was free admission. Even better! We may head back for the media exhibit there later this week if time permits…

Friday we went to Notre Dame, figuring if there was a good time to visit an ancient Gothic Church it would be on a gloomy rainy afternoon. Apparently, most of Paris had this idea, so this meant more long lines in the rain.

We walked through the lovely Marché aux Fleurs on our way.

(oh yes, and also, we discovered a cream puff shop. )

We were prepared with rain jackets and umbrellas but it was remarkably chilly and all of us felt we could have brought warmer clothes for July (?!) weather in Paris. No 30 degree weather, here, Canada!

It it was after standing for about 20 minutes in pouring rain in yet another line to climb to the top that we decided to instead go for dessert and tea in the Marais. (We learned the wait was over an hour, and thought- “another time!”) We walked along the the south side of the building through the park, and I showed them the bridge of locks before we went on our way.

Back at the Loire dans La Théière, we found a cozy table with mis-matched chairs on one side, and a couch on the other. Tea and dessert (and a decaf cappuccino for mum) were just perfect.

Dessert options: we went with the lemon meringue tart, of course.

We also walked by the Carnavalet Museum I had been to before, and since it was free, we decided to venture in.

Friday night the skies cleared up a bit and we went to the Jardin Du Luxembourg to enjoy it when it is a bit quieter.

Saturday we had a break from the rain at about 3pm, so after a lazy morning we packed a picnic lunch to bring to the Parc Floral to take in a free jazz concert. The good news is, we pack excellent picnics. The bad news is, the concert was way less ‘jazz’ and way more ‘new music’, or as I like to call it, noise.

We found a spot near the giant rock feature water fountain, which was lovely, and we people watched and relaxed in the grass, as well as exploring a little garden exposition nearby.

All in all, we got in some great museum action, saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and spent time in gardens here, as well as having some great meals. Week one down, bring on week two!! (And maybe some sunshine and hot days?) 😀

My sister took this photo and I love it. She has a blog too, and if I did this right, you should be able to get to her page by the link from this photo!

Sunshine and boats and history and school…. and July begins….

July 7, 2014 / sarapiper / Leave a comment

It was beautiful and hot summer weather here for a few days last week, and with a good wind, the sailboats were out at the garden ponds in Paris. That is, the toy sailboats. My sister and I delighted in this last time we were in Paris at the Jardin de Tuilleries, watching children set their boats in the water, push them off with their bamboo stick, and chase them around to the other side of the pond where the wind would take them. On Thursday I quickly got myself around the edge of the ‘bassin centrale’ in my favourite garden, and took some photos of the action. (This is where I enjoy using my phone for a camera instead of my good camera, as I can be subtle and catch wicked candid shots without being obtrusive. It’s sneaky photography, or ‘sneaktography’ maybe?)

The last week of class also included a field trip to the Pantheon, via my favourite garden. I walked past the Pantheon every day on my way to school, yet had never been inside. Right now the dome is under renovations, so it is covered by a gargantuan white plastic wrap and images of hundreds of people looking out as if they are watching a spectacular show.

They hired a street artist named J R who is known for giant street-art portraits, to add some modern art to the Pantheon while the renovations are taking place, so in addition to the exterior 360 degree audience art on the dome, inside the entire main floor is covered with the same style of photographs. People were asked to submit/upload a photo of themselves and J R created this composition of over 4000 faces.

It looked really cool and I’ll be the first to admit I was the one wanting to create silly photos of us interacting with the faces on the floor. My classmates didn’t entirely get it… 🙂

A model of the Pantheon.

We also went down to the crypt below, where most of the people buried there have their tombs.
To note in particular, there was Voltaire, Marie Curie, and Victor Hugo, to name a few.

My class waiting for me. I still maintain I was not lost, just exploring.

Our class time ended before we finished our field trip, so it was only me, a couple of my classmates, and our teacher Isabelle, who continued to the University Sorbonne.

They don’t normally let tourists through and have security guards at all entrances, but Isabelle sweet-talked a couple guards to let the four of us walk though, (or maybe it was easier because classes and exams were done for the year… Or we just looked adorably innocent).

And of course we immediately snuck into a couple of the ancient classrooms and took photos of ourselves being silly.

Isabelle ran down to the front to ‘teach’ us something.

The University Sorbonne is one of the oldest universities in the world, and the courses here range from Literature, Languages (like Greek and Latin), to Social Sciences and History. Most of the traditional classrooms have frescos painted on the walls, chalkboards, ornate ceilings, and sculptures and art around the room. (And in one instance, a grand piano, of course.) It felt like we were on a movie set or something.

Every inch of this architecture was stunning.

More stories and photos to come soon, of course, but with company!

A dessert that could feed a small country and a rant about chocolate.

July 1, 2014July 3, 2014 / sarapiper / 1 Comment

This entry is about desserts.

Okay, so it’s about many things, and dessert happens to be a feature. 🙂 Because, to be honest, I started this post with the intention of writing about walking around Paris, but then I realized that walking is simply a means to an end in Paris. To eat. (Okay, okay, and also to get to cool places. True story.) 😉

I definitely recommend comfortable shoes to explore Paris. Seriously. If you want to eat all these crêpes and croissants and baguettes and cheese and desserts and whatever else is rich and delicious in France without having to buy drawstring-waist pants, ya gotta walk. A lot. On cobblestones. And if you want to keep up with Parisians during rush hour on the metro, you feel like you are training for a speed walk competition. (Although as a general rule I try to avoid rush hour on the metro; it’s just too many people, too little air, and too much stranger-body-contact-to-stranger-body-contact.) I have to admit, the footwear I brought are somewhat lacking in the ‘cushion’ department and there are mornings where I get up and feel like the soles of my feet have gone on strike and are violently protesting.

On Friday night after class I decided to go for a walk (of course 😉 ) and revisit the 3rd Arrondissement (the Marais) , check out the Canal St Martin and scope out a couple cafés and restaurants that had been recommended to me. Not that I have to go very far for good restaurants- I walk by dozens of great places close to my apartment every day, and I passed three crêperies and two gelato places on the same small street on my way to the Marais. It’s fantastic and dangerously tempting at the same time.

It turned into a very ‘romantic night for one’ as I walked across the Seine and along the St Martin canal through rose gardens and ivy arches, passing numerous couples and several groups of friends hanging out under the arches, at the base of old twisted trees and on park benches and garden edges.

This is the first sculpture I have seen in Paris with is much (or any...?) graffiti on it.

This is the first sculpture I have seen in Paris with this much (or even any) graffiti on it.

A zig-zag stroll through the Marais brought me past many fancy boutiques, funky jewelry shops, art galleries, tea houses, bars, and as usual, so much amazing architecture. The perfect Paris evening sky made it a gorgeous walk, and the streets were decorated with rainbow flags and banners, along with crowds of people lined up outside the busy night clubs celebrating Pride weekend.

Saturday was the rainiest day of the weekend, and after the parade I wanted to warm up with some tea and the famous tarte au limon meringue at Le Loir Dans La Théière (aka the Doormouse In The Tea Pot).

It is a very popular spot and there was a huge lineup to get in, but this ‘party of one’ was seated rather quickly at a shared table by the window. 🙂 They have a sign at the front door stating that laptops are not allowed in the establishment, and though my blogging heart would have been happy to move in for the afternoon and type away in a corner, I like the fact that they encourage people there to enjoy each other’s company over tea and dessert. (My table-mates and I didn’t talk too much more than a) marveling over each other’s dessert selections and b) laughing at the fact our table had one off kilter leg that made us spill each other’s tea any time we moved even slightly in our cozy corner of the place.)

I ordered an Earl Grey tea which was brought over in a beautiful heavy silver teapot, and then was served the largest piece of lemon meringue pie that I have ever seen in my life. I believe that the meringue alone would feed several people. And really, you should have seen the size of the entire pie- it was gargantuan. It was deliciously luxurious and rich, and everything that is indulgent on this rainy afternoon. But I think I should not have eaten at all that day- in preparation. Or worked my way up to it -over several weeks…Is there training to prepare oneself for such an epic dessert? Alas, after my best efforts, I could not finish it. I tried. I really did. It hurt. In the best and yet saddest way. Next time I’m bringing a friend (or a hidden take-home container). 🙂

Sunday was an excellent day with market shopping, more walking, company, and another delicious – um, we’ll call it ‘dessert’- that I couldn’t finish.

In the morning (who am I kidding- late morning….so, at noon) I went to the outdoor market down the street from my apartment and got some great fresh produce- and possibly the best strawberries and cherries I have ever tasted. You know you are a little over-excited about your food when you have a mini photo-shoot about it.

Yup. And now I wait for all the food magazines to start calling me.

It was a little rainy for a couple of hours, and I got to Skype with my pal Erin who is in Italy right now, which was fantastic. I then met up with my friend Hugo to go for a walk and possibly check out a cheap movie as it was the Fête du Cinéma on Sunday. The sun had come out at this point, so we started with a walk, but about five minutes in, charcoal clouds took over and rain sort of chased us along our route up past Notre Dame and along the Seine. (Yup, this girl still can’t get over the fact that on regular occasions she strolls past Notre Dame. *loooooove*). Even in the rainy weather, tourists were all over that place. It was the perfect day to explore inside a gargoyle-covered ornate ancient church, obviously. (And stand in line for a good long time beforehand, of course.)

We went to a restaurant in the Odéon area called Le Hibou for something to drink, and both decided to try the Chocolat Chaud. Which turned out to be like eating an enormous dessert. It had been eight years since I’d had a chocolat chaud in Paris- with my sister at Le Chat Noir in Pigalle- and I will not forget again: a chocolat chaud is NOT like a hot chocolate. Unless you make your hot chocolate by melting down a giant Belgian chocolate bar and don’t add any milk. Or to be more accurate, you grind up your own cacao nibs and then melt them down and then pour that directly into a mug. It is likely the richest thing I have ever tasted. It is served with sugar sticks on the side, because, of course, you need to add sugar to your melted-chocolate-bar-in-a-mug. We asked for milk, and were brought a small creamer container, and we realized that we should have asked for a pitcher. Or a cow. I am certain that one chocolat chaud could easily be shared by four people (and a pitcher of milk). It was kind of ridiculous. And this girl loves chocolate, but come on, now. Hugo and I were beside ourselves, both bemused and considerably distressed at how on earth someone was actually expected to finish this ‘drink’ unless they were Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Neither of us could finish it for fear of being sick. Let that be a lesson to you all. And by all means, if you have had an entire chocolat chaud to yourself and lived to tell the tale, I want to know how you did it. End of chocolat chaud rant. 🙂

We decided not to go see a movie, and as the sky brightened and that amazing Paris ‘evening magic’ happened again, I decided to explore Odéon, and see what the fuss was about with all the sales going on. The biggest sales in Paris happen twice a year: in February, and now. Danger danger: Paris fashion at 20-70% off…. I may end up shipping a box home…. 😀

Window shopping in Odéon

Many stores were closed because it was Sunday evening, so I ended up window shopping (and croissant buying), and finding my way around to my favourite place, the Jardin Luxembourg. Again, after a rainy day, it’s a fair bit quieter in terms of crowds, but diehard park lovers like myself were enjoying themselves on the metal chairs and around the fountains. With some Roquefort cheese, a demi baguette, and some fresh cherries, I had a lazy evening enjoying the delight of after-rain weather.

Check out that sky!! (And the less-than-aesthetically-pleasing architecture of the Montparnasse building in the background.)

Getting some evening sun!

That’s all for now, but perhaps I will have a few more things to share before next weekend, when I will be joined by my mum and sister! I cannot wait to see them!!!

Paris Pride Parade (ou, Marché des Fiertés).

June 28, 2014 / sarapiper / Leave a comment

This will likely be my most colourful post so far. It was a rainy rainbow sort of day. 😉

As part of the yearly, highly celebrated LGBT festival, the Paris Pride March was this afternoon -and I discovered that it started within walking distance from my apartment. I had been trying to decide how to spend my Saturday afternoon, and having a great time in Toronto last year during Pride week, I wanted to see what Paris would be like. The parade was to start at the Jardin Du Luxembourg and go from there, and started like a rally, or a peaceful (but energetic) protest in the large roundabout by the Luxembourg RER entrance. There was music and several passionate speeches by unseen people at a large float in the middle.

Strategically placed police surrounding the square, clearly prepared for a riot. There wasn’t one. 🙂

There were lots of people dressed up (to varying degrees), and you could buy rainbow flags, feather boas, rainbow wings, and other multicolored paraphernalia from a couple of stands in the square. There were also carts of drinks (mostly beer and wine) moving around the crowd.

It was no surprise when it started to rain, and although many umbrellas appeared and some people used their rainbow flags as cover, the majority of people just reveled in the rain. It was already a party. 🙂 The float -and then crowd- started moving, and that’s when I realized that we were part of the parade! 😀

With the one giant dancer-filled float playing a mix of pop and electronic dance music at the front to a balloon-covered fire truck at the back, thousands of people walked from Jardin Du Luxembourg all the way to Bastille (and really, beyond). It was relaxed and fun, with the occasional wave of cheering passing through the crowd. Along the way I came across a group of people painting rainbows on cheeks, so I enthusiastically said “si vous plait- moi aussi? Si vous plait!”, and they happily obliged- they ended up speaking English, but after that I didn’t say much more than “Merci!”.

There were loads of people lining the streets, and it was truly a giant crowd of happy drenched strangers dancing through Paris for a couple of hours. I often shared my umbrella for a few blocks at a time, I danced to some great music, I followed a giant butterfly for a while, and got to join in the celebrations for the LGBT community. It was a great way to spend a rainy saturday!

Fête de la musique – le 21 juin, 2014

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 / sarapiper / 1 Comment

Saturday the 21st was Fête de la Musique, and there were free concerts all over the city.

This is a huge event in Paris every year and I was so happy to take part in it!

My classmate Robert told me to go to the concert at the Invalides Metro station, because it would be all Canadian bands. The weather was spectacular and I walked past four other concert venues on my way to the “Nuit Boreale” Stage (aka, the Canadian stage), including a military band performing at the south end of the park at the Eiffel Tower.

The first group of the night was Marijosee (marijosee.com), a woman from Manitoba with a wicked voice and awesome band! When I arrived she was just killing it with crazy high notes and an amazing stage presence.

There were lots of people standing in front of the stage, and dozens more sitting on the grass in the huge field off to the side. There also some really adorable kids dancing their faces off just in front of me – they really had some great moves! 🙂 In between each of the 5 acts that night there was also a DJ from Toronto (Skratch Bastid), who was truly the very best DJ I have ever seen, and watching him is uber entertaining because you an tell he obviously loves what he does! He will be in Calgary July 19th at The Marquee! Go see him! (skratchbastid.com)

The next group at our stage was a rock band called Mise En Scene, another Manitoba group (an English band with a French name). I ended up hanging out with Marijosee and her rockin’ drummer Kathryn for the changeover into the next band’s performance and we had our own sort of dance party during the DJ’s tunes. Marijosee told me that they had also been at a festival in Switzerland before Paris and were heading back to Canada the next day. Sounds pretty good to me!

The next group was called Klô Pelgag, with a fantastic lead singer/piano player and a crazy band including violin, viola, cello, upright bass, and drums. The costumes really were the cherry on top, with the three female string players in bridal gowns and baseball caps, the drummer in a speedo and bathing cap and sporting a fake mustache, the bassist in a speedo, bathing cap, cape and flashlight spectacles, and the lead singer in a skeleton jumpsuit. They clearly have a lot of fun, and the lead singer has a great sense of humor and rapport with the audience. And in the middle of one song, the bassist did a magic trick centre stage. Yup, they are the whole package. (klopelgag.com) 🙂

I ran into my friend Robert by the stage, which was great, and we enjoyed grooving to Franklin Electric -the next group. They were from Montreal, and were phenomenal. The lead singer started the first song wailing brilliantly on a trumpet. I was delighted to realize that I had made my way to the very front and had an awesome view of the stage for the rest of the night. (I promptly went home and bought their latest cd on iTunes.)

The last group was a punk bank (Dracula Legs), and the crowd at this point was mostly made up of highschool/university students and they got a little crazy. A mosh pit was created, and several kids tried crowd surfing but didn’t get very far. It was a bit much by the end (yes, I am too old for this).

I ended up chatting with another ‘solo’ Parisian attendee, and we left at the same time and ended up walking up and down the Seine talking in French for about an hour, before walking home. Since the concert ended at about 1:00am, and we took the long way, it turned into about a two and a half hour stroll so I got home just before the sun came up. Haven’t done that in a very long while. What a night. 🙂

You realize how much time flies when you are too caught up in life to document it. And that’s good.

June 21, 2014June 21, 2014 / sarapiper / Leave a comment

There are those moments in life where you are truly living ‘in the moment’, and then there are the times when you are just completely overwhelmed by/in awe of/truly gobsmacked by that moment you are in. I cannot believe I am living in Paris, buying groceries at outdoor markets every day, commuting to and from school like it’s completely normal and I’ve been doing it forever, giving tourists directions, and speaking in French as much as I can. A-freaking-mazing.

Class goes on, and our class has grown, with now 15 students in total, filling every available desk in the semicircle around the room. It turns out we have to pay for a fifth week in order to complete this *half* of the course of A2, so off I went to the registrar office to add another 5 days of class to my schedule. I have now been told by several ex-pats living in Paris that a) the French have never been good at communication, and b) if the French can figure out a way to make things more complicated (education and paperwork particularly), they will. I am finding this to be very true.

On the bright side, I have a change of venue as to my living arrangements. I have moved from the 10th Arrondissement across the river to the 5th. I have moved from a room in a family home (une maison d’hôte), to my very own apartment! It is a one bedroom (very luxurious for one person to have in Paris), an open concept kitchen (un cuisine américaine), a combined eating area/living room and a bathroom with shower and washing machine (which is so fantastic because going to a laundromat here is pricey)!! There is a darling little garden outside my bedroom, so fresh air and some greenery makes this an even lovelier spot. The apartment is in a very busy area. Very busy. For example, I had to say “excusez moi” to get in between people sitting at tables on the cobblestone street in order to get to the door of my apartment building with my suitcase and backpack when I first arrived. It’s a little funny to try to not knock over someone’s wine glass trying to get into your house. My street has numerous restaurants with outdoor tables and right now they have televisions set up so people can watch all the world cup games. So far the evening quiets down at around 2am. (Thank heaven for earplugs.)

The Franglish venue- now in ‘my neighborhood’!

The art installation along the fence at Jardin Du Luxembourg; photos 'then and now' remembering WWII. Along my walk to school.

An art installation along the fence at Jardin Du Luxembourg; photos ‘then and now’ remembering WWII. Along my walk to school.

In the Jardin Du Luxembourg.

But to backtrack, and share a bit about the days leading up to this move, I had fantastic adventures last week, with a visit to a market, The Centre Pompidou, and “Dinner at Jim’s” on Sunday night!

The Bastille Market is the best one I have been to so far, and as soon as I say that I have several other spots recommended to me, as always seems to be the case here in Paris. “Oh, you think that place is amazing? Try this place!” It was much more of a food market than clothing or housewares, and had a lot of fresh seafood. Everything you could imagine from crab to squid to oysters…. To frogs legs.

Cuisses de grenouille.

Lots of produce at better prices than in any grocery store I have been to. And some prices went down as the end of the day arrived. Lots of fresh food (meats, cheese, bread, pasta) from different cultures and countries as well. I had a lunch of warm sate chicken skewers, roasted tomatoes, and fresh melon for dessert.

The Centre Pompidou:

I had heard about an art installation in film at the Centre Pompidou by the video artist Christian Marclay called “The Clock” That I wanted to check out. It is a 24 hour film montage with thousands of time-related scenes from movies, where each scene contains an indication of time (for instance a watch or clock, or dialogue) that is synchronized to be in real time of the audience watching it. It’s unbelievable- not only is it edited brilliantly, there is a wonderful rhythm to how the various films relate and move forward cohesively.I watched just over an hour and then went to see what else the centre offered. There are many galleries there, and a great view of Paris from the top floor.

The largest exhibition seemed to be for Martial Raysse and was amazing modern art. It was a collection with pieces from his entire career (over many decades- from the 60s until now).

The portraits were my favourite part.

The detail and variation in the leaves in this painting amazed me.

An afternoon walk, via some beautiful streets, fountains, and of course some tourist-heavy areas. Oh, and Les Halles metro station, which I do not recommend using (crazy/huge/busy/dirty).

Sunday night was Dinner at Jim’s! When I was researching ways to meet people in Paris I found a link to “Dinner at Jim’s”, and it sounded intriguing so I sent him an email asking for an invite. Jim is an American who has lived all over, worked in theatre, music, literature, among other things, and is now living in Paris. For the past 30 years, every single sunday he hosts a dinner at his atelier (an old art studio). Each guest brings some money to help pay for the food, and enjoy a night meeting new people. Some are living in Paris, some are just passing through. Some, like me, are meeting Jim for the first time, and some are old friends. There were over 50 people there and I talked with about 12 of them. The food was great and the conversation was better. It’s a fabulous time! I wish I had taken more pictures but I was too caught up meeting the most fascinating people. Jim has a lovely ‘apartment’ on the main level of a long unit of buildings with a good size kitchen that opens into a sitting room, and directly outside is a porch and then a grassy garden area where we sat for a good part of the evening. There was wine and beer and non alcoholic bevvies, and we were served a sort of American-Mexican theme dinner with broiled pork, beans, rice, guacamole, pineapple, and of course, bread. For dessert: cherry crumble and ice cream. I had a really lovely time and took the metro almost all the way home with several people I met at the dinner. I met 2 students (one from Scotland and one from England), two ukulele players on their way to a ukulele festival (!!) (one is a full time musician and the other is a nurse), a documentary film director from LA, a film writer and producer from the UK who wants to get into theatre, several Canadians (from Victoria, Winnipeg and Toronto), a journalist, a translator, a conductor, and a couple of wine shop owners. I am definitely going back. If you are ever in Paris and want to check out Jim’s dinner here is his website. http://www.jim-haynes.com/

The only photo I took. The food being prepared. Notice the giant bowl of bread.

So, back to the present. I am currently writing this at my kitchen table, with the sound of a live accordion playing La Vie En Rose outside my window to the restaurant patrons on the street, before I head out to enjoy La Fête De La Musique today with some free concerts.

Last night I went out with my friend Hugo to a bar to watch France play Switzerland in the World Cup. What an incredible game! I’ve been asked several times about how ‘my team’ was doing, and if I was devastated they were eliminated yesterday, since they thought I was British. I would laugh and say “What team? Canada didn’t qualify so ‘my team’ doesn’t exist here. I will be cheering for France because I am in France.”
I was so happy to cheer for France last night at the pub, surrounded by Parisians. It was so fun to be in such an intensely passionate group of people cheering and singing and chanting . I’m sure it’s like the playoffs of the NHL in hockey in Canada or the States in the hometown of the playoff teams. I loved it!!

walking around Paris after the game….

D’Orsay by Night

The Seine by the Louvre at night

And late night metro (the platforms were only empty for about 30 seconds):

And on and on it goes! 🙂 I hope you have a great weekend!

Long weekends are photo heavy in Paris. (Sunday & Monday just make up the other half)

June 13, 2014June 22, 2014 / sarapiper / Leave a comment

I warn you, a lot of photos are taken when a long weekend happens in Paris. And when I travel to a castle. and garden. and the opera. 🙂

Sunday started off a little later than I planned, possibly because I was up later than usual (and ‘usual’ is already very late!) researching where to take a day trip because I hadn’t decided yet. In the end, it looked like a trip to Fontainebleau was the simplest over all. I did have to take the metro with a couple transfers to get to Gare De Lyon to take the RER train out of town. The ticket for zone 3 was 8.25€ (each way). I may have been able to get a better deal with some sort of ‘full-day’ ticket, but I’m not sure….

I also was too tired to look up the trip time, but I hoped the train trip wouldn’t be more than a couple of hours at the most. Especially since we had a very exciteable terrier with one lady sitting across from me, who apparently did not like people coming onto the train at our various stops along the way, and would express his distaste by leaping about and yapping his head off. It was a pretty comfortable ride, as long as we had the train windows open, and from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau Station it took 55 min, & then a 10 min.bus to the Chateau.

It was busy, but not too crazy on the Chateau grounds. I was happy to wander along the pathways and explore the vast grounds, making use of all the trees on either side of most pathways for a little shade. It was a hot day! The line up for the gelato stand was neverending, from the moment I arrived until after the gardens were closed, there were at least 15 people waiting.

The garden and grounds are free to explore, and there are some amazingly tranquil spots next to all the water features, fountains, and fields.

On this particular day (or weekend, perhaps?) there were several groups of dancers around the south end of the grounds, dressed in simple black clothing, and doing very modern dance in three separate locations, to recorded instrumental/electronic music. It was interesting, and reminded me of the part in the movie White Christmas, where Danny Kaye dances with those women in purple dresses to a piece called “Choreography”. I watched all three groups and then decided to explore the castle. To get in to see the Chateau was actually the longest line up I have been in so far, but at least it was cool inside. This Chateau is the most furnished castle in France, and the rooms that had been kept in spectacular shape were some of the most ornate I have ever seen- from wallpaper to frescos to furniture and embroidery, it was all very beautiful. There were also many portraits of royalty and wealthy families of Frnace, and often, a marble bust nearby of the same people. They were remarkable.

I can’t imagine being able to sleep in a room this busy!

Napoleon’s throne room

This room and bed was designed for Marie Antoinette.

The Trinity Chapel (Built for Francis I)

The library

Every inch of these rooms was ornate. Even the wood floors. All of them were like this.

This is only one of the beautiful marble sculptures. There were dozens and dozens. I loved them.

Um, would you like to buy a souvenir? Like a fake gun? It feels and looks very real, but try it out if you like.... er...

Um, would you like to buy a souvenir from the Chateau Fontainebleu gift shop? Like a fake gun? “It is only 87€ for the large gun, and it feels and looks like the real thing. Try it out if you like!”…. er…

After the castle I decided to find a shady spot to enjoy the garden and I sat by a quiet pond in a small enclosure of trees and bushes, and was sketching for almost an hour when I realized how eerily quiet the grounds had become. I came out from my ‘hiding place’ to see no other people walking along the pathways or sitting out in the sun. I then heard a faint whistle blown and quickly came upon a security guard on a bike, who was going around the grounds to inform the stragglers that the garden was now closed. Whoops! An interesting thing about France I have found is that all the gardens I have come across have fences and gates that can be locked, and they close every evening- so on Sunday at this particular location the closing time was 6:00pm. It was 6:10 when I actually walked off the grounds. 🙂

Oh yeah this is for real…. Makes me wonder how amazing Giverny will be!

The train back was a lot busier, which seemed to bother the same terrier that was sitting across from me on the way out, and he yipped and whined all the way back to Paris. On Monday, Lisa came back through town before heading home, and we had one last day to hang our and explore before she went back to Canada. We started at the Arc De Triomphe, and decided to climb to the top as it was a beautiful day to view the city from such a great location! There are a lot of stairs in a tight spiral, so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who gets claustrophobic easily. The sky was clear and there was a nice breeze so we hung out at the top for a while. It’s funny, because about an hour later, and for a good portion of the remainder of the day, it was overcast and rainy. Good timing!

There was, of course, a gift shop, and an area inside with interactive models of thebuilding you could manipulate to learn more about the sculptures and design, using projections both on a model and on the wall behind. We walked down the Champs Élysées, admiring the designer stores or ridiculously glam-ified regular stores like Abercrombie and Fitch (no, seriously, golden gates and a lit walkway that makes you feel like the red carpet and the Oscars venue is right around the corner). We stopped at this amazing building that looked political rather than religious, and discovered a grand church inside.

We then found ourselves at the Opera-the Palais Garnier, and had to go in and see- especially since your ticket is discounted if you are a student! Huzzah!

And this is just the hallway on the main floor under the stairs…

The grand foyer

The Palais Garnier auditorium

Yes, that ceiling is painted by Marc Chagall- did it look familiar to you too??

A machete for the Opera version of Othello

There were numerous machetes of shows produced there, and some amazing costumes on display as well. Gorgeous fabrics, metal chest pieces, and feather adorned helmets were among them. Sadly, I somehow did not get a picture of any of these. After going for dinner at the pub at Lisa’s hostel, we went back to the Marais for a little Spoken Word Paris- which hosted an open mic night in the basement of Le Chat Noir bar. There was quite a mix of entertaining poets, and we ended up only staying for one of the three rounds in order to still have time to meet up with a friend of Lisa’s who took us to enjoy one last crêperie before Lisa flew home to Canada the next morning. After some gourmet crêpes and great conversation, we all went our separate ways in the rainy evening that eventually turned into a thunderstorm. It was a fantastic way to end the unexpected long weekend! See? Lots of photos. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed them!

The unexpected long weekend, in two parts…

June 10, 2014June 10, 2014 / sarapiper / 1 Comment

It wasn’t until mid-week when I was informed that Monday would be a holiday, so we had a long weekend coming up right away- no Monday classes! I kind of wished this information had been presented/advertised sooner, as I would have planned a weekend trip further out of town if I could have booked earlier. As it was I had several local adventures, including some theatre, another Basillica, a flea market, shopping in the Marais, the Seine walkway, a jazz concert, the Arc Du Triomphe, the Champs Elysees, Spoken Word, and a day trip to Fontainebleu! No complaints about that list!!
So from the beginning…or, Friday/Saturday…

Friday night I wanted to see some theatre so I picked up a “Pariscope”- a magazine with a detailed list of all events and arts going on in the city this summer- totally worth the 0.50€ it cost! I was hoping to see a show I had already seen in English so I had some context, and discovered that Molière’s L’Invalide Imaginaire was playing at Comedie Française, and I convinced a classmate to come with me. We saw that there were reduced price tickets for ‘restricted’ view seats, and when we went to purchase them we realized they are even cheaper than we thought – at 5€ each! C’était bon!
The show was very funny, but one thing about comedies that is for certain: they are very fast- the actors speak very quickly most of the time, so it was quite challenging at times to understand exactly what was being said. We had to go over what happened afterwards when we went to a cafe (called Molière!) for drinks after the show. Friday was a warm day, and the evening weather here is often perfect for walking around and finding a good bar or cafe to have a ‘happy hour’ drink- I have noticed that many of the bars in Paris have 4 or 5-hour long ‘happy hours’! Basically, if you go after 5 or 6, luck is on your side. (And since pop/soda is about the same price as a beer or glass of wine (!), this makes a difference to this coca-cola drinking girl. (Also, here, you ask for a ‘coca’, not a coke, if you want to say it ‘correctly’.)

Complete side note: I am finding that Parisians are so nice!! I am currently at a cafe, and the girl next to me needed a phone charger as her android phone is about to die. I couldn’t help her, but a stranger on the other side of me heard her ask me and offered his charger. I also find that shop owners and locals are very encouraging when I fumble with my French, or ask where I am from because they can ‘hear a slight accent’ to my French. I’ll take that ‘*slight* accent’ as one for the ‘win’ column! 🙂

On the very hot and sunny Saturday I went up to Basillique Saint-Denis, at the suggestion of my friend Diana. A lot of the exterior was under construction, but inside you could defintely appreciate the grandeur and majesty of the building. Plus, the temperature inside was very cool, which was delightful. 🙂

The square outside was pretty busy, as there had been some sort of celebration/festival of Saint Denis going on. I was about to head back to the metro when I saw some tents on the other side of the square and discovered my first French flea market.

This place was crazy! There were clothes, housewares, cleaning products, jewelry, scarves and saris of every color and style, and it was a busy place- vendors calling out “allez allez allez allez” and other such things to get people to come over to their stall. I think that most people would have a hard time not buying *anything at all* if you had any cash on you- it’s hard to resist 3€ pumps- even if they only last for one night out!! ;).

Yes, those shoes are on sale for 3€. That’s less than 5 bucks.

I took the busy metro back to the centre of Paris and walked along the Seine, enjoying the many people out walking, biking, skateboarding and rollerblading in the sunshine! A brass band started playing just as I came to the steps by the Musée D’Orsay, and played some great covers of pop music with tuba, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and percussion.

I also walked by the Bridge of Locks again, which, you may have heard on the news- had a section of the railing collapse from the weight of the locks on Sunday and police had to evacuate the bridge! Too many lovers…. Insert your own joke here… 😉

Another discovery in the Pariscope magazine is that it is Festival season in Paris! So now a jazz festival has begun. Saturday night I made my way to the Parc Floral De Paris to watch a jazz show on their outdoor stage; the concert is free with admission to the park – another evening of entertainment for 5€!

The Park is at the south end of the Chateau Du Vincennes that we visited last week, and is probably very lovely during the day, and is free to visit on weekdays. I’ll definitely plan to make it back there! I didn’t explore too much of it as I wanted to get to the concert. The band performing was called Paolo Fresu Quintet, and they were fantastic!

There were people all over the place sitting on the grass, on benches, and of course right by the stage where there was concert seating. I sat across the lake to listen, as the acoustics were great. It’s a common occurrence to see large groups of Parisians spending time with friends around the city, and here was no exception. Not only did I see an energetic group of people just outside the park playing badminton in a field, but there were a couple groups of people down the odd pathway playing la pétanque (bocce), but in the park at the concert there were numerous groups of anywhere from four to twelve people sitting on blankets, towels, and mats with a pile of food in the middle of them and boxes of beer and bottles of wine strewn around them. There were lots of families and some particularly hilarious kids were trying to do kart wheels and handstands nearby throughout the evening. It was a truly relaxed atmosphere (un air le détendu), and I loved it.

Be prepared- Sunday/Monday is the lopsided part of the weekend. Il y a beaucoup des photos!

“The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” -Dr Seuss

June 5, 2014June 5, 2014 / sarapiper / Leave a comment

Not too much exploring recently, at least, not with great purpose. 🙂 I started classes on Monday with Alliance Français, and if you are looking to learn French, I HIGHLY recommend them. I’m only 3 days in and think both our professor and the class structure are brilliant. I will defintely be continuing my studies with them in Calgary when I return home.

I took an online placement test before I was put in this class, and it definitely made me feel discouraged by how little I understood. The beginner class is A-1, and I was placed in A-2.

Along my walk to class each day

The view from my classroom

There are 10 students in my class- 2 from Italy, 2 from China, 2 from Canada, 1 from Spain, 1 from Turkey, and 1 from Japan. They all took A-1 together so I am the only newbie to the group, but they are all very friendly. It’s a good mix of people, and what I truly appreciate is how close we all are in our level of comprehension, and just vary a bit in our speaking skills (or at least, our confidence in our speaking skills). There are definitely moments in class where I feel intimidated or frustrated with how difficult the language is, but I find that the challenge really tests my skill and I feel like I will make great improvements in my speech and comprehension as a result. It’s awesome!!

Rainy school day

The Panthéon

Église Saint Étienne-du-Mont

I was starting to feel a bit homesick the other night and decided to research ways to meet people in Paris.

I found many options. One was “Franglish” (www.franglish.eu) a twice-weekly event held at various pubs and cafes, where the purpose is to speaking both English and French to practice your second language. It’s kind of like speed-dating, without the dating part. 😉 You speak one-on-one with an assigned partner: entirely in French for 7 minutes, then entirely in English for 7 minutes (or vice versa) , then switch partners. It ran from 7pm to 9pm and I spoke to six people in total. It went quite quickly and I made friends with the lovely woman sitting next to me (who was from the UK who moved to Paris in January), and the Parisians I chatted with included a lawyer, a retiree, three students and an urban planner. It was fun and exciting, but it was definitely a real challenge for me, since my nerves sometimes get the better of me when I try and have a conversation in French.. I definitely plan to do it again, and told my classmates all about it today. Several of them are hoping to try it in the next week or so.

These are photos on my walk after class today through the 4th and 5th Arrondissements. When the weather is this nice, I try and walk as much as possible, before I take the metro anywhere. However, this morning on my way to school, there were two saxophone players in our car on the train, ‘dueling’ with jazz music. Hearing “Take Five” by two talented musicians to start your day is fantastic. I hope it catches on back home….

The building at the end is the Senate

Those chickens are actually bags.

Some beautiful peonies that I wanted to buy…

It rained for most of today, but the sun has come out and turned everything golden this evening. I was going to just grab some dinner and go home but the evening is so beautiful I decided to wander around the 4/5 arrondissements before finding a metro stop to get home, and I ended up at Le Jardin du Luxembourg. “Superbe!” I would also like to take this time to note, I have purchased a bread product every day since I have been here, be it baguette, croissant, or crêpe. I am also becoming a lover of coffee. Cappuccinos, in particular (or café au lait). Maybe it’s because everything tastes better in Paris…

Art and food. (I’m sure this will be one of many posts regarding both.)

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 / sarapiper / Leave a comment

More exploring, mais maitenant, en seule.
On saturday the sun finally came out again, escaping the numerous threatening rain clouds that have been looming over Paris this week. I really was expecting warmer weather for the end of May, but I’m sure that will come soon enough. And with the mention of sun, I have jinxed my current situation and it has ducked behind more rolling grey clouds. This wimpy Canadian is chilly again.
I succeeded in buying a Navigo pass, and got photos taken at a Metro photo booth (yes, just like in Amelie- without the zoro mask and hat). It will save me so much money to have a local pass instead of buying separate tickets or a Paris Visite pass! It turns out that the Navigo pass is not advertised on the English websites for Paris Metro because it was never intended to be used by tourists. I feel so… What’s the word… Débrouillarde! 😉
I also purchased some art supplies- a sketchbook, some sketching pencils, chalk, and charcoal. Let the art begin!! (I really wish I had thought of this before so I could just bring supplies from home that I already had.)

The Jardin du Luxembourg is quickly moving up the ranks of favourite places in Paris, and challenging the Jardin du Tuilleries, and this weekend it was very, very busy. The locals and tourists alike were out in droves to celebrate the sunshine. (This photo of the fountain was from last week when it was quiet!) There was also a photography installation on the grounds that I took in- WWI documentation, photos from the archives of the French newspaper EXCELSIOR. There were photos over the years documenting the first days deployment, to women in the workforce at home, to remains of buildings, to veterans returning. It was very interesting, and there were some startling and beautiful photos.

Today I walked by a gluten free shop. Yes, even they exist in Paris. It was in the Marais (in case this is useful information for you 🙂 ), the 4th Arrondissement where I went looking for free museums today, as it is the first Sunday of the month. There are a lot of museums on the full list, but today I wanted to stay in one area- the 3rd and 4th Arrondissements, where there were many! I originally wanted to have a go to the Louvre but unlike last time I was here, it is no longer the ‘off-season’ and therefore, you have to pay for it. As I discovered last Sunday, weekends are extra nuts in Paris, so I think I’ll wait for a slightly quieter weekday…

One museum in particular I wanted to see today was Musée Picasso, but it is still closed for renovations. Hopefully in July they will be complete. 🙂 I stopped in at a museum not on my list, and spent almost two hours there: Musée Carnavalet. The garden in the centre court was stunning, and so of course I had to take many many photos…. It had some incredible models of many major buildings in Paris, and I’m not even sure I saw it all as it went on for ages. I then saw another, smaller museum, Musée Cognacq-Jay, just down the street. I also thought I might go to L’Orangerie again, but then I found a chair on the side of one fountain in the Jardin du Tuilleries, and tried sketching a statue.

It has been a long, long time, since I have done any sketching of any sort, and I feel a bit rusty!! After that I did a little people watching, and wondered if it really was this common to see so many people in (navy&white or black&white horizontal) striped shirts go by as I sat there. I stopped counting at 17 in the 15 minutes I was keeping track… :)

I also discovered more street markets, of course, mostly selling food, but also jewelry and toys and artwork, but again I only took pictures of the food…. 🙂

Yes, those giant Willy Wonka blobs of color are meringues….

It is really hard to not get excited about all the cafés and bakeries and crepe stands and gelato places, and all the amazing food here, and not buy numerous things every daythat are not ‘necessary’, just extremely delicious snacks. Today I gave myself an allowance of 5 Euros, and I am proud to say, I kept to it, only buying a crepe and a drink as I wandered around the city.

I went to Place Des Vosges to sit and have lunch (that I had made!), and this was when the almost-storm seemed to back off a bit, and though there were a lot of people at the big tourist spots like the Louvre, this are felt a bit more calm. still majestic, though. and all my OCD friends will be happy to know how perfectly symmetrical so many gardens and courts and other meeting places here are. 🙂

The architecture of Paris is so fantastic I just can’t get over it. Back home I’m the born-and-raised Calgarian who still can’t get over the mountains, and I’m sure no matter how long I stayed in Paris or how often I came back I would still “ooh” and “ahh” over the buildings and sculptures in this city!

Next up: my first French class in Paris, and I’m excited and nervous! First day of school again!

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Nothing But Blue Skies

My travels in detail, because post cards just aren’t big enough.

Author: sarapiper