Chartres!

Bonjour!
Mercredi après-midi (Wednesday afternoon), I ventured (with AYA) to Chartres, a small town about an hour (by train) outside of Paris, famous for its cathedral with beautiful stained-glass windows.  Perhaps you've heard of Chartres blue?  It's a very unique shade (apparently the secret to concocting it has been lost in the (golden?) sands of time), and it's quite beautiful.  (Wikipedia can give a more comprehensive overview of the building, whose full name is Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Chartres.)  We took the SNCF (French railway association) from the Gare de Montparnasse, in Paris, to the town of Chartres.  There wasn't much to see along the ride (mostly trees, no fall foliage), but it was a nice trip all the same.  The town itself is very cute!  Lots of historic buildings, pricey stores, and cobbled streets....  We wandered around the town after we visited and admired the cathedral.  We had the good luck to go on a very sunny day, so the stained glass windows were beautifully illuminated!  And the architecture of the building itself is quite beautiful as well: very intricate, lots of bas-relief and flying buttresses and other assorted ornamentation.  It's amazing to think this was all created without any sort of modern technology. (Nor even with much medieval technology--it was mostly constructed in the 1100s and 1200s, with some additions up through the 1500s.)  We really don't have anything like this in America!

The cathedral from the front, which is currently undergoing restoration.

detail of the left spire (Gothic)

detail of the right spire (Roman) --no, they're not symmetrical

detail of the center, showing the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus

one of the rose windows--so named for their shape, not color

detail of one of the rose windows

 

Just another wall?!  Some of the interior bas-relief...

me in the old town

cathedral seen from the old town

Boat tour of the Seine!

Salut!
With AYA (the organization bringing me to Paris), we did a lovely tour of Paris by boat on the Seine yesterday.  As it has been quite hot and sunny lately, it was quite nice to be out on the water!!  I did a similar tour when I was here with my high school, but it's always fun to see Paris from the river rather than the streets.  And of course many of its most famous icons are along the Seine, so it's a great way to see a lot of the monuments that are rather far apart by land transportation.  I don't think I have anything new and profound to say about these monuments, but they are always pretty to look at, so I'll cut right to the good stuff: photos!

The Louvre...

 

still the Louvre...

And of course these two photos only capture a very small part of it!!  It's apparently the third-largest museum in the world.  I have no idea which two museums are larger!  Although the Louvre wasn't big enough for King Louis XIV, who commissioned Versailles to be built as the new royal palace to replace the (too-small!!) Louvre.  There is no way either of these buildings will fit into one camera shot except from the air, as far as I have been able to tell.

Part of the Musée d'Orsay, a converted train station that's home to many Impressionist works.

Assemblée Nationale, one of France's chief govt. buildings

La Tour Eiffel behind Le Pont Royal

La Tour Eiffel again!

 steeple of the first American cathedral in Paris

Notre Dame!

Notre Dame from the side

detail of the Pont Neuf*

Hôtel de Ville (city hall)

*Here are two interesting factoids about the Pont Neuf:

• Although it's called the Pont Neuf, which literally translates to New Bridge, it's actually the oldest (remaining) bridge in Paris.
• Take a good look at the heads in the photo above.  They're just a few examples of the heads that line the length of this bridge, on both sides.  Supposedly when this bridge was built, the first stone (not wooden) bridge in Paris, people (including some courtesans) were worried that stone would be too heavy and that it would fall into the river.  Thus people were reluctant to use the bridge, so the king had someone carve the heads of the nay-sayers into the side of the bridge...  it's not a very flattering likeness, I think!  But kind of a fun form of revenge!

Canal St-Martin

Bonjour tous!
Not too far from my neighborhood is the Canal Saint-Martin, the more northern part--the southern part ends in the Seine.  I think it was originally meant for industry (shipping), but now it's mostly used for boat tours I think.  I went right up to the northern end on Sunday, which is actually in the 19th arrondissement, where the canal turns into the Bassin de la Villette.  However, parts of it are within walking distance from my apartment here in the 10th arrondissement, and I hope to check those parts out soon, too.  It's going to keep being hot and sunny here for a while, it looks like, so probably it will be a bit nicer along the canal--it certainly was last Sunday! 

pre-excursion snack (lunch)

One of the canal locks... very interesting

 to see the locks at work!

wider view-- where Canal St-Martin becomes Bassin de la Villette

First Days--Premiers Jours

I have been BUSY so far!!  We've had some orientation activities already, and I already feel quite at home in the city (thanks in large part to the Metro), so my friend Alex (also from Bard) and I have been out exploring a bit.  Friday evening, we had a picnic of Camembert, baguette, and un petit peu du vin, in the park behind Notre Dame (4th arrondissement), and then we walked to the Louvre (1st arrondissement), which neither of us had ever been to before.  It's open late Friday nights, and it's not as crowded then, so it was perfect.  We were rather tired after dinner and all that walking, though, so we just saw the essentials: Mona Lisa (La Joconde, en Français) and Venus de Milo (same name in French).  I'm sure I'll go back again and see more as it's free for us, because we're officially enrolled at the Sorbonne as art history students.

outside the Louvre

It was hard to take a good photo without a flash, but Alex and I thought she was smiling.

She's taller in person...

This afternoon (Saturday), Alex and I met up for some shopping and walked all over creation!  Well, mostly just around the Seine, in the same areas as last night, but with different objectives.  First, we went to an H&M on the rue de Rivoli that we spotted last night on our way to the Louvre.  (I didn't end up buying anything.)  Right across the street, at number 59, there was a building advertising 30 artists' ateliers open to the public for free, so we went in and saw them all, and we saw a lot of very strange art there as well.  It was interesting to see some contemporary work, although I don't think it's the kind of stuff I'd want in my home (but then, neither are the Mona Lisa or Venus de Milo).  Next, we decided to walk towards the Sorbonne, become a bit more familiar with the area, and we stopped at a patisserie along the way, where I got a delicious pain au chocolat for not too much.  We walked along the Seine quite a bit, as during the day there are used book stalls all along both banks.  We had a lot of fun looking at the books and posters!  Eventually, we crossed the river on the Pont Neuf, looked at more book stalls, and headed towards the Sorbonne.  About a block from the river, (5th arrondissement) we were snagged by a very-discount book store, where both of us were sucked into buying a few books.  I mostly bought French translations of some of my favorite children's books, although I did buy one French children's book, which I've started reading and am enjoying so far.  When we finally pulled ourselves away from that librarie (French for book store, not library, which is bibliothèque), we went and read in the Jardin du Luxembourg (6th arrondissement) for a while, before wandering back towards the Metro we wanted.  Along the way, we stopped for some delicious looking ice cream, which we shared--we had black currant flavored, and it was very good, with an interesting kick to it, and thicker and creamier in texture than the ice cream in the States.  And I had a crepe au fromage after, for dinner.  It was quite an eventful day, but a lot of fun!  Tomorrow I hope to check out the Canal Saint Martin, which is near my house, as well as some local parks, before Monday, when some of my classes start and when I have some more orientation activities with AYA.

pain au chocolat... yum!

statue of Henri IV, on the Pont Neuf

black currant ice cream... yum!

All in all, I've been having a blast so far!!!

My French Home--chez moi

I have arrived safely in Paris, and I think I'm finally getting adjusted to the time difference!  Going to bed at a normal hour and waking up before noon are still a bit difficult, but it's getting easier all the time.  I'm living in the 10th arrondissment with a lady and her grown son (he's 25).  I haven't seen much of the son, Samuel, but he seems nice, as does the lady of the house, Natalie.  She and I have chatted a bit (in French, of course), and I watched part of a movie with her, but I don't know her very well yet.  I'm sure I'll get to know her better after I've been living here a bit longer (after all, it's only been four days so far).  The apartment where we live is quite convenient to three Metro stations; Jacques Bonsergent is the closest, although Chateau d'Eau and République aren't far from here, either. Natalie says it's a safe neighborhood, and it seems nice to me.  I've walked around it a bit and found some not-too-expensive grocery stores, as well as the local post office, and of course the local Metro stations!  I think this will be a very nice place to live!

 

my building, from the outside

the view from the front window

the courtyard, as seen from my room

Place Republique, not far from me

Three Memoirs & A History

Over the course of the summer, I decided I should read at least a few Paris-related books to prepare for the upcoming semester.  Now that I'm waiting at Logan for my flight, I thought I'd tell you all about them.

First, I read The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough. This review from the NY Times is pretty comprehensive: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/books/review/book-review-the-greater-journey-americans-in-paris-by-david-mccullough.html?pagewanted=all.  I really enjoyed this read, although I don't usually read histories.  I was at least nominally familiar with many of the people he writes about, although there were a few names I didn't recognize.  Either way, McCullough does a great job in this book drawing together all of these various life stories to create a history that reads more like a narrative while still being incredibly informative.  His descriptions of so much American art created in Paris, as well as some Parisian art, have made me really excited to take advantage of the abundance of museums in Paris!  And with my program, we get a pass to go to most (or maybe all?) of the major museums for free, I believe, so I'll definitely be taking advantage of that.  Anyway, if you want to know about the influence of Parisian culture on American history, or if you just like history, this is definitely a worthwhile read.

Next, while looking for a guide book, I came across a memoir (The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris) by John Baxter, an Australian who has lived in Paris for years.  This was fairly informative as well, as Baxter has stumbled into the tour-guiding business during his time in Paris, so this book is full of lots of really interesting tidbits about the city, as well as funny comments about tourists (which I've made into a personal not-to-do list for me).  Besides how to (try to) not look like a tourist, this book also inspired me to try to walk rather than taking the subway, at least some of the time!  For more, see the Washington Post's review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/book-review-the-most-beautiful-walk-in-the-world/2011/05/25/gIQARsJJhI_story.html.

Then, while wandering through the library, a book entitled French Milk caught my eye.  This actually turned out to be a graphic novel written by a girl (Lucy Knisley) not much older than me, who spent six weeks in Paris with her mother during her senior year of college.  It was really fun for me to see Paris from the point of view of someone about my own age, even though she doesn't speak French and was there purely for vacation.  Also, I figure if she and her mom could get by--and have a great time--for six weeks without having any French, I can certainly thrive there myself!  It was a cute, fun read, focusing mostly on the day-to-day life in Paris... if you're on vacation!  Which I will be at least some of the time.  I didn't find any reputable-looking reviews, but the publisher's website has a little blurb about it at http://books.simonandschuster.com/French-Milk/Lucy-Knisley/9781416575344/ if you want to know more.

Finally, all three of the above books mentioned A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway, so I figured I should check it out, too.  I found myself enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would!  Although I'm not sure why I didn't think I'd enjoy it in the first place....  Anyway, it's definitely a classic worth reading, especially if you're interested in Paris in the 1920s, Gertrude Stein and/or F. Scott Fitzgerald (two of his close friends), or the art of writing (on which he often dwells here).  I found that Paris really comes alive in this book!  I could imagine so clearly Paris--the cafés, the race tracks, the streets--as he described it, and I'm excited to see it all for myself soon!  The library had the restored edition, which I guess has some extras from the manuscript as he left it before his death.  See what the NY Times has to say at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/books/28hemingway.html?pagewanted=all.

Welcome/Bienvenue!

Hi, all.  I'm starting this blog so you can all follow my adventures in Paris this fall!  I'll try to update at least once a week, so do check in.  I'll also of course have my email and be on Facebook and Skype (sasmith143) and iChat (stephanie.smith143@verizon.net), too, so you can find me there as well!  If you want post cards, let me know your address and you shall be rewarded.  :-) 
Also, just for kicks (and for me to practice uploading photos), here's one of me on my last (and only other) trip to Paris.

Me in Paris--April 2008