Bonjour!!!
I am back in Florence after an AMAZING week in Paris, and I am in love! No, I did not meet a charming French man during my trip (I wish...); I am, however, in love with Paris! The food was delicious, the people were incredibly chic, and the museums were mindblowing.
While I did indulge in many a delicious pastry, I also managed to do yoga four times while I was there. There is a Parisian Bikram studio that has classes in English! (I did do one French class, which was interesting). I visited 5 museums during my stay: Musée d'Orsay, The Louvre, L'Orangerie, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and Palais de Tokyo.
And I took lots of pictures.....
La Tour Eiffel!
Notre Dame... on a rainy day. I couldn't imagine a better way to see it. The gloom makes this enormous cathedral that much cooler. The water was spewing out of the gargoyles' mouths!
Sculpture in Tuileries
Parfait, n'est pas?
Pond in Tuileries. There are cymbals in the center of the pond that people throw coins at. I'm pretty sure the park makes loads of money from this!
De-lic-ious!!!!!!
Inside Laduree's.... YUMYUMYUUMM!!
Shakespeare & Co. One of the coolest bookstores I've ever been in.... Almost as cool as Diesel.
Statue in Tuileries
Gates to Tuileries. There is quite a lot of gold in Paris....
The weather was very crisp while I was in Paris, but it was so beautiful. It was my first real autumn in quite a while and I loved it.
I found the Louvre to be incredibly overwhelming. The amount of people in such a small place was absolutely ridiculous. There was also so much that I wanted to see-- it was impossible to see it all in one day. Next time I will have a better strategy.
Delicious tea after the Louvre. I had a 'Mont Blanc', which is apparently their specialty. It is a whipped cream and meringue base topped with a hazelnut cream. Quite good, but a little too sweet to finish in one sitting...
Me... being a tourist in the d'Orsay
The d'Orsay was incredible. I still get chills when I see a van Gogh or Monet hanging on a wall. With all the art I study by looking at a picture in a textbook, seeing the real thing never ceases to amaze me. While the d'Orsay was still pretty crowded, the collection was much more manageable to see (and enjoy) in one visit.
My favorite museum in Paris was The Musée de l'Orangerie. Being in a stark white room, illuminated only with natural light, surrounded by Monet's enormous Nympheas paintings is an awesome experience. The rest of the permanent collection, housed on the lower floor, is also very impressive.
The Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and Palais de Tokyo are housed next to each other across the river from la Tour Eiffel.
I visited the Musee d'Art Moderne first and spent well over three hours in the museum. The main show on exhibit was called DEADLINE and featured the last works of twelve artists who had died within the last twenty years. It was very haunting, albeit beautiful show. The permanent collection consisted mainly of French artists I was not familiar with, but it was still an incredibly captivating and well curated collection.
The show featured in the Palais de Tokyo was a little too modern for my taste. Most of the art was overly conceptual and lacked aesthetic value. The people visiting the museum were an interesting reflection of the show-- they were incredibly hip and well dressed with overly-perfected blasé looks. I will say, however, that the space itself is very cool.
It has finally begun to get cold in Florence, though I still only need a light jacket and scarf to go outside. Our house, however, is incredibly cold. Apparently they turned the heat on yesterday, but I don't feel it!
Only 45 days left till I return! Time is flying!
Adieu!
V
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