Time Flies!
Trip Start
Jun 25, 2008
1
11
Trip End
Aug 27, 2008
Paris,
Île-de-France,
France
Monday, August 18, 2008
In the last two weeks I've enjoyed both a healthy dose of Parisian museums, nightlife, dining and some travel outside of Paris. I went to see the Marmottan Museum, dedicated mostly to Claude Monet's art. This is where the painting that gave birth to the term "impressionism," Impression, Soleil Levant, is kept. It also has a stunning array of Monet's Lily Pond series, with enormous canvases covering one entire floor of the museum. The museum's general effect is not as impressive as l'Orangerie (which I remember liking as much, if not more, than the musé e d'Orsay), but it was worth a visit. There were also some beautiful Berthe Morisot paintings, particularly Eugene Manet et sa fille dans le jardin, as well as Renoirs.
I also visited the Opera Garnier, an incredible structure where I would have loved to see an actual opera, rather than just touring the grounds. Unfortunately for me, opera season is in the fall. If I had looked earlier, I would have been able to catch Victor Hugo Jr.'s Dame aux camelias, which I had read before coming to Paris. Funny thing is, in September they'll be showing Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, which I saw at the Bastille Opera five years ago with my grandma!
I toured the Fragonard Museum with a Russian group and learned all about perfumes. Fragonard is a perfume company that only sells its products in France, distinguishing it from other brands and giving it a superiority complex. I didn't like their perfumes much, but it was very interesting to learn about the different processes, flasks, etc; for instance, animal fat was used for a long time to make perfumes because it retains scents and liquid perfumes were created only much later. The best part was watching the employees trying to sell their products to the Russians. It felt like an outdoor bazaar, chic Paris style.
I was told by a very reliable source that the most romantic park in Paris is called "Butte Chaumont." So my roommate Marie-Claire and I went exploring and both concluded that it was indeed the most beautiful park we'd yet seen. It's on a hill, so the view is spectacular. It has luscious green grass that you can actually sit on, as opposed to the Luxembourg Gardens where it is only for decoration; if you sit, a kind police officer comes shooing you away. The flowers are impressively well-kept, there's a lake, swans and even a waterfall. The best part is, it's a bit far from the center, so there were no tourists except us! We had a lovely picnic and took a ton of pictures of us posing in front of flowers, etc. Right next to where we lived there is another beautiful park called Montsourit. Since we lived right next to it, we only got around to picnicking there on one of our lasts nights, a result of knowing that's just around the corner. It also came with the mandatory lake, ducks, pretty flowers. That's another thing about Paris that I will particularly miss: there's a crazy overabundance of parks. Parks, parks, parks everywhere! And they are all well-kept and stunning, small escapes from everyday hassles.
Remembering another lesson from my AP Art History course, I took a trip to the St. Denis Basilica, a breathtaking structure in the Parisian suburbs that houses the tombs of most of France's royalty. I have to admit that words can't really do justice to this church. The stained glass, the sculptures, the crypt that houses Louis XIV and his body parts in a separate jar; it was all incredible to witness. There's a statue of Marie Antoinette that looks so real, it's almost frightening. The detail on her dress, hair, even her breasts is remarkable. I thought it was quite the masterpiece.
The area around the Basilica is quite fascinating, too; I don't think I saw one French person. Instead, the entire neighborhood was filled with Arabs (mostly Maghrebians), Africans and some Asians. I tried a lovely pistachio and chocolate soft serve ice cream at a patisserie called Jeff de Bruges, did a bit of shopping (i.e. bought a dress) and exalted in the exuberance of French history. Interestingly, there were almost no tourists there either. I guess the fact that it's a bit out of the way and mostly an immigrant neighborhood is enough to dissuade people from going. Better for me.
Apart from Paris, I took a day trip to Normandy, first to Deauville and then Honfleur. It was so lovely. One of Monet's paintings at the Marmottan was of two women relaxing on the beach in Deauville; I can see why he chose to paint there.
The entire AGBU group went together and we had a delicious picnic on the beach after buying our lunch at the market. I bought fromage Calvados, now my favorite cheese EVER. It's made with Calvados, a type of cider drink produced in the region and it is the same consistency as a Camembert. Really, I practically ate the whole thing by myself, filling an entire artery with cholesterol. Also, I tried Pont l'Eveque cheese. It's somewhere between a brie and a camembert, though it has small holes and isn't spread able...so maybe it's only the same shape as a brie or a camembert. I bought sweet cider (yum!), berries and the most delicious pistachio and strawberry macaroon I have ever tasted! It was a small piece of heaven in each mouthwatering bite. Really, simply to die for. I wanted another, but there were none left.
In Honfleur, we walked around the square, I admired (though didn't eat) all of the pastries in the numerous patisseries. We went inside the main church, dedicated to St. Catherine. It was quite interesting because the roof was designed in the shape of boat, an ode to sailors. It also looked like two churches packed into one because one part was built and then the exact same structure was added on the other side to make space for a larger congregation. The effect is of a symmetrical structure, one that looks like you could just fold it in half.
The highlight was that I bought a lovely engraving at an out-of-the-way bookstore. It's from the 19th century so-called Pompier school. It shows two women lounging on a divan, no doubt gossiping. In the background you can see a party with people dancing, etc. I'm quite proud of it and can't wait to have it framed.
Then my friend Jérémie and I took a perfect little trip to Noirmoutier, a sort of salt and small potato heaven. It's an island in the region Vendée, past Nantes. Of course, I forgot my bathing suit so I remain a lovely pasty white. It's going to be embarrassing coming back to San Diego where everyone's been baking the entire summer and is probably a crispy golden brown. In any case, the island was perfectly tranquil and completely relaxing. Bike riding, sitting on the beach, eating and talking, talking, talking was practically all we did. I tried moules frites and I actually found that they were delicious (unlike oysters, I find their consistency much less gooey). Also, more cider (this time from Brittany) and galettes...a kind of crepe, but made with some other grain that Jé r tried to explain to me, but I just can't figure out. Anyway, it tastes much grainier than a regular crepe. It came with baked apples and deliciously stinky cheese on the inside. In other words, perfection. Thanks Jér!
My brother finally got here and so we spent three days touring Paris together. I took him to see Cimetière du Père Lachaise on the first day, probably a bit morbid of me, but I was being selfish; I'd been dying to see Oscar Wilde's grave since I saw Paris, je t'aime. In the end, out of the people I had really wanted to see, I only found Chopin, Edith Piaf and Wilde's graves (no Jim Morrison). There weren't cute little notes like there had been in the Montparnasse Cemetery, but it felt more like being in a park. It was so luscious, green and old, with such spectacular tombstones. Plus, the neighborhood around Père Lachaise is very attractive, with delicious pastry shops that I didn't get the chance to explore, though I did buy a fabulous lasagne with dried tomatoes, fresh basil and no meat that I will try to reproduce at home.
The next day we took a ride on the Ferris wheel in the Tuilleries, went up the Eiffel Tower, strolled the Champs Elysé e, saw the Arc de Triomphe and La Dé fense and explored the Musé e des Arts Decoratifs. I loved the museum! There was a temporary exhibition on Valentino, which practically made me cry. It's one thing to see his dresses in magazines and it's another thing to see them in their lovely silk and organza reality. From the permanent collection, I really liked the Medieval, Renaissance and art deco displays. They even have the bed that Zola modeled Nana's bed on (in the eponymous novel). It apparently belonged to a famous courtesan and it's really no wonder she had so many clients.
And here's a fun fact I want to share. I visited the St. Eustache Church in Les Halles and there was a group giving free tours, so I asked for one. The guide, who was generally pretty bad, showed me a triptych by Keith Harry, an American artist who died of AIDS. She told me that he donated the piece to the church as a thanks for being so accepting of the gay community, in contrast to most Catholic churches. So apparently a large part of St. Eustache's congregation is gay, which I find rather progressive.
In another aside, and a bit on the down side, I was offered an incredible job at a branding/naming company in Paris...and then it was quickly snatched away from me due to the labyrinth that is French bureaucracy. And just as my French was getting so much better (or at least I think?)! The office was right on Faubourg St. Honoré , the Parisian equivalent of Fifth Avenue. It's a long story about how and why, but I was offered the job and told I could begin in mid-September. Unfortunately, the director of the company was not interested in trying to acquire a visa for me. The process would have included advertising the job opening for at least a month and creating a dossier demonstrating that there is no French or European Union citizen who is qualified/capable of doing the job instead. How are you supposed to do that?! So I'm quite disappointed (yes, I had already painted my life in Paris in rosy hues), but one day....
