Weather Cold, Windy with Sprinkles
Euro now at $1.37
Today I am beat!
Last night was the annual Nuit Blanche http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuit_Blanche
It is a night that everyone stays up until dawn to see art, drink, eat, etc..
My friends Colin and Ron flew in from San Francisco tonight so they were up to staying out late to counter their jet lag but Martin has to go to Versailles tomorrow for work so he could not stay out late. I had dinner with Martin at this great little place in the 7eme on rue de l’exposition. The restaurant is called La Billebaude, 29 rue de l'Exposition, 01 45 55 20 96. Ferme dimanche et lundi.
After dinner I ran over at about 11:30pm to meet the others on a bridge near city hall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_des_Arts
We wandered all over the city. This year the theme was motion so mostly they did up the many train stations. The Montparnasse station had this amazing beam of light that could be seen from everywhere, this is the same guy that did the Twin Towers in light. Here are some shots, the middle one shows the beam from a distance.
The one on the right is a church with a crazy lighting installation.
Today I am meeting with my tutor and then with the owner of the apartment I am staying at. So I will recap my yesterday which is more about visiting Paris. Martin and I met at 11am to go over to an exhibit at the Musee des Decorative Arts. http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/ It is in the Louvre but is in its own wing and has just recently re-opened after many challenges. The collection is amazing. The space is amazing. The exhibit dealt with the furnishings, service ware, clothing, silver, etc that was used by and during the reign of Napoleon in France. This is Martin’s expertise so it was truly like having a personal guide. He shared with me how to read the late 19eme century inventory stamps and why they are so difficult to understand. He also walked me through what was what, made by whom, and why. It really made it much more fun. Plus reading labels in French is getting much easier for me.
After the museum we had lunch at this OK spot and then headed over to the Opera. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Garnier Martin had never been inside. I have and would recommend you see a show if you can. They mostly do dance as the Opera has moved to a modern stage. The tickets are reasonable and the space is like nothing other. The entire thing was just re-done so it was a treat for both of us. Martin was blown away like I have never seen. It was neat to see it again through someone else’s eyes. It was like seeing it for the first time again. Here are some shots.
I also took a close-up picture of one the art nouveau metro stations. These were done 100 years ago by Hector Guimard, only a small handful survived including one in NYC Metropolitan Museum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Guimard
We walked around the fashionable Marias, see photos here. And then ended up in Place des Vosges http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_des_Vosges
Not sure why but the French babies are so much cuter than American babies. Here are some shots:
I also took some of this cute couple that walked by, what are they carrying? And what about these tarts?
Today I am meeting with my tutor and then with the owner of the apartment I am staying at. So I will recap my yesterday which is more about visiting Paris. Martin and I met at 11am to go over to an exhibit at the Musee des Decorative Arts. http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/ It is in the Louvre but is in its own wing and has just recently re-opened after many challenges. The collection is amazing. The space is amazing. The exhibit dealt with the furnishings, service ware, clothing, silver, etc that was used by and during the reign of Napoleon in France. This is Martin’s expertise so it was truly like having a personal guide. He shared with me how to read the late 19eme century inventory stamps and why they are so difficult to understand. He also walked me through what was what, made by whom, and why. It really made it much more fun. Plus reading labels in French is getting much easier for me.
After the museum we had lunch at this OK spot and then headed over to the Opera. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Garnier Martin had never been inside. I have and would recommend you see a show if you can. They mostly do dance as the Opera has moved to a modern stage. The tickets are reasonable and the space is like nothing other. The entire thing was just re-done so it was a treat for both of us. Martin was blown away like I have never seen. It was neat to see it again through someone else’s eyes. It was like seeing it for the first time again. Here are some shots.
I also took a close-up picture of one the art nouveau metro stations. These were done 100 years ago by Hector Guimard, only a small handful survived including one in NYC Metropolitan Museum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Guimard
We walked around the fashionable Marias, see photos here. And then ended up in Place des Vosges http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_des_Vosges
Not sure why but the French babies are so much cuter than American babies. Here are some shots:
I also took some of this cute couple that walked by, what are they carrying? And what about these tarts?
