Decided to blog early in the morning today instead of at night, because apparently there's a limit to the amount of people that can use the hotel's internet, and last night we reached it. So, back to my old habits of getting most things done before anyone else even wakes up. I think this is the only hour in Paris when it's quiet. Ok, so here's yesterday's news.

Yesterday we started the day at famous Les Invalides, a complex for veterans where Napoleon's tomb is located. We didn't see the tomb, but we did have a lecture about the Baroque facade and dome of the church. Then we were able to visit the other side of the church, called the soldiers' church, as well as the courtyard that is surrounded by the hospital and other buildings, like refectories and living quarters. Although smaller and of a different architectural style, the soldiers' church reminded me a lot of the church at the US Naval Academy. I guess it's the drama of it, with the flags all lining the nave.

After Les Invalides, we went somewhere that I don't think maybe college art history classes get to attend for class. We went to the Yves Saint Laurent retrospective show at the Petit Palais. It was pretty much unbelievable. If I thought there was drama at the church, well I certainly found more of it at the YSL show! The exhibition was beautiful. They had all of the dresses and suits on manicans that were in appropriate poses, all decked out with the gloves and hat and shoes. And, of course, the outfits were often so gorgeous, we would stand flabbergasted in front of it for a few minutes. Made me want to both experiment with making clothing, and throw my own haute couture costume ball! I really wanted the catalogue from the show but it was a huge catalogue (but only 28 euros!!) so I decided I really couldn't carry it home, and I'd have to ship it. So I got a small coloring book with some of his sketches in it instead. All in all, the show was very exciting, and an interesting change from the tradition museum format of seeing art. We were even given the choice to write about the show for our daily journals. I guess I should put on my to-do list now recording the new season of Project Runway.

After class, I came back and finally had to do laundry. Then, my roomies, a friend in the program, and I all made a really weird dinner. We had something resembling quesadillas, and homemade guacamole (without lime or lemon..) and for dessert we had banana slices with dripped-over Nutella as well as this nutella, breadcrumbs, and peach concoction (dessert was what I made). Anyways, it was a fun day! I think from here to the end of the week, the days will be longer and somewhat oddly scheduled. Today we have class from 10-11 and then from 2:30 to about 6:00. Hmmm, have to figure out what to do in between. So, I'll try to get on tonight to blog, but depending on how late class goes and the demand for the ethernet cord, we'll see.

Enjoy your day, everyone! I know I will! (I'll try to post photos tonight.)

Today started the third week of my class today. That means comes Wednesday, I'll already be half-way through the program! It totally doesn't feel like I've already been here two weeks, it's crazy!

Today was my second visit (this trip) to the Louvre, and the special entrance we get to enter, away from the crowds, has still not gotten old. It's pretty fun flashing my laminated pass with my picture on it. The theme this morning was French Baroque painting, namely Rubens, Poussin, Vouet, and Le Brun. Renaissance and Baroque is good and all that, but after class I stole away to the Flemish painting galleries. I definitely like the Flemish stuff better, but I get why we learn about the Italian and French Renaissance...Oh man, the paintings were gorgeous, though. I took photos of them for future inspiration for my first animated film or something for set design. The buildings kinda look like Snow White. I sat and sketched but replicating oil paintings with a black pen doesn't turn out so well.

I had a bit of a fright with the escalator in the Louvre however. One was broken and closed off, and they had people walk both ways on the same thin escalator, which is in the first place hanging between the floors with no side wall! My love of museums and art was almost beaten by my fear of heights and escalators today! I'll even include a photo to show you how tall this thing was.

Anyways, not really anything else today. I came back and relaxed and went shopping for groceries. Off to somewhere tomorrow, but no idea what it is. I just know how to get there, so I'll let you all know what I find out! Going to try to drive the party out of my room soon so I can get to sleep!

Bonsoir!

Today was a bit of a relaxed resting day. With a friend from home here, it felt a little more familiar today, which was comforting. She makes me realize that my French is better than I give credit, too! After a slow morning, begun with fresh "pan chocolat", chocolate croissants in English, we decided to try visiting this market we had read about in the North of the city. The market wasn't very interesting, a lot of used men's dress shoes and old furniture, but we headed to the Pompidou Center. We saw this crazy building yesterday, but didn't have the time to go inside and explore. The facade of the building looks like a series of clear tubes stuck together to make a tall building. A bit unexpected, the inside is both a movie theatre and the Modern Art Museum of Paris. We didn't pay for tickets to any of the different shows going on, but we did get to see this cool installation piece. It was designed for children, where they could make structures out of cheap material, like card board or wood, and put them anywhere on/in the building. So on the outside, there were wooden little house-like forms that were perched precariously in different corners and niches between the clear tubes.
After the Pompidou Center, we walked home along a food street market again, stopping for Italian food (which seems to be almost as prevalent as it is at home) and gelato. While my feet are throbbing a little, the food was totally worth the walk back. The gelato might not be as good as in Italy, but it still definitely beats the stuff in the States. Today I tried Banana with Coconut. Tasted like some kind of fruit cocktail. It was "tres bon"! Still holding onto my self-discipline for the candy booth set up everyday right outside the apartment. Tomorrow, too, I'll have to do some work for class, but I will surely be enjoying another day of no planned meeting times or set activities! Not that I'm anything but thrilled to be going back to the Louvre on Monday morning...

Au revoir pour aujourd'hui! (Goodbye for today!)

Yesterday I experienced a little bit of travelers chaos again. I had planned on picking up a friend from the airport and taking a train out to Mont Saint Michel and Saint Malo this weekend. Well, her flight was delayed because it was overbooked by forty people, and then the trains were somewhat slower than usual into the city (is the strike in Paris over yet?) so needless to say, we did not make our train. All the other trains were full to get out there, so I decided after a little bit of parental counsel, to abandon the trip entirely and go next weekend. While it did cost me an arm and a leg to cancel my train tickets because I didn't cancel them early enough, the good news is that I was able to change my hotel reservation from this Friday to next Saturday. This makes it easier too, because I can stay in one city for the weekend if I want, not have to worry about trains once I'm there.

Class yesterday was pretty fun. We had a walking tour with a guest lecturer around the various squares and gardens and bridges near the Seine. It was really interesting to learn about the monarchy demands on architecture in the city, and how that created a unified mindset as well as facade for the Parisian citizens. What was even more fun, though, was that our tour guide looked scarily similar to Noah Wyle, the actor who played Dr. John Carter on ER. I've been watching this show through Netflix straight through the seasons, so I've seen a lot of Noah Wyle, and this man had the same features, movements, etc. Except he spoke english with a french accent. Anyways, I got a lot of amusement out of the doppelganger effect. And thankfully, the last three days we've had perfect weather!

Not sure what we'll do today. I guess play it by ear, and enjoy the lack of planning...I'll let you know!

Here is the promised tale of yesterday and today:

Yesterday was the first day that we got to visit the Louvre! I had been before ten years ago, and still had an impression of what it would be like, and of course, like most things in France, outdid my memory of it. Besides the photo-shoots we just HAD to have, as we are wild young adults and American tourists, it was especially fun to enter through this more private entrance to the side. Our program buys us Louvre passes that allow us unlimited entrance for a year. I think this means I have to come back before next July! :)
Anyways, after a long tackle with the Metro and getting everyone in the group to the desired meeting spot, we saw the fountain of the innocents, the several facades of the Louvre, and then Medieval "decorative arts" (so awesome!) and some of the French Renaissance collection with a tour by a curator of Renaissance painting for the Louvre. How cool?!
After class I, as is becoming typical, took leave from the big group scene, and explored by myself. After exiting the Louvre the wrong way, I stumbled upon the Tuileries garden complex that was stunning! So far, Paris is definitely the best city in which to get lost! Once I figured out where I was, I strolled along the Seine, and over this wonderful bridge, until I got to the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore. It was the first day that has been truly summer-y, so I took my time.

For anyone who doesn't know, Shakespeare and Co. opened in 1919 as an English language bookstore, and was the hangout of many famous writers, and famous for the publishing of books that neither the UK or US will publish for censorship reasons, the most famous being Ulysses by James Joyce. It was closed during the German occupation, and then re-opened in its current location, and continued to be a famous hangout of intellectuals since. This is just the cutest bookstore! It's cramped, with books EVERYWHERE. I didn't believe the reviews. Haven't checked out the library on the second floor yet, but when we go to the Louvre again on Monday, I am definitely going to stop by again. Maybe bring a book to sit and read. Later yesterday I actually went back again because there was a book-signing by Yann Martel, the author of Life of Pi. Got my signed copy, my Shakespeare and Co. famous, Zero Kilometer stamp, and got to hear Yann Martel speak. Great day yesterday! On the walk home in the afternoon, I passed another cool market that went on for blocks and blocks!

Ok, on to today. Today we took a field trip out of the city to Chateau de Chantilly. It was breathtaking. We had two tours that went through the house and explained each room, which were fine. The place was amazing, and I felt a terrible urge to look around myself and open all the locked doors. The chateau looked just like what I imagine the scenery of a Jane Austen novel to look like. There was a moat around the place and gardens behind. There was even a little hamlet behind the gardens with little cottages as a garden for the rich residents to play at farming. There was also a "cottage" for a poet who hid there while in trouble with the French government. The place was definitely larger than my entire house. Today felt like a grown-up field trip. We spent all day wandering this place, walking the gardens, and laying out on the grass. There was also an incredible collection of prints and paintings we were able to study.
Still, what made today especially fun was that I got to spend a significant length of time with our TA, who is a grad student at the University of Picardie in Paris. He's explained to me his thesis, and has since pointed out every piece he's been studying. He's better than any tour guide. And it's exciting to listen to because you can see what joy he gets out of seeing something and explaining it. Plus, he's insanely cute. :) Unlike most of the kids on the trip, who consider themselves on vacation and therefore "checked-out", our TA seems to really enjoy having interesting, intellectual discussions. Because of this, I find myself sticking closer to him during class, as he will point out extra stuff my professor doesn't mention. I'm definitely going to have to keep in touch with him after the program!

After Chantilly, which was already about 6 pm, I decided to go for a taste of home, and made what I like to call GGC. It stands for Grandma Grilled Cheese, and it's grilled cheese made perfectly, with lots of butter! Learned it from one of my Grandmas, and it has taken me a lot of tries to even come close. I cooked it perfectly, but unfortunately I couldn't find American cheese (obviously. who else would eat that stuff?) but I substituted Holland cheese and it was still pretty amazing. Felt good after a long day of walking.

Tomorrow I leave for Mont-Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo. The best friend is flying in from NY tomorrow, and we're going to spend the weekend together on vacation. Should be really fun, and peaceful without my roommates! I may or may not be able to post on here, but if I don't, I'll try to catch up during the week. Sorry for the insanely long post! Hope it hasn't been too hard to get through. Writing journals, and off for a new adventure tomorrow!

Bon soir!

Too tired to post tonight, and leaving for Chantilly early tomorrow morning. I promise I'll post about this action packed exciting day tomorrow, when we get back! Good night all!

Today we visited the factory that for the last four-hundred years has produced all the tapestries, carpeting, and furniture for the royalty of France and, after the revolution, the senate and such. We got a tour of the rooms working on tapestry restoration and carpet restoration, and surprising to me, the carpets were the most fascinating! The men working in there were really very nice to us and show us how everything worked, and even showed us what they were working on. Spectacular creations, but it's hard to believe the tediousness of the work! Some of the works, we were told, took four people 2 full years to finish, and that was repairing, not creating a new piece.
The other cool thing I did today was explore this market with fruits and crepes and sandwiches. It was a narrow charming little street going up hill, and there was about any kind of food you could want to buy! It just seems so quintessentially French. Had a really good fresh peach!

No idea what I'm doing tomorrow. Have to go do tomorrow's reading! Here's a photo I caught in the Gobelins Tapestry Manufacturing workshop:

Chartres

Today was the big day: Chartres cathedral! Despite the rather miserable weather (cold and rainy) the church was very impressive! We took a tour bus from the hotel and, still twenty minutes away from Chartres itself, our professor alerted us to the fact that you can see the spires of the cathedral from the highway. When approaching the main facade of the church, it was really obvious how much more huge Chartres is than either St. Denis or Notre Dame. Unfortunately, there was construction being done on the front (West) facade, but the North and South portals were visible, and one was just recently cleaned. The choir of the church had also just finished being cleaned and looked astonishingly different than the rest of the church! If I hadn't known it was Chartres, it would have been easy to say that the stone belonged to a modern-built church. The stained-glass windows were also dramatically brighter when cleaned. They made the other windows look downright dim.

After our lecture at the cathedral and a formal lunch with the entire group, we had a demonstration with some professional (didn't catch the title) at the International Center for Stained Glass. Beyond just the temporary exhibit they happened to have up this month, we were shown exactly how they make stained glass today and how it was made in the Middle Ages, when the windows of the church were created. Both the history and the production seemed really cool! I think all of us exited saying to one another that we want to go home and make stained glass. During the tour I was even picking up some of the French that our tour guide was speaking. Who knows, in four more weeks, I might not even need a translator! :)

Goodnight all! Another early morning tomorrow for the Royal Tapestries Museum!
















Here are photos of the cleaned and uncleaned sections of the church, and the stained-glass demonstration work table.

With the bad weather, today was especially slow. For most of the people in the class, the week finally caught up with them. I was the first one up (by about 4 hours) and when I discovered that it was cold, raining, and that very little was open, decided this morning would be a good time to continue reading Pillars of the Earth. For anyone who hasn't read it, it's a novel about the building of a medieval cathedral in England. It's based on a real cathedral, but I don't remember which. Still, I though it was relevant to my studies and figured a little extra excitement about what I'm seeing couldn't hurt.
Tomorrow I'm off to Chartres cathedral all day. We're taking a bus pretty early, so that we'll be there in time to really see it before our tours for the day. I know we are also getting a stained-glass demonstration, which sounds like it will be absolutely amazing! Even the journals for the class, which are assigned everyday on various subjects, are actually interesting to write. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a class, and not just a vacation of a lifetime. It's insane that my university will be giving me credits toward my degree for taking field trips to cathedrals and living in Paris for five weeks!

Well, tomorrow is an early morning, so I'll be getting to bed shortly. Since most people have stopped eating dinner out because it's expensive, we have many more dishes to do this weekend! I think we get new towels and linens tomorrow. Not sure yet what the situation is. It's all very exciting though! Today was the first day we sort of lounged. We had a great time sitting at a cafe for a late lunch today and watching the Italy and New Zealand World Cup game. The excitement from every goal, no matter which team's, is such that even the waiters stop and watch!

Anyways, I'm sure I will have a lot to say about Chartres tomorrow, if I'm not too tired when I get back, so bonsoir for today! I'm glad so many people are enjoying reading about my adventures! It's fun to share them!

Yesterday was a slower day. Looked up trains to Aachen and Rouen, but finding no luck, decided on visiting St. Denis Basilica instead. I took the metro up there (long ride!) and it wasn't as crowded as I had expected for a Saturday. Sat on the steps to the altar and sketched for a bit. Three separate times I was approached by someone who attempted to converse with me and look at what I was drawing. It's really quite embarrassing to have to admit that you're a foreigner who doesn't speak the language. And I got asked directions again on the metro. Twice. Wasn't a good day for interactions...
St. Denis, however was beautiful, with the light shining through the stained glass. There was a concert going on right outside, so I could hear the music too. After the church, I caught a bite to eat in a boulangerie (is that how you spell it?) and ordered some really amazing olive bread! It was rather intimidating ordering though, because it was the middle of the after-work rush hour and I was terrified I would freeze and order the wrong thing and end up getting toast with salmon or something. I did get two extra chocolate croissants, but I think that was just because they were closing soon. I didn't mind. :)
No plans yet for today. Below are the photos for yesterday. I attempted to morph two photos to get the stained glass and church together, but it looked rather quasi, and was too big to upload, so maybe I'll put it up another time. I also let myself do some precision, obsessive sketching, and then once seeing how little I had gotten done, did a much looser sketch of some of the vaulting. Another drawing is from the other day, drawn from memory on the train back from the church, so it's rough. Getting better at loosening up, though. I'll definitely have to keep at that this week! The other photo is really amazing wood work from the choir seats.

Yesterday and today have been pretty jam packed with awesome stuff! Yesterday we visited the Museum of the Middle Ages in the morning, that had an unbelievable array of Medieval works as well as the Roman baths attached. I got to see the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, which, albeit only after being explained, were fascinating! The whole museum is a Medieval house that was the Paris townhouse for the Abbots of the famous church, Cluny, who were closely associated with the Papacy. The building itself was possibly even more interesting to me. I was just in awe by it. Honestly, think Beauty and the Beast architecture mixed with Snow White architecture, mixed with Hunchback of Notre Dame architecture and you have the house the Museum is in. Haha, everything I see here makes me want to be an artist for Disney! It's amazing how sophisticated the animation and research put in is and how much we just take it for granted in the final presentation.
After the Middle Ages Museum we got a private tour of the Sorbonne. Although our guide did not speak English, and our professor attempted to translate for us, the tour was really cool. We were able to see all the spaces usually reserved for high-profile affairs and a lecture hall that is now used for important meetings and press conferences and such. We also got a long history of the University and it made me think that maybe the U.S. needs a lesson from France in valuing education. I think it made all of us wish we were studying there! Even the part of the building reserved for classes and students today is a big courtyard from the 17th century. How amazing!

Today was a bit shorter in terms of class time than yesterday. We didn't start until later because our appointment with the museum director today wasn't until the afternoon. I had planned on doing something on my own this morning (my roommates got in at 3 in the morning, so I figured they would be sleeping for quite a while) but I only woke up around 10! I guess the jet lag, combined with lack of sleep all week finally caught up to me! The museum was a good start to the the day, though. It was the Museum of French Architecture and was just seriously unbelievable. Most of the collection consists of casts of famous Medieval monuments, namely churches, and their facades or statues. There are also models of important French buildings from the Renaissance until this year, and upstairs are many, many rooms of copies of Medieval murals. The castings of Romanesque and Gothic architecture were phenomenal. To be able to see it all together in one place was so much more powerful. Of course, my background knowledge and the fact that I love architecture might have helped my enjoyment. I noticed others with glazed-over eyes through most of the tour.

After the museum, which is on the hill overlooking the Eiffel Tower, some of us got crepes and sat halfway down the hill, where we could watch performers, see the Eiffel Tower, and watch the enormous television screen that is showing all the word cup games. The spirit around Paris because of the World Cup is tremendous! You see people with jerseys, hats, flags, face paint, or anything all over the place! On the Metro this morning, a woman in a business suit with a briefcase had a Germany flag painted on her cheek. After a lovely afternoon on the grass and the steps, we decided the week was over and we all have retired for the night. We all ate dinner on our own, since many people had come to realize what dinner and lunch and breakfast out can cost in a week. My roommates are out "clubbing" for tonight again.

Tomorrow, I might take a train to Aachen, Germany, and see the cathedral and historic district there. Either that or I'll stay in Paris and see more of what won't be covered in class. I will have four more weeks of class and a week and a half after that to see Paris though! I supposed it depends on how easy it will be find a hotel and a train...still, I love that I have the option to jet over to Germany for the weekend. Europe is so amazing!

Sorry for the lack of real photos recently. Finally got my camera charger and will be shooting again starting tomorrow! In the mean time, I've been sketching as much as possible.  Both of these aren't finished yet, but they at least show what I've been seeing...

Mind boggling

Ok, back to posting. Yesterday was a bit of a hectic, but really amazing day. Didn't get to write much because I had to prepare for my 10 minute oral presentation for today, which was supposed to be on Friday and was moved up on Monday. I pretty much always dislike going first and try to avoid it, but being forced to was good for one reason: I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the month.

Anyways, yesterday we started out at an old Roman 1st century amphitheatre ruin. Thankfully it was the same place I went to sit on my own before class started, so I didn't have trouble getting there. We have a lecture there and then moved to the Roman baths and checking out the Rue Saint Jacques, and other old original streets. We didn't get to go into the Roman baths, so I have to put that on my checklist, but we did get to go into the archaeological crypt of Notre Dame, which were as unbelievable as I remembered them to be from when I was ten. I can tell I'm officially an art history dork, because even the smell of the old stones was exciting! I have also come to realize that I totally love the miniature models of famous places like the ones architects build. Hmm, put that into my job search criteria. :) After a lecture in the crypt we had a student presentation and another lecture on Notre Dame, and specifically the facade of the church. It was pretty unreal. I felt like I was just looking at a REALLY BIG textbook illustration of what we were studying. I'm still not able to conceptualize that these sites are the real thing. After class ended, we all went into the church and gaped and then I went back to do work and we went shopping for groceries.

Today was seriously amazing too! I can't believe the breadth of famous, amazing, historical monuments in this city. Imagine what it would be like to grow up in the same city as Notre Dame, St. Denis, St. Chapelle, the Louvre, etc. Like, say what?!?! Sorry, off topic...
We went to St. Denis first thing this morning. It was incredible. We all traveled the metro with the french grad student helping with the class, and we were looking around for the basilica as we exited from the subway. Suddenly, we turn one corner, and BAM. Oh my, there's a ridiculously famous church where like half of France's kings are buried. No big deal. Haha. It was as inspiring as when I learned about it in class. It's so easy to just expect a Medieval Benedictine monk to walk out at any minute.
My presentation was on the choir of St. Denis, and I was the first of three today. It didn't go all that well, but I guess I didn't do terribly either. Oh well. We didn't finished with lecture and presentations until about 12:30, and we were all pretty tired. I had planned on staying after for a little while to sit and sketch out parts of the church, because I want scenes to be able to include in my animation portfolio for this internship with Disney I've been looking at, but my professor already had something planned we had to leave for.

My professor bought us tickets for a boat ride on the Seine for the afternoon, and left us to sit and relax on the boat. It was fun, but I could hardly stay awake! After, I went back to nap and a few of us went shopping (I'm in the mall next to us everyday for another thing I forgot or don't have!) and I picked up a cell phone. My phone card was a number on a my receipt, and since no one really speaks French, I'll have to ask the grad student tomorrow how to set it up on the phone. Not that I mind, because he's really cute and very sweet! Hehe...

Ok, well, that'll have kept you reading for a while so I'll stop. Had a three hour dinner tonight and came back to the room to read my assignment for tomorrow. Now going to write on today's prompt. This is the most I've written or drawn or thought in over a month, and I must admit, it feels really good!

Off to the Museum of the Middle Ages and Sorbonne tomorrow! Given the last two days, will probably be a blast! Good night everyone!

Well, I probably should have been taking notes, but...

New Room

Moving in day!
This morning I had the bright idea, based on years of summer camp bunking/dorming experience, that I would head over to the hotel around 11, when I would check out of the present hotel. That way I could get the bed I want and settle in. Well, the maid started bugging me to leave just after 10, so I checked out and walked across the street to the new hotel. It felt slightly ridiculous, but it was certainly convenient. As I approach the main desk, the lady behind the counter says are you with Rutgers? Well, after I finally understood what she was saying, it was very simple checking in. And what do you know, my roomies were in the main lobby waiting for the elevator. So much for my genius plan.
Anyways, my roomies seem fine and sane. We'll see. One of them did have a glass of wine at 1:30 in the afternoon. In the hotel room. Just before going to take a nap...whatever. I'm rooming with I think the only non-humanities majors. The two know each other so they are sharing a room with a double bed. I'm taking the pull-out couch (which btw pulls out only about 6 inches. it's a single bed...weird.) At orientation before the program the girls from last year said the rooms were really crowded. Umm, they should stay in some of the places I have! Decide for yourself though, photos below.
Tonight I have orientation and then a dinner with the group. Hope the restaurant has a vegetarian option, since about 70% of the places I've looked at on the street don't have anything without meat except maybe one appetizer. Whatevs. Class tomorrow. Gotta go finish my reading...

Excuse the awful pics. My camera died, and I am temporarily left with my computer. If anyone is wondering, the photos are flipped to be correct. Wouldn't want to offend anyone (cough*cough)...

Spent the day outside today. After waking up well into the day (I definitely needed the sleep!) and leisurely getting ready, I decided I'd visit the Arenes des Lutece, a park with a Roman 2nd century amphitheatre. Needless to say it was really amazing, and it didn't seem to be a tourist hot spot. Brought my sketch book and tried to loosen up after a year of drawing almost never. The weather was perfect, and so I spend a while wandering through an antique street market on my way to and from the garden. I bought 100 old stamps to decorate the non-class journal I bought for the trip. Close to my hotel, I couldn't resist and bought myself a fantastic crepe for lunch! It was slightly disheartening, though, that after ordering in French, the man selling the crepes asked me where I was from...in English.

I found what looks like a really cool vegetarian French restaurant across the Seine from where I'm staying. I had planned to try it tonight, but the new shoes I was wearing cut my walking tolerance a bit short. I think I might try lunch tomorrow, if the new hotel will take my luggage early. Tomorrow is the last day on my own for a month, and I will definitely miss the freedom! I didn't even bring my watch with me today. It's wonderful to have some time totally to myself. Don't worry, I still miss everyone at home (maybe...). As I always say on fun vacations: You think I'm coming home the end of July, but really I'm gonna to go ahead and move here! :)

Here are the photos for the day. Just sketches with either oil pastels, charcoal, or pen.  The only difference between the last two is that I added pen to the second. This was a decision made after a man came over and asked to see my work and I think was actually disappointed, so I stepped back and tried something rash for me: mixing media. Please, tell me whether you think my decision was a success or not! Feedback is always helpful...

Today was my arrival in Paris! After two flights, too many security checks, and an airport shuttle to my hotel, I am finally here in Paris, getting settled. Didn't get here until almost dinnertime, so tomorrow will be the day I really get started. The photos are from my hotel. Two from the balcony outside my room and one from the stairwell. I'm in an area with a lot of cafes and more local than tourist stores. I spent the evening out walking, admiring the eclectic architecture of anything from apartments to a rundown hospital. I think either tonight or tomorrow, I will go back and sketch it.

Well, that's about all the excitement for today. I might go catch a coffee in a little bit. Or catch up on sleep. Definitely a smooth transition into Paris! Now if only I could stop answering people's questions in Spanish... :)

Travel Chaos

Eek! Trying to figure out where I will stay and what I will do between July 17th and July 28th...Have to figure out something before the flight tomorrow night. Oy, still have a lot of work to do! We'll see what happens... :)

Start of an Adventure

This will be my space to record my six-week trip to France, and give updates on where I am and what amazing things I'll be doing for the pleasure of my family and friends. I will have internet in my hotel, so I will attempt to be fairly diligent about posting. The adventure begins this Friday, so wish me luck and keep reading!