Today is the last day in Paris, and we leave tonight for Disneyland Paris. Yesterday was our touristy day, and we managed to fit in several huge sights. In the morning we went straight to Notre Dame, which is only a ten minute walk from us, and showed the kid brother Gothic architecture. After seeing the church and the crypt, we went to Sainte-Chapelle and waited in line to get through security. When we saw the chapel, we were all blown away. It was really more amazing than the photos! And, by some dumb luck, we saw a poster for a Vivaldi concert that same night that was held in Sainte-Chapelle. Of course we bought tickets!

After all the Ile-de-la-Cite activities, we went to lunch with the friend of my mom's friend and her daughter, since our plans were canceled the other night. We ate lunch in what we were told was the 'chic' section of town, near Luxembourg gardens. Well, not only did we have the best meal yet, but the lunch was so much fun! We now have two new friends, and I've already friended the daughter on Facebook. :)
From lunch we went up to Montmartre. We walked up the hill to Sacre Coeur and saw both the church and the shops. We spent awhile watching the artists everywhere, and had a lovely afternoon eating ice cream on the steps of Sacre Coeur. The views were more incredible than I imagined, and we even found La Mere Catherine restaurant we had eaten at last time we were here.

In the evening, before our concert, we went to the Eiffel Tower and Trocadero. Though I had spent a lot of time here already, we wanted my brother to see the typical famous sights before we leave. It was really fun walking around this park and grotto right by the tower, and we sat for a while sitting under it. After the Eiffel tower we went to our concert at Sainte-Chapelle and heard both Pachelbel's Canon and Vivaldi's four seasons performed on period instruments in the actual chapel. It was just stunning. It really was one of the big memories of my whole trip. Afterward, we walked along the Seine and had a late dinner, and saw a beautiful full moon!

Okie dokie, enough writing. We have to pack our stuff and leave pretty soon. We are headed to the Louvre this morning, and who knows what else! Have a great day everyone!

Today was our day trip to Bruges, Belgium. After leaving the hotel at 6:30 and sitting 4 hours on a tourbus, we arrived in Bruges. Once there we received a walking tour of the city and a ticket for a boat ride along the canals. My father had raved to me about the town from when he had seen it as a kid, and it really was as amazing as he said! Most of the town smells like chocolate, and nowhere does it smell like car or industry. There are bikes and horses everywhere, and the buildings, though mostly later than Medieval times, are still laid out in the plan of the original old city and designed in a neo-Gothic style that looks somewhat French, German, and Italian. I spent the entire day imagining what it would be like to live in a town that smelled of chocolate, has three official languages, but also speaks English, doesn't have automobile traffic, and has neo-Gothic houses with canals and parks and cobblestone streets. Incredible! After I learn French, I'll have to invest in learning a Germanic language. While we didn't understand the Flemish, we did have a good time making fun of the spelling of the words.

So, we spent our several hours after the tour and boat ride wandering in a couple Flemish painting museums, in the main church, which has a Michelangelo Madonnna and child and a Caravaggio hanging on the wall, and wandering the streets. We opted for the not-so-healthy lunch options, and ordered Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. They were the best waffles I've ever had! Such an amazing lunch, I may have been a little over excited. We also shopped and bought a ton of chocolate. On our way down one street we even saw a woman making lace. It was absolutely riveting! She moved incredibly fast with these handles of thread, and kept placing pins to make the lace pattern. She was clearly practiced, but she did not make it look easy. She just made it look incredibly complicated and almost magical.

In the afternoon, we rounded up again and rode the bus home. Everyone on the bus was asleep within ten minutes, just like we were little kids who tired themselves out running around all day. We did get to see the most beautiful rainbow on the way home! It's pretty late now that we're back, so we're going to retire soon. Tomorrow is our last full day to spend in Paris! I can't believe it. Sunday we head to Disney and then Wednesday we leave! Eek! Tomorrow I'll try to push the family a little more than today or yesterday because I still have stuff I want to see!

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow! Bonsoir!

Bonjour everyone! We headed to Giverny this morning to see Monet's gardens. Even though I had been there just over a week ago with my class, it was still really beautiful to go back. My mother is a big Impressionist, and specifically Monet, fan, so she was looking forward to seeing the gardens again. While my mom and brother were walking around, I sat with my new watercolor set and painted a few quick sheets. As usual, I got a lot of responses from other people passing by, so my brother was tempted to try to sell what I was working on to other tourists. He knows I just end up giving everything away for free. :)

In the afternoon we continued our Impressionist day and visited the Orangerie Museum where Monet's last waterlily paintings are hanging in a very cool oval room designed with those paintings in mind. It was especially awesome to compare them to where we had just been!

After the Orangerie, we headed over the river to the Musee d'Orsay, the museum for just Impressionism and Post-Impressionism works. We saw, of course, the really famous paintings, several of which are special favorites of ours since the scenes are composed into sculpture in the sculpture garden we visit all the time. Once we saw pretty much everything we wanted to see we were insanely tired, so we went back home.

Tonight we are heading out to dinner with a friend of my mom's close friend and her daughter, who's my age. I think my kid brother will stay in tonight, since he's not feeling well after a particularly harsh bus ride coming home from the museum. Above are some photos from Giverny, and one of a sculpture outside the train station in Paris we found intriguing. We are going on an all-day tour to Bruges tomorrow, which should be very exciting! Haven't been to Belgium before...well, off to dinner soon, so bonsoir!

Hooray, my family has finally arrived in Paris! After getting delayed in Dublin all day, my mother and brother arrived in Paris late evening yesterday. We scrapped our plans for last night and decided to slept until we, or at least I, woke up. Well this morning we headed out to Versailles to see the chateau, and because of the gloomy weather and occasional drizzling, it wasn't nearly as crowded as we had feared. It was a blast to go back after everything I've learned in class, and it's fun to be with family who are excited to see it after such a long time. We spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon there, and then headed back to Paris.

In the mid-afternoon, we decided to do the walking tour of the Latin Quarter that was planned for yesterday, and we also did the Musee National du Moyen Age. That museum, with the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, was one of my favorites and it was really great to go back with time to see what I was interested in. I really wanted every book in the gift shop! When I go into Medieval French art as a discipline, I'll start building my library. :)

After the museum, Shakespeare & Co. bookstore, and a few churches, we headed over to Luxembourg gardens. There we rented a little sailboat that we pushed into the center of the fountain with a bamboo pole. The boats were simple, but really amazingly well-constructed and we have a really good time comparing them to full-sized boats. We have to see if we can get one of our own online!

After a busy day that tired out all of us, I think we are going to call it a night and go to bed early. The rain that just started letting down sort of dampened our plans, too.

Tomorrow we are off to Giverny in the morning! We'll see about the weather to judge our afternoon plans. Hope you enjoy the new photos! I'm actually in some of them now...

Bonsoir everyone!

Today was my big planning day before the family comes. I ran all my errands, the bank, picking up tickets for the Louvre, Orsay, and the Orangerie Museum. I bought my RER ticket to meet them at the airport tomorrow, and my bags are packed, ready for the hotel to move them to my new room. Phew.

Besides all the running around for tomorrow, I did manage to visit the museum I wanted to see. It's called the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, and has an exhibit up on Spanish painting from Dali to El Greco. After five weeks of my course on French art, it seemed almost sacrilegious to go see something not French. The exhibit was cool, but would have been cooler if my audio guide wasn't too low on batteries to work. I was forced to read the written descriptions and text, which of course were only in French, but this actually turned out a plus. I learned that while I can't identify, let alone pronounce, every word, I can actually read French. How exciting is that?! I really want to see if I can fit the course French for Reading Knowledge into my semester this fall. If I want to continue with art history after undergrad, I'm going to have to be able to read both French and German! Eek.

After the special exhibit I attempted to return to the main collection, because I heard it is huge and incredible. Well, because I am seriously directionally impaired, I found myself outside the museum, and way far away from the entrance again. This isn't to mention that I got seriously lost just getting to the museum. I'm really pathetic, I know. I probably could have returned and made my way back to the permanent collection, but I just decided that since I was getting tired already I'd cut my losses and just look at the private house part of the museum. After what I've studied about French architecture, I went around each room testing myself on which century and art movement each decoration or piece of furniture belonged to. I love when you can identify something by just background knowledge! Art history is awesome.

Anyways, after the museum visit I finished up my work for tomorrow, like informing the front desk that I am the same person who is checking back in tomorrow in a different room, and repacking everything. I have my new map, my recharged Navigo metro pass, my RER ticket, a new phone card, and the flight number and terminal written down. I think I'm all set. Wish me luck with coordinating everything!
Bonsoir!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days! I think class finally caught up with me and made me lazy for a little while. I have settled into the new hotel, although tomorrow I change rooms, so I can't get too settled. My class ended somewhat anticlimactically, and it was strange when we all began to leave. On Friday we began our day at the Musee du Quai Branly, which is a museum for African, Asian, Oceanic, and American art, designed by Jean Nouvel. I was hesitant about visiting this museum after we experienced the Institut du Monde Arabe, a building that terrified me. The Quai Branly, however, was very cool! The museum only opened in 2006, and I've been told that a new generation of curators have taken over in France. Well, this museum I think does a wonderful job of offering what is expected from a museum today. The building is funky, and fun to walk through, with different spaces and lighting that are somewhat unexpected but fit together nicely. The exhibits were interactive, innovative, and not the typically white walls full of art. I actually wish I had had more time there! If this museum shows what the new generation of curators are trying to do, count me in! I'm a supporter of teaching within a museum, so that anyone, not just field experts, can understand and appreciate art, and Quai Branly I think did that pretty well.

After Quai Branly, we went to the Palais de Tokyo, a museum with work from current artists. This museum was exactly the type of museum I don't much enjoy. The building's interior had tall, white walls, big rooms with about three pieces per room, and little stickers with just the artist's name and title of their work in the typical print that's too small for anyone to read. The work didn't impress me too much, but I know others enjoyed it. I think some art students prefer the bare gallery look. We had lunch at this museum, at the outside cafe. I think it was our best meal all together! Our professor and TA joined us, and we had a real vegetarian option (thank you professor!). It was ratatouille, so, as most of you know I'm obsessed with Pixar and Disney, I was insanely excited to eat this in Paris! It was good food, and we all let down a little since it was our last day and had fun. Lunch was the last definite thing on the schedule, although some people went to the Arc de Triomphe in the late afternoon. My roomies and another friend in our class and her visiting friend from home and I all chilled out in the evening. We went out by where we lived and bought some mangoes, which have been really amazing here, and had an outdoor fresh dinner.

Saturday morning my roommates left pretty early, so I didn't really do anything but wake up and say goodbye to them. I left about 11, after significant tidying of the apartment so we wouldn't be charged for extra cleaning, and I had decided on walking to the new hotel. Since my room wasn't going to be ready until about 1, I stopped on the way and headed to Luxembourg gardens, found myself a bench and read for a few hours. It was so relaxing and amazing! Once I got to the hotel and into my room, I went and explored the area. It is really fantastic here! There's so much going on, and so any food options, I'm sort of blown away. I didn't even realize I was living in the middle of nowhere in Paris.

Sunday morning I worked a bit more on the scheduling for when the family members come on Tuesday, fleshing out opening times and transportation. In the afternoon I wandered across the Ile de la Cite and over to Ile St. Louis, the neighboring island. It was an absolutely perfect day to walk around, and I grabbed some lunch. I admit, I ended up taking a pretty long nap in the afternoon, before going back to the Pompidou. I guess class every day had tired me out more than I expected. This week is going to be probably even more intense! Anyways, that was definitely the fastest weekend I've had here, and now it's Monday morning! I have some planning to do today, some museum tickets to pick up, and I want to visit a museum I was recommended. I saved it for today because no other museums will be open. Well, I suppose I'm off then.

Sidenote: yesterday I bought a container of milk and box of cereal (I have a mini fridge in the room) and brought it home for dinner. When I got back, I realized I had a bowl that I bought a few weeks ago, but no spoon. After looking through everything I own to see if anything was spoon-shaped, I resorted to my best idea. I used the bottom of a plastic cup and taped it to an ice-cream tasting spoon I had. Just call me McGyver, please. It works well, although sometimes it tastes a little like scotch tape, and you have to slurp to use it, but... Still, I am now certain of my ability to eat anywhere, anytime, using anything. :) I even have a photo to show off my little invention (credit to my mother for helping my through skype with spoon ideas).

Okay, I'm off now. Sorry I don't have any other photos of the last few days, it's been a little too crazy for that. I'm excited to pick up my mom and brother tomorrow! It'll be good to travel with people I'm used to traveling with. And I'll have someone else to take my picture again, haha. I'll try to be more regular with the posts and keep you updated! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Today is the last day of my program! I can't believe it!

Yesterday we had sort of a weird class schedule. We did the Institut du Monde Arabe in the morning. That was just about the most frightening and downright scary building I've been in. Admittedly, the lense-like designs on the one facade that open and close to let in more or less light were pretty cool. That said, this building is very narrow, with very low ceilings and entirely too much glass. Two outside walls are made of glass as well as four interior walls, so that what's left is a cramped hallway around a glass courtyard. This building is also high, and we were advised to begin our tour of the building from the 9th, the top, floor. Well, needless to say, there is also a glass elevator. For someone afraid of heights and falling, the building, famously designed by Jean Nouvel, was my worst nightmare. All this wasn't even the worst part. For our lecture we all went across to another part of the building to see the panoramic view of Paris. All of us, that is, except me, who looked at the suspended, (yup, you guessed it) glass bridge that was 9 stories above the ground, where I questioned the sanity of anyone willing to risk thier lives walking over that thing. Well, in the end I finally convinced myself to try it, and I got across it, but not before a serious rise in heart rate. Then I had to deal with getting back over the bridge...

Anyways, what I'm saying is, you'd better enjoy these panoramic views of Paris I took!

After this part of class, we were free for most of the day. I decided to go in search of my teddy bear store in the Marais. I found it, but nothing remotely like the bear I was looking for, so I'm still not sure that that's the window I saw. I wandered there for a bit and then decided to head over to the Left Bank to try and find the new hotel I move to on Saturday. I had looked it up once, a few weeks ago, and the Metro map I had on me didn't have the street it was supposed to be on, so I was worried about not finding it. Well, thanks to my mother's excellent choice of hotel, I didn't really need a map, because it's only about a block in from the Seine! So I stopped in and asked about check-in times, and so I am feeling much more relieved that I know what I am doing tomorrow! I am already packed to leave, just have my shampoo and tomorrow's clothes left. My roommates, it appears, are not.

In the evening yesterday, we finally had the last part of our class, which took place at the Beaubourg, also called the Pompidou. This is the modern art museum of Paris, and is quite large, and in a building with modern architecture. I had been here before, but not up to the exhibits, and, as I've been in something of an inspirational lull with my art recently, I had actually not been looking forward to visiting here. Well, I misjudged myself entirely. Our class ended up spending two and a half hours there, until almost 9:00, when it closes. We saw all the modern works and movements that I've studied the most, and it was actually really inspiring and relaxing to see works I knew about and loved. We looked at Duchamp, Kandinsky, Delauney (both husband and wife), Dali, Pollack, Klein, Rothko, Whiteread, etc. It was fantastic! I decided that I'd like to spend one of my weekend days there, and it's easy and close to get to, which is excellent!

And now today, we have our final class. We are visiting the Quai Branly, mainly, and have some other tour, but I'm not sure what it is. It will be a very long day, that I do know! We are scheduled from about 10 in the morning until our last tour at 4, with a group farewell lunch somewhere in the middle. I'm probably crazy, but I decided since it's the last day, to dress up a little and even wear my fancy crocs (yes, I have fancy crocs!) and a dress. Not really sure how today will go, but I think it will be intense. It's penciled into our own schedules for all of us to have dinner together tonight, but that might get canceled if people need to pack. I am going to be a little sad this is ending. Class was really cool, and I love Paris. I am really looking forward to having a hotel room to myself for a few days though. And I am very excited to see some of my family on Tuesday! I'm thinking a college that runs all their classes like this one is in order. I would definitely attend!

Oh, funny story: remember the friend I met up with on Saturday? Well, she hadn't called to hang out again, so I figured she was busy getting ready to fly home at the end of the week. Wouldn't you know it, when I'm strolling around the Marais, I literally run into her and her French boyfriend! How crazy is that? I hadn't even planned on being in the Marais until after my morning class ended. Very weird, but totally awesome.

Ok, have to go now. Have to stop by the bank and get myself a French breakfast this morning before leaving for class! This is the last time, after all. I will try to keep posting on the blog, because I will be in Paris another week and a half, I just won't have class. Hope today goes as well as it can! Bonjour everyone! Happy Friday!

Included are some photos of the Institut du Monde Arabe, and the panoramic views I risked my life for...