C'est Chouette !

Sunday, 13 October 2013

Les Feux d'Artifice et Un Fabuleux Destin

On Saturday evening, some friend and I took ourselves along to Blanche metro station, past the neon lights of the Moulin Rouge and to the 'Cafe des Deux Moulins', made famous by the French classic 'Le Fableux Destin d'Amelie Poulain', or more commonly 'Amelie' in England.

The two famous windmills for which the café is named.

The bar is named for the 'two windmills' located to its left and right - Le Moulin Rouge and Le Moulin de la Galette. It was happy hour until 10 o'clock so cocktails were €6.00 instead of €10.00 (outrageous, but cheap for Paris!)

I sipped on a Cosmopolitan and admired the kitsch Amelie themed decor. The bar had a nice atmosphere and was quite buzzy, plus, the waiters were smiley and efficient and didn't mind me playing tourist with the camera too much.

Screen shot of Amelie in her café: Photo Credits to http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/amelie/quiz/show/35680/employees-customers-cafe-where-amelie-works-what-name-occupation-not-match

Next, we climbed to the top of Montmartre for the 'Fete des Vendanges' (Celebration of the Vineyards), where stallholders offered wine tasting, saucisson and the smell of freshly baked crepes filled the air. We got there just in time to see the fireworks end -they were spectacular. It was super busy, so we had to link arms and force our way through the crowds, before breaking free into the courtyard beside Sacre-Coeur where a Scottish ceilidh troupe played bagpipe music. It felt like New Year's Eve!

I'll have to make a return visit to Montmartre when there's more room to breathe - I want to explore a little more this area where bohemian music halls, cabarets and artists' workshops flourished. 'Moulin Rouge', directed by Baz Lurhmann, 'Amelie' starring Audrey Tautou and 'La Vie en Rose', a biopic of the life of Edith Piaf were all set here so there's a lot of trivia and history to soak up - not to mention the painters (Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Pisarro, The Nabis) who drew inspiration from the hallowed hill.

The area is probably a little dilapidated now, as the Charles Aznavour song suggests, and Pigalle at night isn't very lovely: Je ne reconnais plus/Ni les murs, ni les rues/Qui ont vu ma jeunesse/En haut d'un escalier/Je cherche l'atelier/Dont plus rien ne subsiste/Dans son nouveau décor/Montmartre semble triste/Et les lilas sont morts.

However, I'm willing to give it a chance if someone can suggest some nice hang-outs!
After a lovely weekend, it's back to Alfred de Vigny, Guillaume Apollinaire and Hugo for me!

À Bientôt !

Musée Rodin

Yesterday, I finally righted a huge wrong & paid a visit to the Musee Rodin with some friends. Free for European students under the age of 26, and nestled within a beautiful sculpture garden, I highly recommend a visit.

The only downside is that within the museum there didn't seem to be much information about the great man himself, so I dredged up whatever information I could remember from my 'Art History in the Belle Epoque' course and cobbled together a (probably factually dubious) commentary as we strolled from room to room.

The building itself is incredibly beautiful and the collection is contained enough to be able to enjoy all the sculptures, some of Rodin's earlier paintings (who knew?!) and even some works by Van Gogh, Monet and Camille Claudel.

In the gardens we admired the awe-inspiring 'The Gates of Hell', and the famous study for the figurehead of the gate, 'The Thinker'.

Matching Duffle Coats

Now an image popularly used to represent Philosophy, in class we were told that the figure was possibly Dante contemplating his 'Divine Comedy' which the gate depicts, or even atheistic man usurping the place where Jesus Christ sits in traditional morality paintings of heaven and hell, contemplating a nihilistic universe & unable to provoke change. It was quite sobering, so we headed inside for a warming drink and a chat in the Museum cafe.

The beautiful museum gardens

The weather has just turned, it's so cold out! I dug out my duffle coat and suddenly resembled a cross between Paddington and Rupert Bear.

I believe that the museum is free on the first Sunday of every month. The stickers which are given out on 'free entry' days are stuck all over the outside of the building. A nice tradition - I think, it makes me smile when I walk past!

À Bientôt !

Thursday, 10 October 2013

Food with Friends

In the past couple of days I've had fun catching up with friends - food and conversation that warms your belly and warms the cockles of your heart ;) On Tuesday night, I had a movie night with a girl from university and we tucked into some piping hot, cheesy, melty comfort food: the extremely healthy combination of pizza and jacket potatoes. I'm sure the French would not approve.

On Wednesday I passed up my usual swim to hang out with the girls from Durham & UCL. It felt so good to be back with people I could relax around - and they took me to new favourite 'Blend' in Le Marais for cookies & coffee. It's primarily a burger bar which puts 'Paris-New York' to shame - so that's definitely one on the 'To Do' list. We had fun catching up & telling each other funny stories of our escapades in our separate lectures & classes these past few weeks.

In the evening I went to meet my French 'Tandem' partner. If you are doing any kind of Erasmus/exchange year, I'd recommend signing up. It's an easy way to meet a friend in the area who is also keen to get to know you & show you their city. You speak for 30 minutes in French, for 30 minutes (or so) in English and then it's not so tiring as you get to relax when you're in your own language. I got to try the 'PSL' Pumpkin Spiced Latte from Starbucks that everyone is raving about at the moment. It was good, but at €4.00 I won't be getting it again in a hurry!

Think I might have to wave the white flag & accept the French and their undeterred attempts to rename me.

Today, I had a TD (Travaux Dirige, or seminar/tutorial) which runs from 12-3; right over lunch. I hadn't brought anything with me, but a lovely girl shared the tarte aux framboises that her Mum had packed as a sweet treat for the break. Just a bite was a nice energy boost to keep me going for the rest of the seminar.

This weekend might have to be a bit of a detox to compensate!

À Bientôt !

Wednesday, 9 October 2013

10 Things

I can't quite believe that I've been in Paris for a little over a month. It seems like only yesterday that I came up the steps of my local metro station into the bright sunshine and caught my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. I felt an enormous sense of relief, and since then my trepidation has lessened as my excitement has grown. I love love love this city, and day by day I'm finding more things I like about it. Here are my Top 10 Parisian sights and sounds.

1) Parisians buying their daily baguette, ripping off a piece & sneaking a taste as they make their way home for dinner.

Photo Credit: http://www.yanidel.com/Pictures/man%20eat%20baguette%20paris%20HR.jpg

2) The blind man at the Gare St. Lazare who has a great taste in music, which he plays each morning on a jukebox whilst I wait for the metro.

3) Themed metro stations, especially The Sorbonne-Cluny where the signatures of famous authors are written in mosaic on the roof.

4) Haussmannian Architecture and wide tree-lined boulevards.

5) Da Rocco, the Italian Deli where the owner waves at me when I walk past.

6) Parisians who have dressed in stripes, who have moustaches, or who are walking poodles. The cliches do come from somewhere!

7) Mail in my own little mailbox at home. I just love getting post!

8) Rue St. Simon and The Aurore Statue near home. One reminds me of my Dad, and the other of my Grandma. The statue is called "Les Ailes de l'Aurore" which is the French translation of "the wings of the dawn", a line from Psalm 139 which my Grandma knows I love.

9) Coming home to my cute little room, a cup of tea & my very English quilt. Still a Brit at heart.

10) The Eiffel Tower, which keeps popping up proudly against the sky-line. Bravo, Monsieur Eiffel.

À Bientôt !

Paris from my Phone

À Bientôt !

Monday, 7 October 2013

Parisian Pals

Being an Erasmus student is hard. With minimal language, it's difficult to make jokes, be yourself and show that you actually have a personality. I feel like a fool every time I have to say 'pardon ?' and ask someone to repeat themselves. Teachers tend to ignore you in class, French students (understandably) already have friends and it sometimes feels like a miracle that anyone would reach out to you! So, I feel very lucky to have been befriended by a group of French/French speaking girls in my lectures at Malesherbes.

With Arabic, French and English as common tongues within the group, we've been speaking a bit of a "melange" of languages - who knows, perhaps by the end of the year we'll all be fluent in all three ;) So far we've just been having lunch together and drinking coffee, after bonding at Soiree de Rentree at Le Barilleur in the 5e arrondissement.

Bonding at La Barilleur :)

Shopping at La Defense

Free Nespresso Coffee at La Defense

My coffee was quite strong - can you tell?!

Unfortunately expensive hot chocolate at Malesherbes

Next on the cards, we might branch out from drinking beverages..a trip to the Musee Rodin is on the cards - watch this space.

À Bientôt !

Parinspiration

One of the things I like most about Paris is that it is exactly how you might imagine it to be from the pictures. Sure, there are the less beautiful areas around the Gare du Nord and Pigalle. But an evening in my local area is enough to reassure you that Paris is exactly the city of your mind, where elegant figures swan down dusky boulevards and sip wine together. Besniers the Bakers where you can see Father and Son kneading dough in the shop window each morning and Parisians nonchalantly wearing breton stripes. Old men with handle-bar moustaches shuffling down the road, their arms a benevolent cradle and all the time in the world on their hands, which are clasped earnestly behind their backs. The Eiffel Tower is such an icon of the imagination that you have to blink when you see it like a paper cutting tacked onto a blue paper sky.

On Pinterest I've been collecting cute images of Paris. 'Parinspiration' if you will...ok, I'll stop with the terrible puns! It's so addictive and like having a free magazine, art gallery and DIY book rolled into one at the click of a finger. Here are a few of my favourite Paris pictures: