Rue Scribe

La Grande Mosquée de Paris

2010-07-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Emperor Himself

2010-07-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

Big Bites

2010-07-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Baklava! We found that Murciano sold delicious, sticky-but-not-soggy baklava with just the right balance between sweet and nutty flavors.

One of our best friends in Paris.

Yum!

Going Up

2010-07-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

Climbing the Eiffel Tower!

Pizza Party

2010-07-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

We love pizza!

We each got our own. Pizza is personal.

Yes!

Trois fromages.

Nom.

A sundry of toppings.

In Oberkampf. Arlecchino makes all of their pizzas fresh and will bake them to your liking.

Brugge

2010-07-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Perfect for a day trip.

The view from the top of the belfry was lovely and the trip up was quick and painless.

The boat ride on the canals was my favorite activity. I love waterways.

Bruxelles

2010-07-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

To Brussels I went. Thanks Nadim for hosting me!

PB & J

2010-07-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

Without this holy combination Meggie and I would surely perish.

I salute you.

Thanks for all the good times.

Quai Branly

2010-07-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

This museum is worth it.

Normandy and le Cimetière Américain

2010-07-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

"... the United States Army Air Forces & the Royal Air Force incessantly attacked deep into enemy territory to dislocate and destroy his military & industrial systems."

"This embattled shore portal of freedom."

"Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God."

"Welcome to our Liberators."

Tarte Normande.

Easy to Love

2010-07-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Why don't you love me?
Tell me, baby, why don't you love me
When I make me so damn easy to love?

Dejeuner sur l'Herbe

2010-07-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Picnic

2010-07-11T18:45:00.001-07:00

I brought back some scrumptious homemade chocolates from Belgium and then we ate them.

They tasted like victory.

18!

2010-07-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Ash! I hope you have the best day and I'll see you in one week!

Date Night

2010-07-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our date consisted of a galette and crêpe dinner at Breizh café in the Marais followed by a boat ride on the Seine. Meggie, thank you for pursuing the boat tour despite my being... difficult. I'm glad your perseverance prevailed.

Galette with puréed cod, chorizo, gruyère, and greens.

Crêpe with bananas, caramel, and vanilla ice cream.

Crêpe with bananas, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream.

Breizh café, 109 rue Vieille du Temple

The literal translation of bauteux-mouches is "fly-boats."
Curiouser and curiouser.

Sceaux

2010-07-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

Sceaux is a banlieue of Paris, but not a banlieue in the sense of La Haine (my go-to banlieue reference). When Meg and I visited, we walked down the main streets of Sceaux, visited Jean Baptiste-Colbert's château, ambled through the arboretum, and explored l'Île Verte. Sceaux is great. Sort of like a modern version of Belle's town in Beauty and the Beast. Thank you Théo for showing us around!

Arboretum.

The most amazing roots.

Tree fingers.

8 feet tall reeds.

Look what I found.

Rad bench.

l'Île Verte.

Diners Are Forever

2010-07-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

My love for pancakes, burgers, shakes, waffles and fries is forever.

What a gal.

Yum! Pristine.

So fluffy. So light.

The cheeseburger ate my face.

Les Écoles

2010-07-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hi to my family! I wanted you to see where I attended school. I took these a bit ago, but I was nervous to post them until I got my results. I believe in jinxes, clearly.

The Jardin du Luxembourg, which was right in between my two schools and served as my lunch-yard.

Sailboats in the fountain!

The walk to school.

Michelet, for Art history and Archeology License 3.

Had to pass by this guy all the time. Hmmm... not too nice.

My XIXe T.D. classroom (T.D. stands for travaux dirigés and it's comparable to a section in the States).

The park right next to Michelet.

Sorbonne.

The Sorbonne courtyard.

The chapel and construction. Construction sites follow me everywhere!

The amphitheater where I had my French lit lecture. There normally wasn't a piano in there.

Consumption

2010-07-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

The soldes started this week in Paris. Early on Wednesday morning when I was waiting for my bus out by the Lafayette department stores I promised myself, for both financial and physical reasons, that I would not be participating in soldes shopping when I witnessed the lines (i.e. formless gaggles of people) waiting to be the first to reap the benefits of reduced prices. That resolution was unsurprisingly broken four hours later when I persuaded Meg to come with me to the APC and Merci soldes.

111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris, 75003

I love Merci so much. It is a lovely, spacious store filled with beautiful clothes, household items, and paper goods. They also have two pretty cafes, a cherry bread pudding that I am dying to try, and a swell restaurant downstairs. I would definitely add Merci to any Paris shopping list.

I scored a sweater, a flannel shirt, and a groovy pencil pack.

Much fatigued by our shopping excursion and the extreme heat, Meg and I sought energy from Speculoos cookies, arguably our favorite French snack, which isn't even French. Go figure. These crack cookies are so delicious. They've the addictiveness of Thin Mints sans the mint and taste like brown sugar, cinnammon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. I don't know why I am blathering on about them because you can get them in the States, but probably not in the impressive four-pack. Thank goodness I discovered them at the end of the semester!

Boom.

As we are committed to feasting like kings, we obviously had to buy the Speculoos spread when we learned of its existence.

On a baguette. Delightful.

Double the fun.

Rocks and Bones

2010-06-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

We went to la Cimitière du Père Lachaise the other day and conquered it like champions. An efficient map system was constructed. Some graves were found. Some graves remained unfound.

Colette.

Heloïse and Abelard.

David and a tribute to the master via mirrored reenactment.

Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784

Conquering!

Wilde.

Géricault.

The map.

Delacroix.

Womp.

Uhhh... wait really?

Duchamp? Unlikely.

Thwarted in our quest to find Daumier.

Splat!

2010-06-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

An advertising victory.

Hakone

2010-06-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

When my mom and I were in Japan, we visited Hakone, a small city known for its onsen hot springs. The mountains of Hakone, covered in black lava rock, were lush and peaceful and I loved the main street of the town, which was lined with ceramics and food vendors. Here, I happily discovered that Hakone produces an enormous amount of mochi and then I ate it all.

We stayed at the Fukuzumiro ryokan, which is an extremely traditional Japanese ryokan with three beautiful hot springs. Our guide, Tamake-san, took care of us during our stay and fed us an eight-course dinner (I've posted photos of some of the items from five of the eight courses) and a big breakfast. I love you, Tamake-san!

This was the first course, which also came with udon that was cooked over a low flame on the table.

Sashimi.

Pink soba noodles. So cute!

Grilled fish and pickled radish.

Shumai, miso, rice, matcha, and tsukemono.

Breakfast.

Thanks mom for taking me!

When It's Hot

2010-06-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

Eat ice cream! The humidity in Paris is intolerable. Observe us battling it with a variety of frozen treats.

Sun Sun Sun

2010-06-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Puces Pt. Deux

2010-06-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

Giverny

2010-06-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Monet's home. The rooms of the house are painted in bright yellows, blues and greens, and the walls are covered with framed Japanese prints.

A tired camper.

A moment of glorious repose.

Where Cassatt and Sargent came to stay.

Baguette d'Or

2010-06-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Undoubtedly, the most winning aspect of French culture is the baguette. Meg and I went to taste "the best baguette in Paris" baked by Djibril Bodian of Le Grenier à Pain Abbsesses in the 18th arrondissement, who recently won the "Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville de Paris." This annual competition judges baguette entries on appearance, baking, aroma, the crumb, and taste. Below is a short history of bread in France that I got off of parisnotebook.wordpress.com.

"Bread consumption began to rapidly dwindle in the 20^th century falling from 620 grams per person in the early 1900s to just 150 grams in the early 1990s. Unfortunately quality began to suffer as well. Bread quality plummeted during the two World Wars when rations and conditions made bread making particularly difficult.

Modernisation of the industry in the 1960s didn’t help. The thirst for “white” bread made from flour enhanced with additives like ascorbic acid and fava bean flour, over kneaded and quickly churned-out without long fermentation, produced a white, but tasteless crumb, and almost spelled the end of a century’s old tradition.

Thankfully, a handful of artisan bakers, millers and experts fought to preserve the integrity of French bread and insure that truly good bread remained a part of French heritage. The State had a hand as well and in 1993 enacted a “French bread law” which stated that “baguettes de tradition” must be mixed, kneaded, leavened and baked on premises, without ever being frozen. They must also be additive-free and can contain only four precious ingredients–wheat flour, water, salt and yeast."

T.G. for baguettes!

And it tasted mighty fine!

Introducing...

2010-06-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Meg! Meg is one of my closest friends and has come to reside with me in Paris for my final month, while she researches her thesis. I suspect we will have many adventures.

Kettle's Yard

2010-06-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

While in Cambridge, Katherine and I visited Kettle's Yard. It completely won me over. If you are ever in London you must make the trip to Cambridge to see Kettle's Yard (among other things, of course)! Here is a description of the home from its website:

Between 1958 and 1973 Kettle's Yard was the home of Jim and Helen Ede. In the 1920s and 30s Jim had been a curator at the Tate Gallery in London. Thanks to his friendships with artists and other like-minded people, over the years he gathered a remarkable collection, including paintings by Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Alfred Wallis, Christopher Wood, David Jones and Joan Miro, as well as sculptures by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

At Kettle's Yard Jim carefully positioned these artworks alongside furniture, glass, ceramics and natural objects, with the aim of creating a harmonic whole. His vision was of a place that should not be: "an art gallery or museum, nor ... simply a collection of works of art reflecting my taste or the taste of a given period. It is, rather, a continuing way of life from these last fifty years, in which stray objects, stones, glass, pictures, sculpture, in light and in space, have been used to make manifest the underlying stability."

Kettle's Yard was originally conceived with students in mind. Jim kept 'open house' every afternoon of term, personally guiding visitors around his home. In 1966 he gave the house and its contents to the University of Cambridge. In 1970, three years before the Edes retired to Edinburgh, the house was extended, and an exhibition gallery added.

http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/

Back!

2010-06-19T16:40:00.001-07:00

I finished my last dissertation yesterday! Woo! I'm now free and ready to enjoy my last month in Paris. During the early part of last week I went to Cambridge and I had a wonderful time (thanks Katherine)!

I ate so many scones! Scones are incredible. This one is from Auntie's and was possibly the best scone I've ever eaten. Yum!

Study Break Pt. Deux

2010-06-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

The Pancake Cure

2010-06-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

I've been studying like mad all week for my assessments on Monday and Tuesday. Most notably, I have to sit a four hour exam on Monday morning. Blerggg. By Tuesday afternoon the majority of my work will be done and I'll be off to Cambridge for a bit! I'm glad to have that trip to look forward to, but given all of the work I have to accomplish before then I can't seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel even though it's only four days away. Four days... uh oh.

Yogi and I took a much needed study break this morning and had a yummy brunch at Breakfast in America. In times of sleep deprivation and mental fatigue, chocolate chip pancakes are a necessity. I can't wait to go home and have Phia make them for me! Her pancakes are the absolute best! (^_^)

Yogi's French toast with strawberries, chocolate and almonds.* The French toast is better in France because they don't soak and slather the bread in egg. Yuck, I hate that. The egg should be lightly brushed on. Yep.

2 x 2 x 2 = my main nourishment for the day.

Delirious yet satiated.**

* Yogi wished to remain unpictured. She looked very lovely today.
** Jorge, there I included myself para ti.

Sleepy Sundays

2010-06-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have some more pictures from Korea, but I'll post them later since I have been back in Paris for exactly one month so I figured I'd revert back.

I studied all this past week and will continue to pound the books, or wordreference.com rather, until Tuesday when my exam period dies down a bit. I sat my first exam yesterday and I think it went fine except for at the end of the test when I was trying to turn in my booklet and the secretary told me that I had to (rough translation) "close it up" and handed it back to me. I looked around to figure out what she was talking about and eventually spotted one girl licking the corner of her booklet and folding over the first page. It was very curious. What must have been more curious was how she felt when she looked up from licking her test to see me fixedly staring at her and performing two staggered hops of embarrassment when I realized she caught me. I smiled awkwardly at her to cover up. She did not smile back. Oh, France.

Anyways, I had a nice, sleepy Sunday. I normally detest them at school because I can never seem to stick to my study schedule and thus have mountains of work on Sundays, but this past one was occupied by chocolate chip pancakes, reading lots of notes, gray skies and rooftop gardens, lighting my new candle, When Harry Met Sally, and shuffling about in my warmest pair of cashmere socks.

I love Duras. If you're looking for summer reading, I think these books would make a great pairing.

Going through notes is always easier when you can reward your progress with chocolate. This is 72% cacao dark chocolate with a ribbon of espelette.

Noodles, I Love Them

2010-05-27T01:43:00.000-07:00

... and I love Kirin and gyoza too!

Asakusa Kannon Temple

2010-05-25T16:18:00.001-07:00

Lovin' the lanterns.

Ship-Shop

2010-05-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Shopping in Tokyo and Seoul was so much fun! These were my favorite places:

SSFW Concept Shop, Seoul

0101 or Marui Department Store, Tokyo

Tsumori Chisato Gold, Tokyo

Hamariyku Gardens

2010-05-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

I'm Grateful for...

2010-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

fish that swim in the sea!

Ghibli

2010-05-21T15:23:00.001-07:00

You can find all things Studio Ghibli at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. My favorite part of the museum were the two small rooms replicating Hayao Miyazaki's office and sitting room. That man reads a lot of books. I also loved the town of Mitaka. It's so pretty and quiet and located moments away from Tokyo!

Glows

2010-05-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

Snack Time

2010-05-21T14:38:00.001-07:00

I love 7-Eleven, especially the one back home that requires me to make an illegal left hand turn to park. I mean, think about it. One beautiful store offering slurpees, magazines, sunblock, Dr. Pepper, batteries and peanut M&Ms. 7-Eleven = greatness.

The French don't understand the concept of convenience, so there aren't any 7-Eleven's in Paris. Major bummer. Lucky for me, they have them everywhere in Japan, but the contents are quite different, and probably for the better. Other than Coke, which seems to have weaseled its way into every convenience store on the surface of the Earth, there are no sodas to speak of, and they've got really cute plastic Starbucks cups containing iced lattes, and pudding and mochi for snacks. I interpret this as representative of why Asians aren't fat.

Pecan Pie

2010-05-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

The best pecan pie in the world (not that I've had them all unfortunately, but we can pretend) is from the Chosun Westin Hotel in Seoul! It is the best! But I can't figure out what in the recipe allows it to be so. What's the secret? Hmmm! Maybe you can tell from the photos...

When I make pecan pie I always add 1-1.5 tsp more cinnamon than whatever recipe I'm using requires. I think it adds a little something, but who knows?

Gyeongbok Palace

2010-05-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

If Missoni designed a palace...

Rawr! Warrior!

2010-05-07T08:48:00.001-07:00

A big hello to samurai Kusunoki Masashige! His statue stands in the park in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. If I were a samurai, I would feel awesome about myself.

And now, a quote:
"You may not be wrong to think that the world is always subject to change, but the warrior must not entertain this way of thinking, for his fate is always determined."

Lost in Translation?

2010-05-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

Tell me. Would you buy clothes from Teenie Weenie: All That Bear?

Pleasureful Travel

2010-05-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

I love the subway in Tokyo! It is the best! The system is incredibly clean and organized. In the trains, no one speaks, which I adore. It was a welcome break from Paris' metro where people yammer on their cellphones non-stop. The trains themselves are much wider than American and European trains and they're air-conditioned when it's warm and heated when it's chilly! And when I say "heated," I mean to say that there are amazing seat-heaters in addition to a soft warmth that permeates the whole train. Sigh. In some cases, there are also televisions in the trains. Not to mention they nicely use rastering in their subway ads. N.B.D.

Meiji Shrine

2010-04-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Meiji Shrine was built in 1920 and was dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. This was my favorite place that I visited in Tokyo. The park was beautiful and the shrine was so peaceful! If you're going to visit (which I strongly encourage!) I recommend reading up on the proper etiquette for the shrine before you go so you can be respectful of the space. It made the visit more meaningful for me too!

You wash your hands and mouth before entering.

Perfect Polo

2010-04-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

I've really liked Fred Perry polos ever since I first saw them in "This Is Britain." Many fine looking men were wearing them in Tokyo. Besides the unattractive price tag, what's not to love? I want one in black please!

Leeum

2010-04-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

Leeum or the Samsung Museum of Art was the best museum I visited this year. Its collection is varied and dynamic and the space is beautiful. If you are ever in Seoul, you must pay a visit to Leeum.

Hi Seoul!

2010-04-24T04:39:00.000-07:00

Long ice cream, I love you! Pictured are the masterminds of long ice cream.

This is one tall cone of frozen yogurt for approximately $1.25. Take that $5 Pinkberry and $3.75 Yogurtland!

Lee Jeong Lok

2010-04-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

I saw Lee Jeong Lok's series "private sacred place" in the gallery of the 63 Building, which is the second tallest skyscraper in Seoul. The gallery occupies the building's top floors and is surrounded by windows, so it feels like an exhibition space in the sky.

Lee Jeong Lok, private sacred place #1-3, 2008

Pretty pretty. I think I will make a miniature for my room with a branch and LED lights.

National Museum of Contemporary Art

2010-04-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Noryangjin Fish Market

2010-04-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Noryangjin fish market is the best place to find fresh seafood in Seoul. I couldn't recognize half of the creatures they had over there. Every morning at 5 a.m. there is a live auction where the best catch is sold to restaurants etc., but that was far too early. I love my sleep! I went at 10:30 a.m., which is probably the least busy time of day. I didn't want to be jostled right into a pile of raw fish!

Oh, how to choose?

"Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers." - Hoover

Palling around.

Sashimi! It was amazing to see the fishmongers clean, debone, filet, cut, etc. the fish. They've some mad skills.

The sharkmonger.

The fishwife. She sold us abalone, shrimp, octopi and a red sea cucumber. I really wanted to buy some red snapper, but to do that I would have had to purchase the whole live fish.

Sorting!

Aerial view. The market is vast!

After you select your seafood, you take it up to the restaurants on the second level of the warehouse where they clean and prepare it for you...

Then you eat! I loved abalone, which I don't think I've tried before. I also liked the shrimp, which they grilled and seasoned with sesame oil and rock salt. I also tried... live octopus! Well, it wasn't actually alive, but the octopus's tentacles were still wriggling around after they cleaned and cut it up. It was creepy to see them all squirming around the plate. The restaurants used to serve the little octopi whole, but then some people nearly choked to death so they stopped. I was pretty scared to eat the wiggling piece of octopus, but I was told that if you chew really fast you can't tell it's moving. I don't think I've ever chewed faster.

Arrival

2010-04-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Seoul and where did I go straight from the airport? Can you guess?

I went to a bakery. What is wrong with me?! In my defense, my mom wanted to go there "to get some bread for breakfast," so I was very much a victim of her gustatory schemes. I've been paranoid about my bread addiction for the past week as I visited my neighborhood boulangerie so many times that on the fifth day my favorite bakery man looked up, saw me and stated, "It's nice to be seeing so much of you lately."

Great, just great. This is coupled with the fact that I tried a bunch of pastries like pain au chocolat aux amandes and caramel éclair because I was leaving Paris for spring break and couldn't bear to deviate from my pâtisserie exploration schedule.

We visited Kim Young Mo bakery and of course the store was packed with samples of everything. Crazed by jet-lag (not really), I darted around packing my cheeks full like a giant squirrel. I loved this doughnut, which was covered in sugar and filled with a cherry-blossom infused red bean paste. It smelled just like the blossoms and tasted great too!

http://www.k-breadshop.com/home_index.php

Oh the Crime

2010-04-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

"Crime et Chatîment" is up at the Musée d'Orsay right now and it is amazing! A description from the Musée d'Orsay's website:

"The exhibition Crime and Punishment looks at a period of some two hundred years: from 1791, when Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau called for the abolition of the death penalty, to 30 September 1981, the date the bill was passed to abolish it in France. Throughout these years, literature created many criminal characters. The title of the exhibition is itself taken from a work by Dostoyevsky. In the press, particularly the illustrated daily newspapers, the powerful fantasy of violent crime was greatly increased through novels.

At the same time, the criminal theme came into the visual arts. In the work of the greatest painters, Goya, Géricault, Picasso and Magritte, images of crime or capital punishment resulted in the most striking works. The cinema too was not slow to assimilate the equivocal charms of extreme violence, transformed by its representation into something pleasurable, perhaps even into sensual pleasure.

It was at the end of the 19th century that a new theory appeared purporting to establish a scientific approach to the criminal mind. This tried to demonstrate that the character traits claimed to be found in all criminals, could also be found in their physiological features. Theories like these had a great influence on painting, sculpture and photography. Finally, the violence of the crime was answered by the violence of the punishment: how can we forget the ever-present themes of the gibbet, the garrotte, the guillotine and the electric chair?"

Sigh, I love theme-based shows. Curated by Jean Clair, the exhibition established an interesting and useful chronology that began with the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, moved to the French revolution, and roughly terminated in the late 18th century with an examination of Bentham's Panopticon and the visual aspects of criminological studies. The images were arresting, powerful and really scary. Beware!

Jean-Joseph Weerts, Assassination of Marat, 1886

Jeremy Bentham, Panopticon, 1787

René Magritte, Wanted: $2,000 Reward, 1923

Edgar Degas, Interior or Le Viol, 1868-69

Rouen

2010-04-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

I went to Rouen last Friday and I had a great time! Rouen was the home of Flaubert, boasts the Cathédral Notre-Dame de Rouen, and was the site of Joan of Arc's imprisonment and death. I really enjoyed the colorful geometric patterning that decorated the majority of buildings in Rouen and the amazing tart I ate at lunch, which was filled with the cheese and apples that Normandy is known for.

Tower where Joan of Arc was imprisoned.

The patterned buildings of Rouen.

Big church. I couldn't take a picture of the cathedral Monet painted because my camera ran out of battery. Bummer!

Skull engravings.

Bagels, I Love Them

2010-04-04T04:35:00.001-07:00

I ate my first bagel in three months at Breakfast in America, which is surprisingly popular among French and Americans alike. I liked the bagel experience at BIA because I got to toast my own bagel using the toaster that was stationed at the table. Pretty pretty useful!

Jardin du Luxuembourg

2010-03-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Saw Alice au pays des merveilles. Twas great! It wasn't like the books at all, which I normally think is better because then I don't have to compare and lament bits being included and left out etc., and the costumes were super. I saw it in 3D or "trois-D" in French. Dang! French people take their movie-going very seriously. I should have realized this after observing movie theaters (there are over three hundred in Paris) on every street corner . The theater where we saw Alice had over 700 seats. I think it was the largest I've ever been too.

You can find Wonderland in Paris at the Jardin du Luxembourg. All of my classes are right around this garden, so I eat lunch there a bunch and walk around grounds after class.

The 11th

2010-03-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

Friends, I'm living in the 11th arrondisement by the intersection of Parmentier and Oberkampf. I love this neighborhood for its location and vibe, not to mention its extremely close proximity to places like the Marais and the Pompidou.

I took this picture some Sundays ago, so a bunch of the shops are closed. Imagine them to be open and bustling!

And here's a picture of the St. Ambroise church (and baby moon) that is a few blocks away. I can hear its beautiful, deep bells from my apartment. It's great!

Macaron Day

2010-03-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

On Macaron Day, which was established a few years back by Pierre Herme in order to benefit charity, visitors of Pierre Herme's boutiques are given three free macarons and are encouraged to make a charitable donation. This year's recipient was L'association Autour des Williams (www.autourdeswilliams.org).

When I left my apartment on Saturday morning I knew that I would complete two tasks before re-entering: I would interview for a gallery position and I would eat three macarons. Little did I know that I was to return eight hours later having not been properly interviewed and having consumed 15 macarons.

I arrived at FIAC to find my interviewer swept up in the general calamity that is FIAC and I was eventually instructed to return at a later date for my interview. I despise when things are postponed; thus, I promptly carried myself and my annoyance to the nearest Pierre Herme by the Jardin des Tuilleries. While standing in line, I overheard two women talking about the different boutiques they had been to already and how many they had yet to visit. This is how I leaned of the MACARON CHALLENGE, which promises participants a reward of 35 macarons if they visit all six Pierre Herme boutiques on Macaron Day and receive stamps from each as proof. My reaction: "That's nice but I am not doing it." Oh, how wrong I was.

After obtaining my macarons, I walked over to the Musée d'Orangerie, met Milos, J.Roll and Grace, and saw some nice art. As we left I told them of the Macaron Challenge and that was that. We were off. During the subsequent six hours, we flung ourselves around Paris: sprinting, jogging, sitting, standing, waiting, and skipping (skipping only occurred at the beginning of the challenge) to each Pierre Herme. It was nightfall (very dramatic), when we arrived at the final destination and received our boxes of 35 macarons. Was it worth it? Yes!

Dearest family, I have sent you the macarons. I was told they only keep for four days. The post should deliver them by Friday, so they might be squishy. That being said, it's the thought that counts!

www.pierreherme.com

Elliott Erwitt

2010-03-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

The Elliott Erwitt show is up at the Maison Européene de la Photographie. Erwitt's photographs possess beauty, satire, and humor and the exhibition encompasses an impressive range of his work. I really loved this show and the museum itself is definitely worth seeing. Check it out!

Elliott Erwitt, New York City, USA, 1953

Elliott Erwitt, New York, USA 1990

Elliott Erwitt, USA, 1964

Elliott Erwitt, Cannes, France, 1975

Elliott Erwitt, California, USA, 1955

Mona Lisait

2010-03-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

17bis rue Pavée

I stumbled across this great book store in the Marais. Mona Lisait sells tons of art books, exhibition guides, and coffee-table-like artist books for reduced prices. It was fun to peruse the huge selection they have, but you have to be flexible with what you're looking for because many editions of the books are printed solely in English, French, German, or Spanish.

Burrito Quest 2010

2010-03-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

If this were a normal second term, I would be on spring break right about now sitting at home in sunny San Diego eating a burrito. Please don't get me wrong; I love Paris! I'm so happy to be here and Paris is excellent. However, the absence of burritos in Paris is slightly less excellent, and while I can't get enough of French food, particularly French baked goods, I must attempt to satisfy my burrito cravings.

Double stuffed oreos I can do without. Peanut butter... meh! I will try to find a good, big, aluminum foil wrapped burrito in the coming weeks and report back.

Shadi Ghadirian

2010-03-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this work at the Pompidou. I like it. Do you?

Shadi Ghadirian, Comme d'habitude, 2001

Pardon my reflection.

A for Effort - Macarons

2010-03-13T08:48:00.000-08:00

I don't get to cook or bake very much here. In anticipation of going home, I've been looking at a bunch of recipes online, mainly for desserts of course, which only has increased my desire to whip stuff up in the kitchen. The other day I received a window to do some serious baking, so I decided to try something that would be relatively involved and frustrating to ebb my desire to bake for awhile. I chose to make macarons.

While my macarons didn't end up looking very good/French, I did use a French recipe book and the metric system. Measuring stuff in grams is NOT EASY because you have to use a scale and tare the scale each time you measure something. Twas frustrating and like ninth grade science lab all over again. Anyways, here are some photos.

Whipped egg whites.

Egg whites "gently" folded into batter. Macaron lesson #1: Your almond flour cannot be exposed to humidity or else it becomes grainy. To see what grainy batter looks like please view the above photo.

Macarons ready to go in the oven.

First attempt. Fail. Burned 'em.

Second attempt. Partial fail. Macaron lesson #2: The baking of macarons is a fussy process because the oven has to be hot enough to zap the macarons into a state of cookedness. Therefore, to be successful you have to be really familiar with the cookie sheet you are using and your oven. If the oven is not quite hot enough then the tops of the macarons will crack.

Third attempt. Success! The tops of the cookies should have a smooth surface and pearly sheen.

Macaron lesson #3: Improvise! I figured I'd put Nutella in between the burned cookies in an attempt to disguise the fact that they were burned. I think it worked. Tasted good anyways!

Hahahaha! My ganache. So I wanted to make the macarons lavender flavored, but while I was making the ganache I wasn't really paying attention to the stove and I was a bit tired of the whole process and I was watching Clueless so my lavender ganache turned into stringy purple goop. Oh well! It tasted alright... sort of.

Mini-macaron tower. Nutella, caramel, and lavender macarons.

It was a fun experiment, but I'd much rather shell out some euros and buy my macarons from Pierre Herme (www.pierreherme.com). Yum!

Fashion - Turn to the Left

2010-03-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

Fashion week is over. I didn't go to any shows or parties or promenade about in cuffed jeans, patterned sweaters and khaki-colored X, but I did see loads of beautiful people looking tip-top around Paris. It was wonderful!

A little known fact about models is that they regularly take the metro. I used to assure myself that models looked a bit off in real life, like maybe a tad too pointy or bug-eyed, but alas, in person they truly are willowy, gorgeous, and incredibly tall. Bizarre how dissimilar humans can appear. We really must be the most heterogeneous species.

Munch

2010-03-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

The Edvard Munch exhibition or "l'Anti-cri" is at La Pinacothèque de Paris right now. I went. Should I have? Debatable.

Munch's woodcuts were incredible and the exhibition was also good to see because about 3/4 of the work came from private collections. Otherwise, I didn't like it. The ceilings of the space were low and the rooms felt cramped and unorganized, probably because they were connected by dozens of tiny hallways and were spread over three floors. There were also major traffic jams throughout the exhibition because the curators elected to hang huge gobs of wall text in minute passageways, which inevitably led to people standing in the hallways to read the text, prohibiting others from passing. This all culminated in me being repeatedly jostled, which was unpleasant. And they chose a strange shade of dark purple for the walls. Complain complain complain.

This was the first exhibition I attended in France and I learned three things. Firstly, when the French discuss a painting, they do not subtly indicate towards it, but wildly gesture and point at it with great force. Secondly, the elderly women that attend exhibitions here tend to whisper things quietly towards you. You ignore them, as you logically assume they are whispering to themselves until they loudly inquire "Do you agree?" Thirdly, a surprising amount of P.D.A. occurs in exhibitions. In Paris, there is much scandalous P.D.A. everywhere, especially on the metro. I declare exhibition spaces to be the second offender after witnessing a generously aged couple ear snogging in the drawings section of the Munch show.

Oh well. This was my favorite woodcut.

Edvard Munch, Women on the Shore, 1898

Salon de l'Agriculture

2010-03-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

I went to the Salon de l'Agriculture earlier this week. It's sort of like the state fair in Charlotte's Web, but really really huge. Instead of your typical fairground, the Salon takes place in seven exposition buildings located in a large lot. There was tons of food, drink, fair type animals, the best sandwich I have ever eaten, dogs shows, wares, information on how to go Green, French children etc.

To give you an idea of the Salon's size. This was one floor of one of the seven buildings. Some of the buildings had three floors, while others had two.

I love kouglof!

Delicious spicy mustard.

Hams.

Doughnuts covered in sugar and stuffed with Nutella are very good tasting. Held by Milos. Shared with J. Roll and Milos!

Weirdest looking cheese.

Caramel!

Chocolate!

The best sandwich I have ever eaten, and I have eaten many sandwiches. Contained an amazing white sauce, ham, pancetta, mushrooms, grilled onions, grilled peppers, tomatoes. Graciously modeled by Nate!

The best sandwich ever part II.

The contents of the best sandwich ever simmered in a large bowl similar to this. This was the other sandwich option, but the blood sausage was really strong so I opted against it.

Totally awesome pirate man/butcher. I love him.

Rum bar in the Caribbean section. Also tasted a delicious coconut sorbet in this part of the Salon that they made on the spot.

Big.

Dog show. I prefer them on television.

St. Francis of Assisi Jr.

Going Green. This is what I imagine a garden would look like in the Land of Oz.

Cute! I love lambs!

Gorgeous

2010-03-06T02:07:00.000-08:00

The weather in Paris is beautiful. It's funny how much weather can transform a city. I hope the sunshine never ends!

Selby

2010-03-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

Met Todd Selby today. He's a very nice man.

Selby's "window apartment" was basically him sitting in a mock-up of his own apartment in one of the window display cases at Colette. I was sort of taken aback at first because I wouldn't want to sit in such a small space with loads of people ogling me from the other side of a window. I asked him if he minded. He didn't; "It's just like eating in the window of a restaurant, but here I'm not even eating. I'm just lounging and hanging out on my bed." To each his own I suppose.

www.theselby.com

For the Lovely Katherine

2010-03-04T13:50:00.001-08:00

Told you Paris was crazy for Alice!

Kidrobot

2010-03-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

There's this fun store in Paris called Artoyz, but other than Be@rbrick, all my favorite toys that they sell are made in the States! What gives? Excited to hop back over the pond and pick up these toys, priced in the great $, from Kidrobot.

Yes! Pink Totem Doppelganger by Anton Ginzburg

Yes! Mini 'Stache Labbit Pride Pack by Frank Kozik

Irving Penn

2010-03-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

In London, I saw the Chris Ofili and Irving Penn exhibitions. I enjoyed both, but I especially was taken by Penn's portraits at the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition was clean, straightforward, and in the perfect space. It featured Penn's portraits of recognized figures including artists, writers, intellectuals and musicians. Organized in rooms by the notable periods in Penn's career, the exhibition highlighted the evolution of Penn's photographic techniques and the repetition inherent in his methods. His monochromatic images brought out strong, identifiable characteristics from each of his sitters. There were so many that I found arresting and that I'd like to post, but the Penn studio is really tight on reproduction so I could find few of my favorites online. Here's a good one of Newman though.

Irving Penn, Barnett Newman, 1966

I really recommend this exhibition! It runs through June 6, 2010.

Lil' Winslow

2010-03-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

While in London, Katherine and I, and her friends Sarah and Mike explored Camden market. Katherine and I spent about thirty minutes at a stand trying to decide which little string guys to get. I chose this one and I've decided to call him Winslow because... right? I mean...

Winslow Homer, Watermelon Boys, 1876

I Love the 90s - Daria

2010-03-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Last summer, I interned at the Johnson Museum in Ithaca. Due to the daily thunderstorms and the heat, all I wanted to do after work was read, bake, and well, watch Daria. I was totally shocked to find zero legit DVDs of the series online (an unfortunate discovery that reinforced my victimization of 90s pop culture glory), so I did what any sensible non-torrenting person would do: I created an alert on Amazon.com and lo and behold...

Success!!! And a dear friend has already pledged to buy it for me as a belated birthday gift! Wonderful!

Peepshow

2010-02-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

I went to London over the weekend and it was great fun! I visited good friends, had a lovely tea, went to the Brick Lane market and haggled (in English!), saw some exhibitions, ate a lot of Indian food, and went to a gargantuan Topshop.

On Monday, I was wandering through the rooms in the National Gallery when I happened upon Samuel van Hoogstraten's "A Peepshow with Views of the Interior of a Dutch House." It was remarkable. I tried to write out a description but it was inadequate so I'm borrowing the description off of the National Gallery's website.

"The peepshow is a rectangular box; the interior is painted on three sides, as well as on the top and bottom. The sixth side is open; originally light would have entered the box from this side, perhaps through specially treated paper stretched across it. The box would have been placed close to a window or illumination provided by a candle. There are peep-holes in the two shorter sides which provide the illusion of three-dimensional views of the interior of a house...The box was probably painted in Dordrecht in the later 1650s. A number of such peepshows were made in Holland but only a few examples have survived." (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk)

I really enjoyed the process of looking into the box because as I adjusted my eye to the peephole I could observe the different painted objects slowly come into focus and reaching perfect perspective. That's what was so cool about it, really. Even though the proportions within the box were determined, I couldn't realize them until my sight was able to perceive the snapshot. It was as if my eyes were acting as a camera lens. (The inside was lovely too, of course.) A great essay with related subject matter is Rosalind Krauss' "Photography's Discursive Spaces: Landscape/View," which I read last week when I failed to stay focused in my three hour French literature section. Womp. You can find it in the Winter 1982 issue of Art Journal.

Moelleux aux Framboises

2010-02-26T11:25:00.000-08:00

When it's raining and dreary I like to stay inside and eat. Enter raspberry cakes! My favorite neighborhood boulangerie bakes them fresh every night and they are filled with many raspberries. Bessie and I ate them with vanilla Haagen-dazs ice cream and this most amazing raspberry sauce or something (not really sure what it was) that she made, and drank some sweet wine.

Moelleux aux Framboises de Gana, 54 rue Oberkampf, 75011

And Another...

2010-02-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

I peruse watches guilt free because promptness is useful. Must work on my timeliness. Maybe if I had an enormous, gold, rectangular watch face sitting on my wrist I could get it together...

The Ivy by Nixon

Like Jellybeans but Better

2010-02-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

I covet a Nixon Time Teller P watch. I first saw them at Colette awhile ago and what attracted me to them was their bright, bold colors, but now I can't decide which one I like best because there are so so many colors! Ah! These are my favorites.

Did She Fall Down the Rabbit Hole in These?

2010-02-25T06:15:00.000-08:00

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of my favorite books and Printemps has Alice in Wonderland themed windows right now. Look at these shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood!

Chocolat

2010-02-15T04:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my valentine and I wanted to eat some chocolate. Duh! We decided to go on a sort of walking chocolate tour because why eat a pre-assorted box of chocolate from one chocolatier when you can personally design one super-box from any chocolatier in Paris? We stopped at Maison du Chocolat, which was definitely my favorite, Jeff de Bruges, Marquise de Sévigné, and Lenôtre. I liked this dark chocolate and blackcurrants truffle from Maison du Chocolat best, but then again, I have a thing for blackcurrants. Delicious journey. Good idea.

Real women are made out of chocolate.

Happy Anna Howard Shaw Day!

2010-02-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Blood Sign#2 / Body Tracks), 1974

Tomato Tomahto

2010-02-10T15:12:00.001-08:00

I made tomato farci tonight. It's commonly made in the South of France... I think? Anyways, it's really easy to make and quite delicious. The tomatoes' little hats are cute!

At the Louvre

2010-02-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Green eyes, green sweater, green socks.

Marché aux Puces de St Ouen

2010-02-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

Marie Petit, Marché Vernaison, Allée 7 - Stand 133

Marché Vernaison, Allée 8 - Stand 169

Tombées du Camion, Marché Vernaison, Allée 5 - Stand 92
tombeesducamion.com

Skulls Forever

2010-02-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

I recently visited the James Ensor exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay. I love Ensor's work and point of view especially in relation to the grotesque and the carnivalesque. I love these:

James Ensor, Masks and Death, 1897

James Ensor, Pride, 1904

I also acquired this necklace a few days ago. I like that it's a full skeleton. I like even more that it's donning a crown!

Patterns at the Pompidou

2010-01-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I went to the Centre Pompidou for the first time! The museum occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the center and currently is exhibiting "elles@centrepompidou," which according to the exhibition guide, "...might be taken as a manifesto: women artists are now numerous and in their radical, complex and cross-disciplinary work they are writing a new history of art to challenge the old, tackling head-on great issues of the day."

Divided thematically into rooms with titles such as, "Corpography" and "Autobiographies," the work on the fourth floor solely features the exhibition, whereas the fifth floor additionally exhibits the Modern collection and uses red doorways to signify works devoted to "elles@centrepompidou." Hmmm... I have not yet fully formed my opinions regarding the usage of red doorways on the fifth floor; however, I can say I don't like it. For more regarding this subject, please read Linda Nochlin's essay "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" You can find it in Nochlin's Women, Art, and Power (1988) or in the January 1971 issue of ARTnews.

Anyways! Many of the works shown in both the exhibition and Modern galleries were amazing and powerful etc., and some were just really great looking. My attention was especially drawn to the way in which many works displayed complex and/or juxtaposed patterns. I took a few photos of my favorites.

Louise Nevelson, Reflexions of a Waterfall I, 1982

Atsuko Tanaka, Denkifuku, 1956/1999

Christina Iglesias, Untitled (Passage II), 2002

Pablo Picasso, Portrait de Jeune Fille, 1914

Similar to the Picasso, no? I love the way this girl is dressed. I think her blend of colors, polka dots and stripes is playful and awesome. A very stylish grandfather and granddaughter if you ask me.

Her bunny waves goodbye!

"The time has come," the Walrus said...

2010-01-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

I have started a blog. Why? Because it seems that most everyone has a blog and I'm studying abroad in Paris, so I should have things to blog about? We shall see...

Yours,
Kristen