gaudi master of weird architecture

roof from the apartment building

Gaudi gaudi gaudi!

This city is full of architecture of gaudi and its all so crazy. I thought that the holy family church was cool but his apartment building is amazing- I would love to live in a place like that. Function,form , and aesthetics was what he was all about. Every little detail like the doorknobs were designed so well and very unique. My favorite part was going up to the roof. It reminded me of a dr. Seuss book. There were stir cases all around that twisted and turned to lead up to weird smoke stacks that looked like artichokes. From the roof we were able to see the holy family church and the ocean. Hopefully I ll be able to see more Gaudi stuff because its the real dr seuss to me.

apartment building

I showed my parents the prints that I made in print making this past semester. Now I'm worried that my dad is going to try and frame one to put in his office- ill somehow have to stop that before it happens. I have realized that I forgot my computer charger in pairs which really sucks but there's nothing to be done. I really hope it is the only thing I forgot...

barcelona!

Barcelona is so nice.
It is warm and there are palm trees and people speaking spanish and everyone is happy. The main street in barcelona is la rambla its a big open walking street with the best street performers I've ever seen! The costumes that these people had to try and make some money were totally over the top. There were people even selling rabbits and all kinds of birds.
As soon as I got in my parents and I set out for the Gaudi's Cathedral of the Holy Family. Wow. this cathedral is unlike anything I've ever seen. Construction started for this in 1883 and is still being built, completion isn't until 2030! Granted there was a 30 year break during Franco. There is only a small section you can actually go into because of all the construction. We took the elevator all the way to the top and had an amazing view of Barcelona. The weird towers on the Cathedral had different fruits on them and weird animals. It such a bizarre place, it reminded me of a big sand castle. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't see more of the cathedral but I guess ill have to come back in 2030!

We went to the Picasso museum which is on a small side street. I was excited to go but being there I realized that all of Picasso famous pieces are at big museums and most of them I've seen. So the picasso museum wasn't as exciting as I thought it might be. It was still great to see all of his early portraits and drawings.

Also, I have no idea what I'm saying or trying to say... I'm some how combining french and spanish to form some weird language, but they speak catalonian here so I'm really not getting anywhere with communication.

My god are people in barcelona obsessed with football! There was a huge game between Barcelona and italy. Every single person was wearing a Barcelona shirt and just so excited for the game. All the bars were packed and full of excitement. My parents and I were walking to the beach and would peek in at each bar to see a piece of the game. The beach was amazing though it was full moon so it was just beautiful! We walked around a bit and then went to dinner where we could see the match. My dad and I were really into it but we had no idea what was going on. Barcelona ended up winning but loosing... I don't know, I just know that I don't know anything about football.

12 hours and I´m in another country.

After spending all day tuesday packing and repacking I finally headed off for the train station. I was a mess though. 4 bags and little me trying to carrying them through two metro stations, up stairs, in elevators, trying to get through the gates of the metro- it was very difficult. I really realized how Paris is not very hanicap acessible. I finally get to the train station and get all my stuff on the train which was another impossible task because the train isle way is extremely small. I had to make two trips with my stuff. I finally reach my room where I am to share with three other women and it´s so small. My bags barely fit I couldn´t imageine three other pepole and their stuff! It was crazy I put my stuff in the oddest places around the cabain, just to try and make it work somehow. The three other women that were in my cabin were all older spanish women who really didnt´speak any english. They were really funny and I´m sure they all thought I was a mess but they were so nice to me and tried to help me. I felt like I was at summer camp with these women. At 10:30 the lady on the train came by and put our beds down and it was time to go to bed. All the women said goodnight to me in spanish and went off to sleep. I was so afraid that one of them would snore and keep me up all night so I took two sleeping pills and was out. Since I was sleeping on one of the top beds I was worried that I would fall out all night. It was a long way up and the train was really bumpy. At 7.30am the same lady came by, woke us up and gave us back our passports (they took our passports which really feaked me out at first but I guess it´s what they do...). The women all looked at me and said ¨buenos dias!¨ I just smiled at them and said ¨goodmorning¨. I looked out the window and saw a palm tree which made me so happy! I´m finally in a place again that has palm trees! I tried to wash my face and get dressed and orgainze my stuff in some sort of way, but everything was pretty much impossible in that small space. Fianlly the train stopped and we were in Barcelona! I had more trouble getting off the train with my stuff then I did comming on. I just tossed my luggage off the train and then re-organized once I got on the ground. The plan was that my parents were to meet me at the train station but... I wasn´t quite sure they would actually come. I walked into the main area of the train station and saw this little man running around looking confused and lost and of course that was my father. I was so happy that he was there after aperently going to the wrong train station on the opposite side of town... but he made it. We got a cab to our hotel where I was reunited with my mother.

Barcelona!!!

Goodbye Paris

My last day!

I've packed up everything in my small suitcase and my huge backpack. I'm going to look crazy trying to get to the train station with all my luggage. I've left behind some socks, two shirts, a hair dryer and and 4 pairs of shoes and somehow my bags are still overflowing. I've realized that I have really bad luggage so I'm excited to give my parents everything- get my new backpack and travel from there!

This morning after much frustration trying to pack I went to the D'Orsay one last time.

I really love that museum I'm disappointed that I didn't spend more time there. My favorite part of the museum are the Van Goghs. I forget how much I like him until I'm standing in from of his work. I remember the first time I saw Starry Night at MOMA and how much I was captivated by it, being in the D'Orsay looking at so many Van Goghs is that feeling times 10.

I spent a lot of time looking at all the Dagas' as well. Being a dancer Degas has always been an artist I've known about and now on my final day in Paris to see his painting, sculptures, pastels of dancers was really special to me. I came to Paris to study dance and art and I couldn't imagine a more perfect ending than looking at Degas dancers.

I'm off to buy macrons for my parents who didn't quite make it here. I can't wait to start my other adventures in Spain, Israel, Jordan and so-forth but I'm really really going to miss Paris.

The end is here.

I can't believe it. Tomorrow I leave Paris.

It is such a beautiful city and I just started to feel like I was really living here and now I'm leaving. I know that one day I'll be back but I'll probably never live in Paris again and it's not that easy just to come to Paris. I'm going to miss it so much.

This past weekend has been so odd. After the final show on Fri. people started to pack up and leave for the US. Saturday we took down our art works and traded prints which was really nice. That night I sat by the Eiffel Tower and drank wine and by the time I woke up on Sunday morning most everyone was gone already. It's weird to share such a life changing experience with a group of people and then say good bye to them and know that you probably won't ever see them again. Sunday I felt lost all day not really knowing what to do with myself. I didn't want to start packing and couldn't really do anything else.

And now it's Monday and tomorrow I'm leaving- how the hell did that happen?

I took ballet class today which was a great way for me to calm my nerves and it felt really good to dance. Then I was off to get things done. It's hard to pack because I'm not just throwing everything in a suitcase and going back to the states, I'm traveling for a long time. I had to get an ipod charger and boxes to ship some stuff home and all this random crap that I know will make my life easier in a week or two. Of course everything is harder in France because #1 I dont' speak the language very well and #2 the french just like to make things difficult. I did accomplish a lot today and was able to ship a very overpriced box back to the states, which has helped my packing a lot. I went to dinner at my favorite cafe' Les Philosophes in the Marias with Mere and I could have sat there forever outside by the flowers in the perfect weather eating really good food. I'm excited for what's to come but still going to miss Paris very very much.

The countdown begins

My program now is officially over. It's so bizarre. I just can't believe that my study abroad term is over now. I have a train ride to Barcelona on Tues so now it's the final countdown of when I'm leaving Paris- and I don't want to leave. I hear myself say "well it's probably the last time I'll do--" a lot now. After I got over the fact that my parents aren't coming to Paris I was able to really enjoy my last week.

On Wednesday I had the final (really my only final) of my "Intro Into the Louvre" class. For the final we had to write two essays that compared a Ruben to a Rembrandt and then a Da Vinci to a Raphael. The Louvre is huge, I can't describe how big it is and how easy it is to get lost. Therefore timed test running around the Louvre in tourist season can be pretty exhausting. I literally was running across the Louvre from the Rubens to the Italian wing, taking the stair to the winged victory two at at time and then had to push tour groups out of the way by "Madonna on the Rocks". It's actually quite amazing that I was standing in front of these amazing works of art writing about them for my class. After the exam we were all done but our teacher was so adamant of showing us this special Russian exhibit, I have no idea what I saw I was so out of it.

Thursday after dance I went to my favorite salad place that is run by these french hipster boys who are obsessed with New York and MGMT and blues music. Their funny and they always laugh at me trying to order in french. I got lunch and took it to Jardin du Luxembourg. The garden is big and there are always a lot of people in there but it is very peaceful. I sat in a chair looking at the grass, in front of the palace to eat my lunch. It odd because the grass has small gates around it so you can't actually sit in the grass just look at it from the chairs. There was this man renting small sailboats to the kids. These kids were so adorable with their sailboats floating in the palace fountain. They had these long sticks, that were twice their size that they would poke the sailboats with. Sometimes a duck would come by and nudge the boat and the kid would get all excited. oh it was just so cute! Then I had to go to the Wells studio to hang my printmaking work. It is probably the only art show that I do. It was hard for me to pick out the prints that I wanted to put up but I had a nice wall space that I ended up being very happy with.

Friday- the day of the big show. April 23. It seemed so far off into the distance but now it is over with. There has been such a big buildup to this date as well that it was a very surreal day.

Of course I somehow found myself walking around the Marais again, my favorite area. I finally figured out what I wanted to get as a nice gift from Paris. I mean, I've spent so much money just living here but I really wanted to get something that I"ll have for a long time from Paris. It took me long time to finally figure out what I wanted but I finally did. There is this Parisian company Alexandre de Paris that makes the most beautiful hair accessories in the world. It took me a long time to figure out what hair things to get but I finally decided on a hair comb and a barrette. It might seem a little crazy to spend a lot of money on hair things but they are gorgeous and I love them and to me they are my jewelry. I put my hair up with my other french barrettes all the time and now that I have a real Alexandre barrette I'm so happy. The only place to get these hair things in the states is in one small store in Manhattan. So I have a real Paris special gift that I am so happy about! Then it was time for the big show. Everyone dressed up and was so happy to be there and experience the show with everyone. There ended up being a lot of people there more than any of us expected. But it was great for the first two hours we all ate and looked at everyones art work. The Wells studio is really small so we were all jammed packed in there with art work being hung from every piece of wall possible. Then it was time for the performance part of the night. I danced, and I really didn't work on it or choreograph it- I just put on some music and danced for a min. Looking back I should have really choreographed something but it was fine and I think I did alright. It was just a nice evening to share with everyone before we all go in different directions. Then a group of us went to the Seine to hang out and start our night.

I'm goign to miss Paris!

-- my wall at the show

-- by the river

damn you volcano

This volcano in Iceland has really screwed up the world.

My parents were supposed to fly into Paris today but clearly, that didn't happen. It looked like today would be the day that planes started flying again but the volcano spewed again this morning! of course! I was so excited for my parents to come. I even wrote out a list of things that they had to do; I planed where I wanted them to go to dinner and where to buy macarons and where to walk around and what museums to visit. I really wanted to share a part of this experience with them. But that's not going to happen and I'm really sad. I guess i should be thankful that none of us are stranded at an airport for the 5th night but I feel like I still have a right to be sad and upset and pissed off at a volcano. It just sucks. Snow storms, earthquakes, volcanos, weird climate shit- i cannot begin to image what hurricane season will look like. Is this the beginning of the apocalypse?

And the thing is it was a beautiful day in Paris, so half of me doesn't really believe in this volcanic ash that is prohibiting planes to fly. I couldn't let a perfect day in Paris go to waste no matter how upset I was so Meredith and I got coffee at my new favorite cafe in the Marais, Les Philophers. Honestly, it's the best cafe' creme I've ever had. I must eat there at some point in the next week, the food looks amazing. After coffee we walked around the Marais and "shopped" and by shopped I mean look at gorgeous vintage Channel blouses that are 400 euros. I didn't even want to touch these clothes because I was scared the oil from my hands would ruin the most perfect thing ever. So we walked and looked at more clothes and finally we went into H&M where I bought a cardboard belt for 9 euros- so much for pretty clothes. We did get the most amazing eclairs and eat them in Place des Vosges with some other friends of ours. I finally made it to dance at 7pm it was hard to go into the dance studio after being in the sun in the park for so long.

The plan for now with my parent is that they are going to fly into Barcelona on tues and then I will take a train and meet them wed morning.... that is if they can fly into barcelona on tues and if I can get a train ticket.

damn this volcano.

ps i am very sorry for all the people that are stuck in airports. I heard of a family being stuck at the JFK airport for 5 days... that sounds like hell if you ask me.

Sunday in the Park

"When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be the happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself. " --from Hemingways book A Moveable Feast

That quote exactly describes my sunday. It was another amazing day but this time soooo warm it reached 70 degrees! wow! no clouds or anything. When I got to the park to see my friends I had to take off my boots, leggins, socks, sweater- it was so nice it was like summer was here! Five of us just laid outside, read, and ate. We all had to go to printmaking class at 3 but were doing anything possible not to go. At 2 we deiced that we should go get ice cream so we went 30mins out of our way to go get ice cream but really amazing ice cream by Notre Dame. I got fig and coconut with really good whip cream! We took our ice cream and sat by the Seine and ate it while we watched all the tour boats go by and soaked up the sun. We texted our teacher saying we would be there at 4 but 4 came and we were still sitting by the Seine with no intentions to leave. We finally got up because we were hungry. We then searched around for a good 20mins to find food. After we sat down and ate again- we decided that maybe we really should go to class. But man, did we bitch on the way there! We weren't ready to leave the most amazing day by the river! The sun everything it was just too nice. Well we finally made it to class at 5:30... just 2 and 1/2 hours late... oooppps. Our teacher had to leave a 6 but now being there we wanted to print... Thank god he's the nicest man ever and somehow trust us- he gave us the keys to his studio so we could print. It was really nice there were only 5 of us printing a perfect amount to be in the studio. I was really happy that I got to print it was probably the last time that I'll be able to print cuase this is the last week and during our normal time we have to hang out prints for the show. When I left the studio at 8:30 it was still light outside- incredible. Now I am completely drained from being out in the sun all day... somehow lying in the sun takes so much energy out of me. This was the most perfect day, spending it was great people and enjoying Paris. Now it's hard to imagine that I'm leaving this amazing place. I have to enjoy ever minuet of it in the next week.

The past couple of days have been the most glorious days ever in Paris this weather has been incredible and has just made everything perfect. Its insane but my time studying abroad is coming to an end! This was the last real weekend before the end of the program. Friday when I woke up it was just too incredible out to even think about going inside the metro to go anywhere. A group of us went and got crepes at Porte Orleans witch is walking distance from our dorms then went to sit in the park. I felt like a little kid again, we ran down hills did cartwheels and played cards for over an hour (no joke....). So many people were out enjoying the weather- mostly couples making out all over the lawn, which seems to be completely appropriate in france. Then we made a mexican feast and drank beer which only reminded me of the summer -but it was great and made me start to miss home and all spring/summer activities that I'm missing out on. I actually didn't get in the metro until about 11:30 when I went out... it was a pretty great day of doing nothing but enjoying the sun.

Saturday I had big big plans to go to Monets Garden Giverny but... there was a couple of problems. Giverny is outside of Paris so you have to take a train there, the train station was super busy and we got there too late to stand in line to get tickets for the train we wanted so we didn't go. I was really disappointed because I don't know if i'll have another opportunity to see Giverny but we'll see. It would have also been the most perfect day. I was really upset but decided I had to go do something us if I wasn't going to go there. So Ruth and I went to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It was another great day so it was really nice to walk around. We had our map out and circled peoples graves that we wanted to see. Looking back on it, it's kinda odd walking around staring at graves of dead people and even odder that the cemetery was really busy. At Jim Morrisians grave we listened to the Doors on my iPod- it only seemed fitting. After spending about 2 hours in the cemetery we then walked around Las Halls area and I bought some amazing shoes that I'm really excited about. It was a really great day- it wasn't Giverny but everything seemed to work out really well. After going to dinner a couple of us went down to the Seine river by Notre Dame to hang out. There were so many people down there at night. There were street performers and people drinking and so many different languages being spoken- it was a perfect way to start the night off!

The Paris Opera Ballet School.

I was in the middle of ballet class and acutally feeling like I was having a good class when I saw that I got a text message from Meredith saying that she had an extra ticket to see the Paris Opera Ballet School perform at the Opera House tonight. When it is the Paris Opera Ballet- you drop everything and go.

The Paris Opera House is the most amazing theatre i've ever been in. I think the inside is more beautiful than any part of Versailles. So much marble and GOLD. Inside the theatre the ceiling is painted by Chagall, which doesn't match the gold gaudy-ness of everything else but still amazing. Most of the seats in the Opera house don't have a good view of the stage, there are these tiny boxes that have regular chairs in them so if your behind someone in the chair you d

on't really see anyhting. When you enter the box there is this littl

e room where you hang your coat, there's a mirror and a bench- then you go through a curtain to your seats- it's pretentious, but ohhh so french.

Meredith got three tickets but they were all in different places. My seat was at the very very top of the house (second row to the back). It was such a tight squeeze that my knees were jammed into the back of the people in front of me. Also, I was so high up that my feet didn't touch the ground. It was very odd but I would sit anywhere to see the Paris Opera Ballet. I did have

a great view of the stage though being so high up and not in a little box I could see the entire stage really well. The other students from the Paris Opera Ballet that weren't dancing were sitting by me. They were so loud and funny to watch come in with their huge dance bags. An older man next to me got really mad at them but this was their end of the year performance

and their friends that were dancing I could understand why they were all so excited. And they are all still teenagers.

The first piece was a very very classical ballet piece by Ivan Clustine choreographed in 1913. So all the girls were in white romantic tutus and all the boys were in their black tights. There were

so many dancers onstage and they all looked so beautiful. This piece was all about technique, which was impeccable. I'm sure that the youngest dancers onstage were about 13 or 14. The first turn that the lead guy, Remy Catalan was a little off but the amount of pressure that this 17 or 18 year old boy is under is crazy. They all are so young performing to a sold out audience at one of the most glorious opera houses in the world with a full orchestra. I couldn't imagine. This is what I was expecting from the school, perfect technique.

The second piece was Pige De Lumiere by John Taras

choreographed in 1952. It started out with a group of guys in torn clothing and barefoot and it looked like they were supposed to be in a jungle or something. They were so great, they had so much energy to run around the stage doing jumps and summersaults. Then as the piece went on there were creatures that came out of this jungle, most of the girls were some sort of bug or moth or something. The costumes were so well designed i was surprised that it was a school show. One boy, Francois Alu, was absolutely incredible. Watching this piece it dawned on me that these kids are the next ballet stars- and I'm seeing them now. They are just going to continue to get better and bettter.

The last piece was Sept Dnses Grecques (7 Greek Dances) choreographed in 1983 by Maurice Bejart. There was taped music for this piece because

it was all Greek folk music which was so great. This piece blew me away. The boys were just in white pants and the girls in black leotards. There was only one section where the girls were on pointe. This piece was very geometrical in the way that it was choreographed but so so artistic. I was shocked that this was a school performing this piece. I was not expecting something so contemporary or artistic from the school. But it makes so much sense that they are training them to be such great technical dancers but also amazing artists! At bows the kids next to me went crazy- but so did all the audience members the dancers were incredible and so young to be so good.

It put all my school shows to shame that's for damn sure!

<-wow!

Food and Fashion.

Paris is know for food and for fashion and today I explored both of those.

Paris has some amazing outdoor markets. This morning I went to a big one by the Orcq metro station. After getting off the metro we had to wind our way back by the canal to find the market. This market is pretty big and really serious. It was about 11:45 when we got there- peak market time. The isle way between the produce stands are way to small and most people have rolling bags to put their food in therefore everyone is getting wheeled over and slammed into. All the produce men are yelling. yelling at each other, yelling at costumers, yelling at their veggies- i don't know they are just constantly bantering. There are just so many people that it's really hard to get any serious shopping done b/c everyone is packed in so tightly. And it's not just produce people sell- they sell EVERYTHING. it's so bizarre, some man was selling upholstery for chairs, lots of bras being sold and kitchen supplies. I bought a couple of things: hair pins (the best hair pins ever that are so expensive at dance stores), a cucumber, mere and i split a chicken, some amazing cheese, and a whole kilo of cherry tomatoes. It was great. After the market we had an amazing feast!

After the sunday feast. It was time to "shop" in the Marais. I can't really shop because everything is way to expensive but I still like to look at all the clothes i'll never be able to afford. The Marais is probably my favorite area of Paris it is the gay area as well as the jewish area. There are the most amazing boutiques in the Marais, it's more street fashion than high-end cat walk fashion like saint-germain des pris. The Marais just has the most amazing clothes that you could wear everyday but a cotton shirt is so overpriced even though it is the best cotton shirt you've ever put on your body. Today the Marais was so busy though. There were drag queens in painted face makeup and people lined up for a block to get falafel. I've never seen the Mrais as busy as it was today. I want so many things here. I'm trying to decided what I really want to buy. I want to allow myself one really nice expensive gift here- maybe sunglasses, or new boots (i've worn out 2 pair of boots here no joke, one pair has holes in the bottom), or a jacket. it's really hard because i want everything ! and somehow most of my money goes to food, i've never eaten this well or tasted such good food. It's going to be so hard to leave Paris.

musee d'orsay

Yesterday I finally went to the musee d'orsay. I've been planning on going for such a long time now. It took me about 20 mins to get through the security line but once inside I was able just to get into the museum with my student id. I wanted to go to the exhibition they have right now, Crime and Punishment. It was about crime and punishment (clearly) and art that went with it. So the exhibition started out with paintings of cain and able and ended with photography of murders. It was a very overwhelming exhibit. The highlight for me was seeing Davids Death of Marat, someone told me that they thought it was a copy but I'm choosing to believe it was the real piece. I spent about an hour 1/2 in the exhibition that i was so overwhelmed and only went to the van gogh wing. van goah is incredible and to see that many pieces by him is so great- i have to go back to the museum and see the rest of the collection. I just get too overwhelmed in big museums that I can't stay very long- thank god there all free.

After the museum I went to St-Germain-des--Pres and walked around. It was such a perfect day out to wonder around. I didn't have any plans just wanted to walk around the area. I came across a line of vendors that were selling all sorts of things from really nice jewelry to soap. I really like this area it is so pretty and very chic. There is really great shopping in St Germain it's just so expensive that it's painful to go into the stores. It's so hard to go into boutiques and fall in love with these amazing clothes and know that you'll never be able to afford them. And everyone walking around looked amazing as well, perfectly dressed in the cutest spring clothes. I looked down at myself, I had a stain on my shirt, my pants are too big, and my jacket is missing two buttons- i'll never be as well put together as the women of paris. It was just a perfect spring day and there were so many people out that it was wonderful to walk around.

CHAMPAGNE! (and a cathedral)

Today we took a little field trip to Reims to see the famous Cathedral and to taste champagne! We all had to be at the train station at 8:20am which is pretty early. The train ride from Paris to Reims was only about 40 mins and really nice. We got to see such pretty views of the country side, I almost wished the train ride was longer. Once we got the Reims we were told we had 2 1/2 hours to "explore" the city and see the cathedral. The Reims Cathedral is really gorgeous. Built in the 13th century it is the perfect example of a gothic cathedral. The stain glass work and architecture is really amazing. I found the stain glass work by Chagall (defiantly not gothic) to be the highlight of the cathedral. But after Notre Dame every other Gothic cathedral just isn't as grand or is something that you've seen. I'm glad that I got to see the Reims Cathedral but... I think i'm over the cathedrals by now. After the cathedral we went off to explore the town of Reims which we ended up just walking around for an hour not really doing much. There isn't really anything to see in the town besides the cathedral. My three friends and I ended up sitting on a water fountain and eating lunch in the sun, which was perfect.

Champagne Cave! So cool! We went to the Pommery Champagne Cave. The champagne house was gaurded behind a huge gate and then we had to walk along the perfect lawn before we reached the house. The house itself was huge. To actually get into the cave we had to walk down this dimly lit long staircase. The tour was really cool and there was so much champagne everywhere all from different years and sizes. Each room in the cave had different country names, when we got to the france room there was a two-story french flag flying with two fans to make it blow, it was a little over the top. There was also a modern art show inside the caves and each room had a different pice- you find art in the most bizarre places in france. Our tour guide really hated the art show and made sure he criticized every piece. The cave was so big i wish i could have explored it more. I found our tour to be very educational I now know a little bit about champagne. After the tour we got to have a glass of champagne- it was so good and it was made right there! I really enjoyed the cave and would love to see more of them.

We then headed back to Paris. It was such an amazing day that two of the girls and I went out to the lawn of the cite, played cards and drank wine. I even put my sandals on for the first time this year- winter is finally gone! I just hope it stays sunny and keeps getting warm!

CHAMPAGNE CHAMPAGNE CHAMPAGNE

Reims Cathedral

Pompidou

On Thursday on my way to the dance studio I stopped in at the Pompidou. It is so easy for me to go to the Pompidou. I have a card that lets me cut the line to get into the building and then I don't have to buy a ticket just show my card. It's awesome because the Pompidou is always busy and now that tourist season has officially started, the lines for all the museums have gotten out of control. This was my fourth time at the Pompidou, it's such a big museum there is no way anyone can take it all in during one visit. The Pompidou is the modern art museum of Paris and has such a great collection. Now that I have seen the collection at the Pompidou multiple times I know where my favorite pieces are that I can visit. and it seems to be that I always find myself standing in front of the Matisse paintings. There was this group of 8 year olds standing in front of a Picasso while a lady was talking to them about the piece- those poor kids looked confused, bored, and absolutely clueless. I find it really important to visit museums more than once. That's why I'm so glad that I have a class in the Louvre. The class itself can be a little tedious but just being in the Louvre every week I am exposed to so much more than I would be if I only visited it a couple of times. I am ashamed to admit that I still haven't been to the Musee D'Orsay! I have gone a couple of times but the lines have been so long that I've turned back. My goal for this weekend is to go there... even though that has been my goal for the past three weekends. Besides having a great modern art collection the Pompidou also has an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower- it's incredible to go up the escalators and look out the big glass walls to see the entire city.

Versailles

Today was wonderful! It was the most beautiful day in Paris blue skies without a cloud in sight. I have been planning for awhile to go to Versailles with Meredith and her mother, yesterday I told them that I couldn't go b/c I had to dance but after seeing the amazing day I decided to skip dance and head to Versailles. I have been wanting to go to Versailles for such a long time and today was the perfect sunny day to do it. To get to Versailles is about a 30 min train ride and you have to buy special ticket to get there. Walking from the train station to the Palace of Versailles I could smell spring and clean air- it was wonderful. Turning the corner and seeing the Palace was an amazing site, it is so big! oh my lord! There was a big line to stand in to get tickets so we cued up... but about 2 mins later people came up to us and sold us their tickets because they had to leave. it was great we got to skip the long ticket line. Meredith and I probably could have gotten in for free but that extra 35mins of not standing in line was worth the 15euros! Then we had to get in a even longer line to get into the Palace. Once we were inside the gold gates it was amazing and big and extremely overwhelming. The first thing that we saw was the two story chapel with the gold alter and organ. Every room that we walked in got more and more fancy and gaudy. The hall of mirrors was incredible, lots of chandeliers, amazing view of the gardens and of course lots and lots of gold. The Queens bedroom was my favorite room of the Palace. Everything was covered in a pretty flower pattern and when I say everything i mean EVERYTHING, wall paper, bed sheets, curtains, couches, pillows... everything- and what wasn't in covered in the pattern was gold-- it was a little much....

After we toured the palace we walked the gardens, which I found to be my favorite part. The gardens lasted forever there was no way we could explore it all. Big ponds that people were rowing boats in and fountains. It was the first time that I have spent time outside in the warm sun in such a long time that it was so nice to be there. We got sandwiches and just sat on the lawn for a good while looking at the swans.

After out little lunch break Meredith and I went to Chateaux de Trianon, Marie- Antoinettes get-a-way place from the Palace of Versailles (it was only a 10 min walk). I found the Chateaux de Trianon to be so charming. It was filled with light and had such a different feel to it than the Palace did. I found the gardens to be prettier as well and more fun to explore.

We stayed there until 5:30 when they started to shoo people away.

It was the perfect sunny day to go- completely worth skipping class to do so... :)

The Queens Bedroom

The Gardens

Easter Monday

It was an amazing day in Paris today. So sunny and pretty but still very cold around 45 degrees F which I find wayy too cold for April. This morning I decided to go to the Opera area to look at Repetto Dance Store. I love walking out of the Opera Metro station to find myself standing in front of the Opera house. I had a Breakfast at Tiffany's moment as I stood in front of the Opera House eating my croissant staring at this amazing building. I then found the Repetto Dance store, and it wasn't what I expected. Most of the things in there were everyday flats and heels- not dance shoes also a lot of hand bags. There was a wall full of pointe shoes which they specialize in and a wall of dance clothes. but their selection of dance clothes was pretty poor. I wanted to try on one unitard but they didn't have the color in my size only a XL. When I asked the sales lady for a smaller size she just looked and me and told me I should try on the XL because it's probably smaller than I think... I immediately regretted eating that croissant. I push my way through a group of tiny asian ballerinas to get to the fitting room to try on my XL unitard. And I was right- it was entirely too big. I wanted to show the sales lady how poorly it fit me but decided it wasn't worth it. I left the dance store emptied handed I wanted to buy a really cute leotard there or something to say I was a real dancer in Paris, but then again real dancers can't afford to shop there.

As I left I was totally blinded my the sun so decided to go hunt for sunglasses. I went to Printemps to look at sunglasses, which was in general a bad idea. I tried on Chanel sunglasses that cost 250 euros but fit me so well -I fell in love with them. Then I tried on Dior sunglasses for 300 euros I had no idea that sunglasses could be that expensive. After I tried on all these amazing sunglasses I couldn't afford I tried on the 20 euro ones and hated them. I decided that if I couldn't have what I want then I wasn't going to get anything at all. The problem being I needed sunglasses. I got 6 macaroons from Lauadree as an Easter gift since clearly I wasn't getting an easter basket. I went back to the dorm and went to go read and eat my macaroons outside on the lawn but I was being blinded from lack of sunglasses so had to come back inside. Point being- I really need sunglasses.

Tonight I went to my printmaking teachers studio and worked on prints. I'm really enjoying what I'm producing in the class. Most everyone from the class came to work on stuff. It nice to know what your doing and just go for it. Printmaking is so new to me and completely out of my element but I think I'm keeping up with all the artists....

Easter Sunday

I forget how big of a holiday Easter really is. It being one of the biggest Christian holidays Paris is full of people, the entire city is off tomorrow- nothing will be open therefore, I don't have classes.

Today for Easter one of the girls in the dorm organized a easter egg hunt. It was fun to run up and down the stairs and push people out of the way to get some jelly beans! haha

Ruth, Meredith and I had tickets to see the Paris Opera Ballet about two weeks ago but it was canceled due to a transit strike (which seems to happen a lot in Paris). So we got to exchange our tickets for today. It was the perfect thing to do on Easter Sunday! I have always felt like theaters are my churches therefore it seemed fitting to go to the Paris Opera Ballet today.

They performed a new ballet Siddharta. New music, costumes, set, choreography everything. I can honestly say it was the best production I have ever seen. The Ballet was performed at the Bastille Opera House, which is the new, modern opera house. It was completely fitting that Siddharta was performed at the Opera Bastille. It was a modern ballet that had no pointe shoes or fancy tutus. The music was also very modern -a lot of electric guitar! So rarely do we get to see new ballets with a new musical score.

The choreography by Angelin Preljocaj was incredible. The dancers are so talented and have so much control over their bodies that simple movements of the arm become completely captivating. Preljocaj didn't choreography thousands of pirouettes or unnecessary high legs; instead the choreography was more simple, clean and elegant. There was a lot of partner work throughout the production, the way the dancers intertwined themeless with one another was amazing. There were 16 scenes in the production with no intermission I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Each scene had a beginning, middle and end that fit perfectly into the entire story of the production. I haven't seen a production where the lighting, costumes, sets, and choreography work absolutely perfectly together. Really, I'm just speechless about seeing the Paris Opera Ballet. I could talk for days about it and wouldn't do it any justice i found it to be that incredible. I just hope to witness more productions as amazing.

Spring Time= RAIN

I can't believe it is April already! My time in Paris is now so short and there is still so much I want to do here!

Last night my the director of my program had a "wine and cheese" night at her house for all of us. My program is very small but since I'm always in the dance studio I rarely get to see everyone therefore, it was really nice to be able to sit and drink wine and eat really amazing cheese with everyone. Her husband got out his bass and a couple of people sang jazz standards. After I had a stomach ache from eating too much cheese, bread, butter, and wine it was time to leave.

Later that night I went to my favorite bar/club, Le Pinup, with my two best friends here. Le Pinup is a two story small bar that has the most amazing champagne cocktails! After we got our violet champagne cocktail we went to the small dance floor. The dance floor smelled like french men who didn't use deodorant but somehow it was alright because they all are so attractive. Behind the DJ there was a video of images from 1960's mod movies. I love this bar and champagne always makes me happy so it was a great time. When we left the metro was already closed (it closes on 2- which is really a pain in the ass!) and the three of us were starving from only eating cheese. We walked around and finally found a crepe man next to the Pompidou. I got a feta and tomato crepe that ended up being a complete mess. We sat in from of the Pompidou and ate our crepes. There was no body at the Pompidou it was really cool to see this building at night with only a few lights on. There is no building like it in Paris- it's not pretty it's just functional. We walked around some more until we found a cab and then headed back to the Cite.

Pompidou at Night

Eating A LOT of wine and cheese...

My first blog- ever.

I'm not quite sure I even really know what this entails but I have decided to take up writing a blog to document my last month studying abroad in Paris and then my backpacking travels after school. I have been in Paris since the beginning of Jan. studying dance, art history and printmaking. Now that it is spring time Paris I can say it is the most beautiful place on earth!