On Saturday, I met up with my Babson friends Jess and Susan at the Musee D'Orsay. They are here studying on a program with IES. The Musee D'Orsay itself is a work of art and was once a train station. It is home to the masterpieces of Monet, Manet, Degas, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, and countless others.
Sadly, taking pictures of Monet's Water Lilies or Degas' Dancers est interdit (not allowed, forbidden). Instead I took lots of mental pictures. So if you want to see what the Musee D'Orsay has to offer, you can either google it, or visit yourself(I recommend the latter)!
After the museum, Jess, Susan and I wandered around Paris. When I discovered that Jess had never had a macaron, I made it my misson to fix that right away. Et puis, we found a patisserie.
MACARON
CHOCOLAT
As much as I wanted to just dive through the glass and eat everything in sight, I stayed classy and walked into the patisserie. I ordered everyone's macaron (Jess and Susan are still learning to speak French, and I think you get better service/no stink eyes when you speak in French to Parisians) and we continued to meander the left bank. Jess said she thought the macaron were the best thing she had ever eaten. Operation Macaron: SUCCESS
On Saturday nights, Sweet Briar students are responsible for their own dinner. I went out to eat with some of the people in the program, and then we explored the Parisian nightlife around La Bastille. After observing many Parisiennes wear cute ankle boots in the metro, I decided to wear mine to dinner and the bars. MAUVAIS IDEE(BAD IDEA). My feet were tired to begin with from walking all day, and cobblestone roads and ankle boots don't get along so well. I still had a great night, but my feet did not. At least I looked cute! Les Parisiennes dit, la beauté est la douleur. Beauty is pain.
This morning I decided to show my feet who is boss, so I met up with some Sweet Briar Friends to go to Le Marche aux Puces de Saint- Ouen (an enormous flea market just outside Paris). At first I was not impressed; the street leading up to the market was filled with people trying to sell us counterfeit goods (Voulez-vous un Gucci bag?) and then the only stalls were shoes, scarves, and knick-knacks. It reminded me a bit of New York City, but not in a good way. I do love New York, but it was strange to be in that environment in Paris. Mais ensuite, we discovered the real market. And it was fantastic. Antiques everywhere, furniture, vintage Paris Vogue magazines, plates, silverware, lithographs from the 1800s, vintage jewelery, and vintage clothes.
One of the many tiny streets in the Marche aux Puces
Many treasures on one table. I was very tempted by the vintage keys for my Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters!
However, my great find today was in Au Grenier de Lucie, a vintage jewelry and clothing store. It is operated by a pair of delightful Brits, Jason and Heidi. Finding the store was fantastic because I was nervous about trying to haggle over prices in French and because I love listening to British accents. We struck up a conversation as I was drooling over a pair of vintage fleur-de-lys earrings. They moved to Paris from London two and a half years ago.
Au Grenier de Lucie
The selection is quite fantastic, there is costume jewelry from Chanel and Dior, as well as vintage Yves Saint-Laurent shirts and dresses. Oh and tiaras. Oui, you read that right my friends, YOU CAN BUY A TIARA OR A CROWN IN THIS STORE. The picture of the shop is up above, the tiaras are in the case next to the YSL shirt. I couldn't get a great picture of them sadly because I kept getting glare. Perhaps when my family come and visit, we will return to the marche aux puces and they can buy me a vintage tiara. However, I did not leave empty handed. After a small price negotiation, I bought the earrings. They were made in the 1930s, and reset with the pearls around the perimeter. I think I will wear them tomorrow. C'est jolie, non?
Oh but the day was not over yet dear readers! After lunch, we decided to be touristy and go to Sainte-Chapelle, built from 1242-1248 to house the (supposed) Crown of Thorns. J'adore Sainte-Chapelle. But it's kind of difficult to not love it, or be stunned by its magnificent stained glass windows.
Gothic Architecture at its finest
King Louis IX, who built the chapel and later became a Saint.
Good for you Louis!
The main Alter, used to display the Crown of Thorns. Notre Dame holds onto it now I believe, and the Church brings it out for Lent and Easter.
The stained glass windows that surround the chapel depict stories from the bible. About 70% of the glass is original from the 13th century. Sacre bleu et mon Dieu!
The Rose Window
It depicts the end of the world. Doesn't look so bad to me!
After another lap around the chapel and Notre Dame, we headed to Shakespeare and Company, an English bookstore located just across from the cathedral on le Rive gauche (left bank).
It is literally CRAMMED with all sorts of books, and is very cozy. The store asks that no pictures be taken inside so that the patrons can read in peace. There are reading rooms upstairs with comfy chairs and views of the Seine. I plan on doing my homework here one day!
Phew! Like I said, a great weekend. I know it was another long post, but I didn't want to leave any details out! Now I'm back with my host family and there are some fantastic smells are coming out of the kitchen. Later tonight I might try to find a bar that has the Patriots game. Gotta rep Boston!
Bisous,
Allison
MACARONS!!! i would not have had that much self control and would have actually dove through the cases swimming in the deliciousness. the flea market sounds like a success and those earrings!! i went to the store website and almost fanted at the chanel bow necklace. i didnt think my three favorite words could become even more beautiful when combined!!! so beautiful and i love those rose windows they remind me of growing up. haha. that bookstore looks so charming!!!
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