Guggenheim

I had a little more French exploring to do once I returned to Les Etats-Unis. I learned while studying Daniel Buren, that he had once done a display in the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. His display featured a large suspended poster, classically striped in black &white. It hung from the dome ceiling straight through the center of the museum. The Guggenheim interior is built with spiraling floors around the exterior. The viewer must face away from the open center to view the art. When Daniel Buren’s piece was hung, visitors didn’t know which way to turn to view the art. The vertical stripes played a contrast to the circular floors and when standing perpendicular to the striped piece, it seemed to disappear entirely.

When we visited the Guggenheim, we jumped onto a free tour of the museum. Our guide was a animated high school art history teacher and told us the secrets behind the exterior of the Guggenheim and the featured exhibit. I’d recommend the tour—it’s a little over an hour and you learn a ton about the museum!

Réflexion

I learned a lot from studying abroad; a new language, a new confidence, and a new sense of adventure. I also made a lot of new friends along the way. Sometimes I think it takes leaving your comfort zone and your home to realize what you’ve been missing all along. I pledge to continue exploring new places, meeting new people, and learning about new cultures. It’s more than just pictures or stories; for me, it’s about a new way of seeing the world and appreciating it for all its worth.

Where to next?

Post Paris: Texas Toast for French Toast?

A week after a landed from the 9 hour trip home, I was back on an airplane. This time my destination was in the country—thank goodness—to see Matt in Houston, TX. He was working and I was exploring a new city! We learned in L’Histoire d’Art that the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston housed some famous paintings.

I took the one and only metro line to the Museum district and found the MFA. It’s a two part building which connects by an underground tunnel. It went to meet up with my old friends; Renoir, Cezanne, Monet, Degas, and Picasso. I was most excited to see Andre Derain’s, L’Estaque (The Turning Road). The museum featured Impressionism through Modernism and a special exhibit by John Singer Sargent. He was an American painter that visited the beaches of France for inspiration for his art. I was transported to the beaches of Normandy, Capri, Brittany, and even the “make shift” beach in Paris. (They fill the banks of the Seine with sand to create a summer spot for Parisians and tourists to lounge). Across in the other building was more modern/contemporary art with an entire exhibit of portraits. It was a little over my head so I made my way over to Matt’s office. I rested from the exhausting humidity in a nearby park with sprouting water fountains. After baking in the sun for a bit, I headed to meet Matt and his co-workers and then out to dinner.

Saturday we took a trip to The Woodlands, Matt’s home town…And I attempted to cook some fresh fish that Matt got from someone at work—we had chicken parmesan instead. Sunday I went to my first Astro’s game in Minute Maid Park. I thought that I was their good luck charm for the first few innings, but that wore off soon. I couldn’t—and still can’t—believe that the game is indoors. Baseball is supposed to be played in the hot sunshine with blue skies and green monster seats. It took me all nine inning to get used to the fact that there was a ceiling over the baseball field. Early Monday, I flew back home on a quest to continue to discover more adventures in les Etats-Unis.

American things in Paris

Amongst all of the French things, sights, smells, and language; I was able to sneak in a few tributes to America-

Canada vs. USA: Olympic Hockey Game

For the final Olympic hockey game, my friend and I pushed our way into a famous Canadian bar, The Moose to watch Canada and US battle it out on the ice. It was my first packed sports bar experience and first taste of hockey since I had left my Terrier boys in Boston. My friend and I were so excited to hear English chants and cheers- until we realized that we were surrounded by Canadian hockey fans! We meet some friendly French fans- rooting for the “OO S A” but I felt more outnumbered than I do as an English-speaker in France! The game was intense, the crowd and a lot of fun-- loud, and the beer was good. Unfortunately Team USA was trying to catch up most of the game and didn’t come out with gold medal, but it was worth being a proud American fan IN a Canadian bar IN France.


St. Patrick's Day

It’s funny when a holiday like, St. Patricks day rolls around and you’re stuck with a cross cultural dilemma. In Boston- it’s an all out Irish Fest. At home it’s a meal of corn beef and cabbage. But what do you do in France? Do I go to Ireland to celebrate? (Oh yes, Ireland. Why not? I’m already in Europe) Or completely ignore it because hardly anyone is French/Irish? No- you do what any American would do in France- find an Irish pub, filled with other Americans and seek out green beer. I ended up somewhere in the middle- packed in BU’s favorite local bar with most of the program, drinking regular beer, and wearing everything green in my wardrobe. It seemed perfectly logical for all the Americans in the bar, but the French bartenders seemed completely confused as to why it was so crowded on a random Wednesday night and why everyone wanted green syrup in their beer.

Cupcakes

In a land of perfect pastries- I thought that it was weird that I was craving cupcakes- all the time! I became obsessed with pretty, yummy, decorated cupcakes. Cupcakes are not an easy dessert to find in Paris and most of the shops are run by American or Canadian pastry chefs- but I was able to stumble across a few:

Berko
23 rue Rambateau 75004 (near Centre Pompideau)
http://www.cupcakesberko.com/
*I had two amazingly, delicious- and American cupcakes: chocolate health bar crunch and chocolate peanut butter m&m. They also sell cheesecake by the slice- if you’re missing New York desserts.

Cupcakes and co.
25 rue dela forge royale 75011 (near Bastille)
http://cupcakesandco.fr/
*I had Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing- a little less cupcake and a little more “tiny” cake, but so moist and decadent.

Cupcakes places are popping up all over Paris now but will they ever be regarded as highly as the croissant?! Probably not.

L'Espagne: Echapper au volcan

Au Revoir Paris! Hola L'Espagne! It's been a long semester of exploring Paris, taking classes, learning a new culture etc...but now its time for vacation! So here I go--on vacation! Me and two friends are heading to the coast of Spain, Barcelona for some warmer weather and Sangria! That is until we get to the airport-- the volcano in Iceland is acting up again and all flights are CANCELLED!...Did you think that would stop us? Not a chance!! We ran to the train station below the airport and got on the first train to the border of France/Spain-- I mean RAN because with tickets in hand, we had approximately 5 minutes to find the train and board. Let the adventure begin!

Spending a Night in Saint Sébastien (France)/San Sebastian(Spain)


Welcome to Barcelona!


Gaudi Walking Tour




Fruit Market




Street Fair in Madrid


Rowing across the lake in Parque del Buen Retiro

Chocolat: Jean-Charles Rochoux

Although this stop was only minutes after my previous chocolate shop, I felt that it should have it's own post since it is the LAST CHOCOLATIER THAT I WILL VISIT IN PARIS!

Jean-Charles Rochoux has an incredible, edible window display of dozens of chocolate statues. They also had the picture below in the window display but not in the store, which looked insanely good. On a fruit kick- I tried cherry, citron (lemon), raspberry, and honey. They were delicious as they melted in my mouth revealing their fruity bite. Shout out to the honey one, which technically isn't a fruit, but equally as delicious.

Sigh. Adieu mes chocolatiers! Au Revoir Paris! We've shared so many licks, bites, and smiles. Until we meet again- Chocolate, je t'aime.

Chocolat: Christian Constant

Two more chocolate shops left and they coincidentally are located on the same street! (37,16 Rue d'Assas) I started at Christain Constant's small shop and sampled four exotic floral chocolates: jasmine, cardamom,Frangipanier, and Youzou. Not that I had any idea what those were, BUT they were recommended by Christian himself so I couldn't say no! I enjoyed them in the courtyard of a nearby Institut Catholic de Paris, which had a beautiful garden and tons of young Parisians.

Yes, my Parisian celeb-siting was a chocolatier!! Other celebrities caught in Paris by BU students; Harrison Ford at the Museum D'Orsay, Stevie Wonder at the phone store, lots of fashionistas, fashion journalists, and magazine editors spotted by my friend studying fashion journalism.

Le Bon Marche

Mon Dieu! Its part department store, part food store, and probably the most amazing place on earth: Le Bon Marche. The new Whole Foods back in US definitely was inspired by the French. The department store part, like all department stores in Paris (Printemps and Galaries Lafayette) make Neiman Marcus look like K-Mart. They have everything to decorate yourself, your home, and your lover--Parisian style which is, of course, dripping with elegance. But honestly, La Grande Epicerie is the reason to go to Le Bon Marche. The food store, connected to the department store, has everything...from everywhere. The outer circle of the layout is cases of prepared food-- prepared by Master Chefs, naturally. They are so beautiful that they could pass as display cases.

Next, there is a gateway of specialty aisles surrounding the store. Everything is organized under headings such as; olive oil, pasta, crackers, sauce, etc. Additionally, they have aisles for each country, carrying authentic products from each region. The American aisle was well represented with peanut butter, peanut butter cups, marshmallows, popcorn, croutons and salad dressing. I didn't know that salad dressing was an American thing, but they had my favorite poppyseed dressing! The America aisle is in between Canada (maple syrup, pancakes) and Tex-Mex (they don't have Mexican food here, so they consider Tex-Mex its own region).

The wine cave is enormous! It was practically 4 rooms of wine; white, red, aperitif, and champagne. Then, at the center of the store is the butcher, bakery, and candle stick maker--actually the produce man.

Oh, yes—there is a chocolate aisle. It quite beautiful and luscious, but I was a little disappointing to see Crunch bars again. I've become quite a chocolate boutique snob, so I passed on the chocolates here.

*Figured out the salad dressing connection: Parisians make their own salad dressing. Fresh ingredients, a dash of mustard, olive oil, and some vinegar so they have no need to buy bottled dressing. Oh France.

Chocolat: Michel Chaudun

I visited this tiny shop after my final presentation. I was already on cloud nine when I arrived to this Asian-inspired Chocolate shop. There were trinkets lined up all along the walls and it took me a minute to realize that they were all made out of chocolate! As instructed by the New York Times, I ordered a small box of 6 paves. The man pulled out a tiny gold box, wrapped it up, and sent me on my way with a smile. It was like receiving jewelry. Inside the box was 6 neatly packed dice-sized chocolates and a toothpick. The first one I poked and popped in my mouth and chewed it like fudge. It was good but there was something in the NYT article that I was supposed to remember about how to eat them. OH! You're supposed to let them melt on your tongue-

OOOOMMMMMMMGGGGGGG. I don't even think that this was really chocolate!! Can chocolate just disappear on your tongue and infuse your entire month with a silky, rich flavor like this? It was magical chocolate. Amazing, delicious magical chocolate. AND it was so magical because I managed only eat the 2 and then I SAVED the rest for later! I've never done that with chocolate before. Then I SHARED some with my friend! And now I'm sitting here blogging with the last 2 sitting in the box next to me. I'm saving them, for what? I have no idea. The right chocolate moment?!

Cocktail Adieu

C'est le fin. The four months are winding down, wrapping up and I'm caught somewhere in the midst of it all. I stuck with this pit in my stomach of all the different directions that I'm longing to go and all the places I have been.

Wednesday: Last day at my internship. I exchanged gifts with my boss and said goodbye to the office. She gave me this French hair oil, which I have no idea how to use but I'm hoping that it works it's French miracles on my- now very long- hair. Then I headed home for the last supper with my host mom. I bought her some craft materials, her favorite hobby, and we had a long dinner together.

Thursday: Presentation and Report in the early afternoon, which I was strangely calm about. The presentation was a fumbling mess of French, as expected, and my question-and-answer period turned into a hearty french debate- between the teachers. I snuck out of there and took Paris by storm. It was beautiful and sunny so I walked around and stopped at a chocolate shop (See: Michel Claudon) and had lunch in Rose Bakery. Then I met up with a friend to walk around the Marais and pick up salted caramels by Jacques Genin. At 6 we headed to our cocktail party at school. All of the teachers, host families, and students were invited. The had a comedian who taught us all "how to become Parisian". It's amazing all of the little stereotypes and "trucs" as they say that you learn about Parisians. Some are true of any city, but others are uniquely Parisian. After the cocktail adieu party at school, we stopped by the "Crepe Man" for a final Nutella-Banane. This man is the funniest toothless Parisian in France. He always says American phrases and asks us to teach him our Boston accents. He also has the amazing talent of turning out 4 crepes with only 2 pans. We headed off to our own soiree at our favorite local bar as well. We pretty much packed the place with BU kids, but managed to meet some official Parisians.

Friday (Today): Stopping by an art exhibit, two chocolate shops (my final 2 on the NYT list) and out to a French dinner by the Eiffel Tower. Au Revoir Paris!!

Saturday (Tomorrow): I'm heading off the airport- assuming that I actually fit time in to pack... but honestly, as imagine myself on the runway, I will be equally happy to fly home, fly off the Spain for vacation or hear news of another volcano and get stranded in Paris for a week. It's really quite a predicament, three amazing destinations. However if all goes according to plan: I will be flying to Barcelona for 4 days, taking a train to Madrid for 2 and flying from Madrid-Paris to Paris-New York on Friday, May 14th.

A plus!! Bisou!

Caramel: Jacques Genin

Jacques Genin is a chocolatier know for his "salted caramels". Slightly ironic, yet absolutely delicious! They have the right hint of salt that makes them perfectly sweet and chewy. Find his little Paris shop in the Marais and make sure to bring some back for me!

Jacques Genin
133 Rue de Turenne
75003 Paris, France

Croissant au beurre/Pain au chocolat

I have been holding out on buying a pain au chocolat (basically a chocolate filled croissant) in fear of becoming addicted to their soft, flaky, buttery texture. But after 10 weeks and after reading one too many food blogs, my willpower collapsed and I walked across the street to the Boulangerie to pick one pastry up- which turned into two. Since the pain au choclat was 1.05 Euro, I thought that I’d make it an even 2Euro with a croissant au beurre, this was breakfast after all- the most important meal of the day. Pastries gourmands agree that croissants are only truly fresh if eaten before 11am, so luckily I was in time for that mark. Next, they say skip the croissant natur since it can be dry and splurge for the butter topped one. So with the rules in mind, 2 Euro in hand, I made it to the boulangerie. BUT before I could even cross the street back to my apartment, I took a huge bite of the croissant au beurre and I literally melted on the sidewalk. The croissant was the most amazing pastry that I’ve had so far in France! The extra butter (and I think a little sugar) created a crunchy, delicious crunch to the outside of the croissant. Of course the middle was perfectly flakey and chewy. On a scale of 1-10; probably a 50. Next I bit into the pain au chocolat, expecting to be transported back to my high school exchange trip here where we were so addicted that we hoarded them in our bags at breakfast. Eh- it was good but the croissant made such an amazing first impression on my tongue that the pain au chocolat tasted like filler.

So- luckily, I’m not addicted to pain au chocolats and I won’t come home with them stuffed into my pockets- but I can’t really say the same about croissant au beurres!

Un Jour avec Ina Garten

Ina Garten, FoodNetwork chef and my idol hostess, bought an apartment in Paris around the time that she came out with her Parisian cookbook. Apparently she spent some time here throughout the year, and was even here in February! So I looked up some of her favorite places in Paris and followed a little Ina-inspired walking tour through Paris. (I was hoping she’d be wandering around Paris at the same time- but no such luck.)

I started on her street at the Sunday Organic Market at Metro Rennes (Boulevard Raspail between Chercher Midi and Rue de Rennes). She recommends visiting the pancake man and the American bakers for American treats.

I stopped and bought a slice of organic nut bread with whole figs. It was delicious! I also bought some handmade soaps for my boss, who only shops "bio".
Next, she says to stop by Polaine (8 rue Cherche-Midi), which is a famous boulangerie in Paris. It was closed because it was Sunday, but the neighborhood was so cute! I heard someone hosting a party through an open balcony window and I dreamed that it must be Ina’s apartment.

I visited her suggestions for gifts, dishware, and flowers.

Barthelemy (51 rue Grenelle)
Marianne Robic (39 rue de Babylone)
Muriel Grateau (37 rue de Beaune)

She also suggests going to Bon Marche (38 rue des Sevres). It’s the biggest home appliance store in Paris. I need to go back, because I hear that it’s incredible- think Williams and Sonoma + French style and Chef Central Sized. After walking for a while, I found a cute little private park and sat and read for a while in the sun. It was quite a lovely Sunday- Ina would approve.

Bien Couru

Paris is known for it's five-star restaurants, amazing hotels, and fashion, fashion, fashion- but not it's five-star gyms. Parisians DON'T exercise. They smoke, drink, and eat- all in moderation- and they walk, a lot. But I'm a gym-buff, exercise junkie to to core and throwing my sneakers out of the airplane window for 4 months just wasn't an option. One friend warned me that she signed up for a gym on her Paris summer program and it was a disaster. Smelly, sweaty, and spandex. Another friend who had done the Paris program told me that she just ran outside, because the climate was much less harsh than in Boston. She gave me some warning too, though:

Notice these are Parisian rules to exercise;I, the American, broke every single one.

Parisian Running Etiquette

Sidewalks are not for runners.
Sidewalks have lanes for bikers, but the rest of the sidewalk is a free-for-all. First, cafe seating or markets. Next, extra parking. Third, walkers at their own pace. Fourth, dogs. I dodged as many of these obstacles as possible- but I was always being yelled at in the end.

Streets are not for runners.
J-walking doesn't exist in French. No one does it. No one goes in the street unless they are crossing in a crosswalk. Had a few close calls there too.

Parks are for runners!
...after 10am and before 7pm. I worked 9:30-6:30.

Parisian shuffle.
They don't exactly pick up their feet- I don't understand it at all but since I would run around the International Dorms park, you could easily pick out Parisians (shufflers) and Americans (full blown horse legged runners).

Fashion for Runners (c'est Paris)

No t-shirts!
I stuck to this one!! I had my classy outdoor running gear.

Converse are sneakers.
No wonder no one runs here! They wear converse to run- I get shin splits just thinking about it.

No sneakers, unless you are actively running.
As for real sneakers, if you are caught dead in sneakers/trainers/whatever- you might as well be wearing a neon hat the says "I'm a Tourist". But I am a tourist- and if I'm walking around for 6 hours- you'd better bet that I'm breaking out the sneakers.

Squishy pants or shorts and high socks- acceptable.
Apparently good fashion doesn't apply to runners. I didn't even know that they still sold some of the "gym attire" that I saw in the parks. Vintage, maybe?

NO SWEATING!
You can run, but you can't sweat. It's pretty fascinating to watch people run, come to a complete halt at the park exit, brush their fingers through their hair and continue walking home- as if they never ran. Me- my host mom used to ask "Bien Couru?" and then giggle and tell me that my face was red like an apple.

Overall- I successful ran about 3-4 times a week, outside. I ran in rain, wind, and sunshine. I dragged myself out in the mornings or after work, whether it was cold or warm. I never went inside a gym, or a yoga studio (unfortunately). I was chased a few times but always ran faster than the dog or person. I also found a free podcast on iTunes, that I practiced 1-2 a week.

So gym-guru survives Paris- still in shape, but in desperate need of some weight training.

Le Vin Sur La Seine

Once springtime hits and the sun beats down on the weekends, tons of Parisian teens and young adults pour onto the banks of the rivers and canals with bottles of wine and platters of food. The first night, we chose a quiet spot on the Canal Saint Martin, a secret Parisian nook reserved for after work cocktails and meeting friends. We dangled our feet over the side of the Canal and hung out until the wine disappeared. Then we headed over to lively Republique and lingered until the metro threathened to close its doors.

Another night, we chose our spot on the Seine at the tip of the Ile off of Pont Neuf. We had a view of the Pont des Arts with the students at Institut Francais and the Bateaux Mouches with tons of waving tourists. We brought bags of snacks, cartons of fresh strawberries, and more wine. This was a rowdy spot and we ended up packing up earlier as the other drunken Parisian became rowdy. We walked over to the Latin Quarter for our favorite late night crepes and lingered in the shadows of Notre Dame until the last metro.

Giverny

The Parisians say to wait, wait until May until you go see Monet’s gardens. The flowers are in full bloom in May- so I made a rapid dash on May 2nd to see Monet’s gardens. This trip is best described in pictures, but just to set the scene: 6 girls took the train from Gare Saint Lazare (sight of a famous Monet painting), on a partly sunny-partly rainy cool spring day to a little town called Vernon. We got on a bus and took it to a smaller town called Giverny. Giverny is one road, two museums, and the plushest, greenest gardens that I’ve ever seen. Enjoy- it was absolutely amazing.

Mai 1: Fete du travaille

May 1st in France is Labor Day!! No one works, museums and restaurants close and Parisians stroll around and enjoy the day. Unfortunately, this year was on a Saturday (so I didn't get off from work) and it was cool and threatening rain, but a pleasant change of pace for Paris. Traditionally little vendors sell small bouquets of flowers which everyone carries around- I even received a small bunch from my host mom.

An American Girl in Paris; Season 6, Episode 19-20

Sex and the City lovers, you know when Carrie goes to Paris- well that was filmed in PARIS. So my friend and I spent the afternoon being Carrie and visiting the most fantastic places in Paris. We hopped off the metro on the Champs Elysees at Metro Franklin Roosevelt. First we started at Dior, where Carrie trips and spills her purse- the store was massive, amazing, beautiful, but closed. It was neighbors with Versace, Chanel, Harry Winston, and Pucci. Then we popped across the street to Hôtel Plaza Athénée, the hotel where Carrie stays in Paris. I didn’t head up to her room but I did take a quick tour of the lobby, very classy. (They have a Sex and the City hotel package though, if you’d like to. http://www.plaza-athenee-paris.com/hotel-special-offers/sex-and-the-city). It has an amazing view of the Tour Eiffel! Then we strolled along the Seine to the Pont des Arts, or the bridge that Carrie and Big make their first Parisian appearance together at. The bridge is really cool and since it’s across from the French Institute it’s a popular place for students to hang out. There are also hundreds of “love locks” attached to the bridge by lovers of Paris and Parisian lovers. Finally over to Le Kong, the sushi restaurant where Carrie has lunch with Aleksandr's ex-wife. It is on top a department store and next to Louis Vinton, and has an amazing view of the Seine.

And now, of course I’m re-watching the episodes…Bonne Nuit