An Adventure.....

So much has happened in the last two days, my weekends are full to the
brim and spilling outward! I can't begin to mop up the remains, but I
will do my best.
Friday morning, Megan and I left the Fiap super early to catch the
metro to the Train station. We were walking there at five a.m. in the
darkness, all bundled up. We got to one of the metro stops, only to
find it barred off, still closed for the day. Very dismayed, Megan
pulled out a Paris guide and quoted a page in the middle, "Most metro
lines do not open until 6 am! Some start earlier at 5:30." Our train
was scheduled to leave Paris at 5:57 am! We couldn't wait until 6am,
and we had no money to call a taxi. Our decision was to walk to the
metro stop up the way, which was connected to a major line, to see if
it opened earlier. Yes! It was running, but we missed getting on the
metro train by just seconds! Ahhh, waiting on the platform for the
next one, I kept checking my watch, sweating, only 25 minutes to
spare! Soon, another train came in, we jumped on and went our three
stops to the connection. The second that train stopped, I was out the
door, racing through the station like a wild animal, taking the
escalator up two at a time, barely seeing the directions to the next
train. We made it to the platform, caught our breath and took that
metro one stop to the station. There, we raced to the big screen to
look up our "Voie" or "Lane" that our train out of Paris left from.
More running in the huge crowd to get on with only four minutes to
spare! Talk about major stress in traveling. We had almost given up on
going and yet we found ourselves speeding out of Paris on the TGV to
Marseille, singing Hallelujahs at six in the morning and wiping our
wet brows.
The train ride took two hours to Lyon, with a two hour layover in that
city. We wandered around in the morning mist, the local library and
shops in the mall all still closed at 8am. Mostly we just sat around,
dazed, until our next train took us onward to Marseille. Lots of on
and on, pulling out our rail passes for conductors and listening to
our IPODS. Oh, and sleeping, because we'd only gotten about five hours
the past night.
As we approached our destination of Marseille on the southern coast of
France, we stopped many times, and one of the stops was
Aix-en-Provence train station. WHAT! we gasped! This is where we'd
originally planned to go, but the train wouldn't go direct. Off we
hopped, even though we weren't scheduled to depart. To our surprise,
the "gare" or train station was NOT in the city, but in the
countryside, outside of the city. And the station, though
medium-sized, lacked an information desk. I asked the woman selling
magazines where the buses were, "Downstairs" she implied in french.
Megan and I, bewildered, waited under a busy overpass next to the
train station. As I munched on some lunch, she was started to panic
and giggle. She became convinced that we should have stayed on our
train, and that now we were stranded forever. I kept thinking that
there was no way a bus would stop on this freeway/underpass. Twice, we
walked back inside, but finally out of nowhere a bus pulled up, headed
to the town of Aix (pronounced x). YES! We got on and enjoyed the
ride, watching sheep, fields and a lake pass by. Entering the city, we
were again startled. It was not an old, charming town, but a bustling,
dirty little city, full of ugly modern buildings and traffic! An
american girl on the bus overheard us talking, and kindly showed us
where the "old" town was located a few blocks away. If she had not
come to our rescue, I'm afraid we would not have had a very good day
at all!
After getting a map from the tourism office, we wandered around the
romantic narrow streets, taking pictures of the "old" buildings, and
pretty cafes. This was the Aix we had pictured in our heads! Quaint
and charming, full of character and fountains. We also found a mexican
restaurant hidden away from one of the main walks, and ate lunch
there. It wasn't quite right, I think they used curry seasoning, but
it was very close, as close you as you can get in FRANCE to mexican!
Can't wait to come home and have a real mexican burrito....anyway. We
spent about three hours just wandering the narrow streets, until we
figured we'd better take the bus back the station and go to Marseille
while the sun was still shining.

Back at the train station, we realized our error. We did not have a
ticket to go to Marseille now. Ours had been for our morning train
only. Now, all the trains coming through required "reservations" to
get on and our student pass was not sufficient. We stood, fretting, on
the platform, watching train after train stop and then head on to
Marseille. Finally, we just made a snap decision to jump on one, and
hope the conductor would not check our tickets. Luck was on our side!
It was only a fifteen minute ride and we arrived! This was much later
in the day- now close to 3:30 or 4, and the sun was already setting.
This city was MUCH bigger than Aix, and we could barley see the ocean
glinting in the distance from the hill where the station sat. As tired
as the two of us were, there was no way that we could walk there and
back in two and half hours with no map. We decided to wander about the
closer neighborhoods, instead, cameras in hand. It was similar to
Paris, the streets were full of busy traffic and there was graffiti on
some of the buildings; it smelled, men and women stared at us. We
didn't care for it as much as we thought we would- sound familiar?
Megan kept reminiscing about Honfleur and I said, "Let's just keep
walking." Things began looking less sketchy. We found a small park and
then a pretty little cathedral (St. Paul Vincent?) and relaxed in the
dark, deserted interior for at least half an hour. Although we could
still hear the noise of the city, it felt peaceful. Sunlight shone
through the intricate stain glass windows and spread rainbow patterns
on the walls. We decided after that we'd had ENOUGH! Although we
missed seeing the Roman temples, the white cliffs of France and the
Marseille harbor, we were happy just watching the sunset from the
train station, baguette in hand (and mouth). On our much faster and
direct ride back to Paris, I watched the people around me, a worried
looking middle aged woman, and a spoiled young teenager....a young
couple in love talking animatedly to each other, an old man reading
and solving puzzles. It was fun to just imagine what their lives were
like.

I'm so glad that Megan and I visited southern France, even though we
were a little ill-prepared, and it wasn't what we thought it would be!
Now, at least I can add those cities to my list of "visited" and also
learn valuable lessons about planning and traveling! It was a fun
adventure!
I hope you enjoyed this little episode from my european life! I should
write more, I know, but I'm so tired from this life, I sleep instead
of write!

Impressionism: a lesson

A big day today!!

The Impressionism museum finally- Musee D'Orsay! YAY! My favorite artists on display Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir! Oooo la la!

Flat paint, dabbed brushstrokes, momentary patterns, texture, on the spot, arrested moments, light and reflections! Optical sensations delighting my pupils!

Japanese prints affected the impressionists, as well as the advent of photography!

Impressionism

1874-86

(Only lasted twelve years)

The Salons and Academies rejected this new style and became stuffy and formulaic. Napoleon lll made a new salon (art exhibition) for "art refused" and initially the crowds came to mock at the "un-finished" work of Impressionism. People are not always ready for new things. At first critics hated it. Impressionism was a derisive term coined by a critic, "It's an impression, not a finished painting!" Impressionism Sunrise (by Monet) helped name the movement!

New discoveries in optics and color. Color has more to do with the reaction in the retina of the eyes than the object itself- sensations. New theories of color- for example red and blue make purple, but you can also achieve this by putting red and blue right next to each other.

Form implied by different intensities of color.

Hard outlines do not exist in nature.

Shadows are not black (discovered by Vermeer) but the complementary color of the object casting it.

New premixed pigments in tubes (never done before!) to go out in nature and paint on location instead of in the studio!

Eduard Manet- realist and impressionist painter. Father of Modern Art

Claude Monet- first full impressionist painter. (technique: large, random dabs) Liked reflections, water, fog)

Chevreul- color theorist

Camille Pissarro- questions the looseness of other impressionists. Known for pointillism (tiny dots) in parallel direction and tight control.

Gustave Caillebotte- wealthy academic painter, subsidized other artists exhibitions.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir- More classical, linear, focused on people. Known for filtered sunlight.

Edgar Degas- Known for interior lighting.

Van Gogh......

Intent: to capture the quality of light present. Light is the subject matter, not people or boats or landscapes or trains, but light. Light is fugitive -giving fugitive sensations from color. Idea of the way we see, not what we see (introduction to abstraction).

Music in the Parisian AIR

Can I please just move here? I want to be FRENCH! I want to enjoy Paris every day of my life. The art, the history, the music, the love!!! It is so wonderful! I wish that I could be a part of it forever. Or maybe, I can carry this joy in my heart wherever I go, and enjoy each place I am in? If only I knew how to capture it inside! God, please help me know how to live with this passion each and every day!

More nudes and more paris!

O PARIS

I am in love!

Paris life is beautiful. I've never lived in a city before. Never had to walk crowded streets each day, or watch for busy traffic. I've never had the pleasure of riding the metro to class and back before now. I'm a true "city slicker" as my dear G would say. I can understand what it means to crunch leaves in the gutter, weave around the smokers on the sidewalk, pass the dozens of embracing couples, window-shop at the expensive European clothing stores, eavesdrop on french conversations at cafes, take tourist photos of every monument and just skip along, happy as could be! I love Paris, with its variety of people and places- from the fancy trellis to the graffiti covered wall. It is all beautiful.

Today was my fourth drawing class. We had our second male nude. What experiences I am having! Learning about art, the body, and also anatomy! My drawing is improving already. And tomorrow is a class that I like even better: Painting. This week's focus is triangle measurement. LOTS of it. You'd be surprised how many triangles form a figure- both the negative and postive space. I've never "seen" in triangles before today, but now each thing my eyes land on is divided into angles! I can't unlearn it, and the lessons I have infiltrate every part of my life. I was in the metro and started mentally painting the man's face across from me! I'm dreaming in art too. It's the language of my life right now. Lines, contours, shapes, colors.

I'm sorry that I don't update more. I write emails if you want some more consistent communication, just send me one and I will reply! My time is caught up in exploring the city, especially with my camera in hand! I love Montmartre's crazy atmosphere and the Eiffel Tower at night.

Saturday was spent following St. Martin's Canal in the rain and then exploring the Montmartre Cemetery at dusk.

If you have any suggestions for me, I'm all open! Only 42 days left here.

Days of luxury!

Versailles

The largest palace in the world. A-maz-ing! Our group went there four days ago for an afternoon in the presence of royalty-past. Walking up to the golden gates in the chilly October sunshine caught my breath. I thought to myself, "This whole place is just one palace? It looks like three!" The kings who lived here could house 3000 nobleman with them inside, talk about keeping an eye on their court! All those people would party it up from dawn until dusk in the 17th century. My mouth was dropping upon entering each sumptuous, painted room. And there was room upon room upon room for our pleasurable touring. We sighed and gasped with each new gilded chandelier, high painted ceiling, and mirror (especially the famous Hall of Mirrors!).And after seeing the gilded interior, Megan and I explored the extensive grounds, with mazes and lakes, statues, fountains and trees. The only thing that stopped us was the setting sun. What a wonderful, green place to wander about without crowds (which was not the case inside).

Louvre

Huuuuuge. Overwhelming. Breath-taking. Crowd-pushing. Defining moments- seeing the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory! I took so many photos, as every art-work seemed to have a detail that caught my eye, and thankfully pictures (w/o flash) are allowed! I have a year's pass, so I am going to return as much as possible and spend more time in the extensive galleries. Definitely the most impressive museum yet (although the Tate in Britain was very grandiose as well!)

(The Mona Lisa)

Fray Concert

Megan, Aubrey and I went to a secret concert in a tiny little cafe/bar basement at the International. Stood 10 feet away from the band, which regularly would cost over $200, but it was FREE to us! They only posted the location on their myspace blog, and being in Paris, the response was smaller than it would have been in America! Well worth the cold hours waiting outside to be privy to such musical brilliance! I am still singing "You found me" even now!

Chocolate Festival

Four full hours of filling my mouth with sweet cocoa goodness. Life could hardly get better. Saw brazilian dancers and a fashion show of chocolate clothed models. Soooo cool! I had all kinds of chocolate that I've never even heard of before! Pepper, lavender, thyme, orange, lemon, pistachio, flower, cinnamon, coffee, vanilla, chanvre, ginger, wasabi, cheese, green tea, coconut, strawberry, almond, cherry, wine and so many more. It was crunchy, chewy, stringy, sticky and super yummy! The annual convention is to raise awareness for Parisian/French chocolateries and they sell the chocolate to you after charming you with a "taste." Of course, as I had no money the only thing I came away with was a stomach full of samplings. The fashion show was quite the event as well!

(Chocolate clothing~)

I hope you can see the video above. The photo is from our second painting class:

Painting class was wonderful this afternoon, followed by a walk around the 3me arrondissement with my classmates. We saw lots of patisseries and mens clothing shops. Tomorrow I plan on visiting Montmartre (again) to shop and take photos.

More updates coming soon!

Love from Paris.......

ART Class

I had my first male nude model yesterday in drawing. People may say that it is not a big deal, but it was. This was the first time I'd ever seen a you know..... in real life! So, I'd say that is a big deal. Or, rather, a small deal. I was surprised.

Classes are fun. We don't draw anything representational so far, mostly just scribbling because we are doing gestures and contours of the body. Our teacher doesn't like us to do outlines, so I end up with a bunch of random squiggles that are supposed to represent three dimensional space. We'll see how I improve. Also, our teacher, Kathy, feeds us cookies and lets us do yoga to relax in between drawings/poses, which I like quite a bit. If only every class included meditation......

Still feeling "under the weather" (which happens to be cloudy with rain! How appropriate!) here in Paris. No matter how much sleep or hot chocolate, my body refuses to cooperate and heal. Despite the illness, I've seen some of the city: Montmartre (my favorite) with the famous Sacre-Coeur (church), St. Germain-des-Pres (inside the church), the Louvre (outside), two famous cafes- Cafe le Procope where Benjamin Franklin frequented and Les Deux Magots where Picasso and Hemingway hung out. I hope to see much more this weekend- the Arc de Triomphe avec Champs-Elysees, Luxembourg Gardens, and perhaps Versailles!!!

I have around 53 days remaining in this beautiful city, and I want to make the most of my time!

JE T'AIME, PARIS!!!!!!!!!

I am feeling much better now, my fifth day here. Most of this past week was spent in my bed, recovering from my illness. Last night was special- it was called Nuit Blanche and it is an annual all-night affair in Paris (the Mayor's idea) where lots of art is being displayed, museums are open and free all night. Megan and I bundled ourselves up and spent three glorious hours out on the town. We saw the world's largest disco ball being suspended from a crane in the Luxembourg Gardens, walked inside Notre Dame, looking at new-age lit-up crystal art while listening to the grand organ, then finished the night off with the splendid EIFFEL TOWER! Arrived just in time to see it sparkle on the hour. And we were back, safely snuggled in our beds by midnight. Mom, aren't you proud?

Inside Notre Dame: organ concert by night

Me under the Eiffel!

Classes have started. Nude models in my life-drawing class (Monday afternoon) to keep things interesting! And painting as well on Tuesdays.

On Wed/Thursdays I have photo, literature and poetry to keep me going. Fridays are freeeeeeeee to see sights! I am already planning on traveling all over the city to different gardens and museums and flea markets. It's going to be great!

Thank you for all your prayers and thought as I am recovering! I feel so much better than I did when I first arrived.

The accommodations are very nice here. Our hotel can bed 500 people. There is a cafe/bar/restaurant/laundry/garden/gameroom/danceroom/20 meeting rooms/daily maid service/etc. It is quite the place!

And we have metro cards to take us all over city so I literally have Paris at my fingertips!