Au Revoir Paris

We spent our last day in Paris today, and we did a ton but I'm exhausted and we have to get up at 6 AM to catch our train to Belgium, so I will add more to this post when I get some rest.

Okay, I'm back. I ended up not posting yesterday because the Internet in our hotel was way too expensive, but I'm making up for lost time with two posts in one day.

Our last day in Paris was spent sleeping in (more about the lack of sleep later) and wandering through the Marais and enjoying the beautiful weather. We started out with lunch with Leilei, a French composer living in Paris that Steve needed to do some business with. I have to say, one of the things I definitely will not miss about Paris is the bathroom situation. The first time I visited I was taken aback by the mixing of the sexes in the bathrooms, but on this trip it got taken one step further to me walking into a bathroom (twice) and having some guy standing there using the urinal. Just one more way I'm just way too American for France at times.
After lunch we walked around looking for the Picasso Museum but found it was closed, so we just looking into some of the amazing shops in the area. This was my favorite crazy French fashion find (the reflection of my Orla Kiely bag makes it even more crazy):

My favorite street sign I found in Paris. Direct translation is Avenue of the Bad Boys. I think it may really mean "Sad Boys". Andrea, Mirjam, translate for me.

The area was really cool, but Steve and I were getting really tired because our hotel was across the street from a nightclub that kept going until 5 AM. When we closed the window the room got too hot, when we opened the window, nightclub noise. The place was cheap so I guess you get what you pay for, but by our last day in Paris we were pretty much wasted. We did have an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower (we took the first photo on this post from our hotel window), but that doesn't help you sleep at night. We did go down to Notre Dame where they were holding a special mass for a famous French nun (never caught her name), and when the service was over the bells on the cathedral rang for about a half hour. Here's a short video of where Steve and I were sitting at the time:

We went into Shakespeare and Company Bookstore and looked around for awhile, and for anyone who loves bookstores as much as I do, it's a must see if you ever go to Paris. The main floor is a regular bookstore, but the second floor is a reference library where many famous writers have worked on famous books (Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch here). Here's some photos:

Me in Shakespeare & Co. in a mirror among the stacks.

Notes and photos from other visitors. I couldn't think of anything profound to say, so I just took a photo.

In the entrance to the reference area.

Then we wandered around some more and did a lot of great people watching out of the corner of a cafe and then went back to the Pompidou Center for one last time. The view from the top floor is one of the best in Paris, and it seemed like an appropriate thing to do our last night there.

Steve looking very serious at the top of the Pompidou looking at the Paris skyline at sunset.

After the Pompidou we went to a new music concert at the IRCAM (an electronic music center) on which one of the pieces was for percussion/mime. Yes, mime. No, they did not come out in white makeup, but the percussionist was doing movements with his hands that had electronic sensors attached to them so they created noise each time they moved. Two other guys were rubbing sticks on boards, and then there was a guy barely blowing on the trumpet and another kind of playing the cello. It was interesting, in both a good way and bad way.
After the concert we went back to the room and spent another somewhat sleepless night before we had to get up at 5 AM to get our stuff together and take off for Gare du Nord an head to Belgium. Here's my final two shots from Paris:

The Breakfast of Champions: A donut and a Coke Light. Steve went all French with a croissant with apple and an orange juice. In my defense, there is an apple in the other bag.

Goodbye Paris, we'll (sort of) miss you.

Toto, I Don't Think We're In Paris Anymore...

Oh, but we are. We are at La Défense, one of the business districts of Paris. When I first visited this area I thought I had somehow been transported from Paris to some futuristic Asian city after just a short ride on the Metro. It's a big departure from historical Paris, but it really appeals to my modern sensibilities, so I love it.

Le Grande Arche.

I find it just as beautiful as any old Arc de Triomphe any day.

City of the future. Built in the 80's and 90's.

Cool, curvy architecture.

Reflection.

And then, stuck between the buildings you find some beautiful, modern sculptures. Like this one by Joan Miró. Nice to have something pretty to look at on your lunch break.

But then, every once in a while, you are reminded that you are, indeed in Paris when you see some of the old mixed in with the new.

Tile Tower: This multi-story tower is completely covered with 1 x 1 mosaic tiles...

...as well as this super-cool modern rainbow fountain.

And more color within the glass and steel. I saw this tower from the distance, and just had to walk up and see what it was made of.

Turns out it was covered with multi-colored metal pipes. I kinda went crazy with the photos, but all I had to do was point and shoot and voilà, modern art.

This is what I love about living in Paris vs. visiting Paris. You get the time to check out parts of the city like La Dèfense, where I probably wouldn't have taken time to check out if I was here for a short time. And it's totally worth seeing. And another thing I'm loving about Paris, Just when I think I figuring it out, I find it has more surprises in store for me.

Locks of Love

Well, Icelandic volcano or no, my time in Paris is quickly coming to an end. And our time with the students, although most are still in Paris, has already finished. It really was an amazing experience to get to know them each, and I can truly say that each of them taught me many important things during our time together.

We've been getting together each Monday night for FHE, and we wanted our last meeting to be one to remember. Then I was reading my friend Reba's blog and learned about the tradition that has been going on for years where couples put a lock with their names up on some of the pedestrian bridges across the Seine and then throw the key in the river to symbolize their everlasting love. I wanted to do it for the family, but I thought of the student's time here in Paris, and how I am sure this experience has changed each of them. So, I thought it might be a nice idea for them each to put their own lock on the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar Senghor to symbolize that they are leaving a little part of them in Paris that will be here forever.

I know, I know, it doesn't really follow the rules, but rules were made to be broken, right?

So we all got together and shared what we had each learned personally during our time in Paris, and then put our locks on the bridge. It was a great evening, and truly one of the highlights of our time here for me. Here's some photos.

The students decorating their locks to attach to the bridge.

Then on to dinner.

Steve got the Boeuf Tartare. Why? I have absolutely no idea, although I do know that he often likes to eat food that's based on a dare.

Finding a home for our locks.

I knew we were in trouble the day before we went to the bridge and I told the boys about the tradition and let them decorate and put their name on their own locks. Jack lovingly decorated both the lock and the key, and then cried like he had lost his best friend when we attached it to the bridge and he realized it wasn't coming home with him. Luckily one of the students didn't make it, so he inherited his lock to stop the sobbing. He's already been back to visit his lock once and wants to see it again before we leave Paris on Friday.

Throwing the keys into the Seine.

Lots of locks. The row is some of the students, and ours is the large one in the middle with Max's and Jack's attached.

And, luckily, someone was smart enough to make a key for you to find your lock again when you return. Ours is in section 23A.

I really have loved my time in Paris, and I have to admit that it has thrilled me, humbled me, inspired me, and kicked my butt on more than one occasion.

It truly has been everything at once.

And, as I am spending my last couple of days here, I am starting to realize that leaving that little part of me here in Paris is really going to hurt.

I ♥ Paris In The Springtime

Why?

Well, besides the obvious reason that IT'S NOT FREEZING ANYMORE, another reason to love Paris in the Spring is that it brings visitors from home, the first being my sister Angela. She must have brought the sunny weather with her from Arizona, because we've had some of the most beautiful days ever since we arrived.

So, what do you do when the sky is sunny and the air is warm?

Go back to the cemetery.

I know, I know, but Angela had never been, and really, it is one of the most amazing sites in Paris (in my humble, albeit goth, opinion). Here come the photos:

Jack and I amongst the headstones.

Max and moss. And we got him to kiss Oscar Wilde's grave this time around.

Seriously, there are as many beautiful things to see at Peré Lachaise as any museum in Paris.

After the headstones, we headed out for lunch at Creperie Beaubourg at the Place de Stravinsky. It has one of my favorite cafes in Paris. I've gone there every time I've been here because I love the view of the fountain there and it's close to the Pompidou Center, and I'm always there at some time or another. And since the weather was so nice, we got to go way French with it and sit outside. I love that. And I have vowed to eat outside as much as possible until we leave Paris.

After lunch we had to feed the pigeons, which Jack loves to do. There was a group of school kids on a field trip running around the square, people were out enjoying the sun on their lunch breaks.

Some super cool graffiti art by the cafe.

I will miss these moments in Paris.

That's starting to hit me now.

And I'm not pleased.

Saint-Valentin à Paris

Okay, I know it's been a few days, but we were in London for the weekend, and that will take quite a few posts to catch you up on, so I'll just fill you in on how we spent Valentine's day with tout la monde in Paris.

Seriously, Paris on Valentine's Day? Insane.

But it was a beautiful, albeit cold, day in Paris, and since those are few and far between, we couldn't waste it.

We decided to go out this afternoon to do what every kid wants to do on Valentine's Day: See Modern Art! Here's how it went:

We got the boys to the Pompidou Center by telling them about the cool escalators in tubes that take you to the top. Max was into it at this point (and, by the way, he has lost two front teeth in two weeks. It's pretty hilarious watching him eat a baugette).

After we all rode up we had a big, wide view of all of Paris.

And we also had a great view of the bubble guy, which made the rest of our visit to the Pompidou a little trying for all of us.

Then the reality hit Max and Jack: Mommy and Daddy are going to make us look at art. I thought they might enjoy the Matisse room since Jack loves to cut and paste.

I'm guessing that Max is whispering in Jack's ear something like "Hey, if you start crying now, we can get out of this place." Luckily he didn't listen.

Checking out some Dubuffet. I'm sure Max is turning around to say "Can we go see the bubble guy now?"

Uh, Jack, you need to turn around to see the art.
At this point we called it and headed out to see the bubble guy.

Okay, so the bubble guy is kinda cool. But grumpy. C'est Francais, n'est-ce pas? It was fun to watch all the Parisians in line smile and laugh at the kids as they chased the bubbles. After an especially big one Max said "Oh my gosh!" very loud, and they all laughed. It was one of those moments I forgave the Parisians for all their sins.

And then to one of our favorite places to eat in Paris, L'As du Falafel for some killer falafel.

Jack was not a fan. But at least he ate some pomme frites.

And then for a walk around The Marais looking in shop windows and checking out art.

And just before getting on the Metro, we saw some beautiful cakes made just for Saint-Valentin. Amazing. So amazing, in fact, we stopped at a patisserie on the way home for a Valentine's treat of our own.

Valentine's in Paris? C'est très bon.