A Weekend in Paris (Day One)

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the airport in Paris was the smell when I walked into the terminal. At first I thought what I was smelling was garbage, but then I remembered where I was and realized that it was cheese. (That really happened.)


I landed around two pm and my friend Taïs picked me up at Charles de Gaulle International. We took the RER (commuter train) back into the city center; the stop is literally across the street from Taïs' apartment  so we went and dropped my stuff off. Her flat is beautiful, very well-appointed with fabulous views (except for the questionable aesthetic value of Les Halles, one of Paris' few--if not only--mall). It's very thin, but they have three floors: two bedrooms with sinks in them (so European!) and a WC. The place is (what I imagine to be) so typically French.

Taïs' father treated us to un cafe and was very nice to me, sharing in fluent English (it seems like everyone in Paris does) a conversation about mutual philosophical musings involving such things as the effect on society of the growing prevalence of the screen as mediator of experience (blogging, for example). 


When we returned to the flat, Taïs' mother had just gotten home. Her English is virtually accent-free (she is an actress) and correctly informed me that the Keds I had brought were inadequate for walking about in the drizzle. It's funny: I bring my boots with my everywhere but fail to bring them to Paris, where I definitely needed them. Taïs lent me some very European-looking sneakers which kept my feet dry until about our third hour out walking. 


We set out intending to walk over to the Eiffel Tower. I was "oohing" and "ahhing" at every turn, so we lingered in the streets for awhile on our way to le Louvre. 

Église Saint-Eustache, down the street from the flat

A ceilinged passage between streets. Apparently because of their potential to foster rebellion Napolean got rid of most of them; or else they fell out of fashion when wider boulevards came into vogue. We may never know.

Temporary location for the library during construction

Théâtre du Palais-Royal

sculpture/installation by Daniel Buren by the Galerie de Montpensier

L'Opéra Garnier

We made it over to le Louvre, and I fell in love. I didn't know truly how huge it was until I was in the middle of it. Quick history lesson: originally built as a fortress in the 12th century by Philip II, through a long history of expansion and renovation it became Louvre Palace and was the seat of the monarch until Louis XIV moved to Versailles. 

Or, for a better quality video, click here.

Mom, does this look familiar?

The gardens are also lovely. I am enamored by some of the statues:

"Pomone" by Aristide Maillol

"Riviére" also by Maillol 

I made some other friends:

As you can see, there was a parade of mythical figures posing all around this area of the garden. You can also see in the distance the Obelisk, beyond which is the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and L'Arc de Triumph. The proportions are so grand and sweeping, it's all in a perfect line with incredible symmetry. It's amazing that in the middle of an enormous city so much space is lent to pedestrians and grandeur. 

"Thésée combattant le Minotaure" by Étienne-Jules Ramey 

"La Comédie" by Julien Toussaint Roux

didn't catch his name

nor hers

Apollon et Daphné

"Le Bel Costumé, 1973" by Jean Dubuffet, a controversial Parisian artist. There's some play on words with "bel", it should be "belle", but I didn't really understand the irony. 

Taïs and I really enjoyed these "Hands" by Louise Bourgeois. I saw some more of her stuff at the Pompidou (more to come on that later.)

I thought it was cool that there were contemporary sculptures integrated into the gardens almost as well as the classical sculptures. Though they were relegated off to the sides a bit more, it seemed fitting that they were separate from the more grand and eye-catching pieces.

Pegasus, the Eiffel Tower, and the obelisk at Concorde

check out those veins

Ceci n'est pas un arbre.

La Siene! 

Taïs' grandmother called to invite her over; Taïs is taking classes in London this semester and left the Sunday I was in Paris. Her grandmother was happy to have an American girl over, luckily for me. As it was getting dark and the weather was getting worse (from light drizzle to fat drops; the wind picked up and my umbrella was falling apart) we decided to go over there.

I love sphynxes.

I am happy that I went and was able to meet more members of her family and see more Parisian flats. She lives in a very posh (bourgeois) area in a wonderful apartment. It was quite spacious. In Paris as well as Prague many doors that appear to be the front door of the building are only entrances to the courtyard and access to several buildings therein. The flat itself was impeccably decorated, with art adorning every wall and surface. She served us chablis and smoked cigarettes, speaking half in English and half in French while Taïs tried on her new boots and jacket. 


I was surprised by how much of their French conversation I could understand. I was able to get the jist of their entire conversation, partly via visual cues and some English phrases here and there. Of course grandmothers and grandchildren speak more formally with each other than young people speak to one another, and probably more slowly as well. More and more French came back to me throughout the weekend--those three years in high school paid off more than I thought they would.


Unfortunately it rained all night. After hours of traipsing through puddles my toe was a bit soggy, so it was lucky that Taïs had just gotten a new pair of boots because she lent me her wellies. The umbrella was beyond repair, having been turned inside out and back again several times. 


We walked to a sandwich shop around the corner and had a light but extremely filling dinner-- only about 15 Euro with desert and wine. Then we continued through the rain and walked back across the Siene to Taïs' flat. She took me through a neighborhood that was full of galleries, many of which left some lights on in their window displays, so we were able to peruse a variable collection as we wandered through the winding streets home.