on parisian syle…

parisian style is an attitude. it is helped with a body defining cut of cloth, or a casually draped scarf. but more than this, it is the knowledge of the sensuality of one’s self; it is confidence worn from within…

unravellings…

i am both unique

and a cliché,

find the two ends of me,

unravel the skein

to see

where

i begin…

ah…paris…

 

well, since last, i’ve taken an open air tour to see paris by night, wandered around the left bank of paris, and spent a day at chateau versailles….the lights of paris at night, and the gardens at versailles were spectacular….i understand why paris is called the city of lights.  all the major monuments are lit so exquisitely. even the blue of the eiffel tower (blue in honour of the european union) was not garish.

 

 

 

 

the former palace of three of the louis and of marie antointte was fabulous. the grounds are immense and the garden was designed to create open air rooms that the court could use for different functions ranging from breakfast to evening dances. i especially loved the fountains and the classical music being played on the palace grounds.

i found an english book store (shakespeare and company) on the left bank and purchased a couple of books on jean-jacques rousseau as well as a biography of two infamous paris lesbians during the turn of the last (or is it the one before last) century.

i was also introduced to the back courtyard of the louvre last friday, where one can sit in the evenings and listen to live chamber music while admiring the architecture of the louvre.

i’ve finally found my stride in paris…thanks to some advice from friends….and, perhaps, thanks to the sensual adel….who i may just write about at a future time….

today i had lunch in the sun at a little cafe and will soon be meandering my way over to the musee d’orsay to look at some impressionist paintings…

still missing friends and family, but life is good right now

j.

giverny

 

well, last monday was the french national holiday so i ventured forth to the champs du mars to see the fireworks at the eiffel tower….i got there early in the afternoon, as recommended…. and spent the day laying on the grass and reading. it was a gorgeous warm, sunny day, and i was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was a concert before the fireworks. there were a few mediocre (to my tastes) french singers, but then all of a sudden, james blunt was on stage singing…now, that was a great surprise, and as it turned out, the highlight of the evening! the fireworks themselves were not so spectacular, but worse was that, by the time they started, the place was shoulder to shoulder with people – it was seriously crowded! i actually got into an international spat with some people. (…i realized that i can be quite a bitch when people piss me off….)

 

when the fireworks (figurative and literal) were over it took quite some time to get out of the immediate vicinity of the tower. at times trying to get where i was going was like trying to swim against a rip tide…. . i walked home (a few hours) almost uneventfully. i did meet a good-looking, stylish man from senegal on my way home who asked me out for a date the next day but i politely declined of course…(why couldn’t i have come here when i used to date men…).

 

today i went to giverny to see claude monet’s home and gardens, especially the famous japanese garden he built, and filled with

monet's japanese garden

the water lillies for which he is famous. apparently, he once said that the only two things he was any good at were gardening and painting…well, those two things were definitely enough…

 

 

 

tomorrow i’ll be taking an open air night tour on an open double decker to see paris by night! that should be beautiful… and saturday i’ll be heading to opulent palace of versailles. i remember learning about versailles in highschool (yes, way back then …) and thinking that i’d love to see the gardens there someday. well, that someday is finally here….

 

i think the key to me enjoying my trip here alone is to stay busy (which will be easy enough to do)….i’m contemplating a train trip to london next week….that might be fun….i’ll let you know…

 

au revoir,

j.

hmmm…

a view of the seine...

last night was a not so good one…i have to expect them; down times will be down times no matter where in the world i am…remember that saying…”wherever you go, there you are”…. i think i just miss having family and friends to talk with.  a character on a television show i watch had a line that captured a part of who i am; she said ” i don’t make friends easily”. i’m not one of those bubbly people who can meet people anywhere, anytime, so being alone here is a bit of a challenge. i knew that it would be though….

today? better…i slept in until 11:00 a.m. – that is a record for me. i could have probably stayed in bed even longer, but i felt guilt enough sleeping until then. tomorrow will also be  a late morning. i want to be able to have enough energy tomorrow night to stay late at the eiffel tower to watch the fireworks. tomorrow is france’s national holiday, and i can already feel it in the air, as it is quite busy in the marais district on a sunday night

well, au revoir for now…

j.

mellow…

i do love the architecture...

it’s been a mellow few days…a little shopping, a lot of reading (i’ve lost track of the number of novels i’ve read in the last week) and a little aimless wandering…

 

 

J

 

a few interesting things I’ve noticed….many of the streets are no bigger than alleyways in north America…in fact, many of the alleyway sized streets, also have streets off of them…all named.

motorcycles and scooters abound….it is common to see a motorcycle suddenly swerve of the road onto a sidewalk to park.

traffic circles are madness….there is no other word to describe them. most, in central paris, have no lanes indicated, so it just becomes a moving obstacle course for vehicles…

i went into a gourmet shop today, and after speaking to me first in french, the clerk said he thought i was french from the way i looked…it must have been the sunglasses J (i can communicate ever so haltingly in french, but when someone speaks to me, it just seems to all roll over my head).

 

well, time to head out again for some more aimless wandering…

paris…

well, i’ve been here about five days now, and just came from my first visit to the louvre…the museum is immense and overwhelming at times…. i thought i’d just do two tours (self-guided audio tours) today, but even with a lunch break (mmm…french onion soup – the memory of it lingers on my tongue…), i had to cut it short part way through the second tour. i realized after i began calling people “idiots” under my breath (well, almost under my breath) that i’d better call it a day.  here’s a version of stupid people – they spend their time taking pictures of the art, or taking pictures of each other in front of the art, rather than just enjoying what they are seeing….after a little while i stopped being polite and didn’t care if i walked into a photograph, or blocked a camera shot… i’ll return a few more times, but will still not be able to see as much as it can offer….

but, oh, i almost forgot the great stuff about the louvre…i’m in love with greek and roman sculptures…they are beautiful! the venus de milo (also known as aphrodite) was magnificent…(did you know that she has big feet for her size)…..and of course i also saw the mona lisa… her eyes do follow you…

some highlites of paris so far:

the louvre (more to come later)

open air (double decker) bus tours of the city in the sunshine – everyone should do that on their first visit to a city such as this. i saw all the major monuments and got a sense of the layout of paris. i did two days of tours (there are four tours in total). i saw the eiffel tower, the arc de triomphe, notre dame, the opera house, the latin quarter, the champs elysees, place des invalides, place de la concorde, etc…here are some pics from it…

 

 

 there are starbucks here! no i did not go to any…but it was funny to see…

great coffee, cheese, and bread…

good bread – the baguettes, the nut bread…

l’occitane – i found my favorite perfume in this french store. there is one in vancouver, but i forgot to bring my perfume…

madelaines – my new favorite pastry. well, it’s not really a pastry: it’s a little cake. the taste is positively addictive!

puppies – i passed by a few pet shops on my way to the louvre and finally stopped in one to watch the puppies playing….i wonder how waverly and panda are doing…

lowlights:

an open air bus tour in the rain – yes, it rained on one of the tours….

sleezy men  – i ignored a couple of univited “bonjours” as i walked (quickly) out of a less than savoury part of town…

snobby parisians – yes, the sterotype has truth to it. i have found the majority of parisian shopkeepers quite rude…i guess i’m just used to a bit more politeness, and the general geniality of canadians. there is an air of arrogance in many of the people here that i didn’t even find in new york….oh well…

the bread – yes, it is a highlight, but i’m also allergic to wheat, so my body is not happy with the number of the baguettes i’ve eaten

i have so much more to see and do. on sunday a friend of mine will be arriving to spend some time here….i can’t wait…it is also the french national holiday sunday, so it should be quite a party!

au revoir,

j.