Cassidy in Paris

Cassidy came from Barcelona to visit me last weekend! I loved having another presence in my one-person studio apartment and showing her around the city made me explore the city even further. In the short three days she was here, we managed to squeeze in a Vampire Weekend concert, three museums, countless sights, and a lot of good food. I discovered the zeal of Paris during the holiday season and rediscovered the charms of Paris by night.

Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig! (from my instagram)

View of the Tour Eiffel and Obélisque de Louxor by Place de la Concorde.

Jardin des Tuileries:

Roue de Paris.

"These chairs look so relaxed." - C

Shamefully, these photos mark only my second visit to the Louvre:

The Code of Hammurabi.

Art students taking advantage of the closing-time lull in Louvre traffic.

In the apartments of Napoleon III.

View from the top of the Musée d'Orsay

We took a long stroll along the Seine River one night and visited the Pont des Arts, the bridge on which lovers traditionally put locks to symbolize their eternal love for each other. We saw everything from regular square locks to giant heart-shaped, gilded locks to long bike locks, and the light of dusk was incredibly cooperative. I had to stop myself from filling my entire memory card with photos of the bridge.

Charming.

The view from the bridge was amazing as well.

The flower markets on the Île de la Cité

Arc de Triomphe paved by the Christmas lights of the Champs-Élysées. 

The Louvre, the Marais, and Pierre Hermé

First some Pierre Hermé food porn:

Easily the best macarons I've ever had and without a doubt the most elaborate packaging as well. If they get any better than this, please let me know immediately. Flavors from bottom to top: porcelana chocolate, jasmine flower/tea, salted (fleur de sel) caramel, cinnamon and pistachio, milk chocolate and passion fruit, rose, olive oil-cucumber-mandarin orange. My favorites of the bunch: porcelana chocolate, chocolate/passion fruit, and olive oil/cucumber/mandarin orange.

These past couple weeks have been a whirlwind of shopping classes and going on group trips with my program to explore various parts of Paris--namely the Louvre and the Marais. The Louvre trip made me realize just how vast it actually is because although we went to multiple exhibits, we probably only saw the tiniest percentage of what the museum has to offer. Our guide showed us the base walls and moat of the original Louvre building and then took us to see ancient Greek statues, some artifacts from the time of Louis XIV, the chambers of the former king, and, of course, paintings. I will definitely be coming back to the Louvre multiple times before my time is up, especially since I get in free with my French student card.

Taken from my instagram.

I inexplicably found this small torso very amusing.

The famous Venus de Milo! Apparently one of the few Greek statues at the Louvre that is actually the original, and not a copy. Because the statue was recovered without its arms, researchers can only guess that it is a statue of Venus and not of Amphitrite, a sea goddess revered by the island of Milo. Our tour guide pointed out a pale patch of stone underneath the statue's nose where some restoration work was done.

Diana of Versailles

Sleeping Hermaphroditus - my friends and I spent a while debating whether or not the mattress was also made of stone. Turns out, the mattress was added later by Italian sculptor Bernini in 1620.

The Three Graces - Canova

Last week our program went with the same tour guide around the Marais to discover some architecture. The Marais consists of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of France. It was once known as the aristocratic part of France but is now home to growing gay and Jewish populations and is a trendy place for shopping and art museums.

Found in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Beauvais, which is known in part for being where Mozart stayed when he came to Paris. Essentially a big plaque that says "Mozart wuz here"

Franz. 

"Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head though the doorway."

The Wall of Philippe August, one of the first city walls of Paris. The wall once separated aristocratic Paris from not-Paris. 1190-1213

Seeing the remnants of the ancient wall was definitely the most impressive part of our tour of the Marais. There was a dirt field along the wall on which children were riding bikes and playing with a ball by bouncing the ball off the wall and catching it again. The juxtaposition of young and extremely old was quite striking to me.