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Name: Linnea
Birthday: 4/12/1983
Gender: Female
Interests: GUINNESS, NEW EXPERIENCES, JAZZ, BOOKS, DANCING FOR FUN, LIFE, INTERESTING PPL!!!!, BEAUTIFUL THINGS, QUALITY FOOD, MINIMALISM
Expertise: limegreenness
Occupation: Other
Industry: Medical
Message: message me
AIM:  linneaalba
Member Since:
1/28/2003
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| goodbye London ... au revoir Paris ... *
it's hard to imagine that my 2.5 week trip has come to an end and that my 4 month long freedom escapade will come to an end Monday when I find myself in North Carolina (of all places) (2 weeks only thank goodness), joining the rest of the working world...
dream's over... wake up!
* scratch that ... 'until we meet again'
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| J'ai voyage a Giverny ce qui est nord-ouest de Paris pour visiter la maison et les jardins de Monet, les deux sont absolument inspirants. My only regret is that my camera ran out of batteries =( and I left my charger in London with my cousins ... C'est domage ... oh well ... c'est la vie. So to contrast California with Paris, on Saturday, I didn't get to a danse club (Wagg) until 2am (the time such places close in dear ol Cali) (because we pre-partied avec champagnes! at the nicest flat near l'arc de triomphe!). Even tho I was tired, and became intimately familiar with which metros close at which time (btwn12h30 and 2h00), and the drinks were 10 euros (read $13-14 american dollars... including the beers), I had a grand time because MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED! I made a parisian friend named Alexi (whose grasp of the english language is v limited). I get to practice my French! We're hanging out tonight ... and now I have a friend to show me around when I do come back. YAY! I've concluded that everything my girlfriends said about Europe massaging the ego is true. Although it is not so good on the wallet ... as discovered thru a feverish spree at Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps... Yes this books is real  I almost forgot the most important part of my weekend... I got to see the Tour de France!! It was exciting to witness such a cultural staple. We finished 3rd on the last leg  (Too bad I was with a Spaniard (1st) and some Ozzies (2nd) so my sole celebration paled in comparison) | | |
| the french canadians (les quebecois as they prefer) introduced me to 9% ''la fin du monde" beer, aptly translated as "the end of the world" at also aptly titled ''the great canadian pub'' (no joke). there was also 8% ''maudite'' / ''dammit''. the thing that sucks about paris' metro (which i otherwise thoroughly enjoy and prefer to nyc's subway) is that it closes a lil after midnight, which means that if you're going to enjoy your night, you will need to walk home, or spend a forture on a taxi. (hmmm this is actually the same as in london, which is part 2 of the reason why i didnt get home til 7am the other day) we chose the former ... thank goodness for havaianas. today, went to picasso's museum which was delightfully small and thus manageable. caused me to envy the girlfriends of artists to the point that i almost decided that i will have a fling with a painter... that is, until ... i learned about mysognistic & abusive picasso's treatment of his wife / mistresses / girlfriends (jerk!!!). anyway, i am impressed with his range of media and styles, and it was quite interesting to see the evolution of his style. carnavalet gives a good overview of french history including their 3 fights for democratic independence / republics. centre pompidou taught me about the differences btwn the modern and postmodern movements / periods / styles. so tonight i am going to a rock concert of my newfound friend's stepbrother's band. he's from marin aka practically my backyard (in the global scheme of things). go figure i come to paris to meet my ''neighbor''. my goal is to become friends with a local. although i've had plenty of nice conversations and interactions with the french (really pleasant ppl) (someone even gave me a ride to the museum!), i haven't made the jump into friendship yet. need to not be so picky ... | | |
| started off my day just as a queen / princess would with a trip to the highly decorated palace of versailles. definitely ostentatious but yet charming: it made me wish even more that prince william were single or that france still had a monarchy (that i could be a part of). the hall of mirrors is just as grand as it sounds with the zillion chandeliers; ornate ceilings; and candelebra busts all around. you can fit 20 of my houses in that "room" alone. the most delightful part of this (rather expensive journey) were the beautiful gardens filled with roses; irises; lavenders; etc
if god were a sculptor; his name would be Rodin!!! truly the best museum ive been to during my whole eurotrip despite its less impressive size. all of his works are moving ... from the Creation of the World (imagine a headless female body with her legs open to show the "birth" of the world) to the Kiss (passionate embrace of two lovers) to the Gates of Hell (a powerful monument of sin; regret; suffering; and contemplation of mortality (i.e., the Thinker pondering the hell below him)). you also get to view the works of Camille Claudet, his mistress, 26 yrs his junior, and witness the effect of their parting on her life and art (she was institutionalized afterwards).
les invalides has napoleons magnificent tombe. worth seeing for what ive experienced to be the most elaborate death tribute.
after 2 more days of intense touristing; i plan to relax and live a true french cafe-musing, parc-strolling existence plus the requisite winedrinking.
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general impressions
met some nice ppl at my hostel including my australian roommate who has been traveling for the past 2.5 months all over; a peruvian girl from maryland who is moving to palo alto (yay!); and some french canadians (tell you more later; a preview is that they gave me a very detailed description of the red light district which they visited).
love love LOVE j'adore paris!!!! so much that i want to live here and drink wine all day and raise my kids here
à demain
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| i call yesterday the tour of the museums. got up at the early hour of what i thought was 8am but turned out i was still on london time throughout the whole day (explaining why i cursed one museum for closing an hour early).
Louvre - yeah the mona lisa and the wedding at canaan are great and so are the renaissance religious paintings and the sculptures but my favorite above all is Le Couronnement de la Vierge. and to think i only saw a sketch ::: the real one is in venice :::
http://www.louvre.fr/media/repository/ressources/sources/pdf/src_document_51107_v2_m56577569830660211.pdf
http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225134&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225134&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500816&fromDept=false&baseIndex=16&bmUID=1185471216944&bmLocale=en
Orangerie - two words aptly describe l'Orangerie ... purely amazing; as a fan of impressionism and all things Monet, i was thoroughly impressed by the two rooms of the water lilies (les Nymphaes)... pictures to be added later... it's amazing to see the same pond and its reflections change with the rising and setting of the sun throughout the day. on Friday i will visit monets home in giverny to visit the same pond and garden and bridge that he painted and to see if i see what he saw
Orsay - again an impressionist wonderland
dinner - tried escargots for the first time, not expecting to like it but it truly was heavenly and now i understand why sea snails are a delicacy. to continue with my imitation of the french, ordered boeuf bourgignione (so tender i didnt need a knife for the meat or the potatoes) and finished with a fromages avec salade et vin blanc (cheese sampling of brie, camembert and bleu with salad and but of course a glass of white wine). with a meal this good its hard to understand why the french are so skinny... (and why many tower stairways are a foot wide)
i know everyone wants to hear juicy gossip ... sorry haha
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