experience: notre dame

my visit to notre dame last week was fantastic!

highlights included:

--waiting in line for a good hour to get to the top of the towers!

--totally lucking out and getting to go up to the top for FREEEEEE.

--the gargoyles! looooove the gargoyles! though they looked awfully lonely to me... =(

--the view from the top, obviously [an utterly SENSATIONAL view of the ENTIRE city! pictured above...]

--trying to wrap my mind around what it would be like to have the job of ringing the bells of notre dame everyday [and then actually seeing the main bell]

--reliving scenes from the disney movie in my head... oh, disney!

--spending time meditating and praying inside of the cathedral, lighting one of the candles, getting lost in the stained windows

--sitting still long enough to really feel the great spirit and energy that exist inside such a historically rich building

--walking away and thinking to myself... "hey, what a wonderful world..."

=]

experience: a drive through normandy

experience: etretat

experience: normandy

benefits of making friends with the locals in paris: they may invite you to their country homes in normandy. =]

if such an invitation is extended, you may feel rather inclined to seize the opportunity and hop in a car randomly after class one day to make the drive north. then, if you’re really lucky, you might just have a few of the most relaxing, gorgeous, and awe-inspiring days of your summer. or life, for that matter.

MY EXPERIENCES IN NORMANDY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

--riding in a normal vehicle like a normal person, loving it

--stopping at a grocery store to buy a few days worth of delicious sustenance, including frozen pizzas, fresh fruits and veggies, and some of that mighty fine french cheese [also, nutella… obviously…]

--driving through the countryside, getting all-too-excited about the farmlands and greenery, rolling down the window and smelling idaho all over the place =]

--arriving at my friend’s adorable little countryside cottage in the woods, unpacking for the night, learning that the house is ACTUALLY a seventeenth centurty abbey [built in 1632... the adjoining chapel still stand on the neighbor's property...] !!!

--eating some of the best homemade raspberry and apricot jam that i’ve every experienced in my life, singing and dancing to old show tunes with esther in the kitchen, getting laughed at by our french friend, victor…

--listening to regina spektor’s new album while lying on a grassy hill and staring at the stars, alllll niiiiiight looooong [not a single bit of light for miiiiiles]

--waking up to eat freshly picked strawberries, heading into the local village [which seemed to be more like the opening scene of an old disney fairytale than a place real human beings actually live], eating the best chocolate croissant pastry i’ve ever had [for only a euro!], and enjoying the company of my dear friends =]

--buying fresh baguettes and making sandwiches to pack in a picnic bag for lunch

--taking the two hour drive to etretat, an absolutely stunning little beachside village near a breathtaking collection of cliffs/rock formations... I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU HOW BRILLIANTLY GORGEOUS IT WAS

--listening to the tide coming in over the rocky beach, letting the sun freckle my face

--hiking up the cliffs, finding the perfect ledge/clearing, having a traditional [ahemdivineahem] lunch of bread and cheeeeese

--hiking even higher to the upper-most part of the cliffs

--watching my friends walk down to the beach to nap and play, while i stayed up top to meditate for a while

-- being utterly consumed by the absolute magnitude and beauty of the cliffs, the ocean below, the sky above, the seagulls beside, the wild grass, the flowers, the cute little couples walking along the water’s edge, the sun, the wind [oh the wind…], wondering if i’m actually experiencing reality, realizing that it doesn’t matter because, regardless, everything’s perfect for a moment. absolutely perfect. [in every wonderfully cliché and absolutely perfectly perfect way].

--realizing that i’m a really cheesy human being because the lyrics/song “colors of the wind” from pocahantas won’t leave my head…

--realizing how terribly dangerous it is to sit so stinkin close to the edge of such a high cliff, but not caring… staying put to enjoy the risk =]

--staring at the same weed blowing in the wind for ages, wondering what sort of wonderful choreography mia michaels could make of that movement…

--eventually getting up from my little spot on the edge of the cliff and moseying on down to the beach

--taking a nap in the sun, letting it warm every last bit of me, using the nutella jar as a pillow

--waking up to the sound of a seagull poking his beak at the carton of orange juice sitting next to me

--reeeealllly waking up when the said bird started eating my finger for dinner… !!!
--collecting rocks and putting them in my pocket to take home, like i used to do when i was a small person

--being continuously BLOWN AWAY at how absolutely GORGEOUS the french countryside is… like, UTERRLY blown away

--realizing that normandy is certainly one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been… it feels simultaneously foreign and enchanting, yet absolutely homey and familiar [a mix of eastern idaho, southern idaho, and a fairy tale…]

--driving home during sunset… rolling hills, talllllll grass, old farmers, strange cows, winding roads, the strong scent of freshly cut hay, cozy villages, timelessness, and on and on.

--arriving home in the woods JUST as a summer storm was coming, heading inside to make yummy pasta, showering in time to sit next to an open window, watching the lightning, listening to the thunder and pouring rain, stepping outside to smell the storm, hiding under my blanket in my pjs…

--falling asleep feeling like everything is right in the world, knowing that it is =]

--getting up bright and early, eating breakfast at another pastry shop in the local village, exploring for a bit, seeing more of the countryside while driving back to paris, wanting it to never end… ever…

--reliving it all again by posting this silly blog… being remarkably happy about it in every way…

=]

[if you have the chance in your life to go to normandy, you must. it’ll fill your heart right up.]

[and that’s all, folks.]

experience: chateau gaillard

on our road trip north to country-living and beach-bumming in normandy, my friends and i stopped to explore the ancient ruins of château-gaillard, a historical sight totally open to the public. i climbed on things i probably shouldn't have and jumped off even more. the view was spectacular, and the experience of touching things that old... well, prety darn priceless.

château-gaillard is a ruined medieval castle, located above the town of les andelys, in the eure département of normandy, france. it is located some 95 km north-west of paris and 40 km from rouen... right on the way to my friend's country home!

it is worth mentioning that THIS THING WAS BUILT IN THE YEAR 1197. THAT'S A REAAAAALLLLY LOOOOOOOOOOOONG TIME AGO.

a few facts:

--> king richard's brother, john, demanded that an extra toilet be built in the chapel of the castle. WELL... during battle, the troops of philip II of france captured the castle after a long siege in 1203, some 4 years after king richard's death. during the siege, philip ordered a group of his men to look for a weak point in the castle. the french had gained access to the outermost ward on the line of approach by undermining the tower. following this, they located the disposal chute for the toilet which john had requested [looovely, eh?] they climbed up it and into the chapel, which was locked from the outside and then broke a window in order to climb along the castle wall. after ambushing several unsuspecting guards and setting fire to the buildings, philip's men then lowered the drawbridge and allowed the rest of their army into the castle. the castle was overtaken because of john's extra toilet! [i will ignore the infinite opportunities to make a pun out of the fact that his name was john...]

--> gaillard served as the residence of the exiled david II of scotland in the 1330s.

--> having lost any strategic value, château-gaillard was dismantled under henry IV of france in the 1340s... after 400 years of existence. that means that the thing was considered old even SIX HUNDRED YEARS AGO, a few hundred years AFTER it was built! [america seems so stinking young when after studying french history...]

--> it made for one epic, twenty-first century afternoon. =]

^the view from the top

^posing like, er, posers

<--pretending to be in the 100 years war...
<--still pretending to be in the 100 years war...

experience: LONDON

aaah! nina, kiet, and i flew to london for the weekend [it was cheaper to fly than take the train, believe it or not...]

things that happened while london-ing...

--kiet and i somehow TOTALLY lucked out and were seated in business class on the plane, so we got to eat fancy hours d'ouvres and were offered champagne, etc.

--stayed at a RIDICULOUSLY nice hotel next to the famous london tower bridge. [and the london tower castle, which has QUITE the history!]

--heard ENGLISH being spoken! everywhere! WOOOOAH!

--went wandering all night to familiarize ourselves with the area

--woke up and went to leicester square, where i was utterly stoked to stumble upon the WEST END LIVE festival! [west end is the european version of broadway!]

--sat outside and listened to LOADS of london's finest performers... saw scenes from wicked, hairspray, dirty dancing, sister act [AMAZING], oliver!, the king and i, etc.

--lucked out and got cheap tickets to the closing night of west end's "carousel" revival... went to the show later that night and was moved deeply by the dancing and incredible singing [though their fake american accents were HILARIOUS]

--had a lovely lunch at a little cafe

--visited local art galleries downtown london [one of my favorite things to do in the whole, wide world], discovered some INCREDIBLE WORK, spent lunch money on a photograph =]

--got a haircut for only six pounds! LESS THAN I PAY IN NEW HAVEN! had a great time chatting with my hair stylist, jodie, who just moved to london from new zealand.

--visited the south bank and walked along the thames river [beautiful stuff!]

--visited the TATE Modern, london's most extensive and famous collection of modern art! [oh, modern art! how i love thee so...]

--went to dinner at an amazing little pub, had a shepard's pie, almost died at how utterly delicious authentic pub food is!

--stayed out late listening to street performers in tralfager square, finding fleet street [made infamous by sweeney todd!], ate at mcdonald's after carousel just because it's what i do after broadways shows in ny [seriously... nothing beats a dollar sundae! lame but lovely! =]

--woke up the next day and did a three hour walking tour of the city

--saw EVERYTHING... hyde park, buckingham palace, the changing of the guard, churchill's war cabinent bunker, the houses of parliament, westminster abbey, BIG BEN, st. james park, 10 downing street, and on and on!

--made faces at the queen's gaurds... tried to get them to laugh... failed miserably like everyone else...

--ate indian food for lunch because there were SO MANY indian restaurants around and curry was sounding DIVINE...

--wandered around to every possible corner and crevice of the city i could squeeze in... got lost a few times due to a really confusing map...

--noticed that london fashion is a bit more adventurous and loud than in paris [which i'm all for]

--realized that i can ABSOLUTELY see myself living in london for some part of my life

--headed back to the airport, boarded the plane, and arrived back home in paris [so fun to call paris home] with a renewed motivation to explore and discover!

such.a.perfect.weekend.

=]


^our hotel is in the background of this photo

^the london eye

experience: VERSAILLES

so, versailles is kind of a big deal. like, really big one.

facts about the palace:

--the chateau is famous because it served as the residence of King Louis XIV and his queen, Marie Antoinette [during the time period i've been studying HARD CORE in class!]

--when chateau de versailles was completed, it could accommodate up to 5,000 people, including servants.

--it is one of the largest palaces in the world, with more than 700 rooms, 2000 windows, 1250 fireplaces, 67 staircases and more than 1800 acres of park.

--in the Hall of Mirrors, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, after World War I. a solid half of u.s. history in high school focuses on this very fact! mr. bright would be stoked...

--versailles is the perfect example/summation of french absolutism [ie: absolute monarchy]

--the gardens are utterly divine in every way... MILES long and perfectly trimmed/gardened/cared for. must be royal or something... =]


--the rooms are nicer than any building i've ever seen in my life. the embelishments are endless and the money and detail POURED into the building are just astounding. the king's bed alone is enough to drool over for ages...

--a bird pooped on my head outside of the castle. apparently, in europe at least, that means there is good luck coming my way!

YIPPEE!

=]

experience: snapshots of versailles

below are some snapshots of our visit to versailles! i will post more about the palace itself soon... for now, i've got a plane to LONDON to catch!

experience: the musée d'orsay

^a photo i took from the top of orsay, looking out toward the seine

my six hours spent at the musée d'orsay was hands down one of my favorite things i've done in paris so far. i left utterly moved by the artwork--somber, even.

the musée d'orsay houses one of the most famous collections of impressionism in the world. we're talking ROOMS full of monet, manet, renoir, and van gogh. of course, it is impossible to put into words the sort of things evoked from an afternoon staring at such brilliant work. i don't even know where to start...

manet's colors and strokes are just beautiful. one of renoir's paintings gave me chills and, i'm not ashamed to admit, almost moved me to tears. i was sad to leave it behind in the museum. van goh's work broke my heart. and filled it up. at the same time.

i'm taking a bus to amsterdam nextweek almost exclusively to visit the van gogh museum [an entiiiire museum of JUST his work]. i can't even tell you how excited i am about it. i don't think i've ever seen an artist paint more of themselves into their work than van gogh. i got to see "starry night over the rhone," [which is similiar to, but different than, the infamous "starry night"]. it's another one that left me with chills. gah, i just can't explain what it was like sitting there with all of this artwork staring back at me. it reminded me of the first time i ever saw a van gogh and monet--during my first trip to new york city when i was 16. sets.my.heart.on.FIRE.

one artist who totally hit me out of nowhere was edgar degas. his work was INCREDIBLE. his perspective was so intersting to me, and i fell in love with his bronze/sculture work. i'm absolutely his newest biggest-fan. =]

i stayed at the museum [literally] until they kicked me out. the funny thing? i only got to see one wing of the building! [the impressionist wing, as you could reasonably conclude...] i spent SIX HOURS in essentially four rooms. i can't even imagine how long it's going to take me to get through the entire louvre...

in any case, i left the museum at 6pm and climbed up on a ledge out near the street to take a nap in the sun. people were scattered about eating, sleeping, resting, etc. a really talented oboist was performing nearby and directly below the ledge i was sitting at was a small bistro. needless to say, the sound of a lovely oboe and the steady sound of dinner conversations in french lulled me to sleep rather quickly. =] i woke up about a half hour later and went for a walk on the seine river. it never gets old.

anyway. i could keep up these silly ramblings forever... i'll stop and try to show you a few pictures! i didn't take many because i was a bit preoccupied, but here's a taste...

^monet
<--monet
<--van gogh
<--van gogh

^an interior view of the museum