Visual Diary: Rainy Days, Petit Palais, and other Life Things

The past couple weeks have been quite drizzly, blustery, and chilly. I find that time seems to be passing more quickly and naturally now - I've stopped counting the passing weekends, and stopped feeling panicky about the unknown future. The residence card should be in the works as we speak, and I've got a babysitting job lined up for the fall. I've even managed to pick up a little side job for a couple months, which will fund both my student loan payments due in June, as well as my summertime-BFF-Spain trip planned for August. I am far from having everything figured out, but who ever really does?





I was walking through a long, conveyor-belt strip in the Montparnasse metro station a while back, and noticed an advertisement that stretched the entire length of the tunnel. The Paris metro always contains ads for spectacles and temporary art exhibitions, and this particular one was adorned with Belle Epoque images of the Eiffel Tower, World's Fair, Toulouse-Lautrec posters, the Moulin Rouge... basically the quintessential historical Paris. I know I had to see the exhibition asap, because that's my time period! It was housed within the gorgeous Petit Palais and had a wide variety of both art and "cultural artefacts," if you will. Photographs, posters, paintings, garments, books, furniture, an Art Nouveau metro archway, you name it. I tried to get pictures of things, but the lighting is always impossibly low in these kind of exhibitions. We failed to buy advance tickets online to avoid the line, but in the end managed to pick a good day and only waited in the queue for about 25 minutes, and ate some pastries to pass the time!






This week was the first of my new short-term babysitting gig, so I've been out of the house more often than usual, and have focused less on my blog. However, I have been working on a new wordpress-based site design that I'm really excited about! I have a vision for this blog, one that reaches out into other realms, and I really feel that I can achieve this vision if I just keep working at it a little everyday.



Married life has also been especially excellent as of late. I've had a pessimistic, jaded, fearful view of marriage for many years, but I'm happy to say that our relationship at the moment is blatantly defying every single one of those apprehensions. I love everything about this guy, and regardless of what I do with my life, at least I have this really weird, funny, caring person next to me. <3 I will cherish this Instax photo for the rest of my life:


À bientôt mes amies!

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Wandering Wednesdays

Did you know that in French, one walks in a street, and not on one? I think that's quite poetic. To be in a street suggests that the road, the buildings, the trees, the people, are surrounding and enveloping you. You're not just present in a place, but part of it.



If you couldn't tell by the large title image, I'm starting a recurring series called Wandering Wednesdays. I can't say that I'll have pictures of miscellaneous Parisian street scenes every single week on Wednesdays, or that I'll literally be doing the wandering specifically on Wednesdays, but it made for a good title, so I'm sticking with it! And when I do have some lovely pictures to post, I'll post them on Wednesdays!

Okay - I think I've repeated the word "Wednesday" far too many times by now! Enjoy these pictures, most of which were taken between Invalides and Pont de L'Alma, also known as the 7th arrondissement. An exception in the first two, which were taken at the Grand Palais and on Pont Alexandre III. I've also included probably my favorite French song by Miss Bardot for your listening pleasure














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Something's Brewing in Canal Saint Martin

The 10th Arrondissement has long been a forgotten neighbourhood of Paris, overshadowed by the romance of Montmartre above, and the cool vibe of the Marais below. Although it has always boasted the Canal Saint Martin, a favorite summertime picnic spot of young hip thangs from that side of town, the rest of the surrounding streets are home to multicultural establishments: African, Indian, East European, Turkish, Italian, Asian, and probably any other non-French influence you can think of has staked a claim here.

Over the past few years, the 10th has become increasingly more gentrified, and although I dislike this word and phenomenon for many reasons, you can't deny the perks that come with such an economic shift. Now bear with me, I have zero actual knowledge of economic systems, but here are my thoughts: On one hand, property values increase, driving the poorer community out, bringing in more tourists, and eventually spoiling what had made the area charming in the first place. I don't believe this has happened yet - the neighbourhood does not bring in a ton of tourists, but I will say it attracts a lot of young foreign residents. Lots of international students, bloggers, and people who work in the arts, and those are my kind of people!

One of the best results of this transformation of the 10th is the birth of new restaurants. I decided to try a few to see what the fuss was all about. What they all have in common is intimacy, good service, quality ingredients, and simple, yet cool interior design. The facades rarely have signage and look unassuming from the outside, the dining rooms are small and often have communal seating, the waiters are actually kind, helpful, and willing to speak English, unlike most traditional French establishments, and the food is usually organic, in season, unique, and health-conscious. The experiences I've had thus far have been extremely positive! Let me tell you about a few restaurants I've visited.

First, is Holy Belly, known for its changing, monthly menu and seasonal ingredients. They even stock microbrews that are made in France. I've heard that microbreweries are quite commonplace in the north of France, and I think it's time to bring that tradition down to Paris! I'm not a huge beer drinker, but I love the idea of supporting small producers.


Holy Belly has vegetarian options, but I had a dish with lamb curry and salad, as well as a cappuccino, which was top-notch quality. And can we all take a small moment to appreciate the text on the sign above that reads, "hook a brother up."

The service is outstanding, the servers smiling as they bring your food. This kind of simple kindness is so refreshing in Paris! I hope it becomes a trend outside of this neighbourhood, although I highly doubt it will, since French servers don't rely on tips like they do in America.





Next, is an English fish n' chips joint cleverly called The Sunken Chip - see what they did there?? It's more of a takeaway/fast food environment, but that doesn't mean their floors are dirty or service brusque. The man who helped us was super nice, the white subway tile lining the entire place was sparkling and bright, and the menu was straightforward and easy to understand.


I went for a cream soda with my fish, and asked for a side of tartar sauce, since I wasn't familiar with mushy peas, a staple of the English variety of this dish. I've only ever had California-style fish n' chips, which generally consists of thinner fish strips and tartar sauce as an absolute necessity (often accompanied with some white clam chowder, yum). I really enjoyed this meal though, despite the subtle cultural differences.






Another establishment that I would like to mention is the Bakery that resides next door to the Sunken Chip. It's called Liberté, and they had one of the best coffee cream puffs I've ever had. Their spread wasn't typically French - it had a slight variations on the normal staples, and a few additions I've never seen before. Not to mention the place is aesthetically pleasing. Marble and glass counter, patterned tile, rough loft-like walls, and floor-to-ceiling windows that open like shutters. Yes, just yes.






There are some other places I want to visit soon, and most of them are on Rue des Vinaigriers, or very close by. There's a vegan hippie restaurant and epicerie that sells raw cacao and aloe vera branches, and a build-your-own Korean stir-fry café, as well as a handful of coffee shops that actually take pride in the quality of their coffee, which is surpassingly hard to come by in Paris.

Here are the places I mentioned, plus more:

Holy Belly
19 Rue Lucien Sampaix
metro Jacques Bonsergent

The Sunken Chip
39 Rue des Vinaigriers
CONTACT@THESUNKENCHIP

Boulangerie - Liberté par Benoît Castel
Patisserie
39 rue des Vinaigriers, 75010 Paris

Sol Semilla - Vegan Restaurant and Épicerie
23 rue des vinaigriers

Ten Belles - Awesome coffee shop
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles

Jules et Shim - Korean stir-fry
22 rue des Vinaigriers


If you've been to any of these places, tell me if you liked them! And up next here on the blog is either an Art History post, or pictures of my random walks through Paris.


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Springtime in Monet's Garden

Being a girl who took started French lessons in high school and studied Art in college, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Impressionism, or any artwork during that time period actually. Degas' cropped Ballerina scenes, Van Gogh's vibrating and tortuous genre scenes, and Monet's expansive waterlily canvases. It's all so fascinating, the history behind these artistic revolutions; and what makes it even more fascinating, more so than seeing the canvases in a museum, is seeing the source of inspiration itself. I had the privilege of seeing Claude Monet's private gardens last Saturday, as well as his home.


The village is called Giverny, and it's about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Paris. Gravelly roads, wooden shutters, and rolling green hills - it was something out of a fairy tale. I really didn't know what to expect from the garden, but I knew there would be a waterlily pond. Boy, were my expectations blown out of the water: Rows upon rows of brightly-colored tulips, poppies, daffodils, forget-me-nots, and pansies, just bopping their heads lightly in the breeze. The intense sunshine enhanced their colour to a fluorescent hue; I had to squint so much my eyes started watering a little bit! Even my camera had a difficult time capturing the brightness of the scene.



I've truly never seen anything like it. I had such a fun time zooming in on these flowers, exploring the floral forest with the lens. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed photographing something as much as this. I tried to narrow it down so this post wouldn't be super long, but it was hard!


























The chickens here had hilarious hairstyles!!



The lily pond was just as amazing, although I imagine it's even better during summertime, when the waterlilies bloom. I could easily see how Monet was inspired to paint his famous waterlily paintings here. The still water reflected not only the light, filtered through weeping willow branches, but also the flowers and plants placed on the banks, variations in green with random bits of red. The colours and abstractions that resulted on the water's surface were amazing.





After idling away a decent span of time among the flowers, we went on an exploratory walk in the surrounding village. We spotted some people sitting high upon a hilltop, wondering how on earth they had hiked up that high. Well - with a bit of poking around, we were able to find a grassy walking trail, put on our explorer caps, and hiked up. Even though this part wasn't necessarily the most beautiful, It felt very special to me. One of my favourite paintings by Monet is the one of a woman, standing on a grassy hill, the breeze blowing her skirt. Although I was not carrying a parasol or wearing a fantastic full skirt, I truly felt like the scene I found myself in had the same feeling as a Monet painting. And how could I complain about this view? If I had a large blanket, this would have been a fantastic time for a picnic.





Once we reluctantly left Giverny and arrived back at the Vernon train station, we discoverd that the next train back into Paris would arrive in TWO hours! So we walked slowly around the town, admiring the half-timbered buildings that seemed so much older than the tall concrete buildings of Paris. Here are a couple snaps from our train-waiting period:





I think what struck me most about this trip was the feeling of adventure it gave me. It's been quite a while since I've felt that spark of passion, freedom, and novelty. Even Paris, although amazing, can become predictable over time; Giverny was something I've never, ever done before, and I loved that feeling. I can't wait to get that travel-high again some time soon! Tell me about a time that you felt that spark of adventure in the comments below!

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