Day34-36 : New York in Paris

Bonjour again!

Sorry I've been quite terrible with my updates. After being sick last week and still catching up on work, plus with a big presentation in school coming up later this week, sadly I've not had much time to explore much of Paris the last couple of days :-( However, I just wanted say a quick hello again and share this wonderful map of Paris by artist Vahran Muratyan of Paris versus New York that I recently came across...

For any American transplants like me who are new to Paris and still trying to figure out the different neighborhoods (20 arrondissements in total!), I must say based on my experiences and Parisian expeditions so far this amusing map has been quite accurate so far! It's quite interesting to see how much Paris does indeed remind of New York and vice versa...

Day 33 : Il a neigé à Paris = Winter Wonderland!

Bonjour mes amis!

I am thrilled to say winter has finally arrived here in Paris! Oui, I woke up this morning and discovered to my delight that it had actually snowed last night--and by snow, I do not mean flurries, but proper snow indeed! 

Okay, for all of my midwestern friends, you'll probably think my pictures below might look a little pathetic--compared to our good ol' fashion blizzards at home, this would be classified as merely a "dusting." Nonetheless, by European standards, even a few inches managed to cause chaos in London this weekend and pretty much convinced everyone in Paris to stay inside--all the streets were practically empty! To mark this joyous event (and staying true to my midwestern roots :-p), I decided to spend my Sunday afternoon frolicking around my neighborhood and capturing my little snow globe of Paris before it all melted...

I present to you my black-and-white artsy interpretation of "Winter in Paris"... enjoy! 

Passy | 16e arrondissement

L'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

L'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

Off l'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

Off l'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

L'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

L'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

L'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

L'avenue Georges-Mandel | 16e arrondissement

Place du Trocadéro | 16e arrondissement

Tour Eiffel | 16e arrondissement

Tour Eiffel | 16e arrondissement

Palais de Chaillot | 16e arrondissement

Passy | 16e arrondissement

Passy | 16e arrondissement

Passy | 16e arrondissement

Passy | 16e arrondissement

For those of you who prefer the wonderful world of color, worry not--I have not forgotten about you! Jump ahead for your very own special virtual tour, too :-)

Day 32 : Part 2 - Out and about in Le Marais (again!)

Because I clearly loved it the first time around, I decided to spend another weekend exploring more of Le Marais! and let me just say that each time I come here, I fall more and more in love with the old charm and character of this neighborhood... Hopefully by the end of this blog post, you'll see why :-)

For your viewing pleasure, I've decided to share a few great finds from my afternoon stroll today... Of all of them, I'd have to say that, by far, my favorite highlight would have to be Place des Vosges! For my history buffs out there, you'll be intrigued to hear that this beautiful Parisian oasis happens to be the oldest planned square in Paris!

Bienvenue au Marais. Pavillon du Roi. Love the architecture. | Rue de Birague, 3e arrondissement

Place des Vosges  | 3e arrondissement

Being the nerdy little me, I've always been fascinated about hearing the stories behind people, places, and things--and so  after I came home tonight, of course, I had to give myself some fun, extra little homework to brush up on my Jeopardy trivia about this place :-) Quite an interesting story indeed--I must say reading up on its background definitely brought the beautiful old square more back to life!

Admittedly, many times at school I've been called the "Queen of All Nerds." So, rather than bore many of you with a full history lesson on what I learned about Place des Vosges today, I shall resist the temptation and leave my fellow nerds to rely on my best friend Mr. Wikipedia to educate you all. Meanwhile, without any further delay, I'll let the rest of you go on and enjoy my visual delights below :-)

Statue de Louis XIII | Place des Vosges 

Pavillon de la Reine. Il fait du soleil! | Place des Vosges 

If only it wasn't winter, I'd spend my weekends reading here... | Place des Vosges 

 Hmm, I've noticed that the French love to trim all their trees flat... | Place des Vosges 

 Maison de Victor Hugo in the far corner. | Place des Vosges 

Arcardes lining the park. Feel like I've travelled back in time... | Place des Vosges 

A few more lucky gems I came across this afternoon!

To start with, this cool concept store Merci, which my sister actually told me about a few years ago. Tucked away in a courtyard off Boulevard Beaumarchais, this lovely, quirky magasin solidaire was launched awhile back by the founders of chic children's brand Bonpoint and would be what I'd describe as the perfect one-stop shop for cool little things to make life more fun :-)

Merci  | 3e arrondissement

J'adore cette voiture rouge! | Merci

Inside you'll find a delightful selection of books, fashion, shoes, kitchen accessories, furniture, bikes, etc.--all artfully displayed to tempt even the most casual window-shopper to come in and take a peek :-) The best part about this store, though, is that 100% of profits from your purchases at Merci all go to charities! Hmm, now with a good cause like that, how can you resist indulging in some retail therapy?!

Day 24 : Part One - The Happiest Place in... Europe---Disneyland Paris!

I'd have to say today was, by far, the most fun I've ever had since I arrived here in France!! Why you ask? Well, that's because I got to spend the entire day being a kid again at Disneyland Paris!! 

Haha! Yes, we all know I've been a Disney fanatic since I was little. Truth be told, though, it was only after I found out I'd be studying abroad in France that I really started to have my eyes set on checking this theme park out. Disneyland Paris was the second Disney resort launched outside the US, but the first to be opened and operated by Disney--which unfortunately meant a lot of hard lessons learnt by Disney during its early days... While interning with Disney last summer, I actually got the chance to hear many of these stories from other cast members, as well as the various things Disney did to improve the Park since. Living in Paris now and embracing my inner Disney nerd :-p, I knew I could not possibly leave France without seeing it all for myself. Even more so, a number of my friends in Imagineering had mentioned a lot of good things about Disneyland Paris, with some even going as far to say that it was their favorite! So again, I needed to see why...

Admittedly, at first, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find someone to make the Disney voyage with me... I had mentioned the idea to couple of my fellow Boothies, who thought it was nice but then quickly brushed the idea off. I don't blame them. At our age, I know, there's probably more exciting things to see and do in Paris... 

Thankfully, though, my french teacher asked our class last week what places we wanted to visit while we were here in Europe. Half-jokingly I mentioned Disneyland Paris, of course. Expecting the usual "Oh, how nice..." response, I was amazed when my classmate Lisa jumped on the idea! Looking back, I'm really glad she came along today! It turns out Lisa is just as big a Disney fan as me, so she didn't mind at all that I wanted to stop and take a million pictures :-) I guess, you can thank her for my extensive picture album below!

Being a kid again for a day! | Disneyland Paris   

"Parc Disneyland" - couldn't believe how many other people came out early for the opening of the park! | Disneyland Paris   

Wow! So pretty! | Disneyland Paris   

Umm yes, this entrance beats the one in California... | Disneyland Paris   

Disneyland Hotel | Disneyland Paris   

"Bienvenue." | Main Street USA, Disneyland Paris   

Wow, we're finally here! Yay! | Main Street USA, Disneyland Paris   

First Impressions: Hands down, I would have to agree with whichever Imagineer said that Disneyland Paris is the prettiest Disney park of all! I should probably mention that I haven't been to Disney World (yet), so I could be mistaken... But for now, yes, this park gets my vote for the top prize!

Rather than bore you with all the little details of my Disney day-long adventure, though, I thought I'd just quickly share with you my three favorite highlights from today:

Day 23 : Rewind --> Art Day... in Le Marais!

Unfortunately, it's another gray and rainy day here in Paris. After yesterday's action-packed adventure, I've decided to be a hermit today and stay inside to catch up on emails and homework. While combing through my files in my computer, though, I realized that I somehow forgot to share with you my little Parisan expedition to Le Marais over the weekend! (Yeah, despite my horrible cold, I had to flee the nest on Sunday for some fresh air. Otherwise, I always end up going stir crazy...). 

I first heard about Le Marais from my sister when were planning our last visit to Paris back in September. I remembered she had put it on our list of places to see, but sadly we were in town for only a weekend and could only see so much :-/  Anyway, home to the Centre Pompidou, a building complex which houses the largest museum of modern art in Europe, Le Marais has often been described as one of the liveliest, loveliest and most beautiful quartier of Paris. It's also one of the few places in Paris where most of the shops are open on Sunday! Rain or shine, the old narrow streets filled with trendy fashion boutiques, restaurants and antique shops are perfect for wandering about and just getting lost for a day...

Centre Pompidou | 3e arrondissement 

High-tech architecture | Centre Pompidou

When I first read about this building, I was such a big fan... | Centre Pompidou 

...but in person, it's so much more interesting and fun. | Centre Pompidou  

Giant air ducts. | Centre Pompidou  

Interesting juxtaposition with the historic buildings in the back.| Centre Pompidou  

I must say I love the charm of the old historic buildings in this neighborhood... It almost feels like you're walking back in time! Below are a few fun discoveries I made while out and about in Le Marais :-)

Day 22 : Part Deux - Musée d'Orsay (plus, surprise parade!)

I must say that my 8:00am start earlier this morning was a bit too early for my usual schedule here in Paris. Study abroad as an exchange student at ESSEC this quarter means that I normally sleep in til 9:00am or 10:00am... I know, tough life :-) In all seriousness, I blame a combination of jet lag (which takes me forever to adjust to on this side of the Atlantic) and the fact that the sun doesn't rise until 8:30am everyday!

Anyway, after a well-deserved siesta during lunchtime, I decided to meet up with Yasuyo this afternoon to check out the Monet paintings at my favorite museum in Paris--the Musée d'Orsay! I've been here before, though my last visit was all the way back in 2005. It's clearly been awhile, but I do remember it being my favorite... Today's visit reminded why--Monet paintings + beautiful architecture!

Musée d'Orsay | 7e arrondissement

J'aime l'impressionnisme. | Musée d'Orsay 

Sadly, we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside of the collections (or even the beautiful architecture!), but I did manage to sneak in a few shots of this gorgeous view through a window clock overlooking the Louvre across the river and Sacré Coeur in the distant...

Why is it I'm always more in awe of the views than the paintings in every museum I go? | Musée d'Orsay 

 J'adore. Forget the paintings. My favorite thing in the museum! | Musée d'Orsay 

Louvre across the river and Sacré Coeur in the distant | Musée d'Orsay 

Love the building's architecture.| Musée d'Orsay 

Did I mention that I wanted to be an architect when I was a kid... | Musée d'Orsay  

  View of the clock from the outside... reminds of The Invention of Hugo Cabret | Musée d'Orsay 

As we were leaving the Musée d'Orsay, we noticed a huge crowd had gather outside along the streets. Spotting me for a tourist, a lovely little french lady told me to hurry and make sure to get a picture, saying "Go ahead, it's for you! It's for you! Enjoy!" How cute and sweet of her to say that! As it turned out, we just made it out in time to catch a parade of the French Republican Guard Calvary!

I love parades! | French Republican Guard Calvary

I also love men in uniform ;-) | French Republican Guard Calvary

au revoir... | French Republican Guard Calvary

I'm not exactly sure what the occasion was--it must have been some national celebration in France or something, because we noticed that there were a lot of security everywhere today, plus we spotted the French flag hanging below the Arc de Triomphe later in the evening. Whatever the reason, it sure feels good to be Paris today, even despite the rain :-)