Phrase of the weekend: "I LOVE this city!"

What a great weekend. Highlights include:

- Seeing The Painted Veil: I know, not french at all, but really well done. beautifully shot, see it for the cinematography if nothing else. But Ed Norton's in it too, which should be added incentive (seeing as he's that rare breed of hollywood actor, one who actually acts)

- Meeting new friends, both French and American: on the french side, I got together with a couchsurfer for dinner and language practice...it turned more into english practice for him, but it was a good time, and i'm still in love with the program (CS). The American side is that Kate's friends Ken, and his friend Sam, and Nina, as well as Marielle's friend Vicky, who were/are in town visiting. I love going around Paris with people who haven't been here, it's great. Not that i've been here all that long, but turning a corner and catching a glimpse of the eiffel tower doesn't get me quite as excited as it did the first month I was here, and seeing other people get jazzed about it makes me incredibly happy.

- L'Orangerie: good museum. Not my fav, but the presentation of Monet's water lilies makes the visit worthwhile.

- Beaubourg: aka Pompideu, the modern art museum here. It was nice to see some Kadinskys, Klees, and Brancusis...makes for a nice change of pace from my normal french renaissance/impressionist works.
that being said, I like NYC's MoMA a lot more. But the courtyard next to the beaubourg is a great people watching spot, that's for sure; and the view from the top of the building is breathtaking. Connecting these two photos together, I think my favorite part of Beaubourg is it's juxtaposition with the rest of Paris. Everyone complains that it sticks out like a sore thumb, but I love it because of it. the change from old to new, while abrupt, can be incredibly complementary, which the view of Forum les Halles and St. Eustache shows, a mon avis, as well as the view of Montmarte and the Sacre Coeur with part of a modern sculpture in the foreground. Maybe i'm being too artsy, but I love seeing the different epoques together.

- Picnicing au dessus la tour Eiffel: typical french food - baguettes, cheese, fruit, red wine, crepes and nutella, and friends...what more could people need?



The gang: Vicky, Sam, Ken, Me, Polina, Nina, and Marielle (Kate was being resident photographer)



- Montmartre at night: Glorious view, interesting conversations, fun hike up. fully recommend the area, day or night. but I wouldn't suggest going up alone at night, definitely stick to the "safety in numbers" motto.

- Wandering the Marais: one of my favorite areas of Paris,
stereotypically Parisien, in every good way. if you're ever here, take a least a couple hours, you won't regret it!









things i'm looking forward to: Missy and Zach being here this week, possibly meeting up with Ben this coming weekend, Anna coming next weekend, going to florence the weekend after, MOROCCO....


Bisous!