an artists' day

During our last days in Paris my foot was feeling much better. Which was a very good thing because went to the Louvre, and it was an even more amazing experience than I expected. Since my first trip, I've not only learned a lot in general, I've actually taken classes that have made me better understand and appreciate the art we saw, including one amazing art hitory class sophmore year.



One of my favorite moments of the trip so far was right when we entered the Italian sculpture room. Scultures have always played second fiddle in my heart to paintings, but there was one that struck me in the art history class, called "Eros and Psyche," by Antonio Canova. And it was one of the pieces that I immediately thought of and desperately wanted to see, not even knowing for sure if it was at the Louvre. So when we entered the room I instantly saw it from accross the way and got chills. The guide first led us to a Michelangelo sculpture that I also recognized from the class, but I was so distracted I could barely appreciate it. When we were about to leave, I approached her nervously and asked awkardly if we could go to it, and she abliged. It was so wonderful, so see a piece that I'd so fallen in love with. A real highlight of my life. Emma and Abby, who took the same class, were also glad they got to see it.


A dream come true.

Of course, the rest of the museum was amazing. Each time Abby and I saw a painting we sighed, thanking Kolya (the professor) all the while.


The Mona Lisa. No big deal. No really, I mean it.


Odalisque by Jean-August Ingres. I wrote a paper about this painting!


The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault. I was able to explain some of the symbolism of this to Taylor, and it was awesome!




La Vénus de Milo

After the the tour, some of us stayed to see more of the museum, but more importantly, we had a had a bit of a snack. Even more importantly than that, I tried macarons for the first time!


They were just as delicious as they were beautiful!


This is what Abby and I saw on our second tour around the Louvre -- Les apartements de Napoleon III.

And after the Louvre, a few of the girls had a small picnic lunch in the Jardin des Tuileries. It was a beautiful afternoon in the Jardin -- the sun was finally shining and the birds were fluttering about and the sweet sounds of giggling French teenagers surrounded us while we soaked it all in. That was definitely another "We're in Paris!" moment. I love those moments. It's still doesn't seem quite real, but I'm working on it.

Abby and I then continued on to Monmartre, where we mostly just wandered around taking pictures, free from others who would not understand the slow pace of the photographer. Of course, we also visited Sacre Coeur.



At the bottom, where Amelie called Nino before she returned the photo book, there's a carousel that plays the soundtrack to the movie. Thus I was able to look up at the beautiful sight in front of me, with the beautiful music of Yann Tiersen playing all around me. It was a lovely moment, and so French. And as we walked up the steps I was not terribly surprised to find that someone had painted blue arrows on the walkway.

We didn't find, however, the cafe or the artists square, or anything else particularly familiar from the movie. I think I have to come back for that, this time with my iPod and the soundtrack playing constantly. Instead, we wandered around and found various interesting and lovely historical sights, several of which I remembered from my first trip. I even found a few spots where my parents took pictures of Jenny and me. I felt it very appropriate that Abby and I were being so artistic in the artists' quarter.

It was, overall, a very lovely last day in Paris.