1.12.08

on being tourists in the city of light


i haven't updated in about a week now,
and i can blame that on a lovely visit from canada, miss jacqueline.

we found a great little boutique hotel in the galleries lafayette & opéra area
called the monte carlo.
i wish i had taken more photos of it.

the room was tiny but perfect
(though we found a bag of mysterious objects on the windowsill).
the hotel was decorated
with lots of bright colours and stripes
but also managed to incorporate some really interesting world art
such as little wooden animals
african paintings

and old, antique books in the lobby.

i played tour guide for a week
(though i was grumpy and tired on a few occasions).
we went to the catacombs and pére lachaise cemetery
and experienced some spooky things.
we drank lots of café au lait
and went shopping on the left bank
where i finally foun
d a coat that i love.

if you are ever in paris
i highly recommend the tour of notre-dame.
they run in english on wednesdays and thursdays at 2pm.
it was the most interesting thing i have done since i've been in this city.
the history and the stories are fascinating
and some are hilarious
like the "quasimodo" woman peeing on a bishop's head!

we also created our own da vinci code tour (because the real one is too expensive).
we visited saint-sulpice, though we couldn't go in
went to the louvre to see where the car chase took place
and tried to see the upside-down pyramids
...but they were covered in shrubs.

on our way, we met a waiter in a café who fell in love with jacquie
and an old man whos wife was leaving him after 25 years of marriage
(he was crying and i almost did too).

we ate creme brulée
had breakfast on the run
(side note: espresso + métro = not good)
and went on a ferris wheel!

on friday, we saw uffie, santogold and diplo
at the showcase
which is a club under a bridge
near the champs-élysées.
the show was amazing, to say the least.

overall i have to say this past week
was the most eventful, exciting, emotional and enlightening (4 e's!)
of my time in paris.

(we also filmed a 100 minute video of her entire visit, affectionately called "le art filme" avec faux french accent.)



photos are here.