Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

I think my life changed today. I had breakfast at the most marvelous establishment ever created. The place is called LaDuree and I have never met a pastry or chocolat chaud I liked more than the ones I indulged in this morning. Since I didn’t really know what I was ordering (I just picked the things that had chocolat in the description) I was happily surprised to discover my Religieuses Chocolat was the equivalent of (but oh so much better than) what I have until today known as a nun’s cap. Picture this: pastry, 2 levels, filled with chocolate whipped buttery cream, covered in hard chocolate and dusted with cocoa. Can you picture it? Are you jealous? If I could have one of those a day, I could die a very happy woman. The chocolat chaud, which was much richer and thicker than the Nestle cocoa Chris buys me at JMP, really topped the whole breakfast event off. I also ordered un carafe d’eau thinking ahead to the fact that I might need water to balance out the sweetness of it all. This carafe was so beautiful! It was sort of a cracked crystal and I sort of wanted to stick it in my purse and steal it.

I then made my way down the Jardin des Tuileries taking pictures and ooo-ing at the pretty flowers and happy people. There was a really cute couple standing beside a part of the park that was filled with wild flowers. The guy was trying desperately to get a bright yellow flower to stay in his lady’s hair. They were so cute, I snapped some pictures.

Remember how I said I hated lines? Well I broke down and braved one today. I decided since it was starting to drizzle that it was the perfect day to go to the Musee de L’Orangerie and bond with Monet’s water lilies. I stood in line, outside, in the rain for a long time!! It started to get really windy and I was trying to write in my journal and listen to my ipod. There was a man playing an oboe nearby and women’s skirts were flying up and I had Goosebumps. I started to bond with the girl in line ahead of me. She was making me even colder because I was looking at here short skirt and flip-flops and figured I had nothing to complain about. At least I was wrapped up in my pashmina. She was very nice though and I enjoyed our little chat. We laughed about how it was mean of the museum to not let us wait in line inside. She was in Paris just for 2 days and is currently living in the Netherlands getting her degree in International Law. Originally from Denver, this was her first trip to Paris and she speaks as much French (or less) than I do.

Once we finally made it inside, we lost each other and I went on my merry way, weaving in and out of the gorgeous artwork. I was blow away by all of the pieces from Matisse, Renoir, Picasso, Monet and Rousseau. They were breathtaking and I very slowly weaved my way through the museum taking it all in. I love standing in front of a painting and looking at the artist’s signature and thinking about what the experience of creating those pieces must have been like. I wonder if they even liked some of their own artwork and if they are looking down surprised that people think it’s good. I wonder which artists I know will one day have the same influence and impact that these artists have come to show so many people. I thought about my Grandmother, an artist herself, and what it must have been like for her when she was a young woman studying fashion here in Paris. I looked at Derain’s “Roses dans un Vase” and thought about the stills of flowers that she has painted.

I headed upstairs to the crème de la crème of the Musee de L'Orangerie, the Water Lilies. I have seen them before but there is something about seeing Monet’s masterpieces in person that literally takes my breath away. My eyes teared up and shiver of chills shot through my body. I just sat there for the longest time processing the artwork. The use of color and texture on the canvas, the way an entire piece changes when the lighting dims and brightens. I think I spent about an hour and a half between both rooms, sitting, taking pictures and watching other people looking at the paintings. I loved being there and love the way they have displayed them all.

I found a little corner by a window and watched the rain for a while as I wrote in my journal. Once the rain finally stopped I went back out into Paris and walked north until I hit the Galeries Lafayette. This, if you don’t know, is the equivalent of Harrods in London. Now when I was there in college I spent 7 hours by myself at Harrods trying on clothes, eating and looking at the expensive things I would never be able to afford. I hadn’t considered the fact that since this is Paris, the fashion capital, that Galeries Lafayette could be even better. But it was. Not to mention the fact that the building itself is beautiful with an incredible ceiling, but the range of jewelry, watches, makeup, accessories, clothes, food, shoes…I mean it just kept going. Floors and floors of stuff. Really pretty stuff. Really expensive stuff. Stuff no one really needs but so many people seem to have to have. It was really fun just to walk around the entire store, casually brushing up next to the furs and silks and trying on exorbitantly expensive coats. And the FOOD! The gourmet food department was almost too much. I was beside myself. I had to talk myself down from an 8-euro plastic tub of a few slices of prosciutto. I finally settled on a baguette of olive bread just so I could say I bought something (and the baguette was almost in my price range.) I went up to the roof just as the really awesome song from “Devil Wears Prada” came on my ipod. My hair was blowing in the wind and I felt so empowered! And I got to see a spectacular view of the city. It was so much fun!

I walked all the way back home, eating my olive baguette and wishing I had a lot of money so I could have bought presents for all of you. I had to get back though because I was going to dinner with Michael. This time we went to a great pasta joint where they serve huge portions, almost family style. I had some red wine and a very delicious dish of farfalle pasta with cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. I kept eating since it was sitting there staring at me, and after I think 4 servings, I finally couldn’t fit anymore. So much for coming home fit as a fidlle. I have been eating my way through Paris and it’s now looking more and more like I will return fat (but happy!) We left dinner and went over to the Louvre to continue our photography lesson. The moon was full and it was a beautiful night. We took some really great pictures and it was fun playing with the manual camera mode trying to get just the right shot. The pyramids were stunning all aglow with the light of moon proudly beaming from behind.

After I got home, I met up with John for a quick drink at a bar down the street called the Highlander. It was very reminiscent of London as all the bartenders were British and the crowd was for the most part English speaking. We hung out long enough for my hair to reek of smoke. Good times.