Ah, April in Paris

For those of you who actually look at my blog, I'm sure you're sick of the dog. I had a week off from class for Spring Break and traveled to the South of France with a couple friends. We took the train to Aix-en-Provence and then rode a bus to Nice. From Nice we took day trips to Cannes, Monte Carlo, and Cap d'Ail. When I got back to Paris my good friend from W&L visited with her mother, so I've been busy. I never want to spend anytime indoors either. The weather has stayed warm more than three consecutive days, Parisians have finally shed their winter coats, and tourists are now everywhere. I'm looking forward to my Mom and Aunt visiting this week. Here are some new pictures to look at until I have time to write more. Happy Easter!

Wisteria in Aix-en-Provence

My favorite beach in Cap d'Ail

Monte Carlo

Cannes

Dog of the day

 

Bobo > Hipster

I've been hearing term "bobo" a lot lately in Paris. A journalist named David Brooks coined the phrase over 10 years ago in his book Bobos in Paradise. The word can be used to characterize people with bourgeois and bohemian attitudes. I like it to describe Parisians with effortless style mixing high end and casual pieces.

Bourgeois: middle class, dominated or characterized by materialistic pursuits or concerns

Bohemian: a person (often an artist or writer) who lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules

Last week I walked from my Left Bank house with my host parents across the Seine to a gallery in the Marais. Two of my host father's photographs and a few from his personal collection were part of a female nude exhibition. The gallery displayed several other photographers' works including one from Japan that my host father assisted years ago. The Japanese photographer is called a Master. They served wine, champagne and tiny sandwiches inside, but the crowd spilled onto the street to smoke and socialize. There was a good mix of older couples, singles, and fashionistas. Since my French speaking abilities have flatlined, I have the opportunity to observe everything in situations such as these. 

Three people particularly grabbed my attention. 

1. One young woman wore thick rimmed black glasses, an old t-shirt, skinny jeans, and studded boots.   She carried a huge dark green Balenciaga bag. Parisians pull this look off better than the NYC hipster in my opinion.

2. The Japanese designer. I watched him walk around inside the gallery wearing his dark sunglasses at night. He wore skinny jeans and boots, but instead of a handbag he held an animal skin in his arms as if it were a baby. My host mother went right up to him and stroked the fur. (She had met him once before.) The designer simply said it was his pet cat and introduced it to Nancy. Not normal. He also wore an alligator skin underneath his jacket and carried a silver Gucci logo print bike helmet.

3. Older man wearing fishing attire and an Alaskan embroidered baseball hat. I couldn't help but ask this man if he was American because of his attire. He turned out to be French, but spoke English. The first thing he said was, "Do you know of Sarah Palin?" Before I could respond he said, "She better not become the next US President!" I think I eased his concern. The quirky man also told me that he photographed bikers around Mt. Rushmore. As we were leaving I saw him pedal away from the gallery down rue George V. 

The Lennon Wall

Fun photoshoot at the graffiti wall devoted to John Lennon.

Czech It Out

View from the Eiffel Tower on Petrin Hill

The last two weeks have been so busy, hence the lack of posts. I wrote one paper, made two oral presentations, and survived four midterm exams. So my weekend trip to Prague came at exactly the right time. I traveled with Emily Thursday night from CDG direct to Prague. I didn't know much about the city, but a sorority sister of mine at W&L who spent a summer in the Czech Republic sent me a great list of things to do. We made it to the hotel easily with one of many crazy cab drivers. The weather on Friday was miserably cold and rainy, but we schlepped through the Prague Castle, the St. Vitus Cathedral, and a museum. There were dozens of tour groups. Everyone seemed edgy, running into each other with umbrellas, and trying to take pictures simultaneously. Or maybe that was just me. Despite the conditions, it was incredible to see a structure that dates back to the 9th century. Emily asked me if I'd ever heard of a place called Medieval Times. According to the MT website: "Step back in time with epic battles, jousting tournaments, royal feasts, knights and romance at any of our nine North American castles." Afternoons at Medieval Times used to be a Wright Family favorite. I had never heard of such a thing. I guess it hasn't hit Houston yet. 

After seeing the castle, we crossed the river on the Charles Bridge and ate lunch at an Italian restaurant called La Finestra. By the late afternoon it stopped raining so we explored Old Town Square and shopped. I absentmindedly left my umbrella inside one of the stores. When we went back for it before dinner they offered us Moet & Chandon champagne. That naturally led to cocktail hour inside Dior making friends with the staff. We asked our new friend for her favorite thing to do in Prague. She responded point blank, "Sleep with my boyfriend, but I can't really recommend that to you." She was a sweet, funny, and effective salesperson.  

We ate dinner at Celeste on the 7th floor of the "Dancing House" (Nationale-Nederlanden). It's a building known for its unusual architecture. Our meal and the view from the terrace above the restaurant was great. I had fish as my main course and we split a chocolate and blood orange dessert. 

  

Dog of the day

Act Casual

Photo: HILARY FRANKLIN

I must admit - sun, fashion, and celebrity sightings simultaneously made my Tuesday afternoon unbeatable. I left my house for school just like I do every morning, but today was different. I stepped outside and felt warm wearing only a light coat. Those of you reading from other places cannot understand how thrilling it is to see grey skies suddenly disappear. The sun transformed the city today. Couples, kids, and old ladies with their dogs crowded the streets. I saw people lay back in green lawn chairs, noses pointed skyward in the Luxembourg Gardens and around the Tuileries fountains.

After class I met up with Grace and Emily for lunch at our favorite healthy eatery in the 3rd arrondissement called Bob's Kitchen, aka "BK." It's a small restaurant and usually crowded at 1pm so we were sitting three in a row on bar stools. All of the sudden Grace started whispering and motioning about a man literally standing behind us. It was Joe Zee, Creative Director for Elle. Zee and I ate the same meal - veggie stew. I know I sound silly, but it was exciting to see an American insider during Paris Fashion Week. He wore a grey v-neck sweater and a crackberry. Magazine and shades on table. Grace and Emily insisted it would be a faux pas to say anything, so I obliged.

Post lunch we stormed through the metro to get to the Tuileries where Valentino show started at 2:30. We found the white carpet leading into the white tent. Photographers, beautiful people, and wannabes like me scattered everywhere. By the time we got near the entrance, most people had already entered the tent. But it wasn't too long until the show ended so we were able to see everyone parade out. We stood right on the edge of the white carpet, close enough to brush shoulders. All of the sudden Emily casually says, "It's Kanye." Just like that. There's Kanye West with a pair of huge bodyguards on either side of him walking right past me. It was nuts. We kept watching in awe of the models and everyone's outfits. Then, I saw a flash of wild red hair and immediately recognized it from the documentary, "The September Issue." It was former model and creative director for Vogue, Grace Coddington. NBD. 

Just when I was getting ready to leave for my late afternoon class, Emily spotted Scott, the blogger/photographer known as "The Sartorialist." I have a link to his blog here. I would have never recognized him myself. We dropped the rules and approached him when he walked past us. Yes, it was a bit awkward saying, "Hi, Are you the Sartorialist?!" But, he shook our hands and was actually very friendly. He said today's show was better than recent Valentino shows. It was a brief exchange, but still cool. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, but a few people from my program may have some good shots.

Photos: PARKER MULLINS

There's no place like Paris

Figueres

Restaurant at Hotel Emborda, Figueres

Chef & Owner Jaume Subirós

Lunch in Figueres was probably one of the best tasting and most memorable meals of my trip. My Spain travel book only listed one restaurant in Figueres, so I headed straight to it after visiting the Dali Museum. I had the address assuming it would be right in the center of the small town. I was wrong. I ended up walking what seemed like a mile down the side of a highway searching for a hotel sign or some indication of a restaurant nearby. I was thrilled when I finally passed one reading Emborda .5 km straight ahead. The hotel's exterior right off the main road was nothing exciting, but then views behind were incredible. The dining room had windows floor to ceiling in the back and a terrace on the side for large groups. I hadn't planned on such a heavy lunch, but the menu offered a set three course option so I went for it. Before my first course they served me a tasting of creamy artichoke soup. I started with a salad with strawberries, apple, and black truffles. I had steak with onion confit as my main, then tarte tatin with granny smith apple sorbet. 

After my meal, the chef came out and introduced himself and asked me questions including, "Are you a journalist?" I guess they wondered why I was taking pictures and such. I made the mistake of saying I speak both a little Spanish and French. He took that for more than it was worth. Unfortunately for me I didn't understand a word when he spoke to me in a combination of both languages with Catalan thrown in too. He took me up a few stories in the hotel and showed me the balcony in one of the rooms. The panoramic view was stunning. 

Other restaurants I recommend in Barcelona:
1. Tapioles 53 - small 6 table dining room, excellent food and service
2. Comerç 24 - trendy tapas, El Born
3. Enoteca - total splurge, Hotel Arts
4. Organic - healthy and inexpensive, near la Rambla

"Take a holiday in Spain..."

I'm looking out my bedroom window over the Montparnasse cemetery at the rainy, grey sky listening to the Counting Crows and the sound of cabs zipping down my street. People walk briskly wearing dark colors, blank faces look down at the pavement. It's so Paris. 

This week marked my first trip from one European country to another. The flight was very short - only an hour and a half. When I arrived at BCN and walked outside I felt like I was going to break into a sweat wearing my black, quilted coat. It was then I knew I'd love Spain. Noticing cultural differences between France and Spain was interesting. Barcelona was so colorful and lively compared to Paris. People were more relaxed in general. In my experience, people made eye contact and acknowledged other's presence in the street or in the metro. I could feel looks from strangers, sometimes unwanted. Frenchmen would never dare wink or whistle at women in public. Aside from tourist destinations, all of the stores shut down for day time siestas. In a week I was able to see a lot in Barcelona and the surrounding area. I went to the well-known destinations like Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and the mercat de la Boqueria on la Rambla. But I enjoyed the less crowded spots and neighborhoods like the small streets leading out from the  Plaça de la Virreina in Gracia. La Rambla is tourist central. The street is lined with food vendors, street artists, bad restaurants, and people taking photos of all of these uninteresting things. The Boqueria is a fun place to walk through, but the mercat Santa Caterina has all of the same goods with a fraction of the people. I loved the fresh pineapple juice. There was also a restaurant in the corner of the market called Cuines Santa-Caterina that I didn't get too, but it looked good. I will have to make a separate post about the restaurants. 

Santa Caterina Market

I found a number of nice food shops throughout Barcelona. There were also hip boutiques on tiny side streets, around the Born neighborhood, and near the Picasso Museum. These were my favorite:  

Olive, Plaça de les Olles 2

Hofman Pastry Shop, Flassaders 44

Teicawey, Gracia

I went to these museums: Museo Picasso, Fundació Joan Miró, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Teatre-Museu Dalí. I'd say if you only go to one in Barcelona it should be the Picasso Museum. It's inside adjoining medieval palaces so it's like a maze walking through each gallery. The Dali museum was in a beautiful small town about two hours (by train) north of Barcelona called Figueres. Some of or much of Dali's work is crazy. It really makes you wonder...

Anyone will tell you that Barcelona has great nightlife and now I understand why siestas are essential to Spanish life. There are lots of clubs along the beach in Barconleta. I went to one called Shoko with people on my program in Paris and some of their friends on similar ones in Barcelona. I will leave it at that. It was fitting that I visited the Barcelona Cathedral during noon mass on Sunday. Even though there are lots of visitors walking around inside the church, mass continues as normal. Listening to the choir inside such a beautiful cathedral was neat. 

Outside, men played music and older people danced in circles. I learned afterwards they were performing a traditional Catalan folk dance called Sardana. It symbolizes unity. 

Dog of the Week

I walked by this building everyday in Barcelona since my hotel was nearby and this dog was always running around on the balcony. 

Siesta

Back in Paris after a week in Barcelona, Sitges, Vic, and Figueres! Stories and pictures to come mañana.

Iron and Wine

A friend just introduced me to a cool band I didn't know called Iron and Wine. We went to their concert last night at a music venue in the 10th. They were really great live! I especially liked the saxophonist. The lead performer, Sam Beam, now lives in Austin. My friend has seen Iron and Wine perform several times already, including a small show in Abilene, Texas. We were so close to the stage that Beam heard her Texas shout-out. We met two girls from Norman, Oklahoma and a guy from San Antonio, Texas that went to Sewanee and now lives in Paris. It was crazy. 

Can't help my first reaction... - "He looks Amish."  

Le Petrelle

The area surrounding the Anvers metro stop in the 9th arrondissement near the Sacre Coeur is not the loveliest of neighborhoods to hang out in at night. I held my bag tightly, passing some shady characters on the five-minute walk to Le Petrelle. I let myself in through a glass door and heavy velvet curtain hiding the interior from the street. I immediately felt comfortable. I spotted Grace and Emily at our table through a bookcase and display of fresh produce at the entrance. The intimate dining room was casually elegant with a whimsical decor. 'Paris meets Brooklyn' according to Grace. On each table there were a few neat books, small flowers, a candle, and an odd ceramic bird with a removable head. Linear scenes in black, white, and red covered the entire back wall. The print looked like it came straight from a Dr. Seuss book with the winding staircase and curious objects lining the bookcase. Our waiter with the charming British-English accent brought our menus promptly. The cursive writing inside was beautiful, but we could hardly decipher our options. Luckily, he explained everything. Grace and Emily started with an artichoke salad and I chose the special. My poached egg came in a small white ramekin with cream, mushrooms, and black truffles. There were greens on the side and long strips of toast for dipping. For our main courses, Grace and I ordered steak medium rare. Emily had the fish of the day. The steak was perfectly cooked, not too big, not too small. It's not often that I order non-chocolate desserts at a restaurant and last night was no exception. I had the gateau au chocolate. It was both rich and light. Grace had the same and Emily ordered a lavender infused cream. The atmosphere, service, conversation, and of course food was just perfect. Who knows, maybe I will meet a suave Frenchman who will take me back.

There was a dog in the restaurant too. 

Petrelle 
34, rue petrelle
75009
Paris
Telephone 01 42 82 11 02