Some pictures and words from the last week in Paris. 
//Place des Vosges, one of my absolute favorite areas of Paris. However I did go there to eat with friends last weekend and we had very… French… service. Which is to say that we only got our food once we threatened to get up and leave if it didn’t arrive soon. //
//Last weekend my friend my friend Jonathan and I helped our friend Emma search for a new apartment. I thought that DC was bad when it came to finding a place, Paris redefines difficult. I love apartment hunting (when it isn’t for me so I don’t have the stress of actually needing it) because it means you get to look in people’s homes and snooping is my favorite. By helping, I actually mean that we took lots of pictures of ourselves in all the cool spaces while Emma asked questions to get the information that actually matters. However, she found an apartment within the first day of searching so I do believe that our version of helping is legitimate. //
//You know, I don’t ever want this to be one of those blogs where people look perfect all the time which is why I’m sharing that gem above. Whenever I sort through the photos on my camera I find so many like this: me being bossy and very descriptive about the photos I want taken. It’s how it is when you are usually the one on the other side of the lens. Also, lest that hair tell a different story, I basically wore a sloppy bun all but two days I was there, both days being ones where I made sure to get in some photos. //
//Ok, let’s talk about these. They are miniature cakes that are the speciality of Bretagne and I can’t even emphasize how good they are. Which is logical, since they are basically made out of butter. //
//Musée Rodin is one of my favorites. The museum itself is lovely, but you can also just pay 2 euros and chill out in the garden, where many of Rodin’s famous works are found. I spent a lot of this visit in art museums. The Louvre, but also the Musée d’Orsay and Rodin. Paris reminds me of how much art matters to me, how rejuvenated being in the museums makes me feel. I could do it in DC, go to lots of museums, but I often don’t. In Paris, it just happens. For the first time in way too long, I dug out my sketchbook and pencils and filled it with master copies, sketches of sculptures, and pen and ink studies. I didn’t realize how much I had missed it.//
//No visit to Paris is complete without a trek to the Eiffel Tower. Though it is cliché, to ignore it is to miss something that matters to Paris’ history, its identity, its personal story. I have been reading a bunch of the primary source documents about the tower and it is fascinating. The protest against it, accusing it with destroying the skyline, betraying Parisian taste, and sullying the nobility of the other monuments. The defense of it, reminding the worried artists that a skyline must be marked by each generation and that from the tower you can truly view all of Paris’ gems. And now, the tower is this city for many. And I love it, for its history, for its beauty, and for its power to conjure up an entire ethos. //
-
- "Art rediscovers, generation by generation, what is necessary to humanness. " -John Gardner
-
-
Recent Posts
Lately, on Instagram
No Instagram images were found.
Archives
The Art in Life 
Thank you for all these great posts…..you made me feel like I went to Paris too!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! It is so much fun to share my favorite place.
Girl. You look phenomenal (that geometric black and white sleeveless?! dead.) I so hope you enjoy the rest of your stay!! (And if you want to tell me where that shirt is from that’s fine too)
Oh girl – you are too kind. And I would love to pretend that that shirt was some from awesome exclusive French boutique… but it is totally just the Ann Taylor clearance rack from earlier this summer – #obviouslyIamnotarealblogger . It is magical because it looks like silk but its totally a poly blend which means that it speaks those magic clothes words : MACHINE WASHABLE.
This is how I know we are kindreds. Ann Taylor is my fave.
I have the most embarrassing photo of me reenacting “The Thinker” at the Musee Rodin. I’m wearing a pink polo shirt, khaki capris, and my hair is reminiscent of Hermione’s- prior to her total babe out. I am not embarrassed by my very touristy pose though, I would do that all over again. I’m all about cheesy tourist pictures.
Those are pictures that must be cherished. We all have them and I totally love them. I don’t always put those up here but you best be knowing that I TAKE THEM ALL.
Also the Thinker looks like he is pooping, so any reenacting does likewise. That’s the best part.
I was wondering if you could recommend some “must-have” camera lenses for travel. I will be spending two weeks in Italy and France in May (traveling with a group of Museum Studies students). I have a DSLR and must admit that I most often use auto focus. Given that I will be traveling, I would like two lenses to carry around. I feel that more than two would be cumbersome. Thanks for your help!
I actually have gotten a couple emails about this lately and so I am working on a photography guide post that will be up in the next couple weeks! Hopefully that will answer all your questions.
I believe that instead of grabbing tea we should have gone a photo walk… or maybe have done both?! I love your pictures 🙂
Thanks girl! Photo walking was basically most of my visit. ; ) But I did love our tea date on that rainy day!
That makes two of us!
I adore your pictures with you in that hat. So darling! And the photos of the Eiffel Tower… makes me want to pack up and hop on a plane to Paris right now. Welcome back, by the way, to this side of the ocean!
Pingback: Paris with my people. | The Art in Life