New Girl, Same Continent

 Happy Mothers' Day tout le monde!!

After four months of discovering both the ins and outs of Paris and the blogging world, it is time for my adventures abroad to come to a (temporary) end.  After an eight hour flight across the Atlantic on Friday morning, I safety made my way back home to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.  It has been fun the past couple of days seeing  so much family and friends, i.e. 17-year old little brother Charlie:

He was excited for Mothers' Day

These past few months have truly been some of the best of my life and I feel so thankful to have had the incredible experience that I did.  I know that the memories I made and the people I met in Paris will stay with me for the rest of my life.  

I also want to sincerely thank you all for reading my blog.  You can't imagine how much fun I had writing the posts and taking the pictures so I appreciate that someone was reading them!  At the moment I am trying to brainstorm another idea (or excuse) to continue blogging in the states.

Home Sweet Home

Although I have quoted it once, I think it deserves to be repeated:

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young [wo]man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

--Ernest Hemmingway

Infinite bisous bisous,

Mary

Adieu, Adieu, To You And You And You

With just four days left in France, I am slowly becoming a mix/mess of emotions.  There is half of me that is so excited to come home and see all the people and things that I miss so dearly...but my other half is starting to panic and think past this Friday, when will I next see Paris?

So in honor of my last week I am taking FULL advantage of all of the things I love to do: spending an entire afternoon in Luxembourg gardens, walking along the Seine, going to L'As du Falaffel in the Marais one last time, etc. etc.

Lounging in Luxembourg

Sitting on the Seince

Mang-ing in the Marais

Fortunately my last exam is Thursday morning which leaves the rest of the day to walk around and say goodbye to friends and monuments before my flight early Friday.  Something I have yet to do is see a Paris sunrise so I am hoping to make time for that tomorrow or Thursday morning at either the Eiffel Tower or Sacre Coeur, decisions decisions....

On a more serious note, today marks the one year anniversary of the murder of UVA student Yeardley Love so please keep her friends and family in your thoughts today.

Join the One Love Foundation

Bisous bisous et à bientôt, 

Mary

"It is well to remember that a picture before being a battle horse, a nude woman, or some anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colours assembled in a certain order."

--Maurice Denis

Bisous bisous,
Mary

Le Refuge des Fondues

In the north of Paris on the hill of Monmartre lies one of the best restaurants for American college students in Paris.  For 20 euro, you can order an entire meal of cheese or meat fondue, a small appetizer, and of course the college student appeal, wine in a baby bottle.

I want to check on this story but rumor has it that Paris imposes a tax on wine in glasses so this clever entrepreneur serves the wine in baby bottles instead.

Alexis and I went to the fondue restaurant during her visit, however with only two people it was difficult to hold a conversation because the restaurant was so loud.  Saturday I went with a group of 10 people from my program so it was much easier to dominate the conversation considering we took up one-fourth of the restaurant.

 

Last time I was there, Alexis and I were sitting next to four sorority girls from Vanderbilt, small world right?

Tridelta lovin'

  And guess what's right down the street?  Didn't find it worth the hype:

Moulin Rouge

5 days and counting till I am back in the US of A!  Bonsoiree tout le monde!

Bisous bisous,

Mary

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young (wo)man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

--Hemmingway

Centre Georges Pompidou

Model of the Museum

The Centre Georges Pompidou is the biggest modern art museum in Paris and is one of the city's best museums in my opinion.  Over 40 years ago, the French President Georges Pompidou had a dream of a museum in Paris that combined visual modern art with music, film, fashion, as well as architecture.  The architect of the Pompidou, Renzo Piano, stated he wanted the museum to be: "A building that would be not a monument but a celebration, a large urban plaything".  And that was exactly what the Pompidou became.

One of the most distinct looking buildings in Paris, the Centre Pompidou's exterior exhibits what should be on the buildings inside.  When looking at the model above, you can see that red marks where there is people movement (i.e. lifts), yellow marks the electrical shafts, blue for air ducts, and green for all the pipework.  Although it was highly controversial at its opening in 1977, the musuem currently has an average of 22,000 visitors each day making it Paris' most visited monument (even more than Notre Dame!).

Chasse Interdit --Joan Mitchell

Carpet room with Piano, normal at the Pompidou

Last night, I made what was probably my final visit to the Centre Pompidou this semester and spent a total of 4 hours taking a final look at all of the art that I have come to love.  The beautiful view from the the museum's roof in combination with some of the most famous pieces of modern artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Man Ray, and many, many others makes it a museum well worth visiting multiple times.

Centre Pompidou Bar

When my Aunt Pam and Dad were here, we planned to have a drink on top of the Pompidou but unfortunately the bar/restaurant was closed at the time...guess I have to save something for my next trip to Paris so I can have and excuse to return.

Familiar?

C'est moi

View from the roof of Notre Dame and the Pantheon

Picasso

Today marks the Royal Wedding in London but more importantly it almost marks my final week in Paris; 7 days from now I will be over the Atlantic en route to Philadelphia.  It amazes me how quickly this semester went!  I am trying to soak up every last second of being in "the City of Love" because who knows the next time that I will be back, and oh will I miss it...

"There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: in our home and in Paris."

--Ernest Hemmingway

Bisous bisous,

Mary

All you Need to be Impossibly French

Recently a friend lent me a book entitled All you Need to be Impossibly French by Helena Frith Powell. Although I would not be caught dead reading this on the metro in Paris out of sheer embarrassment, it is one of the most entertaining books I have read in a while.  Helena discusses and contrasts British or American women with French women, and particularly Parisian women.  All you Need to be Impossibly French is "a witty investigation into the lives, lusts, and little secrets of French women".  I have gathered the following guidelines from Madame Powell:

1.  Zen exercise i.e. yoga or power-walking is the way to go:

"I'm French, so I'm quite lazy about exercising, and I smoke.  But I do love going for a run in the morning with my dog.  That's all."  --Eva Green

2.  Never mind the botox:

"Age does not protect you from love.  But love, to some extent, protects you from age."  --Jeanne Moreau

3.  However, when you do want to cover up, make-up is a girl's indispensable ally:

"The most beautiful make-up on a woman is passion.  But cosmetics are easier to buy."  --Yves Saint Laurent

4.  Don't have too many single friends, advice direct from Coco Chanel.

"My friends, there are no friends."  --Coco Chanel

And the rest you will have to read for yourself because I am trying to keep the blog PG....  OR you can read this fun article:  This Is What ‘Parisienne’ Looks Like

Bisous bisous,

Mary