Blue Skirt in Paris

On the eve of Bastille Day, I write a post about Paris.

Last week my boyfriend, who hence forth shall now be known as Mr. Wonderful, asked me how I felt about having breakfast in Paris.

Oiu! But of course!

Paris!

Paris, Texas

This adventure required a new skirt, or as they say in Paris:

une nouvelle jupe.

This skirt is a blue, light weight denim number from the GAP. It was on sale a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't resist some retail therapy. Some mud had just spilled out of some ceramic pots that I had purchased and onto my skirt. I was a little upset...

But then I discovered that I had lost my camera...

It just fell out of my pocket in a field somewhere outside of Paris.

Bummer.

At least I had my iPhone, and that's what I used to snap most of these pics.

This is where we ate:

Although, this is where we should have eaten:

You can't tell in the photo, but the sign has white iridescent sparkles in it.

Pissed in Paris.

Ah, much better.

I'm starting to feel better about it here.

Paris was our playground.

We did some shopping, some eating, some sipping and some picture taking.

We took about 550 pictures between the two of us.

"I see Paris, "

"I see France, this girl has no underpants!"

It was très fantastique! I'll be posting more pics from my adventure here all week.

Au revoir!

January Books

It's no secret, I've accumulated some books during the 6 months that I have lived here. I love books. I grew up surrounded by books. It's something that I remember clearly - books crammed in every shelf, every which way. It wasn't until I began teaching that I realized how lucky I was to grow up with books in my home. Books make a home. Books make my home. J'adore les livres.

Paris, Day 1, Part I

A few words if I may...

I know these pictures have been a long time coming, but I have been conflicted because I have so many photos to share. Thus, it has prompted me to think more about what I do on this blog. Skirt Project started out as something totally different than what it is today, but I still have yet to figure out what it is exactly I am posting about. It's been a nail-biting dilemma.

I have long thought that I have ADD, but I don't know that for sure. One thing is certain is that I have MANY interests, and it's hard to categorize all things that I love: fashion, music, writing, cooking, taking pictures, travel, reading, creating - sewing, folding paper, cutting paper, drawing, etc., anything tactile.

WAIT! I'm not done - I love art: to look at art, learn about art, create art and teach others about art. And I love to teach: share knowledge, learn, and learn about others - YOU!

whoever you are...

It can be overwhelming at times, but I do that to myself. I have to keep telling myself that Skirt Project is OK! It's OK if I don't have a million readers. It's OK, if I don't have a fancy page or website, the best photos in the world or even the best writing.

Skirt Project is a recorded public journal of MY existence, development, and experiences. I have no focus, per se, but I like my life and hopefully whoever reads this likes reading about it too. I am still figuring out the semantics of it all, so if some changes occur on this blog or more personal information begins to appear - that is why.

Here is what I do know: Skirt Project is not organized because that's not the way I live my life. BUT, I am trying! I take inspiration from what I see on the web, but also from books, articles, people I learn about and people in my life. I do believe in posting as much original content as possible - that includes pictures and words. [Please excuse yesterday's post. :)] And, I will do my best to update this blog on a regular basis. Except that I don't know what regular means for me, yet, but, I'll figure it out.

That's all I have to say on the subject of Skirt Project... for now.

Thanks for reading, now for Paris!

Mr. Wonderful's gift to me for Christmas was time. He has been extremely busy with his program and is still not finished with his first semester. Time is a wonderful thing to give someone... especially when you can spend time in France. Some would say five days is not a lot of time, but we made the most of it and it was an amazing and magical trip. We had so many wonderful experiences, it's a bit overwhelming to recall them all. So my retelling of the tale will be done in small chunks.

We took the earliest bullet train from Brussels to Paris at 7:30 in the morning. We had first class tickets because they happened to be less expensive than second class, about 59 euros one way. I think it was my first time on a bullet train, I might have taken one in Spain, but I can't remember. I thought it was great! Seats were comfy, interesting material to read, wi-fi, and breakfast.

Peek-a-boo!

I see you.

We arrived in Paris at 9 am not knowing what the weather would be like:
Ahhhh. It was glorious. Gare Nord is very close to one of our Must See's in Paris: The Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. With map in hand, suitcase in the other, we set off towards Montmartre, pulling our little carry-on behind us.

A shot of the city and my first impression:
Walking the streets, I understand Parisian style: wide tree-lined streets, ornately decorated white buildings, about six to seven stories tall, with slate roofs. It's a nice scale, and feels nice to "be" in. It's hard not to look up, but one has to be careful of le doo-doo on the streets.

Finally we arrive:
The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur is in Montmartre, the highest point in Paris. Montmartre is a hill, but also known as a bohemian community and for it's famous past inhabitants who lived and worked in the area: Picasso, Modigliani, Dali, Renoir, Van Gogh, Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne, just to name a few. It was exhilarating to arrive at these stairs, and slightly exhausting to climb them.

The view from the top:

Lovely! It feels so wonderful to be here.

Sacré-Cœur means 'sacred heart'. This church was envisioned, planned and began construction in the 19th century. I thought it interesting to learn that it's built in a Romano-Byzantiine style, to counteract the neo-classical construction and buildings in Paris.
Sacré-Cœur is made of travertine stone from France with a high content of calcium. This is why Sacré-Cœur always looks white. I know this is nerdy information, but I've always been an admirer of rocks and even started out as a geology major in college.
Which looks beautiful at a distance or from afar. Especially against this blue sky!
I tried to get shots without tourists, but at 9:30 in the morning Sacré-Coeur was swarming.
Sacré-Cœur is open to the public, but we had our luggage and I didn't want to wheel our carry-on inside, so we took turns. I was only inside for two minutes, but let me tell you that it is jaw-dropping-ly gorgeous inside. No photos are allowed, but I didn't learn that until after this photo was taken.

Oops!

We will definitely have to go back.

A few details:
Everything is so pretty and ornate. Paris is just dripping with decoration!

Cool! A stencil! I add it to my collection and learn that tous suspects means all suspect. An interesting way of informing and reminding everyone of our ever changing world. Merci Paris!

And in the distance:

Eeeeeeeek!!!!

MUST - GO - THERE - NOW!!!

And we're off!Oh alright, one more shot:

That concludes this post, and this is only our first hour from our trip!

It's snowing here and we have plans to travel to Antwerp. I plan to post Part II and hopefully III of Day 1 tomorrow.

Thanks for reading. Did I mention that I love my life?

I am truly blessed.

Paris, Day 1, Part II

I remember seeing pictures of Paris Metro stops in my Art History text book. A classic example of Art Nouveau, this is the first Metro stop I saw in Paris and incidentally the way to our hosts' place. Not a bad way to travel. For more on the best Metro stops of Paris, go here. I am taking notes and ready for my next trip!

After some chocolate cake and tea, our hosts set off to show us the sights.

"What do you want to do while you're here?"

"Uh... I really want to go to the Eiffel Tower," I relplied sheepishly. I am such a tourist. I don't think I mentioned in my previous post that this is my first time in the City of Lights, and

I

A M

E S T A T I C !

So we went for a walk at the Place de la Concorde.

Sensationnel!

[Speechless.]

La Grande Roue

With the smell of crêpes wafting through the air, suddenly I was hit with a pang of unnecessary hunger that only hits you in France.

Les crêpes de jour.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ham and cheese. Delicious (that's French for delicious.)

Another Parisian landmark, almost as iconic as the Eiffel Tower itself. La plus belle avenue du monde. (More on this later.)

Les Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe.

Another sight from my Art History books:

Le Obélisque de Louxor

I don't know why, but this piece really sticks in my head.

It was stolen, er... moved from Egypt.

A few parting shots from Mr. Wonderful's Paris Flickr Set:

A view of the Place de la Concorde with one of the the two Fontaines de la Concorde.

Detail:

Qu'est-ce qu'un magnifique fontaine!

More gold and ornate detail from the walk:

I like how two people can experience the same place, and capture different views. Check out that scale:

Est très grand!

Getting closer...

Around the corner from ET (le Eiffel Tower), is the Musée du quai Branly designed by the Pritzker Prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel.

We hit a wall:

It's a gorgeous wall, but if you aren't looking for it, you'll miss it. Especially with ET in such close proximity.

A 90° view...

It looks like a forest, doesn't it?

If you look closely, you can see the felt pockets that the greenery is growing out of.
Another view:
Read and view more photos, including interior and larger exterior views of Patrick Blanc's Vertical Gardens.

And now for some happy Paris shots in a red coat!

Crossing 8 lanes of traffic in a round-about.

Scared for my life, but willing to die in Paris!

Why did the girl in the red coat cross the Seine?

To get to the other side.