Paris 2: AKA 'Getting Cultured'
Told ya I'd be back reallllllly soon! Hee hee, actually it helps to have posts pre-written out so all I have to do is paste 'em in. ^^;; I kinda wrote a lot in this one because I found some things so interesting. So enjoy reading!--unless you happen to be in a rush and then I'd advise coming back to this post. ^^;
I became rather cultured during my stay in Paris (hee hee, ok well not really but it makes for a good intro!) by going to several museums, which can be touristy, but at least educational. ^^ I went to the Louvre Friday night before last, not for very long (that place is HUGE!!!) but I did see the Mona Lisa, which is a tiny lil canvas compared to some of the art in the Louvre. My theory is people love the conspiracy of the Mona Lisa more than the piece itself. Also, just this past Wednesday (it is such a headrush sometimes, the idea of being able to travel across the world in such a short amount of time as 8 hours!!) I spent the afternoon walking around Musee d'Orsay (pronounced 'mew-zay door-say' gotta love French :P), which is where all the Impressionist paintings (and more) are housed. I think I preferred it over the Louvre--Musee d'Orsay is an old train station converted into a museum, which means it's much smaller and not as overwhelming as the Louvre (which is an old palace converted into a museum. T_T) Not to mention, I realllllly like the art in Musee d'Orsay--Monet, Manet, Millet, Van Gogh, Degas, etc--plus, I had an audio guide, which made viewing the art a lot more interesting because I could learn about the pieces as well as study/admire them. :) (I'm a nerd and I embrace it!!!!!) I also went to the Cluny Museum (it has a long complicated name in French, but I'm not bothering XD)--which isn't as well known, but it's still popular because it has the Lady and the Unicorn medieval tapastries that are so famous. I had just finished a book about them, so I was itching to see them in person.^^ And finally, I cultured myself up in a hip way by going to the Centre Pompidou (pronounced 'pom-pid-doo' btw), a museum that not only exhibits modern art--the building itself IS modern art! I don't have any pictures loaded onto the computer yet, but I'll make sure to include one. For now, I'll try to explain. To me, typical Parisian streets are old and stately, yellow-ish and grey, with traces of fading history still visible if you know to look past the bustling store fronts that have moved in to make modern day Paris. Paris is a rich city for this reason--a lot of its history is still preserved, and people live all around it. Now, as for the Centre Pompidou--it's new (built in 1977). It's big. And it stands out from the rest of Paris like a big pink flamingo flapping its wings and squawking, 'Look at me! I'M ART!!'
...Well, you get the idea. Actually, I thought it was a very cool building, being that it's 'exoskeletal' and all the pipes and wires run on the outside of the building, rather than hiding them under the walls like 'traditional' buildings. So 1) you have color-coded pipes zig-zagging their way all over the building (especially the back--Ack!! I'm not sure I have a picture of the back though! ;_;) And you ride 'exoskeletal' escalators to the different floors to visit the exhibitions. There is something quite thrilling making your way up an escalator in a clear tube jutting out from the side of the building. The view was spectacular, for one! ^_^ Anyhoo, I saw two exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, both of them ironically enough American art. The first was was called 'Morphosis,' and took me several minutes to figure out: I walked into this big room with a glass floor, and was instructed to put non-skid cloth shoe covers over my feet so that I could 'enter the exibit.' Ooooook... O_O The glass floor ended up being a looking glass of sorts into a display underneath your feet. The question that first pelted my brain was...what the hell am I supposed to be seeing here?! It wasn't until I stopped trying to look at this exhibit on a grand scale, and zeroed in on a section of it (think: got down on my hands and knees and planted my nose a few inches from the glass flooring) that I understood. Underneath my feet, covering the area of this room, were written architecture proposals (blown up for easier viewing, but still difficult to read), and white paper scale models of all these proposed designs--sometimes several per design. All created by one architect. Here and there, flat-paneled TVs were also blaring from the floor through the glass, blurbs of the architect's interviews about his designs, and for some odd reason, images of dancers leaping across a stage played on the back wall. I stayed in that room for over half an hour, padding around over the glass in my funny cloth clown-shoes and examining all this...information. The guy seemed to have some really 'out there' designs, but they seemed to be functional in big cities (usually American ones, but then, he was American)--the point he was going for, since he was an advocate of urban planning.
The other exibit I saw was entitled 'Los Angeles,' and had to do with...well, Los Angeles art from the 1950s to the 1980s. It was fairly interesting (though there were definately pieces that made me blink several times in confusion and/or widen my eyes in horror before moving on hurriedly), but it was loooooooooooong!!! I thought for certain I would forever be lost in a winding, white-walled coorider with weird American post-modern art on all sides of me for the rest of my life. I entered the museum around 8:00 P.M. and left close to 10:30. o_O
And another form of art I had the chance to see was the Paris ballet!! I'm not kidding, Sarah A. and I stood in line for over an hour in hopes of getting 'standing room' tickets--and we did!! The price of those tickets were amaaaaazing--in a good way. ^_~ Only 5 euros--roughly 5 dollars. For the Paris Ballet, that is a real steal! I actually paid more for my program than my ticket! Sorry, I'm just still terribly excited that I got to go. ^^ The standing room was actually really nice too--we had these soft velvet 'bars' to either lean up against or sit upon. Very classy, and pretty darn comfy. :) And we were on the first floor in the back, so we had a spectacular view of the stage! Of course, the ballet itself was simply outstanding. It was called 'La Bayadere,' and it was the final performance. The word 'bayadere,' btw, can't really be translated, but it's something like 'Sacred Fire Protector (girl).' Ummm, oh yeah, this ballet was 'exotic' as it took place in India--the costumes were beautiful even from a a distance--but it was easy to tell that it was a 'romanticized' India/'Indian' plotline. The music sounded very similar to ballets like 'The Nutcracker' and 'Swan Lake,' and the final act seriously could have been Swan Lake for all I knew: there were white tutus leaping about everywhere. Though actually it turned out to be an opium-induced dream of the main guy, who was smoking away his despair from losing his beloved bayadere--who had just been killed by his jealous fiancee. Ballet plots. Gotta love 'em. ^_^
There's one more to go--I know I know, I write too FREAKING MUCH. My only hope is that at least it's entertaining for those who are curious to read about my travels. Hell, I enjoy writing about 'em.^^; It won't be long though, considering I'm minutes away from posting the 'final installation' of Sarah's Trip to Paris. Until then, mon amis! <33
I became rather cultured during my stay in Paris (hee hee, ok well not really but it makes for a good intro!) by going to several museums, which can be touristy, but at least educational. ^^ I went to the Louvre Friday night before last, not for very long (that place is HUGE!!!) but I did see the Mona Lisa, which is a tiny lil canvas compared to some of the art in the Louvre. My theory is people love the conspiracy of the Mona Lisa more than the piece itself. Also, just this past Wednesday (it is such a headrush sometimes, the idea of being able to travel across the world in such a short amount of time as 8 hours!!) I spent the afternoon walking around Musee d'Orsay (pronounced 'mew-zay door-say' gotta love French :P), which is where all the Impressionist paintings (and more) are housed. I think I preferred it over the Louvre--Musee d'Orsay is an old train station converted into a museum, which means it's much smaller and not as overwhelming as the Louvre (which is an old palace converted into a museum. T_T) Not to mention, I realllllly like the art in Musee d'Orsay--Monet, Manet, Millet, Van Gogh, Degas, etc--plus, I had an audio guide, which made viewing the art a lot more interesting because I could learn about the pieces as well as study/admire them. :) (I'm a nerd and I embrace it!!!!!) I also went to the Cluny Museum (it has a long complicated name in French, but I'm not bothering XD)--which isn't as well known, but it's still popular because it has the Lady and the Unicorn medieval tapastries that are so famous. I had just finished a book about them, so I was itching to see them in person.^^ And finally, I cultured myself up in a hip way by going to the Centre Pompidou (pronounced 'pom-pid-doo' btw), a museum that not only exhibits modern art--the building itself IS modern art! I don't have any pictures loaded onto the computer yet, but I'll make sure to include one. For now, I'll try to explain. To me, typical Parisian streets are old and stately, yellow-ish and grey, with traces of fading history still visible if you know to look past the bustling store fronts that have moved in to make modern day Paris. Paris is a rich city for this reason--a lot of its history is still preserved, and people live all around it. Now, as for the Centre Pompidou--it's new (built in 1977). It's big. And it stands out from the rest of Paris like a big pink flamingo flapping its wings and squawking, 'Look at me! I'M ART!!'
...Well, you get the idea. Actually, I thought it was a very cool building, being that it's 'exoskeletal' and all the pipes and wires run on the outside of the building, rather than hiding them under the walls like 'traditional' buildings. So 1) you have color-coded pipes zig-zagging their way all over the building (especially the back--Ack!! I'm not sure I have a picture of the back though! ;_;) And you ride 'exoskeletal' escalators to the different floors to visit the exhibitions. There is something quite thrilling making your way up an escalator in a clear tube jutting out from the side of the building. The view was spectacular, for one! ^_^ Anyhoo, I saw two exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, both of them ironically enough American art. The first was was called 'Morphosis,' and took me several minutes to figure out: I walked into this big room with a glass floor, and was instructed to put non-skid cloth shoe covers over my feet so that I could 'enter the exibit.' Ooooook... O_O The glass floor ended up being a looking glass of sorts into a display underneath your feet. The question that first pelted my brain was...what the hell am I supposed to be seeing here?! It wasn't until I stopped trying to look at this exhibit on a grand scale, and zeroed in on a section of it (think: got down on my hands and knees and planted my nose a few inches from the glass flooring) that I understood. Underneath my feet, covering the area of this room, were written architecture proposals (blown up for easier viewing, but still difficult to read), and white paper scale models of all these proposed designs--sometimes several per design. All created by one architect. Here and there, flat-paneled TVs were also blaring from the floor through the glass, blurbs of the architect's interviews about his designs, and for some odd reason, images of dancers leaping across a stage played on the back wall. I stayed in that room for over half an hour, padding around over the glass in my funny cloth clown-shoes and examining all this...information. The guy seemed to have some really 'out there' designs, but they seemed to be functional in big cities (usually American ones, but then, he was American)--the point he was going for, since he was an advocate of urban planning.
The other exibit I saw was entitled 'Los Angeles,' and had to do with...well, Los Angeles art from the 1950s to the 1980s. It was fairly interesting (though there were definately pieces that made me blink several times in confusion and/or widen my eyes in horror before moving on hurriedly), but it was loooooooooooong!!! I thought for certain I would forever be lost in a winding, white-walled coorider with weird American post-modern art on all sides of me for the rest of my life. I entered the museum around 8:00 P.M. and left close to 10:30. o_O
And another form of art I had the chance to see was the Paris ballet!! I'm not kidding, Sarah A. and I stood in line for over an hour in hopes of getting 'standing room' tickets--and we did!! The price of those tickets were amaaaaazing--in a good way. ^_~ Only 5 euros--roughly 5 dollars. For the Paris Ballet, that is a real steal! I actually paid more for my program than my ticket! Sorry, I'm just still terribly excited that I got to go. ^^ The standing room was actually really nice too--we had these soft velvet 'bars' to either lean up against or sit upon. Very classy, and pretty darn comfy. :) And we were on the first floor in the back, so we had a spectacular view of the stage! Of course, the ballet itself was simply outstanding. It was called 'La Bayadere,' and it was the final performance. The word 'bayadere,' btw, can't really be translated, but it's something like 'Sacred Fire Protector (girl).' Ummm, oh yeah, this ballet was 'exotic' as it took place in India--the costumes were beautiful even from a a distance--but it was easy to tell that it was a 'romanticized' India/'Indian' plotline. The music sounded very similar to ballets like 'The Nutcracker' and 'Swan Lake,' and the final act seriously could have been Swan Lake for all I knew: there were white tutus leaping about everywhere. Though actually it turned out to be an opium-induced dream of the main guy, who was smoking away his despair from losing his beloved bayadere--who had just been killed by his jealous fiancee. Ballet plots. Gotta love 'em. ^_^
There's one more to go--I know I know, I write too FREAKING MUCH. My only hope is that at least it's entertaining for those who are curious to read about my travels. Hell, I enjoy writing about 'em.^^; It won't be long though, considering I'm minutes away from posting the 'final installation' of Sarah's Trip to Paris. Until then, mon amis! <33