Author of Eiffel's Tower to Speak at Rosecliff

It's been one year since I studied abroad in Paris. I miss it--a lot--and it's gotten to the point where I am searching every online calendar to find out about any event related to French culture.

Thankfully, in Newport, events for Francophiles are fairly easy to come across--I suppose that's what happens when you live in a historical city that has its own Alliance Francaise.

On Thursday, Feb. 12, Author and Historian Jill Jonnes is coming to Newport to talk about her book, Eiffel's Tower. In case you couldn't guess from the title, it is about Gustave Eiffel's construction of his wrought iron monument, but it also puts the Tower in context with other historical happenings during La Belle Époque.

The event is being hosted by The Preservation Society of Newport County at Rosecliff. To learn more about Jonnes' lecture or to register, visit the event's website. Advance registration is required.  

"Paris" by Magic Man

This song by Magic Man is a great alternative hit... It also doesn't hurt that it's about one of my favorite places on Earth. If you like "Paris," maybe you can consider pre-ordering their album, Before the Waves.

Paris, Day 22: Latin Quarter and Bateau Mouche Tour

For the second to last day of class, each one of us had to write a paper and give a presentation on a historical place. There were three monuments that were presented in class--Monica chose Mont. St. Michel; Misael chose Chateau de Chantilly; Sara chose Versailles--but the rest of us presented at our sites located within the Latin Quarter.

We started with Kelly's presentation at La Sorbonne, then moved onto St. Étienne-du-Mont with Linda, the Panthéon and St. Sulpice with Jackie.

Montagne's statue in front of La Sorbonne. If you look at his right foot, you'll notice it's quite worn--students touch his foot for good luck before exams.

La Sorbonne

We walked through Les Jardins des Tuileries and Le Palais du Luxembourg on the way to the other monuments to see La Fontaine de Medicis. It's strange that this was one of the first places we went and we revisited it the last day of class...

St. Étienne-du-Mont

Fun fact: This door was featured in Woody Allen's movie Midnight in Paris

Le Panthéon. The dome is currently undergoing a restoration process. Because of the lack of air circulation and the level of humidity inside, the dome and ceiling are starting to fall apart...

St. Sulpice

If you've seen The Da Vinci Code, chances are you've seen this copper line. On every summer solstice, the sun hits this line and it reflects light in the church.

We had our last excursion provided by AIFS in the afternoon: a boat tour on the Seine. We had already walked past all of the sites over the past three weeks, but seeing everything from the river gave a new perspective.

Pont Alexandre III

Place de la Concorde

Musée d'Orsay

Le Louvre

Academie Française and Pont des Arts

Le Louvre and Pont des Arts

Pont Neuf

The grotesque faces are rumoured to be Henri IV's friends

Notre Dame

Hotel de Ville

I hope you know what this is by now.

Bir Hakeim bridge (aka the bridge in Inception where Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page are experimenting with the architecture of a dream)

Paris, Day 19: La Cité de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine and Les Deux Magots

Friday marked the beginning of the end of the trip: the last weekend in Paris.

In class, we walked from Pont Alma to the Musée du Quai Branly (aka the Musée d'Océanie), the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadéro, and La Cité de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine.

Pont Alma

On one side of Pont Alma is a statue that serves as a tide marker for the Seine. If the water level reaches his feet, there's a flood warning; if the water rises above his feet, the bridge is closed.

Palais de Tokyo. This building has changed hands several times, including during World War II. When the Nazis occupied France, they used this building to store the confiscated precious valuables from the Jewish people. Today it is a destination to see contemporary art.

Musée du Quai Branly. Former President of France François Mitterand, interested in the cultures of indigenous peoples in Oceania, had commissioned the creation of this museum by architect Jean Nouvel

The gardens in the museum are beautiful and quiet. In fact, there is a wall surrounding the property that serves as a sound barrier to set its visitors away from the noise and sound of the streets. 

The outside wall of the administratve building is indeed covered in vegetation...

Le Trocadéro

On one half of the Trocadéro is an architecture museum. None of the architecural examples from the permanent collections downstairs were original, they were all models.

La Cité de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine

Because most of people in our group chose the last weekend to travel--Kelly, Sara, and Jackie went to Amsterdam; Monica went to Berlin--I was free to spend the weekend however I wanted. So, I met up with two friends, Baptiste and Alex, at Les Deux Magots for lunch. Both Baptiste and Alex were exchange students at my home university last year, so it was great to catch up and reminisce...

Les Deux Magots is one of the ex-pat cafés frequented by Ernest Hemingway.

Paris, Day 14: The Eiffel Tower and Comédie Française

On Sunday, we climbed the Eiffel Tower to the second platform and saw breathtaking views of the city and the Seine. We walked to the gardens in front of the Bibliothèque Nationale--I had my first Nutella crêpe in Paris on the way--took some more photos, then walked towards the Pont Marie for the métro.

Maybe it's because it's self-explanatory--or maybe it's because I'm catching up on a few days worth of blog posts--but I don't think the pictures need much explanation.

Our professor had a few tickets to see Don Juan at the Comédie Française, so three of us saw the show Sunday night. I was surprised at how much I was able to understand--I'm by no means close to being fluent, but I could pick up the general dialogue, tone, and themes. I never read Don Juan, so I'll have to read it and see how well I really understood...