Paris Street Art

Paris, while known for its grand monuments, famous statues, and well-manicured gardens, possesses a quirky side as well through its Street Art.  This is the result of the younger generations wanting to continually make the city theirs.  It is a city of art and expression, old and new.  There is something for everyone, and this complexity and duality is what makes the city so beautiful.

Street Art (art urbain en français) is a contemporary art movement, where different forms of art manifest in public spaces.  This art is quite diverse and can vary from graffiti and murals to mosaics and sculptures. 

Paris exhibits some great examples of Street Art.  My favorite was this mural covering half the wall of a building which rested next to an old church.  It was a unique interplay of old and new, showing that both were beautiful and not necessarily exclusive.  I happened to be there at night, which gave an air of mystery to the face. 

I found this next example of street art around the corner from the Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre, which is one of the many extremely touristy parts of the city. 

Street Art can also be interactive, something with which the audience can play.  Here is a large chalkboard and a world map.

To me, Street Art is much more than a graffiti tag; there is an expression behind it.  It takes thought and makes the audience reflect.  In Paris, the relation between old and new is what makes this art so special as it adds to the beauty of the city, alongside the famous and ancient monuments.

Spring is in the Air

Bright blue skies, green grass, blooming flowers, and birds chirping... Spring is in the air!

Coming off an exceptionally mild winter here in France, spring is just around the corner and nature is getting ready.  Paris was beautiful over the past week, and I was amazed at all of the beautiful flowers in the gardens throughout the city.  It was a nice surprise, since Paris has the reputation for being rainy and cloudy during the winter months.  Apparently I had perfect timing.  One of my favorite blooms was the pink flowers on the trees pictured above. 

Boats on the water

The sun's warmth not only coaxed the beautiful flowers to appear, but the locals (and tourists) as well.  Everyone was out and about, lounging in the sun or enjoying sunny cafes.  I did both of course.  It was enjoyable taking a leisurely pace and strolling around the Eiffel Tower or through the Luxembourg Gardens.  It was just as rewarding to sit and enjoy a glass of champagne outside at a café as the sun went down after a few hours at the Louvre.

"Pelouse Autorisée": In many areas, it's illegal to sit on the grass.  Here it's allowed and enjoyed!

Beneath the Eiffel Tower, I watched this fountain put on a show with water cannons and rainbows while eating my four-cheese panini for lunch:

 

Soaking up the sun and living the life!

Paris Museums: Louvre and Musee d'Orsay

Any trip to Paris seems incomplete without a chance to admire the masterpieces of great artists.  The city's museums are some of the most well-known in the world with some of the most famous works of art. 

During my week in Paris, I took advantage of this by checking out the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay.  Even better, they were both free! As a young person between the ages of 18-25 who is currently living in the E.U., I was given free access to the museums with a simple flash of the visa in my passport. Can't beat that!

The Musee d'Orsay prides itself on its impressionist works, which is one of my favorite styles.  Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas are some of the big names there.  I also loved the main hall full of sculptures, mostly in marble.  While much can be said for the pieces of art inside the museum, the building itself is also incredibly beautiful.  It was an old train station in the heart of Paris that was converted into a place to house the great masterpieces.  The architecture and decoration of the building are interesting in itself.

 The Louvre is of course also one of the biggest museums in the world.  After spending over five hours at the Musee d'Orsay and running out of time in Paris, my traveling companion and I only had the time to roam through one wing of the museum.  Even in the one wing, multiple floors and sections had us confused and turned around with the endless pieces of art.  It is definitely a place to return to and see again... I'm not sure if I'll ever have time enough to appreciate every piece of art in the mammoth museum. 

La Tour Eiffel

I arrived back in Perpignan last night after a wonderful sejour in Paris for the past week.  It was a trip of twists and turns, dancing, monuments, catching up with friends, tasty French delights, American food cravings, art, and much more.  While I have so much to share, I'm going to start solely with the Eiffel Tower.

This was not my first time in Paris and I have seen the Eiffel Tower multiple times, but this time was special because it was my first time going to the very top.  Of course we hit a couple bumps in the road, which made it eventually even more special.  While we planned on hitting up the tower the first morning of our trip, our housing fell through last minute so we spent that morning looking for places to stay.  After booking the same hostel for one more night and figuring out the rest of our time later that day - we ended up in an airbnb apartment since the hostel was completely booked -, we woke up early on the second morning of our trip to make our way to the Eiffel Tower.  Early was a little difficult.  With three hours of sleep (we couldn't miss the opportunity to go out dancing the night before!), we hopped on the metro and made our way to the tourist hotspot, arriving around 10 am. 

When we arrived, the queue was already snaking its way out of the designated spot, but we were determined and we waited.  Finally after an hour and a half, we made our way up to the ticket counter, through the security checkpoint, and into the elevator.  Shoved towards the back, I peeked between the bodies crowded into the small room and saw us rising above the city of Paris.  Higher and higher.  We reached the midpoint where it was necessary to change elevators, which we rode to the very top.  Well it was almost the tippy top, but that's really just a radio antennae. 

It was amazing!  It's true that the Eiffel Tower is completely a tourist hotspot and way too busy, but nonetheless it is an amazing place.  From the top, we found the monuments in the city including the Louvre, Notre-Dame, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, and Musee d'Orsay.  They resembled mere toys with little ants swarming around. 

After plenty of pictures and admiring the scenery, we rushed towards the bottom, taking an elevator from the top to the midpoint and walking down the stairs from there,  in order to arrive in time to pick up our keys for our new lodging and meet up with Colorado friends for lunch. 

But that's not all!  We came back to the tower later in our trip for a special photo shoot...