Hidden Arc de Triomphe and more adventures in shopping

Yesterday on my day off durng the week, I met up with Monica and Mariel for some more bargain hunting!

• In case I haven't mentioned it before, the goal is to stock up on as much Paris fashion as possible (and within budget) before going back home!

We went to this area about 10 minutes away from my place (by metro) called Strasbourg St. Denis, where there are a ton of shops that sell clothes wholesale, and a few out of those also sell retail for awesome prices (if you go at the right time).

We went at the right time, and here's a good demonstration of how great the shopping was: Monica bought both a winter coat AND a cocktail dress for...can you guess?

22 euros. That's right. The coat alone would have been quadruple that price in a normal store.

And I ended up with a beautiful scarf for myself and a lovely souvenir for my mom! :D

In that same district, I found some interesting things that you can't read about in any brochure about Paris...


First of all, there's another Arc de Triomphe! It's called the Arc de Triomphe de la
PORTE SAINT-DENIS, and it's older than the more famous one at the end of the Champs-Élysées (it actually was a source of inspiration behind the famous one too!). It was commissioned by King Louis XIV to commemorate his military victories, and it symbolically marked one of the entrances to 17th-century Paris. There's also another arch in the same area, but the Saint-Denis one is prettier. :)


And the other interesting thing I learned: that shopping district is also a kind of red-light district! I saw a few ladies hanging out on various corners as we were hunting for more stores. I can't say I was expecting to find women like that at 11am, but what really struck me as odd was how obvious they were. I know they have to promote their business (so to speak), but I thought the point was to be discreet at the same time. Maybe there's a policy of tolerance in Paris. Who knows.


On an unrelated note, Sciences-Po had a little bit of a scare yesterday morning because of a bomb threat at one of the main buildings. But there's no need to worry because it's already been taken care of and classes were back to normal by the early afternoon. In fact, when the police came to check it out, they even brought in dogs and found nothing on campus. I haven't heard where the threat originated from, but the good thing is that nothing happened, and things were back to normal today.

As for me, I'm coming to the end of my work at Sciences-Po! I have one more exposé to present and one final exam and then I'm done. YESSSSSS!!!

Bisous XOXO

Hunting through Paris! ... Day 7 (Invalides, opera, and protesting)

I intentionally skipped Day 6 because that was mine and Hunter's "day off" from being tourists, meaning we took barely any pictures. We slept in, stayed around my apartment, and just took a nice little break in the middle of the week.

But on Thursday, which was Day 7, I had class in the morning, and Hunter started off the day by visiting the Invalides with Monica!

In case you're not familiar with it, the Invalides is like a huge military museum, and the chapel in the picture above is where Napoleon's tomb is located.







Here's Hunter posing by the bridge Alexander III, which is one of the more opulent bridges in the city (see the gold?).

Here's Monica posing by the bridge.

Hunter again!

The lovely Monica!

He looks so happy!

Here's Monica standing in the courtyard holding Hunter's dossier! Remember how I made that self-guided tour for him? I put everything in this file along with maps of other parts of the city, things to read if he got bored, and things to know about the Invalides for when he went there with Monica!

Another happy picture of Hunter!

Then they went inside the chapel to see Napoleon's tomb.

Here's Monica standing in front of the tomb.

Hunter was apparently in awe over the domed ceiling.

The tomb by itself.

Pretty soon, my class ended and I met up with them in front of the chapel. Monica had to go, so I had Hunter to myself for the rest of the day!

I decided to get creative with the camera! Here's Hunter doing his best military poses.

Hunter found a van with this fencing picture on it, and since I used to fence sabre, he wanted me to do my best lunge. Good thing my skirt was stretchy!

Here's my pensive look in front of the dome.

Couple picture!

After we played around at the Invalides for a while, we decided to go back to that bike rental company to rent bikes for the remainder of Hunter's visit (it's so much more fun going places on a bike than taking the metro!). We picked up the bikes really quickly because we had to be at the Paris opera house soon after that.

As I said before, I'm currently taking an opera course, and part of the course includes visits to the major opera houses in Paris- Opéra Garnier and Opéra Bastille. Opéra Garnier (also called the Paris Opera) is the house that everyone is familiar with because it's the older one and it's also referenced in the play "The Phantom of the Opera". Lucky for us, our class's visit to the Opéra Garnier was scheduled for the Thursday that Hunter was here, and my professor agreed to let me bring him along on the tour! It was amazing! We learned so much about the house's history, its architecture, and they even took us backstage to see people working and rehearsing. The only downside was that the entire tour was in French, and our guide spoke really quickly and without many pauses, so when I did finally get the chance to translate the information to Hunter, I basically had to remember several sections of the tour all at once.

Here we are inside the opera house!

I had to take a picture of the ceilings! Our guide told us that the art in the house had a lot of influence from Greek mythology because the overall impression was meant to be that the opera is like a sacred temple of music that's blessed by the different gods pertaining to the Arts.





Here's our group standing in the main entrance. We were told that when the house was built, the opera was more of a social event than just a time to go see a performance. Every public space was meant to be a sort of scene or backdrop for the people walking around, because back then, the real show was watching everyone else who came, similar to how we watch award shows on tv today (it's more about what the celebrities are wearing than who won something). This room was therefore one of the most important because it allowed the people to have a grand entrance, to watch others entering the house, and to mix and mingle.

Couple shot in the main entrance!

The ballroom was also really important as a public space. It's similar to the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and was another area for people to mingle. Also, this room was meant to show off the wealth of the opera house and the Bourgeoisie, rivaling the opulence from the monarchy shown at Versailles.






Here's Hunter admiring the artwork on the walls. I wonder what he was thinking in between the translations....

Couple shot in the ballroom!

Here's a picture of one of the smaller rooms just outside the ballroom. The ceiling was meant to resemble the sun and how it shines for the world of opera. Another symbolic reference.







Back to the main entrance! This is the grand staircase and it is the single most important part of the house because it's where you are first seen by society and where your opera experience begins. Below the staircase the lighting is dim and as you ascend the stairs, the lighting becomes brighter, so the overall effect is that to enter the temple of opera, you must ascend toward the heavens, toward the light, and become enlightened along the way. It was supposed to be a spiritual experience as well as impressive.

Here's what it looks like to ascend the staircase.

This room was the entrance for the wealthier patrons. There are mirrors all around and from every angle so the patrons could check themselves before they entered the main entrance and the scrutiny of society's eyes upon them.





Next, we went into the actual theater...
Here's a picture of the ceiling and the chandelier. The ceiling is painted with references to some of the great operas in history, Like Romeo and Juliet for example. And the chandelier is amazing with no explanation!






Here is some of the seating. We found out that the average seats will usually sell for around 70 euros. The nose-bleeds where you can't see anything run for around 30 euros.

And if you're wondering why they chose red and gold for the color palate in the theater- it's because these colors are the most flattering for human flesh tones, so it was more for the audience to look appealing instead of the performers.







Here's one of the box seats right next to the stage. Seats like these were the most preferred and the most expensive- not because you get a good view of the stage (the best seats for the view were actually in the balcony towards the back). It was because those places were easily seen by the rest of the audience. Just think, all you had to do to see the patrons in the box was shift your eyes slightly from the stage. Remember, the Opera was more of a place to see and be seen than anything else.

Here's Hunter glowing in the flattering reflection of the seat cushions!

Then, they took us backstage!
Here's the actual stage! Notice that it's at a slight incline towards the back. The reason why is because the incline allows for the performers and scenery in the back of the stage to be easily viewed just like the front of the stage.






Here's a dance studio with some dancers rehearsing. Our guide told us that the studio is decorated similarly to the public spaces because this is where the patrons of the opera would come backstage to meet the performers. This room also has a promiscuous connotation because there were always rumors that the relationships between some of the patrons and the female dancers were less than professional. Plus, there are peepholes in various places in the walls so that stage workers could peer in on the dancers while they were changing. Those peepholes are still there.





Now, if you've ever seen or are just familiar with the story of the "Phantom of the Opera", you know about the rumor of the underground lake below the opera house. Well, the rumor is partly true since there is actually a water reservoir below the house. But the best part is that we got to see it!


We had to go several stories below the house to see the water, and there were cages over the openings so you couldn't fall in.





As you can see, some of the floor is usually wet, so they had boards for us to walk over.

So here's the story behind the water:
As the opera house was in construction, one of the major obstacles was the swampy foundation and the underground water they were building over. Charles Garnier, who was the architect that the house was named for, came up with the genius idea to utilize the problem as a solution. The major problem with opera houses in general is that the weight is unevenly distributed throughout the building. The heaviest section is the stage (in the middle), and the lighter sections are the public spaces and the administative offices at the back, so the ultimate effect would be that the whole house would sort of cave in at the center. Garnier decided to use the underground water to prevent this by creating a reservoir and using the water to help balance the structure. The plan worked, and the design was used for other opera houses around France.

Another benefit of having an underground reservoir: because the decorations were so flammable and because of the gas lighting, there was always a tremendous risk of fire. However, with a ton of water close by, you have a quick way to stop the fire before it spreads.

Here I am by the reservoir!

That was the last bit of the tour. I really enjoyed it, and I'm excited for the next our at the Opéra Bastille!

After the tour, Hunter and I rode our bikes back to my apartment.

Here's my glamour shot of the day as we were riding through the city!

Funny face by the Seine!
(I think the face was because I was on a bike with a skirt on that kept riding up. I got a good bit of attention that day, ha ha...)

We rode through the Bastille on the way home, and we found part of a huge protest along the way.

It was crazy! As you can see, there were people hanging off the Bastille monument and the whole square was shut down (the road behind us is a round-about that's usually packed with cars).

There were so many people that we couldn't ride our bikes and it took a while to navigate through the crowd on foot. It's hard to see, but here I am in the middle with my bike.

I'm not sure exactly what they were protesting that day and exactly who was participating, but I know that Sarkozy's reforms are upsetting a lot of people here. Protesting and strikes are usually a normal occurrence here in France (they call it descendre dans la rue, meaning to descend into the streets), but it seems to be a lot more frequent lately.

I found a BBC news article that explains what happened that Thursday pretty well, and has links that give a little insight as to what's been fueling the unrest here if you want to know more:

French strikes- BBC

So it was a pretty eventful day!

Bisous XOXO

Hunting through Paris! ... Day 4 (Hunter's tour and napping on the bridge)

The 4th day was originally going to be a problem. It was a Monday, and every Monday I have 4 hours of class starting at 8am, so that meant a lot of time for Hunter to sit around waiting for me to be finished with class, and being bored. And since this was his very first time being in Paris (actually, in Europe!), I couldn't let him waste so much time not seeing anything interesting in the city!

So I made him a personalized, self-guided walking tour!

Here's what I did: I made a sort of itinerary of places to go around the center of Paris with directions and maps and for every "stop" I put in some Wikipedia facts about what he was looking at along with some comments from me. And to make it extra interesting, I gave him some tasks to do at each "stop", such as taking funny pictures or filming himself giving commentary on the surroundings. I won't lie, I was kind of proud of myself for coming up with this... :)

So here's Hunter's tour:

(By the way, I included links to all the same Wikipedia definitons I used for Hunter on each stop, if you want to see what he learned!)

First, he walked from Sciences-PO towards the Seine river, and here's a beautiful picture he took of the morning view!







First stop: the Fontaine Saint-Michel!
I told him to imitate the victorious stance from the sculpture on the fountain. Hmm... all I see is chin. :)

Same fountain. Better pose I think.

Video commentary when Hunter crosses the bridge to go to the Conciergerie! (Don't mind what he says about McDonalds... he's crazy.)

Second stop: the Conciergerie!

Third stop: the Tour Saint-Jacques!

Another one of Hunter's tasks was inspired by the fact that the tower was used for atmospheric pressure experiments. I told Hunter to stand in front of the tower and make up his own experiment! For all of us non-science-nerds out there, he's talking about how airplanes fly. Remember how you can blow over the top of a piece of paper to make it rise up? Same thing.



Fourth stop: Pompidou Center! While he was there, Hunter saw a city worker cleaning the streets and accidently topple his machine over. Hunter took a picture, but didn't help the guy! Geez...




Here's his commentary on the design of the building! Remember, he's a civil engineering major, so he gets a little technical in the commentary.

He's so smart!!!

Fifth stop: the Hôtel de Ville! (I can't remember how I told him to take this picture... but it stills looks good!!)

Sixth stop: Notre Dame de Paris! (Here's the inside)

Hunter inside Notre Dame. With a pouty face? Or is that inquisitive?

Right outside Notre Dame is the point zéro, the place where everything in the city is officially centered around and where the measurements start. I told Hunter to find it and take a picture showing his sense of accomplishment in finding the center of Paris. Unfortunately, there were a bunch of tourists standing right over it so he couldn't get through. End result: thumbs up with the point zéro in the distance.

Seventh stop: the Pantheon!

Hunter from the steps of the Pantheon.

Eighth stop: the Sorbonne! I told Hunter to do his best intellectual pose since he was standing in front of a famous university. He would have gone inside if it weren't for the fact that you have to show a student ID to get in. The reason why, I heard, is because of how the Sorbonne has been protesting Sarkozy on some new laws concerning teachers and how they have to now ensure the saftey of the students there. Don't worry, it's not as crazy as it sounds. But more about that later...



Ninth stop: the Luxembourg Gardens! Hunter really liked this park, and ended up going back during one of my classes at the end of the week. Here's some video commentary:



He knows that this is one of my favorite sculptures at the Louvre, so he took a picture of its replica in the Gardens.






Another one of his tasks was to look at all the sculptures (there are a lot), choose a favorite, and take a picture. Here's the one he liked the most!


After the Luxembourg Gardens, Hunter still had a couple stops left on his self-guided tour, but he ran out of time since my classes ended for the day (I guess that means I did a good job on the tour because the goal was to keep him occupied for 4 hours). He met me at Sciences-PO, and after that, I took him to do something he had been waiting for all week: to eat crêpes!

At least 2 or 3 times a day, Hunter would ask me when we could go try some crêpes, and I kept putting it off until Monday after class because there is this amazing crêpe stand right by my school where the guy makes the best crêpes I've tried so far in Paris. They're always freshly made (Some of the stands by the big tourist sites make the crêpes hours before serving them so it's easier to make, but they're cold and kind of stale by the time you eat them. Not so yummy.), and they're always delectable. It makes my mouth water just typing this!




Here we are by the stand just after buying the crêpes. Hunter got a crêpe with sugar and lemon flavoring and mine was with nutella and banana. So so good!

Needless to say, I devoured mine.

Next, I took Hunter to see the last couple stops on his tour, which were the abbey near my school (Saint-Germain-des-Près), and the cathedral Saint-Sulpice.

Here we are inside Saint-Sulpice getting a shot of the vaulted ceilings. Did you know that Saint-Sulpice is about the same size as Notre Dame?
(That means it's pretty big.)

Aww! Another romantic moment! :)

We found this in one of the nooks of the cathedral towards the back. I liked how it looks like Mary is floating on a mountain of clouds. The sculpture seemed so modern to me in the way that the clouds billow out from the columns and depicted something so much more ethereal then just another statue of Mary and Jesus. It seemed interesting especially coming from such an old church. (There's a little art critique for you.)










Speaking of art, here's another personal attempt at the art of photography! It's one of the chandeliers with the vaulted ceilings in the background.




Ok, Hunter is extremely flexible and can do a sort of roundhouse kick that could triumph over Chuck Norris any day. You actually saw a picture of this kick in action on my post where we went to Versailles- it's the one where his foot is basically touching his ear. In this video, we're standing right outside Saint-Sulpice in the courtyard by the fountain and I'm begging Hunter to do the kick...

Poor thing was tired, I think, from having to wake up so early that day and walking around....

...so the poor thing had to sit down while I took a picture of us by the fountain...

...and then poor baby got upset that I wouldn't let him go back to my apartment to take a nap because it was too nice of a day to waste on sleeping...

...he was just so tired...
(And cute! Look at that face!)

...but he was a good boyfriend and let me take one more picture by the fountain...

...so I was a good girlfriend and let him pass out on my lap once we got to Pont des Arts! Pont des Arts is a pedestrian bridge where a lot of people go to spend time with friends and have small picnics over the Seine river.

He was definitely happy when he got the chance to sleep!

How cute! He fell asleep holding my hand!

While I sat there letting Hunter sleep, I read some things for my classes and took pictures, so at least I wasn't bored. This was my view.

Hunter from above!

Once he woke up from his 20 minute power nap, he felt a lot better and wasn't as cranky. Here he is posing for me again in front of the river and Ile de la Cité in the distance.

Couple shot! As you can see, Hunter's mood was a lot better!

Next, I took him to see the Tuileries Gardens over by the Louvre. Here's the Obelisk in the distance with the Arc de Triomphe behind it.

And here's a view of the other side of the gardens where the Louvre is.

After that, Hunter needed a little more sleep, so we went back to my apartment to spend a relaxing evening chez moi.


Bisous XOXO


P.S. chez moi (shay mwah) = my place