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Timeframe: Nov 25, 2008
They never told me, but apparently grad students are supposed to help their advisor change car tires.
Apparently Kadi (my advisor here, the one on the tire) didn't realize his tire was kind of flat and it popped on the way to work. He pulled over when he heard a strange noise and noticed that the tire was totally destroyed (at least he had a warranty).
So Jonathan (top left), Kevin (top right), and I (behind camera) helped Kadi fix his tire. All in a day's work as a grad student right?
Timeframe: Nov 24, 2008
Anyone know? As far as I know if they look like they could be from Super Mario World I figured we should eat them. How come nothing cool grows in Utah? Silly desert.
You find these all over outside the place we go to eat lunch. Even though they're probably poisonous, they're pretty.
Timeframe: Nov 17, 2008
Well Guillaume (another lab mate apparently) just successfully defended his doctorate and has invited everyone to a local Irish pub to celebrate! Félicitations (congratulations)!
This is Kevin on the left, and a bunch of other people I don't know hanging out in back. Except... see that one guy in the far back left with the blue button up shirt? That's the American ambassador in Rennes. He's partying with Guillaume's free champagne to celebrate the fact that he got sent to France instead of Baghdad.
And a bunch of other people I don't know, with Rugby on the tube. And a bunch of people speaking English (Irish).
Timeframe: Nov 23, 2008
I found it very interesting to see how many different languages I heard while in Paris. Of course I heard people speaking French, and English, but along with that there were Spanish, German, Russian, Eastern European (of some sort), along with many oriental languages I can't distinguish. I even had to help a French guy explain to a Japanese lady (in English) how to get somewhere in the city, and what stop to get off at (because he didn't speak English very well).
So, to cap off all this multiculturalism, I met a group of young people on the way back from Versailles on the subway. These 3 people (2 guys and a girl) sat down next to me and the French guy I had helped. I listened to the French guy and one of the young people go on about Lyons (where the French guy was from) and then noticed the other French guy turned to the really pretty girl next to me and started talking in English.
It's the perfect way to start a conversation, "So, are you from the States?". Everyone in a foreign country loves to find someone or something that reminds them of home, and they all love to talk. So we were chatting a bit and found out that she's on an exchange studying French at a school in Rennes. Sound familiar? It should, that's the same city I'm staying in right now. Not only that, but it turns out she's visiting here from Hartford Connecticut, and laughed that I said "New Britain" the correct way. So, meeting a fellow nutmegger on a train through Paris. What a really small world.
Unfortunately I didn't get any information about how to contact her (no number, email, or even a name). I completely lost track of time while we were talking that I didn't notice I was at my metro station until the train was almost leaving. So I had to jump out of the seat and out the door before I even said goodbye.
The only saving grace is that halfway through the conversation I mentioned that I knew French but didn't practice it much. Her French friend over heard me and asked for my phone number because he had a friend that's also in school here in Rennes who's looking to practice his English. So her friend has my phone number, which means she can get it if she's so inclined. And if not, it's still a nice memory to have :)
Timeframe: Nov 23, 2008
Well after getting a good night's sleep I took the RER (train/metro) to the local suburb of Versailles where they have a very famous castle.
Here's the entrance to Versailles. Notice that a lot of it is actually under repair. It seems like they're trying to cover all the bas-relief on the roof with gold foil. The part that's already done is really pretty.
This is the King's chapel. It was built by Louis XIV (come on brother Geoff, you gotta help me out with this European History stuff) to be taller than the castle itself. Louis reigned for 72 years, the longest of any French monarch, and spent a good deal of his time in later years concerning himself with religion.
A pretty statue, tucked away into one of the corners of a room. It amazes me how art is everywhere in these places. They apparently took their patronage very seriously.
And of course, even though it's early on a snowy Sunday morning in November there are still enough people here that I have to wait to get into this next room.
I think this was a waiting room for the King's war room. I'm not sure, it just looked pretty so I put up a picture for you guys.
This emblem takes up most of the wall in the King's war room (the wall is probably a good 20 feet high). It's an amazing piece of art by LeBrun (the King's official artist).
And now we come to the piece de resistance, Le Gallerie de Glace (The Hall of Mirrors). Each mirror on the left is 'mirrored' (ha ha) by a window over looking the beautiful gardens on the right. Apparently they would hold festivals and balls in this room.
Just some nice statuary at the end of the Gallerie de Glace. Nice paintings on the ceilings too.
A sculpture of the bust of Louis XIV, on display in the waiting room before the king's bedroom. It turns out that the king was so special that there was a celebration/meeting every morning and evening when he got up and went to bed. There was even an set order as to who was allowed to enter and when. There was also a small fence in the room to separate the family and important people from the servants and orderlies. Goodness, what a life.
This is the bed very much like the one that was used by the Dauphine (daughter-in-law of Louis XV ). The reason they put a replica (from the same time period) up is to remind us that the queens of France used to have to give birth in public (that's what the little seats are for). This was done to make sure that the next king of France actually came from the loins of it's current queen or princess.
This is a little library/drawing room of the daughters of Louis XV. Every once in a while Louis would come down and visit with his daughters by using the secret passage behind the bookcase on the right.
Then we get to the beautifully manicured gardens. Unfortunately, it was snowing (kind of hard) and was pretty cold. So I didn't get many pictures. The ones I did get weren't very good because I was balancing a camera case, camera, umbrella, and backpack all at the same time in the wind.
A beautiful fountain. I hear that during the summer there are Water Festivals where there is a water show set to classical music. It's popular enough they sell tickets. Of course, they don't do it in the snow :)
And that's the end of my time at Versailles. It's funny, it's really not that different from the huge houses you can find in Newport, Rhode Island. Same gilt, same glamour. Although the gardens at Versailles are much better.
Timeframe: Nov 22, 2008
Well, after taking a normal priced metro ride back to Notre-Dame, I started looking for my hotel in the Latin Quarter. At 9 o'clock at night it was quite an active place. Lots of bars and restaurants, with even some people break dancing in the streets (no pictures, battery is dead, remember?) I thought perhaps that I'd come back out after I had recharged my camera battery, but I was too wiped (ie after falling asleep I didn't wake up until 4 am, and had forgotten to plug in my camera charger anyway).
Well after following the same street in circles multiple times, I finally found my hotel in the small crevice between a university and the Seine. They had a really cool elevator (no picture, dead battery) that was mostly metal. I'm sure it wouldn't be allowed for safety reasons in the states. I was on the 7th floor and actually had a view of Notre-Dame from my window.
The room was nice, but tiny (the shower was probably 12"-16" square, I could barely turn around). But after a long day of walking, I didn't care as long as I could sleep.
Timeframe: Nov 22, 2008
Unfortunately, by the time I got to the Eiffel Tower, it was both dark, and my battery had almost died (even though I spent 20 minutes sitting around the Louvre 'borrowing' their electricity to charge it).
So after spending all day walking my little tootsies off, I found out that even on a November evening, when the weather was below freezing, there's still a line for the Eiffel Tower. I had no idea that other toursists were as crazy as me. I figured that most things would be wide open.
So, after standing in line for 40 minutes (and going through an airport style x-ray search) I was able to buy my ticket, with the warning that I was going to have to wait in line another 45 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd floors. Hooray!
On the way up to the 2nd floor, I met a few American girls from Oklahoma that were visiting Paris for some reason or another. The first thing they said when I told them I was from Utah was that Utah is a 3.2 state. I had no idea what they were talking about. It turns out that there is only 3.2% alcohol per volume in drinks sold in Utah, where as most other states have 6.2% alcohol per volume. The things you learn when you go to Paris.
After waiting in line for only about 20 minutes on the second floor, I got in the tiny elevator that takes you to the top. When I say 'the top', I mean 'the top'. It was so high up! For those of you who know me well, you'll know that I'm actually kind of afraid of heights. Well, the sight out the windows of the elevator made me think that perhaps I had gone too far in my quest to see Paris. I even asked the elevator operator if this was the same car we went down in, thinking that I wasn't even going to get out. Luckily, I at least peaked out of the doors when we reached the top and noticed that the entire observation deck is walled in, with windows. So it was very safe.
After wandering around the observation deck for a bit I noticed another set of stairs that lead upwards. I wasn't sure if I really should go up there, but then again, when was the next time I'd be in Paris? The stairs lead to the 'real top' of the tower, where it was very pretty (and cold). They had telescopes and things to look at the city, but I didn't get too close to the edge as the only thing between me and SPLAT was a metal railing and a wall of chain link fence material that bent inwards at the top of it's 8 foot height. It didn't feel too safe to me.
It took another 30 minutes in line to get the elevator back down to the ground, where it was -- surprisingly -- much warmer than I remembered it. But after all this, I only got a few pictures of the tower, and most of them aren't that good. Sorry guys.
Here's a picture of the tower from almost beneath it, in the Champs de Mars. I don't know if I care for the blue lighting, but every hour it glitters. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of that because my battery was too close to dead and I didn't want to risk not being able to take pictures from the top.
Here's a picture from the observation deck at the top. It's looking to the north east. If you look, you can see the ferris wheel at the eastern end of the Champs Elysées (the Louvre is another kilometer or two beyond that). I think the bright building on the right side is The Defense, although I don't know what it's for.
This is a picture looking southwest over the Seine. There's nothing really identifiable here (as most of 'Paris' is behind you). I also had a picture of the Arc de Triomphe from here, but it's so blurry you can't make out anything.
Timeframe: Nov 22, 2008
How do I fit the entire Louvre into one post? What's even funnier is how did I fit visiting the entire Louvre into 4 hours :) Craig would have hated me had he been along for this ride, but at least I got to see everything that was open that day. My feet were very sore at the end and I really didn't spend enough time admiring the paintings (they were on the top floor and the later part of my tour, so I was tired).
Oh the iconic entrance! Actually, I was kind of lost when I got here because I couldn't find the pyramid. It turns out that I had come in the other side and just saw the courtyard (behind me in this picture). Don't get me wrong, the courtyard was cool too, it was just that when I got to this point I knew I was at the Louvre.
So, to get into the Louvre, you actually walk into that glass pyramid and come down some escalators (or that cool pneumatic elavator you see here). Here is where you can buy your tickets (which are good all day, whether you leave or not) and the entrances to the 3 wings of the Louvre (Richlieu, Sully, and Denton I believe). Each section has different things in it, and there are 4 floors total that make sort of a capital A shape. At this point you're in the lower right leg of the A.
Oh how I love statues. This is a picture of one of their hallways. They've just put statuary everywhere. And the building itself is really beautiful as well.
Here we have the Venus de Milo.
They also have some non European/Greek/Roman things to show here too. There are galleries for Egyptian stuff ...
Babylonian stuff ...
Even the actual Code of Hammurabi. This is soo cool! I remember learning about this in middle school. I didn't realize that the actual code was still around. I was very excited when I saw this on the map, I would have missed it for sure if they hadn't written down it was here.
They had a whole wing reserved for two French sculptors (I can't remember their names right now, but they were named on the map). Did I mention I really liked all the sculptures?
This was one of my favorite pieces (the other was a painting). The girl just seems so sad. Her eyes caught mine from across the room, I was drawn to her. I've never had a sculpture affect me like this before. They've always seemed cool, but this was different. I really felt for the girl and wasn't just impressed by the skill of the artist.
Sculpture, sculpture, and more sculpture.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the only marble sculpture I've ever seen of someone wearing armor. Maybe there are some of people on horses, but of just the person?
Even the building itself is art. This is the ceiling of the stairs going from the second to first floors.
This is what I would call, the warden's office. It has paintings of all the people who ran the Louvre (I think). It was just really ostentatiously decorated. I love the ceiling.
The famous Nike of Samothrace. Thank you Art-History class and teacher (who's name I forget right now :( )
A picture of DaVinci's painting of the Madonna on the Rocks. It's Mary along with Jesus, Elizabeth, and John (I think).
Then there's all the paintings housed here. This is where I probably was going way too fast for my own good. I did at least glance at all of the paintings, but there's no way I really looked at any of them. I did notice a few groups of people sitting for hours with a guide in front of a single painting (at least they were there when I passed the first time and when I came back again an hour or so later). I don't think I could ever do that. The paintings were all very nice though.
And the piece-de-resistance... le Jaconde (or the Mona-Lisa as we call it). I was very surprised how many people were there on a cold saturday afternoon (it was like 35 degrees outside) in November to see this. Apparently it's always at least this busy. I'd hate to see what it was like in the middle of high season.
I did get another picture of the painting itself, but it didn't come out very well as I had to take it over the heads of 20 other people. I think it would be nice to come see this one after everything was closed and I could look at it all by myself.
Just another random ceiling in some other corner of the Louvre. Why don't we decorate ceilings anymore?
Raphael's painting of Madonna, Jesus, and John again. Didn't know why I was attracted to this one at first, until I realized it was Raphael's. I must have studied it in high school.
This was my other favorite thing at the Louvre. I think it's the first time I've seen an old painting where I was actually attracted to the girl in the painting. Usually I'm distracted by who painted it, or what the historical significance of the period was. But with this one, it was just "wow, she's cute". I wonder if this is what artists are really going for when they paint something. Not that you appreciate their work, but that you feel something from it.
Buh-bye Louvre! I know that I probably missed a whole lot of the experience by rushing through it, but I'm really glad I can now say that I've seen the entire Louvre. If I hadn't, I'd always be wondering what was it that I had missed. Now at least I have a good overview of what's going on there.
