Paris 2009 Report
Pffft. Spent the whole day on this...
Sorry to report a little late. Been playing with DSi, visiting my sister, and sloth is usually the aftermath of a trip for me. Anyways, a month is a huge load to cover, so the highlights will be divided by weeks~ I'm not gonna go too much in details. Below the cut for Paris pics!
Teaser:
Warning: over 80 pics below the cut!
Week 1
After 4-hour flight to Houston, and then a 9-hour flight to CDG airport, then walking to the RER-B (train) we finally arrived at our dorms on June 2. We stayed at the "Maison du Canada", basically the house/dorm with the Canadian students. Our rooms were so compacted!
The bathroom (plus shower) was literally just maybe a third bigger than a phonebooth XD;; I thought I would've felt claustrophobic but eventually we all got used to the space.
Our first day was half free half exploring. :D Our professors got us these pocket-sized map book that includes all the street names and the metro/bus maps, divided by the arrondissement sections. Hehe that store had a small comic section! Afterwards we went on a brief metro ride to get familiar with the subway system.
Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. :D
The following day was a "Scavenger Hunt," in which our professor divided us into teams and gave each team a list of addresses in the city we have to find. *cough* My team was last one to return due to... circumstances 8D;; There was a delay in one of the trains that we waited over 30 minutes for.
St. Germain, tho not the best pic... Luxembourg Garden's fountain.
The third day was crazy. First, we went to the Louvre museum! Though, admittedly, it's mostly famous for its collection of antiquity artworks rather than "good" artworks. My partner and I still got totally lost in the palace cuz we thought each emphasized room on the map were large rooms, but some are so small that we didn't even know we passed through them already.
The Psyche and Cupid is one of my all-time favorite sculptures ever. In this one room there were some really amazing bronze figurines that interested me so much more cuz they were so gestural *u* The last one is the Rubens gallery, another that I also enjoyed a lot.
Please take a look at last year's gallery for more shots, cuz I didn't take too many this time.
Next we went to visit the famous Gobelins L'Ecole de L'Image (Gobelins School of Image)! The art university has a strong animation division, and our professor is going to be teaching here the coming spring. We were kindly invited to look at the 1-2 minute senior works, and boy, they were stunning work. @D@
On the left is a shot of the concept sheets on the wall. I wonder if I'm allowed to display it... *crosses fingers*
Afterwards our professor (his name's John, so I'll type John from now on) gave us a watercolor demo, which was supposed to have lasted only 45 minutes, but it ended up being 2 hours lol @D@;;
The next day we visited the Musee D'Orsay {musee = museum}, and I SO think it's way more impressive than the Louvre!! It has a vast range of 1400s to Impressionism artworks, and unlike the Louvre's antiquity collection, these artworks are actually pieces that work. The museum used to be a train station, which is why there's that majestic clock.
(1) That's perfect example of what I mean by "work". Just look at the choices that the artist made on the composition, the gestures, and limited palette!
(2) Yup. One of Monet's La Cathedrale de Rouen pieces. I loved that particular blue/orange complementary palette.
(3) I did my presentation in front of the gallery the famous Luncheon on the Grass was in. As said before, one of the people I had to research on was Edouard Manet, and now I have so much more appreciation for his works and the way he thinks.
Left: The 12 Disciples nude and in very feminine poses. Sexy~WUT XD No really. Though I don't particularly agree with some of the symmetric decisions, the flow of the bodies is really pleasing to the eye. And the colors!
Right: Definitely my favorite piece in the museum because I love sketch works, and that was a very beautiful and effective sketch by Ernest Hébert.
Afterwards we were pretty much free to wonder on our own. Oh right! We visited the Sennelier art store! It's the same art store that Picasso got his art supplies from.
Then on Saturday we visited the Musee Picasso, and yes if the first week is pretty much museum hopping 8D; But to be clear, the class isn't a drawing class and we aren't just visiting the landmarks of Paris. Along the way, our professor would give us some exercises that'll help us generate ideas and be more "adventurous." So on this day, the exercise was a "hot potato" spread, in which we trade our sketchbook with everyone, and everyone draws in each other's spreads. The point is the density and energy of the spread.
I didn't really take pictures of any works, but I thought the interior was kinda whimsical. And I'm high-fiving my double 8D!
Before visiting the next museum, we went to a store called Melodies Graphiques that has really beautiful calligraphy supplies! I wish I bought something there >.< Anyways, the next museum we visited was the Musee du quai Branly, and it had collections of many tribal civilizations from all over the world. The one above particularly lol-ed for me 8D;
Oh, haha, the Asians of the group decided to cook already. I forgot to mention that the bread/baguette here is PHENOMENALLY delicious, but sandwich, on the other hand, we were kinda getting sick of. So.... curry! hahaha.
Week 2
On Sunday, we visited yet another museum! This time Musee Marmottan, which contains Monet's famous Nymphera lily pond paintings!
And yeah lol. We looked again. Doesn't the food look so Asian?
But that was also the night that I drank substantial amount of white wine and started getting sick. I still don't know whether it was just a very quick illness or was it an allergic reaction.
It wasn't good time to get sick at all, because on Monday, it was pouring rain and it was one of the days we actually had to be outdoor. Basically within 6 hours, our professor wanted us to do 15 pages in our sketchbook, in which he expected to be not-so-well-drawn pages. He wanted us to instead of hunting for something to draw, try to make what's in front of us appealing.
Anyways, by the evening of that night, I had my fever. So I took the next day off... and missed the trip to Giverny.
The following day (Wed.) was an off day, so after a day of recovering, I decided to venture off on my own in the city to make up for the lack of productivity. And hehe, I saw this at the metro (●´Д｀●)♥
MUSE'S NEW ALBUM TOUR!! Gah I hope they will have a US tour following their Europe one...
The full tracklisting is:
01. Uprising
02. Resistance
03. Undisclosed Desires
04. United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
05. Guiding Light
06. Unnatural Selection
07. MK Ultra
08. I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S”Ouvre A Ta Voix)
09. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)
10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
11. Exogenesis Part III (Redemption)
IT'S GONNA BE SO EPIC.
Anyways... back to the report.
Although that's the day off, there was an event in the evening. In midst of pouring rain and those danger puddle zones, everyone is dressed formally to see a concert at St. Chappelle. Despite the weather, the concert was so worth it...I mean, a string quartet in a magnificent Gothic chapel!! How classy is that?!
And St. Chappelle had the most magnificent stain glasses...
The next day, we visited the Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, a museum specialized in anthropogenic collections like extinct animal bones!
Friday and Saturday are a bit of a blur to me at the moment, but I believe on Friday we visited the Pompidou museum, which is actually a modern art museum. I wasn't really that impressed... though it had a really nice bookstore. :D
On the same day, we dined together at a restaurant called Dans Le Noir, which translates to "Dine in the Dark." And yes. We literally dined a surprise menu set in pitch blackness, in which we're served by blind waiters and waitresses. Yes it's like getting a glimpse of how blind people eat. At first I was extremely paranoid about it, but it helped to close my eyes. Then it got pretty fun trying to eat without seeing our food.
Afterwards, we went to see the nightview of Notre Dame! It's around 10:30 there; notice there's still a noticeable amount of sunlight left due to latitude.
Saturday we visited the Musee de L'Armee, which has a collection of armors since the Medieval times! I was awing at the knight armors and weaponry. They also had an exclusive WWI & WWII collection with footages.
Ah, the last one is from the Guimet, an Asian art museum.
Week 3
The next two days are free days. Remember me reporting that I got lost in the French coast? Hahaha... that was Sunday. I wanted to visit Giverny (Monet's Gardens) since I missed it on the sick day. The funny thing is that when I told my professor about the incident, all he could say was, "Oh that's okay, I don't mind you guys having 'misadventures'!" He wants us to get lost and explore and be curious lol. I think I went back to the Louvre and St. Germain's Cathedral on Monday.
Tuesday, we visited Normandy, which by bus is around 4 hours away from Paris, where we get to really revisit WWII's Invasion of Normandy in full context. WWII cannot hit home more than this trip.. Background info: June 6, 1944 (D-Day) was a set day for the Allies army to invade the Normandy beaches in order to take the territory back from the Germans for France.
John wanted us to really learn how to get into context of a story, how deep we must get to communicate to the audience, how to explain the magnitude of what the soldiers might have gone through in a way that will reach us in the personal level.
There was something he said that struck me very hard. He knew someone who would talk about almost anything, and was also a former officer at D-Day. And D-Day was one subject that no matter what, after all those years, he can't talk coherently about without crying.
John's friend said: "You never get used to the idea to be the one to send a guy to a corner, and the guy doesn't come back." When one of his comrades does get blown up in a "corner," he had cradled the soldier whose body is pretty much disassembled, hushing 'It's gonna be okay' when he knows it's not gonna be. "I think about that boy every night," he said.
We were guided by a British man named Elwood, who was an incredible story-teller. (Also his wife was kind enough to pack us all sandwiches and beverages!) In this photo, he was explaining the only defense of any kind on those boats were the back, made of steel while everything else was not bullet-proof.
Our first stop was actually the Airborne Museum. The Airborne landings, at least for the American army, were the first of the invasion operations. This operation was completely miscalculated, and the result was disastrous. The aerial attack, aimed for the Germans, ended up being the town itself, and only 3 of hundreds paratroopers survived.
In the first photo above shows the location of where John Steele (one of the survivors)'s parachute got caught; the spire yes, but it was actually the opposite side. The Church was located at the corner of the town square, so while all the commotions happening in the center, the side of the Church was pitch dark. According to Elwood, Steele's best friend had located him but was gunshot down by a German soldier right in front of him. That soldier spotted Steele up at the top of the Church and was about to shoot up, but at the last breath, his best friend took a gun out and killed the German soldier. If it weren't for his best friend, John Steele would not have survived...
I don't recall which one is the photo of, but we visited Utah Beach and Omaha Beach.
The US 4th Infantry division invaded Utah Beach, and it was one of the most successful beach invasions for the Allies because of precise planning and soldiership, as there were only around 145 casualties.
Omaha Beach, on the other hand... was almost the opposite. With every tidal wave, another line of soldiers was sent to shore. The Germans had anticipated the invasion and was well-prepared for it. The 1st wave to the 4th waves were chaotic and disastrous for the American troops because there was lack of communication and senior leadership.
It wasn't until the 5th wave where a lieutenant told the soldiers to get it together that the tables started to turn. "Are you going to lay there and get killed, or get up and do something about it?"
Then we visited the Normandy American Cemetery, a cemetery ground given by the French government to honor the American soldiers.
The bells were ringing, and literally there were over 900 crosses spread across the horizon of green grass. It was... really surreal.
Our final stop was Pointe du Hoc, a clifftop, another point of attack by the US army. The cliffs were massive, and only US soldiers who were specially trained for the climbing were sent for the attack.
The first picture shows a crater created by the bombs, while the second shows glimpse of the soldier's hide-out.
A strange deviation, but the whole experience, everything reminded me of the WK fic The Sweet Hell We Shared because it portrayed the war setting so vividly.
I have to say, all these stories hit home pretty badly... because the soldiers were simply 18 to early 20s when they fought in WWII. When I was young, the age 18 sounded so grown-up and far away. Soldiers sounded like a position so distant from us students. Now look. I mean, our age! The commanders were merely in their 20s. Those boys younger than all of us were out there fighting and enduring all those shit! Dying from gunshot and from sinking, carrying over 50 lbs of equipment, cleaning out body parts of their own comrades that were stuck in their tanks. Fuck. And we were standing exactly where they were, soldiers our age... If we were shoved in such situations, I don't even know what we'd do.
Anyways, I should probably move on.
After the rode trip, the next day, we visited Musée des Arts décoratifs musée Paris (Museum of Decorative Arts).
Not part of the museum...but I saw this at a bakery and thought they were so ADORKABLE. I WANT THAT TURTLE BREAD.
I'm kinda proud of these two photos. The museum had some very interesting collections, including two jewelry collections, toy collection, innovative chairs, and more. Too bad the fashion and advertisement galleries were closed...
We only had 2 days left before the end of class, hence we had the remaining day free; so I just went to sketch a little. It was weird, because two men on the same day used the pick-up line of "What time is it?" on me. One even pulled this "I didn't get this job, and today's my birthday too!" nonsense.
On the 18th and 19th, our final assignment was one long drawing and then draw another using someone else's "assignment" (everyone pitched an assignment, and we choose one). On the 19th, after we turned in our sketchbooks, we had a little chocolate tasting from Francois Pralus, Leonard Pitt's favorite chocolate store in Paris! So many different dark chocolates. Oh, just FYI, during April, we had the honor of visiting Leonard Pitt in Berkeley, and he signed my "Walks Through Lost Paris" book :)
To celebrate, everyone went to a bar together, and interesting enough, somehow we had John tell each one of us what he thought were our good and bad traits were. For me, he said I wasn't someone who'd usually come up to talk to him, but he liked how once I do, I go on and on enthusiastically about it. I was actually surprised at the answer, cuz I've always considered myself as, well, introverted. Then for bad trait, he said, "Try not to be afraid to piss someone off." Haha...
The next day we had a little informal wine tasting accompanied with bread, cheese, and fruits 8D
During the evening, several of us went to Les Fêtes Galantes, a restaurant that John tried by accident and then highly recommended it for its traditional French cuisine in a reasonable price. The restaurant itself is rather small and nothing extremely fancy, but it feels very homey and welcoming. We all ordered something different from the menu set so that we can try each other's dishes.
I decided on the higher priced end of the menu and ordered the meal set of onion soup (appetizer), duck confit topped with honey and almonds (main dish), and home made apple tart with calvados (dessert). And my God...... it's the best meal I've had on the whole trip (and this is a mutual statement among us all). The names of the dishes and any words I say here canNOT do justice to describe how delicious they were. All I can say is, "Now THIS is true French cuisine."
Authentic French onion soup with a piece of lamb meat.
This dish was GODLY....the skin crisped just right and the meat cooked so tenderly and flavored with the right amount of saltiness and sweetness.
Warm and sweet. Topped with a unique flavored ice cream and fruits. WOW. Such a grand way to end the meal with.
Week 4
The next day, the 21st, was Fete de la Musique, an annual music festival in which bands and all sorts of music artists will be playing out in the streets of Paris! It was really awesome!
That day was the first outing in which we were together without John. Kira and I separated from the group a little later cuz it got a little too crazy for our taste. There's the famous Opera House in nightlight.
The next day Kira and I went to visit the Pere Lachaise Cemetery to kiss Oscar Wilde's grave 8D!!!
Haha, mines look so retarded.
We also visited the interior of the Opera House (same that Phantom of the Opera is based on). Alas, the auditorium was closed. The photo on the right is a mini stage set of the play Othello, replica to the actual set on stage. Such craftsmanship!
We also went into a park near La Defense that had rabbits everywhere!
Dublin, Ireland
On the 23rd is when me, Kira, Mark, and Nikita leave for Dublin, Ireland until the 26th. Unfortunately Kira didn't enjoy it much, because it wasn't Paris.. I honestly really liked it. It's smaller and a nice break from the busy city of Paris. Dublin overall feels calmer and "slower." Live Irish music can be heard from almost every bar.
We stayed at Christchurch Hall Apartments, which is pretty much neighbored with the Christchurch Cathedral. If anyone goes to Dublin, I highly recommend staying at this apartment. Decent rent, and the bedrooms/kitchen/living room are quite spacious. :) Not only that, much of the siteseeing places, restaurants, and bars are within walking distance.
Though my feet practically died the first day. I only brought my boots and sandals to wear, and in my boots that day, Mark had us walking 2-3 hours around Dublin without stopping to get familiar with the place.
Hahaha just on the first night, we've already hit a pub: the infamous Temple Bar. My first pint of Guinness *grins* Damn cheap compare to Paris' pricing.
The next day my meal was a traditional Irish beef stew with a tint of Guinness in it. It was so good.........
Many people were selling fruits on the streets, and I just couldn't pass off those OH-SO-PERFECT-LOOKING strawberries, and omg they were sweet. Ireland has damn good fruits. We visited the Guinness Storehouse, which offered a free pint in celebration of their 250 anniversary.
Afterwards Kira and I went souvenir-shopping and also went to visit the St. Stephen's Green park. Luscious green every direction with a lake in the center. It felt really natural and not man-made. On the right is where we dined at, typically what a restaurant looks like.
Kira wanted to go pub-hopping, which I wasn't too interest in... I don't mind getting one drink, but I'm honestly not too willing to spend over 10 Euro on drinks. Anyways, so I got back to the apartment earlier.
The next day Mark and Nikita wanted to go to Malahide Castle, which was in a more rural area outside of Dublin. Obviously I was really interested in it. I wanted to see the country side and roll on the grass, and I did!
Because we're only in Ireland for so many times, I was a bit more willing to spend on food. I'd rather spend my money on substantial food than drinks any day. And for the 2-meal course set above for just 21 Euros? SO WORTH IT. The main course may seem like something you get an a IHOP or something, but believe me it's way better. And that plum flan ornated with vanilla syrup, strawberry kiwi, and passionfruit...LSjfldskjf GODLY.
Soooooooo that night, Mark and Nikita came back drunk cuz these guys offered them free drinks. I was laughing so hard when Mark said he took 34 mysterious camera shots he didn't remember taking.
So yeah, the next day was our flight back to Paris. We caught the evening flight.
The Irish musicians around!
Back to Paris
Let's see... Saturday, I decided to take a day of rest, so I ended up doing some more shopping around Paris with Sarah because all the sales are going around that time of the month.
Then that evening was... a bit messy. 10 of us decided to chill at a bar, but Kim A. had drank over half a bottle of whiskey prior... and well, she got really drunk and threw up, causing us to be kicked out of the bar. It took all our efforts to make sure she gets back in one piece, and that includes keeping her from running toward the train tracks and out into the streets.
Week 5
On Sunday, I decided to attempt Giverny for the second time. I finally made it!
My main reason for going is to see the Monet's Garden, and it was definitely worth the trip. The landscapes and colors are simply beautiful and tranquil. The Gardens and the village definitely earn the title of "Cradle for Impressionism."
Haha... I caught the last ride back to Paris, just barely made it.
On the same night, everyone sat at the edge of the Seine to drink.
Finally on Monday, I did my last minute shopping, and we all went to a restaurant to eat our last dinner together at Paris.
Then on Tuesday, we hopped on the flights to Houston back to San Francisco. It's kinda mean to say this... but even I was embarrassed at how some of the Americans were on the plane in front of the Parisians, who are much more well-mannered.
Anyways, group pic! :)
I just thought the clouds looked so cool.
--FIN
So that concludes the massive report. Thanks for those who have read it. There were some... personal issues that came up, but maybe I'll write them if I feel like it. Also, I've uploaded some sketches to my blogspot.
Even though it's been a week now, I'm still trying to adjust back on life. I felt like time had stopped for us when we were in Paris when it is evident time didn't stop for the States at all. And now I'm just trying to catch up...
While I definitely agree that the trip was a great learning experience, I'm now jobless (my boss found another student assistant, hopefully just for the summer) and even homeless for the Fall semester... both of which I could've solved in June. So yeah, reality hurts sometimes.
Sorry to report a little late. Been playing with DSi, visiting my sister, and sloth is usually the aftermath of a trip for me. Anyways, a month is a huge load to cover, so the highlights will be divided by weeks~ I'm not gonna go too much in details. Below the cut for Paris pics!
Teaser:
Warning: over 80 pics below the cut!
Week 1
After 4-hour flight to Houston, and then a 9-hour flight to CDG airport, then walking to the RER-B (train) we finally arrived at our dorms on June 2. We stayed at the "Maison du Canada", basically the house/dorm with the Canadian students. Our rooms were so compacted!
The bathroom (plus shower) was literally just maybe a third bigger than a phonebooth XD;; I thought I would've felt claustrophobic but eventually we all got used to the space.
Our first day was half free half exploring. :D Our professors got us these pocket-sized map book that includes all the street names and the metro/bus maps, divided by the arrondissement sections. Hehe that store had a small comic section! Afterwards we went on a brief metro ride to get familiar with the subway system.
Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. :D
The following day was a "Scavenger Hunt," in which our professor divided us into teams and gave each team a list of addresses in the city we have to find. *cough* My team was last one to return due to... circumstances 8D;; There was a delay in one of the trains that we waited over 30 minutes for.
St. Germain, tho not the best pic... Luxembourg Garden's fountain.
The third day was crazy. First, we went to the Louvre museum! Though, admittedly, it's mostly famous for its collection of antiquity artworks rather than "good" artworks. My partner and I still got totally lost in the palace cuz we thought each emphasized room on the map were large rooms, but some are so small that we didn't even know we passed through them already.
The Psyche and Cupid is one of my all-time favorite sculptures ever. In this one room there were some really amazing bronze figurines that interested me so much more cuz they were so gestural *u* The last one is the Rubens gallery, another that I also enjoyed a lot.
Please take a look at last year's gallery for more shots, cuz I didn't take too many this time.
Next we went to visit the famous Gobelins L'Ecole de L'Image (Gobelins School of Image)! The art university has a strong animation division, and our professor is going to be teaching here the coming spring. We were kindly invited to look at the 1-2 minute senior works, and boy, they were stunning work. @D@
On the left is a shot of the concept sheets on the wall. I wonder if I'm allowed to display it... *crosses fingers*
Afterwards our professor (his name's John, so I'll type John from now on) gave us a watercolor demo, which was supposed to have lasted only 45 minutes, but it ended up being 2 hours lol @D@;;
The next day we visited the Musee D'Orsay {musee = museum}, and I SO think it's way more impressive than the Louvre!! It has a vast range of 1400s to Impressionism artworks, and unlike the Louvre's antiquity collection, these artworks are actually pieces that work. The museum used to be a train station, which is why there's that majestic clock.
(1) That's perfect example of what I mean by "work". Just look at the choices that the artist made on the composition, the gestures, and limited palette!
(2) Yup. One of Monet's La Cathedrale de Rouen pieces. I loved that particular blue/orange complementary palette.
(3) I did my presentation in front of the gallery the famous Luncheon on the Grass was in. As said before, one of the people I had to research on was Edouard Manet, and now I have so much more appreciation for his works and the way he thinks.
Left: The 12 Disciples nude and in very feminine poses. Sexy~WUT XD No really. Though I don't particularly agree with some of the symmetric decisions, the flow of the bodies is really pleasing to the eye. And the colors!
Right: Definitely my favorite piece in the museum because I love sketch works, and that was a very beautiful and effective sketch by Ernest Hébert.
Afterwards we were pretty much free to wonder on our own. Oh right! We visited the Sennelier art store! It's the same art store that Picasso got his art supplies from.
Then on Saturday we visited the Musee Picasso, and yes if the first week is pretty much museum hopping 8D; But to be clear, the class isn't a drawing class and we aren't just visiting the landmarks of Paris. Along the way, our professor would give us some exercises that'll help us generate ideas and be more "adventurous." So on this day, the exercise was a "hot potato" spread, in which we trade our sketchbook with everyone, and everyone draws in each other's spreads. The point is the density and energy of the spread.
I didn't really take pictures of any works, but I thought the interior was kinda whimsical. And I'm high-fiving my double 8D!
Before visiting the next museum, we went to a store called Melodies Graphiques that has really beautiful calligraphy supplies! I wish I bought something there >.< Anyways, the next museum we visited was the Musee du quai Branly, and it had collections of many tribal civilizations from all over the world. The one above particularly lol-ed for me 8D;
Oh, haha, the Asians of the group decided to cook already. I forgot to mention that the bread/baguette here is PHENOMENALLY delicious, but sandwich, on the other hand, we were kinda getting sick of. So.... curry! hahaha.
Week 2
On Sunday, we visited yet another museum! This time Musee Marmottan, which contains Monet's famous Nymphera lily pond paintings!
And yeah lol. We looked again. Doesn't the food look so Asian?
But that was also the night that I drank substantial amount of white wine and started getting sick. I still don't know whether it was just a very quick illness or was it an allergic reaction.
It wasn't good time to get sick at all, because on Monday, it was pouring rain and it was one of the days we actually had to be outdoor. Basically within 6 hours, our professor wanted us to do 15 pages in our sketchbook, in which he expected to be not-so-well-drawn pages. He wanted us to instead of hunting for something to draw, try to make what's in front of us appealing.
Anyways, by the evening of that night, I had my fever. So I took the next day off... and missed the trip to Giverny.
The following day (Wed.) was an off day, so after a day of recovering, I decided to venture off on my own in the city to make up for the lack of productivity. And hehe, I saw this at the metro (●´Д｀●)♥
MUSE'S NEW ALBUM TOUR!! Gah I hope they will have a US tour following their Europe one...
The full tracklisting is:
01. Uprising
02. Resistance
03. Undisclosed Desires
04. United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
05. Guiding Light
06. Unnatural Selection
07. MK Ultra
08. I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S”Ouvre A Ta Voix)
09. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)
10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
11. Exogenesis Part III (Redemption)
IT'S GONNA BE SO EPIC.
Anyways... back to the report.
Although that's the day off, there was an event in the evening. In midst of pouring rain and those danger puddle zones, everyone is dressed formally to see a concert at St. Chappelle. Despite the weather, the concert was so worth it...I mean, a string quartet in a magnificent Gothic chapel!! How classy is that?!
And St. Chappelle had the most magnificent stain glasses...
The next day, we visited the Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, a museum specialized in anthropogenic collections like extinct animal bones!
Friday and Saturday are a bit of a blur to me at the moment, but I believe on Friday we visited the Pompidou museum, which is actually a modern art museum. I wasn't really that impressed... though it had a really nice bookstore. :D
On the same day, we dined together at a restaurant called Dans Le Noir, which translates to "Dine in the Dark." And yes. We literally dined a surprise menu set in pitch blackness, in which we're served by blind waiters and waitresses. Yes it's like getting a glimpse of how blind people eat. At first I was extremely paranoid about it, but it helped to close my eyes. Then it got pretty fun trying to eat without seeing our food.
Afterwards, we went to see the nightview of Notre Dame! It's around 10:30 there; notice there's still a noticeable amount of sunlight left due to latitude.
Saturday we visited the Musee de L'Armee, which has a collection of armors since the Medieval times! I was awing at the knight armors and weaponry. They also had an exclusive WWI & WWII collection with footages.
Ah, the last one is from the Guimet, an Asian art museum.
Week 3
The next two days are free days. Remember me reporting that I got lost in the French coast? Hahaha... that was Sunday. I wanted to visit Giverny (Monet's Gardens) since I missed it on the sick day. The funny thing is that when I told my professor about the incident, all he could say was, "Oh that's okay, I don't mind you guys having 'misadventures'!" He wants us to get lost and explore and be curious lol. I think I went back to the Louvre and St. Germain's Cathedral on Monday.
Tuesday, we visited Normandy, which by bus is around 4 hours away from Paris, where we get to really revisit WWII's Invasion of Normandy in full context. WWII cannot hit home more than this trip.. Background info: June 6, 1944 (D-Day) was a set day for the Allies army to invade the Normandy beaches in order to take the territory back from the Germans for France.
John wanted us to really learn how to get into context of a story, how deep we must get to communicate to the audience, how to explain the magnitude of what the soldiers might have gone through in a way that will reach us in the personal level.
There was something he said that struck me very hard. He knew someone who would talk about almost anything, and was also a former officer at D-Day. And D-Day was one subject that no matter what, after all those years, he can't talk coherently about without crying.
John's friend said: "You never get used to the idea to be the one to send a guy to a corner, and the guy doesn't come back." When one of his comrades does get blown up in a "corner," he had cradled the soldier whose body is pretty much disassembled, hushing 'It's gonna be okay' when he knows it's not gonna be. "I think about that boy every night," he said.
We were guided by a British man named Elwood, who was an incredible story-teller. (Also his wife was kind enough to pack us all sandwiches and beverages!) In this photo, he was explaining the only defense of any kind on those boats were the back, made of steel while everything else was not bullet-proof.
Our first stop was actually the Airborne Museum. The Airborne landings, at least for the American army, were the first of the invasion operations. This operation was completely miscalculated, and the result was disastrous. The aerial attack, aimed for the Germans, ended up being the town itself, and only 3 of hundreds paratroopers survived.
In the first photo above shows the location of where John Steele (one of the survivors)'s parachute got caught; the spire yes, but it was actually the opposite side. The Church was located at the corner of the town square, so while all the commotions happening in the center, the side of the Church was pitch dark. According to Elwood, Steele's best friend had located him but was gunshot down by a German soldier right in front of him. That soldier spotted Steele up at the top of the Church and was about to shoot up, but at the last breath, his best friend took a gun out and killed the German soldier. If it weren't for his best friend, John Steele would not have survived...
I don't recall which one is the photo of, but we visited Utah Beach and Omaha Beach.
The US 4th Infantry division invaded Utah Beach, and it was one of the most successful beach invasions for the Allies because of precise planning and soldiership, as there were only around 145 casualties.
Omaha Beach, on the other hand... was almost the opposite. With every tidal wave, another line of soldiers was sent to shore. The Germans had anticipated the invasion and was well-prepared for it. The 1st wave to the 4th waves were chaotic and disastrous for the American troops because there was lack of communication and senior leadership.
It wasn't until the 5th wave where a lieutenant told the soldiers to get it together that the tables started to turn. "Are you going to lay there and get killed, or get up and do something about it?"
Then we visited the Normandy American Cemetery, a cemetery ground given by the French government to honor the American soldiers.
The bells were ringing, and literally there were over 900 crosses spread across the horizon of green grass. It was... really surreal.
Our final stop was Pointe du Hoc, a clifftop, another point of attack by the US army. The cliffs were massive, and only US soldiers who were specially trained for the climbing were sent for the attack.
The first picture shows a crater created by the bombs, while the second shows glimpse of the soldier's hide-out.
A strange deviation, but the whole experience, everything reminded me of the WK fic The Sweet Hell We Shared because it portrayed the war setting so vividly.
I have to say, all these stories hit home pretty badly... because the soldiers were simply 18 to early 20s when they fought in WWII. When I was young, the age 18 sounded so grown-up and far away. Soldiers sounded like a position so distant from us students. Now look. I mean, our age! The commanders were merely in their 20s. Those boys younger than all of us were out there fighting and enduring all those shit! Dying from gunshot and from sinking, carrying over 50 lbs of equipment, cleaning out body parts of their own comrades that were stuck in their tanks. Fuck. And we were standing exactly where they were, soldiers our age... If we were shoved in such situations, I don't even know what we'd do.
Anyways, I should probably move on.
After the rode trip, the next day, we visited Musée des Arts décoratifs musée Paris (Museum of Decorative Arts).
Not part of the museum...but I saw this at a bakery and thought they were so ADORKABLE. I WANT THAT TURTLE BREAD.
I'm kinda proud of these two photos. The museum had some very interesting collections, including two jewelry collections, toy collection, innovative chairs, and more. Too bad the fashion and advertisement galleries were closed...
We only had 2 days left before the end of class, hence we had the remaining day free; so I just went to sketch a little. It was weird, because two men on the same day used the pick-up line of "What time is it?" on me. One even pulled this "I didn't get this job, and today's my birthday too!" nonsense.
On the 18th and 19th, our final assignment was one long drawing and then draw another using someone else's "assignment" (everyone pitched an assignment, and we choose one). On the 19th, after we turned in our sketchbooks, we had a little chocolate tasting from Francois Pralus, Leonard Pitt's favorite chocolate store in Paris! So many different dark chocolates. Oh, just FYI, during April, we had the honor of visiting Leonard Pitt in Berkeley, and he signed my "Walks Through Lost Paris" book :)
To celebrate, everyone went to a bar together, and interesting enough, somehow we had John tell each one of us what he thought were our good and bad traits were. For me, he said I wasn't someone who'd usually come up to talk to him, but he liked how once I do, I go on and on enthusiastically about it. I was actually surprised at the answer, cuz I've always considered myself as, well, introverted. Then for bad trait, he said, "Try not to be afraid to piss someone off." Haha...
The next day we had a little informal wine tasting accompanied with bread, cheese, and fruits 8D
During the evening, several of us went to Les Fêtes Galantes, a restaurant that John tried by accident and then highly recommended it for its traditional French cuisine in a reasonable price. The restaurant itself is rather small and nothing extremely fancy, but it feels very homey and welcoming. We all ordered something different from the menu set so that we can try each other's dishes.
I decided on the higher priced end of the menu and ordered the meal set of onion soup (appetizer), duck confit topped with honey and almonds (main dish), and home made apple tart with calvados (dessert). And my God...... it's the best meal I've had on the whole trip (and this is a mutual statement among us all). The names of the dishes and any words I say here canNOT do justice to describe how delicious they were. All I can say is, "Now THIS is true French cuisine."
Authentic French onion soup with a piece of lamb meat.
This dish was GODLY....the skin crisped just right and the meat cooked so tenderly and flavored with the right amount of saltiness and sweetness.
Warm and sweet. Topped with a unique flavored ice cream and fruits. WOW. Such a grand way to end the meal with.
Week 4
The next day, the 21st, was Fete de la Musique, an annual music festival in which bands and all sorts of music artists will be playing out in the streets of Paris! It was really awesome!
That day was the first outing in which we were together without John. Kira and I separated from the group a little later cuz it got a little too crazy for our taste. There's the famous Opera House in nightlight.
The next day Kira and I went to visit the Pere Lachaise Cemetery to kiss Oscar Wilde's grave 8D!!!
Haha, mines look so retarded.
We also visited the interior of the Opera House (same that Phantom of the Opera is based on). Alas, the auditorium was closed. The photo on the right is a mini stage set of the play Othello, replica to the actual set on stage. Such craftsmanship!
We also went into a park near La Defense that had rabbits everywhere!
Dublin, Ireland
On the 23rd is when me, Kira, Mark, and Nikita leave for Dublin, Ireland until the 26th. Unfortunately Kira didn't enjoy it much, because it wasn't Paris.. I honestly really liked it. It's smaller and a nice break from the busy city of Paris. Dublin overall feels calmer and "slower." Live Irish music can be heard from almost every bar.
We stayed at Christchurch Hall Apartments, which is pretty much neighbored with the Christchurch Cathedral. If anyone goes to Dublin, I highly recommend staying at this apartment. Decent rent, and the bedrooms/kitchen/living room are quite spacious. :) Not only that, much of the siteseeing places, restaurants, and bars are within walking distance.
Though my feet practically died the first day. I only brought my boots and sandals to wear, and in my boots that day, Mark had us walking 2-3 hours around Dublin without stopping to get familiar with the place.
Hahaha just on the first night, we've already hit a pub: the infamous Temple Bar. My first pint of Guinness *grins* Damn cheap compare to Paris' pricing.
The next day my meal was a traditional Irish beef stew with a tint of Guinness in it. It was so good.........
Many people were selling fruits on the streets, and I just couldn't pass off those OH-SO-PERFECT-LOOKING strawberries, and omg they were sweet. Ireland has damn good fruits. We visited the Guinness Storehouse, which offered a free pint in celebration of their 250 anniversary.
Afterwards Kira and I went souvenir-shopping and also went to visit the St. Stephen's Green park. Luscious green every direction with a lake in the center. It felt really natural and not man-made. On the right is where we dined at, typically what a restaurant looks like.
Kira wanted to go pub-hopping, which I wasn't too interest in... I don't mind getting one drink, but I'm honestly not too willing to spend over 10 Euro on drinks. Anyways, so I got back to the apartment earlier.
The next day Mark and Nikita wanted to go to Malahide Castle, which was in a more rural area outside of Dublin. Obviously I was really interested in it. I wanted to see the country side and roll on the grass, and I did!
Because we're only in Ireland for so many times, I was a bit more willing to spend on food. I'd rather spend my money on substantial food than drinks any day. And for the 2-meal course set above for just 21 Euros? SO WORTH IT. The main course may seem like something you get an a IHOP or something, but believe me it's way better. And that plum flan ornated with vanilla syrup, strawberry kiwi, and passionfruit...LSjfldskjf GODLY.
Soooooooo that night, Mark and Nikita came back drunk cuz these guys offered them free drinks. I was laughing so hard when Mark said he took 34 mysterious camera shots he didn't remember taking.
So yeah, the next day was our flight back to Paris. We caught the evening flight.
The Irish musicians around!
Back to Paris
Let's see... Saturday, I decided to take a day of rest, so I ended up doing some more shopping around Paris with Sarah because all the sales are going around that time of the month.
Then that evening was... a bit messy. 10 of us decided to chill at a bar, but Kim A. had drank over half a bottle of whiskey prior... and well, she got really drunk and threw up, causing us to be kicked out of the bar. It took all our efforts to make sure she gets back in one piece, and that includes keeping her from running toward the train tracks and out into the streets.
Week 5
On Sunday, I decided to attempt Giverny for the second time. I finally made it!
My main reason for going is to see the Monet's Garden, and it was definitely worth the trip. The landscapes and colors are simply beautiful and tranquil. The Gardens and the village definitely earn the title of "Cradle for Impressionism."
Haha... I caught the last ride back to Paris, just barely made it.
On the same night, everyone sat at the edge of the Seine to drink.
Finally on Monday, I did my last minute shopping, and we all went to a restaurant to eat our last dinner together at Paris.
Then on Tuesday, we hopped on the flights to Houston back to San Francisco. It's kinda mean to say this... but even I was embarrassed at how some of the Americans were on the plane in front of the Parisians, who are much more well-mannered.
Anyways, group pic! :)
I just thought the clouds looked so cool.
--FIN
So that concludes the massive report. Thanks for those who have read it. There were some... personal issues that came up, but maybe I'll write them if I feel like it. Also, I've uploaded some sketches to my blogspot.
Even though it's been a week now, I'm still trying to adjust back on life. I felt like time had stopped for us when we were in Paris when it is evident time didn't stop for the States at all. And now I'm just trying to catch up...
While I definitely agree that the trip was a great learning experience, I'm now jobless (my boss found another student assistant, hopefully just for the summer) and even homeless for the Fall semester... both of which I could've solved in June. So yeah, reality hurts sometimes.