If you can't tell by my sporadic blog postings, my last few weeks in Paris have been absolutely nuts. Spring Break Continued:
Provence: After a well needed day of R&R in Paris (which of course consisted of frantic museum hopping, who knew all the best exhibitions happened in les printemps?) my parents came to visit and whisked me away to Provence. We stayed in Arles, a cute little town that happened to have a very celebrated bullfight in an Ancient Roman Amphitheater (oh France). We went to all my favorite places, Marseilles, Cassis, Avignon, and it was fun showing them around and eating amazing, amazing food.
My then left and went to Prague (without me since I apparently have to have class once in a while) and came back and I took them through a day of little-known Paris. We went to Le Petit Palais where I gave them a little tour of the history of Parisian Art. We then went to my school, lunched, had some fun sharing Macaroons, and then Musée Mormottan, where we saw beautiful impressionist art (and one of my favorites Berthes Morrisot), and there was an exposition (is it exposition or exhibition? I forget...) of Raoul and Jean Duffy that was very well done and very intriguing. They then met my hostmom, for which I translated back and forth for about an hour, and ate at a lovely Couscous place, Chez Omar, my friend had recommended to me. We ended our night on Le Pont des Arts where my parents put a love-lock and we had a lovely time taking pictures and watching the Eiffel tower sparkle. Another Magical day in Paris.
After Spring Break, everyone in my program has been rather frantically stifling our anxieties about leaving by seeing everything possible in Paris. I always knew that this time would fly by, but I had no idea that I'd be so attached to so many things that I can't possibly be ready to leave yet! What's worse is that Paris in the winter and the spring look SO different that I feel like I want to re-see everything I've already seen (The Castles, the Gardens, the Exhibitions, the Monuments) In this last week of classes, I think our professors are empathizing and we're going on so many excursions my head is still spinning. I've been spending my alone time going to all my favorite places in Paris and saying goodbye. Here are some of the things I've been doing:
Rodin Museum: So far, the Rodin was the most difficult to say goodbye to, and I ended up staying there for 6 hours. The garden is in full bloom and the roses are as big as my head! The sun has been shining every day and I try to wear my springiest outfits and prance through the gardens and just bask in my last days of being a Parisian.
Montmatre: This really is the best place to see the entire city...hands down.
Invalides: I had never been inside and I was astonished. I just happened to be passing by Invalides (because when you live in Paris, you're often just in the neighborhood of some insanely important monument) and when I die, I'd like to have a tomb like Napoleons. It was very ominous and reminded me slightly of the scene in Jeanne d'Arc when God first speaks to her, dark open space with the light shinning down on the Tomb through the stained glass windows. Wonderful.
The Opera: Thursday I saw Tosca by Puccini at the Opera Bastille. It was absolutely mind blowing. Everyone should go rent the Opera and watch it. Plot Summary: During the height of the Napoleonic wars, Mario is hiding his friend from the chief of Police. The Chief of Police captures Mario and tortures him to find where his friend is hiding. Meanwhile, the Chief becomes enamored with Mario's girlfriend, Tosca, who also happens to know where the friend is hiding. Tosca reveals the whereabouts of the friend and the chief of police takes Mario to be executed. Tosca agrees to sleep with the chief, and the chief orders a feigned execution. Tosca then stabs the chief and runs to tell Mario the execution will be fake and they can live together forever. Turns out the chief was a jerk and called for a real execution, which when Tosca finds Mario dead, upsets her to the point where she throws herself off the top of a building. The End. It was beautiful.
Giverny: I hadn't been yet and it was pretty much my version of a pilgrimage to the holy land. We walked from the train station to the garden, had a little picnic on a bench in Monet's garden, took dozens of pictures of the beautiful flowers, the bridges, the lily pads. Breathtaking, I was speechless.
Countless Picnics and Parties: We all seem to be in denial that we must eventually leave Paris and one way to ignore our soon-approaching departure is to avoid studying for finals and picnic all day! Of course, us NYU kids have a difficult time separating fun and school, and we always end up having some type of spontaneous review session. It's so great that we're all getting together, just having fun and enjoying Paris' presence.
Tonight my host mom is making me a very special last-dinner-together meal with artichokes (she knows me so well) and creme brulée (obviously not together, that just sounds unpleasant). Au revoir mes amis!
PS: I'd just like to wish a very happy mothers day to my Mom and my Grandma! I love you!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
I've been negligent...
I apologize for my rather long break away from my blog. These last few weeks have been absolutely crazy, where do I begin? Ah yes, spring break.
This was the most incredible, inspiring, breathtaking spring break any one in the world could ask for. Once again, I am the luckiest girl in the world. Let me take you through the days:
Athens: After a very long day of traveling, we arrive in beautiful beautiful Athens. Our hotel has a view of the Acropolis, and we sat on the roof and watched the sunset over the Parthenon and kept screaming "OH MY GOSH ATHENS!!!!" The next day we traveled around town. We managed to visit the acropolis and the many stadiums and temples, scale a fence, save a turtle hiding in a cave, visit the Parthenon, take grace lessons from Caryatids, picnic on a fallen roman column, visit the Acropolis Museum and soak up all the ancient magic, and eat the most delicious Mousaka, Stuffed Vine Leaves, and Spinach Pie in the world.
Santorini: 3 hours of sleep and seven hours on a ferry later, we arrive in Paradise, also known as Oia, Santorini. Here we managed to make friends with a pack of dogs, rent a car and share a few seemingly near-death experiences on the cliffs of Santorini (ok... not quite near-death, we were being a little dramatic), climb a mountain that connects Oia to Fira, visit Red Beach and have it entirely to ourselves*, visit the artifact museum (guess who saw samples of Linear A!) and make an incredibly long-lasting relationship with our hotel owners Panos and Stavros. If anyone ever goes to Santorini, please look up "Oia Sunset" hotel, I have never felt more welcome and taken care of in my entire study abroad travel experience, and hugging Panos good-bye may or may not have brought a tear to all of our eyes. Santorini was pure magic.
*History Lesson!!: Santorini is an island in Greece known for its white houses with blue roofs. It is shaped like a doughnut with a, now inactive, volcano in the middle, meaning the entire island is almost completely covered with lava remains. Red beach is a great example of this where the red is rock that cooled and the beach sand is entirely black.
Syros: DETOUR! In Santorini, Panos called the ferry to check the time and we realized that our ferry to Mykonos was CANCELLED (bum bum bahhh). Panos being the wonderful man that he is, we nicknamed him Poseidon at this point, called various ferries and inns and scheduled us a lovely detour to the island Syros as a pitstop for a night before proceeding to Mykonos. Syros is a much lesser known island in Greece that is not at all touristic (meaning barely any English). We stayed in "new city" Plakia, and the next morning climbed about 10000 stairs to new city and found the most breathtaking view. The combination of the sun and the wind and the old widow kissing us all and saying "I Love Americans!" filled our hearts, we were actually a little disappointed to leave. (Not to mention the couple we stayed with were the sweetest people I've ever met, even if our entire conversations were a mixture of miming and "Efarstopoli!")
Mykonos: After finally arriving in Mykonos, we were welcomed by cooler-than expected weather and an abandoned city. We figured Mykonos was going to be our beach and party destination, and although we tried our hardest to pretend like it wasn't freezing, we didn't do too much of either. It rained the morning we left as we were eating breakfast, but it stopped and everything turned green and the sun was shining on the ocean (which was walking distance to our apartments) and it was a perfect goodbye. Mykonos, we forgive you.
Fake Athens/Varkiza: My friend Leah did an amazing job finding us the perfect R&R spot for our last night in Greece. We found a little shake that had the most incredible Gyros for 2 Euros and a lovely veggie stand where we piled up on snacks before retiring to our incredibly large, decorated, and colorful bachelor(ette) pad.
Istanbul: Istanbul was a very interesting experience. It wasn't quite as magical as Greece was, but the things we saw were just so incredible. We went to the Topkaki palace, checked out "new city", at the most delicious Bhaklavah I could even imagine, drank gallons of turkish tea, visited the Aya Sofya (so incredible. I can see why it's a seven wonder of the world), and the Blue Mosque which was so lavish and impressive we just stood there with our mouths hanging open trying to take in all the colors and the mosaics. The most yummus hummus I could ask for, and we managed to become pros at haggling at both the spice and the jewelry bazaars (gifts for everyone!).
More to continue later...
This was the most incredible, inspiring, breathtaking spring break any one in the world could ask for. Once again, I am the luckiest girl in the world. Let me take you through the days:
Athens: After a very long day of traveling, we arrive in beautiful beautiful Athens. Our hotel has a view of the Acropolis, and we sat on the roof and watched the sunset over the Parthenon and kept screaming "OH MY GOSH ATHENS!!!!" The next day we traveled around town. We managed to visit the acropolis and the many stadiums and temples, scale a fence, save a turtle hiding in a cave, visit the Parthenon, take grace lessons from Caryatids, picnic on a fallen roman column, visit the Acropolis Museum and soak up all the ancient magic, and eat the most delicious Mousaka, Stuffed Vine Leaves, and Spinach Pie in the world.
Santorini: 3 hours of sleep and seven hours on a ferry later, we arrive in Paradise, also known as Oia, Santorini. Here we managed to make friends with a pack of dogs, rent a car and share a few seemingly near-death experiences on the cliffs of Santorini (ok... not quite near-death, we were being a little dramatic), climb a mountain that connects Oia to Fira, visit Red Beach and have it entirely to ourselves*, visit the artifact museum (guess who saw samples of Linear A!) and make an incredibly long-lasting relationship with our hotel owners Panos and Stavros. If anyone ever goes to Santorini, please look up "Oia Sunset" hotel, I have never felt more welcome and taken care of in my entire study abroad travel experience, and hugging Panos good-bye may or may not have brought a tear to all of our eyes. Santorini was pure magic.
*History Lesson!!: Santorini is an island in Greece known for its white houses with blue roofs. It is shaped like a doughnut with a, now inactive, volcano in the middle, meaning the entire island is almost completely covered with lava remains. Red beach is a great example of this where the red is rock that cooled and the beach sand is entirely black.
Syros: DETOUR! In Santorini, Panos called the ferry to check the time and we realized that our ferry to Mykonos was CANCELLED (bum bum bahhh). Panos being the wonderful man that he is, we nicknamed him Poseidon at this point, called various ferries and inns and scheduled us a lovely detour to the island Syros as a pitstop for a night before proceeding to Mykonos. Syros is a much lesser known island in Greece that is not at all touristic (meaning barely any English). We stayed in "new city" Plakia, and the next morning climbed about 10000 stairs to new city and found the most breathtaking view. The combination of the sun and the wind and the old widow kissing us all and saying "I Love Americans!" filled our hearts, we were actually a little disappointed to leave. (Not to mention the couple we stayed with were the sweetest people I've ever met, even if our entire conversations were a mixture of miming and "Efarstopoli!")
Mykonos: After finally arriving in Mykonos, we were welcomed by cooler-than expected weather and an abandoned city. We figured Mykonos was going to be our beach and party destination, and although we tried our hardest to pretend like it wasn't freezing, we didn't do too much of either. It rained the morning we left as we were eating breakfast, but it stopped and everything turned green and the sun was shining on the ocean (which was walking distance to our apartments) and it was a perfect goodbye. Mykonos, we forgive you.
Fake Athens/Varkiza: My friend Leah did an amazing job finding us the perfect R&R spot for our last night in Greece. We found a little shake that had the most incredible Gyros for 2 Euros and a lovely veggie stand where we piled up on snacks before retiring to our incredibly large, decorated, and colorful bachelor(ette) pad.
Istanbul: Istanbul was a very interesting experience. It wasn't quite as magical as Greece was, but the things we saw were just so incredible. We went to the Topkaki palace, checked out "new city", at the most delicious Bhaklavah I could even imagine, drank gallons of turkish tea, visited the Aya Sofya (so incredible. I can see why it's a seven wonder of the world), and the Blue Mosque which was so lavish and impressive we just stood there with our mouths hanging open trying to take in all the colors and the mosaics. The most yummus hummus I could ask for, and we managed to become pros at haggling at both the spice and the jewelry bazaars (gifts for everyone!).
More to continue later...
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Des Photos: Marseilles
The Port in Beautiful Cassis
The Beach in Cassis
The Main Port in Marseilles
Notre Dame de la Garde, Marseilles
Ireland?
We saw people hiking these rocks, it's now on my to-do list
Cathédrale de la Major from the Ocean
Beautiful view of the city from the top of the mountain of Notre Dame de la Garde
Cathedral de la Major, close up
Of course, my most favorite.
Yay Marseilles!
Imagine to yourself the best, most beautiful aspects of Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Italy. Now translate all of that into French and you have Marseilles. I didn't know anything about the city, except that it is the second largest city in France and the Capital of Provence, but now I know that it is the most incredible place in the entire world. It might have been my favorite place I've been thus far.
We started our trip with an exploration of Marseilles and the main port. You can just imagine all the great post-impressionist artists running to Marseilles to paint the beautiful mountains, boats, sky, water, everything. We went to a couple cathedrals, which remind me a lot of the Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain. We took a "petit train" tour of the cliffs up a mountain, as well as an incredible boat tour to see the scenery from the Ocean. We ate tons of seafood: Mussles, Bouillabaisse, Monkfish, etc. and plenty of olives. We ended our much too short trip in Cassis, a little beach city which seems to be where all the coolest Marseillese go to relax and get some sun. I myself got a little sun tan (my nose got a sun burn) and now I cannot wait to go to Greece and continue my tour of paradise.
In the meantime, some more Paris commentary, of course. Two incredible places I have seen in Paris in the Spring is the Garden in the Petit Palais, and the Musée Rodin. Paris loves cherry blossoms, and the Petit Palais is full of murals and mosaics and "foliage" as my Dad would say and is just a beautiful place. (Built for the Universal Exposition 1900, now a museum of Parisian Fine Arts). Now, the Musée Rodin is now my favorite, FAVORITE museum in Paris. Almost entirely filled with sculptures, I could just spend hours walking around the Museum. My favorites are Hell's Gates and The Kiss and I just want to spend all day in the gardens continuing my suntan, reading my homework, and just being surrounded by the fabulousness that is Paris. I guess the fabulousness will just have to be put on hold as I take my Grecian/Turkish adventure next weekend!!
I realize my post on Marseilles is much too short to do it justice. Luckily, I think my photos will more than explain how incredible the city is. Mom and Dad, we should put Marseilles down on our Provence agenda n'est-ce pas?
We started our trip with an exploration of Marseilles and the main port. You can just imagine all the great post-impressionist artists running to Marseilles to paint the beautiful mountains, boats, sky, water, everything. We went to a couple cathedrals, which remind me a lot of the Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain. We took a "petit train" tour of the cliffs up a mountain, as well as an incredible boat tour to see the scenery from the Ocean. We ate tons of seafood: Mussles, Bouillabaisse, Monkfish, etc. and plenty of olives. We ended our much too short trip in Cassis, a little beach city which seems to be where all the coolest Marseillese go to relax and get some sun. I myself got a little sun tan (my nose got a sun burn) and now I cannot wait to go to Greece and continue my tour of paradise.
In the meantime, some more Paris commentary, of course. Two incredible places I have seen in Paris in the Spring is the Garden in the Petit Palais, and the Musée Rodin. Paris loves cherry blossoms, and the Petit Palais is full of murals and mosaics and "foliage" as my Dad would say and is just a beautiful place. (Built for the Universal Exposition 1900, now a museum of Parisian Fine Arts). Now, the Musée Rodin is now my favorite, FAVORITE museum in Paris. Almost entirely filled with sculptures, I could just spend hours walking around the Museum. My favorites are Hell's Gates and The Kiss and I just want to spend all day in the gardens continuing my suntan, reading my homework, and just being surrounded by the fabulousness that is Paris. I guess the fabulousness will just have to be put on hold as I take my Grecian/Turkish adventure next weekend!!
I realize my post on Marseilles is much too short to do it justice. Luckily, I think my photos will more than explain how incredible the city is. Mom and Dad, we should put Marseilles down on our Provence agenda n'est-ce pas?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Des Photos: Berlin
Some of the girls and I on both sides of where the Berlin Wall used to be.
Checkpoint Charlie. This is where someone would have to go to officially cross from East to West Berlin. The Left is a Soviet Soldier facing the West, and the Right is an American Soldier facing the East.
The Temple of Zeus at the Pergamon Museum. SO incredible.
My Friend and I in the square where the infamous Book Burning occured. The Theater to the left, the University in the background.
Communist Murial and Berlin Wall Memorial at the German Ministry of Finance
More Wall
Holocaust Memorial
The Brandenburg Gate at Pariser Platz
Monday, March 28, 2011
I am a Jelly Donut
I apologize it's been a while since I've last posted. I've been pretty occupied lately with school, amazing Parisian weather, and my recent encounter with the stomach flu, but I am no recuperating and writing a long-overdue post.
First thing first, BERLIN! I've never been to Germany before, I knew nothing about Germany, or the sights in Berlin, and did not speak a single ounce (or gram... metric system) of German, but this just made our adventure so much more exciting.
Here are some of the sights we saw: Parisplatz, The Reichstag, Hitler's Bunker (which is now turned into a parking lot), Many sides of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, The Theater House/University/Area where the infamous book-burning took place, The Holocaust Memorial, and Museum Island. My friend Leah commented about how deserted and lonely the city seemed, we stayed in East Berlin, and I have to agree. Just walking around the city, you can see the way it went through so many drastic changes in government systems in just the last 100 years. I think one of the best things about the city is the fact that they don't hide it at all, they fully embrace their history which I find entirely commendable. The French, as well as America, seem to try so hard to hide their lower points in history, so Berlin was quite a different setting.
The Food. Of course. I'd just like everyone to know that really the only reason I studied abroad was to eat. But another nice change from french culture was the transition from sweets and bread to meat, cabbage, and potatoes. Brautwurst, currywurst, pig knuckle, sauerkraut, yum yum and yum... I'd be concerned about my arteries had we not walked so much.
Another hidden little fact: Berlin's Museums are incredible. We visited the Pergamon and Neues Museums. The Pergamon hosts an incredible amount of ancient Greek Architecture including several mythological friezes and the temple of Zeus! I'm starting to wonder what will be left for me to see in Athens after everything I've seen in London and Berlin. The Neues has an incredible collection of ancient Egyptian statues, including the bust of Queen Nefertiti which was absolutely amazing to see.
After Berlin I came back to the best weather I could ever hope for in Paris. Since last Wednesday it has been sunny, cloudless skies in the mid-sixties, and I've been walking absolutely everywhere. I spent so much time outside I think I even got a little tan. I walked along the bank of the Seine, I've walked from the Eiffel tower to the Arc de Triomphe, I've walked through gardens and down Canals and have eaten so many picnics that I may attribute my recent stomach flu to an excessive diet of baguettes and goat cheese. Tomorrow is supposed to be the start of an ongoing, very rainy week (which I will be narrowly missing by traveling to Marseilles this Friday). It's probably a good thing, I need to take it easy and get all my work done before I embark on my Grecian/Turkish Adventure!!!
Pictures, of course, are soon to come.
First thing first, BERLIN! I've never been to Germany before, I knew nothing about Germany, or the sights in Berlin, and did not speak a single ounce (or gram... metric system) of German, but this just made our adventure so much more exciting.
Here are some of the sights we saw: Parisplatz, The Reichstag, Hitler's Bunker (which is now turned into a parking lot), Many sides of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, The Theater House/University/Area where the infamous book-burning took place, The Holocaust Memorial, and Museum Island. My friend Leah commented about how deserted and lonely the city seemed, we stayed in East Berlin, and I have to agree. Just walking around the city, you can see the way it went through so many drastic changes in government systems in just the last 100 years. I think one of the best things about the city is the fact that they don't hide it at all, they fully embrace their history which I find entirely commendable. The French, as well as America, seem to try so hard to hide their lower points in history, so Berlin was quite a different setting.
The Food. Of course. I'd just like everyone to know that really the only reason I studied abroad was to eat. But another nice change from french culture was the transition from sweets and bread to meat, cabbage, and potatoes. Brautwurst, currywurst, pig knuckle, sauerkraut, yum yum and yum... I'd be concerned about my arteries had we not walked so much.
Another hidden little fact: Berlin's Museums are incredible. We visited the Pergamon and Neues Museums. The Pergamon hosts an incredible amount of ancient Greek Architecture including several mythological friezes and the temple of Zeus! I'm starting to wonder what will be left for me to see in Athens after everything I've seen in London and Berlin. The Neues has an incredible collection of ancient Egyptian statues, including the bust of Queen Nefertiti which was absolutely amazing to see.
After Berlin I came back to the best weather I could ever hope for in Paris. Since last Wednesday it has been sunny, cloudless skies in the mid-sixties, and I've been walking absolutely everywhere. I spent so much time outside I think I even got a little tan. I walked along the bank of the Seine, I've walked from the Eiffel tower to the Arc de Triomphe, I've walked through gardens and down Canals and have eaten so many picnics that I may attribute my recent stomach flu to an excessive diet of baguettes and goat cheese. Tomorrow is supposed to be the start of an ongoing, very rainy week (which I will be narrowly missing by traveling to Marseilles this Friday). It's probably a good thing, I need to take it easy and get all my work done before I embark on my Grecian/Turkish Adventure!!!
Pictures, of course, are soon to come.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Des Photos: Avignon
Pont de Gard
Van Gough's Garden
Saint Remy de Provence
Olive Trees
Roman Ruins
Pope's Palace in Avignon
Avignon from the Seine
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Paris! I've Missed You!
And yes blog, I've missed you too. I've been running around all week like a chicken with my head cut-off. It seems I was under the misconception that NOT traveling for a weekend would be relaxing and care-free. As my professor would say, " (long silent french glare)...Non."
Since my last blog I have taken 4 midterms and 3 papers. So far, my grades have been good but I have yet to receive my dreaded Art History midterm back so fingers crossed. If I may toot my own horn for a moment, I was quite impressed with the amount of art history knowledge I now have permanently stored in my brain. I have memorized 70 pieces of art, their artists, their dates, their genre and techniques, and their historical contexts. My friend from high school, Kjerstin, came to visit this weekend and I pretty much talked her ear off at every art museum we went to. The fact that this knowledge didn't leak out of my brain the second I handed in my test makes me very excited to go home and apply this knowledge to the Minnesota Institute of Art and the Met. Guess Nicolle's taking a little slice of Paris back with her.
Speaking of a little slice of Paris... I had the most lovely bonding moment with my host mom this Sunday over, what else, food. Kjerstin had just left (my other friend from high school, Emily, and I passed her between our two host families which worked out perfectly) and I was finishing up lunch when my host mom came in, grabbed a slab of meat from the refrigerator, and threw it in a pan and said "The Duck. Our Dinner." She then walked me through all the steps to make this beautiful dish made with shallots, pears, and (of course) duck. I had no idea that duck was red meat, nor did I realize that pears can cook down to the consistency of delicious apple sauce. We talked about school and Paris and the US and food and I must say that I struggled quite a bit writing my paper in English after having spoken so much Francais!
Kjerstin and I did everything Paris. We went to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Mont-Martre, Sacre Coeur, Tuileries, Orangerie, Place de la Concorde, and Versailles. It was nice to reconnect with Paris, and treat it the way I've been treating these cities I've been visiting. I'm now much more motivated to get out and go places (which might also be due to the urgency of my realizing I only have 5 weeks left).
Tuesday was one of those incredible, "I'M IN PARIS" days for me and was so amazing to the point that I almost upset myself on the metro home thinking about leaving. I woke up to a beautiful, 65 degree-sunshine-blue-sky-fluffy-white-clouds day and decided to wear my most Parisian dress. My class had an excursion at the Louis Vuitton store (they house a modern art gallery sponsored by LVMH Corp.) on the Camps-Elysee, so I took the Metro to the Arc de Triomph. I found out that this was one stop too early and then ran, dress and scarf flying behind me, my half-eaten baguette hanging out of my bag, from the Arc down the Champs-Elysee to the enormous Louis-Vuitton Flagship Store. The art gallery was... interesting (it may be my art history class, but I just don't understand any art pieces made after 1960's) but most interesting was the fact that to get up to the gallery we had to ride, 5 persons at a time, in a black padded elevator box where they turned off all the lights and we had to ride in pitch black silence. Whatever, L-V.
That same night I went to the Opera Cendrillon, which in English is the beautiful timeless amazing classic CINDERELLA. I describe it as channeling the era of Louis XIV since everyone wore wigs and heels (men and women alike). Let me list the Amazing-ness: The Sets, The Costumes, The absolutely stunning use of lights on her dress and the scenery, the Fairy Godmother was incredible, The Stepmother was Amazing, Cinderella sounded like an angel, French Subtitles allowed me to know what they were all saying, Being Sung in French meant I didn't always have to look at the subtitles, and my 2nd Balcony Seats. Some discrepancies from the Disney classic we all know and love: (1) The Dad is still alive in this version and plays a key role, (2) After the Ball, Cinderella runs away to the woods and with the help of the fairy meets prince charming, (3) The stepmother is elated at the end that her step daughter is marrying a prince, (4) oh yeah... Prince Charming is played by a Girl. Not just a Girl, but a Soprano, meaning that Prince Charming and Cinderella singing together was the most incredible set of harmonies I could ever hope to hear.
I'm off to Berlin this next weekend and cannot wait. I also, of course, will upload pictures from Avignon and this weekend... (I unfortunately don't have any pictures of my amazing Tuesday).
ONE LAST NOTE: I find that it is just a habit that the D'Onofrio's keep some type of log of our foreign travels for all the public to see. I find it is, in many ways, obligatory. I see absolutely NO reason why my parents are exempt from this, as they have just come back from amazing MEXICO and are headed to Paris and Prague soon. Mom and Dad, follow the trend, start a blog (and no... hour-by-hour trip itineraries and Thousand-Picture-Large Picasa links so do not count).
Since my last blog I have taken 4 midterms and 3 papers. So far, my grades have been good but I have yet to receive my dreaded Art History midterm back so fingers crossed. If I may toot my own horn for a moment, I was quite impressed with the amount of art history knowledge I now have permanently stored in my brain. I have memorized 70 pieces of art, their artists, their dates, their genre and techniques, and their historical contexts. My friend from high school, Kjerstin, came to visit this weekend and I pretty much talked her ear off at every art museum we went to. The fact that this knowledge didn't leak out of my brain the second I handed in my test makes me very excited to go home and apply this knowledge to the Minnesota Institute of Art and the Met. Guess Nicolle's taking a little slice of Paris back with her.
Speaking of a little slice of Paris... I had the most lovely bonding moment with my host mom this Sunday over, what else, food. Kjerstin had just left (my other friend from high school, Emily, and I passed her between our two host families which worked out perfectly) and I was finishing up lunch when my host mom came in, grabbed a slab of meat from the refrigerator, and threw it in a pan and said "The Duck. Our Dinner." She then walked me through all the steps to make this beautiful dish made with shallots, pears, and (of course) duck. I had no idea that duck was red meat, nor did I realize that pears can cook down to the consistency of delicious apple sauce. We talked about school and Paris and the US and food and I must say that I struggled quite a bit writing my paper in English after having spoken so much Francais!
Kjerstin and I did everything Paris. We went to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Mont-Martre, Sacre Coeur, Tuileries, Orangerie, Place de la Concorde, and Versailles. It was nice to reconnect with Paris, and treat it the way I've been treating these cities I've been visiting. I'm now much more motivated to get out and go places (which might also be due to the urgency of my realizing I only have 5 weeks left).
Tuesday was one of those incredible, "I'M IN PARIS" days for me and was so amazing to the point that I almost upset myself on the metro home thinking about leaving. I woke up to a beautiful, 65 degree-sunshine-blue-sky-fluffy-white-clouds day and decided to wear my most Parisian dress. My class had an excursion at the Louis Vuitton store (they house a modern art gallery sponsored by LVMH Corp.) on the Camps-Elysee, so I took the Metro to the Arc de Triomph. I found out that this was one stop too early and then ran, dress and scarf flying behind me, my half-eaten baguette hanging out of my bag, from the Arc down the Champs-Elysee to the enormous Louis-Vuitton Flagship Store. The art gallery was... interesting (it may be my art history class, but I just don't understand any art pieces made after 1960's) but most interesting was the fact that to get up to the gallery we had to ride, 5 persons at a time, in a black padded elevator box where they turned off all the lights and we had to ride in pitch black silence. Whatever, L-V.
That same night I went to the Opera Cendrillon, which in English is the beautiful timeless amazing classic CINDERELLA. I describe it as channeling the era of Louis XIV since everyone wore wigs and heels (men and women alike). Let me list the Amazing-ness: The Sets, The Costumes, The absolutely stunning use of lights on her dress and the scenery, the Fairy Godmother was incredible, The Stepmother was Amazing, Cinderella sounded like an angel, French Subtitles allowed me to know what they were all saying, Being Sung in French meant I didn't always have to look at the subtitles, and my 2nd Balcony Seats. Some discrepancies from the Disney classic we all know and love: (1) The Dad is still alive in this version and plays a key role, (2) After the Ball, Cinderella runs away to the woods and with the help of the fairy meets prince charming, (3) The stepmother is elated at the end that her step daughter is marrying a prince, (4) oh yeah... Prince Charming is played by a Girl. Not just a Girl, but a Soprano, meaning that Prince Charming and Cinderella singing together was the most incredible set of harmonies I could ever hope to hear.
I'm off to Berlin this next weekend and cannot wait. I also, of course, will upload pictures from Avignon and this weekend... (I unfortunately don't have any pictures of my amazing Tuesday).
ONE LAST NOTE: I find that it is just a habit that the D'Onofrio's keep some type of log of our foreign travels for all the public to see. I find it is, in many ways, obligatory. I see absolutely NO reason why my parents are exempt from this, as they have just come back from amazing MEXICO and are headed to Paris and Prague soon. Mom and Dad, follow the trend, start a blog (and no... hour-by-hour trip itineraries and Thousand-Picture-Large Picasa links so do not count).
Monday, March 7, 2011
On y Danse On y Danse...
Last weekend NYU was kind enough to fund a weekend trip to beautiful Avignon in Provence. The weather was absolutely incredible, cloudless skies and 60 degrees, and we all had an amazing time taking in the great views. Here's a little run down of our Itinerary:
Boat Tour on the Seine: We soaked up some sun and had an extremely high-volume loudspeaker shout us fun facts about Avignon in French. From here we saw the "Pont d'Avignon" where that lovely song originated (if you don't know what I'm talking about, please don't look it up. It's one of the more unpleasant songs to get stuck in your head).
Palais des Papes: In case you forgot, there was a point in time where where the Pope moved to live in Avignon in the 14th century. Later, of course, the Vatican decredited all popes who lived there, but they did leave a rather nice palace full of medieval and gothic architecture. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking and the sky was the most perfect shade of blue.
Liqueur Tasting: While Provence is known well for its vineyards, the distillery we visited was known for its quality liqueurs made from lavender, violet, and thymes. Theire "vineyard" was a field of pear trees and we learned all the facts about making a liqueur from pears (apparently it is first made from pear wine, something I've never tried but sounds delicious).
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: This is the area where Van Gough lived and painted some of his most notable works. They displayed pictures of his favorite paintings right in the areas that inspired him most, so I would look at a picture of his olive trees, look up, and there they were! We also saw the bedroom that he painted in his studio and his garden. I think my parents would very much enjoy this area, I hope I can take them there when they come to visit in April!
Pont du Gard Roman Aqueduct: Beautiful, ancient bridge with a very interesting museum that has given me more information about Aqueducts and Rome than I'd ever expected to learn in my lifetime. Again, the view from the bridge was incredible, and we walked down the fields to the river which was about as close to la plage as we were going to get.
We then all hurried home to spend a full Sunday studying for midterms. Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, and also my last day of midterms, and I can only hope that I'll be able to soak up an authentic French Mardi Gras during my stay. Other than that, I've been cramming my brain full of paintings, artists, dates, and techniques for the midterm that I completed today. You may notice but my English is starting to fall apart, which hopefully is an indication that my french is improving tremendously (although I just get the feeling that I'm just no longer able to communicate in any language). I am now going have a nice relaxing night, drinking Orangina and studying for my Fashion and Media midterms tomorrow. À Bientot!
Boat Tour on the Seine: We soaked up some sun and had an extremely high-volume loudspeaker shout us fun facts about Avignon in French. From here we saw the "Pont d'Avignon" where that lovely song originated (if you don't know what I'm talking about, please don't look it up. It's one of the more unpleasant songs to get stuck in your head).
Palais des Papes: In case you forgot, there was a point in time where where the Pope moved to live in Avignon in the 14th century. Later, of course, the Vatican decredited all popes who lived there, but they did leave a rather nice palace full of medieval and gothic architecture. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking and the sky was the most perfect shade of blue.
Liqueur Tasting: While Provence is known well for its vineyards, the distillery we visited was known for its quality liqueurs made from lavender, violet, and thymes. Theire "vineyard" was a field of pear trees and we learned all the facts about making a liqueur from pears (apparently it is first made from pear wine, something I've never tried but sounds delicious).
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: This is the area where Van Gough lived and painted some of his most notable works. They displayed pictures of his favorite paintings right in the areas that inspired him most, so I would look at a picture of his olive trees, look up, and there they were! We also saw the bedroom that he painted in his studio and his garden. I think my parents would very much enjoy this area, I hope I can take them there when they come to visit in April!
Pont du Gard Roman Aqueduct: Beautiful, ancient bridge with a very interesting museum that has given me more information about Aqueducts and Rome than I'd ever expected to learn in my lifetime. Again, the view from the bridge was incredible, and we walked down the fields to the river which was about as close to la plage as we were going to get.
We then all hurried home to spend a full Sunday studying for midterms. Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, and also my last day of midterms, and I can only hope that I'll be able to soak up an authentic French Mardi Gras during my stay. Other than that, I've been cramming my brain full of paintings, artists, dates, and techniques for the midterm that I completed today. You may notice but my English is starting to fall apart, which hopefully is an indication that my french is improving tremendously (although I just get the feeling that I'm just no longer able to communicate in any language). I am now going have a nice relaxing night, drinking Orangina and studying for my Fashion and Media midterms tomorrow. À Bientot!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Des Photos: Barcelone
My friends and I in front of the Fountain at Jardines de la Ciudadela
Churros con Chocolate: aka Yummy con Delicious
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention we were within walking distance to the OCEAN?!
One of the Many Mountains of Fruit at the Market
Parc Guell
Sagrada Familia
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Barcelona!
Another weekend, another fabulous voyage. This last weekend 3 friends and I packed up our carry-on-sized backpacks and spent the weekend in beautiful Barcelona. I will say that we didn't do as much sight-seeing as we did in London, but that decision was made by choice. Comparing London to Barcelona to me is like comparing vacation in New York City to Florida (a spectacular Florida with beautiful parks, a fabulous metro system, and tasty Sangria). The city is much smaller than Paris and with the beautiful weather, we stopped taking the metro and just walked everywhere. Barcelona was also significantly cheaper than Paris, which meant we didn't mind stopping often for a delicious bite to eat!
One of my favorite things about being a young student studying abroad, is that fact that we are always staying in hostels. I'm sure my mom is shivering at the thought, but so far all the rooms have been clean, safe, affordable, and full of fun and interesting people! One amazing thing that I never realized about learning French is how many doors it can open to making new friends from all over the world! We roomed with 3 people from Strausbourg, and met a group of students from Réunion (a little island off the coast of Madagascar). We also met a group of people from Georgia Tech studying abroad in Paris as well. We kept laughing that we were speaking more French than in Paris, and I am happy to report that all that practice is improving my french significantly. After London, going back to classes in French was very difficult and I kept getting tongue-tied while having dinner with my host-mom. But after Barcelona, my classes were easy and my host-mom and I couldn't stop talking!
Here is my Barcelona Top 5:
1) Sagrada Familia: This enormous Chapel designed by Gaudi has been under construction since 1909 (and we heard rumors it is to be completed in 2015! Anyone up for a return trip?). We may live in a city with Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame, but this Chapel is on a completely new level. The Stained glass was beautiful, the carvings were incredible, and every inch is Guadi-fied. I took at least 50 pictures just of this church alone.
2) Jardines de la Ciudadela: A beautiful park with an enormous fountain built by Guadi. This was our first day and we just sat in the park and soaked up with mid-60's weather and just kept saying, "I can't believe we're in Barcelona!"
3) Unidentified Market: We found a huge market off Las Ramblas (the most lively street in Barcelona, also very close to where we were staying). This market full of fresh fruit, vegetables, baked goods like empanadas and other delicious things I don't know the name of, chocolate chocolate chocolate, fish, meat, and amazingness. I bought myself a kilo of strawberries for less than 1 euro!
4) THE FOOD!: Paella (rice dish with seafood, so incredible), Churros con Chocolate (fried, crispy pieces of sugared dough that you stick in a melted fudge-like cup of hot chocolate), Olives (which are amazing in Spain), Chorizo (spanish sausage). YUM!!!
5) Parc Guell: A giant park designed by none other than Gaudi. While the Gardens were full of grass to lay on and trees to sit under, parc guell had dirt paths surrounding cactus patches and beautiful mosaics. There was a band playing in the area with the long, Guadi bench, and everyone was dancing and laughing and having a great time.
One thing that is interesting, that I'm sure my sister will love to hear, is that a lot of my Spanish came back. For those who don't know, before I started spending my summers at Korean Camp, I went to Spanish Camp for five years starting at the age of 8. Because these camps are immersion camps (and because I only went for two weeks at a time), I never learned proper grammatical formulas: conjugations, verb tenses, etc. Yet when speaking in Spain, the phrases just came out, which surprised both myself and my friends (who did not speak any Spanish at all). One night, my friend Jess pointed out to me once that I had been, rather unconsciously, translating from Spanish to French for our new-found friends, which was probably one of the most exciting things ever. Sadly, when trying to demonstrate Korean for our friends from Réunion, I could only say "ahnyonghasaeyo" with an awkward, french-ish accent. C'est la vie.
Update: This weekend I am going with my school to Avignon (by weekend, I mean leaving Friday morning, return Saturday Night). Next week are my midterms that with a little studying I am feeling quite confident about, and then on March 18th I am off to Berlin!
One of my favorite things about being a young student studying abroad, is that fact that we are always staying in hostels. I'm sure my mom is shivering at the thought, but so far all the rooms have been clean, safe, affordable, and full of fun and interesting people! One amazing thing that I never realized about learning French is how many doors it can open to making new friends from all over the world! We roomed with 3 people from Strausbourg, and met a group of students from Réunion (a little island off the coast of Madagascar). We also met a group of people from Georgia Tech studying abroad in Paris as well. We kept laughing that we were speaking more French than in Paris, and I am happy to report that all that practice is improving my french significantly. After London, going back to classes in French was very difficult and I kept getting tongue-tied while having dinner with my host-mom. But after Barcelona, my classes were easy and my host-mom and I couldn't stop talking!
Here is my Barcelona Top 5:
1) Sagrada Familia: This enormous Chapel designed by Gaudi has been under construction since 1909 (and we heard rumors it is to be completed in 2015! Anyone up for a return trip?). We may live in a city with Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame, but this Chapel is on a completely new level. The Stained glass was beautiful, the carvings were incredible, and every inch is Guadi-fied. I took at least 50 pictures just of this church alone.
2) Jardines de la Ciudadela: A beautiful park with an enormous fountain built by Guadi. This was our first day and we just sat in the park and soaked up with mid-60's weather and just kept saying, "I can't believe we're in Barcelona!"
3) Unidentified Market: We found a huge market off Las Ramblas (the most lively street in Barcelona, also very close to where we were staying). This market full of fresh fruit, vegetables, baked goods like empanadas and other delicious things I don't know the name of, chocolate chocolate chocolate, fish, meat, and amazingness. I bought myself a kilo of strawberries for less than 1 euro!
4) THE FOOD!: Paella (rice dish with seafood, so incredible), Churros con Chocolate (fried, crispy pieces of sugared dough that you stick in a melted fudge-like cup of hot chocolate), Olives (which are amazing in Spain), Chorizo (spanish sausage). YUM!!!
5) Parc Guell: A giant park designed by none other than Gaudi. While the Gardens were full of grass to lay on and trees to sit under, parc guell had dirt paths surrounding cactus patches and beautiful mosaics. There was a band playing in the area with the long, Guadi bench, and everyone was dancing and laughing and having a great time.
One thing that is interesting, that I'm sure my sister will love to hear, is that a lot of my Spanish came back. For those who don't know, before I started spending my summers at Korean Camp, I went to Spanish Camp for five years starting at the age of 8. Because these camps are immersion camps (and because I only went for two weeks at a time), I never learned proper grammatical formulas: conjugations, verb tenses, etc. Yet when speaking in Spain, the phrases just came out, which surprised both myself and my friends (who did not speak any Spanish at all). One night, my friend Jess pointed out to me once that I had been, rather unconsciously, translating from Spanish to French for our new-found friends, which was probably one of the most exciting things ever. Sadly, when trying to demonstrate Korean for our friends from Réunion, I could only say "ahnyonghasaeyo" with an awkward, french-ish accent. C'est la vie.
Update: This weekend I am going with my school to Avignon (by weekend, I mean leaving Friday morning, return Saturday Night). Next week are my midterms that with a little studying I am feeling quite confident about, and then on March 18th I am off to Berlin!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Des Photos: Londres
Compliments of a Very Meticulous Picture-Happy Fellow Tourist
Trafalgar Square at Night. This is another beautiful thing... this is also when my Camera died.
I came up with a pun: London Calling?
Picadilly Circus.
The Changing of the Guards. Note the Disappointing Grey Overcoats.
St. Paul's Cathedral. All I have to do is make Prince Harry
fall in love with me and then I can be married there too!
I came up with another pun: Eye See You.
The Stage of the Globe Theater. Note: The Balcony, the "Heavens" Ceiling (equipped with trapped door for the floating gods), and Pillars behind which several characters have "hidden" and overheard of their terrible misfortunes.
Cheers from London!!
This weekend, I traveled to London (Londres, in french). I wish I could describe how great of a time I had there, but I find it difficult to put into words. Instead, I will write my Top 10 Favorite About London:
1) Portabello Road Market: My family and I must have watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks at least 57 times, and in that movie there is the classic "Portabello Road" scene. I would definitely, DEFINITELY, say that this market lived up to the hype. It was a drizzling Saturday, but the fair was packed! Everything from capes, to vintage 60's-mod shift dresses, to chanel earings were being sold at the market. I enjoyed just looking through the racks and racks of clothes, smelling the street food, and imagining Professor Brown serenading me in the background (...anything and everything a chap could unload...)
2) The British Museum: My Museum love is now a toss up between d'Orsay and the British Museum. This incredible collection that is almost as big as the Louvre holds thousands (maybe millions) of artifacts from 6000 BCE to the present. A few notable finds: The Rosetta Stone, Sae-jong Dae-Hwang's First Translations from Chinese to his invented Korean Language, Cleopatra's Sarcophagus (next to a giant head of Rameses II), and dozens of statues from the Parthenon.
3) Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guards: Actually, this should belong on the top of my London's Most Anticlimactic List. First, the guards were in grey winter coats covering up their signature red jackets. Let me describe the Changing Process: Go to guard one, pick him up, drop off another one. Repeat for Guards 2-4. Exit Buckingham Palace.
4) The Globe Theater: While the actual Globe Theater burned down in the great london fire, this theater was, as thoroughly explained to us by our tour guide, built as an exact replica of the original, using the same tools and materials. I learned a lot of fun facts about Elizabethan theater and saw some fabulous costumes, and we actually got to sit in the stands and feel awfully shakespearian!
5) British Pubs: I've never been to a genuine pub before, and now I realize what I was missing out on! The food was incredible: Fish and Chips (and vinegar!), Sausages and Mash(ed potatoes), and of course a refreshing pint of Guinness, which tasted like a cold cappuccino.
6) Picadilly Circus: Actually, add this to the most anti-climactic list as well. Coming from Times Square, this "London's Time Square" was pretty laughable. 6 Neon signs and a fountain. NEXT!
7) The National Gallery: Full of art up to the impressionist era, which I can now appreciate best because of my Art History classes. My friends wanted to slap me because I kept playing the "guess which genre this is and why" game with them. However, it was both an incredible visit and an educational review!
8) West Minister Abbey: This area you see everything that makes you think "Holy Fish and Chips I'm in London!" You can see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, and the Tower of London in the distance. We also had the misfortune of getting the song "London Bridge" stuck in our heads in this area.
9) Double Decker Buses: If we had these in New York, I would never take the subway. They're super efficient, and it's almost like a free tour of the city! The front of the buses are flat, and we had a great time scaring ourselves into thinking that we just hit the car in front of us. It was also a great place to relax when we were tired of walking.
10) St. Paul's Cathedral: Enormous cathedral where Diana was married and, my personal favorites, Kate and William are soon to be wed! This Cathedral is extravagant and beautiful and we visited it when the sun was shining and the architecture was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately we didn't go inside because mass had begun, which just means I must return next time!
1) Portabello Road Market: My family and I must have watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks at least 57 times, and in that movie there is the classic "Portabello Road" scene. I would definitely, DEFINITELY, say that this market lived up to the hype. It was a drizzling Saturday, but the fair was packed! Everything from capes, to vintage 60's-mod shift dresses, to chanel earings were being sold at the market. I enjoyed just looking through the racks and racks of clothes, smelling the street food, and imagining Professor Brown serenading me in the background (...anything and everything a chap could unload...)
2) The British Museum: My Museum love is now a toss up between d'Orsay and the British Museum. This incredible collection that is almost as big as the Louvre holds thousands (maybe millions) of artifacts from 6000 BCE to the present. A few notable finds: The Rosetta Stone, Sae-jong Dae-Hwang's First Translations from Chinese to his invented Korean Language, Cleopatra's Sarcophagus (next to a giant head of Rameses II), and dozens of statues from the Parthenon.
3) Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guards: Actually, this should belong on the top of my London's Most Anticlimactic List. First, the guards were in grey winter coats covering up their signature red jackets. Let me describe the Changing Process: Go to guard one, pick him up, drop off another one. Repeat for Guards 2-4. Exit Buckingham Palace.
4) The Globe Theater: While the actual Globe Theater burned down in the great london fire, this theater was, as thoroughly explained to us by our tour guide, built as an exact replica of the original, using the same tools and materials. I learned a lot of fun facts about Elizabethan theater and saw some fabulous costumes, and we actually got to sit in the stands and feel awfully shakespearian!
5) British Pubs: I've never been to a genuine pub before, and now I realize what I was missing out on! The food was incredible: Fish and Chips (and vinegar!), Sausages and Mash(ed potatoes), and of course a refreshing pint of Guinness, which tasted like a cold cappuccino.
6) Picadilly Circus: Actually, add this to the most anti-climactic list as well. Coming from Times Square, this "London's Time Square" was pretty laughable. 6 Neon signs and a fountain. NEXT!
7) The National Gallery: Full of art up to the impressionist era, which I can now appreciate best because of my Art History classes. My friends wanted to slap me because I kept playing the "guess which genre this is and why" game with them. However, it was both an incredible visit and an educational review!
8) West Minister Abbey: This area you see everything that makes you think "Holy Fish and Chips I'm in London!" You can see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, and the Tower of London in the distance. We also had the misfortune of getting the song "London Bridge" stuck in our heads in this area.
9) Double Decker Buses: If we had these in New York, I would never take the subway. They're super efficient, and it's almost like a free tour of the city! The front of the buses are flat, and we had a great time scaring ourselves into thinking that we just hit the car in front of us. It was also a great place to relax when we were tired of walking.
10) St. Paul's Cathedral: Enormous cathedral where Diana was married and, my personal favorites, Kate and William are soon to be wed! This Cathedral is extravagant and beautiful and we visited it when the sun was shining and the architecture was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately we didn't go inside because mass had begun, which just means I must return next time!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Des Photos: Versailles
Louis XIV. He's the one who decided to move from the Louvre to Versailles.
In front of the Gates (Wearing new boots purchased during les soldes!)
Incredible Garden. The Perfectly cut trees signified the
King's Absolutism: he can even tame nature.
Louis XIV showing off his dancing-legs.
King's Bedroom
Queens Bedroom. This is where Marie Antoinette heard the revolutionaries breaking into the chateau.
Hall of Mirrors. Just do what I do and pretend like the other people aren't there!
Coronation of Napoleon. Painted by J.L. David, basically the father of Neoclassicism. He made two of these paitings, one enormous one which is here, and one gargantuan one that is hanging in the Louvre.
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