Église Saint Roch

I went to Eglise Saint Roch last week. It is a medium sized Baroque church on Rue Saint Honoré, in the first arrondissement. I had never been before, but I had heard of it, and as I was passing by, I figured, why not? I was struck by it's staggering beauty. Here are a few brief examples. Okay, just one. I thought I had taken more photos but I guess not.

A photo essay

It's been awhile since I last posted. In that time, I have seen the phenomenal Diane Arbus exhibit at the Jeu de Paume and seen the equally fantastic film Brazil, by Terry Gilliam, at the Cinémathèque Française. Both of these deserve their own post, which I will get to. But here are a few photos I've taken along the way that defy categorization. Among them: some Space Invader art in the 1e, (space invader is a very famous street artist among the ranks of Banksy and miss.tic), a view of the Arch de Triomphe as seen from the Champs Élysées, a doggie on the metro, a view of the Cinematheque, and more!

I love this

If you know me, you might know that I love animals. Especially dogs and farmyard/wild animals. In particular, pigs, elephants, and cows. So I was so happy when I saw this on the side of a building, which I assume was a large dairy.

Beauty, Voluptuousness, AND Morality!

I am completely blown away by a show on right now at Musee D'Orsay, which will continue until mid-January. I've already been twice, and plan to go again at least two times. (As someone under 26, I get into the museum for free!). Its called, Beauté, Volupté, et Morale dans l'Angleterre de Oscar Wilde, or Beauty, Voluptuousness, and Morality in the England of Oscar Wilde. Now, just from the title this is right up my alley. My undergraduate thesis was in part devoted to "The Picture of Dorian Gray". The show is an examination of the Aesthetic Movement in England and the quest for a new form of beauty, altogether different from the standards imposed by the Royal Academy. So, what this means is a lot of Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau. Again, totally my deal. In college I had a poster of Waterhouse's The Lady of Shallot gracing my walls for all four years. This show is in partnership with the Victoria and Albert museum, which is wonderful, as it showcases a lot of artwork never seen outside of England. There is ample representation of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Fredrick Leighton, William Morris, and others whose names escape me. It is utterly gorgeous. It has so many sensual, dreamy artworks, and not just painting. There is a lot of decorative art represented as well, for example, furniture. Perhaps the greatest treat for me is that there is some clothing and jewelry on display as well. This show produced a very strong emotional reaction in me, as assembled together were so many paintings and objects that I find innately beautiful and breathtaking. I cannot recommend it enough! The Musee D'Orsay has banned photography, so I can't share photos of the actual show, but I can share the postcards that I have arranged into a tableau on my wall.

Museum hopping

I have Friday off from work, so usually I try to spend it doing something cultural. This past Friday, I got tied up in the morning doing chores around the house and then had to go to the bank. My bank is in Montparnasse, so I took the train there, got my business done, and proceeded to walk through the Jardin du Luxembourg. Once there, I walked down Boulevard Saint Michel, in the heart of the Latin Quarter. I know this area very well and it is very dear to me, as last year when I studied abroad here, I took classes at Paris IV (formerly La Sorbonne). While in the Jardin, I looked up various museum shows going on, and decided that if I didn't find anything that pleased me, I'd return to Musee d'Orsay to see their show "Beauté, volupté, et morale dans l'Angleterre de Oscar Wilde" (more on that later). Well, I found a show that looked really neat at La Monnaie du Paris, otherwise known as the mint. It was called "Money and Artists: a dangerous liason" and had as it's cover image a picture of Serge Gainsbourg (whom I love) burning a 500 franc note. So I walked over to Place Saint Michel and turned left to walk along the banks of the Seine. Upon reaching La Monnaie, I entered and inquired about the exhibit. As it turned out, La Monnaie was under renovation and the exhibit was just an online exposition! So I decided to continue on to Musee D'orsay. When I got there, it was 5pm and they had sold their last tickets for the day, even though the museum closes at 6. So then I pulled out my iPad and looked up which museums were open late on Friday. Then it dawned on me! Le Musee de L'Erotisme, in Montmartre. I'd always wanted to go, but never made it in previous trips. And reader, I went. it has 5 floors all devoted to erotic art. It's a little touristy (come on, its in Montmartre AND it's a sex museum) but I found it overall, very tastefully executed. It's quite different from say, the Museum of Sex in New York, which is devoted to the act itself, and features many exhibits on human and animal biology. This museum, by contrast, is devoted to erotic art, spanning centuries and continents. Perhaps my favorite part was a floor dedicated to the maison close (brothel) of the mid to late nineteenth century in Paris. That was neat. I didn't take any pictures, but it's definitely worth a visit. Of course, if you are in Paris for a short time, obviously the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and (in my opinion) Musee Gustave Moreau, take precedence. But it is very interesting and worth checking out. Also, it's directly adjacent to a store called Supermarché Erotique, or erotic supermarket.

There is no greater feeling of satisfaction for me...

....than going to the boulangerie to buy your daily demi baguette à la tradition and finding it is still warm out of the oven! I have no photos to illustrate this at the moment, for I already devoured the one I purchased last night.

A brief tour of my local market

Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of quotidian French life is the market. In Paris, every neighborhood has a local market that occurs once or twice a week. Mine happens to fall on Sunday, which is perfect; as most of Paris totally shuts down on Sunday ( despite what the government has to say about it, it is still very much a Catholic country) the market gives people a reason to get up early and get out on their day of rest. Everyone comes out--young, old, and canine alike. The market is one of the few opportunities to glimpse a true melting pot phenomenon in France; there are not just vendors selling French items, but Lebanese, Creole, Chinese, and in the case of my market, Polish as well. I've found that I can find most items cheaper at my local supermarket, but for specialty products and fruits and veggies, why not buy direct from the producer? Today I just needed apples, so I went and got 8 of them for 2e and change! Anyway, enjoy the photos I managed to snap on my iPad while perusing the stalls. Not just food is sold here, but all manner of clothing and household knickknacks.