| | Here is another update, as my summaries of Europe begin to wind down.
-Top Three Foods-Being on a budget, my highlights for food are pretty sad in Paris. Forget the five-course meal at some snooty French restaurant, here are my top three foods to get by on a college student's budget in Paris. -
Here's John, Red, and I flashing our quiches for the camera.
These became our morning staple, and would usually have to tide us over until dinner (Our idea of 'budget eating' was dangerously close to becoming an anorexic's dream diet).
 
Bread and Cheese.
After John left and while Red was in class, my budget eating became even more frugal. I started just buying a baguette and some brie cheese at the local bakery and grocery store beneath Red's apartment. But don't pity me just yet... I mean, no one can argue with spending only $1.50 for breakfast and lunch.
 
 
Rollifornia
Red prided himself on discovering this restaurant, which was a few blocks down from his apartment. The owners knew him by name, and he was unabashedly a walking advertisement for this place. It was a little pricey, but when you're only spending around $2 for breakfast and lunch, you can splurge a little at night, right?
This place served sushi-esque food. The "esque" is thrown in there, because it doesn't really serve your typical sushi fare. Instead, the menu included items like bulgogi rolls and avoided serving any raw fish items. Even though it would have made more sense to check out a French bistro, I thought this place was probably one of the better eateries in our trip to the Paris area.
-Top Three Things that I have a Deeper Appreciation for-
- Photography.
Towards the end of my time in Paris, I had pretty much exhausted all the major tourist sights and attractions. So, to fill my time, I began to explore the various arrondissements (that's French for 'districts'... so cultured, I know).
While doing that, I accidentally stumbled across a branch of the Jeu de
Paume (the contemporary art museum in Paris ), that was having an exhibition of photography by Joel Meyerowitz. I had originally planned on going to the main museum, but it was closed for renovation, so I was excited to have stumbled across the sister site.
Here are some photos of his photos. I know... ironic, right? Some I took at the gallery, while others I found online.
 
  
I know very little about photography, but I really enjoyed this exhibition. His photos of people really captured distinct feelings and messages, while his photos of random scenes create this surreal, idealized environment. I think it would be really fun to make a living off of simply being aware of these 'picture' moments. I did a little research on Joel Meyerowitz and found out that he was the only photographer allowed in after the 9/11 attacks to photograph Ground Zero. In other words, he's a pretty big deal.
After the Jeu de Paume, I saw some signs for another photography exhibit that was free at Hotel de Ville (Paris' City Hall). The exhibition was of Robert Doisneau, a famous French photographer, who captured random moments of Parisian life. Here's probably his most famous.
- Architecture.
Now, Red is a crazy architect major, so we were bound to get a crash course on some architecture around Paris. Here are some sights that Red highlighted to us.
 
Some snapshots of the National Library, from the bridge over the Seine. Red had to study this site for one of his class projects, so he brought us here to get a glimpse of it. The Library consists of an underground portion (like the Undergrad at the UofI, as well as four L-shaped towers, which are supposed to imitate open books.
The former American Center, turned French Museum of Cinema. It's designed by Frank Gehry, of Seattle's Experience Music Project eyesore, and Chicago's Millennium Park pavilion fame.
 
The Musee du Quai Branly. Designed by another famous architect, Jean Nouvel. One of Red's teachers played a major role in the development of this project. The museum is supposed to collect non-Western artifacts and exhibits, and the architecture attempts to create this pre-historic feel.
Almost as much fun as seeing all these buildings was attempting to be architecture snobs, like Red. John and I would pretend to know a lot about all the sites that we were seeing. "Notice the subtle gothic influences on the Eiffel Tower. You can tell the architect was heavily influenced by modern thought as well as structures from the Mesozoic Era."
It was pretty fun, until we ran out of 'influences' to list off (we could only think of Gothic and Modern), and maybe annoyed Red a little, when he started yelling at us heathens to stop.
- Red.
And I not only have a deeper appreciation for Red for putting up with our architecture blasphemy, but also for balancing John and my visit to Paris, along with some huge projects, on top of his sister and her friend visiting, all in the same time frame.
You could tell Red had a lot of stress to deal with.
To get a glimpse of all the shenanigans that Red had to deal with, here are a few shots of us out with Red's sister and her friend, and some of Red's architecture buddies.
 
Top left: A shot of the street where the bars were located. Top Right: Red and I, showing off our manly drinks. Bottom: Red, Dana, Jami, and I.
After a few more drinks, Red's architecture friends got a little too into it. Here's the progression.
They start dancing to the local band playing, and this old guy decides to join in.
Red's really sweet friend, Shera, maybe had one too many drinks, and starts getting a little too flirtatious with the old, creepy (and disturbingly sweaty) guy.
And the night ends with us cutting out early, and escorting Shera
back home. Unfortunately, a mix of inhibition-reducing alcohol and Shera's small bladder resulted in...
...Shera going number one behind a set of trashcans in the middle of the street. You can tell she had a really full bladder.
All in all, it was a pretty entertaining night, and the entire trip gave me a glimpse of all the wild things that Red is put through.
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| | Posted 5/14/2007 4:11 PM - 26 Views - 6 eProps - 3 comments
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