Copper

I ordered this 5x5 set of patina sheet samples recently and can't wait to try them in some paintings on board!

Luxembourg garden

Here are some random pictures of the Luxembourg gardens. The buildings overlook the park.

There are cafes, tennis courts, fountains, pools for children's boats, bee hives, an orchard, pony rides, live music and chairs to sit in. But you are not allowed on the grass. Notice how great the grass looks. There is a dim photo of the park police striding off after blowing a whistle at some people who had wandered onto the grass.

I had to get a photo of a woman strolling along all dressed up and in four inch heels. Did she come to the park for exercise? I'm so slow sometimes.

And the French do jog and wear colors other than black especially on a Sunday morning in the park. There were tons of joggers that day.

First day in Paris and Paris birds

The first day in Paris I did a lot of walking because I wanted to see everything and still didn't feel brave enough to take on the Metro system. I stopped to rest and look around on the Pont Royale and various photos are of this area. The very large Musee d'Orsay in front of me and the Louvre behind and abundant traffic and the traffic cop's whistle all around. Tourist central. The other photos are in the courtyard of the Louvre. Note the group following the bright colored umbrella. They were American teens and very, very noisy.

While I looked around I saw this crow or raven--I don't know the difference--looking as if to see if anyone was paying attention to him. The garbage "cans" are all over the city but still the citizens don't seem to understand how they work. But the crows know how they work! Tear and peck a hole in the bottom and have a meal.

The day I went to the Rodin I had lunch in an outdoor area in their garden. I watched a mother with two small children eat their meal and leave the table. Within two seconds their table was covered in what my brother calls flying rats. Very large healthy pigeons descended and tore the table apart. The sparrows hung back and waited. Almost immediately someone came out and cleared the table. Wish I had reacted quick enough to take some photos.

My apartment was very near the Luxembourg gardens and early in the morning I could hear the owls and mourning doves. Lots of bird talk.

The Rodin Museum

I highly recommend visiting the Rodin Museum in Paris. It was a warm, sunny day and the gardens were perfectly cared for and the roses scented the air. Such a nice change from our weather here because our roses hadn't even begun to bloom. It's a large garden and sculptures are placed all over. The building was built about 1760. The insides show a lot of wear and tear. Discolored walls and ceilings and patched wooden floors. The ceilings on the first floor are about 30 feet high and very grand with many windows. The carved paneling in one room was gray and cracked and the plaster was very cracked with holes in many rooms.

But the pieces in the rooms were wonderful. I especially enjoyed seeing the work by Camille Claudel. Too bad she didn't live longer.

I did not go to the Louvre. I was in the building because I had lunch there and did a little shopping. All very busy and jammed with people every place I looked. Many large groups with the leader carrying a brightly colored umbrella or a large plastic flower. One group all wore ugly bright yellow baseball caps. Lots of people were just shuffling along and looked to be in a daze. The place is so overwhelming.

Jacques Genin & Context Travel tour

I took a tour with Context Travel for a foodie tour of the Maris. The last stop was the pastry and chocolate shop of Jacques Genin, a self taught chef. When we arrived someone was taking professional photos of him in the middle of his shop and later interviewed him at a table in the tea room section. The shop is in an old building which has been modernized. It is on three levels with wooden floors, display cases and many tall vases of flowers. The vases were about four feet high filled with green and white flowers. I took some quick photos because I wasn't sure what their policy was about taking photos. Many shops of various kinds are very firm about not letting you take photos.

The photos just below are of a Saint Honore pastry which tied for my favorite with the Fraisier I posted about earlier. He also has the best caramels I've tasted in my life. They are 110 Euros per kilo. I also bought a box of chocolates to bring home which were beautifully contained in a slim metal box. I had such a good time picking them. I had a brief conversation with Jacques through his employee since he only speaks French and I barely speak any. What a fun time!

The photos below are from the tour. The first one is of the leader on the left and the others were participants. We went to the new Popelini shop where they make small cream puffs which are filled and topped with fondant. I didn't care for them but thought the decor of the shop was great since they used their own packaging. Small single boxes were indented into one wall. Very clean and simple decorations. Too bad the sweets aren't better.

We stopped at a bakery where Barbara Austin showed us the difference between the usual baguette and the traditional one. We had goat cheese from a fromagerie. We also stopped at a 200 year old spice store. At each stop we could buy whatever we wanted.

It was nice to be on a tour with English speaking people and to not keep track of where I was on the map and just follow and listen to an informed guide.

Just yesterday my favorite foodie blog posted about Jacques Genin at Paris Patisseries. Go take a look because he has wonderful photos of the chocolates. This didn't want to load so you may have to copy and paste.

Two pastries from Paris

This is a Fraisier from La Patisserie des reves,

on the left.

The best pastry I had while in Paris and purchased on my first full day there. The picture on the right shows how they prepare the box. The pink picks are pushed into a layer of foam core and they do not move. The Saint Honore was one of the worst pastries. Too bad, because it looks wonderful and is from the same shop. The glassy looking sugar coating was too thick and used to anchor the three cream puffs as well and was just inedible.

Paris trip

Angelina's Paris May 2011

I recently returned from a much anticipated and researched trip to Paris. I spent 12 nights in an apartment in the 6th district which is a residential rather than touristed area near the southwest corner of the Luxembourg Gardens. The area had a very neighborhood feel with all kinds of shops nearby. It took me a while to find a grocery store and other services but I really liked being in an apartment rather than a hotel.

I learned to use the Metro, found the nearest taxi stand and never figured out the bus system. I did a good deal of walking with 5.5 miles the first day and varied between 2.75 to 4.17 miles for the other days. Not bad for all the terrain which was dirt, gravel, concrete, cobbles and miles and miles of stairs of various kinds. I also had a large blister on the left big toe and banged my right big toe and just lost that toenail last Sunday! I walked a lot and saw so much of Paris. Not enough, of course, but it was all new territory for me anyway. I learned a lot about the French, Paris and myself. What more could you ask of a much studied and personal trip?

The weather was very warm and sunny. The flights were on time and no problems at all.

I took lots of pictures and am working on learning a new iPhoto application now in order to edit and sort them out.

While I didn't eat out too much I made sure to sample lots of pastries and chocolates which I read about on the internet before leaving. There are a lot of very good blogs about Paris and food.

A few of the food related blogs to read:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/

http://megzimbeck.com/

http://parisbymouth.com/

http://www.parispatisseries.com/category/pastry-reviews/?src=tab

http://doriegreenspan.com/index.html

Planning a trip

I haven't spent much time painting for some time and do plan on getting back in gear after I return from my trip to Paris in May.

Most of my time has been spent on researching my trip and planning what I'll do while I am there. I've turned into a drudge with a single focus and probably am boring everyone I come in contact with lately. OK, probably for several months since I use airline miles and that has to be done about 11 months in advance.

I promise to return with lots of photos and stories. I am traveling with my small sketching kit and plan on taking some time to just sit and sketch. Hope I can stick with this plan! In the meantime here is a photo of the Hotel de Ville in the 3rd district.