Un Voyage à Paris!

After finding airfare too good to be true ($291 to be exact- yes, roundtrip), Stacy and I quickly booked a trip to Paris to see my cousin Jack and his wife Leigh, who are currently honorary Parisians. My pipe dream promise to visit Jack was honored.

After gloating in his photography skills and reveling in the fact that Leigh had finally acknowledged this, Jack managed to both cut off the Eiffel Tower and leave us out of focus. Impressive performance. Other than that a fabulous photo.

After a long day of travel that included an unscheduled visit to the Brussels tarmac, Jack and Leigh led us on a leisurely stroll down the Rue Cler, a lovely pedestrian corridor bordered by a rainbow of produce and smelly cheeses. We stopped to enjoy our first of many Café Crèmes.

Feeling surprisingly refreshed the next day. It's good to be young, as my mother always says (jealously).

Musee du Quai Branly (by architect Jean Nouvel): underbelly

Musee du Quai Branly (by architect Jean Nouvel): green wall

For the first of many times on this trip, I stepped from the plaza outside, over the threshold, and into one of my architectural history textbooks. The astonishingly small floor area of the chapel dramatized the soaring kaleidoscope of stained glass.

Textbook tour #2: the Villa Savoye, best described by Stacy to non-architect folk as the "Mona Lisa of Modern Architecture." Is it embarrassing to admit I may have been more giddy wandering from room to room of this plain white box than traveling from fountain to fountain in the gardens of Versailles?

The famed built-in "drying" chaise, separating the tub from the bedroom

A beauty

The day we traveled to Versailles was the dreariest day of all (except for the day the skies finally opened up). However, the fog brought an entire new level of magic to the castle. It blurred the surroundings, inviting us to travel back to 1682 when the castle first became the official seat of the throne.

This photo gives you a sense of scale. You might assume the stonework behind the boy is bench-sized without him in front of it. Think again.

One of the simpler rooms (after all, this is merely a room to house one of the 67 staircases in the castle). The ceilings never ceased to amaze me in this place.

King Louis XIV's bed chamber, with the following view toward the front gate:

Hall of Mirrors

Chapel

One of the 67 staircases

Gardens. They go on and on and on, past what is visible in the fog. This is where the fog really became magical, swallowing up the landscape as it rolled on and inviting us to discover what we couldn't see.

Noon wine tasting with Oliviers at O Chateau (mmm wine for breakfast). We learned all about how wines should be named for their regions, not their grapes, and also all about how awful California wine is. We liked the place so much (and the frenchman) that we came back later that night with Jack, Leigh, and 2 of their friends. Jack knows Oliviers through work, so he took care of us. I think those were by far the most expensive bottles of wine I've ever had. He also gave us a "digestif," an herbal drink that tastes and looks like nothing I've ever tasted or seen before (it's green!).

The Louvre courtyard on a rainy day. Our walk through here was really more of a frolic thanks to the wine tasting just beforehand. Even my bright floral umbrella reflects my mood. I later bought a watercolor of the Louvre to commemorate the jaunt (my first piece of real art!).

Sacre Coeur in Mont Martre. I just love how the architecture feels more eastern. This church seems like it would fit in better in Moscow than in a western European capital, but the contrast is part of its beauty.

Un Cafe at the Cafe de Flores, known as a favorite haunt for people like Hemmingway and Beauvoir.

Centre Pompidou (another building I've seen over and over in school), a modern art museum. The idea behind the design is that every system of the building can be easily understood because each one is given a color and left exposed. For instance, red means vertical circulation, yellow is electricity, blue is air, and water green. You can trace these colors in the photos below too.

View of plaza from the museum

Arab World Institute by Jean Nouvel - the "oculi" are operable, opening and closing depending on light. Unfortunately it was overcast the whole time we were there, so we didn't get to see them in their full glory. Over the 25 or so years of the building's life, however, I believe many of the windows have ceased to function.

The best part about the building was the view from the roof terrace! That's Notre Dame from the back, which I find to be by far the more attractive view.

Love the 6 line, an elevated train. It's gorgeous. This is the metro line we took when we first arrived in the city to get to Jack's office, so it was a great introduction to the city (not being underground).

The fact that it's elevated also creates the perfect opportunity for a street market.

The Seine by night.

The other highlights undocumented by photos were all of our dinners with Jack and Leigh, several in the apartment (they make some mean lamb chops) and one very memorable meal at a traditional french bistro, where I started what is sure to be a long and romantic relationship with the garlicky and buttery goodness of Escargot. Was also inspired by the foie gras. Mmmm.

Jack and Leigh were amazing hosts! It was so great to spend so much time with them in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Also a shout-out to GaGa. Without her our trip would have yielded a few less memories, including that of Jack pleading the DJ to please give us some Poker Face. That's a loving husband if I've ever seen one.