Visual Diary – Lonely Autumn Days

The past month has given me lots of alone time to reflect. Recently, two of my closest friends moved out of France, and in September, my husband Erik went to the US to await his Green Card, leaving me with just a single friend to hang out with, and lots of quiet evenings alone. It’s been interesting.

Without an extra person next to me when I sleep, or someone waiting for me when I come back from the grocery store, things have been a little bit strange. Yesterday I realized I had barely used my voice for the entire day, and I wondered jokingly if my vocal chords still worked. Even though I had been wandering around Paris for the entire day, surrounded by people on the street, I still felt isolated, simply because most of the people I love weren’t with me.

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Revisiting the Louvre with Localers in Paris

Revisiting the Louvre with Museums by Localers

I have a kind of love-hate relationship with the Louvre. I love that it houses some of the greatest works of art and most precious bits of history in the world, but I hate how damn huge it is. On one hand, I love the idea of getting lost in a labyrinth of culture, but on the other, my feet and brain start to become fatigued after hours of slow-walking and observing. Appreciating art is hard work!

Despite having visited the Louvre more than 10 times, I realized I know very little about it. I had a vague idea that the Louvre started out as a much smaller military fortress, and that the Mona Lisa is WAY smaller than you’d expect, but honestly – that’s not much. Anybody could know those trivia facts with a quick peek inside the informational booklet.

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Discovering the 16th Arrondissement of Paris

The other day, I met up with my friend Laura from Ciao Amalfi to explore the 16th Arrondissement. Our primary objective was to visit the lesser-known Musée Marmottan-Monet, but we decided to stroll through nearby streets afterwards. Photographs weren’t allowed inside the museum, but I must admit that it had an excellent collection! If you love the Orangerie with Monet’s waterlilies, you’ll like this museum. They also had a pretty fabulous collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts, most of them extremely detailed and shining with golden gilding.

Just across the street from the museum, we spotted some unique architectural details. One door was guarded by two panthers amid roses. Another was decorated with pinecones and evergreen boughs. Panthers and pinecones are not typical motifs in Parisian architecture. These buildings definitely fall under the Art Nouveau category, but there was something else about these designs I couldn’t quite put my finger on…

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Shakespeare & Company Cafe

Shakespeare & Company Now Has a Cafe!

The best thing to ever happen to Paris has happened: Shakespeare & Company, the famous English bookstore that has kept the literary-artistic spirit alive in Paris for 64 years, has opened a coffee shop! I’m only exaggerating a little when I say this is the best thing in Paris right now. Bookstores and coffee shops go together like wine and cheese, or peanut butter and jelly, whichever cultural food reference you prefer. My first thought was – why didn’t they do this sooner?! I visited the brand new cafe as soon as I heard it was opening, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The interior is lined with bookshelves and the rough-around-the-edges décor echoes the interior of the main bookshop perfectly. There’s a collection of fun books and gifts to the right of the main door, and above the glass food case is a menu in Franglais.

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Jardin des Tuileries - French Californian

Wandering Wednesdays

I adore wandering. If it weren’t for sore feet and basic needs like food and sleep, I’d wander all day long! Since I’m now in charge of the ParisPerfectRentals Instagram account, I have a wonderful excuse to just stroll around Paris looking for beautiful things! This week, I discovered a gorgeous reconstruction of an Art Nouveau hotel inside Musée Carnavalet, and then enjoyed the momentarily good weather at the Tuileries gardens. I even visited the Palais Royal gardens for the first time ever, but I’ll wait until next week to share those photos with you.

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Monet’s House

If you’ve ever wondered what Impressionism looks like in the form of a house – a speculation that has probably never been a priority in your life – then you may have also wandered what Claude Monet’s house looks like. I mean, he’s practically the king of Impressionism as far as I’m concerned, and if his house doesn’t embody 19th century French painting, then I don’t know what does.

… these are the kinds of thoughts that go through my head on a regular basis…

I had been to Giverny twice, and on both occasions, photographs inside the house were strictly Forbidden, with a capital F. My friend Natalie and I would always try to be sneaky and take quick iPhone snaps, thinking we were so incognito; the photos pretty much always came out blurred and crappy. THANKFULLY – and this seriously made me so happy – they now allow you to take photos! Mais sans flash, bien sûr. I discovered this while my sister was visiting me last week, and we also discovered that the Musée de l’Orangerie and Musée d’Orsay allow photographs now too.  :O

So without further ado, take a peek inside Monet’s house:

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