Cloudy = crypts? Thurs Feb 2

Woke up fairly early this morning, cloudy for the first time since last week - decided going to the notre dame crypts would be the appropriate thing to see before studio at 2. took a while wandering there, stopped in a few stores, nothing to buy particularly. they have VERY cute shoes here, and the sales only last until Feb 21... haha maybe I will determinedly go shopping at some point. Wandered into Notre Dame des Victories, a nice little church. Very stripped-down facade and matter-of-fact interior, I liked it. Side chapel archways were paved in donor stone, gave a nice feel of people. Crypts were rather disappointing, I was thinking grave crypts and creepiness, but instead they were archeological digs in this one particular spot... cool, just not what I expected. Neat to be under a huge plaza and see the actual previous foundations and walls on the original levels, some from the third century ad, preserved and built over. Evidences of the island ending at that point - kind of crazy. Also walked through Notre-Dame again, got some big-picture shots I'd forgotten to get last time. This pic is the front modern altar with the traditional one in the back - so this is about 3/4 up the nave.

grocery shopping on the way to studio, baugette, Camembert cheese, hardboiled egg sandwiches. fun to pick things up at their own little store, bread and cheese, meat if I was going to do that.
I think I've official switched boulangeries - our delightfully crabby french lady in the red store makes comparatively small and crusty baugettes with useless pointed ends... the blue one with the friendlier but english speaking lady has cheaper, bigger, softer loaves, earlier on our walk to studio... we have the option of 5 bread shops on the way, these are on the fun market street though. hehe so it goes ;). we thought maybe the red store lady had connections with the apparently mob (men in suits outside at very late hours, hmmm) building on the marche cadet as well... sigh. ha I should work on studio... too many details writing about the current day

Wed Feb 1 - Ew

Hmm Wednesday was not a very good day. Sparing details, finances in general, rent, and studio were all huge hassles and didn't turn out too well, very bad mood all day. Got better when finally a little of the money I had pending was deposited... being un-broke is a fantastic feeling.

Was in the mood for a movie after ughness... watched one of Kober's, a Czech New Wave film from the 60's - very psychedelic/trippy, message about the boredom that comes from decadence, a little blunt I guess, fun ways of showing it though. interesting. projected it on the wall in the studio room with a couch - yay sitting on a couch :P confined to my pad on the floor mostly at home, or folding chair in front of desk at studio (kitchen is only occasionally warm enough to sit in, more folding chairs.)

Anyway, finally a picture with me in it! at the Barcelona pavilion (um, in Barcelona..) feeling at home on the familiar furnitures, maybe not so much with the gorgeous huge marble slabs... silly hat was very practical, it was quite rainy the first day...

Cup o' Meat tu jan 31

 


The rail line (la Petit Ceinture, to be exact) was a little of a let down after the walk, but still pretty enchanting. Got up through a closed but not locked gate, had to scramble nearly straight up a story or two to get on the track itself, pants with slightly thinner knees now, no worries... This portion of the line was further above the street level and even more unworldly then the section in the 19th. It was SO quiet up there, lots of trees and birds and leaves crackling audibly underfoot. i got nervous every time i walked above a street crossing because the auto traffic would sound like a train coming.... it was a pretty cool walk, maybe a kilometer or so. the line opened up a little towards the end (a gated, long tunnel) and there were tennis courts on the side, very charming. had to ask to be let out onto the street, nice obliging and slow moving old Parisian lady.

was going to pick up the line a few blocks ahead where it appeared to come out of the tunnel on the map - but it was dug into the ground about 50 feet at that point, and i'd had enough scrambling. Instead I layed down in the sunshine in the little park i found myself in.... probably fell asleep for 5 minutes again, very refreshing :). it really was quiet enough that i felt safe - i looked around at a pigeon walking over leaves.

rather whiled away the rest of the day in studio posting barcelona story... went home with tony for blt's: very respectable even with our questionable stovetop. we didn't want to cook all the bacon, and bags are something we're lacking... thus the cup'o'meat of the title... ew! haha. evening reading and brainstorming and sleeping...mmm.... 

Statue of Liberty - in France tu jan 30

 


After I had seen enough of the Maison, I walked across the 16th and the river to find this other hidden piece of railroad. Sweet walk - residential streets, could see the Parisian Statue of Liberty from the bridge (nothing too impressive, just like ours only 1/4 of the size maybe... I actually thought it was just fine in it's smaller form. Beautiful day for a walk, tad cold, as it is here.... not at all minnesota cold, and only occasionally chicago-cold, but it's just warm enough to feel like you should be able to be out for hours at a time, and cold enough that it's not the most pleasant....

Citroen Park after the river, beautiful park in the middle of the car maker's office park - fantastic comparison with the park Monday, which was deliberately natural. This was determinedly artificial, concrete follies and lines and diagonals - i rather liked it though, it wasn't pretending, and had some great spaces. Grassy pavers too! ha. There were two large greenhouses with appealing tropical plants in them - got to go in, interestingly minimal structure, huge wood doors and beams in an otherwise suspended glass building. 

Tuesday Jan 31 - more Corb?!?

Being given a free day to um work on studio and not being terribly impressed with the area of our rail section, I went off to find another to compare it to and hit up a few sights on the way.....
My first stop was the pair of Corbusier houses who's visiting hours i'd missed the last time I stopped by.... Maisons Roche and Jeanneret. They were in a sleepy-quiet part of the 16th district, hidden away down a private alley. I got there a little before visiting hours, so I sketched outside in the cold - i'm getting better at it, fingers were still quite stiff by the time i was done. wanted to show a little how clean the corb buildings are compared to the more frilly Parisian houses were - perspective a little off, shrug.
Could only get into la Maison Roche - it's the corbusier headquarters for Paris besides, um more just a table full of information, at least it didn't detract. Interesting house, designed as a house/art gallery, bright lit spaces and indeed a fantastic promanade through the house. Door open into a large open room, one story at the entrance but opening up to three stories on each side, with openings - one side more private and the roof terrace, the other side the living room and libraries, with a pass connecting the two right above the main door. You could see so much of the rest of the house from any one point - appropriate for the art gallery aspect, and the house too i think. the interior sketch is of one staircase drawn from the top of the other side. fun house to visit, i was by myself at first, so cool, when more people came they really cared about being there so it wasn't so bad. lots of people sketching. 

Monday Jan 30 - Hobo Park

j/k... train got in just 45 minutes late this morning. Met studio at a cafe at 2:00 for a lecture and the revealing of our site... an abandoned rail line that winds around Paris. Kind of cool, kind of inconvenient and wierd for a resort hotel, which is what we're designing... we'll see, reserving judgement. fun walking around the area, the beginning of our section of the line was a tunnel in a gorgeous romantic-style landscaped park from the 1830s (Butte Chaumant) in an old quarry so there was bluffs and waterfalls and caves - it was very obviously artificial pretending to be natural, but the effect was pretty stunning. the lake/moat was iced over, wierd to see an ice fishing hole with green holly and other leaves around :)

the line was it's own little world, backs of all the houses too it, above and under streets without interfering. Good grafitti - i thought Paris's couldn't hold a candle to the vandal artistry of Barcelona, but those tagging this area were obviously more artistic.... very fun.

hmm grocery shopping... tony made potato salad....mmmmmm :)