jill444's blog

I'm going to Dubai for Art Dubai but also because I've always wanted to go to see the insane architecture and islands that they are building like "The World." Here is a pretty crazy video of a building planning to be made in the next few years. They are calling it "Dynamic Architecture," or buildings that move. Pretty neat.

Cool Kid Julia Roitfeld aka daughter of Carine Roitfeld, Editor in Chief of French VogueI’m so excited for Paris! Basically, this class has given me time to research my study abroad site, encouraged me to read travel narratives, and opened my eyes to some great resources.

I’m a big planner and so this class definitely enabled me to make time to plan for Paris. I’ve made a list of big things I want to do while studying abroad and a list of fun little things to do when I wake up in Paris and don’t know what to do.

Big Adventures

Late January: Somehow get a press pass, pretend to be

Yvon's

assistant or, at worst, just sneak in to see the Chanel couture show.

Sometime in February or early March: Go to London. Eat authentic fish and chips, go to Top Shop, see Roni Horn at the Tate Modern, take photos of the punk street fashion.

March 17-21: Go to Art Dubai. Soak up and take tons of photographs of the beautiful architecture, brave the markets, and go skiing in a mall.

April 5: FINISH the Paris marathon and break my personal record!!!

April 11-26: Spring break in Barcelona and someplace else I haven’t yet decided. See Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia!

When the weather gets warm: Go to Versailles one Sunday and bike around the gardens.

June 10-14th: Go to Art Basel in Switzerland and take tons of photos and spot tons of art celebs.

Little Things To Do

Go to a fromagerie and ask for their three most famous cheeses.

Museums to hit up frequently: Louvre, Pompidou, Musee D’Orsay, Picasso Museum, Musee Rodin.

Go walk the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and window shop at the Christian Louboutin flagship store.

Find the original Chanel boutique.

Have tea and macaroons with a friend at

Ladurée

Louis Garrel - THE French guyIf you have ever dated a French guy, you have got to read “Almost French,” by Sarah Turnbull because she nails the social misunderstandings dead-on and you will consequently die a happy death from laughter. From the language barriers to their schoolboy humor to their old-fashioned albeit charming style, the Australian author hilariously describes falling in love with her Frenchie, Frederic. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Frederic rants and raves about how the English language makes no sense—I’ve heard this before. Another part I really like is when Turnbull tries to convince Frederic that the scarf he is wearing makes him look like he’s from a different century—again, been here.

The second half of the story is less about her romance and more about Turnbull’s struggle to make friends in Paris and integrate herself into society. Although it was a little scary to learn how mean the French can be to outsiders, how cold they are at times, how women pit themselves against each other, and how unreceptive to they are to making friends, I suppose it was good to prepare myself for some potentially unfamiliar situations.

I’ve always been more afraid of French women than men, Turnbull told me why in “Almost French.” Turnbull has a horribly frustrating time trying to make French girlfriends because at parties nobody is welcoming or seemingly interested at all in getting to know her, she is pretty much ignored. She finally meets a Frenchwoman, notably a woman who’s lived outside of France for long periods of time, that tells her that women in France think of each other more as rivals and the reason nobody talks to her at parties is simply that after forming strong friendships over the teen years, the French generally think they’ve “got enough friends already.”

Roni Horn aka Roni Horn at Tate Modern, London from Feb 25 - May 25, 2009I’m about to cry because I’m not at Art Basel Miami Beach, the American baby of Art Basel . The only condolence is that it is more about parties than art this year but, it’s still THE coolest American art fair /winter break party for those in the art world and instead I’m studying for finals. I remind myself that in June I’ll be able to go to the real Art Basel, the one in Switzerland and it will be all the same cool people and better art…it just seems so far off.

During my time studying in Paris, I plan to take advantage of a lot of major art fairs and art exhibitions in Europe and beyond. Below, I’ve made an itinerary for myself of the major contemporary art events I wish to attend, a brief description if needed, and when I believe I’ll be able to go see them.

January 19 – 30: workshop in Lang and Culture

February 1: classes start

January 30-Febuary 1: Tate Modern/ Tate Liverpool, London
Rothko AND Ideas Taking Space (ends Feb 1st)

February 14 -16: ARCO, Madrid
A pretty good art fair and in Madrid, a place I’ve never been.

February 27 – March 1: Tate Modern/ Tate Liverpool, London

Roni Horn

(Feb 25-May 25) or anyother weekend between those dates

March 18 – 21:

Art Dubai

Monsieur Alain DucasseI am very interested in gastronomy, the art of French fine dining and the science of gourmet food and drink. I know that the French take their food extremely seriously. For instance, buying a meal never consists of stopping in only one store because just about every food group has its own specialty store.

From reading “Almost French,” by Sarah Turnbull I’ve learned that the French are very concerned with the quality of every ingredient in a dish, that sauces are extremely important, and that health-food is not understood. Also, says Turnbull, the order of dishes served at dinner parties rarely varies from an appetizer with the

aperitif

, the main course, green salad, a cheese selection, and finally dessert.

Below, I’ve made a list of some dishes I should know:

Steak frites - steak and fries
Poulet frites - chicken and fries
Blanquette de veau - blanquette of veal
Coq au vin - chicken in red wine
Pot au feu - beef stew with mixed vegetables
Bouillabaisse - fish soup
Endives - Belgian endive
Boudin blanc - Delicate flavored sausage similar to bockwurst
Foie de veau - calf's liver
Andouillette - chitterling sausage
Foie gras - fatty duck or goose liver

Also, in “Almost French,” Turnbull describes a 6-star, the highest honor from the Michelin Guide, restaurant she has the privilege of reviewing called

Alain Ducasse

I had a lot of fun playing around with Google Maps. First, I made a very simple map indicating my apartment, some clubs I’ve been to, and a few other places I’m familiar with.

View Larger Map
Then, I used my boss’s list of her favorite Paris galleries and marked each on the map. Slowly, I began to see a pattern forming. When I completed the map, I realized that there are definitely distinct gallery neighborhoods that are very indicative of the type of gallery. A scene kind of equivalent to Chelsea can be found scattered around the Marais in a “V” type of shape. These are the most trendy and established galleries that mostly show contemporary stars along with some emerging talent. Then, there is a gallery neighborhood around the Champs-Elysees that all have permanent old masters collections. In the 6th arrondissment, there is a small cluster of other old master type of galleries, but these galleries are not really for the serious collector as the spaces are often selling antiques alongside the mediocre paintings. In the 13th arrondissment there is also a new cluster that has recently been sprouting up, these are the emerging galleries. These galleries clearly pay less money for their spaces and are working with virtually unknown artists but some of these galleries show a lot of promise and there is a certain buzz around this area.

I have had a lot of fun researching popular French music mostly because it seems that the French never take themselves too seriously. I found a washed-up pop star named Anggun, a mother’s favorite named Barbara Carlotti, a cool singer songwriter named Thomas Fersen, a comic singer named Fatal Bazooka, a popular rap group named TTC, and the star of the moment, Yelle.
Anggun is clearly a bit washed-up now but she had a few hits in 1996. She kind of reminds one of a French Jessica Simpson with decent voice, pretty face, and semi-decent dance skills. Her music is pretty catchy even if it is over-the-top poppy. One of my favorite songs of hers, “Just Etre Une Femme” is shockingly and funnily enough about a transvestite. It’s kind of confusing for me since I don’t understand French very well but even so, I don’t think the song makes much sense because she is actually singing from the prospective of someone that “just wants to be a woman.” Is Anggun a transvestite secretly? I think not, but translating the piece was quite funny.
Barbara Carlotti also doesn’t have the most amazing voice but it is kind of soultry. She is definitely a more serious singer songwriter and I bet she is pretty popular with moms around the country. I particularly liked her song, “L’idéal,” “Mademoiselle Gaossum,” and “Le Chant des Sirènes.”
Another singer songwriter I found was Thomas Fersen who has a really catchy song called “Deux Pieds,” or “Two Feet.” The song is basically about him, a lazy young guy, who has pissed off his girlfriend and who doesn’t really care. You can get a pretty accurate reading of how a lot of French guys act; easy going and indifferent when it comes to drama with girls.

I was trying to find out if there is a French equivalent to LOL (Laugh Out Loud) but it seems that the French must just use "hahaha." This website has a bunch of great translations of key short-hand text messages.

I’ve been reading the tidbit packed, history oriented, student budget friendly, “Let’s Go Paris.” A few things I like about the book so far is that they have an amazing list of restaurants by type of food, 50 plus pages dedicated to the rich history of Paris, and the most humorous and informative side comments.

Categories in the “Food By Type” section include late night food, trendy/intelligentsia, historic, vegetarian and vegan/detox. After breaking their top restaurants into this easy to read list, they go on to describe each restaurant, organized this time by arrondissement, and give insight into each place’s unique and notable qualities. As I know I’m going to be seeing a lot of the Pompidou museum, I read up on the restaurant it houses, Georges

Backpacks Aren't Chic Watching François Truffaut’s film, “Les Quatre Cents Coups” from 1959 I was taken back to Paris. The most nostalgic moment of the whole film for me was the opening clips while the credits were rolling. It was as if someone was gazing up at the sky while being driven through the city on the back of a Vespa. The camera lens, or the eye, follows the unmoving tip of the Eiffel tower as the scooter winds through the streets getting closer to the actual architectural marvel. This moment is perhaps the only point in the film where the director has deliberately played into the “eroticized gaze of the traveler,” as Tara Kolton puts it. Truffaut uses the excitement and romance evoked in tourists, or foreigners, to give the film an appealing jump start. It worked.

No matter how hard I try, the Eiffel Tower pops into mind when I think of Paris. However, for the most part, this is not what Parisians would like me to think of. I’m very aware of the fact that most Parisians detest the Eiffel Tower, think that is a phallic symbol of modernity, see it as defacing the beautiful city, and view the light shows as obnoxious and an annoyance. I first learned of this view point when I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time with a French boyfriend of mine. He totally popped my bubble and I ended up not even wanting to get off of the Vespa, much less climb it as I had planned.