Buses and The Champs -Élysées

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Trudy

I decided to try taking the bus today instead of the metro so I could see more of the streets of Paris. The bus map is a little intimidating, and rather confusing, but I am starting to figure it out. Wednesday’s life drawing class is in the evening, and although I am feeling quite comfortable walking about by myself in the daytime I don’t really want to be out at night, so no drawing class today.

I took the bus from my place to the Pont Neuf right beside the Louvre, popped inside for a quick visit to la toilette, (more on toilettes later…) and then walked towards the Tuileries.

Looking towards one wing of the Louvre.

These are the beautiful gardens just west of the Louvre. They even have an off leash area for dogs at the end closest to the Louvre. I can’t believe how many dogs, and all the big dogs that people have in this city.

I stopped for lunch at a cafe in the park, and then continued on to the far end of the Tuileries which is Place Concord. This is a huge square with an Egyptian obelisk in the centre, flanked by two identical ornate fountains.

There is so much to see here that it is hard to know where to look. Sometimes I just stand in one spot and slowly rotate, every direction I look brings some new amazing sight into view.

The end of the Tuileries and the entrance to Place Concorde, with the Eiffel Tower thrown in, as though there isn’t enough to look at here.

Soon I am walking along the Champs-Élysées and realize that Autumn is almost here, the leaves are beginning to change colour. It has been sunny and warm every day since I arrived, temperatures have been between 21 and 25 every day, so it feels very much like summer. I couldn’t ask for better weather.

The parks here are so very well maintained, and the flowers everywhere are magnificent.

There is an art exhibit along the street.

Many of the photos moved me to tears. War seems so very senseless.

This is the Grand Palais National Gallery, I check it out but it is a 30€ entrance fee! I don’t know what the exhibits are, I’ll have to see if it sounds worth such an expensive entrance fee.

One of the things I love about Paris are the incredible details, if one remembers to look. It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the grandeur of all these buildings, but when one looks closer there is almost always more to see..

And then even more to see. I think this beautiful mosaic frieze is probably not even noticed by many tourists.

Across the street is the Petit Palais, and it is free! It is a beautiful building full of beautiful art.

Checking out at a Rembrandt painting,

Taking a photo of the floor in the Petit Palais, it is all beautiful mosaics.

I decide I will come back here another day but want to continue my walk. I do stop for a much needed pot of tea in the museum cafe. It is a bargain at only 3€ and they are happy to supply more hot water to refill my pot. I do a few quick sketches of people while sitting in the cafe, and then head back out towards the Arc de Triomphe, along the very busy Champs-Elysées.

Yes, I was standing in the middle of the street to take this picture….but on a cross walk. The tree lined paths soon give way to very expensive shops. I walk into one of the shopping Galleries to have a look around.

Again, remembering to look for details..

And then there are the shop windows…

Notice the price for the tin of macaroons, 52€! I think there were 25 little macaroons in the tin.

There is a McDonalds on this very fancy street of shops! Bob and I stopped there for tea when we were in Paris several years ago, so I decided to stop and go sit upstairs overlooking the street just as we did before.

I finally make it to the Arc de Trimphe. It is in the middle of a very busy traffic circle so there is an underground tunnel to get to it. I was going to go to the top for a fee of 9.50€, but it was getting late and a bit hazy so I decide to save doing this for another time.

There was a remembrance ceremony happening so I stayed to watch for a while. It seemed as though family members were placing flowers in remembrance, not sure though. There were a lot of dignitaries and important looking people there too. This picture gives a good idea just how big this monument is.

Something must have been going on nearby because there were lots of sirens and seven or eight big Gendarmes paddy wagons type of vehicles came flying by, all in a row, along with several other police vehicles. I wonder what it was all about?

I find my way to the street with my bus stop and take a bus back to the Gare de L’Est, and then walk home. I am pretty tired, but had an interesting day.

I took so many more pictures, but I have to stop somewhere…..

An Interesting Model

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Trudy

I attended another life drawing session at noon today. Quite a different model from the one we had yesterday. Not exactly sure how to describe her, perhaps ‘earthy’? She made me think of some of the descriptions of models from the Impressionist’s time, many of them were dance hall women, or women of the street. She had that bit of crudeness to her, an awkwardness almost, and she scratched and shifted her body about in a way that most models do not. Even her wrap was rather tatty and not all that clean, and she wore big black boots with her flimsy sarong wrap during the breaks, quite the combination. Interestingly, she also seemed to be carrying on some sort of quiet conversation with herself, and would make rather strange facial expressions, as though in response to someone or something. She was certainly interesting to draw though. The first drawing is a 20 minute pose, the other three poses were 5 minutes each.

These stone steps at the Académie have seen countless footsteps over the years, wearing the stone away. I love this evidence of the past and all the artists who have been here before me.

I didn”t have the best drawing session today though, my body has been giving me a bit of grief and it was being particularly bad today. This morning I found an osteopath who speaks English, with the help of the internet. I used my new phone (for the first time) and made an appointment with her for later today. She was very nice, and has her Canadian citizenship, as she lived in Canada for ten years before deciding that she missed Paris and her friends and family. She worked on me for about an hour, so I am hoping to feel better soon. I will likely go back towards the end of the week for another treatment. I would love to be able to do two drawing sessions back to back, but have not felt up to doing so yet.

Coming home on the train from Giverny the other day, I actually got up the courage to draw one of my fellow travellers. The guy sitting beside me kind of watched what I was doing, and gave me a little smile when I finished.

The train ride was very smooth and quiet, a nice way to travel. While waiting on the train platform in Giverny, one of the high speed trains came flying by, and I do mean flying! It made me and several other people jump. I didn’t even hear it approaching it was moving so fast and by the time I figured out what it was, it was out of sight! Wow! I can’t even imagine travelling that fast. It was mind boggling, and there certainly was no chance to get out my camera for a picture!

I want to draw on the Metro too, but it is bumpy, and very busy, so I haven’t been brave enough to try. It is amazing how many people ride the Metro and how often the trains run. The most I have had to wait was three minutes, when I had just missed the previous train. Imagine, a train runs every two or three minutes on every Metro line in the city, and they are all full of people!

Back to the Académie

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Trudy

We had a fantastic model today! What a difference a model can make to the feel of a class. This lovely lady had such positive energy and beautiful poses. It was easy to see that she took this job seriously and that she enjoys modelling. I hope she sets the standard for Parisian models.

Waiting for class to start.

Easels and stools, supposedly the originals, the pot belly stove is for sure. I think the studio must get quite cool in the winter, the back wall Is very cold already. I was leaning up against it the first time I went and had to move; it was way too cold.

I desperately wanted to stay for the second session from 3:15 until 6:00, but I was just too tired. It can be a tad frustrating having a body that needs more rest than I think it should. I did buy ‘une carnet de douze séances’ today, this is a pack of tickets for twelve sessions. It is certainly much more expensive to draw in Paris than at home. At Harcourt House I buy a yearly membership for $25 and then a three hour drawing session costs $8.00! I alway thought that was a great price but I truly did not appreciate just how wonderful it really is. A package of twelve sessions here is 170€, which works out to $20.50 Canadian per session and a regular drop in session without a ticket is 18€, or $25.75 Canadian.

Here are a couple of sketches from today. The first is a five minute pose, the second a twenty minute one.

I stopped in to an art store across the street from the Academié, but just had a quick look around and decided I had better head for home. They had a good deal on some Canson papers in case I decide to work larger.

There were also some very nice Japanese watercolours in the window, but they were very expensive. The set with the twelve large pans is 282€!

It was so nice to come home to soup in the fridge and cooked apples for dessert. I definitely pays to do a bit of prep work every few days.

Monet’s Giverny

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Trudy

Today was a long but very enjoyable. My alarm was set for 7:00 and I was out of the apartment by 7:30, having organized everything last night. It is two metro rides to the St. Lazare station, which looks much as it did in when Monet painted it in 1877. It is the second busiest railway statin in Europe, after the Gare du Nord, and I found my way!

I just made it onto the train in time. Turns out my watch was more than ten minutes slow! Soon I was in Vernon, found the bus to Giverny and a short ride later, arrived at Givernry.

It is a magical place, with a profusion of flowers, all shapes, colours and textures. Monet didn’t like an organized or constrained garden. He planted according to their colours, and let them grow as they wished. As it is late in the season everything is mature and many of the plants towered several feet over my head! It is quite the sight. The paths have all but disappeared, even the big wide path under the arched rose arbours is almost completely covered in Nasturtiums. The dahlias are numerous and exquisite, so many different colours and shapes of petals.

I’m afraid my pictures don’t do it justice. I am having computer problems tonight, very slow connection and then a couple times things just disappeared, rather frustrating.

The garden is very different in each of the seasons so it would be lovely to see it in the Spring… If you go to Giverny.org there is lots of information about the garden and the types of flowers shrubs and trees planted there.

The water lilies were in bloom and they slowly opened as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

Here is the view from the famous Japanese Bridge we see in so many of Monet’s paintings.

The house is so much bigger than I expected, it is 40 meters long but only 5 meters wide! There was no access to his two large studios on the property. Too bad, and I just realized when I was looking at the site that I mentioned that I somehow missed seeing the studio that was in the house! I can’t believe I did that! There was so much to look at. Oh well, I guess I will have to go back one day so I can check it out. Although there were line ups most of the day, I managed to visit the house at a time I could just walk right in.

I tried a little watercolour sketch, but it wasn’t the most successful. I usually work in pastels when using colour so this was a bit of a challenge.

Made it home but witnessed a lot of yelling by a young woman on the escalator at the St. Lazare station. There were a lot of people around and she seemed to be arguing with at least one man. I was going down as she was going up, but people looked upset, not sure what it was about. In any case, I was glad to get home and into my apartment with no problems.

I just got an email that someone didn’t get the last two days posts. No idea if this just happened to her or to anyone else? You can check at trudymason.com. I have been posting every day and hope to continue to do so.

Quiet Saturday

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Trudy

I had planned on going back to the Académie again this afternoon, but ended up sleeping in and it would have been much too rushed. Between missing one night’s sleep while travelling and getting to sleep so late all this week I was overtired. I decided to stay put today and get organized for the coming week.

So I now have a big pot of vegetable chicken soup, a bowl of yummy quinoa, avocado, and veggie salad and another of cooked apples and raisins. I have been eating only anti-inflammatory foods for the last 20 months and it has made quite an improvement in my health. It does present a few challenges while travelling as I am not able to eat gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, corn or peanuts. Sigh, no croissants or pastries for me, but I can enjoy a piece of dark chocolate, so that is my treat.

I had a relaxing day, chatted with my daughter and husband, and figured out the logistics for taking the train to Giverny tomorrow . Giverny is the home of Monet’s studio and gardens, the ones that inspired his famous water lily series of paintings. I thought I better go there while the weather is so nice, so that is where I will be tomorrow.

Here are a couple pictures of some of the sketches I did yesterday. Sure wish I had a scanner…. but these will have to do.

I drew on seven pages in one of my new sketchbooks and hope to have it full by the time I return home.

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Trudy

I went to my first drop in life drawing session today at the Academié de la Grande Chaumière. The Academié was founded in 1902, and nothing much has changed in the studios since then, the original easels, stools and pot belly stove for warmth are still there. No cameras allowed in Life drawing studios but I snapped this quickly before the class started. I’ll take more the next time I am there.

It was quite amazing to be drawing in this historical studio. Modigliani, one of my favourite artists drew here often, who knows, maybe sitting on the same bench as I was. The benches and stools are terribly hard on the bottom, perhaps I need a little pillow! Unfortunately the model was quite uninspiring. She was nice enough but had no energy and quite boring poses. Quite a few people left halfway through so I am hoping this is unusual; but you know it didn’t really matter, it was still a great afternoon. I’ll post pictures tomorrow as I need daylight to take the best photos of drawings. They are a bit hard to photograph, scanning works much better, but alas, no scanner.

Thanks to my dear friend Christine, I now know how to access the French key board and add accents. I didn’t know that they do not use the same letter arrangement on their keyboard as we do. Good thing I don’t have to use a French computer, way too many typos would be happening.

I love people watching here, and wish I had a camera built into my glasses so that I could snap pictures of the interesting people I see! I took this one of a lady dressed all in red through the Metro train window after I got off, and she looked up just after I snapped the photo; our eyes met and she smiled.

This fellow was practicing his skills beside my neighbourhood skate park. I stop there every night on the way home to watch for a while. I love the way the older boarders encourage the little ones, and some of them are very little, maybe five or six years old. There is also a protocol for whose turn it is next and there is a lot of encouragement and congratulations given when someone pulls off a good trick, even for the little ones. I am starting to recognize the regulars and I hope they are getting used to me watching as I would like to sit and draw them one day.

Skateboarding is very popular here, and it is quite common to see a boarder or two, or three, flying down a hill in the middle of the road with all the cars! All ages too, even some grey haired oldies.

I went to the Louvre for a couple of hours before I went to life drawing, but only did one very mediocre drawing of a sculpture. I think it will take a couple of times to feel comfortable drawing here, and to figure out the best places to sit. There aren’t too many benches or chairs placed in good positions for viewing pieces for drawing, and the marble floors are very hard. Hmmmm, maybe I really do need a little pillow?

I saw this window display yesterday. anyone want to buy a machine gun, or maybe a hand grenade? Certainly not something I would ever see back home!

The sun was shining on my apartment building when I came home. I am on the fourth floor, (called the 3rd here). It is the apartment with two flower boxes on the windows, two stories above the top of the truck. Take note of the graffiti on the delivery truck, a very common sight.

I was really tired coming home tonight. I do love the Metro, most of the trains arrive every three or four minutes and quickly whisk you away to your destination, such an easy way to get around a city. Sometimes entertainment is even provided, as with this ‘oom pa pa’ group.

I made a yummy supper wrote my blog post and I am off to bed.

Adjusting

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Trudy

It appears I need to remain a night owl, as the residents in my building come and go until the wee hours and the walls are fairly thin. I am such a light sleeper that it is 2:00 am by the time it settles down enough for me to be able to sleep. I’m hoping that this will improve or that I will learn to tune it out.

I decided that a quieter day was I order as I have a bit of a froggy throat and perhaps the beginnings of shin splints. Nothing serious but all the walking and climbing all the flights of stairs takes a bit of getting used to.

I went for a short walk that somehow turned into a long one. It is just so darn tempting to see what is around the next corner, or a bit further down the street. I watched a boat use the locks on the Canal St. Martin, along with a large group of Japanese business men, all in suits and ties. It sounded like they enjoyed watching it as much as I did.

I was looking for a stationary store so I could buy a highlighter for my map and it took a bit of doing, but I saw so many other interesting stores along the way, like this little book shop.

There are book stores on almost every street and I found a really neat one today with a lot of different art and design books. Too bad all the ones I like are so big and heavy.

Sometimes my family teases me about packing all the little things that I think I might need on a trip, but this guy at the Gare de l’Est definitely has me beat!

I have never seen anyone travel with a TV before!

Sorry about not putting the proper accents on words, for some reason the IPad just won’t let me do it. Anyone know how? I tried holding the key down and the options pop up but nothing happens when I click on them.

I did pick up tickets for Giverny, Monet’s house and garden, and the train tickets to get there and back. It is about an hour outside Paris and I will try to get there in the next couple of days while the weather is nice.

I witnessed a rather unsettling event today, just south of the Gare de l’Est. A young man wearing a backpack had collapsed on the sidewalk and he was not moving at all. He appeared to be on his own, but some people were calling for help. It took at least ten minutes for the police and the ambulance to arrive; I heard their sirens as I came out of the nearby stationary store. He did not look very well at all, and it makes me wonder what happened. Also made me think a bit more about being on my own…

Actually one thing that is difficult when travelling alone is not having someone to share things with. I guess this blog is my antidote for that. I do miss sharing things with Bob and having him here to carry things for me! My bag seems to grow heavier as the day progresses.

Thank you to everyone who has sent emails or left comments left on the blog. I really enjoy hearing from everyone.

Bonne Nuit, Trudy

Cezanne, Degas, Picasso and Trudy

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Trudy

So what do we all have in common? We buy our art supplies at Senneliers, the oldest art supply store in Paris! It was founded in 1887: Cezanne bought his oils here, Picasso liked their grey pastels, and Degas was one of the first clients for their 700 colour range of pastels. I resisted buying any more pastels (I do have a rather extensive collection…) but I wanted to buy a sketchbook for life drawing sessions here in Paris. I ended up buying three instead of just one. What was I to do? They were all nice and I couldn’t make up my mind.

The display and storage counters are original and have a lovely patina of age. The store isn’t all that large, but it is steeped in history and packed with beautiful art supplies. This wall of dry pigment is stunning and so are these luscious giant soft pastels, but check out the price, almost $20 each!

Besides spending money on art supplies, I saved lots of money at the Louvre. With my permanent teacher’s certificate I was able to purchase a yearly pass for only 35€. The entrance fee is 15€ and I intend to visit often, so this is really quite a bargain. I wasn’t sure that the agent was going to accept my Certificate, but after a little discussion, in French, he decided it was OK. One of the best things about this pass is that I don’t have to wait in line to get into the Louvre. There is a special entrance for pass holders. This morning when I arrived the line up to get inside was wrapped around the pyramid all the way to the reflecting pond in the front of this picture and was three or four people wide. Once inside it is necessary to line up again to buy a ticket. I was able to go in another entrance to buy the pass, so I didn’t even need to line up today either. Yay!

I wandered around inside the Louvre for an hour or so and started to feel very tired and had a little cough and sore throat starting so I decided to head home early and get a bit of rest. Walking to the metro I found several streets that seem to be all Art Galleries, one after the other. I will have to return another day.

I crossed the Seine on the Pont Neuf, the bridge with the love locks (lovers attach a lock with their names on it onto the bridge and throw the key in the Seine). This is being discouraged as it pollutes the Seiene and puts a strain on the bridge structure due to the weight of all the locks. They are removed periodically, and today there were not as many as I have seen in some pictures. Then I saw one of the things I don’t like much about Paris, a man relieving himself in plain sight on the bridge! Not all the puddles here are from dogs…

Perhaps a few pictures of my apartment will give you a idea of the size of the average Paris apartments. Mine is 12′ x10′ with a 6′ x 3.5′ kitchen nook. It also has a little bathroom with a 2′ x3 ‘ shower that is actually quite generous by Parisian standards, for a total of about 170’ square feet. I saw an advertisement today for a similar looking apartment that was 23 square meters, or about 240 square feet for sale for 240,000€ or about $336,000 Canadian! Remember this is also not in the heart of Paris, but in the 10th arrondissment.

Luxembourg Gardens and St. Sulpice

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Trudy

Today was lovely, 22° and sunny with a light breeze. A great day for exploring and wandering about Paris.

I took the metro all the way to rue de la Grande Chaumiere which is where the life drawing sessions I want to attend are held. Turns out it is just around the corner from a metro station and it is very easy to get to, just one train all the way from the Gare de l’Est, which is about a ten minute walk from my apartment. I love the metro, it is easy and fast and offers such great people watching. The Academie was closed so I didn’t get any more information, but I will try to attend one of their sessions soon.

I decided to walk back and see what I could see, only there is so much to see that I barely knew where to look next.

I stopped to take a picture of of some brushes in a shop window that does art restoration along Boulevard Montparnasse and then headed towards the Luxembourg Gardens.

Oops, a bit blurry.

At Place Ernest Denis I found a great fountain with horse sculptures that caught my attention. I decided to draw, and settled down in a quiet corner, but soon the park was full of children playing after school. They were curious but didn’t approach until one brave little boy came over to see what I was drawing. I was then very quickly surrounded with about twenty children who wanted to see my sketch and asked questions and told me things, not all of which I understood. One little girl very knowingly said, “ah, vous etes Anglaise”, after I said something in French.

After finishing my drawing I strolled through Luxembourg gardens, remembering the last time I was here with Bob. We had a picnic on the grass just as so many people were doing today. Picnicking, reading, talking, playing cards, I even saw one man repeatedly lick his girlfriend’s foot! Not something you see everyday.

Parisians love their gardens and green spaces, I can’t believe how many people are out in them everyday, and the flowers are amazing.

I stopped to visit St. Sulpice, a very grand cathedral, and there was a little white heart on the ground just outside the door that seemed very welcoming,

I am truly in a state of awe when I visit these cathedrals. I touch the stone and wonder about all the people who have been here before me, perhaps touching this exact spot.

Then I turned around and saw this….

It was in a little side chapel called the Chapel of Holy Angels, that had three large Delacroix paintings, painted between 1855 and 1861. Just below one of these huge paintings there was a chair, illuminated by the late afternoon sun and it felt as though, just perhaps, an angel was present.

Taking Care of Business

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Trudy

I had a productive day, but not without it’s difficulties. After lunch I headed to the Gare de l’Est and managed to get my Navigo pass, but not at the office I was directed to yesterday. They sent me someplace else, but I was successful, and it was only the fifth place that I tried!

Pass in hand I boarded the Metro and headed towards Notre Dame area where the office to get my phone SIM card was located. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily I found my way on the metro, and soon I was standing in front of the correct address, but the office was closed. I did have a backup plan in place (I am starting to figure out how things operate here) so back on the Metro and I headed to the next address I had for a SIM card dealer. I found that one without too much difficulty, but they no longer sold the cards, so I set out for the third address, a place called Fat Tires Bike Tours. It seemed a strange place to buy a SIM card, and I was starting to feel a little bit desperate. My apartment is in the north east corner of Paris, and I was now in the south west part of the city.

One of the many windows with geraniums on my walk.

I was having a bit of trouble finding this place in spite of fairly good directions from the lady at the second store. I decided to try to buy a map as backup, just in case I got really lost. A car rental place sold me a Michelin map called Paris par Arrondissement but the street I needed was not in the index. The man selling the maps tried to help, and then another fellow looked up the address on his cell phone, so I at least had an idea of it’s vicinity.

After a long walk and retracing my steps a couple of times I actually found the place, and yes, they sell SIM cards and yes! they speak English! That was a relief, as I was running out of options.

Turns out the process is not an easy one. It took two very nice young clerks more than an hour to get me set up and they needed to use the chat line with someone at the online site. They were so kind, I don’t think I would have managed this on my own, especially with a brand new phone that I really don’t know much about. I gave them a generous tip for all their help, it was well worth it.

This building had beautiful tree carvings under the balcony, and then I looked up! This is one of the many things I love about Paris. Every street and every corner turned offers surprises.All this took over six hours! I was exhausted and finally stopped for a pot of tea and something to eat, only to discover that the kitchen was closed until 7:00, so I had a Lara bar with my tea and then headed home. I was too tired to try to get my pass for the Louvre, that will have to wait.

The street I turned onto after my tea break offered this view.

I stopped at three more stores looking for distilled water for my CPAP machine, but no luck. It takes a while to find out where to buy things in a city in another country, using another language. I must say that the Parisians that I have dealt with have been very kind, friendly and helpful. I am not sure if it is because I am speaking as much French as I can but I have yet to meet one rude or unkind person.

I have been a bit too busy and too tired to do any drawing in spite of carrying my sketch book with me, but today I chanced upon an art studio and they offer life drawing once a month on Sunday. The artist I spoke to said there are not many studios open to tourists, that the schools require you to be a resident to attend their life drawing session, so I was fortunate to find this one.

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