April 23, 19:50 - The Good Life

      Sorry I haven't blogged in a while.  Florence has just sort of captured me.  The weather has been glorious and I've got myself a nice tan (burn) going on.  It was sort of gray and cloudy today, though, so we just spent a nice chill day at home.

     Here's what's been going on:
My roommate Audrey is from Quebec.  Audrey is adorable and is a chef in two Italian restaurants in Canada and she's here to practice her Italian.  She makes the most glorious food and it's always incredible to be coming home and smell the food while on the stairs and then walk in to find an amazing and delicious meal waiting for me.  We have a really nice system going on where we all sort of share groceries and cook for each other.  I've been experimenting with my cooking and although I have no idea what I'm doing (my method is just throw a bunch of stuff into a pan and see how it works out) I've been making some pretty yummy meals.  But I've got nothing on Audrey...
Daniela came to visit me!  She came on Wednesday and got lost on the way to my apartment from the train station and Steve and I were mildly worried.  We chilled and explored and ate and yesterday Dani and I got up at the ungodly hour of 7:15 to get to the Accademia by 7:45 to get in by 8:30.  We were lucky/smart because by 8:30 when it opened, the line was around the block.  The main attraction of the Accademia is definitely the David.  I thought I knew what to expect, but pictures just cannot do him justice.  The David is huge!  And it is definitely the most exceptionally lifelike sculpture I've seen.  I am absolutely blown away by the details of the veins in his arm and the beauty of his chest muscles.  I was just in awe.  But I forgot my eraser at home!  So when I sat down to draw him, I could only do really rough sketches because I couldn't erase...  Such a bummer.  There's quite a bit of 14th century paintings, which aren't really my thing.  The people are disproportional and children are just miniature people and faces are all blank and similar.  It feels like painters just hadn't really gotten into the groove in the 1300's.
In class on Monday and Wednesday I drew models, which I feel so spoiled doing, because it is rare and heavenly to just be able to draw an unmoving person for two hours straight.

Yesterday I finished my oil painting, which I like alright, but it's tough to paint with oils.

Yesterday Dani and I went and sat by the river and read and tanned and it was SO hot and we both got super sunburnt hahaha.  It's so beautiful down there...

The other night we went to a free concert at Santa Croce and it was absolutely packed.  Everyone was saying that Lady Gaga and Eminem were going to be there, but we left sort of early because the entire piazza was standing room only and it was all Italian artists we didn't know.  Perhaps by leaving early I missed a free Eminem show, but I really hope not.

Audrey just made us an incredible meal.  Chicken stuffed with mozzarella and basil, mashed potatoes and fresh salad... mmmm.  I am way too lucky having a chef as a roomie.  Tomorrow is Easter and we're supposed to go check out a parade that goes from Santa Croce to the Duomo and at noon there is supposedly going to be a fireworks show.  We don't know what to expect from Florence on Easter... maybe it will be a ghost town.

April 16, 13:36 - Molto Bene

      It's 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon and I'm just chilling.  The weather's gotten a little better but it's still freezing in the apartment.  Starting on Monday or Tuesday it's supposed to be up in the 70's all week!  Yay!  I need me some sun.  I slept in this morning, skyped with Nat, and Sharef (one of my roommates) is going to cook some Israeli food this afternoon.  It's fun chilling with these Israelis all the time.  There are nearly always one or two of their friends over, and so our kitchen is just filled with big hairy Israeli boys in their underwear listening to music and singing and talking in Italian and Hebrew and Arabic.  I was nervous before I met them, but they are so sweet.  We can't communicate very well because neither Mohammad or Sharef speaks English very well and I know about 20 words in Italian, so there's a lot of charades and talking to each other like we're deaf.

       I haven't been indulging too much in the food.  I had pizza yesterday (so good), some gelato, and a kebab for dinner.  I was planning on going to Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria di Fiore (crazy long names here) this afternoon, but I'm down for some Arabic food, so I'll just go tomorrow morning.
       It's interesting how quiet it is.  When I walk down the street, it feels rather hushed.  Firenze feels like less of a city than Paris, and more of a tourist destination.  I haven't done much exploring, because everything I need is literally within 8 minutes of walking.  It's also been physically uncomfortable to be outside because it's been so damn cold.  When the weather heats up, I'm going to walk all down the river and get hopelessly lost and see some more of the city.  It's so adorable here, though.  All the streets are windy and uneven and flanked by tall, light-colored buildings and it just feels so Italian.  Paris architecture was breathtaking and extravagant and detail-oriented.  Buildings here (with the exception of incredibly ornate masterpieces like il Duomo) are simple orange or white stucco with green wooden shutters and red tile roofs.

The view from my apartment

        I feel so relaxed here, taking naps almost daily, eating yummy food, making art.  The nightlife is pretty happening, though.  If you're around the Duomo at night it's tourist central, but the area around my apartment is pretty happening.  I went out dancing with my Israelis, some Ecuadorians, a Swede, and a Dutch dude the other night, which was really fun.  It's sad how America has no chivalry, no romance.  "Dancing" at home is either awkwardly bouncing in place or grinding.  Europe is just so much better!
        Yesterday in class I started an oil painting, which was hard.  Oils are definitely not my go-to medium, and the teacher says it's going well, but I'm doubtful.  We'll see how it turns out when I put on another layer.  I also found out that while my classes are from 3-5, it just means that the teacher is there for those hours.  I can come in whenever I want and draw or paint.  The school is such a cool space, cluttered with in-progress paintings and drawings and sculptures everywhere.  Some of the art is incredible.  I get really inspired when I'm there.  I'll take some pictures of my pieces soon.

An unfinished drawing from class the other day

         Don't really know what else to say... Just chilling in Firenze!  I don't know why, though, but I just don't feel the same connection I felt with Paris.  Maybe I just haven't explored enough...

April 13, 20:07 - Firenze!

      So I spent two more days in Paris (what a bummer...), and ended up spending one night at a little hippie hostel called Woodstock Hostel.  It was easy peasy, except for this one woman who snored more loudly than I thought was humanly possible all night long.  I barely slept and while at first her snores were humorous, by like 4 am I was ready to throw something at her.  My last day in Paris was kind of depressing.  It was freezing cold, I was very tired, and I didn't really have anywhere to go.  I wanted to nap, but it wasn't warm enough to lie down in a park and I felt sort of lost.  I went to Musée Rodin again, but for some reason I just wasn't inspired.  I tried to draw Le Baiser but gave up after about 20 seconds because I just didn't want to draw.  I sort of walked around Paris shivering and killing time before I could go to the train station.  I don't know why, but it felt like Paris didn't want me anymore.
      I got to the train station with time to spare and sat in a café in some sun and said goodbye to France.  Then I loaded up on the train, made friends with one of the Italian train workers, and took off.  As we shot by Parisian suburbs (very cute) and then more open fields and forests, I sort of started to cry.  I was really not happy to be leaving Paris but also ready at the same time.  I had a fun overnight train ride in which I befriended a bunch of Italian train employees and got free stuff from the train restaurant and got to go to the special off limits employee areas.  I also met a Swede who lives in New York who has been backpacking around Europe since October and we adventured and broke rules and jumped off the train when it stopped just to feel the thrill of "what happens if the train takes off without us."  I woke up this morning after maybe two or three hours of sleep (too much adventuring) and watched 20 minutes of Italian scenery go by before we arrived in Florence.  I stumbled zombie-like off the train and bee-lined it to a bar (bars in Italy are for coffee and snacks, not alcohol...) and got a super strong little cafe and a croissant.  Then I caught a taxi to the school and waited there for about three hours for someone to direct me to my apartment, but the lady in charge of accommodation had an appointment and nobody really knew what was going on.  Finally I met the landlord out front of the apartment and he very chivalrously carried my very heavy suitcase up five flights of stairs.  My apartment is adorable with a great and very Italian view.  I'm staying with two probably 20 year-old Israeli boys here learning Italian.  They seem nice, but don't speak much English and I don't speak much Italian.  It also turns out that the shower is temperamental when it comes to temperature, so it randomly switches from freezing to burning to off to on.  And the shower door doesn't close.  Not so fun.  But I did take a shower, made some pasta that I found in the kitchen, and took a nap.
      Then I went to the art school, which is about an 8 minute walk from the apartment.  I didn't know what to expect at all, but I was greeted with an open easel and a 2-hour pose with a model.  I honestly don't know what could be better.  I had forgotten how much I love figure drawing.  I'm not the best in the class, but I'm certainly not the worst.  This one guy next to me basically created a masterpiece... but I wasn't that far behind him in the scheme of things.  I learned a new shading technique that I had never used before and now love.  It was so relaxing.  I only have classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 2 hours and the rest of my time I can spend exploring and going to museums and doing whatever I want.  Friday we'll be painting a model with oil paints, which should be harder for me but very interesting.  It's going to be very helpful to have this formal instruction and a formal situation in which to experiment.  Then, after class, I walked around and got pretty lost but just kept walking until I found the Duomo (my apartment is nearby).  I went grocery shopping and then came home! 
       I've realized, though, that my power adapter from Spain, which worked in France, does not work here.  I don't really know where to get another one... and I have 10 minutes left of battery on my computer.  I'm a little worried about that.  Hopefully I'll find one tomorrow.  I think I'm going to go out and have some dinner (splurge a little bit on my first night in Italy) and maybe some gelato :)  The food here is going to be the end of me.  I'll come home from Senior Project completely obese.
       So far, though, I really like it here.  It's much more quiet than Paris, but it is alive.  The architecture is more simple, but so Italian and quaint.  It's not that warm (actually really cold in the shade), but when you look out over the city in the sun, it seems like paradise.  Italian men aren't proving to be exceptionally creepy, but they're still European, so quite a few catcalls.  It just feels calm and still here, which is kind of nice after the bustle of Paris.  God I miss Paris, though.  So much.

April 10, 20:47 - Just Kidding

      Well, I missed my train this evening to Florence.  I lugged my [very heavy] suitcase through the metro across Paris and got to the train station with time to spare and then I couldn't get my ticket out of the freaking machine because I don't know.. it was all in French and it just wouldn't work.  So I had to wait in line and by the time I got to see a person the train had left.  Turns out... the next train I can get on leaves Tuesday night.  So I get two more days in Paris!  I'm not exactly devastated, just a little miffed.  Heather has more guests coming tomorrow so I'm hopefully going to stay with the Dumkes on Monday night.  If I can't stay with them, I'll stay in a hostel for a night, but I'd prefer not to.  I had to email the school in Florence and let them know that I'd be two days late for my classes and for the apartment.  Also, my phone is out of money, so I can't call anyone and all of the Tabacs are closed because it's Sunday.  And I'm out of metro tickets.  I was definitely all set to be leaving Paris, so now, with only two days, I'm kind of discombobulated.
       Today, as my "last day" in Paris, Joji and I got up early (9:30 am) and went to the Catacombs.  It was creepy and dark and wet and just as I thought it would be.

We pretended to get sacrificed

       After we left the Catacombs (89 teensy little winding steps), we caught the metro back to our neighborhood and got some yummy pastries.  I haven't been buying pastries at all, and I decided that on my last day I should indulge.  Then we went back to the apartment and I packed.  Heather and I went for a walk and got some yummy quiche, then I said goodbye to her and I bought some brie and a baguette and got all ready to leave.  I listened to French music and - in complete honesty - I cried.  Then I lugged myself and my suitcase across Paris just in time to miss my train!
      So now I am without a phone, sitting at the apartment, all packed up and wondering what to do with myself on a Sunday night when everything is closed.  But I can't lie... I'm not exactly depressed to still be here!

April 9, 23:00 - Awesome Last Night

       I'm writing this sitting at a café close to the apartment having just finished up some delicious steak and frites.  The reason I am eating alone at a café by Pigalle is that I'm locked out of the apartment and I'm weating for Razvan or Heather, whoever calls first.  Today's been interesting.  We woke up late and ate some delicious pain perdu with strawberries and bananas and syrup.  I was super unambitious and didn't leave the house until 13:00.  Then I took the metro to Place de Vosges. 

It was sooo sunny and beautiful!

           I sat in the incredible sun for about three hours drawing a building.  It was kind of lonely, though, because I was surrounded by groups of friends and couples.  This city is definitely meant for lovers.  The sunshine and the beauty and the food just weren't as good without someone to share them with.  But, I know that if I was with people I wouldn't have been drawing, which is why I'm here.  Being alone is essential to spending hours drawing one immobile object.  So then I went and got a falafel pita and some lemonade and came back to paint the building.  I was satisfied with the end product, not blown away or anything. 

        Then I lay in the remaining sun listening to reggae and it was great.  When the sun went behind a building I got up and walked for a while.  I got some raspberry and lemon ice cream and walked down by the Seine.  I strolled in the sun for probably 40 minutes and then saw a bunch of people sitting down by the water watching the sunset and drinking and eating and smoking. 

You can see La Plage (where everyone chills) on the right

         I met some cool people and went on an adventure to a supermarket across the Seine through "les toilettes de St. Michel," this sketchy area under a bridge right by St. Michel where... well the name gives it away.  But the people I met spoke no English and I could barely understand their French.  They were definitely some of the most stilted, non-comprehensive conversations I've had.  It was nice to meet new people and not be alone for once.
       Then Razvan called and I went to meet him, realized I was locked out of the apartment, and sat down for the dinner where I still am.  He's MIA, surprise, surprise.  It's my last night in Paris and I'm eating dinner alone!  I can't go out by myself because it would just be inviting a night of  harassment.
        Ugh, I don't want to leave Paris, especially with this as my last night!

April 8, 22:05 - Architecture!!

        I guess, if for nothing else, this project has been useful: I've discovered architecture.  I honestly never knew that I was interested in buildings or bridges.  Yet I have fallen completely in love with Parisian design.  I'm legitimately becoming interested in architecture as a profession.  I can't stop staring at the details put into every building, the delicate railings on every window, the arches, carvings and lines in the façades of museums and churches.  I came here for figure drawing!  And don't get me wrong - I still love drawing people and sculptures and paintings.  But the buildings!  Unfortunately, I'm having to work on building up my patience, because while I can draw a sculpture in 30 minutes, it takes hours to draw a building.  I've always prided myself on my ability to draw straight and parallel lines, circles, and symmetry, and I'm really putting it to the test. 

Today I got kicked out of le Cité de l'Architecture because I took so long drawing a window!
        I'm fascinated by Gothic architecture, but I don't have the patience or talent to draw every little detail.

        Thanks to an inspiring someone, I've been paying close attention to glass ceilings, which are proving to be a sort of transition to urbanism and modern architecture.  I love the combination of old (Gothic or 17th century or so) buildings with modern glass ceilings:

Cité de l'Architecture

Musée d'Orsay

I'm realizing how much soft light these ceilings add to a room or a building, and I love it!

        Yesterday at the Louvre, I stumbled onto a room full of sketches by Pietro de Cortona, the man who designed the façade of the Louvre.  Even his architectural blueprints (actually like redprints) were just those... blueprints... they were so beautiful to me.  He also had amazing figure drawings.  They inspired me so much; I've always thought of art as a low-priority hobby in my life, and now I'm starting to think seriously of a way that I could have art be my legitimate profession.  Wow, I like the idea of architecture so much more than something like communications in international business.  Even if I don't become an architect, I still find de Cortona's sketches of columns and ceilings heartbreakingly beautiful.  The way he adds subtle touches of watercolor to provide depth... *sigh.*

Oh my God, I want to do that.  Honestly, in my heart, I want to do that.  (This was the one photo I could take before I got yelled at, "No picture, no picture!")

        That sketch is so gorgeous to me with its delicacy and detail, yet simplicity.  I love 17th and 18th century architecture, especially in Paris.  I'm excited to be able to look closely at Italian architecture in Florence.  It should be different but still incredible.  Maybe more like this?

        I bought a compass today to draw all of the French arches better.  I wish I had all sorts of architectural tools, but I've been using straightedges and depending on my decent ability to draw parallel lines.  If only I had hours every day to spend getting the building proportions perfect :(  I only have two days left in Paris!  Jesus, I can't believe that.  Just this moment remembering and typing that, I felt my soul die a little, a physical crushing inside my chest.  It's not fair.  I want to go to Florence, but not yet.  Why did I have to fall so in love with this place?  It's so bittersweet.  I guess it means I will have to come back and study here... maybe architecture at La Sorbonne?

April 7, 19:30 - Contemporary (Art?)

         Today I went to the Pompidou to look at some contemporary art for the first (and most likely only) time.  I kept an open mind and I was even interested by a few pieces, but I can't lie - I am so not into modern art.  Some of it is laughable, some is a little creative, and most of it is just uninteresting to me.  I truly feel awe and joy and sadness when I look at paintings by Botticelli, da Vinci, Caravaggio, Carrucci, Regnault, or Giovanni Pietro Rizzolo.  I get physically captured by Bouguerean's Dante et Virgile aux Enfers.  I actually get pretty depressed when I examine sculptures by Michelangelo, Rodin (God I love Rodin), or Bosio, because their work is so exquisite and takes so much talent.
        This, on the other hand, inspires nothing in me:

       


         Let's take a look, shall we?

Laughable...

Same material, same ability to make ripples and smooth surfaces... I guess I can respect the contemporary one, but I just don't understand

Ha...ha...ha

It makes me sad

           I don't know... I tried.  I spent about 3 hours at Pompidou studying contemporary art.  I couldn't even bring myself to take pictures of the entire floor of cubism, because I'm so unbelievably uninterested.  Hate me if you like, but I just don't like Picasso's work.  Cubism = mehh.  I feel like classic artists had/have so much more talent.  I personally don't think that an entire canvas painted black or some strangely shaped furniture deserves the same respect.  I suppose if contemporary pieces makes you feel something or inspires something in you, then they are art.

           Here are a few that I did enjoy:

Soul trainnnn

Not sure why, but I felt emotions when I looked at this.  Boom.  Art.

This doesn't require a ridiculous amount of skill, and perhaps it's just media/culture brainwashing me, but I do like Andy Warhol...

So there we go.  I love classic art from the 16th, 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.  I love the Renaissance, I love Romanticism, I love sculptures by the masters.  I just am not very inspired by modern art.  I'm utterly uninspired by cubism.  I have put my opinion on contemporary art onto the internet.  Part of me expects furious internet-ites to attack me, but hey, why else would you have a blog?

April 6, 23:27 - Love, Eat, Love, Paint, Love, Love, Love

           I had no idea how accurate my blog title would be.  I am eating yummy and simple French food while I'm out and delicious, healthy, vegetarian food with Heather and her family.  I'm drinking great coffee.  I'm painting and drawing whenever I feel inspired, which is almost all the time!  And I feel like I'm falling in love even more every day.  I am having the quintessential European experience.  During the day I wander around under blooming trees in 27 C temperatures (the weather today was incredible), I browse museums all the while sketching pieces that inspire me, I lounge on giant manicured lawns with Europeans eating sandwiches, I sit at cafés drinking coffee and drawing anything in sight, and I fall more and more deeply in love with Paris.
          I don't know how I'm going to leave.  I might never go home.  I'll skype in my Senior Project presentation and just live in Paris forever.  There are certain ways the trip could be more perfect, but those are very few.
         Two days ago I spent about 7 hours at the Louvre with Joji, Heather's son, and we marveled awestruck at the sculptures.  I actually got rather depressed at the Louvre, because those sculptors have some God-given power that I can't comprehend.  They can chisel exquisite beauty out of stone and make marble look like veins pulsing under skin or like the wrinkles under one's toes. Joji and I got beauty overload...
         Then yesterday I waited in horrendous lines for the Musée d'Orsay and was again awestruck by the beauty there.  And somehow Tate found me in the gigantic museum!  I was leaning up against a railing scouring the crowd for him and all of a sudden there he was next to me.  Yay!  I spent the afternoon with him and Kim (who is pretty much Tate in older female form) and we walked around adorable little streets, had crepes avec nutella and felt very touristy while we visited the Notre Dame and took pictures.
         Today I went to the Petit Palais, which was much calmer than the Louvre and Orsay and was beautiful, but didn't blow me away quite as much.  I had an amazing lunch lounging on the meadow in front of Hôtel des Invalides with Razvan.  Then I sat on a little bench at this lovely little park next to the Grand Palais called Le Jardin de la Vallée Suisse and drew and wrote and thought for a couple of hours, first in the blazing son and then in the delicious shade.  God, it was really hot today.
        I know I keep saying it, but I LOVE Paris!  There's no way I'm not coming back in the very near future.  Or just not leaving.  Either way.  Preferably the latter... Ahhhh how am I so lucky?

April 1, 24:45 - Pretty Chill Day

       I did no art today :/ I slept in until 11:20 on accident and then went and met Julianna!  Hung out with her all day and then Katie, Julianna and I went to dinner and ate loads of steak and fries at Entrecôte.  Oh yeahhhh, French food omnomnom.
       I did buy a prime little pocket set of watercolors and a smaller notebook so I don't have to lug around my big bag.  Tomorrow my plan is to complete like 3 quicker drawings/sketches, to maybe get back to that café to watercolor my drawing of the building, and to spend at least 2 hours at le Musée Rodin.  Then go out with Julianna after she gets back from being hardcore and running in Belgium.

      I made this last night:

        I guess I was inspired by Shiele, but I couldn't bring myself to get quite as messy/creepy as him, so I just vigorously drew with wax oil pastels.

        Oh! And I was approached on the street again by a French man asking me out, but this guy Julian was actually pretty cute and charming and attempted no molestation.  Who knows, maybe he'll call...

March 31, 19:20 - I Love Paris

         I had a lovely, relaxing morning, then Heather and I took the bus to her studio. I bought a phone and some watercolor crayons, some erasers, and a black pen. Then I headed off to the Palais de Tokyo to accomplish what I couldn't yesterday due to the creeper.  But I paid 5 euros to go see a very pretentious exhibit which consisted of a sort of construction site downstairs in the Palais filled with a series of very obscure French films about the Holocaust being played on rough concrete walls and on tarps and such. I honestly did not get the message whatsoever - maybe because I couldn't understand the French in the films, but more likely because the exhibit was far too pretentious for my mind to comprehend. There was one film of just Natalie Portman crying with French poetry set to music as the audio. I don't get it...
         Then I set off again, not willing to pay more money for more [possibly pretentious] exhibits. I walked through the Parc du Champs de Mars, which was absolutely gorgeous oh my God. It had been raining this morning, so everything was green and fragrant and the trees were blossoming and there were adorable little French children playing and I wanted to sit there for hours. But I was also really hungry. So I kept walking. I found a restaurant and sat down outside for a café au lait and some pommes frites. 4 hours later, I am still here. I started drawing this building across the street with the Eiffel Tower behind it and I got consumed by the details. I just couldn't stop drawing it.
        The waiters and I made friends and they keep coming by to check my progress. Tourists pointed me out to their spouses and I can imagine them saying, "Ooh look, honey, there's an artist!" and I got lots of compliments in French, which is pretty cool.

It turned out kind of funky... I'm definitely not doing the building justice.

I think I'll go back tomorrow to paint it.

         One thing I've noticed is that the French are dedicated to beauty.  They focus more on the aesthetic than Americans by far.  Every building has such intricate detail and the people are so fashionable.  I'm seeing beauty everywhere in a way that I don't at home.  I love it here so much.  If I could just stay here and get super pro at French and just be really cool and artistic, I would in a heartbeat.  Ahhh I love Paris!

March 30 17:15 - Creepers Galore

            My first full day in Paris has been very strange.  I woke up feeling really sick with a terrible headache and a sore throat and I had no idea what to do today.  As Heather and I were heading to her studio, we had a run in with the most awful little boys.  They were probably 11 or 12 and the children of immigrants.  They were smoking and being really loud, and one came up to me and wouldn’t leave me alone, saying “I love you” and other things in French.  I kept an eye on my bag and pockets, but it turns out that wasn’t what he was after – I figured that out when he reached over and grabbed my boob.  I wanted to slap him but I just grabbed his wrist and said “No!”  He and the rest of them kept touching my butt and reaching under the bus stop to grab all the women’s ankles and essentially terrorizing the bus stop.  They were freaky little monsters, super confident and clearly not responsive to authority.

            We took the bus to Heather’s adorable little studio and she gave me some art supplies.  I took off to spend the day exploring.  First, I walked down to the Seine and walked along it.  Right below the Eiffel Tower, I went down to the edge of the Seine and sat about a foot away from the water and drew the Pont d’Iéna for like 3 hours.  I felt rather cool with my leather jacket sitting there with my sketchbook and pencils.  The drawing came out decent… not excellent, but I like it because it’s my first drawing in Paris.  I then walked around some more.

            As I was walking to the Palais de Tokyo, this man came up to me and started a conversation.  He kept walking with me and I didn’t know French well enough to politely make him go away.  He got progressively more touchy-feely and kept trying to hold my hand and put his arm around me and kiss my cheek, explaining that “Paris is a very romantic city” and “everyone in Paris does this when they meet people.” After I finally got away from him by going into the Palais, when I came out he was waiting for me.  When I lost it and just told him “Non!” because I didn’t have the words to say, “Please go away, I’m sorry, but I’m not interested,” he got really mad and yelled at me and stormed away.  Ugh, it was definitely one of the creepier experiences I’ve had.

            I’m now writing this as I sit at an outdoor café drinking coffee and eating croquet monsieur, this yummy toast with ham and cheese that happened to be the cheapest thing on the menu.  It’s been a very strange day, and despite the creepy molestations I’ve experienced, I am so excited to be in Paris.  I love, love, love it.  It is the perfect backdrop for my adventure as a pretentious artist :)

March 29, 20:04 - Le Jetlag

       Fast forward like 7 or 8 hours: I just woke up from a very deep 3-hour nap at Heather’s house. I arrived in Paris, got my suitcase and got into a taxi. I passed out during the 50-minute ride and was then relieved of 75 Euros by the taxi driver (who I think cheated me by driving around extra). I found Heather’s address, managed to get inside when a lady left and then managed to get inside the next locked door when another lady left. Then I dragged my suitcase up 6 flights of stairs with no idea whatsoever where the apartment was. I discovered that my French is not nearly as good as I thought it was, since nearly nobody could understand me when I tried to ask if they knew where she lived. Finally, when I was just about to have a jetlag- and low blood sugar-induced meltdown, Heather and her son Joji came through the door.

       Now I’ve woken up and the adorable little apartment is empty, it’s 8 in the evening and I probably won’t be able to sleep through the night. It’s raining outside and I’ve just realized that I didn’t bring any proper rain gear… oops.

       As far as pre-expectations, I was thinking Paris would be Romantic, with a capital R, beautiful, blossoming in springtime and welcoming for me. So far, I’ve been sort of free-balling it and I am very intimidated by Paris. I feel alone and like I don’t know what to do – tonight, tomorrow, or every day after that. Hopefully it will all come together, but right now I really feel like coming to Paris with no real plan and the expectation that “everything would work out” and “it would be incredible” was stupid and naïve. I have no art supplies and, in all honesty, no idea how to really paint. Maybe tomorrow I’ll just adventure around and sketch beautiful things. This is a beautiful, picturesque old neighborhood.

March 29, 13:20 - Mmm, Travel

I’ve just arrived at my gate in London Heathrow and I’m waiting for my final flight to Paris.  I’m not going to lie – I’m not feeling very awesome right now.  In Boise, I was informed by the lovely Alaska Airlines representatives that I wouldn’t be able to check my brand new set of art supplies, as it contained oil based paints.  So I had to go back to the car and rush to FedEx, just to find out that they wouldn’t send them either, and even if they would, it would cost about $300.  Conclusion: India sets off to Europe to paint without any paints, paintbrushes, pastels or palettes.  I then had a 5-hour layover in Seattle followed by a 9-hour flight to London.  I woke up with a sore throat, a pounding headache, that general sick achy feeling and the sorest neck I’ve ever experienced.  I got maybe two hours of painful, fitful sleep, and as I sit here at 1:12 pm in Heathrow, my body feels like it’s 6:15 am after a night of essentially no sleep.

Throughout security, my mood was lightened by the humor of just how European everyone is.  I’d forgotten the distinct Euro vibe that just cannot be found in America.  Men with expertly gelled hair, skinny designer faded jeans, scarves and murses (man-purses) pull Ziploc bags packed full of hair gel, moisturizer and cologne out to be scanned.  And all of the workers at security are pudgy and pale and remind me of those blokes from Sean of the Dead and Paul.

For me, British security workers = these guys from Sean of the Dead