its SUNday

This weekend I went to a pub and saw this kind of strange band from Bretagne (Brittany...in the north) who played like celtic/middle eastern fusion with lyrics in Breton. It was pretty cool but started to all sound the same after awhile. I had some authentic cider, but still would take Woodchuck any day.

Here's the bad-ass bartender who never changed his facial expression:



I saw Les Plages d'Agnes, an autobiographical documentary by/about Agnes Varda, a director during the French New Wave, wife of Jacques Demy (another New Wave director) and coincidentally one of the two directors I'm studying in my cinema class. It was pretty cute.

Today I found the most fantastic park that provided a much needed break from the entirely concrete city.

Bois de Vincennes:

Georges Pompidou is my favorite French President

French leaders like to outlive their presidencies/terms of office/reigns etc. Case-in-point: Louis XIV (in the form of Versailles).

I however much prefer the legacy of this man:


(Georges Pompidou: President from '69-'74)

He constructed a modern art museum, the Centre Beauboug (later named Centre Pompidou after his death).

I've been to this museum twice and am really anxious to go back. Today I went to la Bibliotheque Publique d'Information which is attached to the Centre Pompidou. It is the largest library I have personally ever been to, and it has everything my nerdy heart could ever desire. I was there researching Girodet's le Sommeil d'Endymion:



as well as a painting called le Portrait Presume de Gabrielle d'Estrees et une de ses Soeurs which is attributed to someone in the Fountainebleau School during the 16th century:



I found a good amount of information, and was really gratified that I was able to find anything in such a huge place...and was able to type on a French keyboard (I was really shocked when I went to type an "a" and a "q" showed up...).

Here are some pictures inside the libary:







Check out the queue...to get into a library!



Apologies, this post was really self-indulgent. Hope you enjoyed it anyways!

les concerts a emporter

This post is inspired by Mary, who resurrected my enjoyment of blogotheque.net.

I've already been to this area of Montmartre where Andrew Bird did this video

I actually took a picture of the cafe he starts out in front of:




So to add on to the lists of things to do I'm going to hunt down the locations of my favorite shows...

And really, REALLY hope I can see one in progress...the musicians in the Metro really don't cut it.

EDIT

Cocoon=Cutest french duo

Voyez vous-meme:

CLIQUEZ ICI

LIKE OMIGAH KANYE!

So most of you probably already know this, but I stood no further than 4 meters from Mr. Kanye West today. I went to the 13th on a whim to check out Viktor & Rolf and find out what this fashion week business was all about...and just sort of hung around for awhile and people watched. I guess there were some French celebrities who showed up, because the photographers would jump all over people every so often...but I didn't recognize them and was not compelled to take their pictures. So after about 30 minutes of creeping around, and having my picture taken by some nice paparazzi lady (I think she liked my clothes??), I spotted a man in a gold hoodie. I was really distracted, and thought he might be some rapper. Then along came Kanye. Greatest moment of my life. No one seemed to care except for me, however. The photographers were all a lot more interested in his female companion-I have no clue who she was but I think I have a picture of her...

...She's the bald chick in the pink tights:


Extremely flamboyant drag queen from New York named something Bunny:

.

And Kyeong with the sign for the show :)



Tomorrow morning is Chanel. I'll be praying for a Mary-Kate and Ashley sighting...

nice legs

Saw a rugby match this weekend between Paris and Bourgoin (a team from Southern France). We left at halftime because the weather was typically Parisian. I'm not sure exactly what the mascot for Paris is, but their colors were the most flamboyant of pinks and a nice baby blue. Really tough. There were also pink lilies or something on all the team merch...

They throw each other into the air to catch throw-ins (not the correct term)

And this is a melee; where the 8 biggest guys from each team pounce on the ball...sort of like a jump ball?


Tricia and I went to see this band called Psapp from the UK play at this cool venue in the 20th called La Fleche d'Or...for those of you who go to U of I it was a lot like Canopy.


...they play children's toys-- that thing in the corner was some sort of dr. seussical horn made from like k'nex and a rubber lobster

unofficial, unofficial

I have never celebrated unofficial, so it is only fitting that I choose to celebrate it in a foreign country where drinking at 9am on any given day is not unusual.


(devin, emma, tiffany, kristen)

We won a free "jug" of beer from this man:

...by playing a catch-phrase style word game


(look, its me!)


absolutely delicious.

Shakespeare and Company

Monday night I went here:


Its a English-language bookstore owned by an ex-pat and has basically been around a looooong time. Its right across from Notre-Dame de Paris, just next to la Seine. I went here for a talk by an author who was imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and had recently translated her book into French. Every Monday the store has talks from different authors (all in English)...and seems to attract an interesting crowd. A lot of Brits, some Australians and of course Americans.

The store is also really unique because they house writers, published and unpublished, in exchange for a few hours of work in the shop per day, and under the agreement that they should read one book per day. As a result of this housing arrangement there are little beds and desks tucked into the stacks of books:



Basically another favorite spot...and somewhere I plan on going on a weekly basis :)

pour en savoir plus...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahann122787/

(typewriter for lenna)

(fatboy for mary)


(french jason schwartzman look alike for fun)