More street art

Now we see it everywhere we go!

Il fait pleut...

Well, the Musée D'Orsay was still on stike so we decided to go on to the Centre Pompidieu for some modern art. Rain, rain go AWAY! Then off to the Musée des Arts Decoratifs to see Ralph Lauren's fancy cars and have a tour of the Animal exhibit. No pics of the cars allowed, but we had an amazing tour. Our guide was funny and engaging and gave us lots of history and background. Then a few hours in the Tuileries. Finally a blazing self-guided tour (three hours) of the Louvre. Students talked about the paintings and artists that they had researched. A very late dinner near the Eiffel tower.

Bathrooms in Paris

Believe it or not, they were on strike too...

Street Art--Space Invader

Nadia says:

"Nadia Fallahi

During my sleepless, seven hour flight, Ms. Donoghue had suggested that I watched a movie called “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” The movie is about a few really cool underground street artists. It talks about Thierry Guerra, a Parisian man who had moved to Los Angeles and opened a high-end thrift store, and how he began to pick up a video camera and film everywhere he went. When Thierry returned to Paris for a holiday, he visited with his cousin, a street artist named Space Invader. Space Invader’s work is based off of the game called Space Invaders, and he replicates the little characters in tiles. The movie also talks about Sheppard Fairrey as well as the notorious and insane Banksy. Banksy and Space Invader never show their faces in the movie, most likely to keep their identity a secret. On one of our days in Paris, we had been walking along the Seine to Sennelier, a very famous art supply store. A few of us had walked across the street from the shop to take some pictures by the water. Upon returning to the other side where our group was, Kali was showing Ms. Thompson a picture she had taken of a Space Invader piece right next to where we stood, yet she never bothered to tell us! Those of us that had seen the movie were quite excited. During the rest of our day, we had seen two others as well as two the day after. Hopefully we can get our hands on some Space Invader shirts before we leave!"

French politics up close...

"Strike? Why would they want to go on strike when they can make money?" Learning about France and its wonderful history of protest and revolution has become an integral part of our trip, inadvertently. Musée D'Orsay? Closed. Alors. Off we went to enjoy the Left Bank, instead. We did get to see Sarkozy leaving the National Assembly...with lots of protection.

Lucy says:

"Paris has been an interesting experience. Because government workers have been going on strike (only on Tuesdays and Thursdays), a number of the museums have been closed and the metro was packed because the train got shut down too. Packing ourselves into the burning hot metro cars was quite the experience but still exciting nonetheless. While the strikes have made for some unexpected plan-making, I think we are all happy to have been part of what is going on in France and it makes for some good stories."

Went to Sennelier to buy beautiful supplies and made lots of art outside the various churches we visited. The students attracted a tour group (pictured) that watched them work. Shopped for perfume at Annick Goutal in the shadow of St. Sulpice. Compared architecture of the various cathedrals. Saw a Street Art show...kind of a contradiction. More on that later.

Zoe says:

"The buildings in France are beautiful. It’s hard to pick a favorite. I’ve drawn two pictures that I really like. I drew one of them outside of the St. Sulpice church. There were two people, a man and a woman, sitting outside the church talking, so I drew them. Then, while we were sitting in the grass outside the Louvre I saw two men laughing and I drew them. I like both of these drawings a lot, mostly because the people in them look like they are having a great time. I also drew some buildings, but I don’t think they are as good as the people."

Paris!

Kali says:

"Paris. One of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. My first impression of this place was murky and dirty, not really somewhere I want to be staying in. Then, I came with this group and my opinion on it changed completely. This is a beautiful city filled with art and culture, something you can’t exactly find in our area back in the U.S. Even though we had minor, or great set backs, for example the rain and cold even though the weather channel forecasted sunshine and warmth and having poor Gordon stuck at the airport… Subtracting all that, this has been a once in a life time experience."

Drew says:

"Notre Dame is giant and it is very gothic. The friezes on the cathedral are spectacular."

Flight in.

Well, it has been a while since our last post and lots has happened. We flew over in one of the new HUGE Airbus 380. It has two levels and we even had a camera view from the tail!

Upon arrival in Paris, we ran into a delay (I'll allow the Constantine to speak about that) but we prevailed!

Constantine says:

"Preface: he’s just fine. After about 12 hours of grogginess and recycled air with my left arm and leg buried under a landslide of fat European man, I stumbled into the tunnels under the airport towards customs. As we pooled together on the French side of customs, our headcount was down one, and in our sleep deprivation we couldn’t quite figure out who it was, until Joe mentioned, “I thought I saw the Interpol walk Gordon into an interrogation room.” We would not see him again until the afternoon, and he won’t say much about his time."

The real story: Gordon has used an old passport accidentally and Interpol took four hours to figure out that he wouldn't be a threat to their national security (!!!). He was a trooper, and Mrs Donoghue stayed by him the entire time, shooting daggers at the curt policemen with her eyes. We all continued on to the hotel and checked in. Our rooms are cozy and clean and close to the sights.