Day 3 In Paris, The Tuileries

Today I moved into my "flat".  I L.O.V.E. it.  So, so Parisian!  I just realized there is NO TV!!  Eighteen days without television.  Love it!  There is a stereo and a stack of CD's which I am totally enjoying.   I must say though tiny, this apartment is at least 4 times the size of my hotel room so I'll be a happy camper here.

Tres jolie, n'est-ce pas?

This place has a TON of stairs.  The subway has a TON of stairs.  Montmartre is a HILL and has a TON of stairs between east and west streets.  My knees are whining!

After moving in this morning, I walked to a local market and stocked up on some wine, fruit and bread.  Have not found the cheese place yet.  Then, I took off by subway to the  Tuillerie Gardens.  I got a bit closer to the Eiffel Tower today and enjoyed the gardens and the masses of people.  I'll load some pictures, but cannot write captions until I get to a real computer.  They are all of the 

Tuileries,  the Louvre (outside) and a picture of a Paris Starbucks!  Enjoy and leave me a comment, please  :+)   

Day 2 Paris Part 2

(Due to technical Ipad issues, my posts are in parts). After leaving the museum I walked a big loop through the 7th arrondisement which is on the south bank of the Seine directly across from the Louvre and the Tuileries

 My lunch was a sweet little spinach and mushroom quiche from a sweet little boulangerie.

 I ate it in this sweet little neighborhood park with the lilacs filling the air .

 Paris sticks these little parks every mile or so for a pleasant sit-down. Heaven!  Notice the subtle mural on the building.

Famous Ludurees I just happened upon. Oh, my!  I was introduced to maccarons!  All this walking, surely I can indulge?
Other highlights of this day included a walk along the Seine and a visit to the A-Mazing Bon Marche, not even remotely like the ones that became Macy's in the US.
I could not/would not afford a thing in the store but it was floor after floor of eye candy. I also walked up to check out my flat that I will move into tomorrow. Also in Montmartre, I'll be staying there for 18 days. I'll show you pictures tomorrow. Bon nuit!
PS.  My French is getting me around. I am NOT fluent but I have been able to converse somewhat. Whew!

15,810 Steps in Paris day 2

After a 12 hour! sleep, I was ready to take on Paris.  My hotel provides a robust breakfast bar with a fresh orange juicer,  several cheeses,  meats (not for me) yogurt,  pastries, dried figs, cereals, etc. My kind of start to the day,

le petit dejeuner!

Then I was off in the rain to master the subway.  I decided to go to the Musee D'Orsay to get out of the weather.  it was a couple blocks front the subway and I had to pass such sites as these:

Yum!  I didn't buy these (yet) but I may have to yet

The museum was astounding. I am always awestruck when I stand before original works of the masters.  So many Renoir's,  Cezanne's, Van Gogh's, and Monets!  

Clocks in the museum, once a railway station. 

Clock in the D'Orsay Museum with view of the city across the Seine 

I

Traveling to Paris Day 1

I was rather dreading the 10 hour flight but it turned out to be not such a bad thing.  Air France/Delta rocks!  Starting with the blanket and pillow on the seats (which I usually have to dive for because there are never enough) and proceeding to free wine, individual "TV's" with a Netflix-like list of free movies and 2 meals and a couple snacks, Delta served us well.  I was seatmates with a very fidgety man who was very enamored with the GPS map of where we were at all times, what the wind velocity was,  barometric pressure, temperature,  distance from and distance to.  That's how he used his TV.

And then there is Paris.  Sea-Tac airport has Charles de Gaulle beat hands down.  Sea-Tac had live music in the restaurant area when I was leaving!  I didn't even see any shops or restaurants in the mile I walked at CDG.  (In their defense I was heading for the baggage pickup area)
I'm glad I've been here before, because the trip in to Paris and the part of town I am staying in for the first 2 nights are not all that picturesque.  My hotel and room are quite nice but it is plopped smack dab in a seedy little area of Montmarte and there is walking to be done before you get to anything worth looking at.  But my room is quiet, spankin clean and the staff is friendly and helpful, so I will catch up on my sleep and do some walking.

I tried to take a nap when I arrived, but even though it was 3 AM Seattle time, I couldn't fall asleep.  So, I walked up about a mile (up) to the Sacre Coeur Basilica.  I wish I had been allowed to take pictures inside because it was real pretty.  On my way back down the hill I stopped in at a little cafe that advertised free wi-fi (pronounced wee fee).  It was full of locals and had a menu I could barely read, so I tried the Trois Poisson.  I wish I had written down the whole description and then come home to look up what I ate.  It was good enough to eat but not amazing.  I think I will do some homework before I eat again.  Just too tired to even think about what I'll do tomorrow.

Some pictures from my short first day: NOTE:   having a load of trouble adding pictures using an ipad .  I can't scroll down or add captions after I add them.   All the pictures were taken on my walk up the hill to the church and back.  And my Trois Poissons dinner.

Wisteria wines near a pink house

Montmarte

Climbing the hill to Sacre Coeur. 

The Eiffel Tower

Going to Paris in 3 days!

I have been OBSESSED with planning for my upcoming trip. Even if it ended up a bust,  the planning has been so fun.   I decided back in November to go, initially thinking my BFF was going with me.  Life happened, she was not able to go, so I decided to travel solo. ( I WILL go again when she can go!) But, traveling alone  quite changes how you plan.  Rather than facing foreign connections alone and with luggage all over France, I decided to thumbprint in Paris, perhaps making day trips out of the city.
Then I found this book  (linked to Amazon)

This is NOT the museum/tourist/must see Paris.  This is the little back alley-down little streets- specialty artsy places to shop and eat.  Neighborhood (arrondissement ) by neighborhood.  I think there are 18 which means I have about one per day to visit.  This book is eye-candy and makes me think I will surely feel like I've died and gone to heaven.  

I had everything lined up as far as accommodations and then at "the last hour" I decided I wanted something different than I had.  So, losing the booking fee for flat #1,  I changed my reservation and ended up with a cute little walk-up apartment on the 6th floor (120 steps up!!) in Montmarte.  This is a bit on the outskirts of the city so I will be taking the subway to each arrondissement and then spending the day on foot once I am there.  This is my cute little Parisian flat:  ( You have every right to be jealous)

I am  dreaming of sitting on that little balcony pinching myself at my reality.   

This blog is meant to be my "art" blog, but for the next 4 weeks it will be a place I document my trip.  I see it as total art education and I will be taking exquisite photos, sacrificing my arthritic neck to carry my H.E.A.V.Y Nikon SLR and lenses.  So tempting to use my IPhone camera but yuck... not the same.  So I will try to carry the monster wherever I go.  

My daughter-in-law thought I should show all the "stuff" I am packing but I think I'll spare you that.  But there are a few things I bought for my trip that are cool enough to share.  

To help spare my neck I bought this smallish backpack at REI.  It has a cool slot for my iPad, a padded interior that will be OK for my camera if I don't sling it onto the cobblestones, and a place a sketchbook, phone, keys and for just about anything I would need during my day excursions.  

Another cool find my sister introduced me to are EBags which come in many sizes and shapes.  I bought a bunch to organize my suitcase.  One for all my cordage/electronic must-haves.

Many for clothes.... T-shirts in one, pants in another, sweaters/jacket in another.  No more digging for what I'm looking for.  

I also found a fabulous map at Barnes and Noble... a big fold-up laminated job that has had me plotting my daily journeys.  

And of course my art supplies.  I plan to spend my evenings blogging, organizing my photos by album on my iPad (so I'll remember where I was and when) and making an art journal (my first!) of my trip.  

I've been working on making and preparing a journal out of an old 78 record album ...the kind with several sleeves for the records.  I will take pictures of the pages to share with you as I go.  

This is the journal in process.....

Front Cover

Back Cover

Inside

a  couple sample prepared pages

For those of you not familiar with an "art journal" stay tuned and you will see this evolve.  Big Plans.... just hope I can follow through and not just C.R.A.S.H. every day after I get back from my walking excursions.  

   Another HAPPY, HAPPY note.  One of my daughters just found out she'll be traveling to India for work while I am in Paris and has arranged to spend three days with me.  She has never been to Paris and I have never had the opportunity to travel with her since she was a teen.  I am so, so, so excited. 

TA TA... until Tuesday.  I'll be traveling all day Monday, arriving in Paris at 8:30 AM on Tuesday the 7th.  Ten ugly hours of flight.  Wish me Bon Chance!

How-to be Happy

"My Lady" who guards my front door

This is blog circle day of the month and the suggested topic is "how-to" with an emphasis on blossoming, planting seeds and growing.  I must say I struggle with pre-determined topics,  and generally miss the mark, though I DO try!  And you know, it really doesn't matter.

I love spring and can get very excited watching seeds sprout.  New life never gets old for me and is an everyday miracle that I do not take for granted.  But, when I think of seeds, eggs, birth, new life I do think of youth and can no longer fool myself that I am closer to the other  side of the fence than the that one.

My front porch in the summer.... a good book and a glass of wine.... Ahhhh!  Happiness. 

But... I do know that I can enjoy this life best by not wasting a minute being cranky, angry, bitter or stuck in the past.  I think I have always tended toward looking at the cup half full, but I've not always been even-tempered.  So on my journey, this is what I've learned  about being happy and it is what I know to be true:

1)  You cannot change others, only yourself.  You can just waste a whole lot of life trying to be right.

2)   A lot of what you want to change about others does not really matter a whole lot in the large scheme of things.  Let it go.  There is something called "necessary losses" which have to do with accepting that which you cannot have.  For example, if you married an introvert there is nothing in your power (or his) that can turn him into an extrovert.

3)  If someone "does you wrong",  deal with it, then let it go.  Spending your life beating yourself and others up over past stuff is just a big waste of time and health.  Learn to FORGIVE.

4)   Listen to others, it isn't all about you.  ( this was a big lesson that I'm still learning)

5)  Develop your own interests.  When there is no one around, you should always enjoy your own company.  In fact, you should like yourself because you just can't get away!

6)  Learn to be resourceful.  Learning how to fix something makes you feel good and there isn't always someone around who can or will do what you want done when you want it done. (Just today I opened up my MAC desktop and added 8 GB of RAM.  Google is my friend.  Who knew there was a little door under the rim of the computer?)

7)  Take care of yourself.  A healthy mind and body makes growing older not as daunting.  Just last week I had symptoms that seemed to indicate a gastrointestinal flu bug.  Though the symptoms seemed to get better in the next 2 days, my friend Google opened my eyes to the idea it might be my appendix.  A quick trip to the doc, followed by a referral to the ER  and then my appendix was removed.  Relatively an easy fix if you stay in tune with your body and go to the doc when there is a concern.  Could have been so much worse.

8)  Surround yourself with people who build you up, not put you down.  I am lucky.  I have a big family ( 4 siblings, 3 children, 7 grandchildren and all the in-laws) who ground me.

This is just one of the little people who keep me happy

9)  Work at being financially responsible.  I have not been so lucky in love so this one has been a big one for me.  It was up to me to figure out how to manage my finances so I could have a life and a future without being a burden to others.  Doing that one thing has given me the biggest peace of mind.

10)  Don't take any of your blessings for granted. I praise God every day.


This post is rather off the beaten track from my continuing theme of growing as an artist.  My past week has been rather tied up with that impromptu surgery and recovery, so not much is growing in the studio this week.  And... I have been just so thankful, content and happy that all is well with me that I thought I'd let y'all know about it.

Now on to Naz Laila in our blog circle.

An Artful Journey

I just returned from an art retreat in the Santa Cruz hills outside of Los Gatos, CA.  I wasn't sure what to expect, since I never have done this before, but I knew I was ready for the experience. I went with an open mind, and just a little bit of bravery, since I am usually hugely reticent to room with a stranger. It was rather like camp in that way.  I was assigned to a cottage where 6 ladies stayed two to a room.  One of the ladies in our cottage is an artist I had "met" online last fall through a Facebook group connected to an online art class we both took.  It was great to connect with her.  

In all, there were about 100 folks at the 4 day retreat, all women except one lone man, one of the instructors.  We were wined and dined and celebrated. All our earthly needs were cared for while we spent 3 solid days painting all day.  My instructor was the beautiful and inspiring Katie Kendrick, also a Washingtonian.  Our days were a symbiotic balance of her demonstrations and our freedom to create. There were 18 in my class full of eager and talented women. I felt privileged to be a part of it and came away with sweet friends and more drive to create. 

My classroom.. full of light, life and lovely people

On the second evening there was an art sale amongst the attendees and I sold 6 of my prints. Pleasantly surprised!  

Some of the art work I did at AAJ: 

This one was inspired by a painting by Judy Wise, a painter from Oregon.  

        

The next two were inspired by Maria Pace Wynters artwork . (Since these 3 paintings are too close to the original artists paintings, they will not be for sale! I learn a lot by studying the art of others that I admire.)

I am thinking I may still rework some of these.  I am not loving realistic eyes with such painterly faces. 

 My teacher, Katie Kendrick, preparing for a lesson... her gorgeous work in the background.  

A demonstration of paper printing by Katie.  

Sunny, sunny bloomin California!

Prayer Flags hangin in the sun. 

Jesse Reno, amazing artist and AAJ instructor, with my painting class seat mate and  new friend Jana.  (Jesse is the guy)

Chapel on The Presentation Center property where our retreat was

The Presentation Center property...SUN!!!!

Wine country.... Oh, so beautiful  

Sugar pine  cones... found by the roadside in CA

The Pacific Ocean.... my sister and
I went home via the ocean up through Crescent City.  

There's nothing like a retreat to revive the spirit and inspire you to greater heights.  I am thinking of treating myself to one a year.