je suis une touriste

photo copyright Kia Guarino

The following post is by blogger Kia Guarino

This week I have thoroughly enjoyed walking the line between tourist and Parisian! I have finally developed a routine for my school and volunteer work, which I has been fun and fulfilling. However, this week has been especially fun, as I have met some incredible people and was able to do some touristy things in the very enjoyable company of others.

We spent Sunday touring the gardens and the chateau in Versailles. Despite being very cold, it was a perfect way to spend the day. I was informed about the detailed perspective that can be seen throughout the grounds that were all carefully crafted to emphasize the power of Louis XIV after he moved the court from Paris to Versailles. It was also developed in three stages, beginning as a relatively small brick hunting house and eventually transforming into one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.

photo copyright Kia Guarino

Since it was a Sunday and it was Valentine’s Day, it was very crowded and the gardens were still dormant. But despite all of this, I was thoroughly impressed. I would like to go back in the late spring/early summer when the gardens are in their full glory,

Monday we visited both the highest and the lowest (at least almost the lowest) tourist hotspots in Paris. The sewer system (les égouts – une vision souterraine de Paris!) was developed after a massive flood covered Paris 100 years ago this year. It was smelly and cold and the tour was in French, but I still had a great time! There are a number of old machines that were developed to clear the dirt and to deal with the noxious gasses and they also told stories of finding an alligator and other creatures down there. You definitely need to go with people you can laugh about the dripping ceilings with.

photo copyright Kia Guarino

Afterwards, we wanted to visit some of the many museums in the Trocadéro area, but unfortunately it was Monday so they were closed. Instead, we had un café and waited until about 6hr to begin our trek to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Since it was a cold Monday, the lines were shorter than normal, but they still were not short.

We waited for about a half hour at the bottom to get our tickets then rode to the 2^nd floor. There we walked around and enjoyed the sunset over Paris, which was breathtaking. It was very cold there and we waited in line to ride to the top. At the end of our 30-minute ride, we could not feel our extremities, but it was worth it! We actually rode up the middle of the Eiffel Tower as the lights were sparkling to show the hour. While it is more magnificent from the outside, it was still a lovely experience!

On top, the view was amazingly beautiful, but we did not spend too much time up there as we were certain we were going to lose our fingers to frostbite.

One thing about Paris that I have really enjoyed is the diversity and the constant exposure to different cultures. In my French course alone we have people representing about 8 different nationalities and I have met people outside of school from at least 5 different countries. I really enjoy the proximity to the rest of Europe and even the relative accessibility to Asia and Africa.

Despite the unusually cold weather, Paris has continued to dazzle me!

A Day at the Museums

Musée de Louvre

The following post was written by blogger Kia Guarino.

Chaque mois le premier dimanche, tous les musées à Paris sont gratuits! So, recently I went to The Musée de Louvre and The Musée D’Orsay and took advantage of this amazing offer. I love the Louvre – it houses some of my favorite paintings and statues in the world!

One thing that really strikes me as interesting is the fact that, not only does it house many of my favorite paintings, but the windows act as artwork in and of themselves. There are one or two windows near the French painters that have the most incredible views. At one point, I was able to look out and see I. M. Pei’s Louvre pyramid, the courtyard with the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triumph in the distance. I had never been to Musée D’Orsay before and despite a lot of construction work going on, it was amazing to see Monet and Van Gogh’s work up close. The crowds were definitely a little less bearable than the Louvre since Musée D’Orsay is a smaller museum. But again, it was still worth going since it was free!

For those two museums, the lines were not terrible since I was out early in the day. But as the day wore on, all the other museums that I passed had lines that wrapped around the buildings. I definitely recommend getting an early start. This was especially the case with Louvre, since it was extremely crowded around the Mona Lisa (it looked like rush hour downtown NYC!). There were some areas, though, that were pleasantly filled, including the French Renaissance painters, which I loved.

It was a perfect day for museums, especially for some of the best in the world!!

Je Suis à Paris

Trocadero

The following is an update from blogger Kia Guarino, on her adventures in Paris

I am currently sitting in my bed in the apartment I will be living in for the next two months, thoroughly exhausted and exhilarated by my first day here. Very different from my last stint with living abroad, I believe these next two months are going to be packed full with studies, volunteering and the occasional babysitting! I can’t wait for it all to get started!

Today was great. My wonderful host took me to a beautiful café on Trocadero where I had a croissant and a café crème. Of course, despite practicing for precisely these moments, I stared at the pretty waitress pretty blankly and had to be rescued from my lack of French skills. Hopefully that will change. I was also shown around the neighborhood, which is gorgeous despite the unusually cold weather. From that circle, which is a block form the apartment, the Eiffel Tower can be seen and is very large. Much of the day was simply situating myself with the area and transportation, etc., but just over 12 hours feels like a week! It’s all so exciting!

Je vais à Paris

Musée du Louvre: Image copyright Paris Convention and Visitors Office

The following post is by guest blogger, Kia Guarino

There is an unfortunate amount of snow on the ground in New Jersey today and I am hoping my flight takes off on time tonight! I am off to Paris this evening to immerse myself in French language and culture in an effort to quickly learn this useful and beautiful language. I will be in a position of discomfort for at least the first week as I struggle to become proficient enough to hold a conversation, but I think the challenge is worth it.

Since graduating, I have had a strong desire to continue learning. I was not as burnt out as I would have expected when I finished school, and I am really looking forward to the day I return to graduate studies. In the meantime, though, there is still a great deal of studying I have to do to improve my application. Since I hope to pursue a career in international development work, I decided that I should challenge myself to learn French to the best of my ability in a short amount of time. I have a background in Spanish and Italian, but I decided to try something different, to really challenge myself.

When I was handed an amazing opportunity and very graciously offered a place to stay in Paris, I realized this was something that could and should happen. Of course I am nervous and worried that my sprinkling of French will make the transition difficult, but accomplishing such a biggoal is rarely easy!

I am going to be staying in the heart of the city of lights and studying at Alliance Française a few days a week. I am looking forward to the superb people-watching that Paris sidewalk cafes offer and I even purchased a sketchbook in order to document it.

tower of macarons from dalloyau

I will be writing updates about the challenges and beauty of the city, and my two months immersed in another, wonderful culture. I will also be eating crepes, baguettes and fromage, not to mention visiting my favorite source for patisseries in the world, Dalloyau. You can download their mouthwatering, beautifully photographed catalogue here.

Au revoir!

The Wisdom of Julia Child

photo by Paul Child

In light of the release of the new movie, “Julie & Julia,” I wanted to share the following excerpt from my book, “Growing Toward Balance: Achievable Ideas for Bringing Harmony to Your Mind, Body and Spirit.” This particular chapter evolved from a blog post I wrote shortly after the death of one of my heroines, Julia Child:

I asked an American friend of mine who has lived in Paris for the past eighteen years to give me her thoughts on this topic. She says, “The French tend to think that humans are pleasure-driven, and meals tend to reflect that mentality. Eating is not taboo, although excess is definitely frowned upon by my French friends. Basically, eating is an accepted fact of life, and I think it can be said that the French seek to enjoy their meals rather than suffer through them.”

“The organization of their work and playtime are based around the meals instead of the other way around. They take the time to eat breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. They have the same mentality about sex.”

In our society, we tend to think of food as a necessary evil, and we try to control what we eat, calculating carbs, fat grams, etc. Amy Finnerty, journalist for the Wall Street Journal, wrote a wonderful ode to Julia Child who passed away three days shy of her 92^nd birthday. I felt a wave of nostalgia as I remembered back to when I was a child and would watch The French Chef with my mother. I loved Julia’s style, finesse, and the way she would sweep scraps from her counter, seemingly onto the floor. I learned how to make bechamel sauce at a very young age by watching her.

She was all about the enjoyment of food. I remember seeing her on a talk show during the 90s during which she created a wonderful-looking dish complete with two sticks of butter and heavy cream. I don’t remember what the dish was, but I do remember that an audience member asked if she had a low-fat version of that recipe. Her response was, “Whatever for?” She was one of my all-time heroes.

Julia Child has been quoted as saying, “What’s dangerous and discouraging about this era is that people really are afraid of their food…Sitting down to dinner is a trap, not something to enjoy. People should take their food more seriously. Learn what you can eat and enjoy it thoroughly.” As Finnerty says, “She did something more important than teach us to cook; she taught us to eat, and some of us in the new Atkins World Order could still use a few lessons. She knew how to indulge, in moderation: food of all kinds (in normal portions); drink (but not drunkenness); smoking (until she did the mature thing and quit); and the company of men (she was a happily married flirt).”