The rundown

Since I haven't posted for a few days due to lack of time, I thought I'd just give a run-down of what I've been up to lately.

On friday I went to a film class on Jacques Tati, known mostly for the film Mon Oncle (My Uncle). He's got a great brand of physical humor and is definitely worth checking out. Then I went to the newly-reopened Modern Art Museum of Paris ( "Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris,"which is different than the Centre Pompidou) where I checked out an amazing Pierre Bonnard Exhibit. The colors he uses in his paintings are amazing, and it's been one of my favorite exhibitions since being here. Also, the museum has a very solid permanent collection (which is also free to enter, unlike the ridiculously-priced Pompidou) that gives a good overview of modern and contemporary art without being too overbearing or packed with people.

While I was there, I witnessed one of my favorite museum phenomenons. There was this film being played called "Los Angeles" that was made in 2004. The film was basically clippings and documentary footage of Los Angeles, everything from the Oscars to gated communities to the more seedy side. When I went into the room, I was the only one there. I decided to stand around and watch for a while, and I noticed as people passed through they stopped and watched. By the end of the film, there were seven or eight people standing around me, seeing what all the fuss was about.

After that, I had dinner with Sydney, an old friend from Minnesota who lives in Paris. We went to a japanese place just southeast of Opera (there's a lot of good ones in that area) and then walked around the city.

On saturday, I got up moderately early (aka 10:00am) to go check out Paris au Cinema, the new expo on cinema in Paris at the Hotel de Ville. It's also a free exhbit, but be forewarned it's all in french. Since I'm taking a cinema class, I was able to get some of the references, but it'd be difficult to follow if not. From there, I spent the day with a friend around the Marais. We went to Muji, the japanese lifestyle store that sells everythings from home furnishings to clothing to stationery. Go there and buy the stationery, it's very cool stuff, especially their pens.

That night, I went down to a bar right over by St. Michel/Sorbonne area with a few friends. It wasn't the smartest idea since the Gap and McDonalds had been burned that day in the riots and demonstrations, but mostly what I saw were a lot of riot police around, so nothing too scary. I knew I had to check it out.

On sunday I met up with Gabe, a friend who I worked in Morocco with. His dad is french so he was in Paris with his family on the way down to the south to visit some relatives. We had lunch on rue Daguerre at one of my favorite restaurants there, La Chope Daguerre, then we went to the Rodin Museum. For some unexplicable reason, the grey left Paris for a day. It was 50 degrees and sunny and gorgeous, so we walked all the way down through the Tuileries and past Notre Dame to Berthillon, which is the best ice cream/sherbet in Paris on the Ile St. Louis. If you haven't been, go next time you're in Paris. Get the fruit flavors and skip the standard ones, the peach, strawberry, or raspberry are all amazing. Just be mentally prepared to drop 6 Euros on a triple scoop of ice cream. Bienvenue a Paris (welcome to Paris...). From there, we had dinner at a decent couscous place in St Michel.

Also, I finally saw Shakespeare and Company, the english bookstore. I can't believe i missed it before. Anyways, when I saw it, a few things popped into my head. First of all, I'm reading a Moveable Feast by Hemingway right now, and he talks about it. Secondly, that's where the movie Before Sunset starts! Makes me wish I'd brought my DVDs out so I could retrace their walk. I'll google it and see if someone's already done the walk on some random blog, I wouldn't be too surprised. Anyways, if you haven't seen it, watch it and its prequel, Before Sunrise.

Last night (monday), I finally checked out Caveau des Oubliettes. It's a cool live music venue right by St. Michel with live jazz on mondays. The actual stage (if you can call it that) is down in an old stone basement. Go early (aka 10pm) to get a decent spot, because it fills up later.