Musee de Carnavalet: Histoire de Paris

-Jessica Boyd


Up until the end of February, we learned all about the history of France as a country but we hadn't discovered the history of the city we are living in. The museum is located about 5 or 6 blocks away from the Bastille and the Opera house across the Seine. 

With nearly 600,000 works in over 100 rooms, Carnavalet houses the largest  collections of the city of Paris:  which  combines archaeological remains, the views of Paris yesteryear, models of ancient monuments, signs, decorative ensembles from buildings missing, anecdotal or historical scenes, portraits of famous Parisians, memories or stories of famous men of everyday life and a unique set of the revolutionary period. 

One of the more interesting exhibits is a series of salons decorated in the style of Louis XIV. These would have been even more impressive if I had seen them before we went to Versailles where I saw the true Louis XIV style. Somehow, a replica in a museum does not compare to his humble abode. 

Another one of my favorite exhibits was the La Belle Epoque hall. It houses many paintings depicting Parisian life in the early 1900s. It was such a glamorous time: days strolling the tree-lined boulevards and eating at street cafes followed by nights filled with the opera and a late dinner.

Under the Second Empire, at the time the work of Haussmann upset the old Paris, the Paris administration conceived the idea of a museum dedicated to the history of the city. Thus was born the Carnavalet Museum . Inaugurated in 1880, is the oldest municipal museum in the capital. Until then, sculptures, paintings and murals were displayed in City Hall and the various municipal buildings, including churches.

Paris is one of those cities that was apart of a wide range of history, from Roman times up until the present. It has always been a center of culture and the Musee de Carnavalet is the perfect place to display everything Paris has to offer.

Let Them Eat Cake: Versailles, France

by: Jessica Boyd

We took a day trip to Versailles, which was one of the trips I was looking forward to the most while in France. It is only a short ride on the RER out of Paris.

 It was built during one of the turning points of French history and played a pivotal role. Imagine the most opulent space you’ve ever seen and then multiply it times 100; that is what Versailles looks like. The palace alone is impressive. Every surface that can be gilded in high quality gold is. The place almost doesn’t need lights because the gold sparkles so much. Everyone talks about the hall of mirrors and how amazing it is, and they are definitely right. The space serves little functional purpose but to connect the King’s apartments to the Queen’s. However, the Louies did not see that as an excuse to create a boring space. During the 1600s, mirrors were only made in Venice. However, Louis wanted to show off and decided to lure some of the craftsmen to France to make the mirrors (which are made from mercury) for his hall.

If you think the palace is impressive, just wait until you walk through the “gardens.” They go on for miles. We walked around them for about 3 hours and only made a dent in seeing all there is to offer. Marie Antoinette hated Versailles and Louis and the French court so she demanded her own house built on the grounds. You can tell that it was a space made for a woman; the entire outer facade is made from pink marble. In comparison, this space is but a mere cottage with only one or two bedrooms and about 5 sitting rooms/parlors.

We also stumbled upon the peasant’s village that Marie had built so she could experience how the other half of the world lived. The cottages and barns are in a romantic style with thatched roofs and perfectly manicured gardens. It is said that she would go there to work in the garden and would even collect chicken eggs from the coop.

Louis XIV was a strange bird. There are several fountains and statues in the garden of Apollo, whom Louis compared himself to. He is known as the Sun King and all over the palace you can find the symbol of his reign: his face inside of a starburst. 

The trip definitely did not disappoint. I only wish that we could have gone later in the spring so that the gardens would be in full bloom, but even surrounded by dead shrubbery, you cannot deny the majesty, grandeur and extravagance that is Versailles.

Marvelous Macarons

3/8/12

Macaroons are amazing!!!!! These tasty treats are available all over France at Boulangeries, coming in many flavors. They range from a zesty lemon to rich chocolate, all of which are delicious. They are truly a great, and enjoyable, part of the culture found in France. Plus, with a Boulangerie found nearly on every other corner, they are never too far out of reach.

The actual origin of the macaroon is debated, some say it came from Italian pastry chiefs and others say it came from a convent in France. However, the macaroons we know today, the ones you’ll find in the quaint little Boulangeries shops scattered throughout Paris, were crafted in the early 20^th century by Pierre Desfontaines. If you don’t recognize him, you may recognize his famous patisserie, Lauduree. It was here that he made these almond meringue discs with rich filling bites of joy, also known as the Paris Macaroon.

Did I mention that lemon macaroons are my favorite?

 These great treats are definitely one of my favorite parts of Paris, and something I will miss when I go home…back to Oreos. Oreos just don’t cut it anymore, macaroons have ruined me. If you are ever in Paris, be sure to stock up and enjoy. 


~ Andrew Hervey


External Links


Laduree Home Page
Macaroon History
Macaroon Recipes

Arles, Pont Du Gard

Arles- Pont du Gard

March 7^th

Our group reached Arles on February 6^th. Still defrosting our hands and faces after braving the icy temperatures in Avignon, we hoped Arles would be warmer… but we weren’t so lucky. Arles was cold! This of course did not stop us from venturing out into the city to see some of its amazing sites. Right next to our Hotel was the Roman Amphitheater, it looks somewhat like the Coliseum in Rome but much, much smaller. 

Seeing as the Romans took the city in 123 BC it does have its share of Roman ruins, the previously mentioned amphitheater/arena and a theatre for stage performances. Much to our amusement, we found out that Arles is quite the bullfighting city, and every year they conduct bull fights in the Ancient Roman Amphitheater. Call me a “purist” but the fact that they had somewhat modernized the arena and hold bullfights (also rock concerts, ect) today there did make me feel as if the structure had been violated instead of maintained. On a different note, we were privileged to look at the scene used for one of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings, “Cafe Terrace at Night” from when he spent time in Arles (1888-1889). It was also in Arles that he cut off his ear and gave it to a…”close friend”.

During our stay in Arles, some of our group was able to travel to see the Pont du Gard…..it was HUGE!!! By far one of the most amazing structures I’ve ever seen. To this day, it is still one of my favorite historical sites in Europe. The peaceful river flowing below it just adds to the tranquility and beauty when you lay eyes on it.  

Built in the 1^st century, the story behind it is slightly humorous. It was part of a 31 mile long aqueduct that ran from Uzes and Nimes and was constructed so that the Romans could have fresh drinking water from the Alps…let that sink in. A 31 MILE LONG AQUEDUCT JUST FOR WATER FROM THE ALPS! And just to give you an idea of how gigantic the Pont du Gard is, look at the image below. The three of us are standing below one of its arches…huge.

We had to have a little fun faking out the people who stayed behind. “Look we found the Pont du Gard!”. They didn’t believe us. 

 This stop on your trip was amazing and a place I’m sure none of us will ever forget. Au Revior Arles!

~Andrew Hervey

External Links:

Arles

Pont du Gard

Van Gogh

Avignon France- The Windy, Chilly City!

February 29th

The day for Avignon was February 4th, now this is such a cute little town.....it was sunny and warm and..........FALSE....IT WAS NOT SUNNY OR WARM.....IT WAS FREEZING....IT WAS THE COLDEST PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN........IN MY LIFE.......ok now it was a cute town that is true, but it was NOT WARM....it was frigid which is why this blog is titled, the windy chilly city. Because not only was it cold but it was windy...mixing wind and cold does not go together at all!! We survived it because we are warriors but it took LOTS of layers...the picture is of samantha and myself....we were both wearing around 6-8 layers plus scarves plus hats...and we were still cold...we're also from Texas :)  

Anyways...so the day started with a hardy breakfast...after breakfast we left our hotel and went out for a freezing cold walk to Palais des Papes or the Pope's palace!!! This place is HUGE and gorgeous and so medieval, it's wonderful!!! a little background on the palace. The Palais construction began in AD 1252. Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309, when the Gascon Bertrand de Goth, as Pope Clement V, unwilling to face the violent chaos of Rome after his election (1305), moved the Papal Curia to Avignon, a period known as the Avignon Papacy. Clement lived as a guest in the Dominican monastery at Avignon, and his successor Pope John XXII set up a magnificent establishment there, but the reconstruction of the old bishops' palace was begun in earnest by Pope Benedict XII (1334–42) and continued by his successors to 1364. The site, on a natural rocky outcrop at the northern edge of Avignon, overlooking the river Rhône, was that of the old episcopal palace of the bishops of Avignon. The Palais was built in two principal phases with two distinct segments, known as the Palais Vieux (Old Palace) and Palais Neuf (New Palace). By the time of its completion, it occupied an area of 11,000 m or (2.6 acres). The building was enormously expensive, consuming much of the papacy's income during its construction.

The picture below is the group huddled in the fire place of the dining room!! Hip on coals as we called it!!! :)

After going to the palace we headed out to find lunch, this is where we decided to be cheap and bought a baguette and some fruit, so sadly i don't have a food recommendation for Avignon, it was so cold we went to the supermarket and back to the hotel to eat!!! Once we ate and met up with everyone we headed out huddled onto a shuttle and headed to the train station...got on the train and went to Marseille...Avignon was fun, it was something we had never seen, and the cold was something most of us had never experienced....So i hear that you remember a place for the food and weather....the food was great but the weather....not so much, i still look back on it and have fond memories of shopping at H&M for more clothing and if anything fighting the wind and cold is now something to look back and laugh about!! :) 

So long Avignon!!!!!

Thanks for your time :)

A bientôt 

Emily O. :)

We love Nice... it's nice. Nice is nice!

February 28th 2012

Ah Nice, It's a beautiful little city along the French Riviera....this city has everything you could ever wish for. There is an ocean, there are beautiful mountains and there is a city full of character and culture, it's a paradise really. Now we arrived as a group in Nice on february 2nd we flew in from Paris and literally thought we were going to hit water when landing. The runway is right off of the ocean, like....right off of it...so there is little room for error, but we made it safe and sound. I remember being completely exhausted as was the rest of the group. We went to our hotel, put up our bags and then went out for a group dinner at a restaurant along the promenade where most of us got pizza's and pasta's. It was beyond delicious!! 

Pizza from restaurant in Nice

Wednesday after a good night's sleep we all met in the lobby and found our tour guide waiting for us, her name was cecilia! She was so nice and spoke english very well which was exciting for us...We went all over Nice, we saw the newer part of nice which isn't THAT new....just newer than the old part if that makes any sense. The picture below is of old Nice which was my favorite part. Old-nice Near Place Masséna is the district known as Vieux Nice or (Old Nice).

after we walked around the city we ate lunch....lunch was interesting...it was a plate with like 10 different Nice cuisines on it....most of it was pretty good :) there's like stuffed tomatoes, stuffed onions, chick pea pancakes...and so on as you can see.

after lunch they let us loose...YES they let us roam the city alone and we did a fantastic job of it. we went to the top of this hill...took like millions of stairs but finally we made it to the top and had a breathtaking view of Nice which is what you see in the first picture above. You could see EVERYTHING and it was just absolutely wonderful!! You would definitely have to walk up to the top of the hill and look out over Nice if you ever visit...this is a must see!!! After that we headed to a contemporary art museum and then went to another museum that was like examples of how a house looked back in the day. Both museums were really interesting and if your ever in Nice you should check some of them out...they give a real interesting look into the culture of the town!! So after resting for a while we then headed out for dinner on our own, we found a little cuban restaurant called La havana which i would recommend eating at, there was some meat with veggies and banana's and cheese on top...it was strangely good :) a little weird but good!! 


Last but not least we got to see some of Hotel Negresco, which is a lovely hotel....The Hotel Negresco on the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges in Nice, France was named for Henri Negresco (1868–1920) who had the palatial hotelconstructed in 1912. In keeping with the conventions of the times, when the Negresco first opened in 1913 its front opened facing the Mediterranean sea. 

All in all we had a great time in Nice!! Hope to go back one day when it's a bit warmer!! :)
Thanks for checking out the HIP blog, hope you enjoyed my take on Nice!!!

A bientôt

Emily O.

Bienvenue!

Today is the day.

After months of planning,

nights of dreaming,

and days of saving...

HIP 2012 is zipping up their suitcases

and headed out to catch their flights.

The flights that will change their life.

Check in for our updates...

We'll be blogging about everything we do

during our new lives here in France.

From tasting our first pain au chocolat

to seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time,

it's all going to be recorded here.

*image via