start of the wind down…

Right. Haven’t written here for some time. Guilt, guilt, guilt–as usual. I got the flat. Yay. So it’s the start of the bittersweet ‘wind down period’ of my-almost-year here. I’m still enjoying the city, but I am eager to move on now. So torn. Strange.

ongoing

I have applied for a tenancy on a flat. I couldn’t believe how intrusive the forms were. ELEVEN pages! I suppose that they have to be careful, especially in the current financial climate, but hey….Oh, I also have to pay FIFTY pounds for ‘admin costs’, to the estate agent. Assuming that the landlord is paying a fee to the estate agent, why on earth do I have to? Win-win for the agents. As usual. So–assuming I get the flat-and I don’t see why I shouldn’t-I will be leaving Paris in just over three months.

What will I miss about Paris? Me being me-the food. A boulangerie on almost every street with most of them selling great stuff, the street markets, which are the most wonderful entertainment as well as a source of–well, everything, and my neighbours.

What won’t I miss? Mostly the French ’sense of humour’ (either very childish or non-existent) and their obsession with mince.

suddenly–huskies….

This morning I peered round my door curtain, bleary eyed and ok–slightly hung over and reeled back in amazement. There in the courtyard were—a troop of huskies. As I rubbed my eyes, trying to decide if I was actually still asleep, I realised that they weren’t ACTUALLY moving. Another bloody art installation. This is Paris after all….oh and don’t be misled by the ‘noel’  on the studio opposite–Samuel appears to be leaving it up in time for xmas next year..lazy bugger.

mission accomplished–so far…

Well…..I am now officially a university student. The flying visit to the UK to be interviewed at Leeds was well worth it. They said that I was ‘just the sort of student they wanted’ and offered me a place on the Art History with Museum Studies course on the spot. I am more than pleased. Now to tackle the twin hurdles of student finance and getting a flat.

There is no way in hell I will be going into halls. For one thing I am 30 years older than almost every first year student and for another, I have the cat. So there will be another one or two quick visits in the near future to scout out accomodation.

on track

My ‘Gap Year’ is almost half over. Can’t quite believe that I have been here for five months. I now have unconditional places at two universities and an interview date for another. I have yet to hear from a further two. So it looks like I will definately be studying in the UK next year. Exciting.

Just around the corner

As I shuffle to and fro around the 11me, two places I love to pass are the old mosaic workshop on Passage Rauch and Defrise on Rue Basfroi.

It must be wonderful for children to pass by this old workshop and spot the various animals, each with it’s own expressive face and posture. very cheeky>>>>>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       <<  and bored

Just around the corner from the mosaic menagerie is Defrise. An Aladdin’s cave of a place spanning a number of old properties. I first came across it when I was limping around after having injured my ankle and wondering if I should resort to a cane. I thought I had hit gold dust when I spied what looked like a hundred canes in a shop window. Unfortunately Defrise does not sell; it doesn’t even allow public through it’s doors. Defrise hires props out to the theatre and film industries. It’s windows are stuffed to the gills with amazingly interesting stuff–old bicylces, cases, silverware, books–you name it and Defrise probably has it and you’ve already seen it in some French film. If you are fortunate enough to see the courtyard open, you could sneak part way in an ogle at some of the wonders there. I was once accosted by a stuffed lion being wheeled out and into a van, destined for who knows where. Wish I’d had my camera that time….

No no-I had to go….

Another Museum I experienced recently was the Musee de L’Erotisme in Pigalle. My daughter brought a friend to Paris for New Year and after the compulsory let’s get your photo in front of the Sexodrome–ah everyone does it-, I know, we were walking along Boulevard de Clichy and we literally stumbled across the Musee de L’Erotisme. The potential for great embarrassment was avoided, as my son had remained at the apartment to revise, so we three eagerly ran inside.

SEVEN floors of fun! Go–you’ll love it.

Taran taraaa

In my personal quest to visit every last museum in Paris before I am dragged kicking and screaming back to Blighty, I went to the Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature yesterday. I am not normally a fan of hunting, but I think that man -and woman-was meant to be an omnivore and that the world has become very hypocritical about it’s food. How many kids these days realise or even care where their hamburger started life?

This Musee has an incredibly ‘personal’ feel to it. It’s pretty new, having been created by the Francois and Jaqueline Sommer Foundation in 1964 and is housed in the Hotel Guénégaud - a mid 1600s building which has had a major face lift in the past few years.

The artist Saint Clair Cemin was comissioned to design chandeliers, door handles and banisters in keeping with the theme of the museum and indeed, these are what first strikes the visitor. Cast in bronze, they take the form of plants, antlers and other aspects of the hunt setting the scene for the rest of the museum. Walking up the stairs holding the scaly banister sends a shiver down the spine. Cemin also cast bronze panels showing many aspects of the hunt–heads, shotguns, birds-dreamlike or nighmarish depending on your perceptions.

The museum is set out as a series of cabinets, each dedicated to one or two aspects of the hunt. The Cabinet Rubens, with it’s spooky feathered ceiling,

the Cabinet de la Lincorne, with it’s curiosities. The overall feel is that of a Victorian collector’s house, all creaky floorboards and stolidy ticking clocks. Yet this museum has much modern art too. Jeff Koons’ ‘Puppy’ is here, and many other pieces relevant to the theme. It has an installation room on the ground floor which is actually, at the moment, quite frightening, showing Tania Mouraud’s ‘Roaming’-a dramatic,  noisy black and white depiction of violence, death and dying.

I really didn’t expect to find much to my taste in this museum, only wanting to add it to my ‘collection’, but I was surprised and amazed to find so much to be excited about there. I will definately return-soon.

slow learner

sometimes I think I will never learn certain stuff. Like self-discipline. Can you learn that, or is it like blue eyes-you either have them or you don’t. Hmmm–thinks to self–there’s always coloured contacts though…

Anyway–because I have been so lazy about posting, every time I try to access this blog i have forgotten my password–yet again.

Once I tried for ages and couldnt figure out why it wouldnt send me a new password link until I realised that I was trying .net instead of .com. Click the x now–this woman’s dangerous.

limbo

I am in my second temporary apartment. I feel as if I am in limbo. I can’t settle-I haven’t even unpacked properly. Can’t wait for the 26th when I move into my ‘proper’ place, where I should be staying for the year. Roll on.