Nuit Blanche Paris 2010

This was a couple of months ago, but it's annual.

The art installation on the bridge between l'Ile de Cite and l'Ile Saint Louis

Art installation at the town hall for the 4th Arrondisment

 Bonjour mes amis, ça va? 
La Nuit Blanche (the white night) was a couple of months ago, but I thought I would write about it anyway because you might want to catch it in 2011.
La Nuit Blanche is an art exhibition that lasts all night and consists of dozens of installations.  Some of them take weeks to build - just for 12 hours of display.  Some are really crazy and cool.  Here are a few pics:

Paris City Hall - Hotel de Ville

Every year the crowds get bigger - it's an all night party in Paris.

Marché Aux Fleurs et Aux Oiseaux de Paris

Birds!

Bonjour mes amies!
Sunday on L’île de la Cité means birds.
Every Sunday instead of the flower market like usual, the market is packed with birds and other small creatures like rabbits, fish, and other rodents.  You should visit.  It's easy to find, just next to the Cite metro stop on the 4 line.  


P.S. We bought our christmas tree!

You can buy a chicken if you want to have fresh eggs delivered to your home.

Do you think this bird food seller is tasting his own wares?

These bunnies are so cuddly!

Lots of parrots

Every size of cage available

Pont de L'Archivêché - Love Locks...

Love locks on the bridge.

This blog will be about the love locks that look out over  the river Seine.

On a few bridges in Paris it is a common thing to hook a lock onto on of the metal rods on the fence on the bridge.
This lock represents the love you share with your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend (in French you say "petit ami" = little friend).

The tradition is that after you attach your lock to the bridge, you throw the key over the railing into the Seine to represent your eternal love.

Most people scratch or engrave  their names onto their lock.  Some people tie a tissue or a rubber band or anything that they feel like because they don't have a lock (or maybe their relationship isn't quite so eternal?).

FOREVER - they must have tossed the key in the Seine

View from the Pont de L'Archivêché

First snow!!!!!!!!!

Today the coolest thing happened; it snowed !
Unfortunately, the snow did not stick to the ground, so it felt more like rain, but it did arouse excitement in most people.  The only downside was that the RER (the train) was not working.


It was cooold.

Harry Potter et les reliques de la mort, partie 1

French poster for Harry Potter

Harry Potter!!  This afternoon, I saw HARRY POTTER 7 - part one.  It was soooooo awesome, but sort of heart breaking.  Unfortunately, they cut out a bit, but at least they got the concept of the story.  In part one, they introduce lots of new characters.  However it is mainly just the three friends: Hermione, Ron, and, of course, Harry on the screen.  Well, I don't want to give away too much of the story -- so bye for now. 

p.s  You should really check it out.   

In Paris, there are some Harry Potter references if you look...

Paris Ice Sculptures

Ice Atlas

At the Christmas market at the bottom of the Champs-Élysées, there is a enormous temporary building full of ice sculptures.  We decided to have a look.  There was a long queue, and the exhibition was crowded, but it had quite impressive ice sculptures - everything from life-sized gladiators fighting inside an ice colosseum to animals, and at the end, there was an ice bar.  I admit it was -6 degrees in there, and my gloves could not warm me as much as I had hoped.  My favorite thing was the ice slide - reserved for kids of course!

Frozen animals

Gladiators at the Collesium

Mont Saint Michel

Grenadier Guard

St Stephen's Tower

FREEZING!!

Ice bar

Ice Dragon

Marché de Noël – les Champs-Élysées

Ahhhh christmas, I love christmas.  On Saturday, we went to the first night of the Christmas market.  In the market they have everything from guns and knifes to candles and candy to christmas decor, and a roller coaster was also thrown in.  Apart from the fact that my fingers were turning into ice cubes and it was so crowded that I could barely take a photo, it was a great night!

Arc de Triomphe

Bonjour mes amis.  Here is a picture from yesterday of the Arc de Triomphe.  It was built by Napoleon to honor the French soldiers who died in the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars.  I thought you might all like to learn a little of the French language today, so here is some 

Useful French:

English:            French:            Sounds like:

Hello -                            bonjour                          bone jhure

Goodbye -                      au revoir                        o  revwahr

Sorry -                            desole                            dayzolay 

How are you -                ca va?                            sah vah 

I would like this -           je voudrais ca                jhu vu dray sa

It’s good –                      c’est bon                        say bone

Where is -                       ou est?                           oo ay

My name is -                  je m’appelle                   jhu mappell

how much is it –            c’est combien?               say com bee ahn

I speak English -            je parle anglais               jhu parl an glay

I do not understand -      je ne comprend pas        jhu nuh comprahnd  pah

I am American -             Je suis American            jhu sweez-amair-i-ken

Numbers:

1-un        un

2-deux   deu

3-trois    twa

4-quatre  kaht

5-cinq    sank

6-six     sies

7-sept     set

8-huit     weet

9-neuf      nuf

10-dix      dees

Come back for more later!  Bon weekend.

Notre Dame

The Notre Dame is situated in a beautiful and historic part of Paris.  It is an incredible church.  Each time I go in it, I want to stay for hours.  Even if you are not Christian, it is worth it to have a look from the outside – can you believe they started building it in 1163?.  However, remember to look around the back of the church.  Some people stay only at the front side of the church and miss out on the cute garden behind the Notre Dame with an fantastic view of the back of the cathedral. Many people find the back is more breathtaking than the front.  When you are at Notre Dame don’t miss the small metal plate on the ground almost directly in front of the Cathedral.  It’s called the point zero and all the distances in France are measured from this spot.

Impromptu Marching Band Concert

Last night by Notre Dame.  Do you see the tuba in the photo?  There was a marching band playing great music.  The soldiers on patrol were enjoying the entertainment.

Ferris Wheel going in on the Place de Concorde!

I saw them building this ferris wheel yesterday.  Looks cool, doesn't it?

Welcome to my Blog. - A Young American Girl in Paris

Hello, this blog will give you information about Paris, opinions about Paris, and what life is like in Paris.  I am a young girl who just moved to Paris.  Before now, I have lived in Dubai, London and Pasadena. I have come to Paris with my mother, and I think it is a stunning city with incredible history, amazing sights, and world-class food.  In this Blog, I will write about places to go, history to learn, tips about how to act in France, and everyday life at the heart of Paris - the city of love, lights, food and beauty!

Places to go and things to do

You can never quite get enough of Paris, but if you are visiting Paris, I will list a few must see sights:

-The Eiffel Tower 

The Eiffel Tower is probably the most famous landmark of Paris.  On a sunny day, it will be crowded, and there will be a long line to buy tickets for traveling up the tower for the view.  Most days, note that there will be lots of men trying to sell you Eiffel tower key chains and other items.  


These items are also sold at gift shops.  However, the items sold by the men are a considerable amount less expensive than those sold at the gift stores. 
If you want to be fancy, book a reservation at Le Jules Verne restaurant.  The restaurant is located on the second level of the tower and your reach it by traveling up a private elevator in one of the legs of the tower.  When you arrive, you will have a excellent view of Paris, but remember to book it six months in advance.  If you want to get a good picture of the tower, go to the Trocadero. From there you can enjoy the nightly light show on the tower starting after dark.

-History of the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris in 1889 commemorating the 100^th anniversary of  the French revolution.  The Prince of Wales, later referred to as king Edward VII, opened the tower.  At first, the tower was not accepted at all by the French.  A petition of 300 names was sent in to protest its construction.  And in 1909, the tower was at the brink of being torn down, however it was saved because of its antenna, which was used for military purposes and other things.   Until 1930, the tower was the tallest building in the world.  The tower has 1652 steps climbing up to the top. 

That's all for the Eiffel Tower, come back again later for more.  A bientot!

View from Le Jules Verne