A Good Run

Don't you look special! (poster in the subway)


The Arab Institute.


The view from inside.


A little soap in the fountain never hurt anything.


Christian, your ship has sailed!


SERIOUS.


NOT so SERIOUS.

Things I See

Fede and I on the canal early Sunday Morning. The canal runs right through Fede's neighborhood. It's a really hip area. Sort of a working class population with lots of cool bars and wonderful pastry shops, and even a super authentic Mexican restaurant that puts pomegranate seeds in their guacamole. So Delicious! Everything about the neighborhood is easy going and really comfortable. I love it, I feel so at home. Also, yes I have bangs.



Paris is packed to the brim with cafes, patisseries, bars, but also what I'm going to call non-specialty stores. These stores literally sell everything and nothing at the same time. One such store prompted this photograph, their non specialty being piles of colorful plastic.



There is some great graffiti happening here, always fresh and carefully placed, it really completes the neighborhoods.


Damn pigeons. It's their mating season. Very odd.



This little guy lives in an office down the street from Fede's apartment. He makes me happy every time I see him.



Knitta Please!!! I presume. Evidence of Houston artists in Paris, man, it warms my heart. Great job you Knitta Folk!



Parisian Rat Conference 2008. The meet and greet.

I'm alive! I swear!

The view from Mon Marte.

My bedroom on Place de Ternes. Always warm and scented with the age of the building, I usually struggle to stay awake in my designated space. It's very cozy.

The view from my bedroom window.

Most people hang dry their wash here. It makes for lovely color splashes on the sides of the city's pale buildings. Sorry for the silence everyone. The internet is an illusive creature here in Paris. You never know when it will surface and it's hard to find time hunt it down. My life here is very busy, things are not as easy to get accomplished. However my life does feel much simpler. I feel as though I've been taking my first deep breaths here. This city is full of contradictions for me. It is packed tightly and at times so crowded you really lose yourself in the mass, and at the same time it feels like there is more space to think in and understand yourself as an individual.

Paris, I do love you!

Yes, I can confirm that the Eiffel tower is located in Paris, for any of you who are skeptical.



This is the Arc de Triomphe. It's a block away from my house. Crazy right? Paris is great! It's still hard to believe we made it here, but everyone is settling in nicely. I live in a really fancy neighborhood in the 17th right next to the Arc. My host mother is actually more like my host great aunt. Her name is Madame Lefevre and she's really fun. Well, thats all for now. I'll keep you posted.

St. Paul de Vence

Southern France, you just can't go wrong hanging around these parts.

My girls. From left, Jesse, Isabelle, Kara, and Moi.

The streets are so wonderful! The buildings are so old and have so much character. They are litterally hundreds of years old. Whats so cool about the interior of the city is that inside all of these wise and acient building are modern stores: mostly cafes and art galleries. There was this one little shop that only sold local products made from olive oil. I got a multi purpose, deliciously fragrant, liquid soap. It functions as shampoo and body wash. So cool.

We happened by this small installation in one of the vualted walkways of the city. From what we could gather it was a remenant of the city's hand-made Christmas decorations. I would love to see how everything looks when its still the season. I really loved the way they embellished the space and the materials they used. I also really loved that they incorporated the natural light. The piece was made from strips of papaer and other small wire constructions. Really beautiful.

L' Orange

Yelle

This is what happens in France