Centre Georges Pompidou/ Pompidou Centre:

It is a complex building which has an outlook of circuit water pipes, located on the 4^th arrondissement of Paris in the old Marais. Our CIEE center, where we met for classes, was four metro stops away from the Pompidou. Once I even went to the Pompidou to do my reading for class. The Pompidou center consists of multiple functions—the public information library and the modern art museum. In 1969, the president Pompidou approved the project of the largest museum- Pompidou center. The design by Italian architect Renzo Piano, Gianfranco Franchini and British architect Richard Rogers stood out among others in the architectural design competition. The New York Times said the Pompidou center was “love at second sight.”

The first time I came to the Pompidou was part of the tour led by our instructors. We got off at the Les Halles metro and came out. The building was attractive because of the color and the structural outlook. Giant elevators, pipelines are in harmony. I did not expect the space in front of the Pompidou center becoming the place for artists, people who want to find a quiet space for reading and gathering.

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Entering the Pompidou center, the second floor is where the public library is located; the modern art pieces from the post second world war period is on the fourth and fifth floor. The exhibition had a similar feeling as the Guggenheim Museum. It has masterpieces by Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard and etc. Except for the static art, the museum features a lot of moving pictures, experimental films. Even though the art pieces are abstract, the setting and the inner structure of the building is awesome. The street next to the Pompidou center is also full of art activities.

Musée d’Orsay/ Orsay Museum

Musée d’Orsay is located on the left bank of the Seine and it was transformed from a railway station Gare d’Orsay. It has largest collections of the Impressionism painting. The station’s platforms were not suitable for the train, so it was used as a train running in the suburban area and later as a film set. Until 1974, the director of the museums of France suggested building a museum out of the station to bridge the gap between the Louvre and the Centre Pompidou. The Orsay has paintings, sculptures, photography from 1848-1914. I really favor the impressionism paintings from Monet and Cézannee, apparently, this is the museum for it.

There are many Museums to visit in LA but this museum’s interior design makes is the same as it still keeps the look from the railway station. On the first floor, the numeral gates were covered by glazed windows and artwork side by side, with sculptures in the middle. Most of the permanent collections are located at the fifth floor including work from Monet, Miller, Vincent van Gogh, etc. There is a transparent clock shows time from the outside; you could see the overview of the north bank of the Seine river including the Grand Palais, Place de la Concorde and Arc de Triomphe.

Unlike the Louvre or the Versailles, where there will always be people waiting in lines, you can see a capacious museum, coming to the Orsay around noon time. The Orsay shows mainly the French artists’ work and is more concentrated. I like the Orsay since I got to see a lot of impressionist paintings showing different landscapes of France in the early 20’s. The station’s clock and station’s platforms seems to take you travel across the times.

Château de Versailles/Palace of Versailles

Château de Versailles is the only chateau that gives me a shock of how grandeur and exquisite it is compared to other smaller chateaus. It is the palace built by the Louis 14^th as the hunting lodge. The Louis live here until the breaking out of the French revolution. Versailles consists of two part, the castle, and the garden. When you peak the golden palace from far away, you will see the statue of Louis 14, around 100” tall. It was unfortunate we went there on a rainy day; we had to wait in line for over an hour. I was worried if the long wait can’t pay off with the view, but the castle is really way beyond my imagination. Like the other museum, you have the audio guide covering all the different rooms and furnishings.

Crystal lamps, huge portraits and paintings all over the celling—you can imagine how lavish the kings’ life are. There are paintings of the greek stories, to highlight the divine right of kings, and the historical events happened among the Louis.

Before moving on to the garden, we went to the Angelina—famous and exquisite pastry store. I ordered an entrée with Tuna and the Mont-Blanc.

The pastry definitely won my heart with the smooth combination of chestnut and chocolate. The garden of Versailles is the highlight of the chateau.  It is gigantic that I cannot see the whole garden at once.

The back garden contains neat cutting of glass that is in line and embrioder parterre-a formal flower bed garden and a music fountain. I felt I ran into Alice’s wonderland since some trees are taller than me. The water show/music fountain is breathtaking, though some people say it is not like any of the animated fountains in Vegas(I haven’t been there yet). It is amazing because it is on a large scale with water coming on artistic status. The fountains did not run at the same time but come from here and there with the music.

I’ve been to a few other museums in Paris, which I will mention in the Museum Guide II. The overall impression of the museums to me are iconic and specific, compared to museums in the states. Paris has more focused and spread-out collections, and the places themselves have a longer history and artistic value than those in the U.S.

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My roommate Dani stay in the room next to me. The district consists of a lot of apartments and bistros, which are considered the most comfortable living area in Paris. Christine is a friendly and chilled host. She speaks excellent English. I remember she greeted me in French and speak English when I did not understand due to my limited French ability. Since her family is all professional golf players, instead of coat or blouse, she wears a polo shirt and golf pants most of the time. She makes casual dinner for us, Italian pasta, stew meatballs in tomato sauces. In every meal, she will bring two bottles of wine, red and white for us to choose.

She talked about the comparison, such as traffic, policy and so on between the U.S, France, and China. You can tell she is proud of being a Parisian, not favoring cities elsewhere in France. We also met her daughter Marion. The first time we met her, she was in her serious working outfit, while she was so active, smiling and called it out “oh la la” whenever something we mentioned sparked her interest. Her favorite singer from the U.S. is Justin Timberlake, and when she drove us to the house in Fontainebleau, she danced and sang out loud. She also recommended us a few local clubs that she used to go.

Tour de Eiffel
The Eiffel tower, around eighty-one stories wrought iron lattice tower, located at the 9ARR. It is likely the tallest architecture in Paris where you can see it in the different parts. It was used to be the ugliest building, drew lots of attention and criticisms during the late 19th century. Artists thought the Eiffel tower has the giant outlook that used entirely black stacks, unlike any of the baroque style white marble architects like Notre Dame. Now it became the symbol of Paris. Though it was full of tourists, we never got tired of the view. I was able to have lots of good memory at the place.

The first night when we arrived at the building, my roommate Dani and I managed to visit the Eiffel tower at night. We arrived at the Trocadéo garden and saw the bright lit tower. It completely blew our mind. When you were near the Palais de Chaillot, you could get the full view of the tower. We came closer and saw its iron structure. It was cheaper to climb to the second floor; we still saw the panorama view, spiral around the Arc de Trump. Dani said one random guy tried to propose to her at the tower, which was the fun part to climb the tower.

The second time, after we finished our class, a few of us decided to check out the human-made beach. Unlike Nantes, Bordeaux that is near the coast, Paris does not have access to the beach. During the summer time, Parisien managed to have the sand laying out and had the seating and umbrellas. It was packed; so we went to the Champ de Mars, which was to the east of Eiffel Tower, across the river from the Trocadéro gardens. Compared to the busy area across the river, you got to see the full-size Eiffel tower. We lied down pretending we were drinking wine instead of water.

The third time, I came to the tower and saw the fireworks on the Bastille day at night along. Since the crowd completely blocked my way, I stayed at the spot beside the Trocadéo metro; I could only see the top. The firework was spectacular with the music it played. Changing colors, patterns, similar to the firework at the fourth of July. I heard the surrounded people speaking French and felt so isolated from them, but soon as the “Imagine” came out, people around started singing. It was so powerful when “there are no countries” and “Living life in peace.” I felt that to live at this moment in Paris paid off.

The last time spent at the Eiffel Tower was incredible. The only regret I had was I did not do the dress code—wear the black dress. The group of girls and guys decided to experience the midnight Paris, so we brought several bottles of wines and came to the Champ de Mars. The Eiffel Tower was lit on the last day. Though it was kind of illegal to drink champagne in this area, we still came. We talked about all the funny, sweet and nasty moments in Paris. We walked pass the tower, waterfall, and the square. Going home, I realized it was the last time I could experience the charm of Tour de Eiffel.

My first part of the story:“Bienvenue à Paris.”

This monthly column will cover my traveling experience, my reflection of the local culture, people and food in different locations.

The post Travel Around the World: Bienvenue à Paris #2 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

What made me to go to Paris?
Since the beginning of my sophomore year in 2013, I began to take French as my third language as an international student. The reason that drove me to learn this language is initially from a little French lesson that I got from high school, where I was fascinated by the pronunciations. Also, I love the high fashion that I saw on magazines and their wild and free spirit. As we learned about cafés, food and architecture styles through reading and watching YouTube videos, I felt it is not accurate to learn the culture through internet or textbooks, such as we listen to Chanson—that I later found out they were not played at café or bookstore in Paris; instead, American pop music has been played everywhere.

I felt it is dull to learn all the history and beautiful things about France in the U.S. I had the idea after seeing the Study Abroad brochure—I want to study the language and culture in France. Paris is the ideal place that I want to stay for the two months. It had the history from the colonial period of the Romans, the ages of Louis to the Napoleon period, where it has the elements of the past and the modernity— the edgy fashion from recent years.

CIEE Program, Study Abroad, what does it mean?

As I browsed through study abroad programs that UI collaborate with, I found out CIEE summer language and culture program, which offers the course on intermediate french and french literature that fits for my major—international study during summer break. Though it is quite expensive, the fee is somehow similar to the summer tuition at UI, so I decided to dig in more about the program. The program offers a well-written information page on the excursions and coursework. It is later to be proved accurate as what I saw from the page. We went on several day trips to different locations in Paris, such as a trip to Chateau de Chantilly, to Nantes—a city located in South France.

But what I love the most is the field trips—we watched the film Petite Nicholas and discussed about it and went to a park to talk to strangers in French and gave a little presentation. The difference between going to a program or just traveling is the EXPERIENCE.

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In a program, peers, instructors and host family you met offered new and exciting ideas to you, unlike you travel and reflect only your opinions about things within your group of friends. You can check out here the best activities for kids to enjoy in Houston which are things like the Children’s museums and several parks they can play in!

First impression of Paris when I arrive? ^^
Nervous, excited, when I just arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport. At the terminal 2c, I met the rest of the group who traveled from the states by passing the missions, getting bags with all the French signs. We hopped on a Van with a group of seven students. It was surreal arriving in Paris. Since the CIEE language center was a little away from the city center, the Seine river, we passed by the upper part of Paris. The street was packed with people and cars, even motorcycles. We passed mostly the old towns from the past. The cafes on the sideway had the signs extended from the roof, with delicate patterns. The outdoor seats were in front of the entrance. Surprisingly, almost every café has lots of seats outdoor.

Orientation and the bus tour:
We arrived at the CIEE language center and did a long orientation on information about the metro system, phone card and some potential dangers in the city. I was a little scared of the pick-pocketing instructors mentioned—good enough, I always held my bag on the metro and never had a chance seeing these things happen, so I felt Paris is safer than some people think. Before we went out for the bus tour, the coordinator gave us an old traditional map and instruction of the Paris districts.
Probably a lot of readers are familiar with the geography of Paris. During 1795, Paris was divided into twelve arrondissements that were numbered from west to east, with 1 to 9 located on the right bank of the Seine, before Haussmann- a member of the state during the Emperor Napoleon III period started to do the renovation of Paris. Later Haussmann extended to twenty arrondissements, with number 1 in the city center and spiral outward.

Most tourism places are by the Seine river; the famous Eiffel Tower is at 7 ARR. Haussmann’s work reflects on the transformation of boulevards which is much wider than the previous ones. “Buildings along these avenues were required to be the same height and in a similar style, cream colored stone”(wiki). A good example is the Avenue des Champs-Elysées

—a big commercial drive from the place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triumph. It is magnificent that is neat and bustling, with trees that are cut at the same height, large numbers of luxury stores and the historical sites, such as the Place de la Concorde. The Latin Quarter of Paris, which is located at the 5th and 8th ARR, is a good representation of the old town, without renovation.

Most of the streets were designed to pass only one carriage.
We did an hour-ish long bus tour along the Seine River. Most of our group occupied the top of the double-decker bus. I used not to favor the bus tour—since it was so fast— I can only see the view through the half shield window. But this time I felt it was breathtaking. Along with the breeze and the broadcasting of introduction to the City, we passed the louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the opera house, etc.

I found out a Ultra HD Bus tour in Paris on Youtube, check out this:

For my next article, I will talk about my host family, epic road trips, must-go places I recommend and the story I had at those places. Stay tuned!

This semi-monthly column will cover my traveling experience, my reflection of the local culture, people and food in different locations. 

The post Travel Around the World: Bienvenue à Paris part 1 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

It’s now time to reflect on the final leg of the four-stop tour dubbed “fashion-month” by the business’ fanatics. Per annual custom, the procession of high fashion and ready-to-wear ensembles concluded in Paris, where some of the most influential houses in the industry call the city home. If you’re eager to explore the latest trends, you might want to check out a sorority shirts online store for unique styles.

So what did we learn from the last seven days? Unfortunately, not really anything new.

Many major houses displayed collections that seemed regurgitated and limiting. Céline’s practical but luxurious display of floral dresses, trimmed coats and detailed accessories was a pleasant visual. However, remove the winged-tip eyeliner that appeared across a wide range of runways (Givenchy and Dries Van Noten to name a few) and you might have needed a double take to make sure it wasn’t 2012, still. It wasn’t just Céline that stayed inside the box this season.

Margiela’s usual mismatched patterns, Alexander McQueen’s inventive but somehow unoriginal urbanization and Miu Miu’s Prada-gone-bad attitude all seemed creatively unfulfilled.

One spectacular that didn’t lack at all of these shows, was the atmosphere. Along side a star studded front rows and illustrious architectural backdrops the clothes seemed almost unimportant. Maybe the theatrics were an industry ploy to distract the show goers from the unoriginal couture? Not a terrible conspiracy.

While the designs might not have been anything special, Karl Lagerfeld took to the streets (literally) for his Chanel show and proved two things this year. First, Chanel can do color! The house that uses “simplicity” interchangeably with “elegance” finally contorted itself into a palette of bright colors, patterns, and even politics! Yes, in a bold statement Kaiser Karl himself took to the streets to stage a feminist protest. Led by Cara Delevinge, dressed in their runway outfits, the Chanel girls walked the runway with picket signs displaying messages of “He For She,” and “Boys Should Get Pregnant Too.” While this political stance was an attention grabber for some, it still seamed like a slight ruse to distract us from a not so tantalizing display of mismatched prints and power suits.

Fear not however, for there is a light at the end of the dimly lit catwalk!

Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino and Rick Owens, at his own label, concocted two rather inventive collections. Resemblant of the 18th century Grand Tour mystique, Valentino’s spread emphasized fine detailing and prints as typical of the house. However, the incorporation of Egyptian sandals and an ocean theme rich with corals, starfish and sea shells, along with beaded embroidering, placed this 79 piece collection at the helm of the seasons designs. 

Rick Owens showed similar grandeur, branching out from his typical hit list. Known for loud music and intensity, Owens took a deep breath on the Paris runway displaying his elegant tulle dresses to the tune of Lento’s “Fantasy in C Major.” Embellished in angular geometry with accents of leather and wool, the urban color palette radiated prowess and confidence.

Anther facet to fashion week is always the exceptional street wear that graces the front row. While most of the time it’s just pleasant to flip through the look-books created by major magazines, we can also take a few style tips from the pros. The most prominent trend this year was skirts and high-tops. It just works! With combat boots and Knee Length Dresses dominating college campus fall fashion this year, it might be a nice alternative on the slightly warmer day. Besides, who doesn’t feel like they can take on the world in a fresh pair of Nikes. Why not look classy while you do it?

Back to the designs! Okay. So the inventiveness wasn’t entirely there from the designers this season. But in arguably one of the most rapidly evolving industries in the world, you can be certain come February there will be an entirely new set of textiles, embroidering, and colors to dissect. And of course, I’ll be here to bring you the lab results.

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