Excitement and Annoyance

I guess I'll start by recounting a few of the more exciting activities of late, although they really aren't too exciting. Primarily I'm really enjoying my internship, even despite the fact that we recently spent about 5 days making crystal stars! At a top rate of 1 star every 10 minutes and a goal of 420, you can understand how it took as a while. Nevertheless, that is done with (J even bought Louise and me each a bottle of champagne as a little thank you) and we are moving on to bigger and better things. For the past two days, I've been working on the final design of two projects for the big fashion houses I mentioned earlier. It can be a bit tedious at times as well, but it's fun to be creating something brand new and to know that it will be viewed by some of the most important people in fashion. Plus, the most potentially exciting aspect of the projects is that either one may lead to a collaboration down the line (namely fashion shows) which might require me returning to Paris at some point in the next couple months to help out, maybe even funded by the design houses themselves! By no means is the collaboration or my trip certain, but it's definitely incentive for me to continue to work especially hard on the current projects.

I've also really enjoyed my roommates of late now that we've all kind of settled down into a nice routine - too bad they'll all be leaving by next week! It's amazing how fast August has passed and it's strange to imagine them all gone while I'm still here. I am currently searching for an apartment for September, but once again it is proving to be an enormous hassle. As you all may remember, my initial apartment hunt in June was a bit stressful and unfortunately this one hasn't been too much easier. Thankfully I'm not executing the search from a hostel this time, but the French seem to be incredibly flakey. I've emailed about 15 people thus far and have only received responses from about 5, and I'm not alone! Louise is also looking for an apartment and has been for about a month, but with no greater success than myself. I'm confident something will work out, but it doesn't seem like it should be this difficult.

Other than my job and apartment hunting, I've did a bit more sightseeing last weekend. On Friday I went to the Louvre for my first time during this trip and was once again overwhelmed by the sheer size and beauty. The works of art are obviously fantastic, but I think people forget how gorgeous that actual building itself is. The attention to detail is truly astonishing when you stop and appreciate the staircases, hallways, windows, etc. This visit, I decided to check out the Napoleon rooms, the French sculpture gallery, and the Northern Painters (mainly German and Dutch). The Napoleon rooms were absolutely stunning and immensely more imposing than anything I saw at Versailles. Aside from stylistic differences between the two periods, the Napoleon rooms just seemed much better preserved and thus conveyed the sense of wealth and luxury far better. Most of the rooms at versailles have a couple beautiful tables, maybe a bed, and a few other objects where as these were filled from floor to ceiling with period objects. Clearly I was impressed. The French Sculpture gallery didn't stand out much although once again, the space was fantastic. Thankfully, I ended on a high note with the Northern painters and was once again flabergasted by the Rubens series of Catherine de Medici, as well as some tiny Vermeers and numerous other great depictions of canals and cows and fields.

This weekend will involve further apartment searching, some evenings out with the roomies, a French picnic, and possibly a day trip to Giverny to see Monet's house. The weather is supposed to be decent for a couple days as well - FINALLY!