Art of Tea, Honey, and Mosaic

l'Art du Thé, du Miel, et du Mosaïque.
We went to La Grande Mosquée de Paris, known not only for being a beautiful mosque, but also for its delicious tea, honey-filled deserts, mosaic decoration, and private steam baths.  The art here is in the atmosphere.  I have not tried the baths yet, but I plan to!

 The patio. 

 Mint tea, mosaic table, baklava (the best I have ever had...yet)

And as a final ode to the art of tea, here is my daily pot of genmaicha. Mmmm

Cinéma Lucernaire

The Lucernaire is many things - a cinema, a theatre, a restaurant, and a bar.  In other words, it has everything a person might need. ;)

Les Quatre Cents Coups  was showing in a tiny red viewing room on the basement floor.  François Truffaut's film originally came out in 1959.  The film is about a little boy's attempts to run away from various insitutions (his parents, school, detention...).  We see him and his friend run around all over Paris, smoking cigars and stealing milk and typewriters.
 Check out my two favorite scenes!
This first one is a puppet show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTi4wuW-vXA
In this one, the boys go into one of those spinning centrifuge/gravitron type things.  It's wonderfully filmed and is really a sort of dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buGqqGmY-5c

La Seine

I have seen so many things, just these last two days, that I have to make plusieurs posts.  I cannot include everything I see, of course...for instance, a man pulled a violin out of his jacket and started playing it on the Metro yesterday (it was wonderful, and greatly enhanced that particular metro ride). 

These last two nights, I have removed my shoes only to find bloody socks...a sorry sight, but proof that my feet are not used to this amount of exploring.  But still! a worthy price to pay.

On a more beautiful note, look at the art of Rivers and Bridges at night, la Seine et les Ponts, la nuit. 

 lights in motion.

 Beautiful. I would like to say that this picture needed absolutely no editing.  This is just what I saw, while walking along the river.

Et puis enfin,  Le Pont-Neuf.

La Tour

 The art of architechture - very touristy, of course, but I can start with the obvious and then move on to the lesser-known stuff.
By the way,
It is incredible how many artists there are here, especially performers!  Practically everyone I meet has a wife who is an actress.

my plan...

Salut, bonjour.  Here I am at last, in the city of art, romance, pickpockets, and enormous délicieuse meringues.  Voila, what I am going to follow with this blog (ou blogue en Francais) : the Arts of Paris - that is to say, street theatre, ballets, concerts, one-man/woman shows, museums, etc.  If I decide to make a mask and wear it outside, I will write about it.  If I learn something or see something or do something wonderful in one of my performance classes, I will write about it.  If I encounter and talk to a performer or artist, I'll write about it.  Pictures will always be included, and if I somehow decide that something I see is art/a performance, then I will write about it!
Par exemple, today's photo is the chandelier in le salon of my apartment.  It is beautiful, and so here it is, one of the many art pieces found in my parisian abode, which I share with the owner, Rosa Kokh, a 98 year old holocaust survivor.  She performs for me every day just by telling me stories, ahh hooray! They are wonderful and I will share bits and pieces of them.
Merci a tous, and tune in très bientôt for my time spent with Anatole, the well-known concert cellist who lives next door. :) bisous!