Second week in Paris with a splash of London!

Okay folks, brace yourself I have alot to fill you in on- a week and a half worth!
6/8/10- 6/15/10

Today Laura Mary Margaret and I didn't take the embroidery class but woke up to tour Lesage Embroidery where the school was. The school is owned by Chanel and little did we know it would be the most interesting thing thus far. We were able to see samples from Karl Lagerfeld! They keep everything on record if another designer needs inspiration. As we were touring we randomly ran in and were able to meet Lesage himself. Designers come to him specifically with ideas. He was very easy to talk to and down to earth. It was just an unbelievable experience.


After the tour we caught a quick lunch and headed to explore the arc de triomphe & champs elysees. We went into some designer shops, including mine, Balenciaga; Swavorski has a diamond/jeweled staircase!



Wednesday the 9th we visited Lectra headquarters( the second apparal manufacturer in the world) We were sat down and were walked through how it is used. ULL uses Gerber, but it was very interesting to see another piece of technology. After Lectra we had lunch then went to Musee D'Orsay. I liked it alot because it wasn't as overwhelming as the Louvre, but the architecture was still very beautiful inside. The first floor houses alot of impressionist paintings such as monet, manet, and renoir. At the time we went they had a specific Van Gogh exhibit. Unfortunately photographs were prohibited.
We also saw a crime and punishment exhibit, It was very disturbing but neat to see. We saw a Guillotine, which was horrific but sculpted beautifully at the same time. Very surreal. In the exhibit I was able to tell the artists put thought into what there muse was wearing. In alot of the pics it was apparent there were alot of light whimsical fabrics. A majority of the paintings depicted women as the crazed sex. Alot of them were shown killing children and their spouses, even as far back as the 1700s. (Even as that far back men show women as crazy- ever think it's you that cause us to act that way?? hmm good question from the female race! haha

The next day a small group was chosen to go to the France- Lousiana office of alliance. The meet and Greet was to keep the ties between the 2 parts of the world. They were very accomodating and interesting to talk to. As we were waiting to go, we went to Parc Montsaurus.
It was very nice with a large pond in the middle. It's located near the international school so we walked around campus for a bit, (there's a building for each country)!
After a busy day we made a trip to the train station, got our tickets and started making plans for our weekend London trip!

--Now brace yourself for the fun part!
After 4 hours of sleep we woke up at 4:00am Friday morning to catch a train to London! The underground metro doesn't open until 5:30 so we were (well, i was) really concerned with getting there on time. Turns out, our train wasn't until 6:43 instead of 6:25 like we had previously thought. FUNNY. I was randomly put in a different cart then everyone else but it was totally fine, the fast trains are really fun! We arrived in London at 8, (9 paris time) and checked into our hostel. We booked a 12 bed girl's dorm with public girl bathrooms. We were a tad claustrophobic but it ended up being totally fine, we were rarely there! When we were settled in we headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum (the world's greatest museum for art and design). They have a fashion gallery there and were having a specific Grace Kelly exhibit but we arrived at the incorrect time. It was so amazing to be able to see clothing from the late 1700s up to Alexander Mcqueen's last piece (also on the cover of instyle.
We then went to platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station. (for all you Harry Potter fans).
Friday night we went to a 4d experience showing of an overview of London before getting on the London Eye.

It was really neat, for all you technology buffs. We rode The London Eye afterwards (the big Ferris Wheel on the river), and got a view of the entire city! We are also very subway savvy in London as well as PAris. After the Eye we went to London's version of times square, Piccadilly Square and had dinner. I really love London, It was a nice mixture of Paris and New york in my opinion. I could definitely live there, there are so many cool people, their dress, attitudes, everything. We played stylewatch alot. They are also very clean and friendly. If you ask a question they'll strike up a convo, no question! I was never intimidated.
Saturday we woke up early and made our way to Westminster Abbey.
We had a headset included in our ticket for the tour this was most definitely one of the highlights of the trip. It was so so interesting and beautiful.

When we were finished around noon we walked to Buckingham Palace.

We knew there was a parade in celebration of the queens birthday (really in april) at ten so we thought it would over, but we ended up catching it right in time for the march of the guard and were able to see her from afar!


(she's at the far left of this picture in the light blue). Later in the afternoon we went to Camden Square Market. Here is where all the indie punk vintage people like to hang out. It was a really fun area to see, and I got a few cute things from all the cool hole in the wall markets! We tried to get tickets for a broadway but were too late, so we watched the USA - England world cup game at a nearby bar in Piccadilly Square. Soccer wasn't really my thing, but after this game, I'm totally all for it. The energy from the game was enough to change someone's opinion. They were all good sports about us being american!
On Sunday, our last day we rode the double decker bus to the Tower of London in the morning and had a guided tour. We were also able to see all of the gems and robes from the previous queens and kings. Afterwards we went to Oxford Circus (one of the largest shopping streets in Europe). We shopped in topshop for 2.5 hours. Not exaggerating, I almost had a panic attack. It was so abnormably huge, it was 3 stories (department size), and not only did it have clothes, it had a restaurant, and a nail and hair salon! I could have probably set a fort there and camped out. I ended up getting a Romper, A vintage chapeaux, and oxfords!
Laura and I had a later train so we decided to go to Hamleys toy store (the biggest toy store in europe!) We also stopped and relaxed at the fountain in Trafalgar square (next to the national gallery).
Our entire visit we saw tons of decorated elephants all around town and had no idea what they were, so we stumbled upon one of the 3 shops in London and learned about them. Come to find out, it is the "elephant parade" there are around 300 painted elephants all around London decorated by different artists designers and celebrities. Net proceeds are donated to the elephant family (foundation for the conservation of the Asian elephant). Last year it was held in Amsterdam, next year it's in Copenhagen!

Because it was Sunday, Alot of the metro stations were closed down for repair so we casually got lost on the buses. I was freaking out a little but we ended up in this beautiful area, next to Kensington Park. It was really neat, there was a huge music festival going on, it reminded me alot of Jazz Fest. We had to rush to get to a nearby open metro to catch our train back to paris, but made it to the station in plenty of time, and arrived in Paris around midnight!

Monday morning we were exhausted and slept until 11:15. We had class all afternoon, then went to Buddah Bar for Lori's birthday!
The bar was located near Champs ELysees in a very nice/safe area. It was really hip and a little pricey, but very birthday appropriate for a 21st in Paris! It was the perfect event for a fun girl's night.

Today we visited Auvers-sur-oise. Auvers-sur-oise is a small town north of Paris where Van Gogh painted his last few paintings and passed. We toured the house of the artist Biggio, and were then able to see the house where Van Gogh spent his last few months, and the church and field where he achieved his last few inspirations. We were able to view his gravesite near the field where he and his brother were buried.
It was a nice change to get out of the hustle bustle of Paris for a day and be able see a smaller town in France. It was in a very rural location with beautiful landscape and mountains.
Very eclectic end to my short week in Paris. When we arrived back, we went to a nearby ice cream shop. I hadn't got icecream since I've been here and this was the perfect place, they shape the icecream on top of the cone into a flower!

Tomorrow a few of us leave for Amsterdam! Our train is at 2:25pm. I'll be sure to write about it when I return!
Until then, I send you my love, have a fabulous week!