Research and poetry

Today I went to Square Alboni in the 16ème to visit the AGBU's Librairie Noubar. I read and took notes for about 5 hours in peace. The library has two indexes in Armenian and in French and thousands of volumes, periodicals and other research materials. I was able to see original copies of ՄԵՆՔ [MENK (we)], a periodical published in Paris from 1931-2 and books and criticims in both languages.

The library has most of the original issues of ՄԵՆՔ. The review editorial board was composed of 15 French-Armenian writers, with an original manifesto. It published poems, short stories, book and art reviews. It also published pieces by young authors outside of the MENK (we) group such as Harout Kosdantyan.

Montmartre

I spent half a day walking around Montmartre. I hadn't been there in quite a few years, and despite the rain (yes, again!), I enjoyed the walk.





The downpour got heavier just as I was heading to the Basilique de Sacré Coeur. See the dark sky in that picture.







Afterwards I walked back down the hill, past the vineyards and by the "Lapin Agile".














In the afternoon, I met up with cousin Anahid at St Michel, then checked out some bookstores.

Paris 16eme

Today's menu was in three courses in one of the chicest neighborhoods of Paris 16eme: Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, the Museum of Modern Art and the Fondation Bismarck.

The first stop was to see a small exhibit of Arshile Gorky's drawings, on loan from Lisbon and part of the "L'Arménie mon amie" (Armenia my friend) -- a year's worth of different exhibits around Armenia and its culture.












The second stop was 5 minutes away at the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris -- an old building containing works from early 20th century to present. The ground level starts with a large room containing a huge incomplete painting by Matisse, a Barnes Foundation commission, mentioned in the book I read last year entitled "Matisse, père et fils" by John Russell.





There were interesting paintings by Robert Delaunay; a series of portraits of artists by Edouard Vuillard; a room dedicated to the Fluxus movement, another to the New Realism (contemporary to Pop Art in the U.S.);









The museum's bookstore was very well stocked with interesting titles such as the two seen below: "Women who write live dangerously" and "Women who read are dangerous".



My last stop was at the Fondation Bismarck, a private museum currently hosting an exhibit of amazonian paintings by Margaret Mee (1909-1988), borrowed by the Royal Botanical, Kew, England.

On the way back, I rode bus 63 from Trocadero to Gare de Lyon. The weather finally improved and temperatures rose a bit. I walked alongside Rue Cremeux, a beautiful side street which has the feel of a village in the 12th district. I did a detailed series of the houses there. The series may be seen in my flickr.com account.

Baby it's cold outside

It's been another miserable day weather wise. Only 12C or 60F AND it rained most of the day.

I went to the Theatre de la Ville, but tonight's concert with the Kronos Quartet was already sold out. Afterwards I headed to the Place de la Concorde, entered the Tuilleries gardens to visit the Musee de l'Orangerie. I stook on line under the rain for an hour.

This small building houses a unique collection of Monet panels depicting the Nenuphar series. Two oval rooms contain 8 panels; only 40 were painted in these dimensions.

Monet made these paintings between 1895 and 1926 (his death), working indoors and outdoors at his garden in Giverny in Normandy. Nympheas series (ie water lilies) as they are called, were promissed as a gift to the state during WWI, but Monet couldn't part with them until his death. The painter prepared a special studio for this project, and conceived the idea as a special retreat from modern life, a retreat for humankind.



I spent a lot of time at first looking at the paintings, and then watched the other visitors. Observed the observers so to speak. You can see my entire series, and all my travel pictures all the way back to 2001 by clicking this link that takes you to my flickr account.

Rain, rain, rain

The day started with some sun, but it got cool very fast and rained most of the daytime. I met with my cousin Anahid at St Michel and we started walking to Cite and Beaubourg then the rain hit hard. In the early afternoon, we ended up in a cozy cafe having some St. Emillion before she had to go home.



Cousin Anahid is a fun person, with a serious career in education, writing and has studied flute. We have plans to meet again mid-week.

Unfortunately the rain put a bit of a damper on plans. This being Sunday, most places are closed. Luckily Farida and her friends had made a reservation for dinner near Place des Vosges and the St Paul region. After a delicious meal we went for a short walk around the quaint village of St Paul neighborhood.

Le Marais

Today being Saturday, my friend Farida was free so we took the bus and meandered around the Marais.



Our first stop was Place Des Vosges, where Victor Hugo used the live.












After lunch, Farida wanted to some windows shopping but we went into some side roads, getting lost here and there and visited a small cathedral and its cloisters.







In the late afternoon, we went to the supermarket and I cooked dinner. A makbous from the gulf region, a recipe from my sister-in-law. It was a hit!

Swimming in the Seine

Today was my first full day in Paris and I woke up at 7:30 and had coffee with Farida's Mum, then proceeded straight back to bed. Wishful thinking! Jet lag was a little tougher than expected despite the good night's sleep.

Woke up once more at 1pm, and went to have lunch in a charming place -- tuna with a basil sauce and "tian de provence" which is a vegetable oven baked dish from the Provence region.

Since I had missed half the day, I decided the go to "Librairie Orientaliste Samuelian" --a very famous bookstore, where I found several books by Armenian poets. I think they were very pleased to get rid of old editions that noone had bothered to read before. I left and took the Metro back from ODEON to take the new subway line 14 to the Seine, for a swim at the new JOSEPHINE BAKER pool, which is on the Seine -- so I literary swam in the Seine River.


It's great to be able to keep up with my swimming regimen, and hope to do so once more on Monday.

Afterwards, I met up with Farida, and we spent dinner time at CHINA CLUB, where we had a delicious Chinese meal with a bottle of Beaujolais.








Bastille at night

New to Old Amsterdam and onto Paris

I flew out of JFK at 10pm on Wednesday aboard a KLM flight to Amsterdam and arrived around 11 am. The flight was excellent but despite the fact that I had taken GREAT CARE in choosing a good book for the flight and the trip in general, I barely read two pages before Morpheus hit me... hard.




I woke up in time for breakfast in the sky, and we soon landed at Schiphol airport. After a quick run to the airport's museum (a gallery containing some pieces of the famous Amsterdam Rijksmuseum) and purchasing a box of DROP (Dutch black licorice, yummy) I headed to my next flight into Paris CDG.




Must admit both flights were excellent experiences: on time, pleasant personnel, boarding without a hassle and the food was good. During the flight over the Atlantic, I was offered chinese or chilean red wines. I chose the chilean.

Landed in the early afternoon in Paris and headed to my friend Farida's place. Her brother is out of town and gave me his apartment for my stay. It's a cosy and beautiful studio near the Gare de Lyon, in the 12th arrondissement.

The apartment is very zen, no music and no books, so it's a good thing I have my own.






For dinner, Farida and I were at her parents. Her mother baked a savory tart made of pate brisee, mustard, lined with tomatoes and comte cheese and fresh tarragon. It was delicious.

Here's something I wrote a few weeks ago, which I believe is a good thing to share just about now.

HOME

Home is where my music
and notepad
and my art reside.

Therefore I always travel with a piece of home:
whether it's my iPod containing pictures and music,
or a stone in my pocket,
or a photo of my beloved one in my wallet,
or my thoughts...

Copyright Lola Koundakjian, Paris.

Packing for what weather?

Expectations of rain are usually high in Paris -- it is not known for its Sunny Weather. My friend Farida said it's been rather on the cool side lately. Therefore packing an umbrella and a good pair of shoes will be essential even though it is late May.

I am now in "packing mode" for this two week trip. I have mostly casual gear and then the wedding ensembles for Belgium. I did laundry today, and everything is on my bedroom floor getting organized. Lists are being made so I don't forget anything including gifts, toiletries and essentials for the plane ride (iPod, writing material, small cream/toothpaste tube).

I am thinking about taking 1-2 light reading books such as chef Anthony Bourdin's "The Nasty Bits", and a couple of the book I bought at the PEN World Voices Festival last month. It is essential to plan down time while one travels, otherwise it can be overwhelming.