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k&k get cultured #5 : urban art tour
this month's k&k get cultured was an urban art tour led by our good friends Michelle and Axel (of Paris Urban Adventures & Gadabout World fame).
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since a picture is worth a thousand words, and the topic was art, i think i'll let them do the talking...
here is a sampling of what we saw:
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if you are interested in a bit more info, Michelle put a link on the k&k forum - which you can find here.
we had such a great time on the tour, we may just have to do it again in the fall!
space invader
as i was out and about the other day, i spotted this :
i see these guys all over the place, but this was one i had never tripped over before. (probably since i'm generally never out of my own neighborhood).
you can find these invaders all over paris. the artist even has a wiki page. ( i want a wiki page. and an oompa loompa!)
if you are interested in finding out the locations of these bad boys, you can purchase maps of the cities where they can be found, and now there are even invader shoes you can purchase (they are giving me ideas...)!
for more invader-y goodness you can head over to the site.
Christmas lights
I found myself over at Galeries Lafayette the other day (one of the major department stores in Paris), and let out a squeal of excitement at the building, all lit up with bright lights and covered in christmas decorations.
Galeries Lafayette, from across the street
The giant Christmas tree, view from the 3rd floor
The famous dome, with giant giftboxes hanging from the ceiling
I ooh-ed and ahh-ed for a while, then headed over to Lafayette Gourmet, the place where you can find pretty much anything you want to eat. For a price, of course.
But since when have they stopped carrying Cadbury? Or was I only imagining that they did?
the good old days
A week or two ago, while wandering around St. Paul, I came across the following in the window of a little shop there:
To Students of the Schools
IT IS FORBIDDEN
1. To spit on the ground
2. To moisten your fingers in your mouth in order to turn the pages of your books and notebooks
3. To introduce into your ear the end of your pen or pencil
4. To wipe off the chalkboard by spitting on it or by placing your tongue on it
5. To hold in your mouth pens, pencils, coins, etc.;
Would you like to know now why these interdictions exist? Ask your 'masters' who will give you the necessary explanations.
Finally, remember that you must not only obey these rules yourselves, but you also have the duty to inform everybody of them.
they should have these in france
while i was in the states this past summer, i finally saw one of the mythical REDBOXes that we'd heard about from some of our listeners as discussed in episode 242.
this one was in the local grocery store, but i loved that fact that you could drop them off at any other REDBOX location - and the fact that the rental was only $1.
For once, she wasn't walking on the mixer...
Symphony and Kylie, doing pre-production before the shows yesterday.
I love that Symphony is using the desk as a chin-rest.
A welcome home fit for stars
The best "welcome home" banner I've ever seen. Click to embiggen and see the excited expression on Alexis' face.
As discussed in episode 275.
Obviously, this is just before the Muffin Man and I ran through it.
Alternative mode of transport
The Segway. Safer than a vélib, where you're forced to share the roads with crazy Parisian drivers. Quicker than walking. I think I need to try this out.
This group of Segwayers consisted of about 20 people. It was hilarious to see them all scooting along on the sidewalk.
What not to wear #12,420
Either the balloon skirt is back or this lady has got a closet that magically transports her back to the eighties.
Fact : Not all Parisians know how to dress well.
this is not a pig
hennir = to neigh, to whinny
hennissement = neigh, whinnying (uncountable)
(special thanks to hachette & oxford for the definition)
how we spent mini-break 2.3
checking the temperature.
a lot.
qu'est-ce qu'elle est chaude!
you can hear all about our mini-break adventures in episode 255 and episode 256 of katia and kyliemac v.o.
Tournesol - turning to the sun
I'd never really associated sunflowers with the French countryside before, but apparently I was wrong. Most of our road up and back to Frog's parents house was lined with sunflowers. Fields upon fields of smiling, happy, sunny flowwers.
It made getting up to leave at 5 o'clock just a little bit easier.
tournesol = sunflower
because this information is important to know
as seen on mini-break 2.3
Who knew plumbing was such a dangerous profession in Paris?
Click on the image to see what's really happening!
At least from here I can't tell whether he's got a plumbers crack or not. Teehee.
i don't see much of this back home.
one of the things that i'm constantly struck by in Paris is the architecture. the buildings. oftentimes, the outside of buildings are far more attractive than the inside. i need to remember to look up more.
although, looking down often is helpful in avoiding the little "presents" left by the omnipresent dog population...
Bring it
Dear lady on the train,
Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything? A cushion for your back? An iced tea? You look right at home there...
Next time I see your freaking feet on the seat, I'll throw your sudoku out the window and we'll see you huff and puff at me then.
Snuffly kitten kisses,
Katia
As discussed in episode 254.
Symphony has been hogging the laptop. Clearly we need a new one.
Guédelon
in episode 249 of Katia and Kyliemac V.O. (Original Version), we have the lovely vivi in studio, with whom we "talk about castles, medieval cities and other geekery... and stuff...".
one of our faithful commenters (hi daniel!!!) mentioned another medieval treasure one can visit in france: Guédelon. if you head over to the website (which is in French, English, German, and Dutch), you can see what the castle looks like now.
katia has been to see it, and i had the opportunity to visit Guédelon too, thanks to the graciousness of the lovely vivi, in 2007.
this is what it looked like then:
this is an image of what it should look like when it is finished in 2023:
i want one.
dear vandal
dear vandal,
this ...
...does NOT make you cool.
love, kyliemac
lonely little guy
kathryn and i tripped over this little guy while walking down the boulevard st germain a week or two ago:
he kind of made me sad.
Ice ice baby
Whenever I had a party back home, one of the staple supplies was ice. Just before guests start pouring through the door we'd go and get a dozen bags of ice from the local service station, which would usually have enormous deep freezers filled to the brim with ice.
You just can't do that in France. First of all, hardly anyone in Paris drives, and therefore you can't just scoot down to the servo and pick up a few bags of ice, and secondly, they don't carry them anyway. So unless you call a special Ice Delivery Service, you have to plan days in advance and make your own glaçons (if you're lucky enough to have a freezer bigger than a loaf of bread, that is).
Imagine my surprise last year when I noticed my local Monoprix stocking bags of ice. I excitedly mentioned this to a few of my expat friends, who all looked at me disbelievingly. But the proof is nestled between boxes of ice cream cones...
So, when's the party?
servo = service station (Australian slang)
glaçons = ice cubes
what do YOU see in this logo?
did you see a squirrel before i suggested it?
no? i didn't either.
kyliemac's public apology to katia
once upon a time, a long time ago, our intrepid podcasters, katia and kyliemac, went to the carnavalet museum. kyliemac, determined to find the guillotine blade that she KNEW was in this museum, made her poor podcast co-host traipse all over said museum not once but TWICE, in pursuit of viewing said blade. which they never found. you may, if you wish, hear all about it at about 13 minutes in episode 20 of katia and kyliemac V.O.
kyliemac would now like to present you with the photo of the blade that she was so desperately searching for.
that is located in the conciergerie.
ahem.
Bains
Walking along the rue d'Odessa at Montparnasse this weekend, I spied this intriguing sign at the end of a covered building entrance.
My curiosity got the better of me so I decided to ask the internets when I got home. My research tells me that the Bains d'Odessa is apparently one of the oldest bath houses in Paris, located in a 19th century building with a listed façade. It closed down for repairs and reopened as a gay sauna that caters primarily to mature men and those gentlemen known as "bears".
I guess I won't be able to get a guided tour.
Address : 5 rue Odessa, 75014 Paris
un bain = a bath
they spoil all our fun
no breakdancing.
as seen on "it's a small world" - disneyland paris (the third happiest place on earth.)
"french in action"
one of the things i wanted to see in paris was this sculpture because, yes, i am that much of a geek.
those of you who are familiar with the "french in action" series will recognize this fountain. for those who aren't, you can read what our good friend kathryn wrote about it at spotted by locals.
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