Les jardins de Monet

Salut, tout le monde! C'est Sabine, et aujourd'hui, je parle de mes vacances de l'été dernier.

Before I took Sam to my hometown of Lille, we took a day trip to Giverny. Giverny is a small town in the Normandie region, not far from Paris. It's best-known for impressionist painter Claude Monet's gardens, which is why we visited! The gardens were truly like stepping into his paintings.

Sam and I both dressed in floral.

We also toured Monet's home, but we were unable to take photos inside! We did take some outside, though.

Do you like Claude Monet's work, or is there an impressionist painter you like better?

A tout,

Sabine

Mes aventures parisiennes

Bonjour, tous ceux qui lisent ce blog. C'est moi, Sandrine. 

Where do I begin with my life update? It's been a wild ride. As many of you may know, I used to be a student at the Paris Opera Ballet's school after winning a scholarship from the Youth American Grand Prix. That was years ago; I'm no longer 13, and I "graduated" when I was 18 and earned my spot in the company's corps de ballet. At age 22, I am working my way through the ranks. I love what I do; it's a great distraction. The quarantine has been hard on me because I just think about the past and dwell on it. I'm just ready to dance and perform again.

Now is as good of a time as ever to update with what happened when Sabine and her friend Sam visited me in Paris last summer.

I, of course, wanted to show off one my "homes", the Palais Garnier. It opened in 1875 and is one of Charles Garnier's best-known works. The view from the balconies is incredible. Yeah, it's not a view of your stereotypical Parisian skyline, but it's a view of the Haussmann grand boulevards that brought Paris into a new modern age. 

No, this isn't Versailles; this is one of the main halls of the Palais Garnier!

Here is a view of the grand staircase from a balcony.

Here I am at the bottom of the staircase:

I played tourist for a little bit and had Sabine and Sam take some pix of me when we walked through the Champs de Mars.

This was taken at the end of the rue de l'Université:

Sam is a princess, and she shares my love of designer clothes, so we decided to take a stroll along the Champs-Élysées before enjoying a gorgeous meal at Ladurée.

I had some fun at Galeries Lafayette and Louis Vuitton.

Sam posed outside of Chanel with her bag of new goodies. 

The following day, we did some walking around the city. Sabine took a photo of Sam and I outside of Paris's Hôtel de Ville. No, it's not a hotel- it's the town hall!

Sam hasn't seen Notre Dame after the fire, so we made our way over there. It was so sad, but they made it look beautiful despite the scaffolding.

...and, we ended up at the Champs de Mars again!

The Louvre is so overrated and full of pushy tourists. We decided to check out the paintings at the Musée d'Orsay. Here I am across the street from the museum:

Did you know that the Musée d'Orsay used to be a train station: la gare d'Orsay?!?

Our next stop was the Pont Alexandre III. 

You can see la tour Eiffel from across the river while standing on that bridge:

Remember how I said the Louvre is overrated? I personally think the best part is the exterior, and it makes for great photos. Did you know that it used to be a fortress/palace for the king?

Oh, hey! Look! I walked by the Palais Garnier again!

The following day, while Sabine and Sam explored Giverny, I did some shopping at Galeries Lafayette. Here is its famed stained-glass dome.

When they returned from their day trip, we watched the Eiffel Tower light show in the evening.

I hope you enjoyed reading about these days with my guests! Sabine and I have more adventures to share from last summer.

Bisous,
Sandrine

Paris | L'été 2019

Salut, tout le monde!
Yes, I know I've been slacking, but life happens! The last time I updated, I shared my adventures in New York City with my friend Sam and how our last stop in the city was LaGuardia...

...well, we took a relaxing, not crowded overnight flight. When we woke up, we were in Paris.
Sam and I stayed in a boutique hotel in Paris's 18ème arrondissement, better known as Montmartre. You may be familiar with that area because of the famous movie, Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain. Montmartre is the highest point in Paris and is known for its artistic history. Before Sam and I did anything else, we put our bags down and explored some of the famous spots on the hill.

We posed outside of the Moulin Rouge, the famed cabaret you definitely recognize from the film Nicole Kidman starred in.

It's been awhile since I played tourist in Paris, but I decided to this time. Here I am by one of Montmartre's Art Nouveau métro stations. The first stations opened in 1900-1913, and these are the original entrances that are now designated as historical monuments.

No trip around Montmartre would be complete without seeing Sacré-Coeur, which is on the hill's highest point. Sam and I definitely didn't want to walk up those stairs; we took the tram as soon as we finished having our photos taken!

I guess I needed an updated photo by the most famous French landmark- la tour Eiffel! It was built as as an entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, so it was supposed to be temporary. It was so hated! Despite that, it stayed and has become iconic. It's usually what most people think of when they hear the words "French" or "France".

I disappeared back to my hometown of Lille after my day in Paris, but my sister Sandrine did her fair share of wandering around the city. Stay tuned to see her Paris photos next!

A tout!
Sabine