Progression

From a sleepy countryside village...



To a quaint little town...



Which is traded for something that is more city chic...



And then replaced with something refreshingly modern...



Slowly transforming into uniquely urban...



Followed by lovely potential that is soon to be remodeled....



Quickly becoming a bit neglected...



Or all together forgotten.

So that was my photo assignment for last week. I got way more into this one. The theme was architecture. I'm super excited for this week's theme: Food.

Currently: happy that I talked myself into buying my new scarf

Good Girls go to Heaven, Bad Girls go to Brugge

I went on a sort of spur of the moment trip to Belgium this weekend. I visited Bruge (If you are wondering about the title it was inspired by a tourist t-shirt that I found hilarious for some reason. I guess they were trying to be edgy, lol.) and spent a couple of hours in Brussels.

I went with my friend Megan. We were under the impression that most people in Bruge would speak French, it turns out Bruge (Or Brugge) is actually more German than anything. Although once you are in the town it is obvious that everything is run for tourists and every sign is posted in about 5 different languages.

Megan and I

I loved Bruge. It is the most relaxing, beautiful place. Everywhere we went we saw the coolest buildings, and details. Even the doorknobs were pretty (We started taking pictures of the unique ones). There is a lot to do there as well. We took a boat tour of the city. From the canals you can basically see everything worth seeing in Bruge. Our tour guide was a funny guy. He kept quizzing Megan on her french history and trying to set her up with his son who was a chef at a restaurant along the canal. He also spoke little bits or every language. So he would give the tour in English, french, throw in a couple Japanese phrases for the girls next to us, and then would ask if anyone spoke Spanish.

I also climbed the bell tower (no elevator) and got a gorgeous view of the whole city. Plus the bells rang while we were up there, which was very interesting. One of the most stunning things we saw on our visit was the sculpture of Madonna and Child in the Church of our First Lady. We also visited a church claiming to have a vial of Christ's blood.

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child

The view from the top and the lovely ringing of the bells.

One of my favorite things that we did was rent bikes. This was probably the highlight of my trip. The store closed at 6 so we only had them for a few hours. I wish we had gotten them the second we arrived in the hotel. We saw bicycles everywhere in Bruge. It was a lot more fun to get around this way, and toward the end of the day we found this cool park (Minnewater Park) to ride around in. We even skipped a museum or two just so we could have more time to use our bikes.

Everywhere we went there were lace stores. They sold everything possible in lace form: handkerchiefs, table cloths, aprons, shirts, dresses, silverware holders, Christmas ornaments, coasters, etc. They also kept trying to sell all this tapestry stuff, which seemed kind of strange. The lace was pretty though.

This woman was demonstrating how to make lace by hand.

In Brussels I finally had a Belgian waffle. It was seriously one of the best waffles I have ever had; they are not kidding about how amazing those are! I of course had to buy some Belgian chocolates (In the shape of seashells!) and eat some famous Belgium fries. The place where we got fries gave Megan and I each a huge serving with a sauce of your choice (Megan was adventurous and got the curry). They also give you cute mini plastic forks to eat your fries with.

This weird fry man was the first thing to greet us at the Bruge train station.

In Brussels we didn't have a lot of time so we mainly spent our visit in the Grand Place. However we also found some interesting finds along the way (We somehow managed to get there without a map, which led to a lot of twists and turns).

Standing in front of the famous Manneken Pis Statue

A little bit of the Grande Place

Two random spots we found on the way back to the train station.

That's the end of my Belgium adventure. I had a great time getting to know Bruge and hanging out in Brussels.

Currently: in need of new boots

My! People come and go so quickly here!

My photo assignment for this last week.

Sometimes I wake up and for a moment I’m home. I am Dorothy opening her eyes to find she’s left the strange and wonderful world of Technicolor. The stop and go of the metro was really four lane freeways and traffic jams, the noise of late night traffic drifting in from my apartment window becomes the steady hum of Texas air conditioning in late October, and the river Seine transforms into a stretch of muddy bayou. Then my eyes adjust to the dim morning light; the moment passes and I remember where I really am. But despite any coincidental eerie similarity, often I just can’t shake how utterly different and out of the ordinary it all feels. A tiny corner of my mind rebels and wants to go back to the familiar, everyday land of black and white, where I know Auntie Em and the rest of the gang will be waiting. But just as that little thought creeps into my head, something happens.



I see that trees are still trees, whether they line garden paths or suburban streets,



And sunlight is still sunlight, whether it reflects off a countryside stream or the backyard kiddie pool,



And rain is still rain, whether it comes in handfuls or buckets,




And leaves are still leaves, whether they pile up on scenic hillsides or cement driveways,



And sky is still sky, wherever I am standing.

Eventually I remember that I can always find my way back home… no ruby slippers required.

Well that's it. The theme was a combination of nature and nostalgia. The nature photo thing was hard for me, but I did the best I could. For some reason this week I also had a hard time pairing the photo with text. I think I occasionally get obsessed with one part of the project and need to consider the whole more. Anyways it was fun to try something different with the essay this week. Hopefully I'll find something really amazing for this week's theme: Architecture.

Currently: Excited for my weekend get away!

Un Bon Weekend

So I keep thinking I'll catch up and post on old things, but I can barely keep up with the present. Anyways, this weekend was sooo much fun!

It all started at the Salon du Chocolate. This is basically a gigantic chocolate convention. There was chocolate sculptures, chocolate inspired fashion, shops from countries all over the world and lots of free samples. It was amazing to see some of the flavors the shops were offering, and the displays that went with them. Of course we had to take advantage of every free sample possible ( I actually witnessed a tiny scuffle between an older woman and a shop employee after she got a little to grabby at the Turron booth!) so by the end of it I think we were all feeling a little sick. But it was completely worth it! I think what did me in was the hot chocolate. To get it I had to pay 2 euros and at first I thought I got ripped off. The cup and accompanying piece of chocolate were very tiny. However once I took a sip I realized there was no way I could drink much more than the sample. It was incredibly rich and extremely delicious.

Sampling some yummy chocolate

All of this ( including the strange birds) is made of chocolate. I saw other sculptures too. There were chocolate guitars, crazy easter egg type things, little cupids, any animal you can think of, and the list goes on and on.

I kept thinking the bright display lights were going to melt this thing.

Models from the chocolate fashion show at the end of the day. Not as project runway like as I'd hoped, but still lots of fun. They threw chocolate from the stage during the show. I think the funniest one was the bikini covered in chocolate squares.

On Friday I went to another magical place... Disney Land!! I'd never been before so I was really excited. The park was so much fun! It's amazing how they put so much thought into every detail. They had it all decorated for Halloween, and everything looked great! I think my favorite ride of the day has to be Space Mountain. The ride was closed for awhile so we almost didn't go, but just before the park closed it reopened and we got in line. I love it when things work out like that. We also saw a few characters (not as many princesses as we would have liked, but I think we'll live lol). I was lazy and kept borrowing my friends cameras to take pictures so I don't have that many photos right now (including my one with Aladdin!).

Of course, since it is so close to Halloween Jack Skellington and Sally were in high demand.

The other characters were dressed up for Halloween. It took forever to get any pictures next to them though (Darn those little kids hogging all the Disney magic!).

I finished up my weekend with a quiet walk in the Bois de Boulogne, shopping in the passage de Panoramas, and La Defense. Bois de Boulogne is a lovely wooded area that a friend told me about. It actually is not far from my apartment so I spent the morning there enjoying nature and taking photos.

Then I went to go do a walk for my study abroad class. Everything was going wrong. It was rainy and windy, things were closed, and I was getting bored. Then it lead me to the passage de panoramas and my whole day changed. It is this covered passagway full of interesting tiny shops. I went to one place that sold really old postcards of Paris. Most of them are ones people actually sent and they have handwritten letters on the back. It's an interesting glimpse into the past. Another place sold autographs (I spotted one of the original Charlie's Angels), and one place even had ninja stars in their display case. My favorite store was actually across the way in the passage Jouffroy. I can't remember the name, but it was this really interesting jewelry shop. The front display case held all sorts of dazzling pieces and when you went inside there was, of course, more jewelry but there was also a section in the back with the crystals and gemstones in their natural formations.

You know it's just a cute little part of town where they sell old stamps, vintage postcards,
... and ninja throwing stars?

When I was getting ready to leave the street I came out on was hosting some sort of parade/protest. I think it was for womens' rights and the equality of men and women. Very interesting.

I finished up the weekend at La Defense. A fun, more modern part of Paris that features several interesting skyscrapers and sculptures, as well as a huge mall. It is also home to the Grande Arche.

The Bassin Takis and the Grande Mosaique (By Michel Deverne)

The colorful singing fountains (they dance along to music) and the Grande Arche. I was tempted to go up and see the view because they take you to the top in a glass elevator (my mind was in full Charlie and the Chocolate factory mode after Thursday), but the elevators cost money AND you had to climb a bunch of stairs to get to the main floor with elevators (an unfair trick).

Ok, ok, despite the fun of letting things pile up, I promise my new goal is to post things right after they happen.

Currently thankful for: My student art ID card! So many discounts (Going up Notre Dame was FREE today).

Inside Looking Out

Photography Assignment (Explanation at the end):

Life inside the musicbox ain't easy
The mallets hit
The gears are always turning

And everyone inside the mechanism
Is yearning to get out

And sing another melody completely
So different from the one they're always singing

I close my eyes and think that I have found me
But then I feel mortality surround me
I want to sing another melody
So different from the one I always sing

-Music Box, Regina Spektor

This is my photography blog post for the week. Our theme for the week was storefronts or professions. We were also challenged to be more creative with our essay, and try to stay away from the personal narrative which most of us have being doing so far.

I obviously choose storefronts as my subject. It's a little odd, but I decided to show the life of a mannequin. If mannequins were conscious they would be stuck and forced to live day in and day out in the same poses. It kind of goes back to the whole "I wonder if my toys come alive after I go to sleep?" thing that we all wondered when we were little kids. Or those movies where kids get sneak in a department store after hours and have some crazy fun adventure. Having personally been stuck in a mall after hours, I can attest to you it is not fun, you do not have wonderful adventures. You get hot, frustrated, and bored pretty fast, hence my sympathy for the mannequins, lol.

For the text, I paired the photos with the song Music Box by Regina Spektor ( I wish I could provide a link here so you could listen instead of just reading some of the lyrics) where she talks about being stuck inside a music box forced to repeat the same song over and over. Hopefully people get it... if not at least they get introduced to a great Regina Spektor song, lol.

Currently listening to: La Ballade of Lady and Bird, and Maurane