Remember when I blogged about one of my Paris photos being shortlisted on Schmap? Well, I’m one of the winners! Now go buy those plane tickets and fly to Paris and check out L’Orangerie!

I just got notice today that one of my Paris photos on Flickr has been shortlisted for inclusion on Schmap’s Paris Guide. I am not familiar with Schmap but after a quick looksee, it seems to be a pretty cool site! Photos of various places (hence the shortlist) along with a place on the map of where they are. Immediately I can think of a good application for this— knowing where to find a hotel in a city where you have never been before :)

Pardon the pink. It is the so-called “red” colour in the anime markers I bought in a Japanese book store I found near Place de la Concorde.

I drew this after catching a glimpse of a scene in the movie The Freedom Writers which was showed on my flight home from Paris. At first, I wasn’t interested in watching the movie because I assumed it would be cliche. But as I watched, I realized how wrong I was.

What a fantastic movie! In a nutshell, it is about a classroom of students in LA who couldn’t care less about English literature (like all movie on this topic) while their white teacher tries to get them motivated (like all movie on this topic). Of course, the students are not white and the system doesn’t care about them and leaves them to be the under-achievers and criminals they expect them to be.

However, the teacher works 3 jobs in order to buy the students books and take them on trips — yes, all with her own money. This is based on a true story by the way.

She also gives them journals to write down their thoughts. Unfortunately, the quality of the sound on the plane was terrible so I heard only half of the dialogue.

What was remarkable was the teacher used the story of Anne Frank, the Jewish holocaust (which made me think about all the plaques I saw on the schools of Paris commemorating the students who were deported during WW2) and the black struggle during and after slavery to show the students that their modern-day experiences are the same.

Even without hearing the dialogue, I was able to understand the students’ journey. And like the cliche, in the end, the students love the teacher and make it to graduation.

But The Freedom Writers is more than just a cliche. It is a movie about building people up. Encouraging them to fight the obstacles that are in their way. That one teacher transformed her students’ lives in ways no one would have ever, ever imagined. Oh, this was definitely no cliche movie!

Superimpose her husband feeling that he has no hope in going back to school to become an architect. Meanwhile, her students have found the hope of a future.

I highly, highly recommend this movie. Especially to teachers who feel they are getting no support from their administration. My review isn’t even doing the movie justice. Just go watch it. It is fantastic.

Technorati Tags: The Freedom Writers

Back in the early 90s or really late 80s, a teacher in my high school asked if any student was interested in having a penpal. I did and the only one who lasted this long is my penpal from Jakarta, Indonesia.

We don’t write anymore but we do chat on IM when we see each other which is almost every night.  Her her, she is just starting a work day. for me, I am going to bed. Last year, we decided to meet up in Paris.

And that happened last week.

Strangely, it didn’t hit me until a few minutes before we were to meet face to face. I guess I was so used to the distance that it didn’t seem real. Until we called each other to say that we were both in Paris and ready to meet up now.

As I closed the phone, I was marvelling at how surreal this was! Here comes a new chapter. She is in the same building. Not on a different continent. We are about to meet face to face, not via a webcam or cellphone.

I went down the stairs expecting to see her and her friend in the lobby but they weren’t there yet. No problem, I’ll just leave my hotel key with the concierge and– oh there she is, outside!

I admit, I did have some butterflies in my stomach but they did go away once we met.

How cool is it to meet up with a penpal (in this day and age– does anyone have penpals anymore?) in one of the greatest cities on the planet! Immediately, the 3 of us hit it off.

We chatted and got caught up at a nearby Japanese restaurant and I had some interesting salmon (that’s me, forever thinking about my protein intake!).

We were to spend the next 4 days together exploring and navigating Paris. First stop was finding out the hard way that yes, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays :)

Technorati Tags: Paris, penpals

Most tourists bring along their huge cameras, flashy hawaiian shirts, and collect tacky souvenirs. Most tourists travellers spent most of their money on buying clothes (like I did) and jewelery.

I hunted for French bodybuilding magazines and shops. French magazines because I wanted a fun way to practice and improve my French. Even though I am not a heavy supplement user, I wanted to see what was in use in France. Well, Paris.

The magazines were hard to find but I did manage 3. I was hoping for something like Men’s Health but only found Muscle and Fitness (I don’t like that magazine very much) but it did come with a free sample of protein powder (avec caramel chunks. Another reason why I don’t read that magazine).

The first magazine I bought was Le monde du muscle et du fitness. It looks to be like a grassroots publication geared towards competitive bodybuilding (which I am not really interested in).

Same for the other magazine I found, Body Fitness (bodyfitness-es.com– looks like they have an English and Spanish site, too). But this magazine had more info about various lifting and nutrition tips balanced with competitive bodybuilding.

I found a few supplement shops nutrition stores and only recognized a few protein brands. Lots of nitric oxide and the protein bars were half the size of what I find here in Toronto. Same amount of protein though.

The only way I was able to keep up with my workout during my week in Paris was push ups in my hotel room.  I wanted to go jogging every morning but I was recovering from bronchitis and didn’t bring my running gear. I did notice the Paris firefighters jogging in groups in the Jardin des Tuileries in front of the Louvre. As they jogged up a hill, they carried a partner! Now THAT’S strength! Does anyone know if this is common in firefighters’ exercise regimes all over the world?

My push up routine was 30 reps, 1 minute rest, 15 reps, 1 minute rest, 5 reps. The next day I’dd add 2 reps to each.  I know, nothing Earth shattering or firefighter-like, but it was all I could do in a small, small hotel room (avec squeaky floor) after a day of hardcore sight seeing.

Technorati Tags: Paris, bodybuilding

So I sat down at a cafe in Paris ready to draw, draw, draw when I quickly realized that I haven’t an idea of what subject to draw! I hate it when that happens. Especially after a full day, no– more than a few full days of seeing priceless works of art, breathless architecture, fantastic women and delicious red wine.

Not one single inspiration to draw.

In times like this, it is obvious that my brain needs a rest. It is a lot of exercise to process all that visual information. So, I drew randomly. I started with a square on the left side of a page in my Paris Moleskine and drew the first thing that came to mind. Étoile. Stars.

Then I drew a square beside it. Hot girl. Third square: baguettes. Fourth and slightly above: Paris buildings. Fifth square below it: a crêpe. The final square beside that: me walking in the pouring rain. That was the Sunday I went to Mass at the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral.  It was in Gregorian chant and was very beautiful.

Technorati Tags: Paris, illustration

I managed to squeeze in a sketchcrawl while I was in Paris. I met up with a fellow crawler who was also in Paris for the first time. First we went to L’Orangerie which is an art gallery featuring Monet’s panoramic paintings of water lilies. Yes, panoramic.

After, we sat by some trees in le Jardin des Tuileries and did some sketching:

Top left: A couple were sitting on a park bench across from us. It was the first time I had the nerve to sketch strangers without asking permsission.

Top right: same park bench, but with different people.

Bottom: That fallen tree was made of bronze according to the sign beside it. It just looked too real to be bronze but like the Italians, the French are great at art.

The tree beside it. Before I reached the l’Orangerie, I came across a Japanese bookstore that sold anime art supplies! I bought some markers and coloured in the leaves.

I also did a few sketches before we met up:

Left: A store across from the cafe where I had un petit bowl of cottage cheese with raspberry sauce (8 freakin’ euros it costed). As you can see, I need work on my proportions.

Center: It is supposed to be a statue of a person on a horse at Place de la Concorde.

Right: A twig

The view of the Eiffel Tower and a nearby statue from the bench where I was sitting overlooking Place de la Concorde. Proportions once again.

Then I got tired.  I drew a fountain in le Jardin des Tuileries in minimalist style.

Technorati Tags: Paris, SketchCrawl, Jardin des Tuileries, Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, L’Orangerie

I spent a rainy day absorbing l’Arc de Triomphe. No, I didn’t bring an umbrella when I knew Paris was a rainy city. Yes, I did eventually buy a hoodie which still soaked me but NO the cold and rainy May weather did not ruin anything. I was too busy being ecstatic about being in Paris!

Even in the rain, Paris is beautiful. It didn’t start raining until I climbed all the way to the top of l’Arc de Triomphe. The view is fantastic. From there, you can see the star formation of all the streets coming together at the bottom of the arch. That’s why it’s called Étoile (’star’ in French).

My tour book said that most arrondissements can be accessed from that point. Later that day, I sat outside of a cafe and drew sketches of the Arc.

Then came the storm. The rain came down at an angel and I got wet. Still, not soaking but enough for a blog post :)

The above sketch took a while to complete as I was nutty enough to insist on drawing in the Paris rooftops. It was finally finished as I waited for my plane to take off coming back home.

I’m persistent but lazy, too.

You can see about 50 of my 500 Paris photos on my flickr account.

By the way, if you want a fantastic leg workout, climb the stairs of the Arc de Triomphe. 230m upwards in a tight spiral staircase. My quads have never been blasted like that before and I’ve done the CN Tower climb (1077 steps)!

Technorati Tags: Paris, Arc de Triomphe

One notable characteristic about Paris (and I safely assume the rest of France) that even a visually impaired person couldn’t miss was the fact that the women are hot… no, beyond hot. Stunning.

In fact, I immediately realized when I was in a major tourist area as the number of stunning women declined dramatically.

It’s not that I am being a chauvanist, I appreciate great art and the women in Paris (and the rest of Europe actually) are masterpieces.

I also noticed that my fellow males of Paris really know how to dress. Mental notes taken.

Aside from les belles femmes and Paris’ fantastic architecture, even their side streets are a feast for the eyes. As I’d walk on a street repeatedly reminding myself that yes I am indeed in Paris, once in a while my eye would catch a medieval looking side street.

That’s one of them near my hotel in the 12th arrondissement (see above).  See those stairs? As I climbed them, one of Paris’s stunning creatures was walking down. Oh she knew I was mesmerized.

And that’s what I liked about Parisien women. They did not look away or give you attitude or be disgusted. They know they are works of art and they are proud of it! :)

That’s what I miss here in North America. Most people seem to be too self-conscious about being appreciated. Trust me, you are looking good. You’re hot stuff! Flaunt it!

Technorati Tags: Paris

In my taxi from Charles De Gaulle Airport on my way to my hotel, I saw the most unexpected thing: we were driving through a tunnel that was also a runway on top!

I drew the above quick sketch that night in my hotel room (which is why isn’t very good) but I am afraid I didn’t capture the reason why I found the scene amusing.

Aside from the fact that an airplane was overhead, the airplane was one of those short, fat ones. Kind of like a cartoon in a way. It was just putt-putting along minding its own business as traffic was flowing underneath.

A few nights later, my and my friends were in a cafe and not being used to cigarette smoke since none of us smoke, the air was pretty choking (one of my friends noted that the tobacco they use is different).  But that didn’t prevent me from wanting to smoke like the parisiens! I know it is strange, but it is probably the same phenomenon as “When in Rome, do as the romans do”. I’m more of a cigar and cigarello man myself but I decided it was best to spend my money on clothes and CDs.

And boy did I ever! When I got back, the customs agent didn’t beleive I spent that much money in only a week. I replied, “I went nuts on Champs-Elysées”.

Technorati Tags: Paris