Kisses and Cathedrals

Warning (especially for Ryan who gets annoyed about this) - this story has no grand significance or meaningful ending.

On the first Sunday of each month in Paris all museums are free. Woot! I had arranged to meet up with some friends at the Rodin museum at approx 1:30. I was running late and didn't particularly know how to get to the metro station post-church so the missionaries walked me to where they go - which turned out to be a further station than I could've taken and it required a transfer to line 13. Nonetheless, I wandered onto the first train and tried balancing my baguette which was super chewy since it was a day old and my cell phone in which I was texting Stephanie to tell her I was going to be late. Then lo and behold, I heard a voice right over my shoulder say my name. It was Stephanie! Out of all the possible metro stations (I don't know where Stephanie lives and there are hundreds of stations), out of all the possible trains (they come every 5 minutes almost), out of all the possible cars within one train (anywhere from 7 - 25), and out of all the possible seats and spots in one car. What a coincidence! The end.

Well not really, because then we went to the museum, which was FaBuLoUs. So I made a few goals last New Year's which I'm going to have to account for in about 2 weeks. Turns out one of them was to learn more about art - to understand it better. I had sort of forgotten about the goal until recently. Serendipitously I am in Paris and even more serendipitously, we live in an advanced technological age with audio guides that if you turn the volume up really loud you can share with your friends and split the cost. There's one goal that's going to get a smiley face :-) Here are some sculptures and things I learned about Rodin.

The Three Shades (from atop the Gates of Hell)

Look very carefully and see if you notice anything interesting about the relationship between these 3 men.
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It's the SAME man! repeated 3 times and rotated. In the smaller statues atop the Gates of Hell the hands were amputated to symbolize the powerlessness of the damned. And next...

Mirrored Image of Le Main de Dieu and The Kiss

Le Main de Dieu shows God's hand - the creator AKA sculptor - holding Adam and Eve. As for the Kiss, I've had a few changes of opinion. So at first I was annoyed at the audio guide for spoiling the romance of the statue. "Notice how the man is reserved with a stiff back, as if he is hesitant; whereas, the woman is totally putting herself out there." (Those weren't the exact words) But in an attempt to find the right angles for a picture, I changed my opinion. The feeling of the statue totally changes depending on the way the light hits it and the angle at which you look at it.

Romantic

Not Romantic

I don't know if these pictures capture what I'm trying to show. Taking pictures of Rodin sculptures is hard. You just have to go see it. Here are some more I liked.

Young Woman in a Floral Hat
(No commentary. Just pretty)

Arched Torso of a Young Woman
(Ditto)

The Cathedral

Rodin loved the architecture of cathedrals and created these hands to reflect the ribbed vaults that support the dome of cathedrals. Kind of a cool symbol. And for the token non-Rodin temporary exhibit at the musuem...

Laocoon by Etienne Bossut

I thought it was sort of pretty - in this setting with the coloring. However, the one upstairs in bright yellow, black, green, red, and blue made me shiver. It was like combining a poisonous snake with a crawly caterpillar. Goosebumps. I think it has something to do with mythology - because of the name which is the same as Laocoön and His Sons which is a famous sculpture showing a father and his sons being attacked by sea snakes.

Fête de Noel #2

So Friday was my second Christmas party of the year hosted by Betty and Maria. I love going to their house because it always feels like home - clean, happy, welcoming.

Betty (top left) and Maria (bottom middle). We had America, Chile, Germany, and France represented in our little guest crew. And brownies, empanadas, stollen, and truffles to prove it. I brought a salad - pear, blue cheese, and homemade candied walnuts.


That's my salad on the right. People went for seconds, thirds, and fourths!!! I learned all my cooking skills from my mom :-) And I learned the trick to pears from my Oregonian grandma and Harry and David.