Today was an absolutely wonderful day, and not only because it warmed up and finally got sunny again! It started off with a ballet class with Wayne Byars at Studio Harmonique, and it was definitely my favorite class I’ve taken so far! It was also the first one taught entirely in French! The atmosphere of the class was wonderful. There was certainly a wide range of dancers – including a few professionals who were incredibly inspiring to watch. Plus, Wayne is very positive and very enthusiastic about the class, and he gives great feedback and corrections! I really hope I get to take his class again before I leave! Some of our group took a contemporary class at the same studio though, and they seemed to love their class as well…too much to do and not enough time!

After class, I spent the afternoon wandering around the area. I managed to get myself lost and turned around a few times, but I found some fun things on the way! I finally did make it to Victor Hugo’s house though, which was a wonderful treat after seeing “Les Miserables” in London last weekend! Now I’m inspired to read the book as well!

Victor Hugo's writing desk

  Around 5:30, we all reconvened for our visit to the Centre Pompidou, which houses a collection of modern and contemporary art! The architecture itself is amazing…it certainly has a different aesthetic than all of the other museums we have been to. I don’t even know if I can really describe it, so I guess I’ll just put in a picture…

On our way up the many escalators, we got a wonderful view of the city before delving into the artwork.  Throughout the museum, I found a ton of pieces that I was drawn to. Unfortunately my note-taking was cut short when my pen died, but at least I was able to capture a few with my camera so I can look back at them later. One of my favorites was “THEVERYMANY” by Marc Fornes, which “investigates the transformation of surface into structure and structure into surface.” Its creation was innovative in that it was designed using some kind of software program. I didn’t really get all of the details, but I enjoyed seeing all of the printouts and images that were made during the process. 

After spending a good amount of time exploring all of the artwork, I finished up my day with a good old French dinner – a chicken and cheese crepe with a bottle of Orangina – outside of the museum. Now I think it’s time for my evening cup of tea! A bientot!