South of France

I just returned for the beautiful South of France today for Fall Break. I decided that if I'm going to say that I lived in France for four months, I might as well see more of France than just Paris. We were given Thursday-Sunday off for break, so four of us decided to travel down to Nimes, Marseille, and Nice. They are all pretty close together in the lower east portion of France, with Marseille and Nice both being on the ocean front. We started the trip in Nimes. Nimes is a very small city, but is known for its Roman ruins. As soon as we got there, we threw our bags in the hotel and headed out to see the aquaducts. It was a bus ride away, but when we arrived we were in the middle of a forest. It was gorgeous, and really reminded me of the Upper Penninsula, Michigan. There were trails that lead you through the aquaduct, with the main portion off the large trail. The view of this Roman masterpiece was amazing. It was massive and one of the best kept Roman pieces I've seen (however Rome is next week...). It was built around 80AD, so close to 2000 years ago, and it looked like it could have been built a few hundred years ago. We were able to walk down, underneath the bridge, and here you could notice that it was actually built in two parts. The first and older half was comprised of the actual aquaduct to transport water. The other half was a pedestrian bridge to walk along side. As I stood underneath, I started to feel rain drops, and soon enough, it was pouring. I didn't get to see any more of the pieces of the bridge, but I must say, this itself was a sight to see. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was wet, cold, and ready to see the rest of Nimes the next day.

Before I took a train to Marseille, I saw the most complete Roman Colosseum in Europe today. It has been sitting in Nimes for just about as long as the aquaduct, and one of the first few to be built in the world. The exterior was almost in perfect condition; it was complete and stood out in the little town. It is still used for performances today, including bull fights. I didn't realize that bull fighting occurred in other countries outside Spain and Latin America, but because Nimes is so close to the Spanish border, the Spanish tradition has weaved itself into France. Luckily, there was no fight when we were there, but it was interesting to think that this colosseum, which once held gladiator fights thousands of years ago, still stands for a very similar purpose, but with bull fighting instead.

On the train ride to Marseille, I sat next to a window that had been spray painted on the exterior. Unfortunately, it blocked my view for an hour and a half, but looking at it from another angle than distruction, it made a very interesting picture...

Immediately when I arrived in Marseille, I could tell this was nothing like Nimes. The city is set up very similarly to Paris, with arrondisements and metro, however there are only two lines in Marseille and sixteen in Paris. The hotel was slightly outside the city center, and this area felt very modern. Most of the building were built between the 60s and 90s and gave a very odd feeling to the town. It was trying to be Paris, but the architecture made it just look awkward. At first glance, I wasn't impressed. The main building for an architect to see in Marseille is Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation. This building was built back in 1956 and for its time, was extremely modern. The entire building sits on pilotes, or columns, which was one of Corbusier's five themes of archtiecture. These columns, however, had a purpose, in that back in the day it was the system of disposing of garbage. All of the rooms had disposals that ran through one of these columns, and then underground they were all connected to make a sufficient system. The building has about 160 residences, ranging from studios for five bedrooms, a hotel, restaurant, gym, day care, and roof top terrace (another one of Corbusier's 5 ideas). The residences were also set up very unique for its time. Most of the units are two stories high. One floor will connect to the main corrider to enter into the room, and the other will take up the entire width of the floor either above or below. This allowed you to have windows on both sides of your unit and created a way of cross ventilation and also an amazing living room space with double height celings. The corridor is very dark and meant to keep people quiet as the walk through. Each door is painted a different color and has a light shining above, the only source of light in the entire corridor. The roof terrace was under construction, but we were still able to see some of it. There are some amazing views of the city from the top. The building is only 9 stories tall, but it felt like the tallest building in the city. And on the bottom exterior of the facade, Corbusier indented his "ideal man"- an image he made famous by using it for proportions of the human body. It was definitely an interesting building to see, and probably the most interesting in the city.

I didn't have too much time the following day before the train left, but I was able to walk along the beautiful coastline. There are a couple small islands off of Marseille, and on one sits the famous Chataue D'if- from Monte Carlo. This part of the city felt much more quaint than where Corbusier's building sat. It almost felt like two completely different cities, but nonetheless, it made my feeling of Marseille a little better. The port was just gorgeous and gave a completely new outlook to Marseille before I left.

Two and a half hours later, I ended up in Nice. I arrived in the early evening, before the sun set and was able to tour the city slightly before dark. Instantly, this city made my trip. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Nice is located in the French Riviera, and I could tell why so many people want to be here. The city was full of energy and life, but at the same time it was small and quaint. Most of the streets are closed off to vehicular traffic, so it gave the town a homely feel. Even the main street was blocked off to cars, however, the city tram ran right down the center. The main street was filled with stores and people and had beautiful strands of blue lights hanging from one building to the next, over the street. At the end of the street was a large plaza with these meditating men sitting on poles (don't ask why). And as soon as it became dark, they started lighting up and continuously changed colors throughout the night.

At the end of this street you were given two options, one was to turn east into the old city or go straight to the ocean. We started off with the ocean. There is a promonade that runs the entire length of the city with natural beaches along the shore. The beach was made of stones, not sand, but was still surprisingly comfortable to walk and sit it. We stayed here for a while and watched the sunset. After sunset, we ate dinner (Ratatoulli- it was invented in Nice) and headed into old town. This part of the city was way different than both the main street and the ocean. It, again, had no cars and was set up with several different plazas intermixed within the streets. There were restaurants that poured out into the sidewalk, street performers, and a ton of ice cream shops. They had every single ice cream flavor you could think of, from avacado to Ferrero Rocher to tiramasu. I'm excited to see how this compares to Italy!

The following day was a busy day! We started off by seeing the Russian Orthodox Church. It was built around 1900 and completely stood out in the town. It kind of reminded me of the Bahai Temple in Evanston- where its architecture has nothing to do with its surroundings, but it makes it even that much more special.

We walked for a while in the new part of the city- which reminded me of parts of Paris, and ended up at the Marc Chagall Museum. I have never seen this many of his painting before- some here and there at modern art museums, but it was amazing to see his vast variety of work. He had everything from painting, to tapestries, to mosaics. I was truly impressed. My favorite part was the mosaic that hung above a pool of water in between the two wings of the building. The reflection of the mosaic in the water was like something I have never seen before.

We took a long walk from the museum down through old town and decided to go to the top of the hill to see the view of the city from above. We took an elevator to the top, and as soon as the doors opened, it just made this city even more of a jem in my eyes. From the ocean to the beaches to the rooftops to the mountains- this city was different from everything I have seen. It was such a spectacular view, I just didn't want to leave. You could see the airport from the top- which sat directly in the water. We sat and watched the planes take off- can you imagine what that view must be like from inside the plane! It was just amazing.

Before we left to head back to Paris, we saw one more sunset in Nice. This night- all of the planes were landing at the airport, and I caught some amazing views of the planes in the sunset. We were also lucky enough to see a rainbow that night- a perfect ending to the trip!

We did a lot in the past four days, I saw a lot of cities, buildings, cultures, and skies. It was a perfect way to spend Fall Break before midterms kick in again. I hope you all enjoyed, I miss you tons- and thank you for reading!

Midterm

Well, I've been working hard and finally have enough to show you where I'm currently at with my floating restaurant. It's changed a lot since I last posted, but I really like where it has gone. My concept is to design a restaurant that can constantly change with the change in location and chef. The chef has the option to rearrange the boat in accordance to his own concepts. I created cores that cannot move, which contain the kitchenx and bathrooms, and bedrooms that have a limited ability to move. This allows me some control over what the end product is and forces only end results that I will be pleased with. The first floor consists of the kitchen, bathroom, crew living quarters, and seating for the restaurant. The top floor consists of more seating and lounging more for the bar.

The design is based off of two ideas, a grid and a cube. The grid is 8'4x8'4 and there is a telescoping rod that connects the frame of the cube to the grid. By allowing the rod to be telescoping, it has the ability to open the frame up when it is collapsed from storage. The rod is connected to a ball within the grid that allows it to move throughout.

The cube is comprised of a steel frame with four panels. The cube can collapse into 3' tall when in storage. When opened, it stands 8'4 and hangs 4" above the floor to act as a step when entering the cube. There are three types of panels that comprise the walls, one is red opaque glass, one frosted glass, the last translucent glass. The panel can be stored up in the top of the cube and lowered down on a hinge to be put in place. When the panel is not in use, you get to see it above you while inside the cube. The panels also have the ability to open as a door.

The restaurant is only allowed to be 16'8 wide and tall while traveling- so there is a process to open the barge up into the final restaurant. It is a 10 step process, all of which I have models of, so here we go!

Step 1: Barge closed

Step 2: Slide barge open to 33'4 wide

Step 3: Put in extra columns

Step 4: Unfold grid for lower cubes

Step 5: Telescope columns to reach grid for upper cubes

Step 6: Unfold grid for upper cubes

Step 7: Telescope columns to lift upper grid in place

Step 8: Unfold cubes

Step 9: Move cubes into final location

Step 10 (and final product) : Lower panels into final location

And that is that! We don't have our midterm until Friday, Oct. 30th, so if you have any opinions or suggestions, please let me know! I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for checking in. Miss you all and please keep me updated with what's going on over your side of the ocean.

String of Pearls

Yesterday we had another walk throughout Paris in our Urban Exploration class. The walk was called "A String of Pearls"- we walked from the third to the first arrondisement parallel to the river searching for "jewels" within the city. There are several mansions, plazas, and gardens that were built by the wilthy over the centuries. Each were similar in their design, but different in their use and program. Although it was great to see these old, rich areas, I took it upon myself to search for my own jewels throughout the walk. What I love about Paris is the unknowing, the surprises. You never know what you'll see when you turn the corner. For example, on my walk to school the other day- my typical walk- I saw something so atypical: a moped covered in grass! Of course it was fake grass, but seriously, where else would you ever see this!

For me, the walk with class became a treasure hunt for more of these images. Instead of walking you through what we were supposed to see- I'll walk you through what strange, unique images I found. We started at the Place de Vosges- a plaza in the heart of the city built by a King in the 16th century. All of the facades were the identical and in the center was the statue of the king on his horse, go figure. However, as we're sitting there drawing the plaza, we hear a band getting closer and closer to us. Out of nowhere, here comes the players, performing a Sousa-like piece- on horseback! I don't know about you, but I've never seen a tuba played on a horse, riding around a plaza designed by a king. It was so strange, but such a unique experience to watch.

As we walked through the plaza, underneath a walkway, I turned around and saw the sun shining in through the columns into the space. There was a couple standing at the edge of the walkway. It was such a perfect picture moment-I wish I knew who they were, it is a great picture of them- and of the Parisian feel in general.

We walked to see the largest piece of the Paris wall left in the city. The wall was from back in the 16th century when a it enveloped the small city for protection. If you were inside the wall, you were Parisian, if you were outside, you were not. Today- this piece of the wall is located in the heart of the city- it is hard to imagine that I was standing in an area that used to not be considered the city in which I stood.

We walked back down the same street we had walked to get to the wall- however this time, I noticed a bathroom inside of a restaurant, facing the street. The bathroom door was open and you could see right into the bathroom. If you look closely, you'll notice the walls. Those aren't just painted circles- they're rolls and rolls of pink toilet paper used as wall covering- something I've never seen!

As we continued on, entering one plaza after another, I saw this image. There was a covered passage into the plaza that produced an arch- almost framing the plaza. I just thought it was a beautiful image.

We ended up at one of Paris's history museums. I have never been here before, but supposedly the museum is filled with articles from throughout Paris when Haussman "tore" Paris apart in the late 1800s. He was an urban planner that completely changed the city- but destroyed much of the city in the process. This museum collected bits and pieces of buildings that were destroyed and created an exhibit out of it. This is just an exterior wall- filled with pieces of old Parisian walls- but it really makes me want to go back and visit the entire museum.

We broke for lunch around the Pompidou Center. I haven't been to the Pompidou in a couple weeks, and since then, they have started installing a new exhibit. The traveling exhibit is displayed in a room that butts up to the sidewalk alongside the building so you get a glimpse of what's inside. They were installing the new exhibit yesterday- and I have no idea what it is or who did it- but all I could see was one of those swing sets they have at local fairs- but it was interesting to see it this time inside while standing on the outside- typically, this is one of those things you view the other way around.

As we continued on the walk, we approached a street I have traveled several times. However, at the intersection we approached, I usually go to the right and this time we went to the left. It was the simple action of turning the other way that I saw this view of the street. It was interesting how there there were two pedestrian streets side by side- both with a completely different feel, separated by a row of trees.

So- the roads in Paris are quite narrow, but a bus should know how narrow the street is compared to the bus, but I think this driver had a little difficulty in eyeing the turn. I stood there for a couple minutes- but have no idea how it got out of that.......

We walked to the Place Vendome- which is probably the richest area in all of Paris. The only stores in this plaza are the highest of high end. The column in the middle with the pure size and openness of the area I think show the power of this plaza. I could NEVER go shopping here!

We continued through the plaza and ended up in the gardens just east of the Louvre. There was a little carousel for children placed off to the side within the trees. From my view, it almost looked as though the tree tops were growing out of the carousel below.

Just a little further into the gardens was a bicycle built for the tallest man. It was just sitting, chained up next to a post like someone dropped it off and ran to get a drink. I don't even know what to say.

We ended up at the Concourse- an intersection in the center of the city where you can see the Louve to the west, the Egyptian Obelisque in the center, and the Arch de Triumph to the east. However, if you look at it from a slightly off center- you get a view of the Eiffel Tower as well. It looked as though the Obelisque and the Eiffel Tower are in contact with each other- with the same vocabulary and shape- yet built at completely different times. I loved this view.

As I stood, waiting for the professor to give her goodbyes, I looked down by my feet and saw a leaf taht stood out from the rest. It was bright pink- as if it had been dyed amongst a pile of brown leaves. I picked it up and placed it on the concrete ledge and it came out as a really interesting picture.

As hopefully you have seen, there are so many unique views, objects, ideas throughout Paris. I love this city for that- you never know what you'll find next. This last picture was taken in the glass windows of a little perfume shop along the walk. The glass was translucent at the top and had a gradiant of pink towards the bottom. I think the reflections it produced speak for itself. I miss you all at home! I hope you enjoyed!