Arts in Islam at the Louvre

A while back, I had a few hours to kill after the dentist before meeting up with a friend. So, I went to see the exhibition "Arts in Islam" at the Louvre.

It was an interesting visit, firstly because I was the only person there in the exhibition hall with a headscarf, maybe the only Muslim.
Secondly, because of the above facts, a guard decided to have me fill out a questionnaire on the exhibit and a woman near the Mediterrean exhibits asked me if I only came to the Louvre for the Islamic exhibit. She was shocked when I said that I had been to Louvre way too many times and that my favorite painting is the one of Napolean and the crowning.


Below are some different pieces that I saw : 

Perfume bottles from a long time ago

 I love the pretty colors

Doors from a mosque

I love mosaics and their detail. If I had my own house the walls would be covered in mosaics.

A Turkish rug from the 13th century and look how intact it still is

Here you can check out the exhibition from the Louvre website and also you will be able to see the newest edition to the outside of the Louvre (besides the controversial triangle!)
 

French Vocab Sundays - 3 November 2013

Note : Every Sunday I will post French vocab words that I learned throughout the week. They are mostly random words, ones that I think of at a certain moment and others are actually important ones like parts of the body or words pertaining to paperwork.

This week I am reposting pictures that I have found on Pinterest. Not because I was too lazy to think of vocab words, but like I said on Friday, my whole family is sick. We are slowly getting better, so I should be able to post some interesting things this week. Enjoy!

 

 

 

French Cuisine Friday

This week I was unable to make the French cuisine that I thought of for yesterday's post, because my whole family is sick.
 So everything cuisine and housework was put on the backburner. Hopefully this coming Friday I will be able to share with you two recipes!

Actually just found this on Pinterest to get your mouth watering ! I might just do a dessert this week! Send me your recommendations!!!!

 

Photo from Paris

When we were in Paris, getting American citizenship for Fatima, we saw this mannequin in the window.

I'm pretty sure the whole ensemble costs 3x my rent. I'm sure just the broach is 800 euros! Second because it just isn't my style. So, I don't think I would buy anything off this mannequin, what about you ?

Château Chantilly

My parents took a side trip to Chantilly, specifically the castle, while they were here. They sure did have an adventure à la française.

The château de Chantilly was built for the House of Montmorency, then was home to the Condés and finally to the Duke of Aumale, fifth son of Louis-Philippe. He willed it to the Institute of France. Le château has two parts: the Petit Château and the Château Neuf. The first was built in 1560 by the architect Jean Bullant for the constable Anne de Montmorency. The interior decoration goes back to the 18th century for the larger apartments, and was carried out by Jean Aubert, Jean-Baptiste Huet, and Jean-Baptiste Oudry. The smaller apartments redone in the 19th century are on the ground floor. The Château Neuf was built by architect Honoré Daumet between 1876 and 1882 on the site of the portion of the older building destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century. It contains paint galleries, libraries and the chapel. A gallery, built by architecte Félix Duban in the 1840s, links the two buildings. The château is surrounded by a 115-hectare park which includes 25 hetares of water gardens. The parks includes large formal gardens designed by André Le Nôtre, the Anglo-Chinese garden installed between 1772 and 1774 in the center of which is the Hameau de Chantilly, the English garden installed in 1817 around the temple of Venus on the western side and, near the forest, the La Cabotière and de Sylvie parks. The entire estate was designated a historic monument by the decrees of October 24 and December 1988. (from Wikipedia)

Interesting Facts (from Wikipedia)

• The château and the Great Stables were featured in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill, as the home of villainous Max Zorin (played by Christopher Walken) which was being infiltrated by Bond (played for the last time by Roger Moore) in his quest to find out more about Zorin, who had already aroused suspicions of MI6 with various business activities, and ultimately eliminate him.^[5]
• Pink Floyd performed, on two consecutive nights, at the château during The Division Bell Tour on July 30–31, 1994.
• Every two years, in June, the "Nuits de Feu" international fireworks competition is held in the château's garden.
• Brazilian Footballer Ronaldo married model and MTV VJ Daniela Cicarelli in the château in 2005. The ceremony reportedly cost €700,000.
• Every May, a rowing regatta, the Trophee des Rois, is held in the grounds. French university crews compete in the 750m race for a trophy.

My dad accidently ordered steak tartar (raw meat) instead of terrine. Oops.  He did say it was a well-worth it mistake and now he has a story to tell. Maybe one day they can guest-post about their adventure.

Look at that yummy dessert!

Chantilly gave its name to Chantilly cream, popularised by the "maître d'hôtel" of the princes of Condé, François Vatel, and to Chantilly lace.

Have you ever visited Chantilly or eaten Chantilly cream or bought some Chantilly lace ?