Paris Week 6: A Brief Ode to Rest

A week of rest, creation, and as always, inspiration. This week I slipped quietly into my menstrual phase. I got in a long 4 good days of full rest, and along the way I decided I wanted to learn how to make Pasta…so that’s what I did! 

I watched some YouTube videos, got some flour and spent 4 hours kneading, rolling, and cutting pasta noodles. The work was absolutely worth it because they were amazing!! I love finding various ways to be creative in my daily life. This month I’ve been really drawn to creative foods and soaking in inspiration from all the sights, sounds and art exhibits here in Paris. 

Those four days wrapped up in one massive big bow of rest and calm, and then I was ready to hit Paris right in time for my parents to come visit! Alex and I have been showing them the classics, enjoying the beautiful sites of the city, and discovering new gems all together.

Our first few days looked a little like this:

Fri: Mom and Dad arrived!! It was midnight their time, but they were thrown straight into 8am Paris time, and were absolute trooopers! Lunch at 12:15pm ZKG Dad’s birthday lunch! We got some Ladurée macarons, and then walked through the Queen Elizabeth flower market. This market has beautiful french linens from provence, many different types of flowers flowers, and yummy fig candles. We loved walking along the green boxes on the Seine, took a quick rest at the Luxembourg Gardens and then toured Saint Chapel, finishing with Midi 12 for dinner.

Saturday: Louvre Day! Lunch at Angelina’s then we headed over to Vincennes, an area where I lived in while I was a missionary! There we did some shopping, walked inside a castle and gathered items for a Sunday picnic the next day. That night we had AMAZING Italian cuisine at Pizzeria Arrivederci.

Inspiration Lately

It was amazing to go back to the Louvre. I was so inspired again by how much work really does go into making a legacy for yourself. 

As I’ve been gathering inspiration for my creative life in general, I’ve been loving reading “Steal Like an Artist” again. It encourages readers to learn about other artists that inspire them, and create a family tree of artists. This was something I was so inspired by in the Louvre, the fact that so many artists were influenced by one another, and many of them had similar styles, but that each one had their own touch to their work.

Some of my heroes and inspirations include Céline Chhuon for her reverence and passion for life, Elizabeth Messina for her attention to delicate details, Claude Monet for the volume of work he made as he grew in painting, Claude Debussy and his dreamlike melodies, and Alessandro Botticelli for his dedication to beauty and God.

I’m still growing my list, but so admire those who’ve come before me. I feel a deep appreciation for the resilience that each has shown in creating not only beautiful work, but a beautiful world.

On to another week!

Bisous, Alexa