je suis artiste.

You may get the impression from my previous posts that I haven't been very creative recently, only documenting my meals as of late. Well, that's partially true - things aren't as new to me in Paris anymore, so it feels redundant to talk about my daily routine when it's, well, a routine - but I have been flooded by artistic creativity lately. I can't say that I'm churning out masterpieces left and right, but my brain is full of thoughts that I'm either writing or painting down fairly consistently. I promised I would include some pieces a while ago, so here are a few (like I said, no masterpieces):

View from Eva-Mi's living room window

Gamlastan

Kelsey in Paris

Today I walked to Montmartre and back. I am pooped, but am expecting Reid and Mandi for dinner tonight (my host parents are away for a wedding) so I best get started in the kitchen. Until then, I'll tell a bit about my day.

After walking all the way there, during which I braved the sporadic rain storms and a crusty, old man making kissy faces at me, I picked out a spot on a staircase to set up shop. I had come to fulfill all of my artistic dreams: paint in the streets of Paris. While I'm not particularly proud of the artwork (I'll post it once I take a picture), the experience was neat. 

Lots of people stopped to watch me paint. Montmartre is known for being very touristy, and even though I had found a (relatively) secluded spot, there was still enough traffic that at times I had to scootch over to let people pass. It was probably a bit surprising to see a "street artist" doing her thing without asking for any money (although I could have passed for a starving artist; halfway through painting my paintbrush simply snapped in half.) The best part was when a little girl who must have been about four years old and (what looked like) her grandmother were descending, the woman said, "Attention à la madame," (which made me feel old) and the little girl paused next to me, looked up with her big blue eyes and said, "C'est très jolie!" (it's very pretty) I smiled and said, "Merci beaucoup, c'est très gentil" before smiling at her and in turn her grandmother. It completely made my day, and verified all of my artistic endeavors from here-on-out. 

When the clouds started looming overhead and I felt a splash or two on my knees I walked back in what was at times an utter rainstorm, returning to my quiet home. Oh, and upon leaving, I saw a mime.