home tomorrow.

My semester is quickly coming to a close and I'm heading home tomorrow!  It's a tiny bit bittersweet, but mostly I'm stoked to be able to see my family and spend time with friends.

Here's the day's schedule, in case you're interested:

6:00am - wake up!
7:15am - leave for Charles DeGaulle airport via RER B
10:20am - depart Paris
1:00pm - depart Dublin
... sleep :)
3:30pm (CST) - land in CHICAGO!
6:30pm (CST) - depart ORD
8:18pm (EST) - land in good old Grand Rapids!

If only it really took just 2 hours to fly across the Atlantic!

I'd appreciate prayers for clear skies, timely departures, smooth transitions and energy.  It's going to be a really long day, but the reward is great and I couldn't be more excited.

post finals.

My reviews are done and all things considered, I think they went pretty well.  I had to pull some pretty late nights, but looking back over the semester, regardless of the "grades" I will receive, everything has been worth it.  I feel like I've learned more than ever before, and I'm loving it.

Above is a photo of my final model.  It turned out pretty cool and actually had the effect I was going for!

I have lots more to post, but I'll worry about that when I get back to the states next week.

lyon & la tourette

This week has been intense.  My final review for studio is on Monday, and we've only been working on this project for 4 weeks.  For those of you that know architecture, you know it's not a lot of time.  Especially when you have other classes, and you're in Europe.  So unfortunately instead of finalizing my project in studio today (yep, still had class, even though it's Thanksgiving break!) I was told to rebuild it and redesign.  And although this makes me extremely unhappy - 5 days until the review and I haven't even drawn a full plan or section - I'm extremely excited that I'm going home in 20 days.  And in 10 days I'll be done with school work.  Hopefully then I'll be able to enjoy Paris for my last few days, instead of being stuck in studio.

Anyway, on a happier note, I took an awesome short weekend trip!  My roommate and I took the train down to Lyon, France.  Our main objective was to visit Le Corbusier's La Tourette, a monastery from the 1960's.  So we spent one night in Lyon, visiting the building and exploring the city.  It was really fun and so nice just to have a couple of days to relax and sleep a little bit - and gear up for impending doom, aka finals.

There was some sort of social movement or strike happening in Lyon so (of course) the train we wanted wasn't running.  So we had a couple of hours to kill before heading out to La Tourette.  We took the funicular  up to the Roman Theaters.  So cool.

There's also a beautiful basilica up on the hill over looking the city.

Finally, we made it out to La Tourette.  And were able to jump in on the tour, 30 minutes in.  It was in French and I was feeling lazy, so I mostly just took photos.  But, I've been waiting the last 3 1/2 years to see this right here, and it was amazing.

The next day we slept in then explored Lyon.  It's a really cute city and even though it's France's third largest city (after Paris and Marsaille) it seems like such a small town.  Everyone we met was so nice and extremely helpful and caring.  It was wonderful.   

Our train didn't leave until 7:00pm so we were able to enjoy the city at night.  Some people say that Lyon is the true "City of Lights" not Paris.  It was definitely a beautiful sight!

utrecht, amsterdam & rotterdam.

Bonjour!  It's a brisk 2 degrees Celsius here in Paris this morning.  I'm in studio, enjoying a cafe creme, ready to build a site model.  I'm going home in exactly 28 days, but right now, I wanted to share a bit about my trip this past weekend.

I was really excited because I got to go to Holland this weekend!  The real Holland, not the city in Michigan :)  I visited a lot of great Dutch Architecture and my friend Sandra.  Sandra and I worked together on Support Staff at Geneva in the Summer of 2010.  It was such a fun weekend and I'm sooo glad I got to go.

My first stop was Utrecht.  I took a tour of this house: Rietveld's Schroder House.  It's one that we've always talked about in school and I was so excited to see it.  And I wasn't disappointed.  The house is beautiful and pretty ingenious.  The only thing that would have made it better was if I could have sat on the furniture.  A real Red and Blue chair right before my eyes!  Oh and I couldn't take photos indside either :(

I stayed with Sandra and her family in Wilnis, a 30 minute drive from the center of Amsterdam.  On Saturday night Sandra asked me where I wanted to go the next day.  She said we could go anywhere.  So of course, I chose Rotterdam!

I got to see this building, the Kunsthal.  Designed my Rem Koolhaas in 1992, it's awesome.  I learned so much and had a great time exploring with Sandra!

Near by is the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) which we checked out next.  It was a really cool place with a ton of great exhibits on Dutch architecture.  So cool!

It was crazy foggy all day Sunday, which was a bummer because Rotterdam has the largest ports in the world!  But despite the cold and the fog, we enjoyed a nice lunch inside and saw this beautiful bridge.

Monday, I explored Amsterdam.  I went on a free walking tour and learned a lot about the city and got to see a ton too.  It was great.  Especially because I didn't have a ton of time to explore on my own, or a really good map.  And due to my lack of navigational skills, that held me back a bit.

The city was beautiful and definitely somewhere I'd like to visit again.  It was a little overwhelming at first, but the it's such a unique city and I really loved it.

catching up.

I've been back in Paris for a week now since Spain.  Honestly, it's been a bit rough.  Rainy weather and getting colder.  The hardest part is there's not as much fun stuff to look forward to.  All of our big trips are done and all I can see in the near future is a bunch of school work.  Especially as Thanksgiving is approaching I really wish I could spend it with my family!

But there have been some really great things this past week!  On Saturday we went to Le Corbusier's studio and apartment in Paris.  It was an awesome space and was definitely cool to see.

On Saturday night, I skyped with my friends from back home.  Fortunately for me, they were all hanging out, "doing homework."  So of course I bothered them.  It was really fun and made me even more excited to be back in Chicago next semester.

My friend Peter also came to visit this past weekend!  He's going to grad school in Germany and had never visited Paris.  So I got to show him around.  It was really fun and despite the cold air and wind, it finally feels like fall in Paris! Walking through leaves makes me so happy!

This morning we headed out to Raincy, a Paris suburb, to check out a really amazing church by architect August Perret.  It was pretty amazing and one of my favorite churches I've been to here in Paris I think.  And although I didn't bring my camera, I was lucky enough to have one of my classmates lend me his :)

Oh, and I got a package from my grandma - candy corn and pumpkin cookies!  Plus, new socks from my mom.  So good!

photos.

You can find more photos of my trip to Portugal and Spain here.

segovia.

Oh my goodness, what a crazy couple of days.  We arrived in Segovia (about a 30 minute high-speed train ride from Madrid) to a train station surrounded my cows in the pasture.  We made it to the IE University, an old Monastery transformed into college campus, for a design charette.  One of the professors who used to teach at IIT is now the head of the architecture department at IE so he organized a whole workshop for us.

It started off pretty cool, with demonstrations of esgrafiado, a spanish facade technique from lime.  Then we were sent off into the city of Segovia to find examples.  Would have been fun, except once again it was raining.

Yesterday we spent the entire day working on our projects.  Trying to get a ton of work done in a very limited amount of time.   Very limited.  It was frustrating to be stuck inside a (freezing cold) studio the whole day instead of exploring Segovia.

Finally, early this afternoon, we finished the charette.  We were free.  So I went exploring.  I was going to see Segovia or die trying.  It was a beautiful day and actually pretty warm!  I just wandered, making sure I hit up all the big sights, and enjoyed the city.  It was so nice to just sit on a bench in the park and relax.

Segovia is a crazy beautiful and fun little town and I would love to go back someday.  But for now, it's back to Paris, and then back to The States in 6 1/2 short weeks!

madrid, españa

I totally love Madrid already.  We arrived on Monday afternoon and headed to Sol to explore the city center.  So much great shopping!  We found some delicious pizza for dinner and then a "Chocolateria" Basically churros you dip in warm chocolate.  Amazing.  It was a really fun night.

Today, we saw the National Archives building, Caixa Forum and Retiro Park.  This photo is from the pond in the park where you could rent row boats and row around.

This is the bathroom in the Caixa Forum.  My favorite color.  I loved it.  I'm pretty sure my reaction when I opened the door was priceless.  Grinning from ear to ear.

This evening we went to San Miguel Market.  It's a really cool place with a bunch of places to get tapas and drinks and stuff.  So we found some good food and just hung out.  It was a pretty chill night.

Tomorrow is another day of walking in Madrid.  Hopefully the rain will hold off, although I did get a great new umbrella which I'm excited to use :)

My battery is about to die and I can't get internet reception in my room at the hostel.  Not all bad though because it's going to be an early morning.  We're meeting at 9:00am...

porto, portugal

It's been a crazy couple of days here in Porto, Portugal.  We arrived yesterday around noon.  As we walked off the plane (down the stairs and onto the tarmac), I felt like i was suddenly in a totally different place.  I felt like I was on vacation, in Central or South America.  It was wonderful and warm; it felt like vacation.

We got to our hostel and decided to find some food and check out the city center.  We found a restaurant that had a special meal.  8 different type of meat, fries, rice and beans all for 8 Euros.  PLUS, freshly grilled pineapple.  It was delicious.  

Then we walked down the the river and the historic city center.  It was absolutley amazing.  Felt like a total beach town.  The sun was setting and I was thinking that I could just sit there the rest of the night and enjoy the view and the atmosphere.

This is just one of the amazing bridges here in Porto, design by Eiffel!

Today, it was rainy.  No more mid-seventies and sun :(  But we headed out to the ocean first thing in the morning and saw some beautiful waves.  It was crazy beautiful and the water wasn't actually that cold!  We saw Alvaro Siza's Pool and Tea House.  And later on, his architecture school and museum of modern art.  I like to call it Siza-day ;)

We ended the day at Rem/OMA's Casa da Musica for a concert and tour.  It's an amazing building and I'm really glad we got to see it, despite being totally soaking wet from walking around in the rain all morning.  Oh, and we went out for a nice dinner, compliments of IIT ;)

portugal!

Just a quick note to say that I'm going to Portugal in the morning!  I'll be gone for 10 days, visiting Portugal and Spain.  Should be a great time.  Prayers for safe travels, good weather and crazy awesome experiences are always welcome :)

Also, my very good friend Melissa came to Paris this past weekend and we had a really wonderful time exploring the city together.

Enjoying the view from the second level of the Eiffel Tower.

i miss, i love.

In honor of being halfway through my semester, I thought it was time for an "i miss, i love" post.  Inspired by my good friend Kristen, an eMi intern from this past summer.  So here goes.  A list of a few things I really miss from home.  But each is countered with something I love about Paris.  I have two months left and I know that one day I'll miss everything about this time...  So I'm trying to love all of it and enjoy every moment.

I miss baking.  We don't have an oven in the apartment, and I really wish we did.  I love making cookies and bread and pies and frittata.  Anything really.  Frozen pizza.  I feel so limited without an oven.

I love Baguette.  It's delicious.  So good with cheese, or jam, or just plain.  It's the best when you can smell it from the street and you go in an it's still warm and only cost .90 Euros.

I miss walking into a library, picking up the book i want and sitting down to read it.  I guess I've always taken American libraries for granted.  But here it seems like you have to jump through a million hoops to get one book from the research collection.

I love having assignments that make me read interesting books about architecture.  I feel like I've read more and learned more about architecture history and theory than the last three years combined.  

I miss my hair straightener.  I don't use it very often, but once in a while I like having straight hair.

I love the fact that my hair is getting longer.  Not being able to go to my usual stylist keeps me from making spontaneous decisions to cut it short, like I usually do.

I miss my hoodies from back home.  They're so warm and comforting...

I love the one "sweatshirt" I brought.  It's cute and comfortable.  And black.  Perfect for Paris.

I miss drinking a full glass of milk.  Milk is 1.60 Euros for 1L.  As a result I don't drink very much because otherwise I'd be buying it every other day.

I love Special K cereal with dark chocolate.  IT'S SO GOOD.

I miss my friends and family.  I love being able to talk with my close friends at all time of the day and call my mom on the phone whenever I have an issue.  I can't do that here...

I love that my parents were able to visit and I've gotten to see so many friends here in Paris.  I'm so blessed.

life per usual.

I feel like it's been awhile since I've posted anything.  Unfortunately I don't have any great adventures to report on or any cool photos to share.  School work has been keeping me pretty busy.  This week I'm writing my first paper since freshman year of college.  It's definitely a challenge.

So I'll leave you with this, a sketch of my favorite museum in Paris, the George Pompidou Center:

Also, a pretty incredible flower we saw along one of our Urban Exploration walks.

self reflections on opportunities.

What if you wake up one day and you realize you don't like where you are?  You realize you're not satisfied with the life you're living, that your situation isn't the ideal.  Nothing is perfect, every flower needs rain.  You don't know the sun with out the shadow.

So what do you do?

You could continue.  You could keep going in the life you're living, unsatisfied.  Or you could jump ship.  You could give up when the going gets tough.

Or, you could change it.  Do something different.  Sit down, think about why you're unhappy.  Then, decide to do something you love.

There's an opportunity in every hardship.  Something good can come out of this.  But you've gotta believe it.  You've gotta remember there's someone in control.  And he's on your side.  He freaking loves you.  And he doesn't want to see you stuck.  He wants to set you in motion.

So don't sit back.  Don't waste time.  Don't let life happen.  Everyday is an opportunity for joy.  For new life, for freedom and for love.  Don't be caught in the shackles you've created for yourself.  Let yourself be released.  Accept your freedom that's already been purchased.

urban exploration

One of the maps I made for my class called Urban Exploration.  It begins (on the right) at Place des Vosges and ends at Place de la Concorde.

Sometimes, I really like my major.  Most of the time actually.  I could be writing lab reports... hah.

parkers in paris.

Last week, I was lucky enough to have my parents visit.  I had to opportunity to be a tour guide, a daughter, a parisian, and a tourist, all at once.  we set the schedule which didn't seem to bad to me, but now, looking back, i realize how jam-packed it was, especially for two people who have never been to Paris before.

The first day we set the bar high and took a boat tour on the Seine, then went all the way up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  It was a beautiful night and we were on the tower as the sun was setting.  The colors were simply amazing.

The Seine, as seen from the top of the Eiffel Tower

The next day, Friday, I had class most of the day.  So I sent my parents off on my own.  They took a tour of the Opera House (one of my favorite buildings in Paris) and explored the Louvre.  When I was done we met up and explored the Montmartre neighborhood, including Sacre-Coeur and The Moulin Rouge.

Sacre-Coeur

Saturday was Versailles Day.  Ohmygoodness.  I visited the Chateau back in 2005 and wasn't that impressed.  It was hot and crowded.  I thought I might like it more this time... but no.  It wasn't quite as hot, but still obscenely crowded.  The redeeming element was the gardens.  They were beautiful and we had so much fun exploring all of the fountains.  On the way back to the city we stopped by the Inception bridge and Musee de Quai Branly.

In front of the Grand Canal, at the gardens of Versailles

Being an architect in Paris makes me wish Inception was real.  Or that I was Ellen Page.

Sunday we were back in Paris, ready to hit up the historical city center.  We started at St Chapelle, the King's private chapel, back in the day.  It was kind of amazing, and I don't think photos do it justice.  We also got to see the Conciergerie, the prison were people were held before they were sent to the guillotine.  The rest of the day was spent eating lunch and Berthilion ice cream along the banks of the Seine, Musee d'Orsay and Musee de l'Orangerie.

St Chapelle

Enjoying my Poire (Pear) ice cream on Ile de St Louis

Monet's paintings at Musee de l'Orangerie

Monday I worked on some school work that I'd been neglecting and I showed my parents around my neighborhood: rue de Petite Carreaux, Forum les Halles and the Pompidou Center.

Tuesday was their last day in Paris so I decided we should end the trip the Parisian way: Eating crepes from a street vendor and enjoying the Louvre/Tuillerie gardens, just a couple of Paris' amazing public spaces.

I can't say enough how glad I am they came to visit and how happy I was to show them around a city I now consider my own :)

My dad and I in front of our Apollo's Chariot at Versailles

i couldn't have guessed.

I couldn't have guessed I'd have the opportunity to see so many people in Europe.  I never imagined that we would all be here at the same time and that our paths would cross like this.

On Saturday night, I had the opportunity to meet up with my friend Laura.  Laura and I worked at Camp Geneva together Summer 2010.  She was a Shores counselor while I worked Arts & Crafts on Shores.  She's studying in Aix-en-Provence this semester and came up to Paris for the weekend.  I was so happy when she Facebooked me!

Laura and I (with Kristen too!) at camp last summer on "Monochromatic Wednesday"

I was even happier that we were able to meet up!  We (Laura, her friend Caroline and me) grabbed some food at a little market and boulangerie and kicked it Parisian style: sitting in the grass at the Place des Invalides. With a great view of the Eiffel Tower.  It was wonderful just to catch up with Laura and talk about our studying abroad experiences and what we've been up to since camp!

Laura and I in Paris :)

That night was also Nuit Blanche in Paris: literally translated into white or light night.  It's this night that happens every year in Paris that all of the museums are open and there are crazy art installations and exhibitions going on all over the city.  Basically, everyone stays out all night and the city never goes to sleep.  Despite the crazy crowds, it was an experience I'm glad I got to have, everything from neon purple rain to French chanting and cheering on a jam-packed metro train.  And I got to share it with my beautiful sister in Christ :)

readjusting to life in paris

The past couple of weeks have been crazy.  So busy.  There hasn't been a normal.  But hopefully things will start to settle down and I'll be able to find a routine again.

Everything was crazy because I was in Germany for 11 days, then my parents came 3 days later and stayed for 6.  It was so awesome to have them here, and I loved every minute of it (except the minutes that I spent stuffed up in the Palace of Versailles - that's a whole other story, however) but it will be nice to have things return to normal.

This morning we took a class trip out to Poissy so see le Corbusier's master piece: la Villa Savoye.  It's a place I've learned about so many times so it was very cool to see it in person and to be able to walk the ramp and stand in the roof garden myself.

I've finished uploading my photos from Germany to Facebook, so you can view them there.  As things start to settle down I'll hopefully have time to go through all of the photos I took while my parents were here and recount a few of our adventures.  We had lots of really great times and I have a ton of memories that I won't soon forget.

Also, just for fun, here's the cartoon that I had to draw in Berlin.  The assignment:  24 hours of my real life in 36 frames of comic strip.  Enjoy :)

photos from germany

Photos will be posted here.  I've got tons of school work to catch up on, so it'll take a while.  Please be patient, but enjoy!

weimar, germany

Yesterday, I left Berlin and arrived in Weimar.  It was about a 2 1/2 hour train ride, which I slept through most of.  I wanted to stay awake and get some work done, as well as enjoy the view, but it was so comfortable and I just passed out :)  I did wake up at one point and saw a couple of castles.  Germany is so beautiful.

Once I arrived I met up with my friend Peter, who is studying engineering at the Bauhaus University here in Weimar.  So he showed me all around the town.  It's a small town (actually about the size of Holland, my hometown) and compared to Berlin, it feels tiny.  But it was really enjoyable to wander through the farmers market and parks and such.  It didn't take long to see all of the sites so we ended up hanging out in the park for a while, before heading back to Peter's dorm for dinner.

I expressed my love of baking and it turned out that Peter had a bag of Tollhouse chocolate chips and all of the ingredients to make cookies!  So we made a batch and even though something was off with the butter, they were delicious.  I haven't had fresh cookies in so long.

The hostel I'm staying in is pretty nice and I got to sleep in - without setting an alarm - for the first time in a long time.  So nice.  It's raining today so I'm not sure what we'll find to do... probably just hanging out and hopefully getting a good chunk of my homework finished before heading back to Paris.

I'm really excited to upload and edit all of my photos and to share them, too!  I've been so blessed to have seen and experienced so many cool things on this trip!  On Friday, I climbed around inside of a bubble!

being a berliner.

I wouldn't call myself a Berliner yet.  I'm still on the fence and haven't decided if I like the city yet... It's intriguing, but something about it feels a little off.

We drove back to Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon, after checking out the festival in Dinkelsbuhl.  Our first stop was teh Mercedes Museum, which was pretty cool.  Although I was definitely more interested in the building than the cars, although the cars were cool too.  After that we went to Weissenhof which is a housing project designed by the Bauhuas architects - my first Le Corbusier building!

After checking into our hostel we found a German restaurant nearby and I called it an early night.  The next morning was shopping in Stuttgart.  Which was really good.  Tons of stores and everything is way cheaper than in Paris.  So I ended up with a few things :)  It was fun.

That afternoon we hopped on a flight to Berlin.  We arrived an hour and fifteen minutes later and managed to figure out the busses and s-bahn system to get to our hostel.  Our hostel is so great.  It's really big with nice facilities.  One of those places that would be great to meet people if you were traveling alone or new to a city.  We headed down to the city center for a later dinner and found a cafe to eat outside under big square umbrellas.

Today felt like a really long day.  We walked all day and didn't seem to cover that much ground.  We did make it to the Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind, Topography of Terror, The GSW Headquarters, and Checkpoint Charlie.  Now, I'm exhausted.  But unfortunately I have studio work that needs doing :( 

dinkelsbühl

This is such an amazing place.  I've never been somewhere that feels so fake yet so perfect, all at once.  I wish I had a way to upload photos because words can't describe how cool Dinkelsbühl, Germany is.

Last night we arrived at were welcomed by Randy and Andi, two of Prof. Schachman's friends who live in the city.  (Randy used to teach at IIT).  They made a delicious German meal for us, including sausage, potatoes, bread, cheese, and sauerkraut.  Plus a plum cake for dessert.  And I even tried a Radler, which is a beer (brewed right here in Dinkelsbühl)  mixed with a lemon soda.  It was such a fun night of just relaxing, talking, and having a good time.  Randy and Andi have a cozy back yard garden which butts right up against the city wall.

This morning I woke up early and did a little exploring on my own.  Then grabbed a cappuccino before we headed out on our tour.  Randy is an official trained Dinkelsbühl tour guide (plus he's an architect) so we learned a ton about the city.  We stopped midway at a Biergarten and I had an Afri-Cola which is like Coke with lemon.  And super carbonated.

After the tour we went to the Dinkelsbühl "beach."  It was just a park alongside the river where kids played in the water and families hung out in the sun.  We had delicious sausage and french fries for only 2.80 Euros!  So good.  We even played some beach volley ball.  Perfect.

I did some more exploring on my own and this time walked along the city wall for a while.  I found a bridge that looked like it belonged at Hogwarts, and a cat!  It came right up to me and let me pet it.  And it stuck with me as I kept walking!  I tried French and English but I'm guessing it only knows German.  And I have no idea how to say cat in German.  I really have no idea how to say anything in German.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Stuttgart and I'll be really sad to leave Dinkelsbühl.  It's such a cool place.  Romantic too.  I'd love to come back here someday...

stuttgart, germany

Made it safely to Stuttgart, Germany!  Despite the rain and the early morning, it's pretty great so far!  None of us speak any German so everything is an adventure.  For lunch we ended up at an Italian restaurant, with a menu in Italian and German.  Neither were helpful for us.  I ended up ordering Fettucini alla Rossini, hoping I would get something good.  It turned out to be fettucini was a tomato sauce and steak on top!  So good.

It's crazy because being here makes Paris feel like home.  We keep slipping into French and then remembering, "shoot, merci and oui are not the right words for this situation!"  But I have noticed there is way more English here (on signs and such) than in Paris, so that's kind of nice.

Tonight we'll be driving to a small walled in city called Dinkelsbuhl for a couple of nights.  Should be fun!

germany in the morning!

The past week has been crazy.  It felt like second year all over again.  We spent all weekend in studio working on a HUGE model.  It's hard to explain the intensity of this model with words, so I'll post some photos when it starts coming together more.  But the point of the story is that I haven't gotten out much because school work has been overwhelming.

I did get the chance to see a little bit more of Paris through classwork, though!  The best part of school is that we really use Paris to learn.  Most of our assignments involve visiting different sites around the city.  This past week we went to see the Memorial for the Martyrs of the Deportation, The Grande Mosquee de Paris, the Promenade Plantee and le Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, to name a few.

Part of the memorial

A view of the Ile de Cite from the Ile de St Louis

Mosaic at the Grande Mosquee de Paris

A manmade cave in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

A building cut in half by the Promenade Plantee

In the morning we'll be on a train at 7h24 on route to Stuttgart, Germany!  I'm so excited to experience a new country, a bunch of new cities and to just get away for a few days!  I'll (hopefully) be posting a few blogs while I'm there, sharing a some of my adventures.  I'm packing light and not bringing my card reader, so photos will have to wait until I get back :)

rue d'aboukir.

This is where I live.  It's small and nothing fancy, but it's home for the next 4 months.  We're trying really hard to not be too messy, but it's hard when you have lots of things and very little storage space!

I was able to spend Saturday morning and afternoon in the George Pompidou Centre, in Paris.  It's a modern art museum and library and movie theatre and cafe and just a really cool building.  I've been before, but they had lots of new art and installations to explore.  The best part?  With my EU student visa, I got in for free!

The Pompidou also offers a wonderful panorama view of the city :)