Boarding Pass – Meg Gagnard

If there ever was an award for what the quintessential American in Paris should be, I’d give it to Meg Gagnard. She’s very much a style icon, a little bit Zooey Deschanel, so down to earth, and all the while speaking flawless French. I met her through school, and I think it’s pretty awesome that she’s spending 4 years in Paris (I never would have been brave enough to do that when I was her age – a semester was good for me). But after seeing her in RENT this spring, checking out her photos online and learning more about her studies, I’m excited to see where the world takes her (I see big things). So enjoy a peek into how Meg sees the world in today’s Boarding Pass! Oh, and if you ever need to know where to find the closest photomaton[booth] in Paris – or anywhere – Meg is the one to ask! {Thanks, Meg!}

{Cairo}

Last trip taken:
Cairo, Egypt

Next trip on deck:
Beirut, Lebanon (and probably its surroundings) and maybe a trip to the seaside in Normandy in the near future. I’ll have to make it to Spain to visit some friends at some point this semester, but other than that, everything is up in the air. Who knows where a cheap flight will take me. I’m hoping to throw in Oslo, Prague or Budapest.

{Dublin}

One place you would go back to again and again:
Dublin, Ireland. I love the ambiance and of course the accents (beer?). I just feel as if I couldn’t get bored there. Obviously I’ll put Normandy on the list of places I’d never get sick of going back to because I lived there for a year in high school so it has what some, and I, would call “sentimental value.” The nearby towns from where I lived (Pont Audemer) like Honfleur or Deauville I can never pass up visiting. And of course, like Hemingway says, Paris. I live here now, but I may not forever. Paris will always be a place to come back to for me.

{Berlin}

Place you’d most likely recommend a friend go visit:
Berlin, Germany and Lisbon, Portugal. Both of these places I just had such a good time in, of course with good company! Both cities are just great for Uni students like me because they do not cost an arm and a leg to get to (granted, Paris is rather central) or to be able to go out and do things in.

{Paris}

Preferred method of transportation:
For long distance: Flights / Inter-city: Metro/Bus. Something about extremity being in airport is always a funky feeling, but the city life and hustle bustle of public transportation I adore. However, to complete the circle, you can never go wrong with a road trip.

Place you’ve never been but dying to go:
Petra, Jordan and Easter Island are the two places in the world that I want to go to more than anything. I know I will make it happen someday, I’m young… I’ve got time.

{stone henge}

Place you’d never go back:
…. I don’t have a place in mind! This is a toughie. I’ll get back to you. I suppose I need to travel more and experience an awful trip to be able to answer this one.

{Bruges}

Most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
Beautiful sites, great friends, lovely photographs, good laughs, new culture, adventures, pretty things, one suitcase, one passport, and a partridge in a pear tree.

{Berlin}

How do you prepare for a trip?
Usually the whole clothing thing is an issue for me. I never want to be wrong with the weather or the style, since I am well aware of all the photos I will be taking. I like to comfortable but cute. I always triple check everything. Lately, I’ve attempted the whole packing light thing, but it never seems to work out because I always want to have options. I definitely make sure my camera is charged with a memory card, bank accounts are set, and that I have all of my toiletries… the simple things!

How do you record your travels when you’re traveling?
I have a travel journal that my best friend Liz got me one year. I just make a page for every city and mark down pretty places to see or places to eat, or go have a drink, etc. It’s not very well organized, other than by the destination, but I like the randomness of it.

{Marrakesh}

What is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
Signs. I have a knack for portraits, but that’s obviously difficult with strangers, and more logical with people I know or who I’m traveling with. Candid and all… But I also like pictures of door and fronts of cafés and such.

{Cairo}

On an average, how many pictures to you take on a trip?
Depending on the length of the trip of course, but normally around 600-700. I have a bad habit of deleting the ones I don’t like along the way.

{paris}

What’s in your “designer travel kit” ?
I have a Nikon D40, but I cannot survive without my fisheye lens. I often just do simple editing with Photoshop or even iPhoto but lately have grown attached to ToyCamera editing software. I will always have a lovely for disposable cameras.

What do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
After going through the photos and selecting the good ones, I upload my pictures almost immediately onto Facebook and Flickr (I know, right?). I usually only pick a few that I really like and find pretty to put on my blog. I used to make a bunch of scrapbooks, but now I’m more into the whole online-phenomena.

{palais de tokyo, paris}

Favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
Aside from the pictures taken of course, I love post cards. I have this random stack of hundreds of post cards that I have accumulated over the years. I’ll send them all eventually, I usually have someone in mind to whom I will send them as I buy them. I also love to get trinkets. (How does one describe a trinket…) In a nutshell, pretty little things, usually for my home. For example, in an antique market in Cairo, I found a “beetle” that opened its shell on the top like an ashtray made out of brass. It was so random, yet so beautiful.