Paris

I’m sorry my entry titles are slowly getting more boring.

Paris: the city of my dreams. Ever since I was in middle school I fanaticized of living in this city of love, where I could finally use that French I’ve been harnessing since sixth grade. In high school, I was lucky enough to visit with my aunt and cousin, and I couldn’t be more excited to return. And Paris didn’t let me down.

It was a quick three hour train ride from Luxembourg City, and Jordan, Casey, and I had no problem finding our hostel and checking in quickly. The rest of our group was not getting in until later, so the three of us decided to explore le Quartier Latin. Taking a gander and veering left then right then going straight for a little and maybe the river’s this way… we found ourselves engrossed in giant crepes, berets, and in front of Notre Dame. A very pleasant surprise! We took a few photos and stoically wandered the inside of the massive church. Then, we walked along the Seine towards the Louvre, which has free admissions for students on Friday nights after 6 pm.

The Louvre is a city in and of itself. You could probably spend two weeks just vacationing there, in awe of all the beautiful art and artifacts. (Maybe I’m finally turning into an art junkie, Olly and Suzie would be so proud) I mentioned how in the Vatican you are around so many marvelous things you start to lose interest. I can’t help but contradict myself. I could have stayed in the Louvre much longer, seeing more paintings, and being blown away by each one. I’ve also come to the realization that I love stories. I’ve always loved stories (that may have affected my choices of journalism and history as my majors), but artwork brings out a different kind of story. Who are the people in the painting, the sculpture, the print? What are they doing? Why are they there? I wish every painting had a little novel right next to it about the people in it. I’d go through those real quick.

Friday night Jordan, Casey, and I found a cozy little French restaurant, enjoyed soup de l’oignon, escargot, pate, and some local wine. Delicious. One of my favorite nights since I’ve been abroad!

Saturday morning we woke up a little late and missed the free breakfast, but decided to head straight to the center of the Latin Quarter to start a free walking tour. As well as deciding I’m a light art junkie and that I love stories, I’ve decided I’m not a huge fan of walking tours. Yeah, I love knowing about the places I’m going to, but I would much rather read a tour book than stand in front of it and get lectured. It takes away from my time to wander around, look at it closely, and have my own thoughts about what I’m looking at. Also, walking tours prevent you from going up things, in things, around things. You only get to see them. So after four sites or so, we ditched the tour, grabbed some lunch and headed to the catacombs to meet up with the rest of our MUDEC group.

I had not gone to the catacombs when I was in Paris before so I was interested to see what they were like. Never again. Yikes! We spent over an hour meandering around the underground canals and rooms looking at over six million skeletons. SIX MILLION! That’s a lot. It was a cool experience, but more than a little eerie to see one of the largest mass graves ever.

Afterwards, three of the girls and I decided it was time for some shopping and meandered along the river and Latin Quarter looking at street vendors and buying unique paintings and note cards to decorate our blatantly American rooms at home. It was quintessentially French, and pretty perfect! We also took this time to do some “real” shopping and wandered down Champs Elysee, where Taylor indulged us all in her purchase of a Louis Vuitton wallet for her 21st birthday. It was great to go from the paintbrush side of the river to the poodle side, and enjoy both!

I really think that is what I love about Paris. You really have everything there. From a Bohemian lifestyle of street artists to small dogs and cafes. You have ancient sculptures and architecture and modern industry and sky scrapers. You have wide open boulevards and small winding cobblestone streets. It’s a real city, and opens its arms wide to say “explore!”

Saturday night we indulged in the most French thing of all, getting dressed up and enjoying la Tour Eiffel. We spent a large amount of time taking pictures and watching the sparkling light show, then went and sat down at a nearby restaurant for our last dinner. From there we moved onto Moulin Rouge and Montmartre to see the Parisian Red Light District. To our dismay, it was a rather pricey district and none of us lasted long before heading home.

Sunday was a little overcast and everyone was worn out from the eventful weekend, but Jordan, Casey, and I made our way back to Montmartre and Sacre Couer. In high school Sacre Couer had been my favorite place. And, again, I was not disappointed. We spent time climbing to the top for the stunning view of the city. It was definitely overcast, but we were still able to see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. We then took time to wander the streets and squares surrounding the church and see the painters in their work.

Overall, I’m in love with Paris. It is now a life goal to move there. No big deal.