Paris

(Originally posted June 2011)

Saturday, June 18th

I arrived in Paris on the train from London. The train actually goes under the ocean at the English Channel. Luckily we passed through several tunnels before the big one so I didn’t immediately realize that I was underneath the ocean, sort of an unnerving thought. We took a taxi to Joan’s house, a family friend, then ditched the bags to go walk around Paris. My initial impression of Paris compares to my recent view of London. Paris is much more pedestrian friendly; in London, drivers practically aim for pedestrians. Paris has the normal feeling of a lived-in city where as London is so spotless you’d think someone scrubbed it down with a toothbrush each night. We walked up to the Arc de Triomphe, up and around the Eiffel Tower and found a little restaurant for dinner.

Sunday, June 19th

The first challenge of the morning came when we started to make a plan for the day. This task of figuring out destinations and transportations ahead of time is a bit more important in Paris than London as our ability to read information and ask for directions is significantly limited. I know about six words in French, which is much more than my folks.

At one confusing intersection we could not figure out where the bus stop was located. I strung those six words of French together in attempt to ask this lady for directions. She looked at me blankly, which I thought was in response to my inability to say anything in French. Turns out the lady spoke Spanish, which I’m much better at communicating in than French, but unfortunately she also had no idea where she was going.

In the end, we made it to Montmartre and did a walking tour of famous artists’ (Renoir, Lautrec, Van Gogh) studios, residences and views. We walked up old winding streets, passed a vineyard comparable to a community garden and finally to the church at the top of the hill (way, way top of the hill). Then we did a city bus tour to see all the major buildings and landmarks (thank goodness for the English language option on the audio tour). Paris, like London, has a long history, especially compared to the U.S. Buildings and artwork date back hundreds, even thousands of years. Many famous Parisian landmarks are remnants of several world’s fairs that Paris hosted and gifts from other countries.

Monday, June 20th

We got up early and took the two metros to the Louvre and a line was already forming around the famous glass pyramid. The line moved quickly so we had many hours to enjoy the museum. Still, the museum is so large that I only saw a small fraction of the 35,000 works of art. I made sure to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” the famous “Venus de Milo,” and the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” among many others. Then, I spent a large chunk of time in the Egyptian Antiquities wing. With all the artifacts that have been plundered between the British museum in London and the Louvre in Paris, there can’t be many remaining pieces left in Egypt.

In the evening, we all (my family and Joan’s) got dressed up and went down to the small chapel, Sainte Chapelle for a strings concert of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” The music was beautiful as if the strings were singing in a foreign language. The setting was a small gothic chapel with tall walls, covered in long stained glass windows. Afterwards we walked around to a restaurant that has been in operation since the 1500s, saw the bridge were lovers come to “lock in their love” by placing pad locks on the fencing and visited an old Shakespearean bookshop.

Tuesday, June 21st

This morning Joan led me on the bus to a street with all sorts of used clothing shops. I wandered through a few but quickly realized that even as used clothes, these name brands were still far out of my price range. I walked a few more blocks had found some stores that were a little more realistic and eventually window shopped all the way home.

In the afternoon, we took the metro down to Notre Dame and did an audio tour of the architecture, art and history. Being in Paris, I’ve had to sample the take-away crepe stands on most corners of well-traveled streets. So far, my favorite was the nutella crepe but I’ve tried ham/cheese/egg, sugar/cinnamon, and butter/sugar. We spent the evening wondering around the islands and down the West bank stopping in neat shops and for drinks. We saw many bands playing in the streets as Paris was celebrating the longest day of the year with live music on every block.

Wednesday, June 22nd

Quick laundry, uploading picture and packing before heading to the airport.  I’ll be in Madrid by this evening.