Right...Paris. I loved Paris. It was a much better trip than I had anticipated, even though my expectations were quite high. I think the biggest surprise was the language: I've only taken 1 year of French, but nonetheless I had surprisingly little trouble moving about and (sort of) conversing with folks. With this non-informational preamble, let me jump into a recounting of the events.
We took the train from St. Pancreas Station in London through the tunnel under the English Channel. The train ride was uneventful, and I managed to read a lot of Atlas Shrugged, which was nice.
When we got in, they (the JMU folks leading the trip) gave us a couple hours to get checked in and head to the Musée d'Orsay. When we got to the hotel, it was to our supreme displeasure to discover that the lady with whom we needed to communicate to check in didn't speak English. Alas. I, the only (vaguely) French-speaking member of the group halfheartedly swaggered up, and mumbled a few irrelevant words, which probably amounted to: "Hello it is cloudy I would like a pepsi where is the library." Somehow, we got checked in, dropped off our bags, and headed out. The view from the window's on the left. I picked up a sandwich along the way, utilizing my French properly for the first time. I asked for a sandwich avec jambon et fromage, which they took perhaps more literally than I had intended. I got a baguette with a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. The bread was good, though, so it was ok.
Hereafter began a forced march of awesome pain. Awesome because we were in Paris(!) but painful because we walked for nearly the entire day. Phew. The Musée d'Orsay was awesome. Though I'd been there before, I really hadn't appreciated impressionistic works as much as I should until that visit. The most notable painting was the Van Gogh self portrait. There's a picture of me standing in front of a poster of it on the right. Cool, eh? It was far more powerful, I thought, seeing it in the context of the impressionist artists, and seeing how far he deviated from the culture of the time.
After that, we headed over to the Louvre, which was cool, but which I probably didn't appreciate as much as I should have, footsore as I was. That's happened both times I've been to the Louvre, come to think of it. One day I'll go back and take it slower so I can really enjoy it. But yeah, we saw the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. The statue Nike of Samothrace (right) was really powerful too (I like angels), and interestingly she's also the inspiration for the company name too. Cool stuff. 
Next we trudged over to Notre Dame, which was predictably amazing. I'm a sucker for cathedrals, and there're fewer more impressive than our lady. I was obviously fairly overcome, since the building is transcendentally beautiful. I was struck while I was there, though, by the contrast it had with St. Paul's in London. St. Paul's was very formal, and you really felt as if you were in a severe religious building, despite the touristy undertones. Photos were prohibited, and you had to keep your voice down. By comparison, Notre Dame was a madhouse. Tourists darted here and there taking flash photos in the dark, and shouted back and forth to each other through the mob. Bleh. It's admittedly sort of hypocritical of me to condemn these people, since I definitely took photos, but at least I tried to be respectful about it. Oh well. 
After that, we got dinner at a great place on the street (I had Boeuf Bourguignon, which was succulent, melt-in-your-mouth, and AMAZING, with a glass of red wine. Nom.) and headed over to the Eiffel Tower, since we had group tickets to the top. To be frank, it was sort of a waste of time. It took almost 3 hours to get up, and I feel like we could have spent the time more productively. That said, it's a nice thing to be able to say I've done, so I can't really complain. On the right is a blurry view from the top. Sorry my photography wasn't great; it was windy and crowded. After that we all headed back to the hotel room and passed out.
The next morning we got up and had breakfast--a delicious ham and cheese crepe--before going on an outing led by a few of the professors. The professors are cool people, but I don't think I really took much from the outing. Hm. I'm being really negative in my writing. Let me make a disclaimer and say that I loved the trip, but when I travel I like to just wander and see the culture rather than just hit check-marks on the list. As such, guided tours seem like a means to an end rather than a pleasure. Oh well. (pictured left: the funniest thing ever.) After the tour we split up and wandered around. I saw the Arc de Triomphe, which was nice.
That night we skipped dinner and ate tons of cheese and baguettes--with a hefty wine supplement--right below the Eiffel Tower, which was amazing. As the sun sets you really start to appreciate that the Eiffel Tower is actually quite beautiful, in a weird way. There're also tons of small lights on the exterior that flash for a few minutes every hour after sun-down. We all hung out there for a while, chatting and sipping wine, until it grew colder, and we headed back for the night.
The next day I wanted to spend wandering around, which is my favorite way to explore places. Most of the people on the program headed to Versailles, but since I'd already seen it and I only had one more day, I figured it'd be better for me to wander. Rob tagged along, and it was nice to have the company. We really just wandered, so there aren't many intense highlights I can impart...it's interesting how accurate my French class culture section was, though. Bureau de Tobacs were weird establishment, somewhere between pubs and gas station convenience stores. We got some amazing éclairs at a local bakery, served up by a lovely old French lady who didn't speak English. I was in heaven. Nom nom.
After that--and an AMAZING meal where I got a croque monsieur--Rob and I headed to the Ile Saint-Louis, a posh area of Paris I remembered from our family trip. We wandered the strip and ate at a real creperie, which is an experience unlike any other. I had a ham and cheese crepe with a kir, which were both unbelievable.
As a side-note, I managed to order nearly every single meal entirely in French, which amazed me, since I didn't think my French was that good. It was a real confidence booster, and I'm psyched to go back into class next year. It really justifies all the work I put into learning language when I can see its use so practically. But yeah, I digress, the Ile Saint-Louis was incredibly lovely. If you're familiar with DC, it was like a Parisian Georgetown--wealthy, chic, stylish, and very expensive. The food, too, was unbelievable and splendid. It was also incredibly beautiful, which is why I've put so many pictures in this section.
After that we met up with some of the girls and headed to the Sacre Coeur, which is a gorgeous church set on top of a massive hill overlooking the city. It was a bit of a climb getting there--check out the stairs on the right! That was half of them!--but it was well worth the climb. We never got inside because it was unbelievably crowded and we were limited on time, but the outside, white stone set against the clear blue sky, was enough to take your breath away. After checking out the exterior, we explored the open-air market that was right behind the church--incidentally, where Amélie was filmed!--and I picked up a little something for my sister. There, too, we saw an amazing Spanish guitarist, Estas Tonne, who lived as a gypsy for several years before claiming to "channel the universe" through his guitar, and now plays as a street performer. I dunno about the universe, but his modern-classical guitar is amazing. I bought his CD, and Rob and I went off to eat dinner.
We stopped off at a small place near our hotel and grabbed some entrecôte with scalloped potatoes, split a bottle of wine, and enjoyed our last meal in Paris. We then ran back to the hotel, grabbed our bags out of the cloakroom, and headed off to the train station.
I loved Pairs. It was amazing to see how quickly my French improved, and I would argue that if you learn the basic grammatical rules of a language, you can pick up the rest just by spending time in the culture. It certainly seemed to be happening to me. Great food, great language, and beautiful scenery all made for a lovely trip. It was unforgettable.
After that--and an AMAZING meal where I got a croque monsieur--Rob and I headed to the Ile Saint-Louis, a posh area of Paris I remembered from our family trip. We wandered the strip and ate at a real creperie, which is an experience unlike any other. I had a ham and cheese crepe with a kir, which were both unbelievable.
As a side-note, I managed to order nearly every single meal entirely in French, which amazed me, since I didn't think my French was that good. It was a real confidence booster, and I'm psyched to go back into class next year. It really justifies all the work I put into learning language when I can see its use so practically. But yeah, I digress, the Ile Saint-Louis was incredibly lovely. If you're familiar with DC, it was like a Parisian Georgetown--wealthy, chic, stylish, and very expensive. The food, too, was unbelievable and splendid. It was also incredibly beautiful, which is why I've put so many pictures in this section.
After that we met up with some of the girls and headed to the Sacre Coeur, which is a gorgeous church set on top of a massive hill overlooking the city. It was a bit of a climb getting there--check out the stairs on the right! That was half of them!--but it was well worth the climb. We never got inside because it was unbelievably crowded and we were limited on time, but the outside, white stone set against the clear blue sky, was enough to take your breath away. After checking out the exterior, we explored the open-air market that was right behind the church--incidentally, where Amélie was filmed!--and I picked up a little something for my sister. There, too, we saw an amazing Spanish guitarist, Estas Tonne, who lived as a gypsy for several years before claiming to "channel the universe" through his guitar, and now plays as a street performer. I dunno about the universe, but his modern-classical guitar is amazing. I bought his CD, and Rob and I went off to eat dinner.
I loved Pairs. It was amazing to see how quickly my French improved, and I would argue that if you learn the basic grammatical rules of a language, you can pick up the rest just by spending time in the culture. It certainly seemed to be happening to me. Great food, great language, and beautiful scenery all made for a lovely trip. It was unforgettable.
No comments:
Post a Comment