My Fairytale

Sunday, May 26th

As is usual, today was a slow typical Sunday with church and then a peaceful day at home finished by a crêpes dinner with our host family. 

Monday, May 27th

Monday was the last day of our vacation and I was anxious to make the most of it. So I planned a route around the city so that I could see as many things as I could. I started off at the mètro St. Michel and walked by Notre Dame and through the Quartier Latin. I was expecting a little more out of the Quartier Latin but all I found was restaurant after restaurant of owners trying to coax tourists into their establishment. From there I walked to the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is incredibly beautiful. Monday happened to be on of the first sunny/warm days in the past two weeks so the park was packed. There were hundreds of people tanning, relaxing, chatting and reading in the chairs or on the lawn. Kids were running around chasing each other or playing soccer. Old men were playing pétanque in a corner covered by trees. And there was a lively game of tennis going on the courts. The whole scene was perfected by a mini jazz concert being performed under the main gazebo near the entrance by a middle school group. The group certainly wasn't professional - or possibly even amateur, but the struggling notes wafted out from the white gazebo covered by shade spreading itself around the rest of the park - so even the faint notes could be heard by those reclining by the fountains. With the warm sun beaming down, it was a lovely day. 

After I had spent enough time wandering and strolling through the park, I walked up the street to the Panthéon. The Panthéon started out as a monument to the great men (and women) of France and later became their final resting places. Some of the most notable residents include Voltaire, Balzac, Victor Hugo and Marie Curie. This tradition continues in France today - they continue to bury those who they consider great within the impressive building built of marble and stone. It was neat to see the tombs held underneath the Panthéon but also...pretty spooky. The warm of the day was completely sucked out and replaced with a chill dampness that seems to radiate from the stone itself. And you walk past door after door to rooms that hold the tombs of the residents. Needless to say I was happy to return back to the world of the living. 

I grabbed a bite to eat and then began to head towards La Place de la Bastille. Typically I would ride the mètro to each destination but I figured since it was such a nice day, it would be a great time for me to really see the city - on foot. It took a bit of time since it was farther away but it was nice to walk the streets of Paris and try and soak up the atmosphere and the moment. I had dreamed of this moment for years. Quite literally, years. To be strolling in Paris with the sun shining down on me was a dream at least six years in the making. And it had come true. Proof that although life is not a fairytale and there aren't always "happily ever afters" in this life that end in a beautiful sunset and no worries for the rest of your life - there are fairytale moments - and this was one of them to me. No fairy godmother had been involved and no prince was here to sweep me off my feet - but that was no matter. I had worked really hard and being in Paris I had everything I needed for my fairytale moment. 

The thing about Place de la Bastille is that "the Bastille" does not exist anymore. Once it was destroyed back in 1789, it was never re-built. However, there is a monument to recognize the spot. I walked to the monument took some pictures and then tried to plan out my next move. I noticed that I wasn't too far from the Nationale de France which is the national library. Being the big fan of libraries and books that I am, I was totally fascinated to see a national library of another country! It was too far to walk so I took the mètro again to the outskirts of Paris. On the mètro I learned a valuable lesson - don't talk on the phone in the mètro! A friend called me up to say they were busy for the day and talk about other plans but I couldn't hear a word they were saying. Then of course I was speaking in loud english trying to carry on a conversation... it was just a mistake. Once I got off the mètro I was a little confused what direction to walk towards but luckily a kind Frenchman saw my confusion and helped me out. It was another short walk up to the national library and then nearly the same distance to walk across the library to the entrance. The majority of the library is underground except for four tall towers that jut from the four corners of the library. I finally made it to the library entrance after a couple of turn-arounds and through the security check only to be told by the security officers that most of the library was closed down for the day - simply because it was a Monday. In France nearly everything, stores, sometimes even restaurants, are closed on either Monday or Tuesday. I suppose the average work week is considered 5 days long (a lot of things are closed on Sunday too). So it was possible to be in the library and study at some of the open tables but you couldn't peruse the aisles for books like I planned on or checkout or search for anything. I was super disappointed. At least I still got to see and be in the building. 

 

Monday night means Family Home evening with the jeunes adultes but I had an hour or so left before it started. I went on the mètro and wasted some time looking at shops in the Quartier Marais that was near the church. We all had a good FHE - and an even better dinner! And most of the girls were back from their vacation so we were able to catch up and hear all their exciting stories and sometimes swap one for our own. It had only been a weekend (ok an extended weekend because of Thursday, Friday and Monday) but still it was surprising how much we had missed each other and how great it felt to have everyone back together! You spend nearly all day together for weeks so then even a short break feels odd and you notice how everyone is missing. After we had chatted long enough and FHE was over, I went and stopped by my friend's house to talk. Seeing so many friends was the perfect ending to my day in Paris.

The Essential Guide to Paris: Eiffel Tower, Crêpes and more Eiffel Tower

Saturday, May 25th

Today was a Saturday but since there hadn't been school on the last three days, it simply felt like another day of vacation. I had a slow sleep-in morning or "gros matin" and then met some of the other girls in the Buttes-Chaumont park since they wanted to see it after my raving reviews. We tried searching for a library near the Pompidou but just ended up resting near the museum and soaking up the atmosphere. Some friends of Ashley were in town in Paris so we went to meet up with them at Charles De Gaulle and then the rest of the girls at Trocadèro, which has an amazing view over the tower. We had lots of fun playing around and taking goofy pictures.

After that most of us were feeling pretty hungry, we took the boys to a good crêpe place near Motte Picquet. Of course no visit to Paris would be complete without a visit to the Tower, so we went to the Champ de Mars park underneath the tower and stayed to watch it light up and sparkle. As always the tower looked so pretty and simply mesmerized me. After we had been there a bit we got kind of chilly and so went in search of a good bar to grab some food or just sit and chat. Instead we found MacDo. Oh well, American kids what can ya do? It was a really fun Saturday

Living in a Painting

Friday, May 24th

Another free day, which meant another day solo-adventuring in Paris. I had created a long list of places I wanted to go see and planned to start from the top and get as many done as I could. The day was overcast, a little windy and gray. It was on and off drizzly rainy so I figured I'd spend some time museums. I started the day off by going to the Delacroix museum, who is an artist I really like and is most known for his painting "Liberty Leading the People". His museum was pretty small but I enjoyed  his art. After the Delacroix museum I went to another that I had been dying to see - the Rodin museum. Rodin is by far my favorite sculpture (and yes, he is the only sculpture that I know...) and I really like his pieces. The museum is unique in the sense that some of the smaller pieces are inside but most of the larger ones are outside in the garden. I absolutely loved almost every piece. And best of all I was able to see the famous "Thinker" in real life! One of my other favorites from his museum is titled "Le Baiser" - or "the kiss". It was simply remarkable to me how Rodin was able to breathe life into his sculptures. The marble/bronze is so smooth but at the same time it is so detailed even down to the most minute aspect. I just had such a respect for the amount of talent and artistry that was represented, I mean I was truly looking at someone who was a master in his element. 

This is a sculpture Rodin made of Victor Hugo - with a muse

After the Rodin museum I met up with a friend to tour the park Buttes-Chaumont, which is one of the largest in Paris and is in the 19th arrondissement. The park is absolutely amazing. It is so beautiful and so big! We were walking around in some drizzling rain which surprisingly just added to the beauty. The rain meant that the park was completely empty, 100%, we saw maybe one or two other people. Plus it made the whole scene look like something out of an Impressionist painting. There is this small mountain/hill in the middle of the park that has a big white gazebo/Roman style temple built on the top. Looking out from this temple you can see the whole park and even an amazing view over Paris - you can see the Eiffel Tower on one side and Sacre Coeur on a different side. I was pretty speechless. I mean it was this picture perfect view underneath the light rain fall. Since we were pretty chilly from the rain we went and grabbed a chocolat chaud and chatted for a while. Then I went and met up with the rest of my friends at the Sprenger's apartment before we all went home. 

I Conquer the Versailles Gardens Single-Handedly

Thursday, May 23rd

Another free day with no school! Some of the girls had made a plan for the weekend and today's schedule included visiting the town of Giverny, which was the home of Monet and about 20 min outside of Paris. There you can visit Monet's home and especially his gardens, which provided him inspiration for his beautiful paintings. I planned to accompany them until I realized that the cost would be a little bit more than I thought, since you have to take a train and bus. After a small internal debate I figured that I could save up my money and possibly put it to use on a plane ticket - like my plans to visit Italy after the program ended. That meant I was all on my own in Paris for the day because all the other girls had left! I was a little bummed out by the prospect of flying solo but tried to summon up a spirit of adventure - on the plus side I definitely enjoyed the increased mobility that came with a one person party versus eight! Deciding that maybe a trip out of Paris would be a nice change of scenery, I chose to head up to Versailles and enjoy the gardens that I had missed out on during our first trip. The gardens at Versailles were incredibly pretty and did not disappoint all the expectations people had created for me. They are pretty huge so some people opt to rent bikes but instead I decided to really take the time to enjoy and see everything by walking. The gardens themselves really are a work of art and are made up of so many pieces. 

It's not just like the backyard of some châteaux, there are various little gardens - and even minor estates - that are a part of the Versailles gardens. The three other buildings include the Trianon, the Petit Trianon, and the Queen's Hameau - all of which have their own "gardens" that are a part of Versailles. Perhaps infamous of all was the Queen's little "village" that Marie Antoinette had built for her. She would go there with close friend's sometimes to escape the palace life and essentially "play peasant". Other people criticize her pretty hard for some of the things she did but ultimately she ended up dead, with most of her family being split apart or also similarly dead, so I think she paid a pretty high price for whatever she did. 

The weather was almost perfect, sunny with a light breeze. And walking around was quite peaceful. My favorite spot might have been a field outside the little village looking over it. But I also enjoyed sitting on the bank of the large lake that Louis XIV had built. It's completely man-made but it's huge and in a shape of a cross. In fact it's so large that courtiers used to ride gondola boats (that they imported from Italy, along with the gondoliers) up and down the lake on their picnic outings. Today you can still rent a boat, although it's a rowboat and you have to row yourself. 

After a time well spent in Versailles, my legs were feeling a little tired and I was ready to catch the train back in to Paris. I had a couple of things I still wanted to do that day including picking up some postcards. I headed to the familiar métro of Hôtel de Ville and around the Pompidou before spotting a good deal. As I was perusing the post card selections, the man I was standing next to asked me if I was French - a misconception I had probably given him since I was counting the number of postcards I already had chosen in French. After I replied no, a conversation struck up about why I was there and then continued on to other topics. We decided to continue our conversation over un café (chocolat chaud for me). I made my first French friend! And a real Parisien! Plus it was so great for me to have an actual conversation in French that went beyond merely ordering a sandwhich or crêpe! We talked about French society, French politics, American politics, the new gay marriage law passed in France, travel in general and differences in culture. It was such a good opportunity for me to practice my french and make a friend! After that I went home to have dinner with my family and my roommate and I swapped stories about our day. I thought my day alone in Paris had been a success!