So...Paris

After a whirlwind weekend in Paris, I am happy to be back in Caen. It is really beginning to feel like home. Orientation week classes start tomorrow, and the following week is the final class schedule. I can’t believe we are just now starting class!

So… Paris. This weekend was filled with many firsts: my first train, first time in Paris, first hostel, first mulled wine etc. Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place for us this weekend. We easily stumbled onto every place we had planned on visiting. We got off the train and set off to find the Galleries Lafayette. I had no idea what this was so I just trotted along after Patricia and Jessica into the center of an upscale shopping center where there is an incredible ceiling at the center. We stood there like typical tourists staring up at the ceiling and taking pictures.

Ceiling at the Lafayette

We did not have a strict plan of where we were going to go or when, but we thought we were close to the Palias Garnier. We walked outside and there it was! The Opera house is the setting for The Phantom of the Opera, and is just generally amazing. In middle school, Miss Haley Gray and I saw the movie in theaters several times, and had the habit of locking the door to her room and belting out the soundtrack. A little part of my soul is at rest now after walking around in the fictional footsteps of Christine Daae. I couldn’t help but hum some of the music while we walked around.

Entry of le Palais Garnier.

Being fabulous in the midst of fabulousness.

Chandelier surrounded by Chagall painting in the theater.

We also visited the Madeleine on our way to the Jardin de Tuileries, where we ate lunch, and tried to keep all the seagulls and pigeons at bay. We went to San Chapelle for free! It is crazy beautiful there. You walk up this twisted stone stair and then, BOOM. It is lined with stained glass windows everywhere, my favorite of which is the rose window. The girls and I already put it on the list to revisit when we return.

Rose window of San Chapelle

We also popped inside Notre Dame. We were really confused as to what was going on. There were people EVERYWHERE. There was some sort of ceremony going on, but of course we couldn’t understand what the priest was saying, because it was all in French. We could barely move it was so crowded, and the center was lined with bells. We stayed for a little while, but decided to head out, and return on another trip. I looked it up when we got back, and apparently it was the 850^th anniversary of Notre Dame, and they had just gotten new bells. So I guess it is kind of cool we were unknowingly there for that, but I mostly just felt like too many people were breathing my air.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/02/notre-dame-bells-850th-anniversary_n_2606375.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Notre Dame

We went to a small café after for dinner, drank hot wine, and prepared for the hike to the Eiffel tower. The walk to the Eiffel Tower was long and cold, but the Seine River is picturesque at night. We also got to see the Lover’s Bridge on the way. The Tower looked so cool lit up at night. I think it was the perfect time to go too, because it was way less crowded than I expected. After the Eiffel tower we ate crepes at a café to warm up before walking back to our hostel. I had the best night’s sleep so far at that hostel. It was probably, because I was so worn out, but even the itchy wool blanket seemed gloriously comfortable. The hostel was also convenient, because it was right by the Louvre, which is where we went the next morning.

Thankfully we decided to hit up the Louvre as soon as it opened, because by the time we left it was packed, and again too many people breathing my air J Another convenient tip, from one traveler to another, is that museums in France are free the first Sunday of every month. Cheap traveler score! The Louvre is overwhelming. It is huge, gorgeous, confusing, etc. I can check off seeing the Mona Lisa from my bucket list, but honestly that isn’t why you should go to the Louvre. Luckily one of the girls on the trip, Patricia, is an art history major, and could tell me why certain things should impress me, and what to pay attention to. I love the building of the Louvre almost more than the art inside. As the Louvre website says, it went “from Château to Museum,” and some of the rooms are just jaw dropping fantastic.  The paintings on some of the ceilings and structures made me stop in my steps and think how insane it is that someone used to live there. I think just walking around in there just made me soak up a little more intelligence.

Patricia showing me how to keep classy around classy art.

Today also brought back flashbacks for Skylar and I of Dr. Egloff’s class. We realized after we had to pay 8.20 euro for a bottle of water, that we should have asked for a carafe d’eau (which is free), instead of just flat water (which came in a sealed bottle). It is an expensive lesson we will not forget again. Despite that, Paris was a huge success, even just walking around and taking pictures of random beautiful buildings and sculptures was fun. I am happy to be back in Caen and ready for classes, but I dream of when I can return to Paris!