Hello again! So, it's been the first week in Paris.. Classes have been flying by - we've already been handed our midterms (thank god we have a week to complete them) - and we're moving very quickly through everything. It's a bit crazy to think that I'm actually following it, considering we've worked our way halfway through the textbook in under two weeks, but it really feels like I get it. Our tests are take-home and open-note, which is a lifesaver. It's all about time management though - we all want to go out and explore, not bury our heads in notes in our hotel rooms! C'est la vie...
Last week we went on another beautiful tour, this time of the artsy Marais district, also known as the 3rd Arrondisement. We wound through the streets behind our hotel all the way to the oldest public square in Paris, Place de Vosges, which was incredibly quaint and lovely. It was a walk I would grow to know well over the next few weeks, a quick route home from the bustling neighborhoods around the Seine. The square was surrounded by uniform brick buildings created as homes for Paris' rich and famous of times past, one of which housed the former apartment of Les Miserables writer Victor Hugo. As we wound through the tight, cobbled streets lined with couture shops and hole-in the wall cafés, Gonzalo pointed out the best places we should return to: the world famous felafel restaurant with locals lined up around the block, authentic gelato, and other delicacies we could stuff our faces with if we so chose.
We stopped for a few hours at Le Centre Pompidou, a four-story modern and contemporary museum. On the bottom two levels were photography galleries, the third and fourth floors with modern art (i.e. 1940-1980), and the top floor housed contemporary exhibits. Eventually, at the top of the elevator, you'll get spit out onto a roof with 360 degree views of Paris. To the right, you could see the labyrinthian streets of Montmartre topped by its crown jewel Sacre Coeur, and to the left you could spot the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and classic buildings peeking over the concrete banks of the Seine. Being a bit of an art nerd, I wished we had more than an hour and a half to admire everything there, but it was free admission for us so I'll live.
Last week we went on another beautiful tour, this time of the artsy Marais district, also known as the 3rd Arrondisement. We wound through the streets behind our hotel all the way to the oldest public square in Paris, Place de Vosges, which was incredibly quaint and lovely. It was a walk I would grow to know well over the next few weeks, a quick route home from the bustling neighborhoods around the Seine. The square was surrounded by uniform brick buildings created as homes for Paris' rich and famous of times past, one of which housed the former apartment of Les Miserables writer Victor Hugo. As we wound through the tight, cobbled streets lined with couture shops and hole-in the wall cafés, Gonzalo pointed out the best places we should return to: the world famous felafel restaurant with locals lined up around the block, authentic gelato, and other delicacies we could stuff our faces with if we so chose.
We stopped for a few hours at Le Centre Pompidou, a four-story modern and contemporary museum. On the bottom two levels were photography galleries, the third and fourth floors with modern art (i.e. 1940-1980), and the top floor housed contemporary exhibits. Eventually, at the top of the elevator, you'll get spit out onto a roof with 360 degree views of Paris. To the right, you could see the labyrinthian streets of Montmartre topped by its crown jewel Sacre Coeur, and to the left you could spot the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and classic buildings peeking over the concrete banks of the Seine. Being a bit of an art nerd, I wished we had more than an hour and a half to admire everything there, but it was free admission for us so I'll live.