We had Friday off this week(!), so many people went on little mini-vacations to see other nearby cities. A few of us though, myself included, wanted to use the time to explore Paris more. Even though I spent a lot of it by myself (I hadn't really found my niche in the cliques of people that inevitably evolved yet), I had a fantastic time. I walked along the bank of the Seine with a book in one hand and baguette in the other, stopping to listen to jazz performers or admire art being made on the shores. I also discovered that there is a group of people who set up public dances every evening on a small wooden platform below Pont Neuf on the north bank, and as I walked by I got pulled in to dance the can-can in a line of locals.
As I walked around, ducking into bookshops and bakeries, I couldn't help but wonder how this trip would have been different had I been traveling with another person. "The city of love," they call it, and with good reason. Everywhere I turned was another couple, sharing a cone of gelato or nuzzling under a willow tree, walking hand in hand down a bridge. Paris is, really, magical for that kind of thing. So quiet yet so musical, so relaxed yet with so much to do. You can both be on an adventure and in your own little world with someone all at once. I realized that, if I wanted to truly enjoy Paris, I had to work harder to make some real connections here. Traveling is always better with friends, right?
So, remembering the great fun I'd had in Barcelona, I decided to take another tour on Saturday. I chose the beautiful Montmartre district, home of both debaucherous clubs like the infamous Moulin Rouge and the "sacred heart of Paris", the Sacre Couer church. I got to learn about the lives and loves that gave the neighborhood its international recognition, gazing at the home of Van Gogh and the studios of Picasso and Modigliani. Again, as an art nerd, it was phenomenal. As expected, I met some really cool people on the tour who were also traveling Paris, including a charismatic Aussie guy who studied geography (like me!). The six of us who clicked went out to wine and dine together afterwards, then walked around the city and wound through empty streets until we decided to get créme brulée at 1 am. It was lovely, and great to make some friends outside of the program.
The next day, Kris and I met up again to have a picnic Parc du Pont Vert, which is situated at the tip of Ile de la Cite, so you can watch the boats pass by on both sides of the Seine at the same time. We picked at loaves of bread with tapenade and wine spritzers until hunger for real food propelled us onwards, just as the sun was setting over the water. We meandered along the south bank before turning into the Latin Quarter, a bustling maze of cobbled streets, performers, and cafés. On one street, we becmae mesmerized by a jazz quintet playing Davis and Coltrane standards on the streets, and decided to grab a terrace table at one of the adjacent restaurants. We realized, with glee, that one of the couples we'd gone out with the night before was eating at the restaurant across from ours in the Latin Quarter. What a small and wonderful world, indeed.
In program news: today we took a tour of Paris's famous old opera house, Opera Garnier, which was stunning and ornate and filled with history. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and took us into private spaces not usually open to guests. I could get used to this special treatment... it seems like the professor has arranged for us to get special treatment everywhere, jumping the lines and getting taken back into secret rooms and corridors by our guides. I've gotten to see things that I would never have paid to do (or even known to do) had it not been prearranged. One of the perks of a program that pays in advance for all your tours... and a professor who knows Paris like the back of his hand.
After that, we walked through the lively opera district down to the Tuileries gardens outside the Louvre, lush and alive and bursting with brightly-colored flowers. We got free admission into Musée de l'Orangerie, where panoramic paintings by Monet line the walls of the upper levels and other impressionist masterpieces decorate the basement level. Although I hate being one of those people, I couldn't resist snapping a picture in front of one of my favorite pieces of all time, Monet's lilies. It was hard to believe I was standing in front of it after having prints of it on my walls all these years. After we had appropriately appreciated his gentle lilypads and soft brushstrokes, a lot of us ravenously walked down around Concorde, hunting down a brasserie that wouldn't be too far out of budget. Mm.
Overall, I'd say it's been a pretty full weekend. Until next time!
As I walked around, ducking into bookshops and bakeries, I couldn't help but wonder how this trip would have been different had I been traveling with another person. "The city of love," they call it, and with good reason. Everywhere I turned was another couple, sharing a cone of gelato or nuzzling under a willow tree, walking hand in hand down a bridge. Paris is, really, magical for that kind of thing. So quiet yet so musical, so relaxed yet with so much to do. You can both be on an adventure and in your own little world with someone all at once. I realized that, if I wanted to truly enjoy Paris, I had to work harder to make some real connections here. Traveling is always better with friends, right?
So, remembering the great fun I'd had in Barcelona, I decided to take another tour on Saturday. I chose the beautiful Montmartre district, home of both debaucherous clubs like the infamous Moulin Rouge and the "sacred heart of Paris", the Sacre Couer church. I got to learn about the lives and loves that gave the neighborhood its international recognition, gazing at the home of Van Gogh and the studios of Picasso and Modigliani. Again, as an art nerd, it was phenomenal. As expected, I met some really cool people on the tour who were also traveling Paris, including a charismatic Aussie guy who studied geography (like me!). The six of us who clicked went out to wine and dine together afterwards, then walked around the city and wound through empty streets until we decided to get créme brulée at 1 am. It was lovely, and great to make some friends outside of the program.
The next day, Kris and I met up again to have a picnic Parc du Pont Vert, which is situated at the tip of Ile de la Cite, so you can watch the boats pass by on both sides of the Seine at the same time. We picked at loaves of bread with tapenade and wine spritzers until hunger for real food propelled us onwards, just as the sun was setting over the water. We meandered along the south bank before turning into the Latin Quarter, a bustling maze of cobbled streets, performers, and cafés. On one street, we becmae mesmerized by a jazz quintet playing Davis and Coltrane standards on the streets, and decided to grab a terrace table at one of the adjacent restaurants. We realized, with glee, that one of the couples we'd gone out with the night before was eating at the restaurant across from ours in the Latin Quarter. What a small and wonderful world, indeed.
In program news: today we took a tour of Paris's famous old opera house, Opera Garnier, which was stunning and ornate and filled with history. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and took us into private spaces not usually open to guests. I could get used to this special treatment... it seems like the professor has arranged for us to get special treatment everywhere, jumping the lines and getting taken back into secret rooms and corridors by our guides. I've gotten to see things that I would never have paid to do (or even known to do) had it not been prearranged. One of the perks of a program that pays in advance for all your tours... and a professor who knows Paris like the back of his hand.
After that, we walked through the lively opera district down to the Tuileries gardens outside the Louvre, lush and alive and bursting with brightly-colored flowers. We got free admission into Musée de l'Orangerie, where panoramic paintings by Monet line the walls of the upper levels and other impressionist masterpieces decorate the basement level. Although I hate being one of those people, I couldn't resist snapping a picture in front of one of my favorite pieces of all time, Monet's lilies. It was hard to believe I was standing in front of it after having prints of it on my walls all these years. After we had appropriately appreciated his gentle lilypads and soft brushstrokes, a lot of us ravenously walked down around Concorde, hunting down a brasserie that wouldn't be too far out of budget. Mm.
Overall, I'd say it's been a pretty full weekend. Until next time!