If ever there was a "pinch myself" moment in this entire study abroad experience it was the past week that I spent in Paris. In a way all of my time in France and the time I put into Learning French has been a long pilgrimage to see this city. So when I saw the bluish-gray rooftops fold into limestone buildings along the Champs-Elysées on my first day it was a truly surreal sensation.
My first impressions of the city were that everything looked and felt exactly as I had always dreamed it would right down to the accordion music in the background. All of those images and songs devoted to Paris are completely accurate. I kept replaying "An American in Paris," or scenes from "Funny Face," "Gigi," and "Midnight in Paris" in my head as I came upon a familiar landmarks or streets. Paris has been the background to so many movies and books that I have loved. It felt like a second part of me has always been residing there.
I had four days to explore the city and I used every minute of it. I saw all the major museums, the Eiffel tower from the top and bottom, the Arc de Triumph, The Moulin Rouge, Norte Dame, Sacre Couer and Saint Chapelle. I strolled along the Seine and perused the shelves of Shakespeare and Co. I discovered that I prefer the humble atmosphere of student life in the left bank to the gilded world of the bourgeoisie on the Right bank. My feet are throbbing and I probably walked about 20 miles but it was worth it.
I can say without a doubt that Paris is the most grand and beautiful city I have seen in Europe so far. This week alone I have seen some of the world's most famous paintings from the Mona Lisa to Monet's Water Lilies. If high culture is your thing Paris should be at the top of your checklist. I spent the majority of my week staring at things in mouth-wide open awe. There were countless times when I would round a corner and be knocked breathless by the amazing sights laid out in front of me.
Another great aspect of Paris is that for students or young adults between 18 and 26 many of the attractions are free or at a reduced rate. You can end up skipping a lot of lines without having to buy an expensive Paris pass just if you have a student visa.
Despite the usual things that are grand sights in Paris like the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, the highlights of my week were seeing the catacombs and the Paris Opera house. The catacombs are probably the strangest project I have heard of. Back in the 1800's the Parisians realized that se of their old quarries deep below the city were caving in causing structural instability. At the same time many of their cemeteries were overfilled and diseases were starting to spread as a result. To kill two birds with one stone, or multiple bones, they used the bones from corpses dating back to the 1400's to rebuild the quarries and clear out the cemeteries. The catacombs are literally tunnels miles under Paris lined with hundreds of skulls and arms. To add to the creepiness of that, when the tunnels were created they also put up plaques which quoted the bible and philosophers but generally had to do with how short our time one earth is and how quickly we will be piles of bones. All of the quotes were in french so my friends and I had great fun going from quote to quote and translating for a group of English tourists.
I also enjoyed seeing the Paris Opera house since I have loved The Phantom of the Opera since middle school. We got to see the ballet performers rehearsing and heard the opera singers warming up. The week was filled with all sorts of moments where I completely nerded out.
The only down side during the week was when I picked up a stomach virus via the russian roulette of disease that is the Paris subway. After three hours of getting better acquainted with my hotel's bathroom I decided to test out the socialist french health care system. The French have a great system where they can send a doctor to house calls if you have a condition that is not an emergency. Twenty minutes after calling I was treated by a doctor and given medication. The stomach virus cost me 110 euros and another 13 euros for the medicine but I saved hours waiting miserably in the emergency room and trouble with an insurance company. I was still able to go to Versailles the next day like we had planned to.
Despite getting sick, Paris met all of my expectations and then some. It is a rewarding feeling to know that the place I dreamt about my whole life was not a let down. It is also strange now that this goal has been achieved. There is a little but of a "what now?" feeling, especially as the end of my studying abroad experience is drawing near. I think about the next time I might be able to come to Paris and under what circumstances that might be, who I will be with, how old I will be. Although I am young and I do not yet identify with those piles of bones in the catacombs, I feel the gravity of time and my unwilling submission to it. But I will do everything to preserve my memories since they are all that is left to me.
My first impressions of the city were that everything looked and felt exactly as I had always dreamed it would right down to the accordion music in the background. All of those images and songs devoted to Paris are completely accurate. I kept replaying "An American in Paris," or scenes from "Funny Face," "Gigi," and "Midnight in Paris" in my head as I came upon a familiar landmarks or streets. Paris has been the background to so many movies and books that I have loved. It felt like a second part of me has always been residing there.
I had four days to explore the city and I used every minute of it. I saw all the major museums, the Eiffel tower from the top and bottom, the Arc de Triumph, The Moulin Rouge, Norte Dame, Sacre Couer and Saint Chapelle. I strolled along the Seine and perused the shelves of Shakespeare and Co. I discovered that I prefer the humble atmosphere of student life in the left bank to the gilded world of the bourgeoisie on the Right bank. My feet are throbbing and I probably walked about 20 miles but it was worth it.
I can say without a doubt that Paris is the most grand and beautiful city I have seen in Europe so far. This week alone I have seen some of the world's most famous paintings from the Mona Lisa to Monet's Water Lilies. If high culture is your thing Paris should be at the top of your checklist. I spent the majority of my week staring at things in mouth-wide open awe. There were countless times when I would round a corner and be knocked breathless by the amazing sights laid out in front of me.
Another great aspect of Paris is that for students or young adults between 18 and 26 many of the attractions are free or at a reduced rate. You can end up skipping a lot of lines without having to buy an expensive Paris pass just if you have a student visa.
Despite the usual things that are grand sights in Paris like the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, the highlights of my week were seeing the catacombs and the Paris Opera house. The catacombs are probably the strangest project I have heard of. Back in the 1800's the Parisians realized that se of their old quarries deep below the city were caving in causing structural instability. At the same time many of their cemeteries were overfilled and diseases were starting to spread as a result. To kill two birds with one stone, or multiple bones, they used the bones from corpses dating back to the 1400's to rebuild the quarries and clear out the cemeteries. The catacombs are literally tunnels miles under Paris lined with hundreds of skulls and arms. To add to the creepiness of that, when the tunnels were created they also put up plaques which quoted the bible and philosophers but generally had to do with how short our time one earth is and how quickly we will be piles of bones. All of the quotes were in french so my friends and I had great fun going from quote to quote and translating for a group of English tourists.
I also enjoyed seeing the Paris Opera house since I have loved The Phantom of the Opera since middle school. We got to see the ballet performers rehearsing and heard the opera singers warming up. The week was filled with all sorts of moments where I completely nerded out.
The only down side during the week was when I picked up a stomach virus via the russian roulette of disease that is the Paris subway. After three hours of getting better acquainted with my hotel's bathroom I decided to test out the socialist french health care system. The French have a great system where they can send a doctor to house calls if you have a condition that is not an emergency. Twenty minutes after calling I was treated by a doctor and given medication. The stomach virus cost me 110 euros and another 13 euros for the medicine but I saved hours waiting miserably in the emergency room and trouble with an insurance company. I was still able to go to Versailles the next day like we had planned to.
Despite getting sick, Paris met all of my expectations and then some. It is a rewarding feeling to know that the place I dreamt about my whole life was not a let down. It is also strange now that this goal has been achieved. There is a little but of a "what now?" feeling, especially as the end of my studying abroad experience is drawing near. I think about the next time I might be able to come to Paris and under what circumstances that might be, who I will be with, how old I will be. Although I am young and I do not yet identify with those piles of bones in the catacombs, I feel the gravity of time and my unwilling submission to it. But I will do everything to preserve my memories since they are all that is left to me.