So much has happened in the past couple of weeks, my mind can’t process how to organize it into one post. Plus I have this sickness where I can’t stop writing once I start, so this post is going to be a long one. I’ve spent weekends in Paris and Rome, and I got to go to La Fete de La Musique in Aix (The Festival of Music). I’ve divided up this post into a Paris section and a Rome section (I left out the music festival stuff – all you really need to know was that there was tons of music and drunk French people and I was in a conga line. It was great fun).
Paris!
Even though I’d visited Paris once before, the beauty of the city never ceases to amaze me. Pictures of Paris are gorgeous, but absolutely nothing can compare to the real thing. And especially after reading Les Mis, seeing the musical, and seeing the movie last Christmas (Hi, I’m Allison and I’m obsessed with Les Miserables), I was sort of fangirling about being in one of the main settings of the story (if it’s possible for one to “fangirl” about Les Mis…).
While we’re on the subject of movies I love, walking through Paris reminded me of the movie Midnight in Paris, one of my absolute favorites. Owen Wilson plays Gil Pender, an aspiring writer who dreams about living in Paris during the twenties alongside literary greats like Hemingway and Fitzgerald (*sigh* don’t we all…). One of his things in the movie is that he loves Paris in the rain. And until that weekend, so did I. You try going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower when it’s freezing and you didn’t bring pants to wear because you packed at 5:30AM and overestimated how warm 60 degrees would be (I’m not of the clearest mind at that hour of the morning). Or try a nice relaxing walk by the Louvre when the wind is blasting rain into your face. Oh, and don’t even get me started on your hair – it will take you forever to untangle that hellacious mess.
But enough of my bellyaching. It’s Paris, after all.
Of course, Paris is by far the most beautiful at night. On Sunday night, my friends and I walked to the Arc and then to the Eiffel Tower. For a good chunk of that night I was preoccupied with locating the Starbucks on the Champs Elysees, because I had caught sight of a sign for one earlier and was determined to find it. Living in DC for a year as I did with a Starbucks right across the street, as well as on every corner, breeds a truly heinous addiction. We finally found the Starbucks after Siri lied to me multiple times about where it was, but my elation at the thought of coffee was only fleeting, as moments after we arrived we found out that it was closed. I was an emotional wreck. But I got through it.
Seeing the Arc and the Eiffel Tower lit up against the night sky cheered me up. We got to the tower right at midnight, just in time to see it sparkle. Though we got off the metro one stop too late and had to walk through some streets that felt a little Taken-y, we managed to make it there in one piece, and the view we got was totally, completely worth it. Instead of me trying to put it into words, just look at the picture. Look at it.
Paris!
Even though I’d visited Paris once before, the beauty of the city never ceases to amaze me. Pictures of Paris are gorgeous, but absolutely nothing can compare to the real thing. And especially after reading Les Mis, seeing the musical, and seeing the movie last Christmas (Hi, I’m Allison and I’m obsessed with Les Miserables), I was sort of fangirling about being in one of the main settings of the story (if it’s possible for one to “fangirl” about Les Mis…).
While we’re on the subject of movies I love, walking through Paris reminded me of the movie Midnight in Paris, one of my absolute favorites. Owen Wilson plays Gil Pender, an aspiring writer who dreams about living in Paris during the twenties alongside literary greats like Hemingway and Fitzgerald (*sigh* don’t we all…). One of his things in the movie is that he loves Paris in the rain. And until that weekend, so did I. You try going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower when it’s freezing and you didn’t bring pants to wear because you packed at 5:30AM and overestimated how warm 60 degrees would be (I’m not of the clearest mind at that hour of the morning). Or try a nice relaxing walk by the Louvre when the wind is blasting rain into your face. Oh, and don’t even get me started on your hair – it will take you forever to untangle that hellacious mess.
But enough of my bellyaching. It’s Paris, after all.
Of course, Paris is by far the most beautiful at night. On Sunday night, my friends and I walked to the Arc and then to the Eiffel Tower. For a good chunk of that night I was preoccupied with locating the Starbucks on the Champs Elysees, because I had caught sight of a sign for one earlier and was determined to find it. Living in DC for a year as I did with a Starbucks right across the street, as well as on every corner, breeds a truly heinous addiction. We finally found the Starbucks after Siri lied to me multiple times about where it was, but my elation at the thought of coffee was only fleeting, as moments after we arrived we found out that it was closed. I was an emotional wreck. But I got through it.
Seeing the Arc and the Eiffel Tower lit up against the night sky cheered me up. We got to the tower right at midnight, just in time to see it sparkle. Though we got off the metro one stop too late and had to walk through some streets that felt a little Taken-y, we managed to make it there in one piece, and the view we got was totally, completely worth it. Instead of me trying to put it into words, just look at the picture. Look at it.
And I’m not even a good photographer. It’s not hard to see why I love Paris so much. What may be hard to see is why I would always choose Aix over Paris. While Paris is a great city, it’s one that I only ever want to visit. Aix, on the other hand, might not be as famous or as grand as Paris, but it’s quaint and homey and comfortable, while still being absolutely gorgeous. As much fun as I had in Paris, I was really excited to be back in Aix.
Rome!
The weekend after Paris, with only a few days to prepare, we headed off to Rome. Rome definitely has a different feeling than Paris, and it’s not just the language difference (my semester’s worth of Italian didn’t really help much in that department). Our first day in Rome, we took a bus tour of the city on a double decker bus. We sat on the top of the bus for an hour and half and did the full cycle of the city. I got some pretty sweet tan lines out of it (and by “pretty sweet” I men terrible…my flip flop tan line is so bad that it looks like I’m still wearing shoes when I take them off). The city looks a lot different than I was expecting. Maybe it’s more congested or run down than I was expecting. I can’t really put my finger on it.
The old city, though, is great. The Coliseum was amazing, and even though I didn’t really know a lot about the history of the Roman Forum and all of the other archaeological sites we visited, it was still really cool to know they’d been there for so long and had seen so much history.
Four days in Rome felt like a really, really long time. Rome is such a huge city, but I feel like we saw so much. My favorite thing we saw was the Trevi Fountain, which we visited twice in the four days we spent there. We also saw the Spanish steps, and it was at the top of the steps that I experienced the forwardness of Italian men that I’m always hearing about. Two of the art vendors took a liking to me and started play fighting over me while I stood there and blushed like an idiot. They made my friend take a picture of me with one of them, and the other kissed my hand when I walked away. It was quite an experience. I think I like the American way of doing things, where when you like someone you pretend they don’t exist. Or is that just my way of navigating romance? I don’t know. I’m awkward, so it’s probably just me.
The weekend after Paris, with only a few days to prepare, we headed off to Rome. Rome definitely has a different feeling than Paris, and it’s not just the language difference (my semester’s worth of Italian didn’t really help much in that department). Our first day in Rome, we took a bus tour of the city on a double decker bus. We sat on the top of the bus for an hour and half and did the full cycle of the city. I got some pretty sweet tan lines out of it (and by “pretty sweet” I men terrible…my flip flop tan line is so bad that it looks like I’m still wearing shoes when I take them off). The city looks a lot different than I was expecting. Maybe it’s more congested or run down than I was expecting. I can’t really put my finger on it.
The old city, though, is great. The Coliseum was amazing, and even though I didn’t really know a lot about the history of the Roman Forum and all of the other archaeological sites we visited, it was still really cool to know they’d been there for so long and had seen so much history.
Four days in Rome felt like a really, really long time. Rome is such a huge city, but I feel like we saw so much. My favorite thing we saw was the Trevi Fountain, which we visited twice in the four days we spent there. We also saw the Spanish steps, and it was at the top of the steps that I experienced the forwardness of Italian men that I’m always hearing about. Two of the art vendors took a liking to me and started play fighting over me while I stood there and blushed like an idiot. They made my friend take a picture of me with one of them, and the other kissed my hand when I walked away. It was quite an experience. I think I like the American way of doing things, where when you like someone you pretend they don’t exist. Or is that just my way of navigating romance? I don’t know. I’m awkward, so it’s probably just me.
Like Paris, Rome is at its best at night (or maybe I just have a thing for cities in the dark). Something about the way the statues are illuminated in the dark is beautiful, and the sounds of the crowds of tourists turns from a deafening roar to a soft murmur at night. One of the nights we spent drinking wine in the courtyard in front of the Pantheon, with the sounds of “That’s Amore” drifting out of one of the restaurants, and it was just perfect.
Our second to last day we spend walking along the Via Appia Antica, one of Rome’s oldest roads, which is lined with catacombs. We went into one catacomb, which was a great break from the blistering heat outside, and then strolled along the road to a tiny gelato shop where I had the best pistachio gelato ever (and I probably tasted all of the pistachio gelato in Rome that weekend, so I’m in a pretty good place to judge). We waited there for the bus to take us back to the city. Oh, one great thing about Rome – the buses are free! At least we think they were…
After all of my adventures, though, a common theme has been my excitement to return to Aix. Coming back from Italy, I was just glad to be in a place where I could understand the language. But no matter where I’m returning from, Aix always feels like home. That’s why it’s so strange to me that I only have a week and a half left here. In the month that I’ve been here, I’ve developed a comfortable pattern of getting up, walking around the town, going to class, shopping, etc. I’ve found my favorite restaurants and cafes, but there are still plenty that I want to try and countless places I want to go. It’s going to be sad to leave this place that I’ve called home for six weeks…but for now, I’m still just going to focus on the now, and not think about leaving. I want to make the most out of the rest of my time here, not dwell in sadness about the time I won’t have here in the future. And even when I’m not here, I know Aix will always be with me, in a special place in my heart.
And now it’s off to do homework and prepare for the celebrations tomorrow – the Tour de France is coming through Aix! And of course, it’s also the fourth of July, so we’ll be celebrating like true Americans tomorrow. To all of my friends and family back in the States, happy 4th! Enjoy your fireworks. I’ll be enjoying bikers and French versions of American food like cheeseburgers – we’ll make do. :)
Bisous xoxo
Our second to last day we spend walking along the Via Appia Antica, one of Rome’s oldest roads, which is lined with catacombs. We went into one catacomb, which was a great break from the blistering heat outside, and then strolled along the road to a tiny gelato shop where I had the best pistachio gelato ever (and I probably tasted all of the pistachio gelato in Rome that weekend, so I’m in a pretty good place to judge). We waited there for the bus to take us back to the city. Oh, one great thing about Rome – the buses are free! At least we think they were…
After all of my adventures, though, a common theme has been my excitement to return to Aix. Coming back from Italy, I was just glad to be in a place where I could understand the language. But no matter where I’m returning from, Aix always feels like home. That’s why it’s so strange to me that I only have a week and a half left here. In the month that I’ve been here, I’ve developed a comfortable pattern of getting up, walking around the town, going to class, shopping, etc. I’ve found my favorite restaurants and cafes, but there are still plenty that I want to try and countless places I want to go. It’s going to be sad to leave this place that I’ve called home for six weeks…but for now, I’m still just going to focus on the now, and not think about leaving. I want to make the most out of the rest of my time here, not dwell in sadness about the time I won’t have here in the future. And even when I’m not here, I know Aix will always be with me, in a special place in my heart.
And now it’s off to do homework and prepare for the celebrations tomorrow – the Tour de France is coming through Aix! And of course, it’s also the fourth of July, so we’ll be celebrating like true Americans tomorrow. To all of my friends and family back in the States, happy 4th! Enjoy your fireworks. I’ll be enjoying bikers and French versions of American food like cheeseburgers – we’ll make do. :)
Bisous xoxo