A week before heading off to Madagascar, my mom and I flew to Paris to practice some French (hah), see the touristy things and break up what would have been 23+ hours on a plane from PHL to TNR (Antananarivo). I'm glad I got to spend the week here because it reinforced my choice not to study abroad in Europe. Paris is beautiful and rich in culture, but, for me, it also felt too comfortable and normal. I wouldn't be taking many risks or expanding my comfort zone, which is something I thought was important for my study abroad experience. So, here I am, going to Madagascar for four months... ah!
But since I haven't gotten there yet and am currently sitting in Charles de Gaulle airport for the next eight hours, I'll post a quick and dirty spiel about Paris... emphasis on the quick and dirty because I'm tired and currently fueled by McDonald's food.
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| Mmmmmmhm. |
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| Bye Philly |
Friday
We got to Paris around 10 AM Friday morning and took the metro from the GDG to our apartment in the 11th arrondissement (Paris is divided into 20 "arrondissements" which are like the different districts and are all known for different things.) After stopping by a Supermarché, I assembled our first Parisian meal which consisted of: Nutella, a baguette, Leffe biere, olives, stinky cheese and olive oil.
We slept for forever on Friday and on Saturday took the Metro to Notre Dame. Being the religious enthusiast that I am, I took about four pictures, one of them being of the "sexy serpent" depicted on the front of Notre Dame. Another being the phenomenal stained glass that decorates the inside of Notre Dame. All sarcasm aside, the inside of the church was truly breathtaking.
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| Adam, Eve and the tempting sexy serpent |
Monday
On Monday we took the metro to L'arc de Triomphe. It's enormous and historic and surrounded by a six-lane traffic circle, traffic circles are all over the place in Paris. To avoid being mowed down by cars, you walk through a tunnel underneath the street and pop up under the arc.
On the walk back, I spotted this statue and thought it worthy of a picture.
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| Being mature in Paris |
And then of course we visited La Tour Eiffel at night. It was windy and cold, even more so on the second level, but definitely worth the trip. Also, fun fact, if you're looking to visit Paris and avoid lines and tourist congestion, January is a fantastically dead time to go. Everything we visited was relatively empty. The Eiffel Tower is also worth checking out after dark since they light it up and it even sparkles!
And, in case you're missing the United States while in Paris, these posters are on literally every Metro car. I got a kick out of it.
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| Learn "Wall Street English!" |
Tuesday
On Tuesday we visited the Musee d'Orsay which I loved, loved, loved. Unfortunately I couldn't take photos inside, but I will post images of my two favorite paintings that I saw while I was there.
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| Outside of Musee d'Orsay at night |
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| Luxe, calme et volupte - Henri Matisse |
Luxe, calme et volupte is an oil painting that needs to be seen in the original form. The painting has a 3D element to it because you can actually see each stroke of oil paint. It's phenomenal, I fell in love with it and wish I could get a replica that accurately reflected the original. It kind of made me miss studying art.
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| Après le bain - Degas |
There was also a whole section for Edgar Degas who is one of my favorite artists. Après le bain is one of my
favorites of his.. not really
sure why though.
Van Gogh was there too, if you like him. I don't, so sorry.
On Wednesday we went to the Lourve. The Lourve is really big, too big to do in a day or even two. The guide book we were referring to while in Paris recommended spending a week there. We did not do this, so instead we visited the Denon wing, got horribly lost in the Richelieu wing looking for Napoleon's apartment and missed Sully altogether. The Louvre is a place I'd like to tackle with an art major because otherwise, it's just a lot to take in. We checked out the Mona Lisa, because you can't go to the Louvre and not see her, right? There was a lot of fuss over such a small painting, but people love their famous art. I can't imagine what seeing the Mona Lisa would be like on a crowded day, it was chaotic enough when we saw her.
After the Lourve we went to dinner at a place called "Pain Vin Fromage" that was completely empty because the French don't eat dinner until 8 or 9, so we chatted with one of the owners in comical Franglish for two hours and I decided he would be my future husband. So if you're in Paris near the Centre Pompidou, stop by and ask for Gerald. Also, if you stop by, here's a word of warning for the dessert menu. Citron et vodka literally means two balls or sorbet in a glass of vodka... Now it's no Vlad, but also not the most pleasant of experiences. You've been warned.
Welp, there's an overview of Paris. Now I have six more hours in Charles de Gaulle and about 40 pages of my French text book to complete... oops! I've sadly taken up residence in a McDonald's because it offers free Wifi and ate my first McDonald's food in about four years.
I won't have internet for the first couple of days in Madagascar, so don't expect any more posts too soon.
25 hours until Madagascar
Van Gogh was there too, if you like him. I don't, so sorry.
Wednesday
On Wednesday we went to the Lourve. The Lourve is really big, too big to do in a day or even two. The guide book we were referring to while in Paris recommended spending a week there. We did not do this, so instead we visited the Denon wing, got horribly lost in the Richelieu wing looking for Napoleon's apartment and missed Sully altogether. The Louvre is a place I'd like to tackle with an art major because otherwise, it's just a lot to take in. We checked out the Mona Lisa, because you can't go to the Louvre and not see her, right? There was a lot of fuss over such a small painting, but people love their famous art. I can't imagine what seeing the Mona Lisa would be like on a crowded day, it was chaotic enough when we saw her.
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| The most popular girl in the room |
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| People! |
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| It's cool to see art you know. |
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| Hehehe, the mature photographer strikes again |
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| The Louvre at night |
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| Art from Madagascar! cool |
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| Get wasted. |
In other news, I've become an awkwardly technologically impaired PC user and I miss my Mac terribly. This computer is lighter and more convenient for carrying... but other than that I resent it. I'm currently trying to name it something that reflects that resentment. Grrr. If you have any suggestions, send them my way.
I won't have internet for the first couple of days in Madagascar, so don't expect any more posts too soon.
25 hours until Madagascar
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