Oh Paris.our time in Paris was full of phrases such as "This city is a wasteland" and "This place is a cesspool." I was warned about Paris...and I did by best to be optimistic...but that city is a wasteland. Granted, a lot of the city hate is due to poor planning of our time there. We did not have a map and our free time was too short to go somewhere but too long to stay where we were. So we got lost, stuck, and bored...a lot. Also, the Louvre is not all it's cracked up to be, at least in my opinion. Other people loved it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. The city buildings were beautiful though, lots of old architecture.
Our first museum in Paris was the Musee D'Orsday, which was mostly an impressionist museum. I actually really liked it; it was quite lovely. They had a special Van Gogh exhibit and it was pretty awesome to see. I was able to see a lot of his famous works including Starry Night Over the Rhone, which was stunning. Also, there's this gorgeous ballroom area in the museum, The Salle des Fetes, and it's incredible. It's over the top Neoclassical with marble sculptures, gilded frames, gold-leaf, massive mirrors, and elaborate chandeliers. It's the type of decadent luxury that just takes your breath away. I wanted so badly to take pictures, but photography was forbidden in that museum.
Our first museum in Paris was the Musee D'Orsday, which was mostly an impressionist museum. I actually really liked it; it was quite lovely. They had a special Van Gogh exhibit and it was pretty awesome to see. I was able to see a lot of his famous works including Starry Night Over the Rhone, which was stunning. Also, there's this gorgeous ballroom area in the museum, The Salle des Fetes, and it's incredible. It's over the top Neoclassical with marble sculptures, gilded frames, gold-leaf, massive mirrors, and elaborate chandeliers. It's the type of decadent luxury that just takes your breath away. I wanted so badly to take pictures, but photography was forbidden in that museum.
Our second day in Paris began with a...you guessed it!, a bus sightseeing tour! One of the more interesting stops we made was at the Luxembourg Gardens. It was beautiful, very clean, and lots of bright flowers and lovely statues. We also saw the (Paris) statue of Lady Liberty. It also had a plaque there to memorialize 9/11 victims where they planted a tree near the statue. Also on our bus tour, we visited Notre Dame. It was stunning. I really really love old churches and stained glass. I took tons and tons of pictures, but I picked some of my favorites to put in the gallery. There was so so much stained glass it was insane.
After that we went to the Louvre, which, as I said, wasn't my favorite museum. I did get to see the Mona Lisa, which was super tiny and crowded, as I expected. I also was able to see Venus de Milo, which was really amazing. It was sort of a full circle humanities moment for me, being able to see a piece that I really liked that we had studied. After the Louvre we walked around for about an hour in the rain trying to find a church that nobody had bothered to look up. It was miserable. That wandering (we never did find it, by the way) was my turning point from optimism to "this city is a wasteland." Dinner afterwords, though, totally made up for it (sorta). I had absolutely delicious Indian food (palak paneer) and then for dessert we went to a grocery store and bought mango sorbet and cookies. We took the dessert back to my room and just sat on the bed and ate and talked and it was super perfect, and cheap too!
After that we went to the Louvre, which, as I said, wasn't my favorite museum. I did get to see the Mona Lisa, which was super tiny and crowded, as I expected. I also was able to see Venus de Milo, which was really amazing. It was sort of a full circle humanities moment for me, being able to see a piece that I really liked that we had studied. After the Louvre we walked around for about an hour in the rain trying to find a church that nobody had bothered to look up. It was miserable. That wandering (we never did find it, by the way) was my turning point from optimism to "this city is a wasteland." Dinner afterwords, though, totally made up for it (sorta). I had absolutely delicious Indian food (palak paneer) and then for dessert we went to a grocery store and bought mango sorbet and cookies. We took the dessert back to my room and just sat on the bed and ate and talked and it was super perfect, and cheap too!
The next day we walked around some and got lost, but whatever. I had espresso again in a tiny little coffee shop where nobody spoke English and it was wonderful. To be honest, I loved the language barrier. I loved trying to find new ways of communicating and working together as humans. I loved the unknown culture and the shaky confusion as we (fingers-crossed) hoped to understand each other. It was fun, unsure, and exciting. Every conversation was an adrenaline rush. After coffee, we went to to the Pompidou. I like modern art, so I enjoyed the museum, but we only had access to one (small) floor and 2 hours to see 30 minutes worth of art. Therefore, I got real bored real fast.
After the Pompidou we went to the Eiffel Tower. Most people went up, but I have pressure sensitivity and I didn't want to be in pain on the elevator. The 3 of us who didn't go up, instead walked around the city and somehow accidentally walked to the Arc de Triopmphe. It was a lot longer of a walk than we were intending on...and we had to walk the whole way back too. But we got crepes! I finally had a Nutella crepe, and it was yummy! I think that day in Paris was our most walking-intense day. In the evening we went on a boat tour of the city, which was pretty redundant as far as seeing the sights goes, but we did get to see the Tower at night and it glittered on the hour, so it was pretty beautiful. Okay so Paris isn't the worst city in the world, but it was by far my least favorite of the entire trip.
After the Pompidou we went to the Eiffel Tower. Most people went up, but I have pressure sensitivity and I didn't want to be in pain on the elevator. The 3 of us who didn't go up, instead walked around the city and somehow accidentally walked to the Arc de Triopmphe. It was a lot longer of a walk than we were intending on...and we had to walk the whole way back too. But we got crepes! I finally had a Nutella crepe, and it was yummy! I think that day in Paris was our most walking-intense day. In the evening we went on a boat tour of the city, which was pretty redundant as far as seeing the sights goes, but we did get to see the Tower at night and it glittered on the hour, so it was pretty beautiful. Okay so Paris isn't the worst city in the world, but it was by far my least favorite of the entire trip.