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Majestic Paris

Right after Professor Eilderts came to talk to my French 101 class about the Paris study abroad trip, I immediately called my parents to ask if it were something they would consider allowing me to go on. They said that we would talk about it when they come up for one of my games, but I knew I was going on this trip regardless. When it became official, and friends and family members started asking me what my plans were for the summer, I would tell them that I was going to study in Paris for a month. I received the same reaction from almost everyone: “Wow, not a very good time to go to Paris! Are you sure you have to go?” As if I could just cancel the trip I have been waiting for since I started taking French. I would give my automated response of “When I was in Germany, I was down the street from three different terrorist attacks, so I think I am okay, but thanks for your concern!” Nothing bothers me more than people trying to ruin something I am excited for. Nevertheless, I pressed on and went to the city of lights like I had planned, and boy am I happy that I did. 

Mirror Selfie in Vaux-le-Vicomte

Mirror Selfie in the Hall of Mirrors

The minute we stepped foot on Paris soil, I was in love. I was finally in Europe without the guidance of my parents and could finally make my own decisions about what I saw and did. Nothing felt more freeing than knowing I had the key to the city at my fingertips (also known as my Navigo card). The first week was a blur of trial and error, laced with naivety. After what seems like a second of getting adjusted, the trip was nearly over, forcing us to come to the realization that a month-long trip was not long at all; it really should be a summer’s length. Of course, if it was a two or three-month long trip, I’m sure at the end if it I would be saying the same thing: not long enough. In our short stay, we managed to visit a plethora of interesting places and even got to breathe in the country air almost every weekend, like when we went to Provins, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Giverny, and Versailles. These trips are some of the most memorable for me because it showed a different way of living than the regular city life that we were exposed to. 

Mirror Selfie in Palais Garnier

Mirror Selfie in Monet’s House 

I would be remiss if I did not mention the museums and art that we were lucky enough to take advantage of in Paris. Having unlimited access to the home of the world’s most famous painting is a luxury most will never be able to enjoy, and some of us understood this and visited the Louvre many times a week. Each time we went, we discovered new artwork that made their impressions on us, and it was easy to tell who they affected just by the looks on people’s faces. The sad part about going to the Louvre, though, is that no matter how many times you go, no matter how long you stay for, you will never be able to experience everything in it. We also visited Musée d’Orsay and Musée de Cluny, which were both astounding and enlightening in their own way. Still, the Louvre will always be my favorite. 

Mirror Selfie in Appartements Napoléon III 

Mirror Selfie in Appartements Napoléon III

Fortunately for me, the friends I made on this trip and the closeness we experienced in this short amount of time had a lot to do with how much fun I had. Whether it be me putting rocks all over Andy as he napped in the countryside, or having staring contests with Zack, or being pretty much married to Nina, I have memories and experiences that would be absolutely different if I were not with them for the entirety of the trip. I can say that I spent my time in Pairs laughing, being surrounded by great people, and for that, I am lucky. 

Mirror Selfie in Shakespeare and Company

Mirror Selfie in my office, also called Nina’s room 

Polaroid from the Dinner Cruise 

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Reflection

When I decided to go on the SCSU study abroad to Paris, I thought that one month without my friends and family would be difficult and lengthy. However, one month has never flown by so fast in my life, and with such ease. Every day while abroad was an adventure, and during this trip, I have made memories that I will surely never forget.  

After our first Louvre visit I was sitting at a café on a quaint street with Andy, and while sipping on a noisette it was as if someone had flipped a switch… I was actually in Paris. This trip was something that I have wanted to do since my 8th-grade French class, and it was hard to grasp that it was finally a reality. 

What I enjoyed most about the program was the structure. Personally, I found the balance between education and free time to be enjoyable as while your weekdays are full of tours and exploration, your evenings and weekends are free for you to do as you please. During our trip, we visited many noteworthy estates and historical sites such as Provins, the Louvre, Versailles, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Musée d’Orsay, Opéra Garnier, and much more. Every one of these sites has its own personality, and to see the contrast between something as old as Provins, relative to the modernity of something like Musée d’Orsay was staggering. 

-Provins

-Musée d’Orsay

Something enjoyable about Paris as a whole is its diversity. In a matter of minutes, you can go from being on one of the busiest streets in the city to enjoying the serenity of Jardin du Luxembourg. Also, the city has an incredibly diverse food culture. It is not often that you can travel down one street and find Vietnamese, French, Greek, Italian, and Japanese food within a few hundred feet of each other. 

Another thing that I enjoyed, while some may have not, was the ease and efficiency of the Metro system. By making two or three quick changes you can make your way across the city in no time. Not having to worry about parking your car, grabbing your keys and filling up your gas tank is incredibly freeing.

Something that I will miss most, is the friends that I have made along the journey. While we will, of course, keep in touch, there will never be another instance where I could just run down a few flights of stairs to pound on Nina’s door. Late nights and long walks in unfavorable positions with the core four will truly be missed. 

Paris, you will truly be missed. Until next time… 

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La Vierge et L’Enfant: A Truth or Lie?

           Originally, I planned the theme of my photo essay to be the representation of mother and child in art, but when I was exploring various churches throughout France, it became apparent what direction I wanted to go in: The Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. Being raised as a Christian but having a very complicated relationship with religion has caused me to question the Bible and God himself. I have always been fascinated with blind faith and trust, as it has always been difficult for me to believe in things I cannot see or have no proof of. Considering this, I tend to question different aspects of the Bible in some of my academic work, this photo essay being one of them.

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in Musée de Cluny 

           I went on sight to various churches and museums to find the representation of the Virgin Mary and her child and was intrigued by what I found. To obtain a deeper understanding of their relationship and what is being signified, it is necessary to grasp what Mary symbolizes and what Jesus symbolizes separately.

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in Saint Gervais and Saint Protais Church 

Vierge et L’Enfant found in the Louvre 

La Vierge et L’Enfant by Barnaba Da Modena found in the Louvre

           God allegedly chose a poor, virgin girl named Mary to carry his son, Jesus. Her life after becoming pregnant was full of struggle and suffering but came with honor as well. With this virginal conception, she became God’s unrelenting servant, eventually earning herself the title of Saint. This is interesting, though, because while Mary might be one of the most famous characters in the Bible, she is still not given much of a voice, perhaps because she is female and mainly serves as a vessel for God’s child to be born through. Mary’s sole purpose in the Bible is to carry God’s Son via miracle. Through a modern feminist lens, Mary’s life is one that requires probing. If God actually did send the angel Gabriel to speak to Mary, was it truly Mary’s love and faith in God that furthered her servitude, or was it because of expected gender roles? Was she forced to carry this miracle child? Was she given the option to refuse? Was she really a virgin, or was it all a cover? Did she get pregnant and needed to save her maidenhead by lying? Or worse, was the Virgin Mary raped? Unable to speak up about what actually happened to her because of ancient customs? Claiming to be the chosen mother, but was she perhaps chosen for something else?

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in Musée de Cluny 

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church 

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in the Louvre 

            Baby Jesus has been portrayed in art for several centuries for obvious reasons. The Son of God has long been a sought-after figure to recreate through art because of his significance in religion. Baby Jesus represents the forgiveness of sins, and often in portraits and sculptures, he is intended to look older and wiser than a typical baby. This is in part to show that his existence is divine rather than him being depicted as just another baby. The future of mankind depended on this child to save them from their sins, so the child emulating the face of an old man is an accurate representation in this regard. This baby carries the weight of the world on his tiny shoulders, forcing him to grow up too soon.

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in Église Saint-Eustache 

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in the Louvre

A close up of La Vierge et L’Enfant from Jacob Jordaens’ L’Adoration des bergers found in the Louvre 

             In each of these works of art, Mother Mary and Baby Jesus are each designed with European features rather than their true Israeli selves. This is a common practice called “whitewashing” where white Westerners tend to change the appearance or characteristics of an entity to better match themselves and their backgrounds. The artists who created the pair’s whitewashed look are taking away part of their identity, creating a feeling of shame for those who happen to identify with the living Israelis. They are arguably being shown that their culture and race is not adequate for Westerners because of artists’ intentions of depicting a white mother and child with European features to appeal to their own audience. This creates a sense of “us” to those who look similar to the represented, but in turn, must create a “them” for those who do not.

La Vierge et L’Enfant found in Saint Gervais and Saint Protais Church

            In each of these depictions of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, Mary is always holding Jesus in a loving way, but it almost feels distant. Could this be because she lied about this baby’s identity and she cannot swallow her guilt? Was this child the product of rape or premarital sex in a time where one was accepted but the other was punishable by death of the woman? Is the Virgin Mary who carried the child of God all a hoax? Is there even a way to find out? 

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In Paris, France, art culture is alive and well. Home to some of the most renowned museums in the world, such as the Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and Centre Pompidou, it seems as though the largest celebrities are the collections of art throughout the city. Visitors from all over the world flock each day to the Louvre to view classics like the Mona Lisa, Victory Angel, and Venus de Milo. In 2016 alone, the Musée du Louvre saw approximately 7.3 million people. (Source) Each person, upon entry, is immediately bombarded with reminders of the most popular works in the entire 38,000+ piece museum. Placards usher visitors through the corridors, promising to guide them to La Jaconde, and in turn leading them to the visitor dumping ground, piling them onto the sweaty heap of selfie-stick-wielding tourists, bloodthirsty for a peek at Mona Lisa herself.

Have you ever asked yourself why the Mona Lisa is so famous? It isn’t the epitome of fine art by a long shot. Like a Kardashian, La Jaconde is most likely famous because of scandal. In 1911, the painting was stolen from the museum after hours. The theft made international news as the entire world tuned in to find out what happened to the da Vinci original. After it was found, replaced, and vandalized a few times, it got new digs behind bulletproof glass and a partition, and thus the crowd formed. Suddenly, visitors were turning their backs on the other priceless works in the museum to make a bee-line for the swarm around the drama-magnet painting.

The public continues to drink in what the Louvre PR staff pumps out throughout the museum, collecting in pools around the Victory Angel and Venus de Milo. When they are finally through, they ring out their consumerist drool in the gift shop, emptying their wallets over anything and everything with the Mona Lisa on it. Shelves are coated in the iconic smile and captivating eyes adjacent to staggering Euro signs. Pop art models of Venus de Milo are arranged artfully at the entrance, hypnotizing passersby to drop their cash at the feet of the museum staff without even checking the price tag. Why? Because I’ve seen the real thing, and the countless pictures I took from every possible angle is not enough to commemorate that time I saw the most famous pieces of art ever.

The crowd around the Mona Lisa on a standard Monday afternoon. Note how few people are actually looking at the painting itself instead of through their camera.

Looking back at the sea of Mona Lisa visitors which nearly fills the small gallery room. The other works in the room are commonly neglected by the thousands of people who cycle through every day.

A smaller, but still congested crowd around Venus de Milo. This piece, like La Jaconde, is placed in the middle of the room, perhaps for ease of access.

With the Victory Angel at the top of the stairs, mobs pose a problem for the traffic flow of the museum. Some people will retreat to the balcony opposite the sculpture, creating their own sky box of viewers.

A new 21st century dimension to this phenomenon is the selfie culture. It is no longer enough to simply take a picture of the art. The amount of people with their backs to the piece in order to get in a picture with it seems counterproductive. Tweeting that you saw the Victory Angel is inaccurate, unless you have eyes in the back of your head.

Visitors commonly have to squeeze and elbow through the ravenous crowd outside the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. If you didn’t have claustrophobia before…

A fraction of the amount of visitors to the Louvre every day. Tour groups create waves in traffic throughout the museum, and have a tendency to linger at our favorite 3 pieces.

Gift shop display of Venus de Milo figurines in various colors. It’s almost refreshing to see something that isn’t the Mona Lisa, but these colorful little ladies are like chum for gift shop customers. At the end of the day, you’re going home with Lisa.

One of the many Mona Lisa displays in the Louvre gift shop. There’s a famous controversy about what her smile means. I cracked the code. It says, “BUY ME”.

The consumerism of the Mona Lisa extends outside the museum as a motif in advertisement. This ad is in a Paris metro station, but La Jaconde can even be found on billboards off I-84 in the United States.

Worldwide, in France, the US and beyond, the popularity of art is defined not by its quality, but rather by its value as a product to sell to an ususpecting, unquestioning, consumerist public.

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Art Nouveau refers to the style of architecture that uses decorative art such as sculpture and paintings in its designs. An interesting aspect of this style is its originality and richness incorporated in each design. Starting in the late nineteenth century, the popularity of Art Nouveau fluctuated throughout the twentieth century. In the early twentieth century, this style was regarded as almost ugly, up until it regained its popularity in the mid twentieth century to combat the boring glass and steel style.

 Castel Béranger was designed by Hector Guimard and built between 1895 and 1898, making it the first residence in Paris to be built in the style of Art Nouveau. A visible trait of this building is the complexity in the lines and how they appear to be in motion. This building’s gate was my favorite piece of the entirety because of the intricacy and originality in its design.

Jules Lavirotte designed an amazing building in the same style of Art Nouveau, yet the two look completely unalike. This is what makes this certain style fun, because you will not have two designs that are too similar unless they are designed by the same architect. I preferred the detail and depth of Lavirotte’s building compared to Guimard’s. I appreciated the sculptures that he incorporated into his work because it makes this building stand out as a piece of art rather than a place of residence. It is a shame that Art Nouveau died out, because it certainly was a picturesque architectural style.

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“Marché, marché, marché...” -Felicia

Today, a small group of us decided to tackle the task of visiting local marchés. The first one we decided to go to was Marché Beauveau – Marché d’Aligre. This market was not at all what I expected because I imagined more of an open air section than an indoor section. As we walked into the semi-indoor establishment, I was immediately hit with the ripe smell of fish and the sight to follow. As I walked around, it started to develop more of a charm. Some of the indoor fruit and vegetable stands were very well put together, which was nice to see. There was also a little shop for huiles that also had mustards (but unfortunately there was no taste testing). The mustards were packaged in what looked like acrylic paint tubes, which I thought was interesting as I have never seen that before. The outside of the market looked a bit sketchy, but most of the stores on the inside were actually pretty nice...

... until we went to the Grande épicerie du Bon Marché. That was an excellent marché. At first, we walked into the purses and clothing Le Bon Marché, which we were immediately directed out of by the security guard after he saw our looks of utter confusion. He told us to walk down a bit more, and we would see it, which was a massive understatement. Never in my life have I seen a bigger supermarket, especially one that looked that beautiful. This marché is the type of store I want to shop in 24/7. Everything was clean and pristine, which juxtaposes the outside of the former market very well. I immediately found my home in the mustard section and got my family (okay, fine... myself) some samples of French mustards. We spent most of our time in this market, as there were plenty of floors to explore. I ended up having the best orange juice I have ever tasted and a delicious vanilla macaron. Needless to say, in the short amount of time we have left in Paris, I will certainly be going back here. 

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Selfies for Days

Seeing the actual paintings that Monet had done of his gardens, water lilies, ponds, and bridges were absolutely breathtaking. The Musée d'Orsay features many Monet paintings and Van Gogh paintings, all of which were amazing and surreal to see up close, but one artist’s work stood out more to me than any other in that whole museum. Alfred Sisley was also an impressionist, focusing mainly on landscape paintings that are captivating and complex when one gazes at them. Unlike some of the other impressionist landscape paintings, Sisley’s have an added depth of detail to them, making them more impressive to me than some of the other artwork I had seen. Of course, it was amazing to see Monet’s work, since we had just seen his inspiration for it the day before, but Nina came up with a creative way for us to look at other artists as well. Our challenge was to find five paintings and take selfies with them, which just about had us running around the museum in competition mode. Sophie and I ended up tying the race because The Gleaners by Millet was temporarily closed. It was fun looking around all the floors of the museum in search of a particular painting, but then end up seeing almost every exhibit in the whole place. Props to you, Nina!

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A Garden of Tourists

I can remember the first time I saw the famous Claude Monet paintings. I was in art class in the fourth grade, and behind my little black topped art table, there was a poster of his famous Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies. The next time I saw a similar poster was my freshman year of high school, walking into my French teacher’s classroom. I remember thinking how beautiful these paintings were, wondering to myself where he found his inspiration for such art. Giverny, where Monet decided to move after renting a house there for some time, served as his muse for his art. Unlike artists who used to paint in studios, Monet would go out and paint what he saw, an example of this being his gardens or water lilies. He is a founder of Impressionism, but what is most notable about Monet is that his art gained so much popularity during his lifetime, making his work and himself famous before he died. For a painter to become famous during his life is practically unheard of, so obviously, Claude Monet was the real deal from the start. 

As we strolled through the gardens and into his house, I couldn’t help but wonder how many tourists have stepped foot on the same grounds that Monet used to paint. Is this what he wanted? For crowds to rush into his house and see where he used to live? To have people take selfies on the bridge that he used to carefully paint?

 I think that the busyness of the property juxtaposes exactly what Monet captures in his art. The only time you see the gardens are when people are taking pictures of the flowers. The only time you see the bridge is when it is constantly full of people getting their pictures taken on it, posing again and again because the first one just wasn’t right. In Monet’s time, he painted the bridge and the gardens as he saw them; quiet and peaceful with nothing but the purity of nature and the evolving sun. Seeing his perspective of his own property in the Musée D’Orsay after seeing the property bustling with tourists in today’s time helped to turn this opposition into a set truth.  

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An Ode to Charles’ Mustache

Palais Garnier was by far one of my favorite buildings we have seen thus far. Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite broadway shows that I have ever seen, so engaging with the actual opera house that it was based on was overwhelming. 

The most impressive part of this building is the architecture and the detail that went into every little thing. For example, the ceiling decoration that states the dates of construction and the name of Charles Garnier, the architect. The most exciting detail to see was Phantom’s reserved box, saying, “Loge du Fantôme de L’Opera” plaqued in gold. 

My favorite room was the grand foyer because of the almost sickening overuse of gold. Still, I loved every detail of it, down to the last paintstroke. The painted ceilings were masterpieces of their own, each telling a different story relating to the arts and alluding to Apollo quite often. I think I liked this room the most because of the little anecdote our tour guide told us. This room was originally only for men to wait and chat in during intermission. Then, the former Spanish queen decided that she wanted to see this grand room, becoming the first woman to ever step foot into this hall of golden detail. With her two feet and her faux cul, she paved the way for women to start entering this once extremely selective foyer. Those are the types of history stories I like to hear about. 

Unfortunately, the Phantom never showed himself, but we can always come back... 

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“Quand il fait beau...”

On Thursday, we took a trip to Versailles to learn about the history of the château and the jardins on site. Originally built as a hunting lodge, the property of Versailles changed into an enormous château for Louis XIV to live during his reign. He called himself le Roi-Soleil, taking on the embelem of the sun because the sun gives life to all things and parallels with Apollo, the god of peace and the arts. As we learned in one of our readings from Seven Ages of Pairs, Louis XIV was a patron of the arts and helped to build and improve the theatre. Suns were everywhere in this château, and it was amazing to see how much detail really went into them. 

My favorite part of the trip has to be the gardens and water features. Seeing the fountains running made the trip that much more special, and the beauty of it all was captivating. A few of us took a boat ride on the pond that seemed to be in the shape of a cross. As a collective group, I think it is safe to say the boat ride was the most “majestic” part of our trip. C’était formidable! 

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Vaux-le-Vicomte

Nicolas Fouquet purchased Vaux-le-Vicomte in 1641, where he decided to transform the estate into a château and gardens with water features. When approaching this grand château after crossing the mote, the easiest thing to recognize is the size and detail of it. While looking at the building for a while, the details begin to jump out at you. Squirrels are sculpted into the front of the château because that was his family emblem. The interesting part of these carvings, I found, was that the squirrels were posed as lions are usually are positioned. This struck me as odd because of how exactly opposite those two animals are, and what that choice of positioning says about the family. 

My favorite part was looking out into the gardens and seeing them all from a bird’s eye view. The details in the bushes were absolutely breathtaking. I loved the symmetry of the gardens and how everything was an optical illusion. After seeing this from the tower, I had to walk to the statue of L’Hercule and witness the illusion for myself.

The walk to L’Hercules took a pretty long time, but the sights made it completely worth it. After passing all of the water features and seeing the fountains, we started to walk uphill towards L’Hercule himself. He was larger than life, and the sun shining off of him was certainly a sight to see. The walk back from seeing his golden statue was an interesting one, mainly because we took the path not traveled. It was eventful though because we got to see a wild peacock. 

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French Foods

After about a week of waiting, I finally tried escargot. The initial flavor is a lot of butter but then you start to taste the garlic and recognize the texture of the snail itself. The rubbery texture was weird for me, but my overall experience was better than I had expected.

Going to Angelina has always been on my Paris bucket list, so when Professor EIlderts suggested we go there while we had a little break, I was thrilled. I had no expectations except that it was a very rich chocolate, which is how most French chocolate seems to be. When we poured the cups of chocolat chaud, it took a substantially longer time to come out than I thought it would. After topping it off with some of the best whipped cream I have ever tried, I took the awaited sip. The hot chocolate itself was amazing, but I could really only handle so much of it. It would probably be best served in smaller doses so that none of it goes to waste.

We joke a lot about “grab yourself a baguette, some cheese, go sit in a park” but it’s actually as simple as that, especially for picnics by the Eiffel Tower. We bought a bunch of snacks one night and sat on the green looking at the Tour Eiffel for hours. It all consisted of simple things: bread, cheese, hummus, crackers, but it all tasted so good, especially with a view like below.

I suppose what I like about French food is that it is made so differently from ours. I hate to compare countries, but sometimes it’s an interesting perspective on how a simple cheeseburger can taste so different between the States, England, Germany, and France.

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Basilique Cathédrale de Saint-Denis

5 Juin 2017 Today, we visited the Basilique Saint-Denis-- the final resting place for French kings and queens. Upon entering the huge cathedral, one is immediately bathed in light that shines through the impressive stain glass windows located just under the ceiling. Hued lights draw your eyes up, forcing you to recognize the vastness of the gothic building. All around the cathedral are sculptures of the late royalty with plaques featuring a brief description of who they were. 

One sculpture I found particularly interesting was of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. This one caught my eye because unlike the other statues that were laying down, these two were praying on their knees. Louis XVI is looking straight outward, but his chin is pointed up, possibly implying power and superiority. Unlike her husband and king, Marie-Antoinette is sculpted looking down to the feet of Louis XVI. In biblical times, the washing of feet was often associated with humility and service. If we look at this sculpture with this biblical lense, then it is easy to assume that Marie-Antoinette herself would serve her husband and king, depicting her as a “good wife.” 

Born in 1755 in Austria, ten-year-old Marie-Antoinette pledged to marry Louis XVI in 1765, after a fragile alliance between France and Austria became important to uphold. We know little about who Marie-Antoinette really was, but we do have accounts from people around her. An example is the tutor that Louis XV sent to teach her, explaining that she was very intelligent but also very lazy. We know her physical features were ash-blonde hair and grey-blue eyes, and we also know that did not adjust well to (royal) married life abroad. Four years after getting married in 1770, Marie-Antoinette became queen. She was in fact my age, nineteen, when she was queen of France. Marie-Antoinette enjoyed doing teenaged things that we do even now, such as partying. A few years later, she had a daughter and named her Marie Therese Charlotte. Her social butterfly ways and her extravagant lifestyle had still not flown away, and she was looked down upon because of this. On the infamous day of July 14th, the storming of the Bastille began the French Revolution, and Marie-Antoinette acted fast. She began asking ambassadors and advisors for help to save the French monarchy to no avail. After trying to escape (Marie’s plan), they were caught and allowed only symbolic power, until Jacobin leader Maximilien de Robespierre arrested the king and queen and removed them entirely. In 1793, Marie-Antoinette was put on trial for treason and theft, and ultimately found guilty on all accounts. She was executed shortly thereafter. 

I mentioned earlier the light as you walk into this grand cathedral. The copious amount of stained glass windows was done to allow lots of light into the dark building. Suger’s reasoning behind this was because he associated light with the divine light of Christ, so it was as if one is basking in God’s light. What makes this even more incredible to me is the colors that play on the ground as the sun moves. Since there are so many windows, there is only darkness when the sun goes completely down. I think that is interesting, as the descending of the sun could represent descending into the darkness of hell or death. To see the light is to resurrect and be reborn into a new, better person. One God would take willingly home. 

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The First Three Days

Since coming to Paris three days ago, a lot has been going through my head: things I have to watch out for, foods I want to try, and experiences I don’t want to miss. I have been trying to navigate my way through this magical city with an open mind to new things and not live with expectations. 

I think the part of Paris that surprised me the most was the modern part of the city. I was so excited to see old Paris that seeing the newly done part first was almost disappointing (it was too much like NYC). I started out with a vision of what Paris would look like, and the modern part was the polar opposite. An exciting experience for me was traveling to a new country with a group of random people I had never met. Fortunately, this group has bonded very quickly, and after the first day, we all do almost everything together, which is incredible. 

It's amazing to just wake up one morning and say "I think I want to see the gardens for a bit" and then go and actually do it via the Métro, RER, etc. It's this type of quick and easy transportation that makes cities so unique. Another new experience for me is seeing the menu price and actually paying the menu price. On that note, the food here is much better than in the states, and it is easy to tell that the French take pride in what they serve. Even the most simple foods like bread and cheese are simply just better tasting. I am an avid coffee drinker, and I can easily say that Paris has served me the best cup of coffee by far. A group of us tried rose ice cream in Provins, and it was incredible, especially mixed with chocolate. Unfortunately, I have yet to try escargot, but it's on my list of to-dos!

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Yesterday was our first full day in Paris. Sandwiches, Notre Dame and more. We registered about 16,000 steps!

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May 25, 2017 

Pre-Departure 

I have been exposed to travel for as long as I can remember. My dad’s mother was born and raised in Germany, and my mom’s father is retired air force and commercial airline captain. My family firmly believes in receiving a worldly education: we have been to countless different states, we go to Canada twice a year, my graduation gift from my grandfather was a family trip to London and last summer we traveled all over Germany for my sister’s faustball world tournament (and we’re going to Switzerland two weeks after this trip for the same reason). While these trips are always so much fun, I have been waiting for the day that I could go to Europe by myself and be my own person in a city I am unfamiliar with—what better way to get to know yourself, right? When I found out about this trip in French 101, I immediately called my parents and asked if it were a trip they would allow me to go on. It took about a week of convincing, but here I am, going on this once in a lifetime experience! Since the moment that I was accepted for this study abroad, I have not been able to stop talking about it. This helped me form a list of things I want to see because of all the suggestions I have been given. These include Sacré-Cœur, Le Chat Noir, Musée de l'Orangerie, Palais-Royal, and Maison Georges Larnicol. I have also been obsessed with the movie Moulin Rouge! since I was eleven (a little early, I know), so seeing the real Moulin Rouge has been on my bucket list since then. I cannot wait to try all of the French pastries, chocolate, cheese, and of course, escargots! I think I’m mostly excited to go to a brand-new city in my favorite continent by myself for the first time ever.

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In just one more week, Southern in Paris 2017 will be lifting off!