Bonjour everyone! It has definitely been awhile since I have had a reason to post on this blog. I'm excited to say that I am back in France! I am using a company called Busabout to backpack through the western part of western Europe. I have been in Paris since Monday, and I leave tomorrow to go to Switzerland.
This week has been pretty laid back. I hit up most of the usual spots, including some of my faves from last summer. I have walked through the Marais, walked by the Seine from the Louvre and Tuileries to Notre Dame, gone to some art exhibits at the Hotel de Ville and Centre Pompidou, drank wine in front of the Eiffel Tower with some new friends, and walked around and had dinner in Montmartre. I also went to the Jardin des Plantes for the first time, and while I was there went through the menagerie (zoo). I cant believe I never went there last summer. And of course, I sat in the sun in the luxembourg garden and relaxed. A few nights ago I was able to go to Annick's (our home stay mom from last summer) for dinner, and I met her two new American students. It was great to catch up with her, and the girls and I hit it off immediately; we went to the Eiffel tower tonight!
I'm excited to start the bus tour and meet a bunch of new people. Being here alone hasnt been scary at all like I thought it might. I know Paris so well that I am just at home here and able to go where I want confidently. However, it will be nice to have people to explore all these new cities with. Surprisingly, my French is nearly as good as when I left. I have been able to successfully buy a phone and many other things all in French with no need to resort to English when things get tough, so that is definitely encouraging.
Anyway, it's about time for me to Skype with my parents, so I'm gonna go. It will be harder for me to post pictures this year, as I do not have my actual computer with me. I will however, try to post a lot when I get home. I'll try to keep this updated throughout the month!
Peace and love to you all!
trisha.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Paris, tu me manques
Bonjour!
Well, I am writing this final parisian blog from Missouri. I have been back in the states for just over a week now. But now, I will rewind two and a half weeks...
view from the Centre Pompidou
After the few days that I packed with exhibitions (all the buttons and Yves Saint Laurent), I was planning on continuing to see all the other "little sights" that I hadn't been to. I believe I posted them in the last blog (Victor Hugo's House, Museum of Tea, and a few others). I'm somewhat sorry to report that I did not accomplish the entire list. The list just changed. Daily. Nicole and I were pretty worn out that Saturday morning--we were actually going to school all week ya know. We ended up hanging out around the apartment for a lot of the day then just wandering around later that night. My first stop was the Centre Pompidou, the National Museum of Modern Art. There was an exhibition I had been wanting to go to, and I finally made it. The exhibition was called "Dreamlands" and was based off of a theme park in Coney Island. It described the many dreamlands we try to create, from theme parks to Epcot at Disney, to multicultural themed resorts all over the world (Las Vegas for example), as well as the ideas for Utopias that were never executed. It also included a lovely model of the World's Fair when it was in Paris. I ended the evening by meeting Nicole up in Montmartre for some coffee and dessert at a café. The next day I had a lot of things scheduled in, the biggest being the end of the Tour de France. This event also took up the entire afternoon, which was not exactly the plan. It was, however, a good experience and definitely worth going despite the hours and hours we waited! Perhaps my favorite part of the day was the carnival that is in the Tuilerie Gardens during the summer. It was full of cotton candy, candy apples, crepes, rides, games, and everything else that goes along with carnivals! It was so fun to walk around and watch all the kids having such a great time...not to mention all the sugar I consumed in such a short time :)
Dreamlands
le tour de France
Our last week of school was super relaxed--mostly because our grades were already in. We continued learning and actually progressed into some much harder grammatical topics, which I assume is to give you a taste of the next level (for those who did not have to leave Paris). I spent most of the afternoons just wandering around the city with my friends, eating at cafés, and trying to get packed...
water fountains that are all over the city
escargotOn Wednesday, my cousin Ida arrived in Paris as did Nicole's parents. So the six of us spent the majority of our remaining time in Paris together. We hit up all the main tourist attractions-- Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Centre Pompidou, Opéra Garnier, Champs-Élysées, etc. I'm really glad that I took the time to re-see all of the big things and make my way all around the city a few more times. The one new place that I did go was to the Catacombs. It was a little creepy and damp, but it was definitely one of my favorite places. Te catacombs run under the southern part of the city. The streets are even marking within them so that you know where you are. By the 17th century, the city's cemeteries were becoming so overcrowded that they were just throwing all the bodies in piles, and it became quite unsanitary and rather unbearable for the Parisians--thus the need for the catacombs. I also spent a lot of time in Montmartre (my favorite part of town) because that's where Ida's hostel was. I also finally made it the BHV (Bazar d'Hotel de Ville). This is perhaps my favorite store in the entire world. It pretty much has everything that you could ever need all in one store! We finished up the summer eating at lots of cafés, walking by St. Martin's Canal, and sitting on the steps of Sacré Coeur eating a baguette from the boulangerie that was voted 2010 Paris' best baguette. I'm not sure I could think of a better way to end it.
I don't have that much to write about this time, since my last few weeks were not necessarily spent seeing new things I hadn't seen before. Rather, they were spent revisiting all my favorite places and mourning my upcoming flight over the Atlantic. Oh yeah...the flight. After being evacuated from the airport due to security, being pressured to volunteer to stay an extra night because the flight was overbooked, and waiting an hour to check my two bags, I finally made it on the flight. The next 9 hours were fairly pleasant. I watched a few romantic comedies, read some of my french Harry Potter book, and ate a lot of gummy bears. Then I got to Chicago. Everyone else was moving through customs rather quickly, but not me. Nope. Guess where my two checked bags were? Yep. Sitting in Paris. I guess I should've stayed the extra night as they suggested. After a short flight to Springfield, I stepped out into 95 degree F weather at 8:30 at night. It was unbelievably hot and humid. Welcome back to Missouri, Trisha.
The house of Vincent VanGogh
Two days later, we picked up my bags from the airport, and I moved into my new apartment in downtown Springfield--a tiny one bedroom. It's cozy, and I like it :) I'm starting to get back into the swing of things, but it promises to be a busy month. Traveling a little to see friends and visit med schools, finishing up med school apps, and working on the independent study class that I should have finished a month ago. I am certainly experiencing a little backwards culture shock, and I never thought driving a car would feel so strange! I do miss Paris, more and more everyday. But I so look forward to returning, hopefully sooner rather than later. Ernest Hemingway said it best, "America is my country, but Paris is my hometown."
Paris, tu me manques
Thanks for following my blog this summer. My life at home is much to boring to blog about, so this is the last one. Merci beaucoup :)
Bisoux et au revoir!
Trisha
Saturday, July 24, 2010
the end is near...
Bonjour :)
Well, as usual, I have failed at updating this as often as I would like. These past few weeks have been super busy here in Paris. I've been in classes, trying to finish up my sightseeing list, and filling out secondary applications for medical school. I absolutely cannot believe that I only have 10 full days left in France. While I am excited to go home and see everyone (and eat my favorite foods), I know that after being home for a few weeks I'll be homesick for Paris again. It's just so unfortunate that it is such a long (and expensive) way to go to come back. Although, don't be fooled... I'm already making some plans for my return ;)
Bronze lady close to my school
I guess I'll begin after our return from Switzerland. Despite how exhausted I was, I wanted to make the most of the first Sunday of the month and its free museums. So, I came home from the train station, showered, and headed back out. First I visited the Musée Marmottan, which houses many of Monet's works as well as Pollock and Kandinsky, and it also had an exhibition about Monet's works and how they continue to influence current artists. It was small, but worth the trip. Then, I went to the Musée d'Orsay, which was beyond crowded, but I made my way through the crowds to see some VanGogh and Dégas (and of course a lot more). I didn't stay as long as I thought I would because the crowds really didn't seem worth fighting after about an hour. I spent the remainder of the week getting situated in my new class with different classmates and a different teacher. Actually, this session I have three different teachers, as I have my regular French class every morning and workshops on two afternoons each week (spoken French and phonetics, which is my fave). Also, my friend Grace introduced me to her friend Emily (who is studying at our school through a different study abroad program), and the three of us have made quite a team for the past few weeks.
The next weekend, Grace, Emily, and I took the train and the bus out to Giverny, where Monet's house, gardens, and water lilies are. To be honest, I wish we would've gone in June before it got so hot and touristy and also because I think the flowers would have been a bit nicer, but overall it was a lot of fun. After a little trouble getting their train tickets, we finally made it there. It was really incredible to see the place that inspired such famous paintings. We also saw Monet's grave at a little church while we were there. I would highly recommend this little day trip to anyone who is going to be in Paris for more than a few days. We also went out to the Trocadéro to see the World Cup final. I only made it through about 30 minutes of the game. It was just a little too crowded for me...basically all of Paris was trying to sit on the same steps. However, I'm glad I at least went to see it and had the experience. Instead, Emily and I went up to Montmartre for some café and crème brulée.
Monet's house
Lily pond
Me with Grace and Emily
At the World Cup Final
The next week was one that we had all been excited about this summer and had been anxiously awaiting-- le 14 juillet -- which is France's national holiday. After being sort of rudely corrected by my french teacher, I now know that no one but American's refer to this holiday as "Bastille Day." I will not be making that mistake again! We started off the festivities the night before by attending the Bal du Pompiers (Firemen's Ball). At every firehouse they had giant parties from 9PM to 4Am. Don't worry....I made it home by 3 :) However, we waiting in line from 10-12:30, so we only spent about two hours actually inside the firehouse courtyard. It was pretty crazy, but a lot of fun. The next morning, I slept in a little before going to see Toy Story 3 (opening day here) with Grace and Emily, then going to the Trocadéro to claim our spot as early as possible for watching the fireworks. The fireworks were huge and amazing--definitely something I'll never forget!
The Firemen's Ball
le 14 juillet
The little boy on his dad's shoulders was so cute!
That weekend (July 17-18) we went our our last excursion with ISA. We went to the Loire Valley to see beautiful chateaux and taste lots of local wine and cookies. Our first chateau was the Chateau de Chenonceau that was occupied by the French royalty (particularly the mistresses), followed by a visit to the former home of Leonardo DaVinci, and finally a wine tasting at a local winery (what else were they gonna do with all those caves but store wine in them, right?). At DaVinci's house, we saw many models of all of his inventions, but unfortunately we only had an hour there, so it was a little rushed. We spent the night in Tours at a very nice hotel with a huge bed and a huge bathroom! So much nicer than the hostels we have been getting used to!
Gardens at Chenonceau
Maze!
what's left of the original floor
Medieval tower from the fortress that used to be there.
Chateau de Chenonceau (a castle bridge)
in the wine cellar
DaVinci's inventions
DaVinci's house
The second day, we went to the Chateau Chambord (originally a hunting lodge for King Francis I). There we took a little tour and saw this amazing double spiral staircase, but the really exciting part came next: we were able to take rowboats out in the moat around the chateau and ride bikes all around the grounds. The weather was perfect for a nice bike ride around a beautiful chateau. It really was an exciting weekend weekend! After trips like these, I am really glad that I came here with a program. Although, I know I could make these trips on my own, I would never pack so much into one weekend like they do. And being transported on a bus with practically no responsibilities isn't bad either! The weekend was excellent. Once we got back to Paris, we were ready to start another week of classes.
view from the bike ride
view from the moat
double spiral staircase
This week, I decided to really crack down on my sightseeing list. This sort of worked. One day I spent the whole afternoon shopping...but at least I got to see a lot of the city while I did it! That's definitely the advantage of all the stores being on the street instead of in giant malls (not that they don't have a few!). However, I did manage to head over to the western side of Paris to the Mona Bismark Foundation where I saw my favorite exhibition of the entire trip--buttons! Antique buttons, big buttons, pretty buttons, pictures made from buttons, sculptures made from buttons--it was so amazing!
The same day, I also went to the Petit Palais (across the street from the Grand Palais) and saw an Yves Saint Laurent exhibition. Here, there were many dresses and outfits from the original lines, from the very first to more recent. Some of the original Lulu sketches were there too. Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed, but I did sneak a few illegally! It was really incredible. I am so lucky to have been in Paris while this was going on! And last but not least, Nicole and I made a little stop by the house of Nicolas Flemel, which is also the oldest house in Paris!
The house of Nicolas Flemel
I suppose I do have a few confessions to make: I have been to KFC twice to get hot wings, we have been to a mexican restaurant twice to get chips and salsa, and the french McDonald's have the best potatoes ever; they are called "Deluxe Potatoes" and they are seasoned potato wedges with sour cream/chive dip. American McDonald's could really take a hint. But don't get too upset about my american cravings...trust me I've been having my fair share of croissants, baguettes, cheese, cheese, and more cheese! As the end of my trip comes approaches, I find myself at two extremes: 1) wanting to eat all the French food I can and 2) making lists of all the food I will eat when I get home.
What's on the agenda for this weekend? 1)Victor Hugo's house. 2) Museum of Tea. 3) Museum of Perfume. 4) Marie Curie's laboratory. 5) Chinese food in Paris' Chinatown. 6)Paris plage... throughout the city there are places that Paris has turned into a beach!
In just 4 short days, my cousin Ida will be arriving in Paris. I'm very excited for her to get here! It will be so fun to go around to all the big sights one last time before I leave as well as finish up my list of things to see! She arrives Wednesday very early in the morning. Like I said, I can't believe it's almost over, so I'm going to make the most out of what's left!
Bisoux,
Trisha
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