Paris

May 22-25

I'm finally getting around to writing about Paris, only two weeks late! I figured I'd better write about it before going on yet another trip--tomorrow I leave for Wittenberg, to visit my host family from four years ago and finally see Luthers Hochzeit! Who knows, maybe I'll even see the USC study abroad group there.

So, before I say anything else about Paris, I have to say that above all, Paris was a bit of a disappointment. Not that it wasn't a great and exciting city, and an awesome trip, but I think it has been built up so much as such a fabulous, amazing place, that there was no way it could live up to my expectations. Surprisingly, it wasn't as beautiful as I thought it would be. Everything was really nice, of course, but the buildings were all pretty much the same, nothing too distinctive. Prague (where I went last weekend) was a much nicer city to walk around. I also think what spoils my view of Paris a little bit is all the freakin TOURISTS. I mean, not that other people shouldn't go to Paris and enjoy it, but there were SO MANY other tourists there. It seems like most tourists are just completely absent-minded too, and don't think at all about the fact that there may be other people walking around with a different agenda. They're like, "Hmm, I can't figure out where I'm going. How about I stop here in the middle of the sidewalk with my eight children, husband, parents, and dog?"

Aside from the tourists, Paris was really nice. The weather was perfect. It only rained one day, and only about half the day at that. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too chilly.

The first day I got into Paris around 10 (a 3-hour delay that no one mentioned, due to construction), and after dumping my stuff at my hotel (which was really nice for only 33 euros per night, by the way) I began my Paris sight-seeing experience. First I went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed it, walked down to the Eiffel Tower (eating a crepe for refreshment along the way), took one look at the line and decided no way was I going up right then. Instead I walked to the Hotel des Invalides, where Napoleon's tomb is. I didn't go in because I thought that it wasn't included in my museum pass, but I found out two days later that it was. Oh well. After that I went to the Rodin Museum, which was disappointing. I like the one in Philadelphia much more. Afterwards I walked along the river, thought about going to the Sainte-Chappelle but the line was too long, and instead went to Notre Dame. I climbed that (second climb of the day!), which was pretty cool, especially all the gargoyles.

The Rodin Museum

The next day I tried to get to the Eiffel Tower exactly at 9:30, which is what time it opens. The line was pretty long, but luckily it moved fast since I didn't want to take the elevator (I'm too cheap). I climbed the stairs to the first and second levels, but from there you have to take an elevator to the top. I wasn't about to miss out on that, so I forked over the 4 euros. What an amazing view! It felt so surreal to be so high up, at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was kind of hard to get a good view though, because there were so many people up there. I'm glad I didn't go any later, because the line only got longer. After Eiffel Tower-ing, I ate some lunch then went on a free tour. The tour was good, but I was expecting it to be better--I think from my free tour experience in Berlin, run by the same company, which was excellent. Almost all the people on the tour were young college-age students, and I met a girl, Yvonne, from Canada traveling around by herself. We walked around a little bit together after the tour, and made plans to meet up the next day to go to Versailles. After we ate dinner I went to Sacre Coeur, which wasn't too far from my hotel. That was quite an experience. The church was pretty amazing, but the shady people selling lame bracelets outside weren't. I'm glad I didn't go any later than 7:30 or 8; I would have undoubtedly gotten raped, mugged, and clothed in string bracelets.


Third day I met up with Yvonne near her hostel so we could take the train out to Versailles. Versailles=biggest disappointment of the trip. The palace was nice and all, but it was kind of boring inside. Of course it was ornate, but it looked pretty much like every other palace I've seen, plus it had almost no furniture inside. I shared Yvonne's audioguide with her (since one didn't come with my museum pass and no way was I paying 6 euros for one), and I'm glad I didn't pay extra, because it didn't give much info at all. On top of that, it costs 8 euros to get into the gardens! Neither of us went in because 8 euros on top of the 13.50 entry fee is just a little too much. After we got back into Paris we walked around a little bit in the rain and ate dinner. Then we parted ways and I went back to my hotel, making a detour to see the Moulin Rouge and peek through the gate at the Montmartre Cemetary.

Versailles

My last day I had designated my Museum Day. My goal: go to three art museums in one day without keeling over. Somehow I succeeded. I started my day off my walking down the Champs Elysees (another highly overrated Paris attraction) to the Jardin de Tuileries and the Louvre. In the Louvre I decided to see the Mona Lisa first just to get that out of the way. It was cool and all, but there were about 50 people standing in front of it all trying to take pictures. I'm glad I'm small; it took me about 5 seconds to squeeze my way up to the front. Luckily once I got away from the Mona Lisa and to the opposite end of the museum, there was hardly anyone around. My Louvre highlights: the Spanish painters, Napoleon III's apartments, and the Dutch painters. After two hours in the Louvre, I fortified myself for my next museum by eating some crepes in the Jardin de Tuileries, then head to the Musee de l'Orangerie. The Orangerie was by far my favorite museum. It has two huge oval-shaped rooms housing a bunch of Monet's Waterlilies paintings. Downstairs it has the Walter-Guillaume collection of impressionist paintings, which I loved, since impressionism is my favorite art movement. After the Orangerie I dragged myself across the street to the Musee d'Orsay. I breezed through most of that, because I really only wanted to see the impressionist paintings.

Family Reunion by Frederic Bazille, my favorite painting in the Musee d'Orsay

After finishing with all the museums I walked along the river for a while, trying to not fall over from exhaustion. Somehow being in museums wears me out much faster than just walking around. Afterwards I went to the Place de la Bastille just to see if there was anything interesting. There wasn't. Then I went and ate dinner, collected my stuff from my hotel, and went to the train station to wait to go back home. When I got back to Heidenheim the next morning, I had to wait a while for the bus, but while there I was able to get the second part of Johanna's birthday present: sparkly, flowered flip flops from H&M which she LOVED. Every time she wears them now she tells that her flip flops are much prettier than mine.