Kellie and I outside of the Luxembourg Palace in Paris
Kellie and I outside of the Basilique du Sacré Coeur at Montmarte
Notre Dame
Inside the Musée d'Orsay
Kellie and the Dejeuner sur l'Herbe
Even though we were only in Paris for a short weekend (Thursday night to Saturday evening) I don't think we could have done more than we did. Our flight was supposed to leave Heathrow at 19:50 and get into Charles de Gaulle around 22:00 (keep in mind France is an hour ahead of England), but some icing problem delayed us for almost two hours. This wouldn't have been more than an annoyance, except for the fact that the last RER train from de Gaulle to the Gare du Nord (one of the central train stations) leaves at midnight. Thankfully, we barely made it onto the last one, but by the time we got to the Gare du Nord the metro had stopped running. So we had to take a taxi, but that ended up only being 7 euro. However, instead of staying at a hostel, we were able to stay with some friends from St. Mary's that are studying abroad in Paris for the semester. So not only did we not have to pay for a place to stay (although we chipped in for groceries/wine), but we got the hang out with some people we know that also happen to know their way around the city a bit!
So we finally arrived at Lisa and Louis' apartment in the 17th district just before 1:00 am, when they both had to be up around 7:30 to get to some orientation function. They also had another girl from St. Mary's staying there until she found an apartment, so it was reeeeeally cozy with the five of us there. On Thursday we slept in just a bit and made our way to the Musée d'Orsay, which I prefer to the Louvre. Lisa called and had decided to skip class, so her and Meghar (the third person from St. Mary's) met up with us and we went off the Notre Dame. I had also been there previously (but nearly four years ago) but enjoyed not being carted around the city by a chaperone in a bus. After that we swung by the Galeries Layafette, which is an ENORMOUS designer department store. It is located on two block sections of a traffic circle; one block is occupied by seven floors of store, and on the second floor there is a bridge across the street to an additional five story section. I was sort of looking for a new pair of jeans, but they were running about 200 euro so we didn't stay long. The Opéra House was pretty much right next door so we went and saw that. The only other time I was in Paris I remember thinking it was the most beautiful building in existence, but once inside it was very 18th century gaudy, but still nice to see. We then headed back to the apartment to make dinner and chill for about an hour before heading off to the Louvre! It's free from 6-10 on Friday nights, so we went for about two hours, saw the Eiffel Tower light show and walked by the Tuileries Gardin and then barhopped a bit in the Bastille area. Needless to say, Oxfords nightlife isn't quite up to par with Paris'.
After sleeping in a bit more on Saturday, we (read: Louis and Lisa) made breakfast and got ready to head out. I don't know what it is about pain au chocolat that makes it so hard to duplicate elsewhere since it's pretty much just a roll with two sticks of chocolate in it, but I guess it's sort of like Germany and Brotchen (breakfast rolls): you really just have to get it there. We spent Saturday partly in Montmarte, which (I think) is basically the Georegtown of Paris, in part to see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart which I thought was waaaay cooler and has a more interesting history than Notre Dame. After swinging by the apartment one last time and eating lots of crepes, Kellie and I caught the RER back to de Gaulle and headed home, just in time for the CMRS Valentines Day Prom.
Before leaving for Paris, I could hardly believe we were already halfway through the eight week term (tutorials and seminar) but now that I'm back I can't believe we're only halfway through the term. The workload is getting a bit irritating and both my tutors commented that my papers this week weren't on par with previous papers (although both noted slyly that it must be hard to write essays from Paris) but I would freely admit that anyway. Thankfully Dr. Apetrei (my Family Sex and Marriage tutor) is sympathetic--or at least understanding--and in any case I'm able to make up for what my papers lack in the discussion in both tutorials. Anyhow, I'm off to Amsterdam for the weekend with Kellie, Caitie, and Lauren tomorrow!
So we finally arrived at Lisa and Louis' apartment in the 17th district just before 1:00 am, when they both had to be up around 7:30 to get to some orientation function. They also had another girl from St. Mary's staying there until she found an apartment, so it was reeeeeally cozy with the five of us there. On Thursday we slept in just a bit and made our way to the Musée d'Orsay, which I prefer to the Louvre. Lisa called and had decided to skip class, so her and Meghar (the third person from St. Mary's) met up with us and we went off the Notre Dame. I had also been there previously (but nearly four years ago) but enjoyed not being carted around the city by a chaperone in a bus. After that we swung by the Galeries Layafette, which is an ENORMOUS designer department store. It is located on two block sections of a traffic circle; one block is occupied by seven floors of store, and on the second floor there is a bridge across the street to an additional five story section. I was sort of looking for a new pair of jeans, but they were running about 200 euro so we didn't stay long. The Opéra House was pretty much right next door so we went and saw that. The only other time I was in Paris I remember thinking it was the most beautiful building in existence, but once inside it was very 18th century gaudy, but still nice to see. We then headed back to the apartment to make dinner and chill for about an hour before heading off to the Louvre! It's free from 6-10 on Friday nights, so we went for about two hours, saw the Eiffel Tower light show and walked by the Tuileries Gardin and then barhopped a bit in the Bastille area. Needless to say, Oxfords nightlife isn't quite up to par with Paris'.
After sleeping in a bit more on Saturday, we (read: Louis and Lisa) made breakfast and got ready to head out. I don't know what it is about pain au chocolat that makes it so hard to duplicate elsewhere since it's pretty much just a roll with two sticks of chocolate in it, but I guess it's sort of like Germany and Brotchen (breakfast rolls): you really just have to get it there. We spent Saturday partly in Montmarte, which (I think) is basically the Georegtown of Paris, in part to see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart which I thought was waaaay cooler and has a more interesting history than Notre Dame. After swinging by the apartment one last time and eating lots of crepes, Kellie and I caught the RER back to de Gaulle and headed home, just in time for the CMRS Valentines Day Prom.
Before leaving for Paris, I could hardly believe we were already halfway through the eight week term (tutorials and seminar) but now that I'm back I can't believe we're only halfway through the term. The workload is getting a bit irritating and both my tutors commented that my papers this week weren't on par with previous papers (although both noted slyly that it must be hard to write essays from Paris) but I would freely admit that anyway. Thankfully Dr. Apetrei (my Family Sex and Marriage tutor) is sympathetic--or at least understanding--and in any case I'm able to make up for what my papers lack in the discussion in both tutorials. Anyhow, I'm off to Amsterdam for the weekend with Kellie, Caitie, and Lauren tomorrow!
Things I enjoyed about this entry:
ReplyDelete-Hearing about your youthful perception of the Opera House as opposed to your most recent impression of it. I decided years ago that La Sacrada Familia in Barcelona was the most beautiful building in the world, and suddenly wonder if I'd feel the same way now. I hope so.
-How Parisian pain au chocolat has that special something which just can't be duplicated.
-Your mention of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which I just googled and HOLY SHIT that looks awesome.
I can't wait to visit France. I've always wanted to, and this entry makes me more determined. I'm glad that you're making the most of your time abroad, and hope you have a blast in Amsterdam! The Van Gogh museum is one of the most amazing exhibitions I've ever seen, so be sure to check that out.
-Miriam