Fall Break, First Stop: Paris, France

After a week of overstudying for midterms that turned out to be cake, the Palazzo Rucellai program was alloted a 10 day fall break to travel. Lucky, right? Well, I had planned fall break with a 6-person group: Talya, Jessica, Kim, Alan, and Josh (Ray was there for Paris, as Katrina met us there as well). Our first stop was Paris for three nights. Friday, November 15, we left Florence for our voyage to Paris - and yes, it took a lot to get there. We had to take a bus from Florence to Pisa, where it was questionable whether or not we'd make our flight, after some of the group's attention was directed towards the leaning tower. It made for a hilarious story later on. And regardless, we arrived in Paris BVA airport hours later - an hour away from Paris still. We took a bus to get to Paris and finally we arrived....... to find our hostel in the Red Light District of Paris, formally unbeknownst to us. We were a few blocks down from the Moulin Rouge and our hostel was surrounded by cafes and sex shops - not your typical image of Paris.  But we of course laughed about it and made our way to dinner with the boys. We had mussels for dinner and then went right to the liquor store for bottles of champagne, basically one bottle each, to celebrate our first night of fall break and first night in Paris. Naive travelers, we decided to try and walk all the way to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night, with our bottles of champagne in tow. We did really almost got there, but took a break on the steps across from the obelisk, to take in where we were, and it began raining. That, and we soon learned the lights on the Eiffel Tower shut down at 2 am, and since we ate dinner at midnight, we were passed that point. So, we decided to try to hail down taxis to get back to the hostel - NO EASY FEAT IN PARIS. It's impossible to get a cab ride unless you called earlier to reserve one. So, walking in the rain halfway to our hostel is what it took to finally get a cab. To sleep we went, ready for a fresh start the next morning in Paris.

Katrina & I in the bell tower of Notre Dame

FULL DAY 1 [Saturday]: The morning began with delicious French pastries for breakfast. I got two - a chocolate one and an almond one - I can't choose which was better, they were both so light and tasty. Coffee was of course vital to starting the day, and then we were off to the famous Notre Dame cathedral. But as I have come to learn is common in Europe, and in life for that matter, things along the way to your destination often get in the way immediately. For example, we stumbled upon an African group playing fun, peppy music with tribal instruments in one of the squares along the way. They were so much fun that we stopped at watched. And then stopped and watched a breakdance group a block down. Then, we finally got to the Notre Dame, a beautiful cathedral with a tall, tall tower. Talya, Katrina, and I lost the only two girls without working cell phones, so there was nothing we could do but continue - the theme of the trip. The three of us waited in line to climb up the bell tower (famous for the Quasimoto story) - it took almost 2 hours in on and off again drizzles of rain, but the view was definitely worth it. It overlooked nearly all points in Paris and all angles. I loved it. Then, we went inside the cathedral and that was even more spectacular, with so many vivid colors in the windows and ceilings and furnishings. It was a truly beautiful cathedral and I was glad I got to see it.

We then went to meet up with the boys and see the Eiffel Tower during the day. We debated going up to the top right then and there but it began to rain, and it was settled. But I must note that, though never actually really excited about the Eiffel Tower, it was pleasantly not what I expected it to be. Though just steel, there is something very cool and calming about its appearance and it certainly does complete Paris's skyline. About 8-10 hours later, we finally heard from Kim and Jessica, and we all planned to meet for dinner. In the time we gave them to reach us, 6 of us went to go get pre-dinner drinks at what else... a Mexican restaurant.. in Paris. American mistake. The bartender ended up confusing our order anyway and got angry with us, probably half for being American, and we left a little less welcomed than we had come in. Brush it off. We were all finally reunited and had dinner at a Moroccan restaurant. The point of studying abroad is to try new things, so I ordered lamb, with sausage and avocado shrimp. All interesting and all quite good, I was pleased with my meal. Then, in the same form as the previous night, we each stopped and got bottles of wine, walked around for a bit in the cold, and then went back to the boys' hostel before attempting to go out. Hey, we were new to Paris, and unfamiliar with the night life, so what comes next is only natural. We didn't really know where to go, so we just decided to walk and stumble upon something. Well, what we stumbled upon was some underground dive that looked like it walked out of a 1960s Parisian adolescent film. I thought it was an interesting atmosphere, but no one else seemed to appreciate it much, and it appears we may have witnessed an extramarital affair right before our eyes? I disagree but it was something to debate. We stayed for a little bit, sat on a couch, and then left. Again it was late and night and difficult to get back - Paris TRULY needs to figure out a later means of transportation that doesn't involve taxi cabs. The metro and buses close so early that it's impossible to get back to where you want to go. But that takes care of day one.

some of my traveling girls

DAY 2 [Sunday]: Now looking back, our trip to Paris really was only two full days, which didn't leave us time to see everything. And as we slept in later than we had hoped to on Sunday, we got a late start. We woke up and got going right to the Palace of Versailles - stunning, inside and out. What you see at first sight is unlike anything else - golden gates, golden everything. It was stunning. The inside was my favorite though - all the palace bedrooms and dining rooms and sitting rooms. The rugs were my favorite part of the entire place, that and the upholstered furniture. It was all so detailed and the colors were vivid and beautiful. I would want even just one rug like that for my home someday. I'm really glad we made that trip - I definitely appreciated the interior of the palace, or that of which we saw (the whole thing is way too big to see in one day). But you nonetheless naturally envision yourself living in a palace like that and for a few seconds when you look around, you can pretend it's yours.

Now for my favorite aspect of my trip to Paris: THE LOUVRE! I had been waiting all weekend to finally get there.. and it was well-worth the wait. After free admission due to being foreign students, I was ready to go explore. The first stop was of course da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" - the smallest painting in its room, and the least exceptional if you ask me. I gazed at the Mona Lisa for a few minutes but then caught my attention with the other paintings in the room. Specifically the one directly opposite the Mona Lisa, Paolo Caliari's "Les Noces de Cana" depicting a celebration for a wedding. Jesus is shown in the lower center, in a chaotic wedding reception. His calmness in the chaos is what's startling and his self-conscious appearance; he seems startled, and so, in a way, the image is a bit unsettling. The painting is huge, almost taking up an entire wall and has so many characters and chaos in it that it's impossible to see all of it in one sitting. But I really enjoyed it. Another artist in that room worth noting is Jacopi Rubsti di Tintoret. But after I realized I was taking too long in just the first room, and that I had lost everyone I came in with, I decided to go explore, swiftly yet with the mindset of taking in as much as I could in the hour and a half or so that remained before the museum closed. I was impressed by many of the paintings. I have always been a sucker for paintings depicting sea scenes, so I guess those were among my favorites. With about forty minutes left, I made sure I got to see the two things I was most looking forward to at the Louvre - Michelangelo's two slave sculptures - the "Dying Slave" and the "Rebellious Slave," the "Dying Slave" being my favorite. I was so excited to see them, especially after learning about them in my Michelangelo class, that when I got there, I was anything but disappointed. They were even better than the pictures convey. They are two unfinished sculptures yet so full of life and mastery that I could have stared at them all day. But the museum would not grant me that favor, and it was time to go. It's safe to say that my time with the Louvre is not yet over and I WILL be back to Paris, if only to spend a weekend in the Louvre.

After the Louvre, a few of us tried to go see Jim Morrison's grave. Big fail. The cemetery had already closed, and we were out of luck. Here's a shot of whiskey to the legend, anyway! We tried! Then, finally, we made our way up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Luck was on our side and there was barely a line on a cold Sunday night - we went right up via elevator and escalator. And the view was phenomenal. I'm really glad we got up there - it wouldn't have been right to leave Paris without reaching the top, and without entering the Louvre. It was freezing and chilly, but well worth it. And hey, now we can all say that we got to the top of the Eiffel Tower the same week that it was under terrorist warning! And I'm still here.

Oh, did I forget to mention the crepes in Paris?? WELL, there are crepe stands nearly every corner you turn - and that was of course the first thing I did upon arrival - find one. So delicious. I tried a variety of combinations including: nutella, then banana, nutella, & cocoa, and ham and cheese. Each of them hit the spot. And FYI, I guess we were suffering crepe withdrawals once we got to Spain, so we tried them there.... not the same. Paris is the crepe kingdom.

Anyway, later that night, it was past midnight, and after all the sightseeing of the day, the girls and I were hungry and decided to go for our last meal at a restaurant near our hostel. The service was EXTREMELY friendly - for once. (Yes, the French really do hate us). And we toasted the last two nights and three days, and the start of Spain. And it was a wonderful day and night. Then it was off to bed for an hour and a half to wake up and get on a plane to BARCELONA!