Experience Paris 2008

My second week in Paris has come and gone and now I find myself in the middle of the third week (time is flying by) . The second week was very interesting and very drama-filled. We almost got kicked out of our Residence (because some were really loud), and a crazy old French-woman almost pushed me out of the Metro.

The Metro seemed to be the place for crazy happenings here during my second week. The first incident happened on my way back from dinner when we were attempting to get on the Metro to come back to the Residence. One thing you must know is that during rush hour on the Metro, you get packed into the cars like sardines. People push and push until they are in just far enough for the door to close. Not only was it rush hour when we were trying to get onto the Metro, but it was also amid a strike by the Metro employees, so less trains were running. The train arrived already pretty packed, but the pushing began and so we all went with the flow. The doors were beeping to let you know they were closing and I was barely in the car, when this old lady who was safely in the car started yelling at me in French and pushing me with a couple of fingers. When she realized I wasn’t French she started yelling at me in English. She was basically telling me that I should have waited for the next train, that there was a pregnant lady and “I” was squashing her and the baby. The funny thing was that, A.) I was not the only one pushing to get on, B.) the pregnant lady was on the other side of the car sitting down, and C.) that the lady had three large suitcases taking up most of the car we were in. All in all, it was a good laugh for the group I was with and myself. We also saw a man push a woman because she was sticking up for a lady on the Metro that the man was accusing of stealing money (he was crazy). Lastly, a drunken man followed us onto the train and was making sexual innuendos towards a Chayla, a girl from UNF. The METRO ROCKS!!

Our cultural outings took us to La Conciergerie and the Musee d’Orsay. The La Conciergerie is where Marie Antoinette was held before she was beheaded. The Musee d’Orsay is an old train station that is now a museum. It houses paintings from Van Gogh, Monet, and others.

My weekend was spent in Paris trying to see as much as I could. On Friday after class I visited Sacre Coeur. It is a beautiful basilique that sits atop a large hill overlooking all of Paris. Notre Dame is a beautiful church, but there is something about Sacre Coeur that makes it special and more beautiful in my eyes. It is also in a part of town that is called Montmarte. Right down the road from Sacre Coeur is a square where local artists come and paint. I have been wanting to buy a painting while I was here, but wanted one that was actually painted by an artist and not one that is mass produced, which is what you find in most of the other parts of Paris that I have been to. I ended up finding one that a local artist had just finished painting. It is of Sacre Coeur and the surrounding area and is very beautiful. On Saturday a group of us attempted to go to Versailles, but when we got out there it started to rain and we all decided to come back another day when it wasn’t raining so we could enjoy the gardens. On Sunday, I was in on a surprise visit by my roommate Josh’s girlfriend. I basically had to lie to Josh and tell him that my friend was coming into town and that I wanted him to come with me to the airport so that I didn’t get lost. It worked, even though we had some hiccups, it turned out great and he was really surprised. We had Monday off this week and so I spent all day at the Louvre seeing as much as I could because we all know it is huge and would take a good 4-5 days to see everything there.

Today, we had an all-day cultural outing to Reims (the way it is pronounced in French sounds like Hans). This city is in the region of Champagne where they make the tasty sparkling drink. The President of one of the largest champagne companies in the region is an EBS alum and invited us to tour the facility and see how they make this type of wine. It was awesome and at the end we got to enjoy a glass of champagne, so of course it was awesome.

Once again, I have been having a great time and could not ask for more. This truly is an experience of a lifetime and I am glad I had the opportunity to come on this trip.

Trackback URI |