We arrived in Paris too early to meet our couchsurfing host, unprepared for the rain, and yearning to return to our beloved bus. Immediately after exiting the metro, we took asylum in front of an apartment building. We changed into warmer wear and planned out our next two hours. We ended up walking to a laundromat nearby the apartment's location and eating breakfast there. We had spaghetti noodles with pesto sauce and corn. I ate out of a corn can and Alexx ate out of a bread bag. It was a little low. The laundromat turned out to be a cool place to kick it. After breakfast, I watched Toy Story until it was time to meet our host. We feared that we had been scammed because our host had not given us the code to her building or her apartment number. It took us a while to make it inside but it was not a scam! Our host was an interesting character though. She was a very gracious, enthusiastic, self-professed nerd who even cooked us a tuna tart and rabbit with potatoes. We spent the entire day inside due to the rain and our need to acclimate to Paris. We rested and I watched some more movies. Our host slipped and fell after taking a shower and broke her wrist so she was in and out of the hospital and clinic all day.
The next morning, we got up and took pictures outside of the Louvre.
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| "it's so small." |
We kept walking quite a ways and finally discovered PEANUT BUTTER at the blessed Carrefour Express corner shop. We continued on to La Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, my favorite church of the trip. There is also a view of the city from the hill that it sits on. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, however, the portions were small.
We walked another considerable distance to the Arc de Triomphe and then to the Eiffel Tower-more rats here. 
Tuesday was reserved for Versailles. The palace was as big and overdone and full of gold as they say. I completely understand why the French were not too pleased with the consumption there. The garden would take days to properly go through so we did not even attempt it. We opted to twerk on the statues and play candy crush in one of the sitting rooms instead.
The next day was Alexx's last day. We scoped out the Louvre but the line was too long and Alexx did not have much time. We went to the Musee d'Orsay instead and I am so glad that we did! It turned out to possibly be my favorite Art Museum of all time. The museum is housed inside a gorgeous high-ceilinged former railway station. Sculptures line the middle aisle while mostly paintings line the hallways. The greatest hits from my art history course seemed to be there. I saw pieces from Degas, Renoir, Manet, Monet, VAn Gogh and so many others. Alexx left me there while I continued to walk around the museum. I got a bit lonely after she left so I decided to walk around and see all of the sights I had missed for the rest of the day. I walked to the Opera, the Bastille, Notre Dame-celebrating 850 years, the Pantheon and most importantly Hotel Le Meurice, the penthouse that Beyonce shot the album cover of 4 and, according to Jay-Z's song Glory, the place where their daughter Blue Ivy was conceived. TMI. Sorry. I went inside the lobby, casually asked for a map of Paris and took this photo. |
| 5 stars y'all |
I spent the entirety of the next day with Tim, a friend from Brown. We filled each other in on summer's and talked beside the Canal.
That evening, I met up with Dolapo, a fellow Jackie Robinson Scholar. It was student night at an Irish bar near the Bastille so we went out and I met the other students in her study abroad program. The highlight of the night was when the DJ played Naughty Girl into Single Ladies. Dolapo and I went in of course. That turned out to be my last song as I had to leave before the Metro closed.The next day I packed my bags and went to the Louvre. Tickets are free for young adults on Friday night so I took advantage of that. The museum is much too large and I don't understand why France gets to have so many important works from all over the world. I guess it's nice that you can see so much history in one place but at the same time it's a reflection of an unequal distribution of power. The Mona Lisa was underwhelming. It is pretty small and just not an interesting piece of work. #oops. The Nintendo 3DS audio guides were kinda cool though. When I got back to the apartment, my host invited me to come meet her at her friend's birthday party as she had forgotten to leave the key for me. The birthday party was lame and randomly enough, I met a strange guy from Modesto. The next morning I made my way to the massive Paris airport and hiked the long distance to check in. Eleven and a half hours later I was home!
Reflecting on the trip as a whole I was blessed to have a really great time. I saw three new countries and was able to make memories with a good friend of mine. I was initially skeptical of how I would enjoy Paris but the more time I spent there, the more I liked it. Fortunately, the Parisians I met happened to defy the stereotypes of the rude elitists that you hear of. I have no doubt that they exist but I did not have to deal with them. Everything, especially the food, is much too expensive. However, I do appreciate the multitude and popularity of public parks, the slower pace of life, and the pastries. I was just informed that Paris 2.0 is happening for one night only on my program's journey from Morocco to Bolivia. We shall see if the positive experiences continue!
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