Yet another week with only two lectures and still sick with the travel bug; I was off to Lille and Paris again. With minor complications, such as the train from Frankfurt dividing into two trains in Bonn: one going to Brussels the other to Amsterdam, I was able to jump on to the right half of the train due to them not splitting apart properly. This delayed my journey by two hours but it did give me the opportunity to change wagons so that I didn’t end up in Amsterdam. I was back in Lille, two hours late but nevertheless I made it. After enjoying a nocturnal museum visit, as Elena has already mentioned, we were off to Paris. I was so happy to have Elena as my knowledgeable guide to show me around as well as have a hotel room to sleep in! No 24 hour cafe with two other random travelers and an invitation for a moped ride at 3 in the morning this time.
One thing that I should not forget to mention is that before arriving in Paris we attended a six hour lecture on French cultural differences from a global perspective (the students in Elena’s class). We all actively participated and shared our opinions on the French and their culture. Many students noticed how proud French people are about being from France. Sometimes this pride almost comes off as arrogant when they say things like “well it’s nice but in France we have … and it is better.” Now, having been to Paris I understand why most French people aren’t really impressed with museums and art when in other countries. Sometimes it really is better in France.
One of my favourite pictures of the Eiffel Tower (we took a lot of them haha)
Arc du Triomphe- a risky picture to take but people are always dodging cars in France
The amount of things a person can see in Paris in a weekend is truly amazing. Elena and I managed to visit the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Louvre, Montmartre, Arc du Triomphe, La Grand Arche, Moulin Rouge, and Notre Dame. I had seen pictures of most of these places but it truly is something else to see them in person. The downside of traveling in Paris at this time of year is the weather and that we never made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower or inside Rodin. However, Elena and I have already planned another day trip to Paris so that we can get to the top of the Eiffel Tower and see the beautiful sculptures of Auguste Rodin.
Montmartre- near our hotel
Hall of Mirrors in Versailles- Still waiting to see if they will accept my offer to purchase...
Not to take away from all the great things I’ve said about Paris but I think an update on the dog feces that I spoke about in my previous blog is in order. Elena and I came up with a theory for when to watch out and when you should be safe. If you are in touristy areas, the amount of feces isn’t as bad. We believe this is due to large volumes of foot traffic. However, you should be more careful in the morning because it is less likely that somebody will step in the doo-doo before you. Ok, that is the last time that I will mention dog feces. I hope…
Once again another trip comes to a conclusion and after taking some time to appreciate Paris, I feel as though I have a better understanding about French culture. As Russel Peters (one of my favourite comedians) would say, this trip was “mind blasting” from an architectural and artistic perspective. I can’t wait to go back to Paris.
