Until this past weekend, Paris was only an image in my head mostly inspired by the 1954 movie classic
Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. It was not a concrete place or experience; it was somewhere I'd always wanted to go but was almost an unachievable ideal. Blessedly, I have made it to Paris, France and checked another item off my bucket list! Paris and
Sabrina are so intertwined for me that the best way to describe my trip to you is to use the movie as my guide. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a whirlwind viewing of both
Sabrina and Paris as seen through my eyes which "are looking at the world through rose-colored glasses."
Sabrina: Oh, but Paris isn't for changing planes, it's for changing your outlook!
For throwing open the windows and letting in... letting in la vie en
rose.
Paris certainly is for changing planes. And transportation in general. Lots of transportation. Except Paris is bad at transportation. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I don't mean to confuse you; let me relay our process of transportation getting to and around and from Paris. First, Amanda, Carolyn, and I hopped on the tube to St. Pancras, where we changed to a train that was to take us to Luton Airport Parkway, except the one we got on took us straight to Luton, so we had to switch to ANOTHER train and go back a stop. From there we had to take a shuttle to the airport, where we then boarded a plane to Paris. On the plane I was sitting next to a French girl and an Italian guy who were both working in England and going to Paris for a visit home and for fun, respectively. At first they were enthralled in a conversation between the two of them and I was set to be an awkward and silent third wheel for the duration of the flight, but I soon joined in the conversation and we had a good time discussing accents and they gave me traveling advice for Paris and elsewhere. Essentially, they, like everyone else, list dozens of cities in Europe that are wonderful and that I need to go to, which I just don't have time to do. Well, adding them to the life list! We hit major turbulence on the flight and it was incredibly frightening; I thought for sure I would die and never see Paris. However, we did indeed land safely and glad I was!! The French girl soon left us to go catch a bus and I was left with Emmanuel (the Italian) and met up with Amanda and Carolyn. The four of us then went in search of the RER, the train. It took quite a while to wander through the deserted airport, guided by really not helpful signs, and surrounded by French, which none of us Americans understood. Luckily Emmanuel somewhat knew what he was doing...somewhat. We were discussing passports on our long hike around the airport and he wondered why I didn't use a Polish passport to get around the EU more easily (I had told them on the plane that I was Polish, German, and Irish). I had to explain to him that I was not directly from Poland, just my ancestors. It had never occurred to me before that that is a completely foreign concept to Europeans, and a truly American condition. America is so unique, I am discovering more and more, and I love it! Anyway, we finally found the RER and headed to Gare du Nord, where we said goodbye to Emmanuel and went in search of our next switch to the Magenta line, which we found eventually, with a few wrong turns thrown in for good measure. This brought us to Noisy-le-Sec, zone 3 of Paris, the outerlands. We walked down a back road according to the hostel's directions for the most direct path to its location. There was hardly anyone about, which we couldn't decide if that made us feel better or worse. We finally found the hostel, unmarked other than its street number "13" and were greeted by our Asian- and by the accent, American English speaking - hostel owner, who was in socks and flipflops - a winner combo. She led us up the winding stairway to our attic room, which had a double bed and one twin, the former taken by Carolyn and I and the latter by Amanda - her "Forever Alone" bed. The only decoration in the room was Micky Mouse dangling from the ceiling. There was one window, with black out curtains to boot! The beds were quite comfortable, however the pillows were about 6 x 6 inches and nothing but lumps, which was less then comfortable. We headed out soon to go get dinner.
At 11:30 pm nothing is really open but fast food Turkish restaurants, so we settled on doner sandwiches and fries, which were to my shame incredibly satisfying. The people who ran the store were the rudest French folk we came across all weekend, the man giving a good deal of attitude to us since we had to speak English to the cashier girl who actually spoke it too. Thus, I went to bed with a rather rough first impression of Paris but maintained hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Linus: Paris is for lovers. Maybe that's why I stayed only thirty-five minutes.
Friday we had every intention of waking up at 7 but didnt actually get up until 9, but this did not ruin the day thankfully! The day was cloudy and a tad drizzly but we were still determined to go out and conquer Paris! We headed to the Eiffel Tower first, in front of which we grabbed crepes for breakfast! We then took the stairs - all 600 and some - up to the second level of the tower, where we then had to take the lift up to the top. The span of the view was incredible and it was really awesome just to be on top of the Eiffel Tower. However, the view itself - what I was looking at - didn't impress me that much. The buildings looked very modern and monochrome and there was nothing particularly charming about what I could see. Part of me was incredibly disappointed. I was expecting to fall in love with Paris, and I just...wasn't. Soon we got back down though and made our way up to the green and from there walked around Paris, and then I started falling in love.
I was finally seeing the architecture and gorgeous, charming buildings I'd heard about and expected. The iron work on every window and flower box was stunning and nourishing my iron obsession. We then walked along the Seine river and got tickets for a river cruise - our feet were killing after walking so many stairs and we needed to sit desparately, while still feeling like productive tourists! The view of Paris from the river is stunning, as that's how the city originally started and was essentially designed, along a river - for the WATT reasons: water, agriculture, trade, and transportation; Thank you Mrs. Marshall, my middle school social studies teacher! We saw all the main sights and learned some valuable history. My outlook on Paris was officially changed; I had opened the window and was starting to let in "la vie en rose."
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| The Bastille |
After the cruise we headed up to the Arc de Triumphe and sat there people watching for a long time. Paris provides excellent people watching, most of which consists of lovers taking advantage of the city of love. We decided it all seemed very forced though, and that it really is not necessary to make out at every opportunity when cliches tell you it's "romantic." Despite all these semi-disturbing sightings though, we managed to stay in Paris for the full weekend and not leave after thirty-five minutes, like Linus Laraby. After the Arc, we wandered down the Champs Elysses, which for some reason I'd always thought was some cute charming street in Paris, but it is in fact a very commercialized street with large shops, the best (and really only good part) of which was Cartier. I just wouldn't characterize Paris by this road, is what I'm trying to say I suppose.
Anyway, we then wandered in search of dinner and found a nice little cafe, where I got duck confit with pommes frites and we all shared a cheese platter. It was an outstanding meal, and quite wonderfully affordable! Afterward we wandered down to the Louvre because it was open late Fridays, but we decided not to go in and just wandered around Paris at night, heading back toward the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up and sparkling. I have to say, I just found this hilarious because it also shoots off those distance spotlights from the top and it just looked like the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings to me, and once that thought was in my head, I just couldn't take the Eiffel Tower seriously anymore, and was glad I didn't have to find it romantic for any reason. It was still very pretty and festive though, don't get me wrong! Just humorous. :) We ended the day with crepes filled with nutella, ice cream, bananas, and strawberries - incredibly delicious but also incredibly messy!! So worth it :)
Sabrina: And another thing, never a briefcase in Paris and never an umbrella. There's a law.
Saturday it was raining basically all day, and I was not prepared for that, and since I'd gotten ice cream on my jeans the night before, I was wearing pants that required ballet flats to be worn, which absorbed the rain all day and by the end when I returned home, my feet were shrivelled up like I'd been in the bathtub. I also did not bring my umbrella with me, and was left to mercy of either sharing Carolyn's or wrapping my scarf around my head. I embraced Sabrina's law; I don't know if it was the smartest decision but despite all the rain, it was an absolutely fabulous day and sealed my love for Paris. We started the day off by heading to Montmartre to see the Moulin Rouge and wander the streets of a different part of the city than where we'd wandered the day before. Montmartre is adorable and exactly what Paris should be. We had delicious crepes for breakfast and wandered up to see the windmills that inspired Van Gogh. Amanda decided that if she lived in Paris, this is the area she would live in.
We then headed off to Notre Dame, which proved to my absolutely favorite part of the trip, both the cathedral itself and the area of Paris it is in, Saint-Michel. We waited in line, in the rain, for the Cathedral tour which takes you up to the top of the building. This view, unlike the Eiffel Tower's, was everything it should be and more, showing off Paris at its best. All the buildings you see are exactly what you would picture in your head if someone said "Parisian" to you. This makes sense because Notre Dame is in the oldest and original area of the city so everything was built up around it. It was also really neat to be right up with the gargoyles; I enjoyed pretending to be Quasi Modo - we even went in the Bell Tower and saw the largest bell that is rung only on special occasions!! To leave the the cathedral top we had to descend what seemed like an endless spiral staircase. Thank goodness we didn't do the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in the same day!! That would just be too many stairs!! By the time we got down, our calves, feet, quads - heck, everything! - were killing us. But we had nothing to do but keep on moving and wander around Saint-Michel, so we walked across the bridge and bought some souvenirs from the little vendors who set up green cabinets on the bank of the Seine. I decided if I lived in Paris, this was the area of the city in which I'd live, and Amanda could come visit me for a classy night, and I'd go visit her for an artistic night out.
Soon we headed off to the Louvre where we saw lots of great art, including the Mona Lisa (duh) and The Wedding Feast at Cana, as well as Napolean's Apartment Quarters. I really enjoyed the museum more now that I've been taking an art class and know how to actually look at paintings. I was babbling on about central perspective and the hierarchy of genres and felt very intelligent in a realm generally unfamiliar to me. It was fun! After the Louvre we went to L'Orangerie, a museum designed by Monet (my favorite artist) which features his largest paintings of water lillies and willow trees lining the oval walls for a 360 degree effect. The first room is completely white, which Monet wanted in order to purify everyone's mind upon entering so that they'd lose the stress of the city and enter the peaceful nature of his art. It sure worked!! It's amazing how from a distance his paintings are so clearly what they are supposed to be (i.e. water lillies) but up close all you can see is texture and strokes that don't seem to make sense. He's amazing. We left the museum and headed down the road to find dinner and stopped into a nice cafe. All three of us ordered Boeuf Bourguignon which was incredibly satisfying. I got creme brulee for dessert which was quite delightful as well. I accomplished all my food missions aside from Foie Gras, which means I'll just have to go back to Paris at some point! After dinner, we wandered back to Saint-Michel and walked up Saint-Germain, an area which has a very bustling nightlife it turns out! It was beautiful and we had a lovely time getting lost on the streets of Paris at night, but soon, it started raining again, and we were all sore and tired and decided to finally head back to good ole' Noisy-le-Sec via our two switches on the RER.
Sabrina: I have learnt how to live... How to be In the world and Of the world,
and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, never again run
away from life. Or from love, either...
Sunday morning we awoke to a cloudy morning but no rain! We headed off to Notre Dame so I could go to mass. It was the most amazing experience. The mass was Gregorian and though half of it was in French, including the homily so I have no idea what the priest said, it was still such a beautiful service and honest to goodness brought tears to my eyes. The inside of the cathedral is beautiful as well; the stained-glass windows use red in such a brilliant way that I've rarely seen elsewhere. It was just fabulous to be in such an old cathedral and experience a mass in another language, meaning truly experiencing the universal church for the first time, because although I couldn't really understand the words, I knew what was going on and when to respond. I was still in utter communion with everyone around me, which was a really awesome thing. After mass, I met back up with Carolyn and Amanda, and the sun had finally come out. My last glimpse of Paris was the sun shining brightly behind Notre Dame - absolutely stunning. We then headed into the ground to take the long ride on the RER to the airport. On the ride, a man started playing accordion and my Parisian experience was officially complete. A mess of transportation lay before us: subway/train (RER), tram, plane, shuttle, train, tube, walking. It was a very long evening, and I was very sore and tired, but I knew it was all for a good cause - that of experiencing Paris, experiencing the world. I came back to my room and proceeded to have a night in with myself and a domino's pizza, and I knew that life was good.
If you are wondering if I went to Somalia, the answer is NO. I did not go to Somalia. I did not bob for apples there. Nor did I deworm orphans (Legally Blonde anyone?). However, I DID go to St. Ives, which is wholly unrelated to Somalia except for the presence of the letter 's'. St. Ives was rated the number one beach in the UK and number six in Europe, just below a bunch of beaches in Greece and Cyprus. I'm sure you think I'm lying and that that couldn't possibly be - why would anyone go to England for the beach? Well, I asked the same question, but to my immense pleasure I discovered the beauty of St. Ives and I only wish I could go there in the actual warm season instead of on a dreary, drizzly, overcast day! Regardless of the clouds, it was still stunning and a nice change of pace from city. 
And there was a graveyard!! Talk about prime real estate - I'd love that view if I was buried there. The town is full of little art galleries so we spent much of our day wandering in and out of those, wishing we could afford to buy some original oil paintings of the scenery we were admiring so much. We also went to the Barbara Hepworth Museum; she was a sculptor and the museum was her studio and a garden designed by her with her sculptures specifically placed by her. It was interesting to learn about her, as I had no idea who she was previously. Apparently she was one of the first artists to poke holes through sculptures and use strings with wood/copper/etc as sources of tension. There were some neat pieces and the garden was especially cool because you could touch those sculptures! 
St. Ives is in Cornwall which is famous for its Cornish pasties (you'll recall the definition of a pasty in a previous post) so I had to get one of course! I had a steak and stilton and it was quite delicious. I also bought some fudge and Cornish Bleu Cheese which was rated World Champion of Cheeses in 2010. It was FABULOUS. I'm trying to devise a way to ship boatloads of it home for various Christmas presents. We also had afternoon tea with Cornish Cream, which is the original clotted cream, which if you don't know what that is, it's super thick, almost butter, cream. I'm becoming quite a fan. We left St. Ives around three and embarked on a six hour train ride home. It was a lot of transportation for a very brief day but it was so worth it. 
After the walk we went to afternoon tea at the Crusting Pipe in Covent Garden, with an opera singer to boot! It was really yummy and nice to sit and relax after walking around so much. After tea we went to the National Gallery and I gave them a tour of the paintings I studied in my class field trip; it was fun to act as the guide. Afterward we wandered over to see Big Ben at night and then went to the Tate Britain to see the special exhibit of the Pre-Raphaelites, who were a brotherhood of painters who took Raphael's style to a new level of color and accuracy, painting religious and literary images. The paintings were amazing and very worth the extra fee to see them. 
Saturday we were joined by Aly who had arrived late Friday night. We had every intention of doing a Beatles walking tour, but all the tube stations leading to the one we needed to get to were closed, so we just went to Abbey Road and tried to take pictures crossing, which was very difficult as it's a really busy street. Then we met up with Dan H. and Evan and wandered around Marylebone and Baker Street, stopping in to the Beatles Shop and Sherlock Holmes Museum Shop. Then we went to Portabello Road and enjoyed the market. I was again thwarted in regards to finding a bedknob. 
After we finished up there we went to Soho, where we met up with Lydia and Hannah and got dinner at Hummus Bros, which was really yummy. After dinner we parted ways, saying goodbye to Dan H. for good, and Aly, Gabby, and I headed off to see Singin' in the Rain at the Palace Theatre, which was a fabulous show and the rain on stage was just amazing. We almost didn't get in though because I went to claim our tickets and the man claimed there were none under my name!! It was such a scary moment but eventually he found them, thank goodness! After the show we headed back to Mile End and met up with the rest of the gang and went out one last time together to a bar next to campus, which was full of interesting characters dressed up for Halloween. I had a Jack and Coke, which is why that line is the song at the beginning is relevant. It was a fun last night with the Maastricht gang, who had to be up at 4 am to leave for their flight. I was so glad to have seen them and look forward to our permanent reunion in the spring semester. :)
Yesterday was Halloween, and I finally made it to a pumpkin patch!!!! Kyle, Brigette, and I went off to Surrey and spent the day at Crockford Bridge Farm, running around with five year olds and their parents, sliding down slides, rolling around in tops, eating ice cream and chili, taking a Wicked Woodland Walk, listening to ghost stories, and most importantly, picking out pumpkins!! There was a shop there that sold all manner of products and one section had American food products!!!!! It was the most exciting moment. I bought Aunt Jemima pancake mix, Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting, SWISS MISS, and breadcrumbs. It was magical. I love Crockford Bridge Farm forever and always. It was a delightful day, finally fulfilling my need for autumnal spirit. We returned to London and I headed to a party at Lydia's flat and we watched Zombieland, which was actually a really good movie. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys zombie farcicals. After Lydia's I headed back to my room, got into sweats and was in for a warm evening, when the fire alarm went off at two am and I had to evacuate my room and go outside where it was now pouring rain. We all stood there miserably for about a half hour (seemed like forever), getting soaked. Finally we got to go back in. I went to bed around three, only to be woken at four for ANOTHER fire alarm!!! Needless to say, I was irate, but at least the rain had basically stopped by this time. I finally returned to my bed in paranoia but was so tired I passed out regardless. I hate drunk people who trigger fire alarms. That is all.
