a little bit wiser now.

I have been to Paris. I have eaten my weight in crepes, watched the afternoon go by from a street cafe, toured the Louvre, I have had a great time.

It was a unique experience, and I have a great desire to return and see it all again for a longer period of time. A hazy sky and constant mist back dropped the entire weekend, which added to the mystery of Parisian life. Even potentially bad qualities of the trip helped to make the experience well rounded.

We arrived after dark and one of the first sights we could see was the Eiffel Tower glowing bright blue right outside our hotel. I was surprised to see it blue, and in my opinion, it was rather tacky. I had made an end goal to see it before the night was through, but still had not had dinner. Considering the trip consisted with about 30 other students in my program, it was hard to manage little things such as dinner. Cafes are small and unaccommodating for such large groups, so it was easiest to quietly shy away from the group. A few girls and I found a crepe stand and victoriusly ate our first French crepes while testing out our few French phrases with the chef. He wasn´t impressed, but amused.

We made it back to that stand two more times before the weekend was through. The rest of the evening was spend beneath the tower, chatting with friends, and watching it glow. We had a big day ahead of us, so turned in early (consiering early means before 3 am, now that I have adjusted to Madrid time).

I woke to strange curtains and bedspreads, only to remember I was in Paris, not Madrid. Not a bad discovery! We went on a bus tour early that morning of all the highlights. It helped me to get oriented with the city which was helpful to all the walking we did next.




Here is a photo of Notre Dame. I have been taking an art history class so it was exciting to point out the ´contrafuertes y bovedas y typos de arcos´to whoever cared to listen. Spanish arquitecture has plenty of French influence especially gothic style cathedrals, so I was just starting to learn about the thirteenth century gothic cathedrals. Great timing.

Afterwards, we walked the streets with the end goal of the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Before reaching the cemetery, we stoped for lunch and wandered in several shops. There was so much that I saw in those few short days that pictures are the best way to express some of what happened.














Endless sights and scents, sounds and tastes, filled my trip to Paris. I had a moment of clarity when sitting on the Eiffel Tower with my roommate Hannah sipping hot chocolate. From internal perspective, the normally geometrically precise tower looked chaotic. Its innards were an opaque spiderweb that dizzied the eye. Yet beneath us, the whirlwind of Paris looked serene and organized. I think that there is much to be learned from changing your perspective of an object, or even a person. That instance, seems to stand out as the most remarkable from the trip, but I could go on for quite a while. I will spare the tales and offer more pictures.

antes de Paris

Before the packing begins, before the passport comes out, before the itinerary is embarked upon, I wanted to write as a young woman who has never been to Paris. This will only last for one more day, so I must take advantage of it (and the internet access). Hemmingway has said that everyone has two homes; their own and Paris. Gertrude Stein heartily agreed when she said, ¨America is my country and Paris is my hometown¨. As I mingle in the land of writers and artists for the next four days, I hope to discover what these authors I admire had experienced. Countless novels and films consist of a young woman´s tour of Europe for the first time, so sometimes I feel apart of a timeless story. So now the plot thickens with Parisian excitement.

as time goes on

I´m afriad I have not much to say in the travel adventure category for I´ve been in the neighborhood for the past few weekends, but there is never a dull moment in Madrid. A hyperbole, yes, but sometimes it seems true for the streets are never vacant and I rarely see a shop closing. I am glad to be living here with the attitude that I will be leaving shortly because even the irritations are to be treasured and learned from. It really isn´t a bad perspective towards most of life because, regardless of our recognition, it is temporary after all.

The leaves change with a dull brillaince compared to home and the streets are filling with pea coats as winter slowly comes. As change comes like clockwork, the great change in the states has stirred the people here. The election has been printed in every paper and has been regularly on the news. As soon as people hear my terrible spanish accent, they normally ask me, Obama or McCain? Supported by American broadcasting, most political conversations end up being conversations of race and gender, and I have been surprised at some of the spainards responses. Many people have said they are concerned that Obama is black, but nonetheless he is very popular here. I slept soundly through election night because I had a test the next morning, but many Americans here had quite the night. There were election parties in the center of the city throughout many bars. My roommate came home in the early morning to report the outcome to me after spending the night at an Irish Pub watching the election. A risky combination, alcohol and politics, but she had a good time. That may be one of my first regrets, that I didn´t go out that night considering its historical importance. But, hopefully I will at least get a good grade on my test.

Last night, I went to see a spanish film called Solo Quiero Caminar. The poster looked artsy so I assumed some sort of drama about internal realizations, only to be startled at the fist scene of murder and sex. It was a spanish gangster film. It was very interesting though because an underlying theme was based around gender roles. In one of my classes we are talking about modern Spain and the transition into the liberal position they are in now, so this film was relevant to Spanish concerns. Conservative and traditional ideas were thrown to the wayside in this film. Although I was expecting long dramatic dialogue, café settings, and quiet music, the blood and chase scenes expressed some Spanish themes which were interesting to learn about. The sun is high today so I am about to go wander the Botanical Gardens. Hasta Luego.