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.