The City of Light

My Week in Paris

Day One
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres's unique original stained glass and its congruent style make it an anomaly among Gothic cathedrals. Our tour guide studied Chartres for over fifty years and continues to be intellectually stimulated by this brilliant church. Our guide presented a brief glimpse into the importance of stain glass windows; medieval cathedrals use elegant symbolism in a colorful and pictorial manner that all people understand.

Eiffel Tower

I'm assuming that this European Union flag decor is temporary; I hope it is. The Eiffel Tower never excited me or entered my romantic daydreams... but it's stunning in person. Skyscrapers at ninety degree angle shooting upwards destroys your perspective; the Eiffel Towers slow slopping angles allow the eye to understand its towering height.

Day Two

Versailles
“I have seen enough mansions and gardens to last me a baroque lifetime”
- Lauren Call

My Versailles experience suffered from a modern art exhibit that displayed artwork in every room of Jeff Koons. If you have never heard of him…you’re lucky. Jeff Koons envisioned the porcelain statue of Michael Jackson and subsequently Michael Jackson is one of the largest statues of porcelain in the world. Not only did it disturb us, but it covered up the Bernini statue behind it.

Rodin Museum

Thinking..

Champs-Elysees
Strolling down the wide sidewalks of the Champs-Elysees you pass world renowned designers.

Arc d'Triomphe
Traffic roars around the Arc d’Triomphe as the major roads of Paris break siege on the monument. We climbed to the top to look out on the city of Paris at dusk and waited until night fell and the Eiffel Tower sparkled on the hour. Above the city you see the organized streets of Paris which differs with the mangled streets of London. Paris is magical from the sky!

Day Three: Museum Day

Louvre

I found the Louvre too overwhelming; you have to sift through mediocre work to find the masterpieces. If you spent thirty minutes at every piece of art at the Louvre it would take you three months to view everything; twelve miles of artwork!

Mona Lisa Smile
We patiently stood in line waiting for the Louvre to open. The flood gates opened and we ran past the Asian tourists to visit the secretive lady: the Mona Lisa. If you Google the image of the Mona Lisa you will have a more personal connection with her than I did (a three inch thick glass case protects the lady, three security guards armed and willing to take you out if you breath to closely and a barrier about twenty feet away). Everyone prepared me for her small size, but with the distance it was impossible to even see if she was frowning or smiling.

Musee d’Orsay
Most likely my favorite museum in Paris is the Musee d’Orsay. The renovated railway stations houses a fantastic collection of impressionist paintings.

Musee d'Orangerie
While going blind, Monet accomplished a magnificent feat by painting large canvases to be housed in a museum: Musee d’Orangerie. You sit in a stark white circular room enclosed by Monet’s famous water lilies; the perfect environment.

Day Four

Notre Dame
Notre Dome sits on an island (no one ever told me)! We peered at the top to see the famous gargoyle who cradles his face in his hands but we did not see the hunchback!

Shakespeare and Co.

My favorite bookstore in the whole world! I walked in the charming store to hear Beirut playing softly in the background! Could it be anymore perfect? This bookstore started as a library by an English women who loaned out English books to the Lost Generation writers: Gertrude Stein, Hemingway and James Joyce. Today it continues to lend out beautiful old books and house budding young authors. When you walk upstairs you see the makeshift beds of these young authors and one of them even shaved while we browsed the shelves. Also, they sell new and used books! It's a brilliant and wonderful place!

Catacombs
It’s a bit random; most people do not imagine bones when they think of Paris. We decided walking beneath Paris surrounded by dead bones sounded adventurous and different. Ironically Becky freaked out the first few minutes before the bones began; we offered to hold her hand but Becky declined.

Chopin's Grave
We hopped on city bus and took a free tour of the main sites of the city and the city took shape as we connected all the different sites. We jumped off at a large cemetery with famous people buried there (Gertrude Stein, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde etc.) Lauren lost her camera on the bus and with tears beginning to well up in her eyes she dashed off after it. Miraculously she managed to chase down the bus and retrieve her camera! The size of the cemetery caused some problems and we could only find Chopin's grave. We placed a flower on his grave and we listened to my favorite Nocturne on my i-pod.
We purchased wonderful ice cream at a local store and then bought two baguettes and treats at a local patisserie. We transported these baguettes on the metro and ate them by the Eiffel Tower. After finishing our carb dinner we floated on the Seine on a tour boat.

Final Day in Paris
We began the day with a trek to Sacre Coeur, byzantine style Cathedral built in attempt to atone for the sins of an evil Paris. We walked from Sacre Coeur around the more peaceful and bohemian side of Paris. We walked to the studios of several impressionist painters and began to piece together the Paris that inspired them. Our walk ended at the Moulin Rouge...we did the cancan have no fear! We visited the two famous opera houses in Paris and went to the mecca of malls. I never thought a mall could rival Harrods...

After a week of carbs we were craving salt and meat and our answer was McDonald's. My meal at McDonald's was the most expensive meal of my whole entire study abroad!
We walked around the fashionable part of Paris and witnessed the expensive boutiques. Most importantly we walked through the Jewish section of town! It was on the eve of Shabbat so things were closing down, but we grabbed some Challah bread and I wished the baker Shabbat Shalom! I was ecstatic after this and grinned the rest of the day. We finished our day visiting the Pompidou for a second time...

Au revoir Paris!

Paris & London Awards
A quick glance at the city of Paris compared with the city of London

Most Attractive Men: London
Whoever tells you otherwise is crazy!

Fashion: London
The general public in London dresses with greater style than the French. Walking through the local trendy districts of Paris I began to see that the upper classes dress extremely well. However, I enjoy the crazy local fashion of London better!

Friendly and Helpful Locals: Paris and London
Some Parisians are extremely helpful while others are straight up rude. Londoners may not have the warmth of some Parisians but they are just as respectful by honoring your personal space.

Pickpocket and Beggars: Paris
It surprised me the number of beggars in Paris! Several women forced themselves on us and persistently asked for money. I was almost pick pocketed in Paris but I had the good sense to feel the hand trying to grab into my purse behind me. Have no fear, I gave him a Hillary glare (which are quite unnerving) and he tried to play it off like he ran into me. Nice try!

Pastries: Paris
No surprises there!

Cleanest River: Paris
The Thames only stands a chance against the Nile…which tells you how gross the water is in the Thames.

Art: Paris

Architecture: London
I prefer the subtle elegant style of London buildings opposed to the Baroque frilly show of Parisian architecture!

Football: Premier League (England)
Henry or Rooney? ROONEY!

There is no denying that Paris is a wonderful, beautiful city with thousands of things to see…but London still holds my undying devotion and love!