Paris is one of those cities that you grow up dreaming about. Well, if you’re me, anyways. I had always seen it in movies, read about it in books, and seen the pictures of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. It’s somewhere that I had been dying to go since middle school, and it sounded like such a “grown-up” place.
When the study tour announcements came out and Paris was on the list, I immediately opened the application. When I was accepted, I tried not to dwell on it because spring semester was still months away.
Finally, it came, and meant that I would be starting the class that went with the study tour. I walked out of there more and more excited after every session, my friends and I talking about what we were looking forward to the most and what kinds of clothes to pack. It seemed close but still so far away, and I already knew that 7 days wouldn’t be enough time there. In class we learned about many different aspects of Paris; the history of the city (which I don’t think one can ever truly learn all of), the significance of bread, the influence of Paris and Parisians on art, literature, and fashion, as well as the geography of the place. It was already clear to me that Paris was going to be more than I had imagined.
Soon enough, spring break rolled around, and I was heading to the airport after a statistics exam. The plane ride, which was direct and about 8 hours, didn’t allow for much sleeping. Instead, I would flip the TV in front of my seat between movies, music, and the flight tracker, which may have well been my favorite.
We landed, everyone a little delirious with jet lag and exhaustion, but in Paris. It was less colorful than I had imagined-those paintings always feature a pop of green and red, and in the middle of March, most things were white and gray. Still, it was undeniably beautiful, and I couldn’t stop smiling on the bus ride to our hotel.
The Hotel des Deux Avenues, which we would call home for the next week, was tiny and adorable. With a tight spiral staircase, small rooms, and only 6 or so rooms on a floor, it was picture-perfect Paris. We stayed for long enough to drop off our luggage and freshen up, but then Professor Lorenz was herding us out the door and back into the city. For as tired as we all were, there wasn’t complaining. Who can complain in Paris!?
We visited countless museums (such as the Rodin, Orangerie, d’Orsay, and, of course, the Louvre), monuments (the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Catacombs, Hotel des Invalides), and churches (the Notre Dame, Saint-Chappelle, Saint-Denis), which were arguably my favorite portion. All of these trips were to give us a sense of Paris as a modern and ancient city, and to help us understand the changes that it has gone through. Combining this with the simple task of walking around the city and people watching definitely made for a great overall experience.
Because we did so much, I’m only going to hit one thing from each day.
Day 1: The Arc de Triomphe, or a monument I unexpectedly liked. What struck me about this monument was how intricate the stone was, something that I had never realized in pictures. I underestimated its beauty. The second thing that struck me was how similar the view from the top was to the Empire State Building and Willis Tower. It’s not nearly as high, and the monuments in view are different, but the overall feeling is the same.
Day 2: The Notre Dame, or my favorite thing not including the Eiffel Tower. It’s far longer than I ever envisioned from pictures, and the way that the arches meet is beautiful. The day we went was not particularly sunny, but the stained glass was still stunning. We were there during mass, so the sound of the organ and the choir singing along with the congregation was incredible to hear. The view from the top of the towers is very cool, but since we had been to the Arc it was the same idea, just a different vantage point. The inside is somewhere that I could easily sit for hours, and just take in all the different side chapels and architectural details.
Day 3: The Louvre, or an art museum that never ends. This place was enormous. Insanely so. Everyone told me that the Mona Lisa was overrated and disappointing, but I didn’t get that feeling at all. Sure, she’s tiny, and she’s behind a bunch of glass and tourists, but she’s pretty awesome. There’s a lot of mystery there, and she’s iconic, so I was excited to see her. The rest of the Louvre was amazing, but overwhelming, especially since we only had a few hours. I think that’s somewhere that would be better experienced over the course of a few days, in smaller chunks. That way you could actually spend time in front of things instead of just walking through.
Day 4: Versailles, or the infuriating palace. Versailles was beautiful. It was sprawling and intricate and had so. Much. Gold. But when we got there I was so angry. During that time period, Parisians were starving. They were literally just trying to survive, but twenty minutes away the royals are building a massive castle that is disgustingly lavish. It was hundreds of years ago, but I became so angry looking at it.
Day 5: The Pompidou, or the anxiety-inducing art museum. Modern art gives me anxiety. I really don’t know what it is about it, maybe it’s the fact that I can’t figure it out, but I don’t like it. This art museum was full of it, but there was one exhibit that I loved. Called “Café Little Boy” after the WWII Atomic Bomb code name, it had chalkboards for walls, and visitors were encouraged to come inside and write on it. This meant that layers and layers of colors overlapped so most things were essentially unreadable. However, I think that added to it’s beauty; with everything blended, and only fragments visible, demonstrates that even though everyone has a different history, we’re still human; we all overlap.
Day 6: The Eiffel Tower at night, or when I cried from gratitude. When we had free time after visiting the Orsay (my favorite museum), I went with two of my friends to see the Eiffel Tower at night. The tower doesn’t even look like it’s lit. It looks like it’s glowing from the inside. And if that’s not enough...it sparkles. For five whole minutes every hour. It looked like magic, and I had the same feeling I did while watching fireworks at Cinderella’s Castle. Like it can’t possibly be real, because this is so much better than real life. While it sparkled, my friends and I had our arms around each other, talking about how grateful we were to be in Paris. I was already grateful, but I was slapped in the face with how lucky I was while standing there. The three of us started crying with joy and gratitude, and that’s a moment I will never forget.
Day 7: The catacombs, or what it was like seeing unnamed, old, broken bodies. That sounds like a really harsh way to describe someone’s final resting place, but it’s true. It’s a place that is fascinating but really drives home the point about mortality. Everything starts to blend together, and it’s easy to forget that every one was a person who affected other people, and who had stories. Their death, although mourned at the time, is something that is now scientific instead of emotional, and that is how we all end up. It’s humbling in the weirdest way, and I’m so glad that I was able to experience it.
Paris was my first time in Europe, and I’m thrilled that I got to go at such a young age. I now feel like I can comfortably study abroad, whether it is by myself or in a group. But aside from that, it opened my eyes to life in other countries, and why cultures value what they do. This trip gave me so much growth in a short seven days, and the class aspect of it only deepened that. I am grateful for this opportunity, and now I can’t wait to go chase down more.