The trip to Dublin was way longer than it should have been, but I made it safe and sound. I still use my French all the time, as a reflex, and the customs agent was pretty skeptical of me for that reason haha but hey,he gave me a stamp!
I have just slept and watched movies and read since I got here, a break I really needed.
So, Paris...how did I like it? It was wonderful. A very different, and sometimes quite difficult experience conpared to my last trip. Every thing about the structure of this trip was new, and I learned ( again ) how much I value my indepence, but I met some great people, learned A LOT about the city and enjoyed my stay. I am so grateful I had the experience, and especially for the help of my parents when my financial aid evaporated the month before my departure. Mom and Dad, thank you. Being broke in a foreign city known for its extravagance was an interesting experience that I would not take back, but you kept me from starving and I appreciate that.
So, Dublin. Much more relaxed than Paris, also way dirtier. I don't feel the need to make grandiose life statements about what I'm accomplishing here, there's no judgement or competition, I don't feel the need to earn my place, but I do feel the need to wear a full face of make up ( which I NEVER do in Paris ). I feel like I can be myself here, whoever that is on any given day. But this is not my city and neither is Paris. They're great, to be sure. But not meant to be my home.
I feel a lot of peace in knowing that. Where to next?
I feel my whole life opening up, now that a bachelors is on my resume. It's a freedom I wasn't expecting, and I celebrated by buying a pleasure novel, 'Wonder Boys', which I'm really enjoying so far. And parks. I love to visit and spend time in parks. I read, write, watch the people, ponder my next big scheme or latest minor humiliation ( like butchering my English in a shop this morning ). I love to take strolls, or brisk walks, depending on my mood. And I like to chase the pigeons. French, Irish, American, all pigeons are fun to chase, and I make it my goal to shoo them into flight whenever I see them.
So I'm not really sure where I'm going next, but it's been a great year, and I'm looking forward to another one.
Check my Facebook for a mass picture upload, since I have no desire to organize them into blog posts right now. I'm enjoying the moments, undocumented, for right now.
Au revoir, Paris!
This diner In Joinville is called 'Happy Babe'. Psh, it's callin' my name!
When the train station computers crash..the reports are in English, and they're hilarious.. " try to wake up" "child rip" like...what?
Ha ha ha, I see what you did there, you punny Lay's, you!
When the tram is arriving, it says 'Tram a l'Approche' and when the tram is at the platform it says...
This house has a cannon ball lodged in it, just above the left set of windows. Coincidentally, it was also a church, and a sort of...libertine house where one of the ex-queens of France went to live. Bonus points if you can name her.
Oh baby. If I could tell you just how good this is...well I can, but I'm saving that for my next poetry contest. This is a photo of raspberry -rose ice cream. THAT was a good afternoon!
Also, I had rose ice cream today and it was AWFUL. Not all floral desserts are created equally!
As of 8pm today, I had three types of plums in my room. I've since eaten all the purple ones (whose name I can't recall) and all the mirabelles, which are the little yellow ones in the right. Someone please tell me we have those in America, because they are DELICIOUS. the ones in the middle are Reine Claudes, and they are so good! I can't get over how cheap good food is here. 5euro can get me a basket full of fruits, vegs, crackers, and prepared food. You just can't do that in the good ol US of A.
I walked by an haute couture fashion shoot yesterday. The dress was gorge, and she was TALL, and wearing heels AT LEAST six inches to boot. Those guys, average height. Notice she us AS TALL sitting down. Also, they are there to help her move, pick up her feet and everything. Crazy. I loved it!
Just, you know, your average gold statue of Thomas Paine. Here's the inscription: (the part I accidentally cut off says Citizen of the World)
I find the best places to write :) I was sitting in the 'window' of a 15th century chateau, east of the city. Um, cool!
This poem stretches a whole block, SUCH a good use of public space!
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Ok, so something really cool happened to me today. I was just wandering between Luxembourg and the Seine, and I happened upon Saint Sulpice, which is a church I've never seen, but been in the neighborhood of many times. It's much more recent than Notre Dame de Paris, and the architecture is really interesting so I decided to go inside and have a look. Well, it's gorgeous inside! There was someone speaking, in French, and I thought they were giving a mass on the sacred nature of marriage. I thought "oh. That's odd I'm sure the sign said mass wasn't until 6:45pm. Oh well, I don't want to be rude, I'll just sit down until it's over, I could use a little boost anyway"
Well, it didn't take long before I realized what I was actually listening to was a wedding! I'd walked right into someone's marriage ceremony! That explained the oddly overdressed congregation, the photographers, And the balloons waiting in the coat closet...
It was really cool though, yes, it did stay for the entire thing! The groom was English, the bride..I'm not sure, but I think she might be Thai... But they had both lived in France for a while, so the ceremony pulled in aspects of all their cultures, and they actually did vows in three languages! Plus the mass part was in Latin so... Crazy! It was a great experience, I hope they don't mind I enjoyed their day with them!
When people in the street realized a wedding had just occurred (the ringing church bells helped..) they all gathered around to congratulate and celebrate them!
Vivres les Mariès!
Finally, on my way home, I found this poster that had a local copy editor... :)
So! Last Sunday I tried again to take the train to Saint Germain en Laye, but I guess it won't be running all month! Poo! Instead, I took a different fork of the line up to Poissy, a small town town river (north west) from Paris.
-side ramble-- "My Technique" Some people are content with the pretty parts of Paris, but I'm really not. I find I get bored and uncomfortable standing around furs and silks and gold plating all day. If the food costs more than my paycheck...yeah, I'm out. This leads me to exploring a lot of the 'not as nice' areas around the city, the outskirts, the banlieu, etc. usually I just pick a metro/train/bus line and ride till the end. The transit stops always have maps on them, and I have a pretty good sense of direction, so after a minute or two of orienting myself, I'll pick a destination or two and head out. I chose those destinations based on the size or direction of the roads, parks or water nearby, and adjust as I walk based on signage and neighborhood. I try to always see the water, and I usually stop at a grocery store for a wander, because I find them very interesting!
So that's what I did in Poissy, which is a nice little town, apparently the birthplace of Louis IX, 'Saint Louis' as well.
I walked along the river for quite some way, ending up on this rather creepy frontage road between house boats and the train tracks. It was creepy because there was a ton of thick foliage, old stuff, and no people! Really eerily quiet. Anyway, I was walking so far because I saw a sign for 'The Boat Buccanear' and I wanted to check it out. After a km or two, I found its dock; it's apparently a pub/entertainment boat AND IT WASNT EVEN THERE. Lame.
So then I walked back into town and sat by the cathedral, reading my book for class, which happens to by this guy, Emile Zola!
I walked into a torrential rainstorm, which I endured on the open train platform, before heading back into Paris.
On my way back, I decided to get off at La Defense, which is an industrial/tech 'city' on the way back into town. It has historical significance in the protection of Paris, hence the name, and has a straight line of sight through the Arc de Triomphe, into The Louvre.
And not zoomed in, from the edge of the terrace.
It has it's own arch, mirroring Napoleon's, which matches the sky scraper aesthetic of the area. And yes, that is a full size concert stage underneath it. Summers in Paris are jammin!
It is a really cool area, already built on a bluff, the main 'ground' is really a patio of sorts, stories above transportation and mechanical levels. The two shopping centers spen several floors above and below ground.
This, is a fountain. Next to a road, that's kind of underground. Crazy.
It is full of modern art, and is actually quite nice, it feels as I imagine a tech center in Asia would. (Though I have NO background in which to base that statement...I'm using my imagination!)
And all of this was on my way to Joinville, which is on the Marne River. I wanted to visit because the character in my book finds peace from the city there. But she lived oh...200 years ago? Maybe only, but still. The storm had followed me from Poissy, so the town looked like it had been through the wringer, and I was starting to get really tired and didn't have much patience for exploring at this point...so I didn't really set myself up for success in this town.
I only walked about 500 metres from the train station, but I still managed to get some nice pictures if the river, from an island, under the main road haha, sorry. I still thought it was worth sharing though.
So that was last Sunday; lots of exploring, maybe too much. I've had my midterm now, and my notebooks are finally getting words in them! Life in Paris is as good as it sounds, even if it's not ALL on the Champs Élysées !
So, last Friday morning, with blisters intact and more rain coming (have I mentioned its rained almost every dy? I love it actually, storms here are fabulous), my friend Sarah and I set off to visit the Sacre Coeur. I was hoping for minimal crowds, but was astonished to find there was literally only 20 people on the entire hillside when we arrived, we definitely lucked out. The weather was warm and only sprinkling, so we enjoyed a walk around Montmarte before tucking into the church itself. There is so much history in these old churches, I am grateful they put up placards explaining some of it (and that I can read the French!) but sometimes it can feel a bit odd walking around someone's place of worship. I realized I would love it if someone came to my church to do that, so I just try my best to remain respectful of the environment.
Elephant love in Monmarte :)
This here is my favorite wall in the neighborhood :)
My friend Sarah and I
Who doesn't love a foggy morning in the city?
We made our way to the cemetery in Montparnasse (after a stop for macarons; and I'm just saying, Laduree's poppy raspberry is to die for) next for a class project. We're supposed to find a famous grave and present on the person in class. I happened upon one of my favorite composers of all time, some one who's music, thanks to the talent of my high school orchestra, was the springboard for interests and passions that brought me to Paris. This man is the reason I'm even here today, I had to stop and pay my respects:
Ps, I'm aware that says 'famille' his name, Camille, is on the inside.
Saturday! I slept. A lot. It was grand. But I also took a walk along one of the coolest trails I've ever seen. It used to be an old railway, so it's raised above the city streets, 1-3 stories off the ground. It's lined with beautiful plants of all different kinds and is spotted with parks, often on the roofs of other buildings. It's 5 miles long, but I got a bit lost in finding it, and only walked on the trail for about 1.5 miles. There were also tons of jiggers which really made me regret leaving my shoes at home! Ps, a lot of the following pictures are of interesting architecture I saw along the way, sorry, not sorry.
Where I hopped on the trail, this park is massive and up three flights of stairs !
Selfies for days. Just cuz I can.
Only the sassiest of men for the top of this nicely 70s building!
This is all one building, can you believe it?
These pipes look like an organ! :)
I ended up at Bastille, which, if you haven't brushed up on your French history, used to be a jail, and now is a large green pole in the center of a traffic circle. I decided to walk along the canal to the river, hoping to find a sunny place to catch up on my reading.
If you don't know, I love boats, and water, a lot! I got to watch a small boat go through the locks and it was just as cool as the first time I saw it.
I ended up here, on this edge of a concrete quai on right bank, enjoying the sun, reading my book, and watching the boats go by. I got lots of waves from children on tour boats, and a Frenchman passing by even gave me an interesting compliment (it's only creepy if you don't appreciate it, and by golly, I appreciated it!).
I even got a tan!
