It was certainly a dynamic one.
I've been waiting a little while to write this post not only because I've been incredibly busy, but also because I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to write about.
Let me just start off by saying, I don't know any french. Sure, I know how to say 'hello' but that won't get you very far in a French conversation. I did manage to learn a few other key words throughout the weekend that helped me get by, but barely - namely: pardon, merci, toilette, s'il vous plaît, oui, and the all important, parlez-vous anglais. All of which are pretty simple and self-explanatory, but certainly helpful.
Now, I've been to Paris before, but it was a long time ago - middle school to be exact - with People to People student ambassadors. I was certainly glad that I had been there before and done a lot of the touristy stuff so that I could focus more on seeing the city and experiencing the culture this time around, and hitting stuff I might have missed. Seeing the city through 20-year-old (almost 21!) eyes is also extremely different than my previous 13-year-old eyes.
So we left Thursday night and took what I had heard was a nine-hour bus ride. I didn't think that would be a problem because I was planning on sleeping the whole way. Well, what actually happened was a two-hour bus ride to the ferry, then a two-hour ferry over the English Channel, then another five-hours in a bus to get to Paris. So there was very little sleeping - maybe four hours at max.
Taylor and I in travel mode (hence the glasses) waiting in line to board the Megabus. I also was able to loan out a Paris tourist book from the NYUL student resource center, which turned out to be a wonderful idea. The map was incredibly helpful, as you can imagine.
We get to the bus station and we travel on three subway lines and a bus to get to the flat we're staying in. It was a bit out of the city centre, which was a bit difficult - especially if you just wanted to take a mid-afternoon nap - but we managed. Michael's father was nice enough to let us stay with him, and he made us breakfast every morning - which was delicious! - so we made the travel situation work.
Baguettes. Scrambled eggs. Baked beans. (actually an incredible combination)
Pao de Queijo - Brazilian cheese balls.
Coffee. Hot chocolate.
Chocolate cake...? Yup! And it was SO good.
Traveling into Paris to see the Eiffel Tower after a long night of travel and quick showers.
So alas...
I was tired.
I didn't speak the language. (Not to mention the French aren't too fond of Americans to begin with.) Also, Michael's dad and the other guys he lives with only speak Portuguese and French. Lots of language barriers.
We lived out of the city which means I had to carry everything I needed with me for the day in my bag. It got very heavy.
And...It started to rain.
To say the least, friday was a bit difficult. But we were in Paris and the city was still beautiful in the rain! How can you help but smile when you turn around the corner and find this:
It really is breathtaking.
And so starts the innumerable amount of photos I took of the Eiffel Tower throughout the weekend. I just couldn't help it - it's so photogenic! I've only picked out my favorites to share with you here though. I will spare you the seeming monotony.
We also loved having a photoshoot in front of it.
We had to do jumping shots :)
One of favorite photos of the entire weekend!
Then we continued walking around the city - with umbrellas. We walked along the Seine and saw many beautiful bridges and monuments. The architecture alone is gorgeous and historic.
Umbrella photo :)
After a few hours of wandering down the river in the rain and taking lots of photos, we needed to give our feet a rest. Needless to say we also needed some food and a glass of wine - I mean we were in France afterall.
I had read about this famous Wine Bar in the tourist book that was near Notre Dame right on the Seine, so we sought it out and finally found it!
We asked the server to recommend his favorite sweeter white wine and he did a wonderful job. Such a delicious glass of wine! Jurancon 2010 from France.
Also had delicious vegetable lasagna. Very satisfying. Especially after a long 24 hours.
Then we headed over to Notre Dame. It was still raining as you can probably tell.
Catching raindrops on my tongue
Caught in the rain
The inside is gorgeous
We were there during a service
Taylor and the candles
That night we met up with Emily, my friend from NYUL, who was staying with a friend in NYU Paris, who also brought some friends along, and we all had dinner together. That meal wasn't so great, but I guess you can't win them all. The company was fun!
Saturday we woke up and journeyed to the Catacombs. Due to series of events in France, including disease, war, and overpopulation of graves, the Catacombs were completed in 1788 as an underground sepulture. It houses over six million bodies, all of which are stacked up on top of each other into, what I believe can be considered, works of art. The history, the pathways, and the sculpture really make it a sight to see while in Paris, if you get the chance.
Waiting in line. This was just the back third of it. Took about an hour to get to the front, but the weather was gorgeous - thank goodness.
Me, James (NYU Paris), Thais (Brazilian but currently studying in France), Lucas, and Taylor
Taylor and I inside
Wishing well
It was very eery, but also really interesting.
Then we got crepes and churros!
Nutella and banana - yum!
We walked back towards Notre Dame again because Thais had to pick up something for her mom. And this time it wasn't raining!
Garden street fair
Beautiful fall leaves <3
By this time of day we needed some caffeine, so we found a cafe and stopped for tea, cappuccinos, and croissants!
I had vanilla caramel tea. Wonderful mid-afternoon snack!
Then it was off the the Arc de Triomphe - where more photo-shoots ensued.
Going up to the top!
Look at that view
The gang
From underneath
We then headed back towards the Eiffel Tower so we could see it lit up at night and get some dinner.
Yes, we went all over the place. We did very well at navigating the subway map, which was obviously all in French, but like I said city skills are transferrable.
And then it sparkled!!!!! Every hour on the hour for about five minutes it would sparkle in purple lights.
You can see it in this short video I took:
Just stunning
More jumping photos of course
The dinner we had that night wasn't that good either. At least mine wasn't. I saw on the menu what seemed to be an assorted vegetables dish. Thais (who speaks French) asked what it was, and the waiter said it could come with whatever I wanted. So I thought I would be getting some veggies, a side salad, and french fries. What came was a small plate of french fries (which were delicious) and a handful of plain lettuce with a slice of tomato. No dressing, and no assorted vegetables. When I asked for dressing, what I got was a very tasteless combination of what seemed to be oil and water and nothing else. At that point it was actually quite comical. Sometimes you just have to laugh at life. Parts of Paris were beautiful and parts of Paris were frustrating, but I think both of those things are bound to happen when you travel. Everything can't be perfect.
By this point, I had come to the conclusion that Paris just wasn't my city. I can appreciate why it is other people's 'city,' but it just doesn't happen to be mine. Which is okay with me. You can't fall in love with every place you travel. And I already have my city - two in fact. It was actually quite eye-opening because the discomfort I experienced off and on in Paris caused me to crave a sense of familiarity. I started missing my city, and it wasn't necessarily New York, but rather London. Last weekend I realized that although I had only been in London for a little under a month, it was becoming familiar and was therefore comfortable. It was becoming home.
But we had one more day in Paris, so we needed to make the most of it. At this point it was just Lucas, Thais, and me because Taylor and Michael had to get back to London earlier. We started off the day by checking out Hillsong Paris - yes, they seem to be everywhere and I love it!
Held in the Bobino Theatre
Stairway down to the venue
"Welcome Home"
You have no idea how comforting this was
The church was definitely smaller than London or NYC and they only have two services, but it was equally as amazing as every other Hillsong service I've been to. They sang in French, but had english translations up on the screen as well. Like I said, I don't know any French, but everyone else was singing in French and the French words were up there, so I sang in French! I'm sure I botched up all the pronunciations, but God doesn't care. I was worshipping in another language to songs I had heard plenty of times before (but in English) and it was so cool!
The pastor from Hillsong Germany was there, so he gave the sermon in English and they then had a French translator. They'd alternate back and forth. He'd say a little bit and then she'd translate and so on. It was a very cultural experience.
The sermon was about finding rest. He talked about observing the Sabbath in the New Testament sense of the word, where the Sabbath is no longer a day but a person. Our Sabbath is Jesus and we can find rest in Him on a daily basis.
I was reminded of Matthew 11:28-30
"Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."
What a blessing it was to be faced with this verse at this point in my weekend. The pastor talked about how the enemy will always want to kill, steal and destroy. He'll attack anything at the chance to take away our success in life, including our joy and our rest. I think the enemy wanted to use my present circumstances to steal the joy I have found here over the past month. He liked that I was out of my comfort zone and saw it as an opportunity to pounce. But God wasn't going to let him, because Jesus is my shield. He protected me when I was weak and vulnerable and built me back up. I was reminded of the bigger picture and of God's glory.
It was then that I realized God is my home. God is my comfort and my familiarity. God is 'my city'. There's a reason I can travel over 3470 miles from New York to London and another 282 miles from London to Paris and still feel at home. The church of the Lord is strong. I felt welcomed and supported even though no one there knew me, and maybe only half of them could speak my language, because the common denominator is God, my one true savior. God brought me comfort in the uncertainty. This is not the first time He's done that, but certainly on this scale it is. I could not have felt more blessed at that moment. Now I felt more at home and I felt prepared to tackle this city one more day. Bienvenue a la Maison indeed.
Needless to say, it led to a very enjoyable afternoon and evening.
All the sudden, while walking along the streets of Paris, we were passed by hundreds and hundreds of people on rollerskates. They were all in a group and seemed to be going somewhere. We asked one of the guys with a STAFF t-shirt on and he said it was a free rollerskating tour through the city they did every Sunday that covered about 13 miles of space. (Or at least this is what I gathered from our broken English/broken French conversation.)
Policemen on rollerskates. You don't see that everyday.
They stopped to take a little rest.
I got a video of them leaving for their next destination:
So many people!!!
When they left, Lucas and I just continued our walk. Thais left us after lunch because she had to get back home.
There it is again
Like I said before, we didn't have the option of mid-afternoon naps to recharge after all the walking, so caffeine was our next best option. This was a Cafe Glace Perisian at a cute little sidewalk cafe, which is basically an iced double shot of espresso with cane sugar. It was delicious and certainly did the job!
You would never find this in America
I'm telling you, I couldn't stop taking pictures of it!
And there's plenty more where that came from.
Last photo taken in Paris at an absolutely delicious (but rather expensive) dinner. At this point though I was determined to have a good French meal! Bottle of white wine between the two of us, an entire sole fish with lemon butter sauce (it came out with the head and everything, but then our wonderful waiter kindly cut it up for me), and mashed potatoes. As you can see from the photo, they opened up the window/doors and we got to sit outside (basically) enjoying the great weather. It was a wonderful evening!
We ventured back to our flat rather early and then woke up and had a full day of travel back to London on Monday. The supposed eight hour journey turned into thirteen hours, but it wouldn't be traveling if that didn't happen at least once, right?
Regardless, Lucas and I were very happy to be back in London - and in a country that spoke English, fluently!
Looking through all the photos and thinking back on our journey as the week progresses, it is obvious we definitely had a good time in Paris, despite the few bumps in the road along the way. But the bumps are what make the good stories. And I certainly have plenty of stories and memories to go around. I can honestly say, I've done Paris.
So look at that! I've done Paris!
Cheers!
