Hey everyone! I was so excited to write this blog post because of how much I fell in love with Paris a couple weeks ago :) I went with a class at my school, and all of them are such sweet people and were so welcoming to me while we stayed abroad. We stayed for 4 days on the outskirts of Paris and took the metro every morning into the city. Though I don't remember everything, a few things really stood out to me:
1. Notre Dame: I spent some time wandering by myself inside, and I swear, "I Can Only Imagine" was playing in my head the entire time. Every window is stain-glass and it's amazing how the churches of Rome and Paris have completely different feels. Notre Dame was elegant, but at the same time had a welcoming feeling that seemed like a warm bed when you come home weary and dispirited.
2. The Eiffel Tower: At night, the lit up tower is magnificent! We all went up to the second floor at 10 o'clock PM and the view of the monuments illuminated below mixed with the haze over Paris and the steel beams that flashed blue every 5 minutes is something I will never forget.
3. Versailles: Last year I studied the French Revolution at Franklin. As we continued to study, the more fascinated I become. I loved the absolute power that Louis the 14th strived to achieve, the clever way he drew the nobility into his web, the way the democratic idea showed cracks when Robespierre became the most powerful man in Paris, the spirit of the lower class during the Tennis Court Oath, when they decided they deserved a better life than what Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette were providing. All of these facts swirled in my head as I stood in awe walking through the Hall of Mirrors, and all the rooms of Versailles, this symbol of power and royalty in France. The gardens that stretched for miles and had numerous paths and fountains and lakes, all of it was the kind of thing I had only seen in movies and textbooks, never comprehending that these places do really exist.
4. The Louvre and Musee D'Orsay: First thing I thought about the Mona Lisa: it is set up in room completely unlike the movie "The Da Vinci Code" and there is no way that the museum curator could have died and positioned himself the way he did in the movie, it's impossible. That aside, the amount of famous works blew me away. I walked down a hallway among Caravaggio's, Da Vinci's, Botticelli's and Raffealo's works. We went to the Spanish and Italian wing, stayed for 3 hours and still couldn't see everything. What a collection. I never imagined that history would become so real for me as it had this trip. As much as I enjoyed the Louvre, the paintings that really stood out to me were those in Musee D'Orsay. These works were mainly by impressionist artists. We had some time in every room to explore and get to know what was present and I consistently found myself getting lost in the colors of Monet. The bright and relaxed paintings took me to blanket under a willow tree, sleeping the warm breeze of summertime. I loved the colors and the emotions the paintings projected.
We saw so much that trip I couldn't explain them all like this, but I wanted to hit the highlights :)
Not only was Paris on the program this month, but I also got to meet some family in Rome for a couple days. I had been to Rome with my host family and was looking forward to showing my family around this time and having them experience it and love it the same way I did. So I took a bus at 5 am March 1st, just after learning my family wouldn't arrive until 5 pm, if I was lucky. I was planning on them arriving at 10 am, not 5 and didn't plan for a flight trouble or staying by myself in a city as large as Rome. My host family and I had planned a route the night before and I knew how to get to the hotel (I was going on foot), but I was still terrified. Big city, speaking Italian and I didn't know anyone who could help if I needed it. Well, once I got off the bus, it turned into the best day I had had in a while. I found the hotel and began to explore. I bought a cappuccino at a bar near Piazza Cavour, went to Piazza Navona, saw Saint Augustine's Church (where there is an original Caravaggio) and then (this is something I have wanted to do since I left 4 years ago) walked to Vatican City, grabbed a piece of pizza and ate on the steps of Saint Peter's Square. Talk about perspective. I realized that since I got here, I have wanted to have the confidence to walk by myself through a city, speak with the locals in their language and watch people on the steps of Saint Peter's Square. I could not have been more blessed and this month showed me that there are always things to marvel at and that I do have the confidence to do whatever I want to do. It was most definitely a month to remember :)
PS my visit with my family was awesome, I had some great conversations and am so glad they got a chance to see what I've been doing these past couple months. I also was excited that they got to see Rome and experience it like I had before.
