This is probably the only thing about the German language that really gets my goat (although there are many, many things that don't make very much sense to me). There's the beautiful dove that symbolizes peace, magically appears in magicians' cages, and returns to Noah with an olive leaf in its beak--and then there's the pigeon: dirty, obnoxious, and inevitably found in large numbers within any city one might visit. And the German language decided to name the two the very same thing.
If you didn't guess it by now, I strongly and adamently dislike pigeons. It is for this reason that I just can't understand the people that not only feed pigeons, but allow the bloody creatures to crawl all over their arms and heads just for a photo--sort of like something Bert from Sesame Street would do. Like this lady outside Notre Dame:
I just don't get it.
Another fun fact that most of you probably know by now is, despite the protestations of many close friends and family members, I am the human form of a juke-box. I hear a word, and instantly a song pops into my head that, despite the level of relevancy, will immediately plague the immediate group of people surrounding me. As a result, this weekend's soundtrack consisted of Anastacia's "Paris Holds the Key to your Heart," "Aux Champs Elysees," "Ne me quitte pas," and Beauty and the Beast. Basically anything in my mental music library that had a French word in it was sung, hummed, and or whistled this weekend.
Why, you ask?
Because this weekend, my friends, I spent backpacking, running, and promenading the streets of Paris (and surrounding area...but we'll get there) with fellow MiddKids. We stormed that Bastille, we worked that Champs Elysees, and we ate those baguettes. Oh, how we ate them.
Track 1: Give me a ticket for an aeroplane
Hannah Parker and I left on a fast train Friday morning at 8:39 AM, arriving in Paris a little bit before 1PM, where we met HKay for yet another dramatic train station reunion. We ambitiously set out to find the Bastille, which, these days, is marked by a large column with a statue on top. I should probably also add that HKay, Hannah and I were unaware that the actual building no longer stands...at all. We spent some time circling the surrounding area trying to actually find the Bastille. Later, much to our chagrin, we cracked open HKay's travel book and discovered that the anticlimatic column in the middle of the street is all there is. Silly tourists.
With all of our luggage still in tow, the three of us continued on to walk along the Seine, which splits Paris right up the middle in a rather gorgeous way, and hiked to Notre Dame. There was no hunchback, but there were plenty of pigeons. At one point they all (hundreds! thousands!) decided to fly directly at our heads. I freaked out just a little (worse than my reaction to moths, for those of you that need a comparison). Regardless, Notre Dame was absolutely gorgeous. Inside, pigeon-free, I got to see the statue of Joan of Arc, my patron saint--she was canonized in this cathedral, which was constructed starting in the year 1163. Craziness!
(Track 2: Ne me quitte pas! has, at this point, been on repeat for a solid three hours)
Eventually HKay, Hannah and I made our way to find the metro station so we could (finally) relieve ourselves of the load on all of our shoulders at the youth hostel, and then eventually meander back to the Louvre, where we were due to meet HKay's flatmate in London, Kevin, along with his sister and sister's roommate, as well as Nathan, Tom, Avery, and Perrin, some of Middlebury's finest that are now studying in Paris (except for Avery, who is studying in London). After wandering through Paris for quite some distance after Notre Dame (about three miles is my estimate), we finally got to the metro, and made our way to the hostel, which was right down the street from Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge.
Track 3: Lady Marmelade
For some reason the man behind the desk, who was from Washington, DC, refused to speak in English to us at the hostel once he realized that I could speak French. This was sort of the theme of the weekend--French people (and apparently Americans living in France, in this man's case) are very unwilling and very against speaking and hearing English. We all decided, however, that, since Barack Obama's face was literally everywhere, that this weekend was probably the best to visit France--Americans were held in a little bit more esteem directly after last week's election.
We got to the Louvre, albeit significantly late for meeting our friends, and took advantage of the Friday night special for students and individuals under 26: free admission. It didn't take long for the ten of us to get split up after seeing the Mona Lisa, and Nathan and I proceeded, in a happy way, to get a little mixed up in the beast of a building that is the Louvre. We found the Hammurabi code, quite accidentally, and read "typical" laws featured on the column translated into French, one of which literally declares "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" punishment.
After the Louvre, we all, minus Tom and Perrin, headed to a French restaurant on St-Michel Boulevard and ate crepes, omelettes, and, in my case, quiche. It took us awhile to get there, but oh man was it worth it (especially after seeng the menu prices at all of the other restaurants we passed...yikes). I was also very unoriginal in my dessert choice and went with a delicious banana split (shared with Avery). I earned it after all that walking.
The next morning HKay, Hannah and I met up with Kevin and the girls at the L'Arc de Triomphe, which signifies all of Napoleon's victories and stands for all hubris everywhere--when it was ordered to be built, Napoleon's regime began to deteriorate rapidly in the early 1800's. Underneath the Arc we also saw the tomb of the unknown soldier from WWI.
Track 4: Aux Champs Elysees
We continued down that oh-so-magnificent-boulevard that Joe Dessin so beautifully sings about to see designer store after designer store (track 5: Labels or Love), and then later Le Grand Palais a Paris and Le Petit Palais. Crossing the bridge to get to Les Invalides, a very old hospital for war veterans and now a military museum, we got an awesome view of the Eifel Tower (and many, many pictures). Deciding to "do Paris" as cheaply as possible, we went to a grocery store, bought baguettes, camembert, grapes, and apples, and set out for a picnic along the Seine.
Track 6: There must be more than this provincial life...
The biggest adventure was yet to come: running to Versailles (please, don't pronounce the final "s." Because really, who does that...multiple times in a row).
HKay and I abandoned ship after our lovely picnic to meet up with Nathan at his humble abode with quaint Parisian vistas, lace up our running shoes and run to Versailles. It was probably the first time in history that three people put on sneakers to visit a palace. And it was definitely just like Nat King Cole would have said: unforgettable in every way (Track 7).
Now, before we even ran, it must be said that, being the intelligent girl that I am, I mentioned to Nathan that I hoped something totally unexpected would happen on our run, estimated to be some 15K (or 9 miles), so that we could run a little bit longer. Or a lot-a-bit longer.
Guess what...
Well, no, nothing totally unexpected happened on that run, we just took a really roundabout way of getting to Versailles and made the distance a little closer to 13 or 14 than the original 9 miles. We asked for directions a few times, getting the same answer: "Tout a droit, tout a droit...et vous pouvez le voir." Well, we did keep going straight, just like we were told, and became rather frustrated when we in fact couldn't see Versailles--I mean, it's huge, right? We should be able to see it. From like, miles and miles away. In fact, why didn't we see it before? Are we going the right way? Oh wait...I see...no, no, that's not a palace, never mind.
But hey, we got there. And there is photographic proof for those of you who doubt the rock-hard heads and quad-muscles of Nathan, HKay, and one Amanda Quinlan.
That night, after delayed trains and relieving showers, us three girls met up with Kevin, Kaylee, and Kristen, and ate out at a cute restaurant across the street from our youth hostel. A man resembling Fabio wore sunglasses played the guitar (Track 8) while I struggled to yet again translate menus and order beverages. Many hand gestures were used, we were fed, our wallets emptied. Good times.
Hannah and I left after dinner to meet up with more MiddKids at a trendy bar in the Latin Quarter (we had little desire to go clubbing with the others...call us crazy). We got to wander to the Pantheon, where we returned the next day for picnic #2 (and were assaulted by more pigeons).
The next day we also visited St-Chapelle--which was my absolute favorite thing in Paris by far. Hannah, who as an Art History major had studied St-Chapelle her freshman year, enlightened HKay and I on the history and significance of the Royal chapel, which was built to house holy relics that King Louis the IX purchased in Constantinople. The windows of the chapel document biblical stories: each smaller window, reading from left to right, bottom to top, shows a scene that, compiled with other scenes, will illustrate stories like the Garden of Eden and Job. There is also a pane dedicated to the history of the relics, showing King Louis IX journey to Constantinople and his success at retrieving the crown of thorns.
It was absolutely gorgeous--and everyone that makes it to Paris absolutely has to go and see it. Go. Now. Bring batteries for your cameras. Bring a passport, too.
We wandered around some more and bought mulled-wine (DELICIOUS) before HKay and Hannah took off to the airport and train station, respectively. I got to meet up with Sabrina, who studied in Middlebury for the year last year and currently lives in Paris, before my 7 o'clock train.
Now the last time that I saw Sabrina was in the train station headed back to Mainz from Poitiers during my layover in Paris. Somehow Sabrina, who is about five feet tall and a hundred pounds, came rushing at me to give me a hug and knocked me straight over, luggage and all. Several innocent bystanders were almost harmed. This time, I was ready for the attack.
Track 9: Paris holds the key to your heart...
We drank tea and then wandered around the Eifel Tower (at this point my camera had died, yet again!), since Sabrina's appartment is very close by. We waited until 6 o'clock to see the tower sparkle, as it does every hour once it's dark. For those of you who haven't seen it, this is another thing to put on your Parisian "to-do" list (but don't run to Versailles, that's our thing). I would recommend you-tubing the video (what a world we live in [hey, track 10!]), but it's really not that impressive unless you're there. Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything.
Taking a break from our trek...
We imitated a lot of statues that weekend...
MiddKids outside the Louvre! Hannah, HKay, Nathan, me, and Avery
Nathan's abode
Okay, so I can't take credit for this picutre, but HKay really captured the essence of Paris. Ooh, la la!
I don't now about you, but I'm seduced.
Yeah we got some funny looks that day. But what else is new?
Statues 1, Humans 0
St-Chapelle!
Flex...proof that we did it! Nathan, HKay, and me
Outside of St-Chapelle
Le metro--our saving grace for the weekend.
Sacre-Coeur
View of Paris from Sacre Coeur
The walk to Sacre Coeur--lined with cute (but expensive) shops!
The Restaurant where we ate and listened to French music...and received many dirty glares for being American...
Another shop going to Sacre Coeur
Picnic #1!
She's turned French!
Our Parisian promenade
Les Invalides
Probably our best interpretation yet.
Les Invalides again
Hannah and I :)
HKay and I!
All of us! Kaylee, me, Kristen, Kevin, HKay, and Hannah. A lot of H's and K's.
Le Petit-Palais...with a statue of Winston Churchill on the left...
...as recreated by Hannah
Le Petit-Palais
Le Grand Palais a Paris!
Petit
Grand
I knew that Cruella de Ville shopped aux Champs Elysees...
Aux Champs Elysees!
HKay, me, Hannah, looking down Champs Elysees from L'Arc de Triomphe
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for WWI
L'Arc de Triomphe!
Hannah and HKay
Avery savoring our banana split
Oh, how we conquered that dessert...
The Hammurabi code translated into French--so, if you read 196 et 200, it says: If someone pokes out the eye of a free man, one will poke out his eye (...) if someone breaks the tooth of a free man, his equal, one will break his tooth.
The Louvre!
A view of Notre Dame...
Notre Dame!
Our saint-quiz continues...(except this time I know who it is)
Where's Quasimodo?
The Seine
Oh, the irony...
The Bastille! Or, rather, the marker of said Bastille...
We do tableaux, too.
Couldn't have done it better myself.
Voila!
2 comments:
man you write so much! its awesome!
i liked the statue 1 humans 0. paris looks awesome.
frileux!!
these pictures are so much nicer than paris in real life... seriously. and the one of us flexing in front of versailles strangely reminds me of Daft Punk. haha.
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