Last Sunday, I was planning on locking myself in a library to study all day for my grammar final that was in 6 days, until I got a message from my dad saying that hopefully I could do something fun that day and not just sit in my room.
So, I asked my friend Meghan if she wanted to go on a walk in the city before we started studying, and it turned out the be maybe my favorite day in Paris! The definition of a lovely Fall Sunday.
Walking along the Seine is one of my favorite things to do here, and it is even more surreal with the magnificent colors of the trees. Also, the sun was shining, a rare occurrence these days. The Seine divides the Left Bank and the Right Bank of Paris. If you just simply walk along it, you can see a lot of the best places in the city: the Notre Dame, the Love Lock Bridge, Musee d'Orsay, Grand Palais, Pont Alexander III, Eiffel Tower, and more.
We started off at the Notre Dame (which neither of us had seen in awhile- we missed you!) and walked along the bank of the Seine to do a little bit of shopping. There are vendors set up all along the the river selling old books and cool paintings. We were disappointed that we couldn't find a specific vendor we had met a few weeks earlier who had adorable paintings that we wanted to buy. We didn't have money at the time, so he gave us his card. We will find you Pascal!!! Though that was a bummer, I did manage to get my dad's Christmas present :) And no, it's not the Babar book pictured below, though I may go back and buy that. "I Speak English with Babar". It's too cute to pass up.
So, I asked my friend Meghan if she wanted to go on a walk in the city before we started studying, and it turned out the be maybe my favorite day in Paris! The definition of a lovely Fall Sunday.
Walking along the Seine is one of my favorite things to do here, and it is even more surreal with the magnificent colors of the trees. Also, the sun was shining, a rare occurrence these days. The Seine divides the Left Bank and the Right Bank of Paris. If you just simply walk along it, you can see a lot of the best places in the city: the Notre Dame, the Love Lock Bridge, Musee d'Orsay, Grand Palais, Pont Alexander III, Eiffel Tower, and more.
We started off at the Notre Dame (which neither of us had seen in awhile- we missed you!) and walked along the bank of the Seine to do a little bit of shopping. There are vendors set up all along the the river selling old books and cool paintings. We were disappointed that we couldn't find a specific vendor we had met a few weeks earlier who had adorable paintings that we wanted to buy. We didn't have money at the time, so he gave us his card. We will find you Pascal!!! Though that was a bummer, I did manage to get my dad's Christmas present :) And no, it's not the Babar book pictured below, though I may go back and buy that. "I Speak English with Babar". It's too cute to pass up.
After stopping for lunch with lovely view of the Notre Dame, we came across the Love Lock Bridge. This is arguably the most famous bridge in Paris because it is where couples come to seal their love with a lock. If you put a lock on the bridge together, then throw the key into the river, your love is locked forever. The actual official Love Lock bridge is sort of on hiatus right now because there are so many locks on it that it's at risk of caving in. So, not wanting to aid in the destruction of our city, we went to one of the surrounding makeshift Love Lock bridges. Meghan and I are both single, but we wanted to participate in one of the Parisian touristy obligations, so we decided to seal our love with our one true love- Paris! Cheesy, yet slightly poetic I suppose.
Our friend then called us letting us know she was at the Eiffel Tower about to go up and asked if we wanted to join. I was excited to check something off the bucket list, so we headed towards la Tour Eiffel. Going up on a Sunday wasn't the smartest decision because it is a prime tourism day, but you can't be too picky when it's coming down the wire like this. We ended up not being able to go all the way to the top because it was too crowded, but I was just as satisfied with the view we got. It was really awesome. I might prefer the Arc de Triomphe's view though, because you know you can't see the Eiffel Tower when you're standing on the Eiffel Tower...
Then, we headed towards another place I've been meaning to go to- Musee d'Orsay. We got there only about a half hour before closing time, but I absolutely loved that I was able to see some of Monet's paintings that I learned about while in Giverny. I am definitely a new-found fan of impressionism. One of Monet's paintings is of Gare Saint-Lazare, the train station I arrive in and depart from every day. May need to find some sort of replica painting of that one. I may also go back to Musee d'Orsay before I leave to get more time in there. The beautiful part is, I can, because it is free for students of the European Union or students with a visa. Need to milk those privileges while I can.
So yes, as you may have already concluded, I did not get any studying done that day, but it was so worth it.
This past Wednesday, we had a class trip to see the opening night of The Nutcracker, or Le Casse-Noisette. It was so crazy to me because it was something that I had been looking forward to since we got our semester itinerary in June, and I thought "wow, that will be a nice way to end the trip"... And now it has already passed.
It was a lovely evening! My theater nerd friend was slightly underwhelmed with their version of the Nutcracker, but considering I hadn't seen it since I was about 6, I thought it was awesome. I forgot how many good songs it has. Not to mention the round of applause at the end the most rowdy I've seen any group of French people get since I've gotten here. No standing ovation though, don't get too crazy!
PS. Below is a picture of my group of girlfriends in my program. We like to call ourselves the Spice Girls.
From left to right: Scary Spice, Baby Spice, Sporty Spice, Posh Spice, and Ginger Spice.
Also known as: Ashley, me, Kailey, Marykate, and Meghan.
(also notice, Marykate & Ashley... there is never a shortage of pop culture references with us)
It was a lovely evening! My theater nerd friend was slightly underwhelmed with their version of the Nutcracker, but considering I hadn't seen it since I was about 6, I thought it was awesome. I forgot how many good songs it has. Not to mention the round of applause at the end the most rowdy I've seen any group of French people get since I've gotten here. No standing ovation though, don't get too crazy!
PS. Below is a picture of my group of girlfriends in my program. We like to call ourselves the Spice Girls.
From left to right: Scary Spice, Baby Spice, Sporty Spice, Posh Spice, and Ginger Spice.
Also known as: Ashley, me, Kailey, Marykate, and Meghan.
(also notice, Marykate & Ashley... there is never a shortage of pop culture references with us)
Though I did a lot of activities last week, the main concern on everyone's mind was our grammar final on Saturday. This was the final for the class I had 2 hours a day 5 days a week, so it was definitely something we needed to focus on studying for.
Unforunately/fortunately for me, two of my best friends from school were visiting this weekend. I am disappointed I wasn't able to spend as much time as possible with them, but I felt very comfortable with the studying/hanging out ratio that panned out ever so nicely. I was pleasantly surprised with how confident I felt during/after my final, so I'm hoping it went as well I think it did.
I was finally able to relax and totally focus on my friends after the final (last night). To celebrate, some people in my program and my friends (Laura and Rhea) went to a fondue restaurant we had been meaning to go to for a few weeks now. The main attraction was that wine comes with your meal... in baby bottles! A weird concept, but it was so fun. Les Refuges des Fondues- I highly recommend it.
After dinner we headed up to the Sacre Couer for the amazing view then to the Eiffel Tower. Laura and Rhea loved Paris. It made me so happy because I had spent the entire semester wishing they were here with me, and I was finally able to show them my favorite parts of the city.
Unforunately/fortunately for me, two of my best friends from school were visiting this weekend. I am disappointed I wasn't able to spend as much time as possible with them, but I felt very comfortable with the studying/hanging out ratio that panned out ever so nicely. I was pleasantly surprised with how confident I felt during/after my final, so I'm hoping it went as well I think it did.
I was finally able to relax and totally focus on my friends after the final (last night). To celebrate, some people in my program and my friends (Laura and Rhea) went to a fondue restaurant we had been meaning to go to for a few weeks now. The main attraction was that wine comes with your meal... in baby bottles! A weird concept, but it was so fun. Les Refuges des Fondues- I highly recommend it.
After dinner we headed up to the Sacre Couer for the amazing view then to the Eiffel Tower. Laura and Rhea loved Paris. It made me so happy because I had spent the entire semester wishing they were here with me, and I was finally able to show them my favorite parts of the city.
Yup so here we are, exactly one week from now I will be waking up in my own bed at home. I want to say "where has the time gone", but I have done so much here and have been so many amazing places that it is easier for me to grasp that I've been here for a whole semester... wouldn't have been able to fit it all in in a shorter amount of time, if that makes sense...
So yes, between Laura and Rhea visiting, being able to slowly diminish my bucket list, and my grammar final being over, I'm feeling very content right now. I feel I am able to go home on Saturday totally satisfied with my time here, which is something not everyone can say.
Just need to get through 3 more smaller finals and a big paper, then I'll have Thursday and Friday to say my goodbyes.
See everyone very soon!
Bisous,
Claire