Paris, part III of III

The next day, we woke up early to go to Versailles. Like Notre Dame, I felt ill-equipped to appreciate the magnitude of what I was seeing. I honestly think it takes some time to fully comprehend things such as Versailles. One thing that really struck me on the way to Versailles was the fact that a homeless man was living right outside the train stop (Versailles is a like 10km outside of the city). The juxtaposition between the grandeur of the royal palace was remarkable, and for a brief moment I felt as though I understood, albeit anachronistically, the anger of the bread less and starving Third Estate as they dragged Marie Antoinette and Louis VXI from their life of utter opulence. The palace was beautiful, and decorated exactly how I had expected, although it was smaller than I had imagined in 10th grade history with Mr. Rap. I took my sweet time with the audio tour of the palace, and was by far the slowest of the group. I was really amused by the fact that the introduction of the English audio tour referenced about 10 times the fact that Benjamin Franklin visited Versailles. Being in Versailles, with the knowledge of all that transpired during the Revolution and the Treaty of Versailles, was probably the most surreal moment of my orientation. Standing on one balcony, I could really visualize the courtyard packed with clamoring French citizens.

After Versailles, we grabbed a quick lunch near the metro station. For the first time in Europe, I ordered something having no idea whatsoever what I was eating. Turned out to be an delicious chicken sandwich. Being abroad has expanded my culinary horizons tenfold.

Next on the agenda was the Musee d'Orsay, which is Paris' modern art museum. I sort of departed from the rest of the group, wanting to take my time to relish the museum. Although I started by trying to see everything, and listen to the audio commentary, I realized quickly how impossible this would be. I ended up spending almost the entire time on the top floor, with all the impressionist artists. Although I would never pretend to be an art expert, I do know that I love Vincent Van Gogh, and so I made sure to see all of his works. I saw many paintings from his later career, including one sad self-portrait, a painting of church in Arles, a portrait of two napping farmers, and his super famous picture of an empty room. I saw many Manet paintings, and discovered a new artists: Paul Gauguin. His paintings of Tahiti and Brittany were enchanting; the latter of which has inspired me to visit that far-flunged region of France (more on that later). One really cool exhibit I saw were these silhouettes that they used for this hip 20th century club called the Chat Noir. They had black silhouettes of some famous people in French history, including Napoleon (with his army) and Emilia Zola. To me, these black silhouette cutouts seemed very authentically Parisian.

After the d'Orsay, I hung out with Caryne and some of her friends. I got confused though in a very frustrating moment. Caryne wanted me to meet her at the Hotel de Ville, be I thought she was saying Hotel de Invalides, so I got off at the totally wrong metro, having NO idea where she was. It did not inspire much confidence. Getting home to Latin Quartier from Caryne was a total nightmare, as the metro lines did not connect, and I had to take two transfers to get home. But to see Caryne, you know it was worth it!

The next day we started by waking up and climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Like I said previously, the Eiffel Tower is a magnificent structure, and something that should be seen in person for full effect. However, after climbing to the top, allow me to suggest just looking at it, not looking out from it. The climb was pretty miserable in the cold. Our guide Marie had the theory that we would remember it more if we climbed it, and I guess in a sense she was right. There were some great views, especially of the Notre Dame and Arc de Triomph. One thing that was pretty neat was seeing a mini-Statue of Liberty in the Seine. Apparently, the French have a copy as well (it was the French who gave us the Statue of Liberty as a token of friendship). Now that I've been to the top, I have no real desire to go again.

After the Eiffel Tower, we headed to the Louvre. If I thought the d'Orsay was overwhelming, the Louvre exceeded it greatly. It is a GIGANTIC museum with 13 miles of galleries. We had a guided tour with this really sweet guide named Mariona. She spoke English with this strange French-Italian accent. She took us to the Monet Lisa (which is very tiny), the Venus de Milo, the Nike, and some Jacques-Louis David paintings. The Venus de Milo, Nike, and Mona Lisa were interesting just for the sheer novelty of being near something so famous. I was more impressed with the gigantic David paintings, including the coronation of Napoleon. Some of his paintings of ancient Rome and Greece I recognized from textbooks. Also, we went down to the old medieval walls of the Louvre. In the medieval age, the Louvre served as a royal palace. I found the giant glass pyramids which were received with complete outrage by the French (not least of all because they were designed by a Chinese-American) very lovely. After the tour, I wandered around the Louvre for literally 5 hours. To be honest, I tried to do too much, and at some point ceased appreciating what I saw. I went to Napoleon III's apartment, saw the medieval and Renaissance paintings (including the famous painting of John the Good), walked through the giant collection of medieval and Renaissance objects which allowed me to see stained glass up close, and also through Mesopotamian and Levant antiquities. Seeing the Code of Hammurabi was incredible, although in person it just looks like any other black slab with an engraving. The Louvre is a monumental museum, but I don't recommend staying for 5 hours like I did. I waited around the Louvre until Caryne was doing interviewing for her internship, and we got to hang out again for a couple of hours before I went home and crashed.

The next morning, we woke up and walked to the Notre Dame. Initially, we were supposed to do the Notre Dame before the Louvre, but since the French public transportation workers were going on strike, we switched the dates around. This was my very first experience with the French tradition of striking (manifestation, as they call it en Francais). Striking, it seems, is an integral part of French political expression, and I've encountered them on three different occasions since I've been to France. I read in a book that it is a relic of the French Revolution. As much as I appreciate culture's remembering their history, it can get a bit tiresome. The Notre Dame is right across from the Quartier Latin (where our hotel was located), so we could walk there no problem. Again, walking around the Notre Dame was breathtaking, and this time I felt as though I was better able to appreciate some of the fine wood panelling, and the gargoyles on top. After the Notre Dame, we were supposed to see Saint-Chappelle, but when we got there, we found out that no one was working at the front because of the strike. Marie, our tour guide, was NOT pleased. Instead, we walked to another extremely old church, which had a Greek Orthodox feel to me. I'll have to ask Marie the name of this church. We sort of putzed around for awhile, until our shuttle came and picked us up from the hotel and brought us to the Gare de Lyon.

All in all, I found that my plane-buddy's description of Paris as "ridiculous" was very appropriate. Paris is a city of extremes. It is extremely exhilarating, and extremely frustrating. Immense, but humbling. Exuberant, but sometimes tragic. For every baguette, a beggar. It is a great city, but a complex one, and it eludes simple description. Perhaps it is one of this things you must see to understand.

I spent my time in the train ride over chatting with the other API students. I didn't really take the time to appreciate the country side, figuring I would have many chances to do so en route to Caryne in Paris. It was a very peaceful and enjoyable ride, and not until the very end did I begin to feel any hints of nervousness. However, once I saw the mountains (which literally look like they are photograph), I began to get butterflies. Before I knew it, we were in Grenoble.

Now, before I arrived, I had corresponded just a little with the Leendhardt's (my host family). I believed that the family was 2 parents, 2 boys, and 2 girls. Monsieur Leendhardt had sent me a picture with himself and 3 girls, which I had believed were him, his twin girls, and his wife. However, when I got off the train, a woman was waiting for me who I had never seen in any of the pictures. She didn't speak much English, and I was so confused as to who she was. For a couple of minutes, I thought there was some sort of mix up, and that my families had changed or something. When I got to my house in Corenc (the village outside of Grenoble where I live), I was still utterly confused. It wasn't until I was introduced to my host sister Flore did I realize that the girl in the picture was not my mother, but that I had 3 host sisters and 1 host brother. I haven't explained this mix-up to my family yet, because I don't know enough French to meaningfully convey the story. It was quiet disorienting.

Phew. It feels wonderful to write all this down. I will continue with a brief summary of my host family and classes in Grenoble tomorrow.