 My roommate Nora and I spent a leisurely week in Paris for our fall break from Tuesday-Saturday. And when I say leisurely, I mean as leisurely as a visit to a bustling European metropolis can be. We went to the Musee d’Orsay on Wednesday which was absolutely amazing. It was surreal to see the legendary images from fancy art books and television specials hanging delicately on the walls of the museum right before my eyes. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the museum had an exhibit on Ensor, a famous painter from Belgium with a quirky appreciation for skeletons. As you progressed through the exhibit, the colors got darker and the images more violent in a reflection of Ensor’s personal deterioration resulting from the death of his parents. My favorite part of the museum was the impressionist exhibit featuring gorgeous works by Renoir, Degas, and Monet. The Renoir pieces were absolutely breathtaking with the soft, blurred colors that highlighted dreamlike scenes from the 19th century.That night, we grabbed a casual dinner at a little restaurant near our hotel. Of course, we were hungry pretty early (around 6 in the evening) and the waitress was surprised when we actually wanted to order dinner so early. It is very rare to see someone eating dinner before 8 o’clock at night in Paris.
 On Thursday, we made the journey up to the top of the Eiffel tower. It was absolutely incredible to get a 360-degree view and take in all of the beautiful sights! I saw the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame all in one glance.
Next, we went to the outskirts of the city to check out the Roland Garros Tennis Stadium. The museum was closed for the day, but the stadium is in a gorgeous area right beside a beautiful green park, and we enjoyed perusing the gift shop.
That evening, our friend who is studying with us in Brussels unfortunately fell down the steps of the Paris metro and broke his foot. Our friends who were staying with him at a nearby hostel had to meet us and assist him with getting back to their room. As if navigating the maze of the Paris metro wasn’t difficult enough, when they got him to the hospital, only one or two people spoke English. He got crutches and a cast, so we will have to see how he fares for the rest of the trip!
 The highlight of the trip came on Friday night when we got to see Anna and Amanda, two of my best friends from Furman. Anna is studying in Madrid, Spain, and Amanda is studying in Versailles, France. Both are doing language-focused study abroad programs and absolutely loving their experiences. I enjoyed hearing about their experiences, and swapping stories about European adventures. Nora and I noticed that they do not feel nearly as out of place as we do simply because they can speak the native languages. Clearly, this makes a significant difference in comfort level and acceptance.
While Paris is breathtakingly beautiful with its regal architecture, legendary artwork, and gorgeous river views, there are parts of the city that are astoundingly unattractive. Even during the week, the streets are pretty crowded with people who have no qualms about pushing you and walking directly into you. We definitely had to keep our guard up as we moved about the city. The part that bothered me the most was probably the homeless people on the streets. It wasn’t that I’m not used to poverty – there is plenty of it in the United States and Baltimore. It was awful that nearly every homeless person sleeping on the street had a dog with him. It was almost a guarantee. With each person that I came across in the metro or outside of a museum, I instantly looked for the poor animal that with him or her. As I walked to the grocery store one rainy afternoon, I looked down to find two of the cutest puppies that I have ever seen in my life, shivering in the cold…beside someone begging for money. It’s not that I don’t feel bad for the people, but I wonder how on earth these poor animals get dragged into these horrible lives. Why must they suffer, as well? Why do they have to be a part of the gimmick to make money on the street?
But I don’t want to dwell on the negative. We really did have a wonderful time relaxing and meeting up with friends in the beautiful city!
On Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure of chatting with my sister’s 6th grade class from St. Ursula’s school in Baltimore, Maryland. Thanks to the wonderful technology of Skype, I was beamed into their classroom for a video chat.
It was pretty interesting to hear their questions and gain some insight into their assumptions about European travel. Many of them were curious about the food over here: “Do they eat Brussels Sprouts in Brussels?...What was the food like in Venice?...Do people go to waffle stands in Brussels like they go to Starbucks in the US?...Do they have lots of cheese?” And some of them were a bit more off the beaten path: “Was it crowded in Vienna?...What are their celebrities like?...What kind of landmarks do they have in Brussels?” It was difficult to articulate just how tough it can be to navigate through this new world, but I did the best that I could. Their reactions to my answers were pretty telling: they laughed when I explained that men are very nicely dressed and well-groomed, and they were pleasantly surprised to hear that Belgians appreciate “High School Musical” and the Black Eyes Peas. The first thing that comes to mind when they hear about Europe and Europeans are the intense differences.
I realize that we’re all fascinated by these differences. That’s what makes us want to travel and explore and learn. It’s magical and exciting to go somewhere unfamiliar, but this enthusiasm makes it nearly impossible to anticipate the challenges that come along with the adventure. But in the end, these difficulties merely add to the experience and make the beautiful discoveries that much more valuable. It’s frustrating when I can’t figure out the map of the Parisian metro system, but it is well worth the hassle when I emerge from the underground to see the stunning vision of the Arc du Triomphe lit up against the deep blue of the evening sky.
 I finally had my visitor from home this weekend when Michael came to see me during his fall break. It was exciting to show him around my stomping grounds on Wednesday as we ventured around Brussels. He came with me to work for a bit (what a trooper) so I could send out a few e-mails, and then we scoped out the view of Brussels in Louise. We stopped in Place Jourdan so that he could try out the famous frites. He was mighty impressed. After a lovely dinner with Mary Catherine and David on Wednesday night, we took the boys to see the stupendous Mannekin Pis statue. I honestly feel like the statue gets smaller and smaller every time I see it. It is so tiny for being such a huge icon! I insisted that Michael try the “gaufres” of Brussels while we scoped out the site…he gave another thumbs up of approval to the tasty Belgian treat.
Next, we moved on to the famous Delirium bar where there are more beers than you could ever imagine. I even decided to be adventurous and break from my fruity beer to try a new one – it was a “Speculaas” beer with warm spices like the famous Belgian Speculoos cookie. It even came with a little Speculoos…delicious! Michael enjoyed the crazy Belgian beer, but he was not so used to the high alcohol content. It definitely takes some getting used to!
On Thursday, Michael, Mary Catherine, David and I headed to Paris by train. It was so much nicer than the hustle and bustle and mayhem that is the Ryanair experience. We simply boarded, sat, and arrived in a little over an hour. On our first night, Michael and I took to wandering the Parisian streets. After a quick dinner at 7:30 during which everyone was cocktailing and not yet eating, we stopped into Starbucks for a sweet homey treat. The doubledecker Starbucks at St. Lazare provided a beautiful view of the busy Paris streets, overlooking a bustling intersection just a few blocks away from the Opera. We then braced the Metro (which, I might add, is brimming with untapped talent like the mandolin-playing woman and the accordion aficionado) to explore the area near Arc du Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. It was so strange to see such iconic landmarks from famous books and movies emerge on the streets right before our eyes!
 On Friday, we hit some of the legendary sites: the Louvre and the Notre Dame. Both were astoundingly beautiful! After about 3 hours at the Louvre, I feel like we had still barely touched it. The Napoleon apartments were lavish and beautiful, the statues were classic and elegant, and of course, the Mona Lisa was…well, the Mona Lisa. It was almost overwhelming that there were so many famous works of art under one roof. Of course, I thought of the Da Vinci Code the entire time we walked around, as well. The Notre Dame was simply breathtaking with its high ceilings and majestic pieces of stained glass. I felt reminiscent of my Catholic School days as I wandered through the isles of the legendary establishment. At night, we ventured to Montmartre, a famous Parisian district that sits on a hill overlooking the city. We randomly chose to sit down for dinner at “Chez Eugene,” and were pleasantly surprised to see that they had a live duet band entertaining for the evening. I was in heaven: amazing company, delicious red wine, fresh fish, warm bread, waiters in berets, and a band that played everything from the Beatles to Jack Johnson. The singer even invited Mary Catherine and I to join him in performing “Sweet Home Alabama,” but our familiarity with the lyrics was limited to the chorus, so we were rather unimpressive. We had a fun time in the spotlight, though! After dinner, we went to check out the view. It was absolutely gorgeous to see the Eiffel Tower highlight by twinkling blue lights against the dark night skyline. Unfortunately, rowdy teenagers and creepy old men selling Heineken to the youngins crowded the steps of the beautiful Basilica. It was kind of amusing, but the romantic mood was a bit lacking.
 On Saturday, our last full day, we went to the Pantheon to see the legendary crypt where French heroes including Voltaire and Victor Hugo are buried. Once again, it was incredible to see another astounding architectural treasure in Paris. Afterwards, Michael and I spent the afternoon wandering along the riverside, checking out souvenirs stands, and simply enjoying each other’s company. Tired from walking, we spent the evening watching BBC and…Taken. So perfect to see the familiar places in this touching action film set in the very streets of Paris (if you have seen the movie, you will sense the sarcasm)!Sunday should have been an uneventful morning of departure, but it turned into chaos when the boys missed their plane to the States. Hurrah! They made an unexpected trip to Brussels for one last night before a 6:20am flight. Oh the joys of international travel…
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