For many young adults, the dream of hopping aboard a train
with nothing but a backpack full of enough clothes to get by (and some handy
Poundland snacks) and simply spend a few weeks traveling Europe is found in the
light of every shooting star. There is an undeniable draw to wanderlust. It is
found in the chords of a Bon Iver song. In misty photographs on the internet.
In the films we go and see at the cinema. I am so glad to have had the chance
to travel as I did last month; to visit countries and cities I’ve longed for
since I was a child and to visit places where no one else I know has been. I
know that I will be sharing stories and memories with my friends and family for
weeks once I get back to the States – it’s already begun with my friends here
in Cheltenham. But for those who want a little bit more concrete of an idea of
all the adventures I had during those two fantastic weeks further abroad, here
is my first installment of my travels.
Rebecca and I knew that we would find adventure in some
shape or form during our travels, however we weren’t quite prepared for it to
visit us so soon. Before we had even left our “home” country of England we had
already witnessed a man in a top hat running to catch a train in Victoria (the
first of many top-hat-ed men we saw on our adventures, actually!), were told to
move seats because we were in the way of a movie being filmed (who shoots a
movie in Victoria Coach Station?), and had met dear, dear New York: an American
backpacker who was terribly hungover and desperately needed a shower. Like
always, he heard our accents and jumped on the chance to be reunited with other
Americans even though we had been outside of the States far longer than he had.
While Rebecca and I are used to the Americans in our study abroad program, its
become somewhat surprising to encounter others. We’ve gotten so used to the
mannerisms and accents of the English that we had forgotten what some Americans
are like. Now, I don’t want to all to think that I’ve become some sort of snob!
I’m just a little bit broken and displaced as to which culture I relate to more
at this moment. It’s going to be fun returning to the states.
Anyways, we finally boarded our coach, made it through the
sketchiest passport check ever at the French boarder, survived the most
uncomfortable 45 minutes ever while in the Chunnel, and overcame a (nearly)
sleepless coach ride to find ourselves in Paris in the morning. At first it
didn’t quite seem real, we were stuck in the metro trying to figure out maps,
tickets, and language barriers (on my part). But the next thing we knew we were
on an escalator and rising into the Parisian morning sun. Yes, that was how I
greeted my favorite city in the world: majestically. (And the first thing we
saw was an Irish Pub. Hi, home)
By then we knew that we were close to the Louvre, so we
started making our way toward the Rue de Rivoli. Because it was so early on a
Sunday morning there were absoluterly no people in the streets despite being in
the centre of the city. Rebecca and I were alone to make our acquaintance with
the beautiful city.
Until we ran into the Paris Marathon.
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| I wasn't kidding. |
Yes. There was a marathon that was going right along the Rue
de Rivoli and was completely blocking our way to everything that was on the
other side of the street. The Louvre, the Champs Elyeses, Notre Dame, Isle de
Cite. Everything. At first, we tried
walking along the street to see whether or not there would be a place for
pedestrians to cross. And soon we were debating whether or not we would have to
take the metro just to get to the
other side of the street. However, we noticed that there were a few pedestrians
who would brave the runners and make a dash for the other side when the flow of
marathoners had waned. The following moments went like this:
Rebecca: Should we just try to make a run for it?
Me: I don’t know. We have out backpacks with us and I don’t
want to get in anyon-
Rebecca: Oh well, ultimate frogger! (takes off running
across the street)
Me: … Yoloswag. (follows)
And that’s how I ran in the Paris Marathon. With my
backpack.
Now that we were finally on the right side of the street, we
could make our way through the passage way of the old part of the museum and
see the iconic pyramids of The Louvre. Now, I should make sure that you all
understand the deep, deep love I have for this museum. Art has been a part of
my life since I was a young child and I have always loved and studied the works
of those house in The Louvre. The Renaissance greats, the Baroque masters, the
Classical sculpture, the works of the Greeks and Romans. It has always been my
dream to walk in the hallways of the museum that represents the city of Paris
to me as much as the Eiffel tower does for others. It never fully struck me
that I was finally in the city of my dreams until I rounded a corner and found
myself in front of the glass pyramids. And at that moment I became the girl who
cried over museums.
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| My first glimpse. |
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| Still not over it. |
After becoming emotional over a building (and all of the ideas associated with it, mind you!), Rebecca and I turned away from The Louvre and began the trek toward the Arc de Triomphe along the Champs Elsyees. And it was a long trek, especially since we still had our backpacks. Looking back, you could tell that it was definitely day one of our grand backpacking adventure ad we were able to make that walk without too much pain and exhaustion. Plus, I think we were too jacked up on adrenaline about being in Paris. Along the way, we saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time,
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| That's about 3-ish miles... With our backpacks. |
Which was under construction. 2k14, the year all of Europe
was under construction.
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| We found that the trees did a good job of hiding the construction, though! |
By then, it was mid day and still too early to check into
our hostel, so we decided to make our way back to the metro (which would
eventually become our best friend in the city) and head toward the Isle de Cite
and find Notre Dame. We really didn’t think that it would be too hard to find
the cathedral. It’s kind of big and on an island. But still, we lost track of
it while wandering along the city streets and I was soon exclaiming, “How did
we lose the most famous church ever?!”
Until I rounded a corner and found it. A skill that we ended
up honing during our who time in Europe. Like, the Louvre, Notre Dame was the
other main landmark that was so, so quintessentially Parisian and it took my
breath away to finally be standing before it. It really is such a lovely
cathedral!
Soon enough, we wandered around to the other side of Notre Dame,
found the lock bridge, some delicious crepes, and the garden that Owen Wilson
sat in during Midnight in Paris –
with wifi!
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| No, I did not see Quasi. |
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| Conveniently, this was the name of the place we got our crepes. I wonder why they chose the name... |
After a sit and a lovely chat with an older couple who was
staying in Paris for holiday, we decided that it was time to actually visit The
Louvre. Just like I imagined, being there was absolutely fantastic. There are
so many great works, many of which I had only studied in textbooks or on
projector slides, and I could barely contain myself. All I could keep thinking
was “I made it, I made it!” When I had begane seriously considering
studying/traveling abroad, I had been in the Prado with on of my favorite art
professors. Seeing all of the great art there and knowing that studying abroad
would give me the chance to travel to Paris and to the Louvre cemented the idea
in my mind and I went up to my professor in the museum lobby and told her we
would have to start discussing my plans to come to England. And now here I was,
in the museum I had wanted to visit since I was a child. Seeing the greatest
art in the world. I had made it!
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| Some Raphael's and DaVinci's |
However, I do have to say that yes, there are so many people
queued up to see the Mona Lisa. I had
to remind myself that the reasons I study it as a painting are about the same
reasons why it had gained such a fame that so many people queue up just to get
a picture of it. But I was able to give myself several moments to simply stand
before her and take her in as a work of art. While Mona is smaller than you imagine, she is just as lovely.
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| BUT GOOD LORD |
After three hours in the Louvre with our backpacks, Rebecca
and I were finally beginning to experience the first bit of backpacking
exhaustion and decided to head back to our hostel for a much needed sit, rest,
and shower. Several hours later, we made our way into the night in search for
some food before attempting to find the steps in Midnight in Paris. We ended up eating at this lovely café down
the street from our hostel were we had
the sweetest waiter, the most delicious rosé, and I had some fantastic duck
confit. However, due to us not knowing the custom for paying for meals, we
ended up staying at the café too late for us to make it to the steps by
midnight and decided to go back to the hostel and sleep instead.
TO BE CONTINUED! (after some photo gems from the Louvre)
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| Tourists are the best. |
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| Don't tell me what to do! |
