Au Revior, Paris: Day Three

Montmartre

We spent early Sunday morning wandering around Montmartre, the art district of Paris.  The neighborhood was once home to Pablo Picasso.  It was only a ten minute walk from where we were staying, so we thought we'd save it until the last minute.  I love cities in the morning when they haven't quite woken up yet.  Paris was still sleepy when we looking around that morning.  We witnessed the shops slowly opening and the city beginning to come alive.  

Our last and final stop before returning to our tour bus was the Sacre Coeur.  We didn't go inside, but we hiked up the hundreds of steps to see the famous church.  The morning sunlight lit up the beautiful, old white building.  It was like it glowed against the perfect blue sky.  We didn't spend too much time there, but it was a great end to a very good trip.

The bus ride home was long.  It felt like it took a lifetime just to get out of France.  We took the ferry from Calais to Dover, UK.  Since it was daytime this time when we took the ferry we could see the White Cliffs of Dover as we pulled into the port.  It was such an interesting sight.  I've never seen anything like it.

We got home after eleven that evening, and I quickly crashed into my bed.  Class started at nine Monday morning, but the weekend was well worth lost sleep.

That concludes my adventures in Paris.  My next upcoming trip is Bath this Saturday.  Stay tuned for updates!

Dernier Jour: Day Two

#wavetheflag at the Eiffel Tower!  Go Cougs!

The girls and I got up first thing on Saturday morning and took the metro to the Eiffel Tower.  It was absolutely massive, but wasn't what I was expecting.  Maybe it's because we see it all the time in pictures, but it didn't take my breath away.  It's an iconic monument, no doubt, but I didn't think it was as impressive as everyone kept saying.  Nonetheless, it was a wonderful opportunity to experience something famous.

Musee d'Orsay

After taking dozens of photos, we hopped the metro to the Musee d'Orsay.  We got let in for free because we were all on UK visas which was cool.  We wished we'd known that the day before so we could have avoided paying the rather expensive entry to the Louvre.  Oh well.  I actually liked the Musee d'Orsay a bit more than the Louvre.  It wasn't as intimidating.  The building was beautiful.  Previously, it was a train station, so it has the tall foggy glass ceilings and iron supports that train stations of that time usually did.  The glass ceiling tiles allowed for a lot of natural sunlight.

Inside the main room of the Pantheon

We stopped into a little cafe for lunch then went on to the Luxembourg Gardens.  We walked through the gardens and over to the Pantheon.  I love old building like this.  They were doing construction on the dome, so I didn't get any good outside photos, but the inside was really pretty.  In their crypt is the final resting place of Voltaire, Marie Curie and her husband, and many others.

Continuing on our journey we trekked over to Love Lock Bridge and then Notre Dame.  We got a little turned around in the Latin Quarter, but followed the sight of the steeple on the horizon all the way down to the Seine.  Love Lock Bridge is actually several bridges in Paris where lovers come to place a lock on the railing of the bridge and toss their key into the river in hopes that their love will last forever.  What they don't tell you is that there are so many locks that they have to be removed once every seven months.  The Love Lock Bridge we visited is on the bridge just behind the cathedral.

Danni, Molly, Caylyn, me, and Olivia at Love Lock Bridge with Notre Dame in the background

Notre Dame was my favorite stop that weekend.  When I first walked in I was hit with this sudden overwhelming awe and reverence for the place.  It was a powerful experience.  The place was packed with tourists and worshippers alike, but their presence didn't take away from the experience.

The glow of the chandeliers against the ancient walls leading up to the vaulted ceilings created an atmosphere that was magical.  The stained glass windows added light and color, and prayer candles flickered against the stones creating movement in the light.  There were hymns playing softly in the background and the low buzz of the tourists whispering to one another and prayers being uttered.  I would love to go back one day to attend a service.  I'm sure it would be a great experience.

To finish off the day we took an evening river cruise.  It added a special something to be able to sum up all that we had seen in the past two days from a different perspective.  The sun was setting, casting a glow to all of the famous buildings and monuments.  The perfect way to end another great day.

Bonjour, Paris! Day One

Rooftops of Paris

I spent the weekend of Valentines Day in Paris with a large group of students from Swansea.  We had a wonderful time!  It was a very busy few days, but we managed to see everything we wanted to.

We took the bus Thursday night and drove all night to get to Paris Friday morning.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't sleep but two hours on the bus.  I was tired, but when we arrived in the outskirts of Paris, I hit my second wind.  After dropping our bags off at the hotel, my group of four Americans, a Canadian, and an Australian set off to sightsee.























First stop was the Opera Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in Paris and home to the National Ballet of France.  It was as breathtaking as its pictures.  The main hall was my favorite, with its grand double staircase with gilded accents on every surface.  I would love to go back some day and attend a show there.  The main theatre seemed a little bit small to me, but I think it was simply because I was standing in the back with a poor view of the upper decks.  The entire room was covered with red and gold velvet.  Next we wandered into one of the halls.  It had an enormous fireplace at one end, then glassy hardwood floors and gold chandeliers lining the the hallway all the way down to another enormous fireplace.  It was massive and reminded me of Versailles' hall of mirrors.

The Louvre courtyard

The Louvre was the next place on the list.  Overwhelming would be a very good word to describe it.  I knew it was big, but I had no idea how easy it would be to get lost amongst the thousands pieces of art displayed in the former palace.  We saw the two main must-see items, the Mona Lisa, and the Venus de Milo.  I was disappointed to find that the Mona Lisa viewing area was a chaotic mess.  The famous portrait is hanging on the back wall of a huge hallway.  There was no queue, no specified viewing area, nothing but about two hundred people elbowing their way to the front to take the obligatory photo and then push their way back out of the madness.  I was kind of hoping it would look like it did in The Da Vinci Code...not so much, but that was okay.

We walked through the Jardin des Tuileries on the way to our next stop, the Grand Palais, home of Paris Fashion Week.  The garden was pretty, but bare due to the winter weather.  I was surprised to find that rather than concrete walkways there was a light beige gravel mixture spread over the designated walking areas.  We passed this guy who appeared to be a pigeon whisperer.  He was catching pigeons mid-flight then literally handing them to the onlookers.  The strange things you see when you travel.  We made our way to the Grand Palais which is this enormous convention center with a glass roof that looks like an atrium garden from the outside.

Grand Palais behind Pont Alexandre III

The Grand Palais was in between conventions, so we couldn't go in.  Next up was Laduree on the Champs Elysees.  We all got macaroons from the store.  They were absolutely delicious!  By far, my new favorite treat.  We walked down the Champs Elysees, and grabbed lunch.  It is a street made for walking.  The sidewalks are about three times as wide as they are in the States.  All kinds of shops lined the streets, from Sephora and H&M to Louis Vuitton and Chanel.  I wish I'd gotten to see the trees when they had leaves on them.  The whole street is lined with these perfectly manicured trees and flower pots.  It made a lovely background to the cafes.



We continued down the street until we reached the Arc du Triomphe.  All I can say is wow.  There it was in all its grandeur.  What an amazing memorial to the victories of France.  It sits in the middle of a massive traffic circle.  Around eight different streets all merge at this point.  A while back, someone once told me that no matter where you are in Paris, somehow you'll always find your way back to the Arc.  I definitely understand what they mean.  Strangely enough, I found that I liked this monument more than the Eiffel tower.  Something about it is more understated and less gaudy and ostentatious.

It was a crazy first day in Paris, and by the time we hit our last stop, the Galeries Lafayette, I was completely exhausted.  The inside of the building looked like another opera or basilica.  It was beautiful.  I've seen pictures of the place at Christmas, and would love to return and see the enormous Christmas tree in person.  But even without the Christmas tree, it was awesome.  We somehow miraculously managed to see every main destination on the right bank of Paris in just one day.  We walked through almost ten arrondissements and past dozens of iconic sights. It was Valentines Day, so the six of us girls got bread, cheese, chocolate, and macaroons to eat in our hotel room and celebrate spending a wonderful day amongst friends in one of the greatest cities in the world.                    

Tales from day two can be found in the next post.  Pictures from Paris are all posted to the site, so check them out!  The adventures are to be continued!

Introductions and Pleasantries

Hi guys!

I'm writing this blog to document my semester abroad in Swansea Wales, and to share my adventures with my friends, family, and any future students considering going abroad.

For the sake of any newcomers, I will go ahead and introduce myself.

My name is Taylor, and I am a sophomore honors student at Washington State University.  I am an accounting major, with a background in Spanish and French.  My Spanish is coming along nicely, but my French needs a lot more work.  While home for Christmas break, I'm brushing up on my German to prepare for a visit to a friend of my in Muhlheim, Germany.

I grew up in the southeastern part of the United States.  The one question I get all the time, even after having lived in Washington for almost three years now is, "Where are you from, because you aren't from Washington."  My southern accent comes out the most when I'm tired.  I'm secretly hoping I'll come home from Wales with a cool southern/british accent hybrid.

I love to read, travel, and watch TV.  Any of my friends can tell you, I'm entirely too invested in the well-being of my TV drama characters...don't even get me started on the emotional trauma Downton Abbey has put me through!

Anyways, that's all for now.  Keep checking back, subscribe to the RSS feed, or keep an eye on Facebook for new updates! There are the appropriate links to start following this blog on the left side bar.

Talk to y'all soon!