February 26 – March 1, 2020
February 26, 2020
I knew from the start that my time in Paris was going to be memorable. I was right, of course. It was certainly memorable – although not in the direction that I had envisioned.
Stuck between the seated passengers and the crowd of people pressing into the metro, I couldn’t move. I stood as still as I could, clutching tightly to my suitcase. But something was off… something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Until I realized. My pocket was alarmingly light… and my earphones, that had been plugged into my phone were now hanging out of my pocket. Frantic, I dug my hands into my pockets and – nothing. Near-panicking, I began digging through my backpack, but I already knew. My phone was gone. In the mere seconds, I had taken my hands out of my pocket to push my suitcase into the train, someone’s quick hands had taken it. My friends and the kind people on the metro looked around the floor, trying to see if I had dropped it, to no avail.
And so began my adventure in Paris – 20 minutes upon arrival at the Gare du Nord, I got pickpocketed. What a story to tell! It was a combination of terrible luck on my part and the pickpocketer spotting a golden opportunity in the group of tired-looking Americans. According to local Parisians, as I later learned, Gare du Nord is absolutely notorious for pickpockets. And of course, I also had my credit card tucked behind my phone case.
Ironically, however, it was through the stolen credit card that I was able to give up on finding my phone. After all, someone who immediately decided to try and spend $1,087 at an osteopath perhaps an hour after stealing my phone was definitely not going to return. Thankfully, Chase rejected the purchase but I was now in Paris… with no phone.
With the help of one of our friendly professors, I quickly purchased a cheap phone. And since everything was backed up, I told myself I didn’t lose anything except my phone itself… and, as it turns out, my pictures from Brussels. The one time Google Photos fails me was the one time I really needed it to work.
My first day in Paris concluded with a group dinner – at a restaurant that was certainly pretty to look at… not quite as pleasant to dine at. The food was an official “meh”. With the direction of the day so far, I can only hope that things look up starting tomorrow.
February 27, 2020
While my whole disastrous phone situation definitely put a damper on my mood… I was determined to not let that experience define Paris for me.
After a morning of lectures that felt mildly interesting, we set out to explore the city. And where better to start than with crepes! The Clown Creperie was fantastic. Ended up ordering 2 different crepes – one savory, and one sweet for dessert. My first one was a brunch-style crepe with ham, egg, cheese, and mushrooms. Absolutely melted in my mouth. And while I felt full enough that I considered calling it a meal, I couldn’t resist the sweet crepes. The caramelized apple and vanilla ice cream crepe I got did not disappoint. Left the creperie with a happy stomach.
It felt strange to wander the city without a concrete plan on sightseeing – quite a different style from my normal color-coded agenda. But it was also freeing. We would see what we saw, where our feet and trains took us.
Saint-Chapel was our first site – and the glistening stained glass art was enough to help me realize why the chapel was so revered and sought after by tourists. The sheer history of the building was also impressive. Words – and pictures – don’t do it justice. It stands as a testament to the skill of those long-ago craftsmen and the importance of religion.
We also took a short trip to see Sacre-Ceour, or the Sacred Heart Chapel. It was located at the top of a substantial hill overlooking the city. The walk up to the chapel definitely helped to work off some of the calories from the crepes! The chapel itself was designed beautifully – although the throngs of tourists made it quite difficult to capture well.
Inside, the altar at the center was accentuated by the gargantuan mural decorating the front of the chapel, as well as the ceiling. It was fascinating to see how many small “Easter-egg” like discoveries I could make – and relate back to Biblical stories – and to note just how pale they had depicted Jesus to be.
After half a day of touring Paris mostly by foot, we headed back to the hotel. I ended up taking a nap that lasted longer than I had intended. In search of a quick dinner from the limited options of open restaurants, my roommate and I ended up at a Tibetan restaurant. I hadn’t imagined that I would try Tibetan food for the first time in Paris, but I had no regrets! It was very good and filling, to the point where we agreed that we needed a bit of a walk before heading back in.
Following a rather impulsive whim, we ended up walking to the Eiffel Tower. After all, we were in Paris! It was strange to see the magnificent symbol of Paris up close after only seeing it in figurines and the media. We were lucky enough to be present for the hour when the lights that lit up the tower would shimmer in a simple light show. I had fully intended to purchase a ticket to go to the top of Eiffel, but unfortunately, my roommate had her taser with her and we decided to not risk it.
February 28, 2020
The lecture at the OECD flew by – it was very interesting to hear from American speakers after so long! And the cafeteria was very nice, with a large assortment of options at an affordable price!
Although I had personally wanted to go to the Louvre, despite protests that it was “overrated”, I ended up following a larger group to the Musee d’Orsay. Wandering around Paris without a working phone and my absolute lack of map-reading skills was not something I wanted to risk.
The museum was remarkable – it was large enough to impress but not too big as to overwhelm. My favorite section of the museum was the realism wing – my senior year AP Art History class paid off! I could recognize the most famous of the paintings and particularly enjoyed seeing artworks of Renoir and Monet in person.
