Paris Visit #4

Last weekend I took another day trip to Paris, this time with Sarah, Yirah, and Matteo. We went to a part of Paris I haven't been to before, where we visited the Natural History Museum and took a long afternoon walk. The museum was impressive, and the rest of the day was sunny and perfect for a meandering stroll through the Jardin du Luxembourg, past the Pantheon, and finishing up by the Seine.

~ Inside the Natural History Museum ~

~ Fish! ~

  

~ Chillin ~

~ Pantheon in Paris ~

~ Jardin du Luxembourg ~

~ Springtime at Notre Dame ~

Paris Visit #3

This weekend I took another day trip to Paris with some friends from Saint-Quentin. We amazingly had decent weather--not bitterly cold, no rain, and even a few sunny moments (a real accomplishment for northern France in January). The day was fun: we did some touristy things, lots of walking, and of course had a decent French lunch in the middle. We started at the Paris Catacombs, which were alternately cool and eerie. After lunch, we took a stroll past Notre Dame and the Centre Pompidou, and later stopped by the Eiffel Tower for a quick photo op. We ended the day by climbing the Arc de Triomphe (so. many. stairs.). Despite the physical exertions required, climbing the Arc was worth it: we timed it perfectly so that we could watch the sun set over the entire city.

~ Paris Catacombs ~

~ Paris Catacombs ~

~ Paris Catacombs ~

~ Crossing the Seine ~

~ Centre Pompidou ~

~ Eiffel Tower ~

~ Climbing the Arc de Triomphe ~

~ Sunset from atop the Arc de Triomphe ~

~ View of Paris from the Arc ~

Vacances de Noel

My second of three 2-week vacations begins this weekend! This one is the Christmas break (not to be confused with the winter break in February). I'll be taking two trips: the first to Istanbul (I did my best to find a non-Christian country where I could do tourist-y things during Christmas), and the second to Paris and Strasbourg with my friend Sean. I'm really excited about the trips: Istanbul and Strasbourg are both places I've wanted to visit for a long time.

~ Map of my travels ~

Saint-Quentin - Istanbul, Saint-Quentin - Paris - Strasbourg

Happy holidays everyone--see you in 2014!

*map from Google

Day Trip(s): Paris

It’s pretty hard to go to France and not talk about Paris, even if you’re not living there. I’m no exception, and since Saint-Quentin is a short 1.5 hour train ride away, I have even more opportunities to experience the Parisian France (which is quite different from everywhere-else France).

I’d been to Paris once before this year; when my family visited during my semester abroad, we spent four days in Paris and saw a lot (the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame).  There were still a few major landmarks I needed to mark off my list this year, two of which I saw during visits to Paris at the end of October and earlier in November.

~ My family in Paris 2 years ago ~

Stop 1: Sacre Coeur. I visited Sacre Coeur, an impressive basilica sitting atop a steep hill, with my fellow assistants on our way to Normandy in October. We arrived early in the day when a dense fog was covering the basilica—we could barely make out the building’s outline from the base of the hill. Visibility improved a bit as we climbed, and by the time we had reached the top, toured the interior, and reemerged outside, the fog had blown away, revealing an impressive view of Paris.

 

~ Sacre Coeur: foggy and visible ~

~ View of Paris from the top ~

Stop 2: The Eiffel Tower. This is one of the most recognizable and visited landmarks in the world, but I didn’t manage to see it up close until I visited Paris again a few weeks ago. Miraculously, I managed to be at the Eiffel Tower during the only 20 minutes of sunlight to hit France in November, resulting in some nice photo ops. My mission for next time: climbing to the top!

Stop 3: Starbucks. Okay, not a famous landmark. However, when I met up with my friend Sean from study abroad (who is living and studying in Paris this year), it was a case of two Americans who, despite our proclivity for French culture, just really wanted a reliable caffeinated beverage. Also, it was great to catch up over coffee and proceed to spend the afternoon shopping (which is just as legitimate a "Paris activity" as seeing the Eiffel Tower).

~ Sun! ~

~ I definitely got close this time ~