Paris

So I’ve been missing lately right? I meant to post this before my grand travels but it turned out to be one hell of a huge post and I didn’t finish it till today. What epic travels you ask? That’s another post… or should I say another half dozen posts. So stay tuned!

What have I been up to lately you ask. Not much really… I just went to Paris this weekend. No biggie right? Hahaha just kidding it is a biggie. At least for me. I was so excited to go, I was like a little kid on Christmas. I was jumpy and excited. I think I was annoying my boyfriend a bit on the train ride to Paris. We took the train from Nancy to Paris, it’s only 1h30! So weird to think that I’m so close to such a famous city and now I’ve been there!
Now to the fun stuff. What did I see? Where did I go? And a bonus of fun facts and history… today is totally your day!
First stop of my epic Paris trek… Notre Dame
- broke ground in 1163 and was completed in1345
- French Gothic architecture
- Full name Notre Dame de Paris translates to Our Lady of Paris
- It suffered desecration in the 1790s during the French Revolution and later after restoration it was returned to an ‘original’ gothic state
- it was one of the first building in the world to use flying buttresses (arched exterior supports)
- During WWII the stained glass windows were removed, for fear German bombings would destroy them, and they were replaced at the end of the war
- There are 5 bells at the cathedral
- Emmanuel (the largest bell) is located in the south tower and weights 13 tons
- In 1450 the Wolves of Paris were stoned to death on the grounds
- 2 December 1804 coronation of Napoleon I and his wife Josephine

Then we were off. It was exploring time! We wandered to Place de la Bastille. This is a monument that marks where the Bastille stood. Epic right. We ended up wandering back by the square and ate lunch there. It was an amazing lunch by the way and as I sat eating lunch it popped into my head that if the Bastille were still standing I would be inside of it. It boggled my mind.

- in the middle of the square stand Colonne de Juillet (the July Column) it commerates the july Revolution
-The column is composed of twenty-one cast bronze drums, weighing over 163,000 pounds (74,000 kg); it is 154 feet (47 m) high
-It’s engraved in gold with the names of Parisians who died during the revolution
-It’s topped with a statue of Mercury
-The Bastille was built between 1370 and 1383 as part of the defenses of Paris, the structure was reputedly converted into a prison in the 17th century by Charles VI of France
-the marina that’s in the area is converted from an old defense ditch for the Bastille

Then since my boyfriend, Damien, is an Dinosaur lover we walked down to the Natural history museum. It was rather funny, he’s French so a citizen of the EU which mean he got into the museum for free… I paid €7. But it was totally worth it! I have to say it was one of the coolest museums that I have ever been in. it was in an old building and the floors were wooden and rickety and the first floor had literally thousands of skeletons.

Epic right. I could have spent all day down there trying to look at everything. We did spend quite a lot of time wandering. But the signs had the proper names you know the genus and species so I had to guess at what some of them were.
Then it was onto the second floor and the dinos!! Again it was totally cool. I thought it was super cool when Damien reads a sign by a t-rex skull and asks me if there is a natural history museum in New York. I said yes and he’s like the sign says the real one of these is in New York. I don’t know why but I thought that was so cool! There’s a copy of a t-rex skull that I’ve seen the real one (years ago) in NYC!!

Hotel De Ville was our next stop.

Fancy place right? Guess what it is… the town hall!
- it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357
-it can multi task as it houses the local administration, the Mayor of Paris (since 1977), and also serves as a venue for large receptions
-Reconstruction of the hall lasted from 1873 through 1892 (19 years) since the old one was rather unchanged for years and getting run down (to summarize events I’m too lazy to summarize properly… google can help you if you’re interested)

Now our next stop gave my brain a huge over load of thinking. Now every one has heard of this place…

The Louvre. I knew it house a lot of famous paintings and what not but I was completely unprepared for what was really inside. And again Damien got in for free. It makes me really envy EU citizens. But again it was worth the price. I saw the Mona Lisa

And three paintings by my favorite artist ever, Jacques-Louis David. It literally made my life.

And I saw other famous things that were uber cool.

And the Louver itself was cool. The place it’s in used to be a palace and the medieval defenses are on display under it.
So a few cool Louvre facts to keep with the cool facts trend
-it’s the most visited museum in the world
-it opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property
-The Venus de Milo was added to the Louvre's collection during the reign of Louis XVIII
-It was named the Musée Napoléon when Napoleon was conquering and gathering art (most of which was returned to the respective countries after Napoleon’s defeat)

Are there any Phantom of the Opera Fans about?

Recognize it? Yes that’s right it’s the Opera House of Paris the setting of my favorite Broadway play and movie. I was totally excited to see this! And I was lucky enough to snap a few pictures of it’s front as we passed it on the way toward the president’s house. I didn’t get to go in but I want to go back to Paris again and go on a tour of the Opera House! Because the picture s of the inside look so amazingly epic!
-it’s official name is the Palais Garnier
-it can seat almost 2,000 people (1,979 to be exact)
-was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera
-The Palais Garnier was designed as part of the great reconstruction of Paris during the Second Empire
-The selection of the architect was the subject of an architectural design competition in 1861, a competition which was won by the architect Charles Garnier
-The 7-ton bronze and crystal chandelier was designed by Garnier (On 20 May 1896, the falling of one of the counterweights for the grand chandelier resulted in the death of one member of the audience. This incident inspired one of the more famous scenes in Gaston Leroux's classic 1910 gothic novel The Phantom of the Opera)

After walking past the president’s house we turned our weary feet toward our hotel. I won’t lie it was a bit sketchy… but it was cheap. And we climbed 86 stairs to our fifth floor room where we napped and rested a bit while the sun went down. And as our tummies started to grumble Damien had the amazing idea to walk to the Eiffel Tower. So off we went. On the map it didn’t look too far but it kind of was. On the bright side we found a yummy restaurant to eat in. And when we got to the tower it was really pretty. For me it was an amazing second in my life because I’ve seen probably hundreds of photos of the Eiffel Tower and have heard about it and so on and I got to see it, at night. We sat on the Champ de Mars for a while just looking at the tower. It was really pretty all lit up.

We hopped the metro back to our hotel and snuggled in for the night! The next day we had more time to sight see before our train left at 18h30 so I started with dragging Damien to the Catacombs. Now let me preface this with the fact that I’ve wanted to see the Catacombs since I first learned about them. I did a report on the in French class during high school. And I was so freaking excited that I was finally going to be able to see them! We get to the Catacombs and… they’re closed Mondays. I felt like crying. But it gives me an excuse to go back to Paris.

Shaking off my depression Damien wanted to see the Tower Montparnasse since he wanted to send his sister a picture (they’d seen it in a movie). On the way toward the tower we went past an epic looking cemetery. And I just had to go in.

It the Cimetière du Montparnasse. It was cool how all the graves were squished together with just enough room to walk between them. After snapping a few pictures of the tower we hopped the metro to the Eiffel Tower!!

-it was built in 1889
-it stands 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall
-Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair
-was built between 1887 and 1889
-Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years; it was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit
-20,000 flash bulbs give the tower a sparkly appearance every hour on the hour at night (I saw this it was nifty)

I text a friend of mine that I was walking down the Champs Elysées. She said that sounded familiar and asked if it was a lake or something. I laughed a bit at the Damien just shook his head. It is not in fact a lake but an avenue. A very nice one at that, lots of big name shops and the whole deal. And at the end $10 to anyone who knows…. Right The Arch de Triomphe! As we got to the arch I saw people walking around it and obviously it’s in the middle of a huge round about and there are no stop lights and I didn’t see people dashing across the street. Turns out there’s an under ground passage to it.
-Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is the official name
-it honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is underneath it
-The monument stands 50 metres (164 ft) in height, 45 m (148 ft) wide and 22 m (72 ft) deep
-It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes

Our train left in a few hours so our next stops were on the way toward the station. We stopped by the Galaries Lafayette which is a huge department store. It reminded me of Macys in NYC on 34th street. Apparently it’s the most visited store in Paris. It was huge and it had pretty clothes but it was expensive. Then we walked back past the Opera House

And finally got to the train station. By the time we got on the train my feet and legs were killing me. We did a ton of walking. It was the first time I’ve done a massive amount of walking while in Europe so I guess I deserved it. I saw most of Paris but there’s still things I want to go back and see… a second trip is called for.

Cheers,

Metz

I’ve been here a month now. And I haven’t seen lots of France or Europe. But I’ve seen enough to make me happy. I’ve walked around Nancy a bit, I know some of the city and could probably navigate to most places that are important. And I’ve been to Bambiderstroff (It’s a tiny town near Germany). And I’ve driven through the places in between.


My first other “Big City Experience” other then Nancy was going to Mets last weekend. For my English-Speaking readers Metz is pounced a lot like mess. It’s close to Nancy and lucky for me my boyfriend has a friend who lives there and he was nice enough to walk us around the city. I took lots of pictures (what’s new right?). And it was pretty.


As an American I had a preconceived image of France and what it should look like. It all came from films and pictures and what I learned while in French class. So it’s weird to be in France and have everything live up to my standards. Metz is one of those cities in France that is totally French. And yes I am aware how “American” and probably stupid that statement makes me sound… but I’ll live with it. I just wanted to walk around and stare at everything. I compromised by taking 138 pictures…


We started the visit by going to Centre Pompidou. It’s a modern art museum, if you know the name it’s because there’s one in Paris too and the building is well known.

Then it was off to the city and walking around.

One of the last places we saw was this cathedral. The only cathedral I’ve ever seen is St. Patrick’s in New York. Which is nothing compared to this one. It was huge and so cool looking.

The only thing I kept thinking about as we walked toward it was how it was sectioned off from the houses around it…

Apparently it wasn’t. There was no gap the house was built right onto the side of the cathedral.


After our walk it was clearly time for a pint. And after our pints it was KFC for dinner. When I text one of my friends about my day she said “I was like wow she had such an authentic French European day… until KFC” and I had to laugh with her. Even though it was tasty it was still odd to think I was eating “American” fast food in another country. But the KFC did top off the perfect day trip!
 
Cheers,

Of Birthdays and Badgers

I never expected to find myself in this predicament on my 21st birthday… I’m in a country where I’m already legal to drink.



If you had told me last year that I would be in this predicament I would have laughed in you face. You see this time last year I was still a normal student at Kean. It had never occurred to me to study abroad. I hadn’t received that fateful letter yet…


And when I did receive that fateful letter I threw it out.


Lucky for me my mum pulled it out of the trash and was like “Hey you should go abroad next semester.”


I think I seriously thought about it for a whole day before I made up my mind. And then I got my ass on the stick and applied since the deadline was less then 2 weeks away.


But I obviously finished it. And I went to Ireland. And I ended up here.


In Nancy France for my 21st birthday.


I’d envisioned my 21st a lot different when I thought about it last year. I thought I’d have a weekend liked my older brother Spencer. He and our mum went to Atlantic City to celebrate. I too was promised a weekend in AC to celebrate. It looks like my weekend is on hold for a few months though.


So what am I doing for my birthday weekend? I’m going to Paris and spending the night. Crazy right? This time last year I still had that bucket list in my head of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. And this year… I’ve been a lot of places, seen things I thought I’d never see and now I’m going to Paris! PARIS! It still feels unreal to me. My whole birthday was unreal and perfect.

I didn’t do anything stereotypical for a 21st… then again I’ve never been one to abide by stereotypes so it made me happy I had the perfect birthday. My boyfriend made us breakfast before he went to class. I got to chill out and write while he was off learning. And that night instead of going out for drinks we stayed in. I drank my Guinness out of a Starbucks mug and we watched How I Meat Your Mother and Big Bang Theory. Very collegey and fun.

I’m looking forward to going to Paris and taking a bijillion pictures! And then you’ll get to hear all about it!

Cheers,

And what about Badgers? It’s a cool word.

I Haven’t Been Myself Lately

Paris is calling to me… and I’ve talked my boyfriend into to going with me this weekend. We leave Sunday morning and come back to Nancy Monday afternoon. Perfect right?

Then Friday we leave for Spain. It’s a mini Ireland reunion. I’m meeting up with my friends from last semester at my friend’s place in Murcia Spain. Then from there I’m taking a tour of Spain.

Or at least that was the plan…

Till my bank decided I wasn’t myself.

So my account got locked and I couldn’t by tickets around Spain. And thus a clown operation ensued.

Lucky for me my mum was going to the bank that morning anyway and she ended up getting it sorted. My debit card I have is now void. They issued me a new one and my mum was going to send it to me… but it turns out that one didn’t work. So she had to go back to the bank and get another one.

That one worked. And she’s overnighting it to me so I’ll be back to normal Friday. But that still left me with no cash…

So I had to call the TD branch when I was at an ATM and they were able to open my account for a few minutes for me to get cash. Then my old card was really dead.

I’ll be myself again Friday and hopefully they won’t think it suspicious of me to book flights, hostels, and trains around Spain. If they do… well I’ll be stuck in Spain without money and I can think of things that would be worse.

My Europe Adventure just keeps getting better and better with the outlandish situations. I wonder what’ll happen next…….


Cheers,

Finding Home

When I couldn’t get my visa to go to London this fall I was pretty devastated. I’d been calling London my home since I got accepted in April. So I suddenly found myself homeless. I could always go back to New Jersey but when I’d left Ireland I didn’t feel like I was going home. And all summer I felt like a guest in the house… which is weird since my home has always been where my family is for 20 years, essentially my entire life. So now I’m faced with this hurtle.


I Skyped my mum after finding out I couldn’t get my visa outside that states. She told me that in order for me to be happy I had to find my home.


My home…


It makes sense. I’ve out grown my old home. I’m a young adult now, not a teenager. My parents won’t accept me coming home after school and living with them again. I’d be disappointed in myself if I did. America really doesn’t feel like my home anymore. After my 4 months in Ireland it was so hard going back to New Jersey and my old life.


I’d fallen in love with walking everywhere. With eating food that’s not as processed. With being so close to so many cool places. With everything that Europe is. I would really like to stay here… maybe not forever but for a long time. I’d like to out grow Europe just as I out grew America. I want to fully live one chapter of my life so I can close it without regrets and open a new one.


So where is my home?


I don’t have any place that is my permanent residence right now. The only thing that comes close is my boyfriends place in Nancy, France. I’ve been either here or at his parents place since I arrived in Europe. But I feel like a burden… so it’s not my home. And every time I try to picture myself somewhere else, at a friend’s place, in some city… it doesn’t feel like home.


It’s just now as I truly ponder this question “Where is my home?” that I can come up with a sort of answer.


I will make my home be where ever I travel. I have my backpack to carry belongings.


Why can’t my home be everywhere?


Why can’t I pack my bag hop a plane or train or bus leave one place only to arrive at another and be at home?

Cheers,