Baguettes, croissants, crêpes, fromage, and Nutella: France, the land of gluten and dairy. After five days in Paris, I am almost certain I consumed more carbs and sugars than I have ever in my life. Needless to say, I am happy to finally travel to the land of meat and potatoes now.
On our first night in Paris, as the eleventh hour neared, our group made our way to the Eiffel Tower. We sat on the lawn and took in the beauty of this massive copper-colored landmark. We were thankful for such a beautiful night, especially because that we had experienced nothing but rain and wind in the city of London. That first night was what I had always imagined Paris to be like (minus the people who harassed you to buy beer, wine, champagne, and key chains). Not long after sitting down amongst the hundreds of people on the lawn (most of whom were American), the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle with lights against the Parisian night sky and we watched in awe. But, over the few days following, I became to see the magnificence of the Eiffel Tower and the grandeur of the city a superficial veil for a dirty and smelly city that lay behind it.
What shocked me the most was not the language barrier or the different dress styles, but rather, the attitude and way of life of most Parisians. Whether it was shopping, entering a restaurant, or buying food, most Parisians were uninviting. This made me feel even more like a tourist than I thought. And what only added to this was that Parisians close down shops and restaurants from five to about seven; it is only after seven that they eat dinner. At first, it did not bother me too much. I was just excited about the smell and taste of real bread and baguettes, ice creams and crêpes, and every kind of cheese imaginable. Yet, by the end of my time here in Paris, I found it hard to understand how Parisians eat dinner so late! Lastly, as we made our way around the city, I quickly found the Metro (the underground railway system) to be shockingly dirty and slow. I quickly saw the juxtaposition of the beautiful city above ground with the grimy underground beneath it.
What had been only been a backdrop to movies and media became an actual reality to me while in Paris. Despite the attitude and the filth, I did enjoyed getting to see the Mona Lisa, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame; I was excited about putting my lock on the Pont de l’Archevêché. Our group explored the city, rain and shine, ate every crêpe and baguette we saw, and shopped on the Champs-Élysées. We ate macrons at Ladurée’s and entirely too big crêpes filled with what seemed like an entire jar of Nutella the last night under the Eiffel Tower. Our next and last leg of our WWII tour is Berlin, Germany.