After three whirlwind days in Paris, I realized that it is completely overrun with tourists. Tourists EVERYWHERE. However, it provoked an unexplainable happiness within me. Paris really is the City of Love, despite my complete ignorance of French language and perhaps because of the hoards of people on every street. Of all of the places on this trip, I was least excited to visit Paris. I can’t pinpoint why, exactly, but my feelings about Paris started changing from the first moments we were there.
Ceiling in the Apollo Hall of the Louvre
The first place I visited was the Louvre. Now, having heard it was large, I was prepared for a British Museum-sized place, something manageable in four hours or so. However, I am now convinced that I could visit at least ten more times and still not absorb as much as I’d like. The Louvre is overflowing with priceless treasures, so many that I continually lost my way as I wandered the halls. The building itself struck me more than any single piece of art (although I did find some paintings that I could spend hours and hours looking at). It’s hard to describe just how vast the entire museum is and every room is ornate and unique in its own way. I would be content walking through an empty museum to appreciate the architecture and design of the museum.
Wall of Names
The World War II sites we visited were close to what I expected. Much of the information presented focused on the French Resistance during the war. I hoped to see a thorough discussion about collaborators and issues surrounding French collaboration with the Nazis but I interpreted a lot of the information as attempts to alienate collaborators in a way that detracts blame from everyday French in the success of the Nazi occupation and deportation of French Jews. The Shoah Museum was very well done, but I was again frustrated by my lack of French language skills because the numerous personal testimonies were lost to me. I did, however, find the wall of 76,000 names of deported French Jews to be very powerful because it adds a human element to an almost unfathomable number.
I spent my favorite moments in Paris relaxing outside a cafe in the beautiful weather with a cup of coffee, watching people as they tottered by. During this short visit, I tried my fair share of French wine and food and fell in love with everything. I liked things I never thought I’d like, especially escargot (snails). After taking a wine tasting class, I know a bit more about regions of France and the unique wines that come from each place. Apparently, to the French, “a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.” The thing I love the most about French cuisine culture is it’s social aspect. In my life, meals are normally rushed because we continually race from one thing to the next. Here it is expected that you take your time enjoying the company you came with. I’ve had some of the best conversations with my groupmates because of our inability to use our phones. A lack of wifi combined with the French social atmosphere has allowed us to get to know each other beyond a surface level friendship. Maybe it’s the magic of Paris or just the fact that we spend 18 hours a day together, but by the end of the three and a half days, I feel the Parisian infection of joy and love. It’s hard for me to describe how much the energy of a place impacts me, but the atmosphere of Paris most certainly gotten to me.