the second day in paris i planned on spending the entire day in the louvre. i found my way. maybe the coolest part was the pyramid outside. it was a very hot day and i don't think the a/c was working hard enough. everyone was waving the papers to cool off. it made it quite miserable and i found myself unimpressed. i think i might be burnt out on the old, religious art. i saw the mona lisa, which was small and unimpressive.
i noticed that across all art forms and movements, people like to paint or sculpt breast feeding. this was my favorite interpretation.
also, nipple twisting is not a new phenomenon.
i didn't stay too long because of the heat and i felt i could spend the little time i had doing something more enjoyable. i walked outside and saw everyone sitting around these little ponds. they had chairs set out and everything. so i sat for a while.
then i decided to check out some of the big department stores, which i had stumbled into on sunday but they were closed. i don't know how i always find the shopping even when i'm not looking. the gallery lafayette was packed with asian people and it was super hot too. but i sweated my way and even tried on some things that weren't too ridiculously priced. i got one shirt and found my mom a gift that is only sold in paris. the ceiling alone was worth the heat. look how beautiful it is.
oh and in the other store, the bathroom cost 5 euros to go in. you get to choose three colors of toilet paper you want. i couldn't believe people were ACTUALLY going in. i decided to hold it.
i went into this little store that was packed with people thinking i'd get a little snack. the macaroon display was incredible, so i thought i'd get a few. the price wasn't clearly marked and low and behold--i paid way too much. however, they were delicious.
i think my favorite part of paris was all the colorful doors. one street was lined with all different blue doors. my favorite color.
i was so tired of the crowds and the over priced food that i decided to go home at 6. i did some laundry, went to mcdonalds to use the free wifi (my hostel was supposed to have it, but it was down the whole time), and went to bed early.
tuesday i woke up and checked out of my hostel. then i headed to the picasso museum. this is as close as i got to it. it's closed until 2012. they really should mark that more clearly on their website. a nice french man helped me find it and asked me to his house for drinks, but i politely declined. i walked along the seine to the musee d'orsey.
i love love loved it. i saw monet and manet, renoir and van gogh, and so many others. i saw lots of paintings i learned about in humanities and they all warmed my heart.
then i went to the grocery store and bought lunch (between paris and london, i'm way over budget). i found a grassy area and laid out in my bathing suit (which i wore for that very purpose). i don't think i got any color though, due to the spf 50 that i bought. it was a lovely afternoon.
on the metro heading to my hotel, there was a school group of 10 year olds. they were talking about in me in french and i smiled at them and one of them said something to me. i said "i'm sorry i only speak english" then they got really excited, but they only knew a few phrases in english. they all exclaimed together "HOW ARE YOU TODAY?" haha something they surely learned in school. then they'd huddle together, figure out the next thing to say, and then ask me. they couldn't believe they were talking to a real american girl. i felt like i was in a zoo. they kept inching closer and closer and all talking at once. one of them yelled to the others across the train. all i could understand was "america." one little boy pushed his way forward, looked me in the eye and said "thank you." oh it was just so cute.
odds and ends:
train.
water fountain.
cafe.at the train station before heading to barcelona (which by the way i had to pay sooooo much money for the ticket. i definitely should have taken ryanair. it was not worth it other than having an experience of sleeping in a real bed on the train) i went into the bathroom. i only had to pay 50 cents and these nice ladies at the counter watched my bags. they didn't know much english but asked where i was from so i said chicago. then one said she went to phoenix so i was really excited to tell her i was from there. she was even more excited than me and talked to me for 5 minutes in french. i just shook my head and tried my best to understand what she was saying. i say au revoir, but then they start shuffling around for something. i wait and then she pops up with a pack of coasters. they had pictures of paris all over. usually you can buy them for about 8 euros, but she said they were a present for me. it was so nice. then she came around and hugged me and gave me two kisses. so so kind.
paris was definitely not my favorite city. people really do smell and it might be the dirtiest city i have been in. but there were also some lovely lovely things to see and do.
au revoir,
e.
No comments:
Post a Comment