A free man in Paris

I have shirked my blogging duties this past week, and so have much to write about and little time to write. However, before I begin I feel the need to add a brief note about my travelling companions, for those of you who don’t know them or have become confused by their random entrances and exits from my blog.
1) Rosalie Bateson- Rosalie and I have been neighbors at school for two years in a row, and this quarter we are both studying in Spain (she in Madrid and I in Salamanca). Before we left the States, I flew to North Carolina to visit Rosalie and her family. Responsible for much of the planning for the first part of the trip (particularly everything having to do with trains), Rosalie joined me for the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and half of my time in Paris. Her program started on Thursday, so she could not join me for my expedition to the UK, but because Salamanca and Madrid are relatively close, I will hopefully be seeing her occasionally this fall. For an in depth, blow-by-blow account of our travels together, visit Rosalie’s blog at
2) Kathy Cooper- Kathy lived with Rosalie and I in Slav Dom last year and graduated last Spring. She is currently working on constructing wind turbines and microhydroelectric plants in the Philippines, but was able to join us for the Czech Republic and Switzerland as she took the long route from the U.S. to her job.
3) Sam Wai- Sam is studying in Oxford this fall, and came over for her program early to meet Rosalie and I in Paris. Unfortunately, she and Rosalie only overlapped in France for a matter of hours, but Sam and I spent two more days in Paris after Rosalie left and then went to London for two days. Her program starts today, and after helping her move down to Oxford I will return to London for another day and then fly to Madrid to begin orientation for my program. For another perspective on Sam and my time in Paris, visit her blog at http://s-wai.blogspot.com
Anyway, back to where I left off about Paris.

Paris is a lovely city. Absolutely fabulous. It is picturesque, inviting, filled with incredible food, and easily navigable by foot or metro. It’s only two draw backs are 1) that it’s expensive and 2) that its citizenry speaks French. I overcame the first problem by spending the week with John Watson’s (a friend of mine from freshman year) parents in their beautiful and spacious flat near the Arch de Triumph, and by assuring myself that life is short and that it would be a long time until I made it back to Paris. The second problem I overcame, or rather failed miserably to overcome by making a fool of myself with what little French I remembered from high school and guiltily resorting to English whenever someone else spoke it.

Together with Rosalie and then with Sam Wai, and with no little help from Betsy, John’s mom who is an enthusiastic tour guide and an avid art historian, I toured the ins and outs of Paris, falling more in love with the city with every day. The highlights are as follows:

Sunday- visiting a bustling and distinctly not touristy open air market, taking a stroll to the Seine, and watching Rosalie be Julia Childs as she cooked “chicken with herbs” and “potatoes with other herbs” for dinner. It should be noted that my green beans, which I lovingly steamed with the skill of a true chef made the meal.

Monday- 6 hours in the Louvre, a walk through Luxumberg Gardens and the Latin Quarter, and some incredible Moroccan food with Betsy and elder John (John’s father). Though I list it as a highlight, I would like to caution that one should not spend six hours at the Louvre, unless one wants to collapse from exhaustion and art overdose. But Rosalie and I are apparently masochists, and couldn’t help but add on to the perfect three hour tour that Betsy outlined for us.

Tuesday- St. Chappelle (an incredible stained glass filled church near Notre Dame), Napoleon’s tomb, and the military history museum at Invalides. Art museums are pretty cool, but they just can’t stand up to rooms full of armor and giant swords. It was any guy’s dream (though judging from the male to female ratio in the museum, not so much a girl thing).

Wednesday- 3 hours in the Musee D’Orsay (we took Betsy’s advice about stopping this time, and enjoyed the museum significantly more than the Louvre), meeting Sam Wai and sending Rosalie off, then taking an evening stroll along the Seine all the way from one end of Paris to the other.

Thursday- strolling through cool Paris neighborhoods, shopping for second hand European clothes, eating hot chocolate at Victorias (supposedly on the list of 1000 things you should do before you die). And when I say eating, I mean eating. Half a cup was my lunch, and I wasn’t really hungry at dinner.

Friday- getting a view of the city from Mon Martre (the hill where Denis, one of the patron saints of Paris, was supposedly beheaded. He then picked up his head and carried it under his arm down off the hill. Now the hill holds a giant church, and some really cool neighborhoods), eating steak frites (apparently steak and French fries have transcended their modest American roots and become the highest of cuisine in Paris), and visiting the Paris auction house. I was going to try to buy something at the auctions, but the necklace that we saw auctioned was a little out of my price range at 76,000 euros.

So that was my time in Paris in a nut shell. It deserves far more than that, and I may ruminate on some specific points in future blogs, but I must sign off for now.