Fact: Crêpes are the Best (No Matter What Grady Says)
Thursday, January 4th - Saturday, January 6th, 2018
Paris, France
It's only been a few days since I arrived, but we're already slipping into a routine. Wake up at 8:30am, stumble down to breakfast by 8:50am, make it to class in someone's hotel room by 9:01am. Discuss French things for two hours. Then set off for a quick lunch (AKA a crêpe) and to visit one or two historically or culturally significant sites as homework. My favorite visit so far has been to Sainte-Chapelle, because I've been dying to see those vitraux ever since we studied them in my Medival Art History class.
Sainte-Chapelle, Upper Chapel
After our sightseeing/learning, we do some journaling. Followed by an expensive but totally worth it french dinner, and no wine because this is a school trip and we wouldn't dream of it.
Mom, Renée, and Steven ended up staying an extra day in Paris since there was a huge storm on the east coast (United States) and flights were tight. That worked out well in my favor because if I go out to eat with them, they pay... In all seriousness, it's been such a blessing to have had them here the past few days, as I adjusted to life in Paris. (Thank you, guys! Love you!)
Dinner at La Méthode
On Friday, I actually had the chance to meet with my French penpal from high school, Corentin. He was kind enough to come to my hotel, and take me to the Jardins des Tuileries and to the Musée d'Orsay, all while answering my 10,000 questions about Paris and life in France. We had a fun time trying to find the Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas paintings and coming up with possible definitions for art in the "naturalism" section of the museum. (Maybe we should take an art class. Or you know, do a Google search. If you happen to know what "naturalism" art is, send me a quick chat. We never did quite figure it out...)
Corentin and I, by the Louvre
Musée d'Orsay
Of course, this is school. So I before I go, I thought I'd make you a list.
15 things I've learned since we last spoke:
1. The French word for lilypad is "nénuphar" (ya, try saying that three times fast)
2. The cuter the French waiter, the worse my French gets (it's truly an unfortunate negatively correlated phenomenon... Maybe it comes across as cute???)
3. Our hotel bathroom door will close if you turn the handle, lean all your weigh on the door, and kick the bottom right corner with your foot
4. Nutella crêpes aren't the healthiest lunch food, but they are the tastiest
5. The "Musée Cluny" is spelled C-L-U-N-Y, not C-L-O-O-N-E-Y, and it is a medieval history museum... Nothing to do with George. That's okay though, I'm usually more excited about medieval history than George Clooney anyway
La Dame à la licorne, Musée Cluny
Pillar, Musée Cluny
8. Penpals exist IRL. Who knew? (Hi Corentin!)
9. The most important commandment is "thou shalt always carry a portal charger and cord in one's pocket"
10. The two most useful and relevant classes I've ever taken were AP European History in high school and Medieval Art History in college. Who knew they'd come up so much? That's right. I know my Charlemagne and flying buttresses. (So for anyone who thought Medieval Art History was a waste of a credit, you were dead wrong and I could take you down... in a Medieval Art History trivia game. It's niche.)
11. My French Guide Michelin is as dry as the Crypt Archéologique and I've decided to hold a ritual burning to cleanse my soul of its lingering presence and also why is Michelin making guidebooks anyway I thought they made tires? (Speaking of Michelin, I also learned that they're actually a FRENCH tire manufacturer... so that seems significant somehow)
12. Van Gogh's The Bedroom is not currently in the Musée d'Orsay, it is on loan (RIP)
13. If the weather says it's not going to rain, it's still probably going to rain
14. French style notebooks are usually smaller than their American counterparts and they have 3 little lines inside each big line so you can write in perfectly spaced cursive... There are specific rules and everything, about where you write each letter, and how tall. As a result, all my assignments take 4x as long (but to be fair, I don't think my professor would mind if I wrote in script... But I can't bear to waste a perfectly good opportunity to improve my calligraphy)
Seyes Grid System
Hanging out in Paris
Bonus #16: The hotel has WiFi, but it takes 13862594730848 years to upload a photo to this blog
Salut,
Cristiana
(pronounced french-like: CRrrrrrrrrrISTI-ah-NAAAAAAA)
