La decision...Paris

After tossing and turning about making a spontaneous decision, I ended up traveling via TGV to Paris on Friday to visit my friend Demi. Demi is a friend of mine from college, and she is studying abroad in Paris with a program called Arcadia. Her program is much different than the one I am a part of here in Nantes. Demi takes most of her courses in English with one organization, and then she takes French courses with an organization called Alliance Francaise with a mix of people from different nationalities. She has met people from so many various walks of life in her French class, and it is pretty amazing to hear Demi speaking of her “Finish” friend. From rural Ohio to Paris France, it is really quite a change for the both of us! After a comfortable, sleep-filled, and incredibly efficient train ride, I met Demi at the Montparnasse train station. My friend Sean here in Nantes gave me some tips on what to watch out for when I arrived in Montparnasse. Firstly, he relayed to me how incredibly huge Montparnasse is, and he was absolutely right. There are so many different numbers of lines and different platforms to wait on, and it is pretty hard to get your bearings once arriving. Secondly, he told me to watch out for the multitude of people standing in groups with their heads pointed to the sky looking for their train platform. It is hilarious to see hundreds of people standing together, heads tilted up, just waiting for one little number to appear on a gigantic black information board. After a bit of phone navigation in order to find Demi, we were reunited at last in a foreign country. I then set off for my first experience on the Paris metro. Although I use public transportation on a daily basis here in Nantes, none of it is actually underground. Being underground, it is more difficult to navigate, and Demi did an amazing job. Just like a local! We took the metro to Vanves, which is the suburb of Paris where Demi lives in a residential apartment. Though her apartment is not what she expected it to be, she is staying positive about her “janky” (Demi’s word) apartment and her less than normal roommate. I took the floor for the weekend, and I successfully stole myself a towel from the cleaning ladies. (P.S. the cleaning people in French hotel apartments use real, natural ammonia for cleaning which does not leave an apartment with a great smell.) Friday night, I discovered the awfulness of the Paris metro when going out. Everyone shoves onto the metro all at once, and you have the disconcerting feeling you are being robbed while at the same time being grossed out by the man/woman standing in front of you with really bad body odor. Public transportation is busy in Nantes, because it is a big city too, but something about the metro brings more worry and more body odor. After going out to a few bars on Friday night, we woke up early on Saturday morning to go to the Louvre. We successfully navigated our way into Paris’ first “arrondissement,” and we found Demi’s friend Jessica, who was going to spend the day with us. The metro lets you off right outside of the Louvre, and I do not think I will ever forget that sight. The Louvre is so immense. It is completely sensory overload from the inside, out. Taking only one break for lunch in the middle of the day, we saw all three different sections of the Louvre, including the Denon, the Sully, and the Richelieu. Although we went to all three and walked as much as we could, I am sure we did not see it all. There is so much to take in and so many hallways to walk down. I got to see all of the staples, such as Adonis, the Mona Lisa, and the Venus di Milo. One of my favorite parts was the exhibition on the history of the Louvre, because they had these 3-D images of what the Louvre looked like throughout the different centuries. After the Louvre, Demi and Jessica were kind enough to let me choose our next adventure. I really want to see the Seine, and after looking at a map, we found out it was on the other side of the Louvre. We walked the Seine for a bit, and the views are absolutely incredible. You can see the Grand Palais, Notre Dame, the Tour Eiffel, and the Louvre. All at the same time! Demi and I continued on by ourselves for a romantic evening to see the Eiffel Tower. We ended up getting dinner at a cheap Chinese restaurant that we found during our walk to the Eiffel Tower. After dinner, we grabbed a drink and a dessert, and we took our snacks with us. There are no words to describe the Eiffel Tower. It is unlike anything I have ever seen, and I am sure I will be amazed by it every time I see it throughout my lifetime. Demi and I found a nice spot on the lawn, with hundreds of other people, and we sat and watched until it became dark. Seeing the Eiffel Tower light up is absolutely gorgeous, but seeing the light show is an even bigger highlight. I definitely took some great pictures that night. On Sunday morning, Demi showed me her school, which is right next to the Luxembourg Gardens. We saw the Senate house and walked through the Gardens, where we somehow stumbled upon a Sunday morning concert in the park. It was a free concert, and anyone and everyone could pull up a chair. As classical music lovers, Demi and I sat for a few minutes listening to the performance. We also made a friend in a maybe 18-month old little girl who was discovering how fun walking and running is. After a quick breakfast at a French café, we had to head back to Montparnasse for me to catch my train. I became one of the people with their head tilted toward the sky, looking up at the big black board, just waiting for the platform number to appear. Although I had an amazing time with Demi, I was incredibly happy to come back to Nantes…this city that I can now call home.