Jeudi à Paris!

5am: alarm // 5:45am: Hilton Olympia Hotel lobby // 6am: private transfer // 6:30am: St. Pancras International // 7:05am: Eurostar boarding // 7:27am: Eurostar to Paris, Gare du Nord departure from London St. Pancras // 8am: beautiful British countryside // 8:35am/9:35am [local time]: cross the border; Beauty and the Beast on the iPod-one earphone for each of us // 10am: “there must be more than this provincial life” but it’s so beautiful! // 10:50am [local time]: arrival at Paris, Gare du Nord; madre = ma mère

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let the whirlwind begin!  We met our fabulous tour guide, Sammy, and the rest of our group: Anita (Canada), Steve (Austrailia), and Sandra (Canada/Middle East).  And then we embarked on the most surreal day of our lives.

I was completely “nerd-ing” out and loved having so many of my interests connect with the beautiful city I was experiencing.  Apparently I did manage to retain some high school French; French history was my favorite unit in AP European History four years ago (woah); the opera house was where so many of the operas I’ve studied and have sang arias from; driving through Haussman’s urban planning and on the boulevard named after him was an urban studies dream come true; gaining another cultural frame of reference was the best souvenir of all, and I definitely understand how and why so many great minds were inspired by Paris.

The only complaint we both had was that we needed to leave at the end of the day!  We may have scratched an itch but we barely scratched the surface of Paris.  Seeing the sights was amazing but there wasn’t any time to experience “Panam,” the people’s Paris, which is my favorite way to explore new cultures and territories. Instead of fretting, we just promised ourselves, and Paris as we pulled out of Gare du Nord, that we would be back.

The photo gallery below includes the hundreds (literally) of photos snapped throughout our day.  They cannot possibly do justice to actually seeing/experiencing Paris live.

Published in: on November 16, 2009 at 10:08 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Productive Pleasure

October Break got off to a great start!  I decided to do some research for my London: City as Material course by heading to the London Transport Museum, and Mike decided to join (we are the two Vassar kids holding it down in London while the others frolic around Europe).  A summary of the productive part of the day can be found on our course blog here.  I must admit, though, it was some of the most fun I’ve had in a museum, which is saying a lot given all of the time I’ve been spending in them since I’ve been here.  I suppose there were a few factors at play that made it particularly enjoyable for me: the topic, public transportation, is my favorite of Urban Studies; the curatorial design struck a fine balance between being interactively fun and legitimate; the aesthetic was very Marie-friendly (let’s just say hot pink was involved).  It truly was great playing while learning.

Afterward we decided to explore to surrounding area of Covent Garden.  Mike had a hankering for a chocolate croissant, and we found the perfect cafe in the middle of the market for him to indulge.  We also had the lucky pleasure of having live entertainment: a fantastic opera singer accompanied by herself and 3 men on cellos!  They were amazing, and as Mike so eloquently put it: “I feel like we’re on the Travel Channel right now.”  It was definitely a European moment.

We strolled along, stopping into cute, unique boutiques: an old fashioned toy store, a sweet-in-many-ways candy shoppe, a specialty tea shoppe, a quirky magic book shop, and a professional make-up store decked out for Halloween.  The best part: all the freebies we picked up along the way!  Who doesn’t love tea tastings, sample fudge, and skeleton lollipops?!

The evening consisted of going out for delicious food and company with a friend from a flat in the Manson Place basement (that’s all I’m going to say).  Mike met up with Taylor Self, a fellow Vassar junior who is here for the week on October Break thanks to her family’s house in St. John’s Wood (about 15 minutes north on the Tube), so I got to see her once we all got home.  It was great to have a piece of the Hudson Valley across the pond, and I look forward to hanging out again since she doesn’t leave until Saturday.

On another note….when did it get to be 20 October?!  I can’t believe how fast this trip, semester, and season is flying by!  I can’t believe I’ve been in London for such a significant amount of time; I can’t believe I’ve been in London for such a short amount of time. Oh the temporal humanity……

Published in: on October 20, 2009 at 1:24 am  Leave a Comment  
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London via Coach Bus

FIE arranged a coach bus tour of London for us on Saturday (5-Spet) afternoon.  Driven by Paul and narrated by Pamela, I was lucky enough to snag my choice seat in the front so I had front and side window view!  (Being in the front not only served well for soaking it all in, but also for listening to P & P bicker in British, and get my inquiries answered!)

It was a great way to see all of the sights…for a brief, fleeting, glass window/tree obstructed second.  I tried to take the best pictures possible, but a lot of the moments passed and many of the identifications and information went over my head.  Above all, it was overwhelming…but in a good way — I saw how much there is to see and explore, and there is a ton of it!

The route:

The tour’s absolute aim was to see as many of the quintessential landmarks as possible while hitting the least amount of traffic.  The Thames served as our guide as we zig-zagged across it and followed its banks, weaving through the West End and the City of London.

The photos below are being documented as my first glances at the city.  I can guarantee improved images and captions in the future when I return to the areas!

Although the coach bus medium wasn’t ideal for taking pictures of the city, it was for mapping it.  I definitely feel like my conception of London has improved.  It was a prime pace and flow to see how the city is planned.  Many striking similarities emerged with New York, from infrastructure to attractions to tourists, and it definitely got my brain working in the Urban Studies grove.  A native New Yorker and isolated traveler, my only previous first-hand comparisons to draw were between the Big Apple and Walt Disney World; I am thrilled to be able to add London to my repertoire and look forward to exploring it more–for pleasure and for analyzing–throughout the semester.  This grand-scheme approach has been serving me well; I am finding that I like to survey areas at large before diving into their intricacies.

Published in: on September 7, 2009 at 11:05 pm  Comments (2)  
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