6.12.09

Because this was the first Sunday of the month, most of the museums in Paris are free to the public. We decided this would be our museum day. I couldn’t wait to show Rachel the Orsay (my favorite museum). We asked the front desk of the hostel about the museums and a woman told us that the Orsay was closed because the workers were on strike. Disappointed, we decided to head to

the Louvre and then walk by the Orsay, just so Rachel could see the building (an old train station). We took the metro to the Louvre and were met with the LONGEST LINE EVER. It was quite ridiculous. We contemplated waiting but then headed over the Seine to the Orsay just to kill some time.

To our surprise, it was open AND we got in free! I was thrilled. After walking around for a little, we splurged and ate an amazing lunch in the museum cafe, right under the giant clock. I had fantastic carpaccio and Rachel had a giant, delicious salad.

We walked around a little more, before heading back the Louvre. I absolutely adore the Orsay. Not only is the art amazing, you could take it all out and the space itself is beautiful. They had a really cool exhibit about art nouveau which we both really liked. Here are some pictures of my favorite pieces:

The line at the Louvre was still ridiculous so we abandoned that dream and started to walk through the Tuileries Gardens. Unfortunately, it began to POUR. Not just rain, but ABSOLUTELY POUR. Rachel and I were both soaked in a matter of seconds even though we did have our umbrellas. We took refuge on the ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde (10 E). The views of the city would have been amazing if it had been clear, but we still got to check out the lay of the land and stay dry for a minute.

After madly dashing across the Place de la Concorde, we discovered all the Christmas markets on the Champs Elysees! It was different than I had expected. I thought the markets would be a lot more touristy, but it seemed as though there were more locals than tourists. The shops sold more goods like hats, trinkets, and jewelry, than Paris souvenirs.

It was around 2:30 and I knew that the Opera Ganier was having a performance at 3. We dashed to the metro and ran to the opera house hoping to get tickets, but alas, non for us. At least Rachel got to see the opera; the building is very impressive.

We took the metro back to the Latin Quarter and had coffee and crepes. On the previous night, while we were aimlessly walking through the city, we came across a little chapel that was advertising classical concerts (15 E). We decided to go as we were not able to make it to the opera. The chapel was tiny and pretty cold (unfortunately for our still soggy selves) but the concert was great.

The cellist was a French student (I think) in his early 20s and he played Bach’s cello suites (my favorite). The music was beautiful and as an encore he played a piece by a Spanish composer that reminded me of Pan’s Labyrinth (great movie).

Back to the hostel and Thai food for dinner. Yum!

BONJOUR, PAIR-EE!!!

5.12.09

Rachel and I embarked on our magical, impromptu journey to the city of lights and crepes. Our flight out of Luton was early so we left Oxford before the sun came up (I was not pleased). We took the bus to the airport where we had the worst food ever (almost inedible mocha and sandwich for me) and then played 20 Questions until we boarded. Our flight was only an hour! We landed in Charles de Gualle on time, found the RER B train into the city (8,5 E), transfered metro lines, and made it to our hostel unscathed and very proud of our traveling abilities. The hostel was fantastic. It was called Oops and was right at the start of the Latin Quarter. We got complementary breakfast, too! There was a metro stop literally 10 seconds away and it turned out to be in walking distance of a lot of the things we wanted to see. Our roommate in the 4 person room we shared was a girl from Fordham, who was really nice but we didn’t talk to her too much.

It was late afternoon, but we were both tired from traveling and little sleep, so we decided to take it easy and not try to tour anything. We went out on a little walk and wound up seeing the Latin Quarter, an adorable fruit market, the Pantheon, the Eiffel Tower in the distance, Notre Dame (complete with Christmas tree, organ service, and nativity), the Seine, and Hotel de Ville. Not bad for a little stroll. However, it started to rain once we left Notre Dame, so we were a little bit wet and very hungry. We headed back to Oops to eat at the restaurant next door and went to bed.

My Apologies

Dearest fans,

I apologize profusely for my lack of postings. I am, I hate to admit, an inadequate blogger. However, I have decided to change my blog into a travel blog, chronicling my journeys outside of Oxford. Daily life here is a bit mundane, and I am a bit lazy/ busy, so this should work out well for everyone. Enjoy the details of my adventures. Comments are welcome!

Au revoir,

Robin

[At this point I have only been to Paris and Istanbul. I will attempt to post my musings and recollections as soon as possible, which might take a little longer than I would like since I am currently without internet in my room. I'll post each of my trips separately to get up more postings faster. Good luck to me!]