After the Grand Bus Extravaganza of April 4th (patent pending) I was exhausted and confused, finding myself in a city where I had no idea where to go and a feeble ability to communicate. (I had taken two years of high school French and figured that this was my only hope at talking to anyone. This was before I figured out that everyone in Paris – and most of Europe – speaks English.) I got off the bus and followed the tracks of my fellow travelers, assuming they knew where to go, until I found myself in the metro station. I spent about ten minutes staring at the ticket machine through dreamy, groggy eyes before purchasing an all day ticket for around six euros. This would be the only time I used that ticket, but I didn’t know it at the time. I wasn’t sure how to buy a one-way ticket and was too stubborn to ask the man working at the ticket desk because I wasn’t sure if he spoke English (he did) and I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t speak French (I was seriously worried about this. I’m not sure what I thought I was going to do on the rest of my journey if I didn’t want to admit that I only speak English. Did I really think I was going to fake my way through Dutch? And Czech? And Austrian-German? What was I thinking?!?) So I got the day pass, hopped on a train, made a transfer, and got off at the Avenue des Gobelins stop (“Goblin Avenue? How silly, yet charming and whimsical!” a slightly delirious Melanie thought.) In the end, it turns out that all of the stress and frustration it took to get there made arriving in Paris that much sweeter. The sun shone down in through the entrance of the metro, a celestial light at the end of the tunnel, illuminating each stair on my jovial assumption to the City of Light. As I emerged birds flew down and placed a crown of flowers on my head, a sparkling rainbow shot across the sky, and I swear to god Walt Disney sat up in his grave and exclaimed “By jove! I ought to make a movie about this!” (Yes, he really talks like this and yes this is a 100% true story. Okay, maybe not 100%. Maybe it’s a 10% true story, but I did have a completely transcendental chocolate éclair when I first got off of the train, which I successfully ordered in French, so it was basically the same thing.) The hostel (Oops! Hostel, a recommendation from a friend. It was a very nice hostel, with free breakfast and computer access, but it was a little pricier than I would have liked. However, we decided to splurge because Paris is a big city and we figured we might as well go with something we knew was good and safe than gamble with a cheaper place. I do wish it had been more centrally located though.) was conveniently only a couple of blocks away from the metro stop. I dropped off my bags, grabbed a map, and went out exploring. While living in London I’ve come to realize that I love walking around cities by myself, so I was ecstatic to have the chance to do this in Paris. I specifically got to France earlier than Sarah because I wanted to get to know the city on my own. It makes me more comfortable. When I’m alone in a city I feel self sufficient and autonomous. It’s empowering to be able to get yourself where you want to be, and it’s fun to be able to move on your own schedule, spontaneously stopping at things that you think look interesting, and skipping over what looks boring, without bothering others. If you want to walk 5 miles to the Eiffel Tower and 5 miles back when you have a perfectly usable metro pass, you can (and I did). If you want to spend an hour and a half exploring and shopping at a historical bookstore you can (and I did). If you want to spend three hours lounging on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower writing postcards, instagramming pictures, and eating baguette and cheese, you can (and I did). There’s no one there to say “I’m tired, let’s ride back.” Or “Oh my god, just pick a book already.” Or “Jesus Christ! Stop taking selfies!” Of course, being the extreme extrovert that I am, I simultaneously couldn’t wait to see Sarah and talk her ear off about all of the wonderful, enlightening, soul-searching alone time I was having. All through my “Me Day” in Paris I was keeping a list of things that we absolutely had to talk about once she got here and antagonizing over what we should talk about first. Thus, the struggle of being an independent extrovert. “I want to do my own thing, but I really want you to be with me as I do it!” I’m constantly both needy and independent. These two qualities create quite the conflict and it’s terribly annoying. Luckily, the people I ran into throughout the day were very nice and friendly, completely opposite of the French stereotype. On top of that, getting to know Paris was like getting to know a new person in and of itself. Each city has its own personality, its stereotypes and its secrets, its strengths and its flaws. Before you go there you’ve heard the rumors and maybe even seen pictures, so you have an idea of what to expect, but just like meeting a new person, you really have no idea what it’s like until you actually experience it. Each person’s perception and judgment is different. My personal experience with Paris was wonderful, beautiful, and enchanting. I understand how Paris is known as the most romantic city in the world, because I immediately fell head over heels for it. From the hostel I headed downhill (wonder why? Check out my next post – “Rules: Melanie’s Guide to Traveling in a City”) towards the water. First stop on my list? Notre Dame. However, like with any city, beautiful surprises along the way distracted me. Just as I got to the river I ran across the Museum National D’Histoire Naturelle and the gorgeous gardens outside of it. The museum wasn’t open yet, but the gardens were buzzing with runners, families, photographers, and tourists. In London the leaves were still laden with the heavy sleep of a grey and rainy winter, but here in the French sunshine the vegetation was wide-awake and blooming with color. I wound along the dirt paths lined with rainbows of tulips, daisies, and violets, past the most beautiful pink flowered tree, behind kangaroos and giraffes in the menagerie, and up a twisting, forested labyrinth to a gazebo. Granted, I was experiencing this all through rose-colored glasses (literally, they were two pounds at Primark), but the experience was breathtaking and I was just so so happy to finally be in Paris.
I continued my walk towards my original destination, the Ile de la Cite, a small island in the middle of the Seine River where the cathedral is located, with the Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack looping through my head. The building itself is incredible, and easily recognizable from quite far away. It’s tall steeple, distorted gargoyles, and flying buttresses (heh heh, buttress) make it a gothic playground of a building. However, on that first day, flowering trees and soft spring sun offset the foreboding architecture. I wandered around the grounds taking pictures, but the line to go inside was fairly long so I decided to wait until Sarah was here to do the full Notre Dame experience.
After Notre Dame I was determined to find Shakespeare and Company, an English bookstore that has been around since 1919. The original store was run by Sylvia Beach, and served as place for bards and brains of the nineteen twenties to meet, write, and exchange ideas. The authors who visited include Earnest Hemingway, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott Fitzgerald (think the literary crew from Midnight in Paris). The store also published books and was known to carry banned books. Unfortunately, the original store closed in 1940, during World War II due to German occupation. In 1951 George Whitman opened the store that exists today, named after the original shop. In the 1950s the new store was frequented by many figures of the Beat Generation, such as Allen Ginsburg and William S. Burroughs, and today it still attracts great minds, as well as tourists. The current owner of the store is Sylvia Beach Whitman, George’s daughter, who is named after the founder of the original store. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the run down. For more information check out their website: http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com). 
History aside, the store is a magical place. It is a wonderland of books, pens, and poems. The bottom of the store has items for sale and the upper level is a library of sorts, comprised of nooks and crannies filled with hardbacks, typewriters, couches, and chairs. Hand scrawled notes act as wallpaper. A piano sits in one room, played by a visitor to the pleasure of a small, but captivated audience, while I was there. A snowy cat curled up on a chair in the back room, flirting with the idea of escaping out the window. The space is disorganized in a way that alludes to creative genius. People were relaxing, reading, and talking. This bookstore is what every college town coffee shop aspires to be.
Some patrons expressed their fascination with the store differently than others. There was a loud American boy in the “quiet reading” section, proudly contemplating to a middle-aged woman that this was the place where the bright young minds that changed the world had once gathered and that, before they had changed the world, they didn’t know quite how bright their young minds were. The amazing realization he had come to from pondering this was that we could be the next bright young minds to change the world, even though we don’t know it yet. It was clear that by “we” he really meant “me”, referring to himself, and that he was lying when he said he “didn’t know it yet”. Despite certain pretentions, I absolutely loved this store. I spent over an hour there and ended up buying two books, one that is a gift, and the other. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto (Now With A New Middle) by Chuck Klosterman, as a souvenir for me. Unfortunately, the prices matched the prestige, but since I was skimping on almost everything else I decided it was worth it. When you buy the books they put a stamp of Shakespeare’s face on the inside cover, with a caption that reads “Shakespeare and Company Kilometer Zero Paris”, which is a nice finishing touch. From the bookstore I set off to my final destination on my solo Paris day – the holy grail of France, the mightiest of mighty landmarks…the Eiffel Tower. As is inherent in the nature of wandering, I got a little bit lost on my way there, but as long as I headed in generally the correct direction I knew I would find it. It’s a pretty big (literally) deal, after all. I caught my first glimpse by accident as I was meandering past the Musee de l’Armee, when suddenly over the rooftops protruded the glistening pinnacle of Parisian pride. Upon seeing it I (unsuccessfully) restrained a squeak and picked up my pace, making a beeline to the landmark. The tower is placed at the end of a green space, reminding me of the positioning of the Washington Monument at the end of the Mall in D.C., standing tall and stately above the city. Being in front of it was surreal, but also somewhat anticlimactic, as with most famous landmarks. I couldn’t believe that I was there, really seeing it, but also, to a certain extent, you wonder “now what?” Landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, and Big Ben, and the Astronomical Clock, are passive experiences, especially if you’re not going inside of them. You go, look at it, and take a picture. The whole experience takes about ten minutes. It’s incredible, and certainly a solidifying moment of “Yes. I am here. This is real,” but in comparison to active exploration of a city, it can be a little disappointing. However, I was anticipating this and had stopped in a bakery along the way and got a fresh baguette and some brie, so I proceeded to have the most wonderfully French afternoon possible, sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower, finishing my book, which was set in Paris, and eating my bread and cheese. That way I could continue to appreciate the tower’s beauty, but still actually have something to do. It was glorious.
About three hours later I went the five miles back to the hostel on the other side of the river, passing the Louvre along the way (eep!). Once I got back to the hostel I was ready to shower (still smelled like overnight bus), relax (no longer be wearing my boots), and kill some time (delve into my new book) while waiting for Sarah. I made friends with the other girl in our room, who was from Argentina, and got settled into the space. As I was going down to use one of the hostel’s computers I ran into Sarah checking in at the counter. Since it was already pretty late by that time we decided to just go out and catch up with each other over wine and dessert, leaving more Parisian stuff for tomorrow. I was so happy to finally be with her! The vocal dam that had existed during the day had broken, and out came a flood of stories, anecdotes, and opinions. We hadn’t seen each other in two months, so we had a surplus of things to talk about. After Sarah and I had finished our desserts and wine most other customers had filtered out, so we waited for the check, figuring that it would be brought to us since we were the only ones that hadn’t paid yet. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally everyone else was gone and the staff was stacking up chairs. We had tried to catch our waiter’s eye several times, to no avail. We finally got his attention as he was wiping down a table and we waved him over. Guess what his reaction was? Seriously, guess. You can’t. You’re not going to get it. He waved back, and then continued cleaning. We were the only people, sitting in front of empty plates in a deserted restaurant surrounded by upturned chairs and the stench of disinfectant, and when we waved the waiter over he just waved back. What? What??? The stereotype about terrible French service was 100% true. It took us almost an hour extra to get out of the restaurant after we had finished, simply because we weren’t given the opportunity to pay. We went back to the hostel, exhausted from travel, to a room that was already sleeping. I collapsed onto my bed, having not really slept in about 36 hours, and was immediately out, dreaming of cafés, berets, and Parisian adventures to come.
Tag Archives: weather
LITTLE THINGS
I have been the absolute worst at posting recently, but it’s all for good reasons – I swear! I’ve been doing schoolwork and travelling and been just generally pretty busy. However, here are all of the pictures of the day from the week or so before I left for my travels and all of the little things I was up to then.
8.2.14 – Meet Godfrey. He met a swift death shortly after this picture was taken.
9.2.14 – Me and my friend trying to get a matching shirt picture and failing epically at it by just being incredibly spazzy. 
10.2.14 – A quiet day. I made tea in a jar and wore a sweater that is really just a small blanket. Here’s a picture.
11.2.14 – I won 2 free tickets to go see the semi-finals of Brain of Britain, which is sort of like BBC’s version of jeopardy. The questions are so ridiculously hard, though! There were only about 3 that I knew the answers too. It’s all very obscure knowledge where the question has seemingly nothing to do with the answer, but the contestants were incredibly impressive and all did really well.
12.2.14 – Rainy day at the Camden Market, where we went to get lunch from one the numerous food stands. The food here is incredible and there is the most variety in the smallest space that you will probably find in all of London. So many options, and they all look and smell soooo good. The rain and wind got pretty ridiculous as we were walking through the rest of the market, so we took a bus home. Here’s a pseudo-artsy picture through the rainy window.
13.2.14 – I spent 4 hours in Cafe Nero finishing a paper. Thus, this picture sums up my day.
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH…
…this is what I’ve been up to the past couple weeks when I’ve been incredibly awful at keeping up with my posts. It’s better late than never, though, which is good for me because I’m perpetually late. To sum up, here’s what’s been going on in my life the past week or so.
26.1.14 – Recovering from Cambridge/doing work/all you can eat buffet in Chinatown! It was about 7 pounds most places, and the food wasn’t great, especially concerning vegetarian options, but it was a fun experience!
^^^Photo of the Day 26.1.14
27.1.14 – Study and tea day 🙂
^^^Photo of the Day 27.1.14
28.1.14 – Tuesdays are the day where I have class the entire day, so nothing much exciting happened today. I was given fudge flavoured yogurt at the dining hall, which was an interesting sensory experience…
^^^Photo of the Day 28.1.14
29.1.14 – There’s a very important picture of me making a snowman out of tater tots, peas, and carrots at the dining hall on this day that I am not currently in possession of. Stay tuned for that gem.
30.1.14 – So this week was a pretty rainy and lazy week, if you hadn’t figured out from the lack of exciting things to take pictures of the past three days. Thursday followed this trend when we opted to hang out and watch frozen and do mostly nothing all day. However, Frozen is incredible so I’m not even sorry about it. If you haven’t seen it stop everything and so see it right now. No! Stop reading!!! Start watching it!!!! Go! Now!!!
^^^Photo of the Day 30.1.14 (So, yeah, I didn’t take any pictures this day…)
31.1.14 – Exploring day! After a week of doing basically nothing I decided to go out on a rainy Friday adventure! It twas so joyous of an occasion that it deserves its own post, coming soon to a computer near you!
^^^Photo of the Day 31.1.14
1.2.14 – Evensong at Westminster Abbey. It was incredibly beautiful, and also will have it’s own post in the near future.
^^^Photo of the Day 1.2.14
2.2.14 – The Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown. You may wonder why I chose such a bad picture for the photo of the day. Well, it’s because this photograph captures the experience. There were no barricades, so the crowd descended on the parade like a swarm of flies armed with iPhones and cameras, making it impossible to see anything. It was ridiculous. We also went to a Super Bowl party (woo,sports) that was hosted by UCL’s American society.
^^^Photo of the Day 2.2.14
3.2.14 – Sleep and studying. Those days are boring, but necessary. Here’s a picture of my bulletin board that is rapidly filling up with programs, business cards, flyers and postcards from things that I’ve done and been too. A bunch have things have been added, even just in the past week. By the time I leave I probably will have taken up then entire board and the surrounding wall.
^^^Photo of the Day 3.2.14
4.2.14 – Football! Yay! Sports! Huzzah! [Insert sporty phrase here] I wanted to go to at least one professional football game while I was here because it seems to be such a British thing to do, despite that the sportiest I get is the Spice Girls, so on Tuesday I went because it was only 10 pounds. It was cold and rainy and no one scored until they were almost done with overtime. It was 117 minutes in. This was probably not the best single game to represent the entire sport of football to me, but now that I’ve been to one I feel no need to go to any more.
^^^Photo of the Day 4.2.14
5.2.14 – Went to see Giselle at the Royal Opera House! It was only 9 pounds and completely gorgeous 🙂 More to come on this event too!
^^^Photo of the Day 5.2.14
6.2.14 – Nothing much really happened today besides rain, silliness, and indecisiveness. We tend to decide to go to places and then decide it’s too expensive after we get there and just end up wandering around trying to find cheaper places only to remember we’re in London, so we just end up walking all over only to go home, but c’est la vie. Here is a lovely snapchat that we took during one of such excursions.
7.2.14 – This day will get it’s own post very soon because I both went to Hyde Park and to see the BBC symphony orchestra! Here’s a picture of Hyde Park to tide you over until then 🙂
TREACHEROUS
Photo of the Day 18.1.14 (photo cred to Linds on this one)
Went to Brighton today! It was amazing and intriguing and wonderful, but I am so so tired now! I’ll write more about it tomorrow, with more pictures too!
CLOUDY
A overcast, yet enjoyable, walk to and from Primrose Hill
Rainbow row area!
We’re here!
Views from the top! The tall skinny tower is the BT tower I was talking about earlier (see other picture below).
The street where we had lunch.
Regent’s Park looks a bit more ominous at night.
Fancy Schmancy office building we passed.
Fancy Shmancy apartment building we passed.
BT tower again!
Home! 🙂
Photos of the Day 12 January 2014
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL MORNING
Regents Park exploring
Photo(s) of the Day 9.1.14
WALK OF LIFE
Just thought that I should catch you up on what I’ve been doing the past few days! Also, I want to write it down so I remember. Friday was a ton of orientation stuff, but Saturday and Sunday have been fun exploring days. We just basically are walking everywhere, regardless of the distance, which makes it all the more adventurous.
Saturday:
- Woke up to a flawlessly blue sky and sunlight streaming through my window. Everyone one complains about the weather, but my experience so far is that it’s all talk. At the risk of jinxing myself I’m going to say that it has been pretty gorgeous weather so far. When it does rain it’s light rain that seems to stop pretty quickly, and no matter what it’s been warmer than it would be at home, so I’m happy with it 🙂
- Ran through Regents Park. It’s the perfect place to run!
- Went to phone store and got my phone sorted out. I’ve had a phone since the very beginning, but there was a problem with texts I got fixed. If you’re going to study abroad I would recommend deciding on your phone situation before you arrive so you can get one as soon as you get there. It makes making friends so much easier when people can contact you from the beginning. Otherwise you’re just running into people at check in and in the elevator, temporarily making friends and then having no real way to contact them again. So yayyyyy fixed phone!
- Skyped with the ‘rents
- Walked to the National Portrait Gallery and looked at a bunch of paintings of dead, rich, white guys. Classic England. It was fun to go there though. There were also some modern exhibits that had paintings of live, rich, white guys, so that was a nice change of pace.
- Walked back home through Soho, Chinatown, and Leicester Square. There were lots of people, and street performers, and smells, and sites, and city lights.
- Walked to Camden Town for dinner at a place that served only pies and mash. They had a vegetarian pie there (shocker!) which was quite delicious. It had sweet potatoes, spinach, goat cheese, and red onions in it. I had it sans mash, but it was still delicious!
- Walked through what wasn’t closed yet of the Stable Market, going through this crazy rave store where everything lit up and a lot of food stands.
- Got a nutella crepe which was an A++ decision.
- Stopped in a pub which we were only in briefly because then we all remembered how broke we were.
- Walked back home and played Cards Against Humanity
Sunday:
- Slept in and unpacked a little bit. The unpacking thing is quite a long and delicate process. Meaning that I just keep procrastinating it.
- Went to Zee Cafe on the corner for afternoon tea but they were out of scones (noooooo!) so I got other stuff instead.
- Walked through Camden again to Primrose Hill. It was pretty and a good view, but also quite overcast. Pictures soon to come! Originally we were going to picnic there, but instead we opted for going to a cafe nearby
- Walked back home
- Wrote this blog post
- Went to go plan travels to greater Europe!!! Wheeee!!!! I can’t wait!!!
Okay, so now I’m going to go do that last one on the list 🙂 Toodles!
Study Abroad: London 
