Week 11: Paris, Je T'aime!

Monday and Tuesday (3/25-3/26): Two pretty normal school days. 😊

Wednesday (3/27): Bonn -> Colmar -> Beaune; Let the journey in France begin! 
Our stop in Colmar was to visit the Unterlinden Museum (if I remember correctly, it translates to "under the tree" museum). More specifically, we visited the Isenheim Alter; it has different ways of being opened, displaying many beautiful works.
From Colmar we went to Beaune. Because we didn't have an agenda for the night (besides sleep), a group of my friends and I grabbed dinner. Given that Beaune is the "Capital of Burgundy wines," drinking some delicious wine in a semi-fancy restaurant was a must. Mission accomplished. I had my first carpaccio and great red wines to go along with -- love trying new foods! Afterwards, a few of us went to a wine bar and hung out for a bit. 🍷

Thursday (3/28): Colmar -> Paris ❤
In the morning, the program visited the Hotel Dieu, one of the oldest hospitals in the world. It was established by a chancellor to help the ill, improvised folk. Learning the history behind it all was so interesting! For instance, the main hall had red-colored curtains over the beds. Because red is a color associated with important people, the chancellor wanted the poor to feel like they mattered too. My favorite part was an alter piece in the Hotel; it is one of my favorite paintings to this day. The religious and medical context behind it is so fascinating and the attention to detail is incredible.

Afterwards, we had a 5 hour bus ride to Paris. In the meantime, I worked on my VIBS paper; I felt accomplished. Catching sight of the Eiffel Tower, I could not believe it! PARIS! We met up with our tour guide, Julian (awesome man! as French as a French person can get). We walked around for a while, visited the Notre Dame (so blessed to have seen it before it burned down😢), and had dinner at a creperie.

Friday (3/29): Paris day 2. Do as the French do. 
In the morning, we went to the Palace of Versailles. Afterwards, we had a picnic in the Versailles Garden.

yes, i ate it all

Though it may seem weird, the picnic in the park was one of my favorite activities of the semester. I loved eating authentic French foods, great wine, and spending time with my friends in beautiful weather in Paris. 🙆 Julian pointed out something I had never really noticed before: Americans tend to over do their meals a lot of the time. He encouraged us to only put one thing on at a time on our baguette and wow! It was the best. 
We then had free time so I visited the Arc de Triomphe. 💙

At night, we had dinner at the fancy restaurant (YUM), then I went up the Eiffel Tower.🌟

Saturday (3/30): Paris day 3. These shoes were made for walkin!
We went on a walking tour in the morning. Among the many cool things I saw, I got to see where Ernest Hemingway lived! Perhaps one of my favorite things was keeping an eye out for works by Space Invader. He is an undercover artist in Paris who marks corners of buildings with images made of flat squares. More often than not, the image relates to its location.

Afterwards, we took a stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens and visited the Louvre!

Of course, our 4 hour tour inside was not nearly enough time to cover everything inside. Either way, we analyzed many works and discussed their medical significance. We also discussed Leonardo DeVinci's works -- its so neat to know about the things he hid in his paintings. He was a genius and is one of my favorite people!

At night, a few friends and I went out for drinks in Le Marais. 🍻

Sunday (3/31): Paris day 4. My first free day 💜

The first thing on my to-do list was to go to Shakespeare & Company. Looking for the perfect books was a little hard, but I eventually found some that I love! I can’t wait to read them this summer. 😊 The shop itself was super neat and upstairs they had a cat named Aggie!

Afterwards, I walked along side the Notre Dame looking at street art. Then, I headed to Le Marais for lunch (a delicious hotdog) and some window shopping – I didn’t intend to buy anything but still wanted to have a look. After lunch, I headed to the Pablo Picasso Museum.

Picasso's painting of his studio

From the Picasso Museum, I visited Pere Lachaise Cemetery, the most visited necropolis in the world ;). It was HUGE (over 1 million interments) and had a lovely hilltop.

To top off the day, I did some more window shopping at Galeries Lafayette. 

Needless to say, it was an eventful day, and I’m glad I made the most of my Sunday. :) 

Monday (4/1): Last day in Paris. ✌

To start off my day, I visited Sacre Coeur. The inside of the church was beautiful and peaceful. I also climbed about 300 steps to get to the top of the building.

From there, I visited the Le Mur des Je t'aime, otherwise known as the I Love You Wall. It says "I Love You" in 100 different languages.

To finish off my days in Paris, I re-visited the Eiffel Tower and Luxembourg Gardens. I did not enter the Eiffel Tower; instead, I just enjoyed the view from the nearby park. I took a nap in the Luxembourg Gardens, bathing in the warm sunshine. 🌸🌞