After getting wrecked by my physiology test on Monday, we left for Colmar, France to see the Isenheim altar. I had never heard of it before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. however, I knew that if we were stopping in this town just to see this masterpiece, then it must be magnificent. And magnificent it was! The Isenheim altar was a multi-panelled piece that told pictured different scenes of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The incredible attention to detail and mere size of this artwork was so impressive and definitely worth the stop in Colmar.
That evening, we arrived in Beaurne, France. It was in the Bourgondy region, known for their wine. Over dinner, I enjoyed a glass of Rose and crème brulee, and I even tried escargot! I was so scared to try snail since it was green and slimy, but it actually turned out to be very tasty. Like garlic chicken! I still can’t say that I have a desire to eat it again, but I’m glad that I tried something out of my comfort zone.
The next morning, we headed to PARIS!! After we checked into the hotel, we met our tour guide Julian, who took us to Notre Dame. For dinner, we went to a creperie, where I got a ham, egg, and cheese crepe as an entrée and a caramel crepe for dessert.
That night, I took a stop at my cousin’s old apartment since it was in walking distance of my hotel. Two summers ago, I stayed at her place for a month while she was out of town for a consulting job, while I took French lessons at a language school. Going back to the old apartment I used to live in definitely made me realize how much of a special place this city holds in my heart.
The next day, we went to Versailles! We toured the opulent palace, then headed over to the gardens. There was nowhere enough time to see the entire palace grounds, but I still enjoyed what I did get to see. For lunch, Julian prepared a traditional French picnic with different cheeses and meats and baguettes, walking us through the assortment. I really enjoyed getting to learn about different cheeses and the regions they come from because my cheese knowledge up until that point was only that it tastes good. Sitting in the grass and simply enjoying the day is something I do not do enough in my everyday life, but it is definitely something I want to change and do more often.
Once we got back to Paris, we went to the Arc de Triomphe.
That evening, I put on my signature nighttime outfit- black on black, and we headed out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. I had a salmon/avocado tartare to start, beef with wine sauce as a main course, and concluded with an apple pie for the grand finale, and wine all around, of course. At dinner, I was talking to my friend Josh and he said (in the words of J. Cole), “there’s no thing as a life that’s better than yours.” It was a really special moment because I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for life. Through all the good and the bad, I was so happy to be able to call my life my own.
After dinner, we walked a few blocks to the Eiffel Tower. To be honest, I was hesitant to go to the Eiffel Tower just because I didn’t feel like having to deal with crowds, plus I got pickpocketed last time I went, but I am so glad that my friends pushed me to go. By that time, the crowds had died down since it was about to close, so the lines moved quickly. There’s something so magical about being on the Eiffel Tower at night and looking all around at all the twinkling lights in the city. Standing there, I couldn’t help but think that there really was no life that was better than mine.
Unfortunately, in the midst of all this, I had a biomedical writing assignment due that weekend. I decided that I didn’t want to have to come back to the hotel to finish writing it the next day, so I was going to power through and write my paper that night. It took longer than expected, so I ended up staying up until 5 am to write this paper. Yes, I was, in fact, a zombie the next morning, but I was relieved to get it out of the way. This was STUDY abroad, after all.
We started the following day bright and early, to my sleep-deprived delight! Julian took us on a walking tour around the city, starting with the Latin Quarter and hitting the St. Germain de Pres district and the Luxembourg gardens on the way to the Louvre. At the Louvre, we went on a 4-hour medical history tour. As captivating as the tour was, it was hard not to wander off to do my own exploring, like c’mon, it’s the Louvre!
After the Louvre, we went to Le Marais. By this time, my feet hurt from walking all day, so I was more than happy to sit down at a little café and people watch. After I had my fair share of coffee and macaroons, we walked around the neighborhood for a bit and looked in some of the stores. It was getting dark and shops started closing,. Oh, would you look at the time? Its happy hour! This is definitely my favorite neighborhood in Paris!
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