July 1, 2012
Well, packing took a lot
longer than expected… so, with only 3 hours of sleep in my, I got up at 6:30
for our 7:20 departure. I made my way downstairs into the breakfast room for
the last time and received my final cup of coffee. I also had to have a piece
of bread with butter and jam, since I knew it was the last time I’d be doing
that for a very, very long time (very).
At 7:20, after saying our
thanks and farewells to Madame, I trudged through the pouring rain with my too
heavy luggage in my completely impractical flats and dress onto the bus. I was
a little optimistic about the weather… hoping Paris would be nothing but
sunshine. At 8:30 we boarded our TGV train to the Gare de Lyon. When we
arrived, we regrouped and parted ways. It was bittersweet and surreal as one by
one our group members broke off and disappeared with their luggage among the
sea of people crowding the train station.
No more sadness. After all,
the glass really is half full: there was
five of us still together and we had a full day in Paris! We went downstairs in
the station to purchase metro cards for the day which we took to get to our
hotel. As soon as we walked out of the meto station and onto the street,
directly in front of us stood the Moulin Rouge! It looks just like in the
movie!
That is, except that it stood surrounded by several other buildings in a
bustling city, but it was really cool no less. We lugged our bags to our hotel
(2 too many flights of stairs for my liking) and arranged for taxis to take us
to our respective airports at 4am.
The other girls had visited
the Louvre when they’d arrived in Paris two weeks ago, but I still really
wanted to go. So we split up and I tried to go. Now, once a month the Louvre
has free entry, this day being the first Sunday of the month. I didn’t know
this. Today was July 1, and a Sunday. There was an hour and a half line just to
get in. I arrived at 3pm, wouldn’t get in until 4:30, and the museum was set to
close at 5:30. I accepted my loss and gave up hopes for going to the Louvre.
Instead, I made my way back
to Notre Dame, this time to check out the inside which I had not been able to
see the week before. When on my way
there, I walked through what I thought was a with food or souvenirs, but
actually turned out to be a slew of vendors with pet birds. I found this very
interesting. As with most old churches, Notre Dame was gorgeous.
I took a metro back to our
previously designated meeting place, so that we could all walk to the Eiffel
tower.
En route, we purchased our final French ice cream cones.
As we neared the Eiffel tower, I became
thoroughly confused. Did you know the Eiffel tower is brown? Like mocha
cappuccino brown?
Not black, or grey, or slate, or silver or even
dark brown. Nope. It was light brown. I was amazed.
Anyway, aside from the color-shock, the Eiffel
tower is amazing.
We couldn’t believe that we
were standing right under it. It’s massive and really just a phenomenal
structure overall.
We decided there were three
things we needed to do that evening: dinner, boat cruise, and climbing the
tower. We started with dinner where we enjoyed escargot for the last time, I
had just a bit more goat cheese, and I finally tried Kir, a French aperitif of
white wine with crème de cassis.
We then headed a few blocks over
for a boat tour which would take us past several sights just as the sun was
setting. We popped a bottle of wine on the boat, sat back and took in the
beauty of Paris.
Even better, when we were standing on line, an
English-speaking woman gave us three tickets for the cruise which she didn’t
use. So instead of it costing 9 euros each, it only cost us four.
We headed over to the Eiffel
tower around 10pm to begin our ascent. Unfortunately, as we were walking toward
the ticket line, they closed the gates for admission to the top. We at least
still had the chance to walk to the second level, which was definitely better
than nothing.
Somehow, I got lost in the
excitement and completely missed the Eurocup final. I saw crowds of people
flocking over the bridge away from a jumbotron on the other side of the river.
The game had ended between Spain and Italy. Soon enough, the faint “ole ole ole
ole” chant of a Spanish victory became audible and I knew that Spain had
secured their third cup title. I was ecstatic! People were dancing, singing,
and cheering for hours. Cars were honking their horns and passengers were
leaning out of the windows, raving. I wish I’d seen it!
Just when we were about to
descend from the second level of the Eiffel tower, the whole thing began to
glitter and light up. It was a really cool sight to see.
We caught taxis back to the
hotel and repacked our luggage. I was able to squeeze in a twenty minute nap
before having to wake up again and head down for our taxi.
I’m currently sitting in my
terminal in Charles de Gaulle airport watching the bellies of the clouds
outside shift from shades of blue to lavender to pink-peach, and gold as the
sun is rising over the horizon.
Again, this has been the
experience of a lifetime. I will never forget the friends I’ve made on this
trip or the perspective which I have gained. I now have a new respect for
France, especially having seen it from the small town setting where the meaning
of French still reigns true, unaltered by tourism. I’ve been blessed to have
this opportunity, see so much, and meet so many wonderful people. But I’ve also
learned a tremendous amount and have begun the sow the seeds for a passion for
cheese and wine and culture, an integral factor, which I hope to continue to
cultivate.
- Adrianne Speranza
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