Reflections on Paris

The preconception that sticks out most to me about Paris is of course that Parisians are all snooty, self-righteous assholes who think they are better than everyone else. But after five nights and six days I can confidently say that, like most generalizations about groups of people, such a notion is totally untrue. Most everyone, from native Parisian to foreign traveler, that we came in contact with was pleasant and good-natured toward us. We met plenty of people who spoke very little if any English, and as long as we made an honest attempt to speak some French, they made an honest attempt to be patient and work with us.

Speaking bits of French with no formal education was easy enough, especially with menus and signs to read from, and simple English plus body language to fill in the gaps. Paris was an excellent first experience with speaking and navigating using an unfamiliar foreign language.

The visit was good for other firsts as well. I've never been one for art and history (or art history, for that matter), but visiting Versailles and the Louvre really captivated me in ways I was previously unfamiliar with. In the past I've always blown through art museums, trying to shorten the torture as much as possible to avoid falling asleep while standing. But in the Louvre I found myself strangely enjoying everything and looking closely at many of the Spanish and Italian paintings. I was even finding trends and similarities between subject and style with an almost palpable amount of focus. Even my now spotty knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology from 9th grade started coming back when I saw Michelangelo's statues depicting the gods and their stories. I even felt a little indignant toward the people in tour groups who cared more about taking photos of themselves next to famous works than enjoying the works themselves. MySpace shots with the Mona Lisa were depressingly common.

Our final night in Paris was spent at an amazing brassarie next to the Luxembourg Gardens where the three of us spent over 110 Euro on 3 course French meals with delicious wine, still water, and the best espresso on this earth (except maybe compared to the stuff in Italy). We really went all out and it was more than worth it. Our nighttime picnic under the Eiffel Tower as the sun set and the tower glowed orange and sparkled bright white the night before was unforgettable and amazing, but it's hard to articulate how wonderful a fancy, fully-prepared restaraunt meal tastes after almost 2 weeks of nothing but friend, cheese, bread, and water.

Now we enter our first group of smaller cities and towns, starting with Bern, Switzerland, where Einstein formulated his Theory of Relativity and where LSD was invented (among other things, I'm sure). A nice lady named Therese from our hostel is a Bern native and gave us her phone number so she could show us around tomorrow or Monday when she returns from Paris. I hope to take her up on her offer. Either way, I'm very excited to be moving on from the bigger, well-known cities to the smaller, more quaint ones.