Paris, Arras, je t’aime

Hi everyone! I realize how ABSOLUTELY late this is! I have been back in the States now for a little over a month and I pretty much hit the ground running from the second my feet touched my home country’s dirt. Since my return, I have moved back to Washington College and started a job and an internship, traveling back and forth each weekend to hang out with friends and family. French majors also had a major thesis proposal due within weeks of being back in America, and so we have definitely been busy. As such, I have not yet been able to talk about my last Saturday in France trip to Paris, or my feelings about being back.

The Louvre

There won’t be many details in this post about Paris, as I have already visited twice before and this visit was way over a month ago. Don’t worry, however, as I will post approximately 50 million photos to make up for this ;)

Easter Island head!

Rembrandt Himself

My day began by returning to the Louvre in search of my Rembrandt paintings. Sophomore year of college I took an art history class that focused solely on Rembrandt’s life and his works; each student gave a 50 minute self-created lecture and wrote a 20 page paper on some aspect of this subject. My paper focused on the role of women in Rembrandt’s work and his life, particularly on the painting Bathsheba at Her Bath. The Louvre hosts this painting, in addition to several other Rembrandt’s that I studied, and so it became a kind of pilgrimage to finally see them in the flesh. If you have never seen a Rembrandt in real life, it is truly a treat and unforgettable thing. I can talk on and on about how much more beautiful they are in real life and that photographs do not do it justice. I won’t do this, but just take my word for it. These are the paintings that almost brought tears to my eyes and I stared at for a substantial amount of time:

Bathsheba at Her Bath

I also had the opportunity to see some Vermeer, another Dutch painting master.

After the Louvre I walked along the Seine towards the Latin Quarter. I had never explored this area, and it truly was a great experience. I stumbled firstly upon the Pantheon of Paris. This structure emulates ancient Greek and Roman temples and really is awe-inspiring. The other amazing thing about this particular Pantheon is its dedication to famous French writers and philosophers. This distinction is exactly how the United States of America differs from France: we honor our politicians, and the French honor their great authors (I prefer France’s fascination). Throughout this building one can find the tombs of the legends of France: Victor Hugo, Rousseau, Diderot, Voltaire, as well as dedications to authors who fought in wars and whose bodies have never been recovered (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry).

Underneath the Pont Neuf along the Seine

Latin Quarter

"Thank you for everything"

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon, built during the French Revolution

"To the writers, dead for France"

Once I fulfilled my time with these French greats, I crossed the street to the Luxembourg Gardens where I spent the afternoon eating oranges, reading Gatsby le Magnifique, and walking around enjoying the pretty Parisian day.

The Luxembourg Gardens

My final hour was spent walking back to Notre Dame (where I encountered Saint Sulpice). I ate my last street crepe of this journey (caramel- don’t worry, it definitely got all over my new bag, as if I expected some other outcome) and then walked back to the Metro, which took me to Paris Nord.

Saint Sulpice

The back of Notre Dame

Writing this now is giving me ridiculous nostalgia for Paris and all of its beauty, quirks, oddities, and personality. My family yelled at me on Sunday for claiming that I miss France because I was so homesick when I was over there, but I believe that I have the right to miss it even though I am thrilled to be home. I will always love France with all of my heart, and this was definitely a well-spent four and a half months. I find myself thinking back to my experience often and I am still trying to understand how I feel about it exactly. Having a full schedule the second I returned definitely helped my adjustment, but it still seems very surreal that this even occurred.

My little brother is at this very moment experiencing his very first day in France, and in Paris no less. I hope he loves the buildings, the people, the language, the food (bien sur), and the atmosphere as much as I did and still do.

Paris, je t’aime. Arras, je t’aime. Toujours.

Thank you to everyone who has been patient with this blog and enjoyed reading it! I hope you all liked it as much as I liked writing about my journey : )