catching up... three weeks in paris

Bonjour! I know it’s been a while since I have last posted (I feel like I just need to make that the name of my blog at this point) but I feel like I have a pretty good reason.

I flew into Paris a little over three weeks ago, and since then I have been working pretty much every day. I’ll write more about my job once I get home and unwind a bit so you’ll have to wait for that update. However!! I will talk about the things I’ve done in the city on either my days off or on days that I have enough energy to do things before or after my shift.

went to see a jazz band with a friend, july 20th

On my first day here, I landed at around 7 AM but couldn’t check in at my hotel until 12, so I took a train to my hotel and waited in the lobby until I could get into my room. Once I unpacked and changed into clothes I hadn’t been traveling in, I took the train to my old stomping ground and walked around in the 6th arrondissement for a while. I ate a Carrefour caesar salad in the Jardin du Luxembourg for lunch, then explored things for another few hours before going to Le Nemrod, a café not too far from my old dorm, for dinner. Some time between the park and dinner, I got a nosebleed in the metro station and had to rely on the kindness of others who provided tissues.

accidentally stumbled upon the olympic torch relay! july 14th

It was Bastille Day, so I went and met up with some friends after I ate and we walked around for a bit before settling down on a bridge by the Assemblée Nationale to watch the fireworks show that they put on at the Eiffel Tower. It was a bit underwhelming, to be honest, but they did use drones to coordinate a show of the Olympic sports, which was cool.

everyone waiting for the fireworks show to start. july 14th

We left the show early, hoping to beat the rush of people as they tried to catch the metro and escape the middle of the city. We did not leave early enough. We took a connecting metro, which ended up working, but then once we got to Gare du Nord to take our last train, we realized that it wasn’t coming. At this point, it was barely after midnight and it should have been working. I started to get another nosebleed–thankfully I was with a group of Anglophones who understood my dilemma, and also had tissues on hand.

so many dogs play on the greens outside the louvre july 16th

We made our way outside the station and searched for a bus. The driver of said bus charged me four times the amount of a normal ticket, which I tried to argue with but my French-speaking friend told me that it was not the night for that. Feeling nauseous at 20 euros gone and the thought of no sleep that night, we made our way back to the hotel.

We got there around 2:30 in the morning, and I promptly went to bed so that I could get a little sleep before waking up at 7:30 for work. My first day of work was good–it was mainly just a tour of the building and training.

the notre dame august 7th

Now, more than three weeks in, I think I’m almost ready to go home. It’s starting to get to me: eight hour shifts, staring at computers all day, and almost no time for being social or exploring the city. I still enjoy my job and I love talking to my coworkers on the shuttle back to our hotel but I am so, so tired.

august 7th

Yesterday, I was finally able to go into the city for the first time in a week! (Excluding a few hours Sunday for church.) I had the day off, but instead of waking up early and going to do some sightseeing, I woke up at 2:30 in the afternoon and had a slow start to my day. Okay, that isn’t completely true. I woke up at 10:40, made it downstairs for free breakfast, and was back in bed by 11:00 to get in another hour (or three). After I eventually dragged myself out of bed, I took the train to the Notre Dame, sat in a park for a few minutes, and went to the Jardins des Plantes with my friend. After we sat and talked in the gardens for a bit (and saw some kangaroos), we started walking towards the center of the city to find something to eat. We stopped in at Café le Metro, and I had possibly the best meal I have had in Paris so far.

low quality picture, high quality pasta! august 7th

It was the perfect penne pasta with tomato sauce, burrata, parmesan, and basil. Granted, it was the most expensive meal I’ve had in the city this time around (at 20€) but it was well worth it.

After dinner, we biked to the Eiffel Tower and sat for about an hour and a half, watching it sparkle and many rats running around in the grass where we were. After, we went to another café and spent the rest of our night there before taking a bus back to our hotel.

eiffel tower!! august 7th

I think this trip has taught me a new side of Paris, albeit the less glamorous side, but it’s kind of reinforced my love for it. I love days spent in the Jardin du Luxembourg, reading and napping on the green with a hundred others. I don’t love being on the metro when people are packed in like sardines, angry from the heat, and smelling like the August sun has been on them all day. I love the freedom of going anywhere or doing anything, but I don’t love the lack of public bathrooms in these places I go to on a whim.

Of course, when I studied here I had these same opinions. This time, the image of Paris is tarnished not by tourists, or by the smelly locals on the train. Instead, I find work to be an exhaustion I’m not exactly used to, and fans here for the Olympics just crowd the places I want to go. I expected both of these, though, so that’s something at least.

brazil fans outside of a café watching a football game. brazil v spain, women's football august 7th

Other than work and seeing the city, I have had a lot of time to think of the future. The near future will look like immediately going back to school when I get home, with less than 12 hours at home before moving into my apartment. A difficult class load, a lot of assigned readings, and going back to work at the library. Res life, socializing, work, academics… I’m not quite ready for what the semester will hold. I’m excited to see my friends though. Every day, not just once or twice over the span of summer break.

I’ve also been reading a lot while I’ve been here. Liv and I have been prepping for book club this semester, and in the decision process of what books to read I have read three different books just for that while I’ve been here. Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett, Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow, and The Rock Eaters: Stories by Brenda Peynado. Each book was so good that I was rushing to put them on my Goodreads. All summer I have been reading light fiction, so this was a different pace and mood than I was used to. If you go to school with me, you should definitely check out our book club this semester. If you don’t go to school with me, I think you should read these books anyways.

Other than that, I don’t know what else to write about for this post. It isn’t exactly the exciting content of my semester here, but it feels like it really is where I’m at right now. Hopefully my next post will be a bit more exciting, and in a shorter time frame than I’ve made an irregular pattern of.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the post and the pictures. Talk to you next time. À la prochaine.