Day Eighteen: Baby Bottles of Wine

Today was our final day. It was nice to wake up a little later than usual. Since Brittini was going to spend the day with her friend that's from France, Danielle and I were taking our time getting up and ready. We had planned a full day at Montmortre. My sister had gone to Paris a few years ago and when I asked her what I should do while here, all she talked about was this resteraunt that had baby bottles of wine. As a result, Danielle and I had planned on going there for lunch. After about an hour of wandering around the area that I knew it was, we finally had to ask someone if they knew where "La Refuge" was. Luckily, they pointed us to the right place, but they were closed. Since we had spent so much time and effort to get there, we decided we'd come back for dinner and hope for the best. So we grabbed lunch somewhere else and wandered in and out of several shops before going up the hill to Sacre Coeur.

There were over 300 stairs to go up in order to even get to Sacre Coeur. After our long trek uphill, we took a break to look at the view. We were literally on the top of a hill so we could look over the city. Since it was a bright, clear day, it was quite the view. There was also a guy playing guitar and singing on the steps up to the chapel, and he was quite good, so it was just a nice day to hang out and enjoy. After a few songs, we ventured inside the chapel. After seeing Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul's- I wasn't too impressed. There was nothing extremely unique or different than what we had seen. The dome in the middle was probably the most interesting aspect of the chapel. It had a huge painting of Jesus looking down at the congregation. There were also a number of statues of various religious figures to which you could pray to and give offerings to. I kept thinking how little humans have changed. Even though these days we think of ancient religion has myths, many of the same ideas still exist today. The idea of praying, offering, and creating visual representations of religious figures. While I wasn't a huge fan of the chapel, I do have to admit the view was worth the trip.

Once again we passed many gypses on our way back down the hill, but managed to avoid them once again. We wandered in and out of shops before we got back to the Metro station. We were planning on going to either Jim Morrison's and Delacroix's graves and the Pompidou Center, but we ended up riding the train to the wrong end-of-the-line and had to ride it all the way back before transferring two more times. By then, we were just tired and didn't have much time before we were going to meet Brittini. It was her birthday today, so Danielle and I bought her some flowers to surprise her and we were going out to dinner at The Frog and British Library since it was one of our favorite places to grab a bite to eat and get some celebratory drinks, but since I still wanted to go to Le Refuge, we changed our minds and headed there instead. Brittini's French friend, Benjamin, also joined us.

While we were on the Metro (the same one Danielle and I had just gotten off of about an hour before), a man with a guitar started playing. I accidentally made eye contact with him and bobbed my head while he played so then he started serenading me. It was funny, but at the end he came right to me for money. Since it was my last night in Paris, I just gave him the rest of my coins- he seemed pleased. When we got back to the resteraunt, which was now open, there was a crowd outside. Ben told us that he didn't think we'd get in since it seemed like people had made reservations; however, we were lucky enough to get in and get a seat. It was a fantastic meal. We got a meat platter, a fondue pot with neverending bread, a starter glass of wine, then a baby bottle full of wine for only 18 euros! The place was quaint as well. Everyone sat side by side at one of two tables, and you could write on the walls. I was trying to find any reference to Hartwick or my sister's name, but alas, I didn't see it. We had a great time, and it was so nice meeting Ben. He was very sweet, funny, and while he kept apologizing for his English, he spoke better than I do. I especially enjoyed talking with him because I felt like I learned a lot about French culture. He talked about how living in the city is expensive and less griddy than the suburbs. He also talked about the cliche that the French hate Americans- he explained that it is a stereotype that exists- that when you ask someone, they most likely will immediately say they're not a huge fan of Americans, but they don't have a reason to. But he did say now that Obama is president, things are better. I found this a funny observation. He also explained the saying "excuse my French"- he told me that the French swear all the time. His exact words were "even my grandmother swears". It was so nice to meet him, and the four of us had a great night- it was the perfect way to end trip.

So that's essentially it. Today was the final day of the J-term trip, and while I'm shocked at how quickly the time went by, I'm excited to head home. It seems like London was forever ago, and I'm shocked at how quickly it became to really feel comfortable in both cities. I feel like I am much more independent, and less afraid of cities. I was always a paranoid wreck in New York City, but now I'll just appreciate that they speak English there. I also have a new respect for both cultures and countries. I can't wait to come back and do everything that I didn't have time to do this time around. I'm so thankful for the opportunity, and I still can't believe the amount of art we saw in such a short period of time! I wish I could do this every year.

Question of the Day: What was the absolutely best thing about the trip?

While I've done many things in three weeks, I think the best thing about the trip just has to be the art. When it comes down to it, I could have gone to a circus, gone shopping, seen a show, or gone to a movie in the states, but I could never have seen all the amazing artwork I saw in three weeks. It was like a crash course to the artworld. I've seen more art in three weeks than I bet some people see in a lifetime, and this is truly the best thing about this opportunity. If I really want to work in the art industry, especially if I want to teach art, I feel like I needed to see these pieces in person to truly understand and appreciate them. So, hands down, the best thing was the huge amount and variety of artwork I saw during the trip. However, I won't lie, the Moulin Rouge and Stonehenge were very close runner-ups.

Day Seventeen: "Oooh La la"

Sadly, today is the last day that we will be spending in Paris together as a group. We first visited La Defense, which was a modernized reference back to the Arc de Triomphe. It is a large rectangle that's erected in the buisiness district of Paris. It's pale color tone and sharp edges fits right in with the very modern architecture, which originally was not popular to Paris. I actually thought the buisiness district was beauitful and somewhat futuristic. Before we actually did the presentation on La Defense, several of us wandered over to this pink sculpture. It was a wire dome that was covered in flowers made of plastic bags. There were several representatives of the piece to explain what it was supposed to represent. Evidentally it was to promote recycling and reusing of materials. They also gave us pins and ribbons to support the cause. After we got plenty of pictures, we heard the presentation and got an up-close-and-personal look at La Defense. It's metalic color and sharp edges were bold and profound. It was simplistic, yet commanding. I was a bit disappointed that we were unable to go up the glass elevator- it seems that everything is under renovations while we're here! However, the view was still gorgeous from the platform underneath the arch. One way, we could see the Arc de Triomphe and the bustling streets. The otherside was much more bleak and somewhat underdeveloped in comparison. Today was a bad day to do outdoor presentations- it was so cold that it even began to flurry for a while. It's still not as bad as Oneonta, so I can't really complain!
Then we wandered down the road via the subway to the Arc de Triomphe. This triumphal arch is a grandiose, detailed piece of architeture which was supposed to associate Paris with Ancient Rome. There are six bas-relief sculptures in which depict famous episodes from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. There's a freize which shows the armies returning from Egypt and Italy. There are twelve avenues that radiate from the arch. This particular feature made me think of the saying "all roads lead to Rome"- which is a further association with ancient Rome. Inside the arch walls are the names of battles and generals of the wars conducted by France during the Revolution which are engraved into the wall. There are also several sculptures in high relief such as the Spirity of Liberty. In front of the arch is a grave to an unknown soilder which is supposed to be representative of all the soldiers lost at war that were never identified. There was a burning fire and flowers surrounding the grave- it was quite nice. After the presentation and wandering around the arch for a while, we descended over 250 stairs to get up to the top. The view was amazing- almost as breathtaking as the Eiffel Tower's. I think the "star" road feature was the most interesting aspect of the view. It was fun to see the cars all coming towards the tower before circling around and spinning off another direction. I think I actually enjoyed the purity of La Defense over the complex detailings of the Arc de Triomphe.
Then Brittini, Danielle, and I wandered right across the street to Champs-Elysees to go shopping for a while. Many of the stores were a little too pricey for us, but it was still fun to wander in and out of Parisian stores. I did purchase a larger bag to act as my carry-on bag because I knew I needed a way to transport all my souvenirs. While shopping, we saw many gypses- which was sort of surprising. I didn't think there would be so many! Some were trying to get people to sign "petitions", others were just laying on the street with a cup, and some were trying to tie a bracelet onto people's wrists. Luckily, we knew what to look for and just avoided them all.

Before our group dinner, Brittini and I got all dressed up for the Moulin Rouge. We were estatic to have an excuse to wear a dress, stalkings, and high heels! Before the show, we all ventured down to Bercy to eat at a little resteraunt which seemed to be all to ourselves. We drank good wine and had a three course meal. I wasn't a huge quiche fan nor did I really like the rum cake (it was way too rum-y for me)- but the chicken dish was very good. It was nice to celebrate together as a group.

After dinner, Brittini and I got the subway to the station right in front of Moulin Rouge, so it was easy enough to find. When we got there, there was a huge line stretching around the street so we hopped to the end of the line. As people shuffled inside, I noted that it was definately not the crowd (or type of dress) I thought that would be going to a show at the Moulin Rouge. We walked in, got our tickets torn, and escorted upstairs. We wandered through a bar and down a set of stairs to a large, square dance floor. No seats were around the dance floor and there was another bar. We quickly put together that we were not in the right place. We had gotten into a really popular club, which I guess if flattering since they were turning people away. We just thought they didn't get tickets in time. Once we found the correct entrance to the showroom, we found out that there was a half hour until we could actually get inside, so we decided to get a hot chocolates at Starbucks. On our walk over, we actually had a guy "Oooh La la" at us. Which, again, I guess was flattering- still a little creepy though.

When we returned to the showroom, a line had formed and it was much more what we had anticipated. The inside was all velvet and red. All the works automatically spoke in English, which I found funny because clearly this is more a tourist experience rather than a French thing. Either way, after we checked in our coats and were brought into the showroom- we found out that we had seats right against the stage with an amazing view. We also got a free bottle of champagne to share between us. We felt very classy. The show was amazing. It was a mix between a Las Vegas show and the circus. Between scene changes there would be acts similar to that at the circus last night. There was a juggler, acrobatics, and a vantrilaquist. The dancers were phenomenal as well. They had these ridiculous over-the-top, colorful costumes and each song seemed to have its own theme. I found it somewhat unexpected, funny, and sexist that the women were pretty much always topless while the men were completely covered from head to toe. I didn't realize that the show would have such revealing outfits- I thought the women would be wearing sexy outfits, but would at least heave bras on. Either way, the dancing was amazing. I'm not sure how they can dance in those high heels or with strands of beeds hanging from their neck to their ankles. I was just impressed by the girls walking down the stairs with peacock-like feathered costumes while they sang. I was also happy that they did the can-can, since it started there. They did more than just kick up their legs- they flipped and did splits and leaped all over the stage. While the whole show was amazing, there was one part that was the most impressive part to me. Half way through the show, half the stage sunk backwards into the back. Then, a secret door opened and a large tank filled with water and huge snakes came up about eight feet. Since we were so close to the stage, I was sort of afraid one of the snakes would jump out. Then, one of the dancers jumped into the water and swam, danced, and summersaulted with the snakes. It was incredible and I had never seen anything like it. The whole experience was certainly my favorite of Paris.

We were smart enough this time to come prepared with cash and a plan to get a taxi. It was different than in New York City or in London. You don't really hail a taxi, you have to go to a taxi stand. It did make me feel safer and it was quite easy to get one. It wasn't too expensive either. So the night was a complete success. Although, I must admit that I'm ready to head home. I'm excited for our free day, but I'm getting homesick.

Question of the Day: Describe the best meal you had on this trip.

The best meal I had on this trip will actually sound somewhat boring. On our second to last day, Brittini, Danielle, and I ate at this little Bistro. I ordered a deal that included a glass of wine, a ceaser salad, and creme bruelee. I don't think I've had a bad glass of wine on the trip, so obviously that was great. The salad was somehow amazing compared to any other salad I've ever had. It had huge leaves of lettuce- larger than my fork. The chicken was marinated in some sort of dressing, with herbs sprinkled on top. There were homemade crutons, with freshly grated cheese over the top. The dressing was thin and evenly distrupted. It was so fresh and delicious, I couldn't help but eat the whole thing. The creme bruelee was also fantastic- it was so sugary and crunchy on top, but soft and creamy on the bottom. It was just a great foodie experience.