destination: anywhere

Paris

Life has gotten incredibly busy recently — both professionally and socially — and now it’s been more than two months since I got back from my trip, and I haven’t even touched on most of it. So here’s the next “installment”.

I took the Eurostar into Paris on a Wednesday, and then took the Metro to Montmartre. Once off the Metro, I got lost a few times, and had to test out my rudimentary French and ask someone where Rue Ramey was. Once I got to the hotel, though, I checked into my little single room with no problems, and then went out to do some exploring.

Highlights:

Sacre Couer & Montmartre: The steps up to the cathedral are not for the faint of heart; just when you think you’re at the top, there’s another flight to climb. But the view at the top is specatular — all of Paris spread out before you. There were lots of people milling around and street musicians. The inside of Sacre Couer was beautiful, too. A few days after visiting, I took part in a walking tour of Montmartre, where they talked about Van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec and the area’s history.

Eiffel Tower: How could you go to Paris and not visit its most famous landmark? Of course, I’ve seen it in movies dozens of times before, and figured it wouldn’t be a big deal, but seeing it in person was a thrill. I got there right before it opened, and right before the lines got insane, and went to the second level. It was foggy, so the view wasn’t as great as it could have been, but it was still worth it.

Notre Dame: They were having midday mass when I visited. It was incredibly beautiful, just as you’d expect, and the 5 euro audio tour in English was well worth the price.

Versailles: Here’s the thing about Europe: when you first get there, you’re all “The architecture! The Palaces! It’s all like a movie!” And then about three days after seeing all this over and over, you’re like “Palace, Shmalace.” But Versailles is something else alltogether. The only thing I’ve been to in America that comes close is Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, and of course that’s only has a quarter of the majestic flourish that the big V has. My favorite part was the Petit Trianon, where Marie Antoinette had her house and gardens, complete with a faux tiny village so that she could pretend she was a country wife. So surreal.

The Museums: I read an article recently that said that we go to museums when we travel in part because we want to be around something familiar. Well, I had a lot of familiarity in Paris. There was The Louvre, of course, where the first thing I saw was the Mona Lisa. It’s in a huge room filled with these large, colorful paintings, yet everyone is queued to see a small portrait done in dull browns and greens. While I loved the Louvre, my favorite art museum was the Musee d’Orsay, where they have all the famous Impressionist painters — Monet, Degas, Renoir, etc.

One afternoon, I met up with my friend Aude, my magazine swap-friend who lives in Paris. She took me through the Musee des Arts Décoratifs, where we indulged our mutual love of design. Then she took me out for some lovely, thick hot chocolate called l’African at Angelique. We finished by taking a walk around the neighborhood and explored a few interior design shops. All in all it was a lovely afternoon.

I enjoyed my first time in Paris. There is definitely so much more to see, and after taking a refresher on French on my own, I’ve been inspired to take French classes next term. Five days was plenty, though, and I was ready to go on to my next destination, Amsterdam.

Hostel Life

I stayed in three hostels during my trip, and had varying experiences. Some things are the same regardless of what country you are in though — the noise, the drunk frat guys stumbling in at 3 am (”Duuuude, I can’t find my keeeys”), the breakfast (bread, cereal and coffee, maybe fruit), and the weirdness of sharing a few days with complete strangers in an intimate setting.

In London I stayed at the Astor Museum Inn. It’s located in a converted house with four floors; I, of course, stayed on the fourth floor. My room was a 4-bed female-only dorm, with two bunk beds and a sink in the room. Two shower rooms and a toilet were down the hall. Here’s a tip for staying in budget hotels: take your shower at night, because there will be no hot water in the morning (and it may not reach the 4th floor, either). I met some really cool girls from all over the world, and it was nice to have people to go out with at night to dinner and whatnot.

In Paris, I stayed in a single room at the Le Montclaire Hotel. The room was quite spacious, all things considered. It had a single bed, a closet (!) a small writing desk and a sink with a mirror. The showers are only on every other floor, though, and they have the kind of nozzle that you have to push continually to keep the water coming. While it was nice to have the space to spread out, I think I would have had a better time in a dorm, where I could have met more people.

In Amsterdam, I stayed at the International Budget Hostel. No free breakfast here, but they made a good ham, egg and cheese sandwich that you could buy. This was the most awkward hostel experience for me, because I was in a 4-bed dorm with three guys. They were all very nice, and I never feared for my safety or anything like that, but as I said before, sleeping in the same room with strangers is very intimate, and sleeping in a room with strange boys was a little too intimate. Plus there was nowhere to change except the shower stalls, which were wet most of the time. But being back in a dorm let me meet more people again, and the lounge area was very comfy for watching TV and reading.

I don’t think I would want to do the hostel thing every time I travel, but once you get acclimated to it, it’s not that bad.

Bonjour

Salut, mon amies!  I’ve been in Paris for three days now. Doing all the touristy stuff - Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysses.  Today I’m going to a flea market in Caulaincourt, the Architecture Museum, then meeting my email friend Aude to visit the Musee des Arts Decoratiffs. 

 I’m definitely glad I took the time to learn some French before coming here.  Granted, there’s a large gap between what I know and real French, but it’s helped me get out of a couple of jams (like finding my hotel).  And that stereotype that all French people are cold and unfriendly - simply not true.  Most people I’ve met have been friendly.  Of course there are the few who are just jerks, but that’s true anywhere. As my friend Jacqui said, “Assholes span the globe.”

London was fun, too, though I was glad to leave when the time came.  I met a lot of cool people from all over in the hostel.  More on that later, of course. 

Au revoir, for now!

Bread & Chocolate

Reason #582 of Why I Love the Internet: Making international friends that I would never meet otherwise, and getting fun packages to boot.

For the past few months, I’ve been indulging my penchant for all thing French with magazines sent from France. I originally started this when I signed up for a one-time international magazine swap through decor8, one of my must-visit-daily design blogs. I was paired with Aude in Paris, and we’ve continued swapping our favorite mags about every other month. I think of it as a modern-day pen pal, except we send pretty pictures in lieu of actual letters. I send Domino, Blueprint, and sometimes other shelter magazines; I receive French Elle and Marie Claire Maison, plus more.

This month I got an extra-special package from Aude — Marie Claire Maison, French Elle and Maison Cote Sud, plus French chocolate and mini muffins. When I opened the box, I spent about 5 minutes looking over everything oohing and awing “Oh, cuuuute!” I can’t wait for this weekend when I can sit down with a glass of wine and pore over my magasins français.

Holding Pattern

I haven’t updated in awhile because, well, not much is going on in trip news. September feels light years away, and I’m just trolling the Web, trying to find things to do in Europe that are inexpensive or free.

One thing that I partcipated in when in London 5 years ago (and totally forgot about until a few days ago) was London Walks. This is the group that does the famous Jack the Ripper walk, which is excellent, plus many other guided walks around the city. It’s about $12 for a two-hour guided tour, plus they do day excursions to different areas outside London for cheaper than I’ve found elsewhere. Plus, they have a similar group in Paris that has English-speaking guided tours (and a Web site that looks like it was designed using an HTML for Dummies book from 1995).

No Room

So after researching and researching my hotel/hostel options in Paris, I’d decided on my first choice: Hotel Caulaincourt Square. I sent in my online reservation form, confident that there would be a bunk bed waiting just for me.

Today I received an email saying that there’s no availability for the dates I’ll be in Paris.

I kind of feel like I’m applying for colleges and I’ve received a rejection letter from Harvard saying “You’re not good enough to go here.”

Don’t worry, I’m not upset. It’s just frustrating to try and find a decent and cheap room in another country, find said room, then find out I can’t stay there. And everything I’ve read states unanimously that Paris is a crappy city for hostels.

Oh well, at least I have my fall back to lean on.

Je t’aime

Every time I see a photo of a Paris street scene (this via dwell.com), my heart skips a beat. It looks so different from anywhere else I’ve been, and the thought that in less than 6 months I will actually be there — it makes my head spin.