live. move. be.

Saturday night: my flight to Paris was wonderful because I sat beside Flore, a very sweet French girl who gave me advice about the city and stayed by my side for the long trek into the city from the airport. We had such a great conversation about culture and faith and travel....and she asked for this blog address, so if you are reading this, Flore, thanks for giving me a great introduction to my trip! I met my roommate (who was just there for the weekend) in Paris, and we excitedly headed off to stroll the Champs Elysee (which is not quite as romantic and sophisticated when you are strapped to a massive hiking backpack, but still fun!). We decided to set off to find the Eiffel Tower, which is lit up at night and looked quite close, but we wondered up and down a billion streets for about an hour before we finally arrived underneath it. It was surreal and thrilling to see it glittering in the skyline when my bus from the airport was coming into Paris, but walking around it was a bit of a different story.....there's mobs of people everywhere, and TONS of guys walking around with miniature glowing Eiffel Towers, shoving them in your face and trying to convince you to buy one. I discovered through the course of the week that this is quite common....every tourist attraction was surrounded by homeless people begging for money and men trying to peddle tacky souvenirs.

Sunday: This was a big day. We got up early and ate crepes with Nutella and banana for breakfast in Montmarte (I should note here that I ate crepes for breakfast every morning I was in Paris. They were to die for). We first made the climb to the Sacre Couer , a really stunning stone Basilica located at the highest point in the city. Then we attended mass at Notre Dame Cathedral, which was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I will never ever forget the moment of walking in that grand, enormous building, hearing the organ play and the bells echoing through the massive stone structure, smelling the burning incense wafting though the air as solemn procession of singers chanted a liturgy.....I can't describe the feeling, but my eyes instantly flooded with tears at the sheer beauty of it. I continued feeling awestruck through the entire mass, which was given in alternating French and Latin (it's the only time my Latin classes in high school have ever been useful). This was my first Catholic mass, and also my first time biting a communion wafer straight out of a priest's hands. There was a really funny moment when everyone was supposed to turn to their neighbor and kiss them on both cheeks (a traditional French greeting),---but I didn't know that, so people start leaning in to kiss each other and we're supposed to be saying some phrase to each other (in French) that I didn't know....I'm sure I looked a little confused!

After mass and a delicious quiche lunch, we climbed the many stairs up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (we liked to think we were working off the crepes) and enjoyed some really amazing panoramic views of the city.

I said goodbye to my roommate and headed off to find my hosts for the next few days. I was staying with two French architecture students who I found through couchsurfing.com, which is essentially an online network of people who allow other people to stay on their couches for a few days when they travel. This sounds sketchy, but it's actually pretty safe, and I had several friends who did it when they studied abroad, so that gave me some confidence. The girls I stayed with were really nice. They made me great cups of tea and shared their nightly baguettes with me. After I arrived on Sunday night we went to an anniversary celebration light show at the Eiffel Tower, which was really exciting and fun.

Monday: I spent the morning at the Louvre, which is the most massive and exhausting museum ever. I saw so much amazing art, but after a few hours, I was pretty dead on my feet. I finally stopped to eat lunch out in the gardens behind the museum, which are also pretty lovely, except that I got mobbed by a scary gang of pigeons. That afternoon I walked around the Paris Opera house, which is the most ornately decorated building I've ever seen. A massive marble staircase, everything in sight gilded in gold, huge chandeliers lining the halls, and lavish murals on every ceiling....it was breathtaking.

Tuesday: All morning I walked around the Musee d'Orsay, which features primarily Impressionistic paintings and some Art Noveau work. These are my two favorite periods in art, so I was really excited! I actually ended up enjoying the content a lot more than that of the Louvre. I spent the rest of my day walking around various neighborhoods in Paris (I ended up with enormous blisters and some strained tendons from all the walking, but besides that it was great). I also started feeling kind of sick...I had already been eating nothing but crepes, bread, and pastries for a couple of days, and then on Tuesday I bought a baguette which I told myself was for dinner....but the danger of buying a French baguette is that it is DELICIOUS and you just nibble on it all day long. By the late afternoon, I had eaten the entire baguette, and my stomach was not very happy.

Wednesday: I packed up my backpack yet again and caught a train out to visit my childhood friend Kathryn, who is working at a chateau in St. Albain, which is about an hour north of Lyon, if you happen to know some geography in France. My three hour train ride through the countryside was so beautiful, and felt really refreshing after being in a busy, decadent city for a few days. I stayed with Kathryn in her cottage and got such a different view of France by being out in a more rural area. She and her roommate work as chefs for a guesthouse chateau, so I got fed very, very well while I was there! It was such a blessing to get to relax and enjoy their fellowship for a few days.

Thursday: Kathryn and I took a train to Dijon--yes, that's where the mustard comes from, and there is mustard everywhere in the city. It was really charming and kind of reminded me of what I thought Paris might be like before I saw it....more like a French city from a romantic movie, I suppose. I enjoyed it so much! We also went out for French pizza that night, which is totally different from what I'm used to, but SO good...mine had goat cheese, onions, mushrooms, thick chunks of bacon, and potatoes. Yummy!

Friday: We drove around the villages close to St. Albain and visited other old chateaus and ancient monasteries. We also drove past Taize, for any of you who know about the Taize prayer movement. These buildings were so old it just blew my mind. In one church we walked underneath the building to a kind of spooky, dark, chilly crypt where the man who was the first missionary to France is buried. The car ride itself was just amazingly beautiful....it reminded me of driving through pretty parts of North Carolina, except the little villages nestled in the hills look entirely different!

Saturday: I got a very early train back to Paris, and thankfully found a luggage locker so I could enjoy my day free of my heavy backpack. I found a lively fresh market, where I bought fresh bread and cheese to eat by the banks of the Seine. Moments like that, sitting by the river and eating a picnic, were times when I would suddenly remember that I was traveling alone and think how much nicer to share the experience with someone.
After lunch I got caught in a pouring deluge of rain, worse than any storm I've seen in Scotland thus far. I got absolutely drenched and ran into a cafe to escape the rain, where I stayed most of the afternoon. After a shuttle bus, several hours in the dreadful Beauvais airport, a plane ride, waiting an hour in the cold for a bus to take me back to Glasgow at midnight, and a taxi ride from the bus station, I finally arrived back home, exhausted but safe at 2:00 AM.

What a week!