Paris – Page 2 – Valpo Voyager

Category: Paris (page 2 of 5)

From Tourist to Tour Guide

March 24, 2015 / jzemke / 0 Comments

This past weekend, I went from tourist to tour guide when a friend of mine stayed in Paris for the weekend. It was only for two days, so I showed the essentials of Paris:

The Louvre

The Champs-Elysees

The Arc de Triomphe

Going up the Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame of Paris

The Catacombes

Sacre Coeur and Montmatre (Artist Hill of Paris)

It was most interesting to see just how complacent and normal Paris life has become for me, with the comparison of another person experiencing life here the first time. I had forgotten how big of a shock the packed metro system was or the ever-present stairs to climb in and out of the metro. Most importantly, I started to notice my progress in French, with his commentary of being impressed by my level of speaking.

Valentine’s Day in Switzerland

February 23, 2015 / jzemke / 0 Comments

Living in a huge city like Paris, life is always moving as if there is a continuous sea of people running one way or another. While it is exciting, it can also be stressful or lonely. Therefore this Valentine’s Day weekend I left for peaceful Switzerland, basking in the beautiful streams and gorgeous mountain views.

Earlier this week, I read an article about how technology can actually detract from the study abroad experience. Searching for places with wifi to have access to social media, posting every moment of the trip. In Bern and the village of Thun, I made an active decision to turn off the technology, only taking photos and appreciating the nature around me.

No photo can truly show the magnificence of the Alps, the way the quiet streams sparkle under the sun as swans swim towards the mountains. The sun warms your skin, as you walk along and breath the fresh air and hear the birds singing above you. I climbed to the highest tower in Thun, seeing the landscape of forests, streams, and mountains unfolding before me. Moments like this make you reconsider what is important-collecting souvenirs with exciting stories or simply appreciating the experience.

The Glories of Fontainebleau

February 8, 2015 / jzemke / 0 Comments

One of the best things about Paris is the day trips outside of the City! For just a train ride between 1-2 hours, you arrive in this new world. This past weekend, a friend and I ventured out to the city of Fontainebleau, home of the amazing Fontainebleau Chateau. The pictures speak for themselves, showing the grandeur and beauty of this castle.

Fontainebleau was essentially the summer home of royalty in France leaving Paris to the gorgeous gardens, fountains, and forest which surrounds the chateau. We saw remakes of rooms which used to belong to Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, and many of the line of the “Louis” kings who reigned over France. Louis XVI (the Sun King) was not represented, for he instead built his own chateau Versailles, taking all of France’s money to do so.

That’s enough words, for the photos simply speak for themselves

Paris: A City United

January 21, 2015 / jzemke / 0 Comments

Arrival Day here in Paris was one of momentous historical importance here in Paris: the manifestation where more than 1 million people and 40 world leaders united in a moment of tragedy. Charlie Hebdo is a French publication which produces satirical-like articles and images. For many years, tension has been growing in France between Muslims immigrants and French natives, making some anti-Muslim images a tipping point for the tension. The attack was extremely targeted, meaning we as students are not in danger.

At the manifestation Sunday January 11, world leaders from around the globe stood together with the people of Paris, taking in the tragedy together. A few days after the rally, we had a Boston University Alumni panel, where they each explained their perspectives on the attack and unification as a group. It was interesting, for each person acknowledged the importance of a moment where the French united, but each had a different view of why this unification occurred and what will happen in the future. Paris is back to normal, but it seems as if each person here is still trying to sort out the confusion of the matter and come to terms in their own way.

Paris- The City of Lights

So this past week has been an interesting week to say the very least. I started my third week of classes and again, I’m very blessed to have such wonderful teachers who are patient teaching classes that I want to take (minus grammar but that comes with the territory I suppose). One thing that was a little bit different from past weeks was that I started my service learning at a non-profit organisation. It’s very different from anything that we have in the United States, but I think it’s closest to an after-school program, that does a lot more. It was a different experience and I look forward to contributing more in the future.

Thursday night was an experience to say the least. We went to the Opera Bastille for my first ever professional opera experience! To see the Opera Aida by Verdi performed in one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world, is something that I’ll never forget. It was largely unforgettable because of the reaction of the audience.

Aida takes place in Ancient Egypt. One of the main arguments a director must make is about the costumes and the setting. Should they be dressed like in the story, the time period in which it was written, or in today’s time? The director chose the latter of these options… and was very political. I won’t go into much detail, but the worst of it was when one of the main characters was singing the KKK walked on stage. People were not happy. At curtain call, the audience couldn’t have cheered louder for the the performers. However they booed louder than the refs making a call in favor of the Packers at Soldier Field. It was bad. Good experience though.

Friday and Saturday I was blessed with some visitors from Valpo who are studying on the Cambridge program: Grant, Lisa, Rachel, and Cat. We had a wonderful time and I finally was able to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower! It was amazing to me that we were so high up, I could barely recognize Notre Dame from the top, yet from the ground in front of it, Notre Dame towers over you. It was indescribable. One reason I find the tourist attractions very easy to spot and beautiful is because at night, everything that is important to the French are lit up at night; even The Eiffel Tower sparkles at the top of the hour on top of being lit up after dark. I suppose that’s why they call Paris The City of Lights!

On Saturday night we went to the Fete des Vendages. Found at Montmarte, this is a wine festival and a festival of love. Every year they have a brilliant firework show on the steps leading up to the famous basilica, Sacre Coeur, and although crowded (it was so crowded at one point, I moved ten yards and my feet didn’t touch the ground. I was carried by everyone around me because it was so densely packed!) we (accidentally) got some of the best seats in the house. Unfortunately, my computer is being stupid, so I can’t upload a little video of the fireworks, so here’s the crowd behind me. Mind you, this is a small portion of the actual crowd and it took us 40 minutes to get from about 20 yards from the stairs to the bottom of the stairs.

All-in-all it was a wonderful weekend, full of new adventures with some familiar Americans!

The Honeymoon is Over

October 9, 2013 / Phil Schroeder / 0 Comments

The honeymoon is over. For that reason, I have found it difficult to write as often as I would’ve liked to since my courses have started. Although I am busy, I am truly enjoying my classes here! I’m of course taking six credits of French language and a phonetics class. My electives though, they’re pretty awesome. I’m taking a course on the History of France from the French Revolution to WWI. The other class that I’m taking is Tourism and Gastronomy; aka we eat food, talk about food, eat it, and discuss the implications of said food on culture and tourism (did I mention we eat food too?). So I am really enjoying these classes largely because the professors are extremely awesome. I like every one of them.
As for what I’ve been doing outside of classes, just adjusting to style of living… and doing some pretty awesome things as well!
First off, last time I posted I mentioned that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in my free time. What I decided to do on that particular day was to climb Notre Dame! It was very cool to see the city from a gargoyle’s eye view (see photo #1). The stone stairs actually have an indentation from all the footsteps of people walking up them over the last few centuries. It’s really cool to think that the church recently celebrated its 850th anniversary, or just under four times the number of years the United States has been a country. In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue… and the church was older than the United States currently is (by almost 100 years!) So it was extremely humbling to be at a place with such a rich history. Also, feel free to “like” the second photo, it is in a photo contest and the most “likes” win. Click here http://www.central.edu/abroad/photoContest/photoDetail.cfm?ID=3975 to vote (I could use all the help I can get!)

Gargoyle’s-eye view of Paris with the Eiffel Tower

Another place that I visited was the Catacombs. Now THAT was super cool. I went with a few friends and it was extremely fascinating. However, that is not a place that I would want to be stuck at by myself on Halloween. Six million dead people, no thank you.

This is me and the dead peeps.

On the 28th of September, The Central College program went and we toured the Palace of Versailles and the absolutely beautiful gardens. I’ve been telling people that the best way to describe it is grand and immense. We spent the whole day there and we saw the majority of the castle, yet in the hours we spent in the gardens, admiring the fountains (there are several hundred I believe) and the greenery, we only saw a portion of the gardens. It’s no wonder the French government went broke! In the first picture, that is me in the world famous “Hall of Mirrors,” and my favorite part of the whole day in Versailles! The second picture is of a fountain that I really admired in the Gardens. It is not the most celebrated and is actually one of the smaller fountains. If you want to see a fountain show, go to my facebook page and go to my videos and you can watch two short clips of a wonderful show.

Palace of Versailles: Hall of Mirrors

Palace Gardens: My favorite fountain

The most recent mini excursion that I went on was to Disneyland Paris! For those of you who know me well, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to go to see Buzz Lightyear (see photo). I went with two other classmates and it was a good, really fun trio. In all honestly, it was a really cool experience because the parks have pretty much the same setup, and they have almost all the same attractions (the rides themselves obviously aren’t the exact same layout), but the atmosphere was different. It truly was a world attraction. On rides (other than It’s a Small World), they switched between mainly French and English so that more people would know and understand what was happening. The closing ceremony was absolutely breathtaking! It’s one of my favorite memories so far.

Buzz Lightyear and I

So if you managed to read all the way this far, thank you. It was a short summary of two weeks, but like I’ve said, not even counting these mini-excursions, I have managed to stay busy and am working hard at improving my French, take in the culture, and adjust to the daily life in Paris. I promise you’ll hear from me in less than two weeks, I’ll be better about writing my blog!

Week #1- Tourist Week

September 16, 2013 / Phil Schroeder / 0 Comments

It’s amazing how much I’ve learned so far; I’ve only been here twelve days and I’ve done so much and seen even more. So let’s start at the beginning:

: Tour Eiffel et moi!

I arrived in Paris, completely unaware of where I was in regards to where I needed to go. Let me tell you, it is so much harder to approach a native and ask where you are for the first time, than to ask your French professor on which main themes you should focus for your rather large French literary analysis. After some time and a few wrong turns, I got to my hostel. Tired, I went to bed early.

After finding out the hard way that I wasn’t doing my homestay with the original host mom, I met the rest of the wonderful people on my program. Since then we’ve been doing practically everything together.

: Just South of the famous Luxembourg Gardens, home of the French Senate

So what have I done besides be homeless and get lost? I’ve been what I call a “residential tourist.”

Technically I am not a tourist, because I have a visa and I live in France. However, I’ve done about everything tourists do. I’ve been to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Le Louvre etc. I’ve visited several museums and other locations. However, in Paris, it is so good to be a student on a Student Visa. I say this because, if you are a resident in France under the age of twenty-six (no discrimination to race or ethnicity) you are allowed into museums for free… all of them! There is one dilemma: there are just too many museums to visit and check out in the time that I am here.

: The Moulin Rouge is a cabaret show that was known for its… classy broads. It remains very classy, with the cheapest show 180 euros which is over $200! Don’t worry Mom out of my budget.

I haven’t just been a tourist though. I have also started taking a class at Ecole Etoiles, a school for international students looking to improve French grammar. I start my classes at L’Institut Catholique next Monday, September 23rd, and that is when life will get a little more interesting.

A Place to Crash

September 5, 2013 / Phil Schroeder / 0 Comments

For my first night in Paris, I needed a place to stay. For a student like myself, a hostel is the best choice. In America, we really don’t have anything that are quite like youth hostels, but they are EXTREMELY common throughout Europe. Hostels are great choices for any young person on a budget who is looking for a place to sleep for their cheap price. Many of the people who stay in hostels are people who are backpacking across a country or across Europe.

: Peace and Love Hostel

I have posted a picture of my hostel, The Peace and Love Hostel. Sounds a little sketchy at first, but it was actually a great place to stay. Obviously, it isn’t a five-star hotel, but it isn’t a terrible place like in the movie Hostel. I stayed on the 7th floor (which in America is the 8th floor), so my legs got a workout. The room had a tiny bathroom and an even smaller shower, but it had a bed so I can’t complain.

I ended up staying in a four person room: myself, one roommate was from Austrailia, one from Holland, and the other came in rather late so we didn’t get to talk. It provided a great opportunity to meet people, and there is a possibility of traveling closer to Christmas with my new friend from Austrailia.

: The view from the 7th (8th) floor of the Peace and Love hostel.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience (even though I went to bed early because of jet lag). Like I said before, it was inexpensive, not overly luxurious, but had the essentials that I needed, and I met some people from around the world that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

The Cliffs of Moher

Adventures in Scotland and Ireland

May 5, 2013 / Emily Hardesty / 0 Comments

St. Gile's Cathedral

While I had dreamed of traveling the world when I was younger, I never fully believed that would be possible for myself. There was always some seemingly big obstacle in the way, such as money or being too young. Last week I found myself doing the “impossible”: I traveled around Europe, living out of a backpack. While I have been on a few weekend trips already this semester, it felt so authentic to be traveling for a whole week. I finally felt like a real traveler that spends their life meeting new people, wearing the few clothes that they have with them repeatedly, and learning about many new cultures while seeing it before your own eyes. After traveling for a straight week, I finally realized how fun it is to wake up in the morning and think, “Where am I going next today?”

My first stop was in Edinburgh, Scotland. I had really chosen this location randomly based off the opinion of a friend who had been there already, and I didn’t know much about the city or even Scotland itself. I had head that it was a very beautiful city, but it wasn’t until I stepped off the bus and took a look around that I knew the stories were true. Edinburgh is an amazing city. It isn’t very big, but it makes up for its small size with its sheer beauty. Everywhere you look, there is something wonderful to see. It has a castle, many cathedrals and churches, mountains, and a lake. What else could you ask for from a city? One small downside to living in Edinburgh is the weather. Although it was the end of April when I visited, it was only in the 50s all week, and there would be random boughts of wind and rain. A lot of locals said it was summer weather! Despite the bad weather, Edinburgh charmed me in so many other ways that I soon forgot about the cold.

Athur's Seat

The first day my friend and I were there, we climbed Arthur’s Seat, which is the highest peak of a group of hills in the center of the city that were formed by an extinct valcano. It was a little steep going up, but there were steps built into the hills to help us along. The grass on these hills was incredibly green, and there was a huge breeze that nearly knocked us off the side of the hill as soon as we reached the top. The view was wonderful, and it was an amazing start to my weekend in Edinburgh.

Throughout the few days that we were there, my friend and I went on three different tours of the city. The first was a ghost tour at night which took us to a graveyard, underground vaults, and other spooky places while telling us about the dark history of Edinburgh. The next tour was a free three hour walking tour, which was surprisingly great for a free tour. I learned so much more history about the city and Scotland than I thought I would in the few short days I was there. The company (Sandeman’s New Europe Tours) has tours all over Europe, so I would recommend checking them out if you are ever in Europe. We also went no their spooky tour about witches, fairies, and cannibals, and that was pretty awesome as well. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Scotland, learning about its history, and talking to the locals.

The Cliffs of Moher

Next on our agenda was Dublin, Ireland. I have heard so many times that Ireland is an amazing and beautiful place to visit, so of course I had to see it for myself. Dublin is a fairly large city with lovely cathedrals and a fun nightlife. What else would you expect in Ireland? We ended up taking the same free walking tour around the city and learned a lot about Ireland’s history. I’m not much of a history buff, but it’s so different when you’ve thrown yourself into a strange city and have no idea about its present or past. That’s why I really liked taking these walking tours; it’s so much better learning about a foreign city if you are actually there to see the sights for yourself.

My favorite part of my trip to Ireland was when we went on a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway, which are on the complete opposite side of the country from Dublin. The Cliffs of Moher look over the Atlantic Ocean and are just breathtaking. On the way to Galway, the bus took us through the countryside along the coast, and we stopped at a few sights to take pictures. It was a perfect sunny day, and I had such a great time looking at all of the sheep and rock walls amongst the green fields. Galway was a very sweet town next to the sea filled with ancient churches, landmarks, and good food.

I had a wonderful time seeing the sights in Scotland and Ireland during my first week of spring break, and I can’t wait to continue my journey around Europe this coming week.

Rocks on the Irish Countryside

View from the house

Monet’s Gardens in Giverny

April 26, 2013 / Emily Hardesty / 0 Comments

Biking to Giverny

Just as spring finally made its way to Paris, my program and I spent a little time enjoying the sun in Giverny, France where we visited Claude Monet’s house and gardens. One thing I’ve learned to love about Paris is the short amount of time it takes to take the train anywhere. If you want to get out of the city for the day, all you need is a train ticket, and in about a short hour, you’re there! After we arrived at the train station in Vernon, we rented bicylces and took the scenic route to Giverny just a few miles away. The day was absolutely gorgeous, so we stopped and had a picnic for lunch. The town of Giverny is a typical small, French village or in other words, just adorable. I just love seeing the other side of French life outside of Paris. The green fields and complete silence reminds me of my home in the country back in the states.

Monet’s house and gardens are quite a popular place to visit in France, and we saw at least four other American study abroad groups there on the same day. The property has been open to the public since 1980, but before that, it took many years and a lot of money to restore the house and gardens back to their former glory after the bombings in World War II.

Monet's home

I had seen Monet’s water lily paintings in the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, and I was very excited to see them in person. Unfortunately, the water lilies were not in bloom yet (July is when they really bloom), so we were a little disappointed. Despite this small setback, the rest of the gardens were quite beautiful. It was so refreshing to see so many colorful flowers everywhere after such a long winter. There were tulips, violets, and many other kinds of flowers that I couldn’t name offhand. By the small pond, there was a weeping willow along with a Japanese bridge, which can be seen in Monet’s paintings.

I naively assumed that Monet’s house wouldn’t be anything special next to the amazing gardens, but I proved myself wrong as soon as I stepped in the door. Monet’s house is moderate in size but makes up for this fact with what is inside. All of the furniture is old fashioned, and the walls are covered with Japanese art. One thing I really enjoyed was the brightly colored walls in the dining room and the kitchen, which were yellow and blue respectively. My favorite room was the studio, which held at least twenty paintings by Monet. I am currently learning about Monet in my art history class, so it was really nice to see some of his work and its inspirations in person. I would love to come back to Giverny someday in the summer to see the water lilies in full bloom and to see this quaint house again.

View of the pond with the Japanese bridge

View from the house

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