Kierstin and I began today with the intention of taking care of some practical matters like buying metro rail passes, phone cards, groceries, and a few things for our room. And finding internet, as our dorm lacks wi-fi and our particular room seems to lack ethernet ports. By 10 a.m., we had slept for approximately 14 hours, since 8 p.m. the previous day, minus an hour or so around 4:30 a.m. when someone pulled the fire alarm in the dorm. I could have slept a lot longer, but we figured it was time to start checking off items from our list. After getting in touch with Mir, we went over to Mir's and Caleb's room at the Fondation Deutche de la Muerthe and checked email with the wi-fi there. Then Mir, Caleb, Josh, Jay, Drew, Kierstin and I ate at the Cite Internationale cafe and got more cash from the ATM. And then adventures commenced. Incredible adventures.
Buying a metro pass proved to be fairly simple, if decently costly. Then...did you know that the first Sunday of every month is free admission day at the Louvre? We decided to head over there by the scenic route, so we took the metro a few stops down and disembarked at the Notre Dame cathedral. THE NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL. We walked around the outside (this whole day was more of an introduction and sampler than an attempt to actually visit any place) and took some pictures.
Then we walked across to L'Ile de la Cité, crossing one of the many bridges over the Seine. L'ILE DE LA CITE across THE SEINE.
Mir had heard of a flower market nearby, and it proved to be absolutely lovely. Just one street, but entirely packed with flowers that smelled exquisite. I could have stayed there for at least an hour, but we moved on pretty quickly. The rest of the walk to the Louvre was quite scenic, along the Seine on a street lined with open-air book stalls and souvenir stalls. We passed lots of majestic buildings that probably have some sort of grand history and function, as well as a decent number of statues and fountains.
And then we turned a corner and encountered the Louvre. THE LOUVRE. It is a colossal building, consisting of wings surrounding two equally colossal courtyards. The line was very very long, but proved to move pretty quickly. Margaret joined us in line. Soon enough we were stepping into the glass pyramid entrance. Of the Louvre. LE. MUSEE. DU. LOUVRE. We walked through the Ancient Egyptian wing, which could easily comprise an entire museum on its own. I couldn't take it all in properly. So many rooms, something unexpected and incredible beyond every doorway. Towering columns, dozens of mummy cases, endless carved slabs and statues, parchment and boats and gameboards and scales and sphinxes...I could only walk past because I am determined to come back many times.
Drew then made it his goal to find the statue garden we had seen from outside. So we walked back through the medieval section of the Louvre (that is, the section of the building that dates from medieval times) and quickly found the statue rooms. The ceilings are entirely covered by two gigantic skylights, clearly added to enclose an existing courtyard at some point. As the buildings surrounding this courtyard are several stories tall, the skylight encloses a very large volume and all voices sound pleasingly hushed and echoing. With all the light from the skylight, the rooms feel peaceful and elegant. We looked at statues until the museum closed. I will be returning as often as I can. There is so much to see. So much.
The adventures were not remotely close to ending. We just started walking, looking for somewhere to eat dinner. Winding our way through inexpressibly European streets and alleyways, we passed restaurant after cafe after shop and eventually stopped at an Italian sort of place. My fetuccine alfredo was quite tasty, if not very adventurous. After dinner, we walked across the street to an ice-cream store, where I bought a cone of some of the most delicious chocolate ice cream I have ever tasted. Eating our ice cream, we began exploring the bustling alleyways of Paris. Very soon, we stumbled across a beautiful cathedral. They seem to be everywhere in Paris. Upon entering, I discovered that we had found L'EGLISE ST-SULPICE. The Rose Line ran across the front of the church, culminating in an impressive obelisk whose inscription I couldn't quite make out in the dim light. Cathedral architecture is almost impossible to believe. The domes and arches and statues and columns - it took generations to build a cathedral. We ran into a bit of trouble here, as we didn't realize that the church closed at 8:30, and very nearly (so it appeared to me) were locked in for the night. But a rather annoyed Frenchman rescued us. Time to head back to the dorms.
But apparently one cannot walk through Paris without encountering two or three world-famous landmarks. We ran across the LUXEMBOURG GARDENS and spotted the Pantheon. THE PANTHEON. No stopping now, but we know where to return on our next free day. A quick RER metro ride, and we were back at the Cite Internationale de l'Universite de Paris. Did I mention that we spotted the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower on our way across the city in the morning? THE EIFFEL TOWER.
Since the sun doesn't fully set until 10:00 p.m. or so, Kierstin, Mir, Josh, and I walked a few blocks down the street in the hopes of finding a convenience store or mall at which to meet our practical needs. We didn't manage that, but we found several bakeries and fruit markets which will be fun to visit.
It's been an unimaginable day. I'll post pictures within the new few days [edit: look! I added them.]. I didn't bring my camera cord to Mir's and Caleb's room, which is the only place that I have internet access as of yet. I hope to change that soon. Tomorrow we will head out to various labs and institutes and begin earning our keep. I hope it goes well!
By the way, Mir is quite a photographer and has put many wonderful pictures on his blog. You should look at them.
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