It has been snowing in Prague non-stop for nearly a week now, with inch upon inch piling up on the streets, slowing turning into brown mush. I was really shocked to find out that my flight to Paris had not been canceled with the winter weather in both the Czech Republic and France. Unfortunately, my friend Kim from LSE in London was unable to make it to Paris to meet me with the terrible weather for trains between the UK and France. I spent most of the weekend alone, but it was not bad since I know Paris so well now.
After arriving late on Thursday, I checking into the place I stay at the end of my France journey this summer, located in the Latin Quarter on Rue Mouffetard. An early wake up call Friday meant a FULL day of sightseeing to my favorite places. The weather was pretty cold, but it was not bad compared to Prague. I started on the Île-de-St. Louis, where the famous Notre-Dame is located. The church was as impressive as ever, especially with the giant Christmas tree out front.
I bought a day metro pass both days I was in Paris, since I'm an expert at quickly navigating the métro. Plus, the system is so efficient compared to almost any other European city that it takes no time to get wherever you want to by subway. I walked down the Champs-Elysées before making my way to the north to my favorite part of the city, Montmartre. Pictured above is Sacre-Coeur, just a 15-minute walk from where I had my homestay this summer. I tried to meet with my host mother and my French professor from Georgetown, but alas they were busy for the weekend and I gave short notice with the snow.
The Christmas decorations in Paris are absolutely unbelievable. Pictured above is a massive 5-story Christmas tree in the Galeries Lafayette department store. All the grands magasins decorate their windows in holiday themes, much like in New York City. Many streets are lined with Christmas lights, and decorations adorn all the stores. Quite a drastic change from last weekend in Istanbul, a 99% Islamic populated country.
Other than transportation, I spent almost all my money for the weekend on food. It was nice to be back in the Eurozone, as I had become so accustomed to those bills and coins during the summer and earlier parts of my semester. I stopped at the famous Le Consulat café in Montmartre for lunch for a menu of roasted chicken, French onion soup, and mousse au chocolat. Later, in the day, I did a few more big sights at night because, after all, Paris is the City of Lights. Above is the Eiffel Tower, which still sparkles every night on the hour.
For dinner on Friday, I stopped at the French chain Hippopotamus for dinner. A large steak haché, pommes frites, and again mousse au chocolat completed a great day. And a carafe of French red wine. And the nutella crêpe snack earlier between lunch and dinner. I woke up early on Saturday and made my way back to the Champs-Elysées to see Harry Potter 7 again en français. It was a special 5.90 euro early movie, and I wanted to test my french after all this time. Having read the 7th book in French and seen the movie in English already, it was pretty easy for me to follow and understand the French. C'est cool.
For lunch, I went to a small café in the Latin Quarter to meet my friend Nora from Georgetown for lunch. She is studying for the year in Paris and really loves France and the French people. If you remember my blog at the end of the summer, I was not very fond of the Parisians. However, the city has a totally different atmosphere in the colder months with much fewer tourists and a generally happier French population. Waiters and workers were much more willing to speak to me in French, and they never really switched to English like they would in the summer. Very refreshing.
Pictured above is Le Bon Marché, a large department store in Paris, very much decorated for the holidays. Their gourmet food sections was also full of Christmas and Santa Claus treats. It snowed on Saturday for a little while too, making Paris even more magical. I also stopped by the Musée d'Orsay, the impressionist museum, which is free for students of the European Union (I flashed my Czech visa and Charles University ID for free admission!). For dinner, I went to Le Marais and stopped a a Jewish deli. One of the best burgers I have ever had...they used fried egg instead of cheese to keep the meal kosher. There was a Jewish couple from New York City sitting next to me at dinner, and boy did they give the poor French people a bad impression of American elitism.
Overall, I had the most wonderful weekend in Paris. I really never wanted to leave, knowing the amount of cold, snow, and work awaiting me in Prague. Despite all that I thought about Paris when I left in the summer, I really think it was my favorite city in Europe. Having seen so much more since I left France, I really gained an appreciation for the French people, culture, and language. I think it is one of the few European cities I could see myself living and working in, and who knows what the future holds.
And my last column for The Hoya: Click here to read my article in this week's The Guide! I really enjoyed writing for the Guide this semester, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading them as well. It was a good way to get my blog out into the non-cyber world. Look forward to some wrap up blog posts in the next few days about my experiences in Europe. Au revoir!
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