My time in Paris was not romantic, I did not spend warm nights sipping quality red wine under the lights of the eiffel tower, and the gardens of the Palace of Versailles were not in bloom. But perhaps it is this image of Paris that hinders many peoples experience in this great city. To me, discovering the artist's district of Paris with it's smoke-filled streets, countless bakeries, incredible museums and architecture next to street performers and roasting chestnuts was more authentic that any 5 course candle-lit meal. But perhaps that is also the life of a college student, strapped into a backpack, with a limited budget.
Seeing Paris from this perspective thrilled me. We decided to take a 5-hour walking tour of the city on our first day, proving that the city of love was breathtaking even in cold, rainy conditions with faulty umbrellas. Our tour guide, a quirky American expat shed light on the history of the city and it's people. Suddenly, what was once one of the countless gilded statues in the city was Napoleon riding proudly over his city (as anyone who has spent any time in the city would know that it truly is a city centered around this little man and his place in history). Facts about his personal life, comedic narration of facts and discoveries added an extra element beyond the strict history and experience of his tomb. The tour allowed us to get our bearings, to preview sites we would return to throughout the week.
Of all of the historic and educational sites in Paris, the one that has stuck with me the most is perhaps the most expected; the Louvre. We learned on the tour how to enter and avoid the massive lines stretching around the impressive, yet almost laughably out-of-place glass pyramid. As we exited the metro to this "secret entrance," the sense of comfort I had experienced in London brought a smile to my face. Despite the difficulty of the language, this city was suddenly becoming more memorable. We entered the almost cave-like entrance that fed into huge marbled hallways, thousand of similar tourists and visitors from around the world looking similarly confused but with purpose. My lack of eloquence in describing this museum and my experience there is perhaps due to the mixed emotions of the experience. With every other site on our list and off, I had the typical breathlessness, the intense experience of learning new facts and fascinating history with every painting or statue or description. In the Louvre, I experienced this same feeling elevated, but there was also something else. It could be that I was especially pensive that day or curious, but after discovering that every description was in french, this feeling lessened. I only include this because it was truly one of the most prominent learning experiences of my trip.
The Louvre was memorable not only for it's incredible rooms and artifacts (favorites were the Egyptian room and Napoloen's rooms) but because it taught me that for all I had accomplished with my trip, I still had so much to learn about travel, myself, and making the most of an experience. I had been so lucky to have everything go smoothly, every museum having been absorbed intellectually, every hostel full of friendly, like-minded travelers. In the Louvre I made the innocent mistake of not seeking this knowledge, perhaps being too caught up in my new friends or the actual pieces in front of me to go in search of audio descriptions or information to learn more about what I was looking at. I had a great experience, but in reflection, I know that I experienced the Louvre surface-level. Luckily, though, this realization made me seek more experiences and resulted in what I would easily describe as the "deepest" moments of these two weeks in Europe.
They were not on our list of places to visit, but we managed to fit a visit in to the Catacombs, the mass graves below the streets we frequented. As we entered, there were signs reminding visitors to respect the silence, to understand that what we were about to witness was breathtaking in it's design and vastness, but also in it's tragedy. Going from the bustling streets and museums filled with bullet-proof glass, the golden statues and impressionistic paintings to the drip-drop of water in the dark corridors below the city was like walking back in history. I was suddenly seeing the real citizens of Paris, the wealthy, poor, lawyers, doctors, beggars and countrymen all together, indiscernible by their countless skulls and bones that formed the walls around me. Suddenly, a cities inability to store it's dead became the great equalizer. It was the first time I have seen a human skeleton, or parts of it, up close and here I was walking in an architecture of bones. By the end of the walk, few of us had spoken, and the majority of us were glad to breath the air above ground. But for me, Paris was different. It had more depth, more history. On the most literal level, I had learned that there is more to a place and it's people than what you see on the surface.
And for every deep, educational experience I had in Paris, I also simply had a great time. I indulged in the largest, most gluttonous crepe known to man and devoured it with considerably less grace than the locals. I met up with another co-worker from Windsor Mountain and went on an adrenaline-pumping car ride around the Arc de Triumf followed by a much needed catching-up over pastries and a walk down the Champs-elysees. I spent late nights talking to people from around the world about everything from the cold water showers in our hostel to theology. I met a fellow traveller with similar passion for environment and agriculture who I am now planning on backpacking in Costa Rica with for the upcoming summer. All of this and more, combined with the more refined nature of museum visits and appreciation for the buildings and history around us is what made my experience better, in my mind, than the romantic vision so many people view for their first taste of the city.
There is no doubt about it, Paris is beautiful. From the more touristy views of the Eiffel Tower at night, to the amazing goat cheese tart and escargot, to the repeated trek up the stairs just to see the towers of the Sacre Coeur one more time, it was beautiful. I was exposed to some of the most grim history lessons I have ever received, the most intricately designed stained glass, the most passionate startist's works up close. I know I will return to Paris someday, and cannot wait to learn even more about this enchanting city...and maybe, just maybe, I will treat myself to a 5-course candle lit dinner.
