Paris! And other updates on life.

After a jam-packed weekend excursion to Paris, I’m back in my lovely apartment in Perugia and ready to update all you blog-readers on my new favorite city in the whole world, apartment life in Perugia, my first day of teaching English at a local high school, and other random and exciting goings-on over here in Europe.

Early Thursday afternoon I raced to the train station after class and just made it on time to catch my ride to Roma Termini with Alexa and Tina. After a three-hour journey we made it Rome, then took a bus to the smaller of Rome’s two airports, Ciampino. We flew on RyanAir to an airport about an hour outside Paris, and then took another bus into the city center. By that point it was about 11 p.m. We’d traveled for almost 12 hours. It took lots of walking in circles and questioning French strangers on the street to find our hotel, but eventually we did make it there. I’ll note that the French people we spoke to were all extraordinarily friendly, and almost all knew some English. I’d always had this vision of the French being snobby and arrogant toward Americans, but my experience this weekend totally contradicted that idea.

Now you may be wondering why I said we arrived at our “hotel.” Did I mean to type “hostel”? Well actually, no. Because of some random connection Tina’s family has with Marriott, we were able to stay in the Marriott Champs Elysee, this five star extravagant Parisian hotel set right in the heart of the city. Picture staying right on Fifth Avenue or in the center of Times Square in New York. That’s where we were in Paris. The Champs Elysee is the main street running through the famed Arc de Triomphe, and it’s lined with high-end boutiques and posh restaurants. I paid 30 Euro to stay there three nights, and the sign on our room said it would have cost 812 Euro (about $1200) a night. It wasn’t a huge room by any means, but the beds were ridiculously comfortable and the bathroom was gorgeous. Quite a step up from hostel living conditions.

The next morning, Friday, three of our friends caught their flight from Rome and made it to Paris, and the six of us were able to squeeze into our Marriott room for the rest of the weekend. Friday was freezing and rainy, but I couldn’t help falling in love with the city despite the dreary weather. It had such an energy to it. One of my friends called it “the feminine version of New York,” but in my mind it was almost like the feminine version of Washington, D.C. All these beautiful historical monuments, this sense of excitement constantly pulsing through the city, but with a romantic, sugar-coated twist to it. The French people were all so stylish, and never more in my life have I wished I knew the French language. It didn’t matter what a person looked like, how old they were or what they were wearing—the moment they opened their mouth and French started coming out, they transformed into this sophisticated, chic god/goddess. Even on the Metro of all places, when the announcer called out the stops, I was shocked at how beautiful it sounded. The words just kind of flow together into this smooth, shimmery perfection. Ahhh. Maybe I’ll have to buy myself Rosetta Stone or something when I’m back home and figure out how to speak like that.

Anyway, a synopsis of what I did in Paris this weekend:

 We went to the Louvre on Friday while it was raining, and I saw the Mona Lisa (and tons of other paintings, tapestries and artifacts) in person. Somehow I left my camera at the hotel that day, so no pictures! But take it from me, the Louvre was HUGE and in typical Parisian fashion, a lovely example of that European architecture I can’t get enough of. And I still can’t believe I really saw the Mona Lisa.

 On Friday we also had breakfast and dinner at this amazing pastry shop/restaurant called Laduree, which the concierge had recommended as the best place to get pastries in Paris. He knew what he was talking about. Dinner was pretty expensive, but it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences eating in a fancy Paris restaurant and sampling these to-die-for desserts. I couldn’t even tell you exactly what was in my pastry, but it was covered in chocolate and mixed with a bunch of other sweet delights.

 On the topic of food, I also had like four or five crepes this weekend. Alexa and I insisted on finding an authentic creperie where we could try stuffed-to-the-brim crepes, and after several failed attempts we landed on a winner just down a side street between the Notre Dame and Bastille. I had one crepe with nutella and bananas that was set on fire in front of me, and split another that had cheese, potatoes and other delicious goodies inside of it. Crepes are probably my new favorite food.

 Friday night at sometime around midnight, we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower to see it all aglow, and it was so worth it. We took pictures from across the beautiful Seine River, and then walked up close to it. It was so nice to see it while there were barely any people around (as opposed to our visit the next day, when it was packed with tourists). This is another one of those moments, like when I saw the Mona Lisa, where I can’t believe I actually saw the Eiffel Tower.

 We packed in the outdoor activities on Saturday, when it was cold but not rainy. Stops on our itinerary included the Arc de Triomphe up-close, the Notre Dame (my camera ran out of battery just before we reached it…oh, my luck…), the Bastille, and finally an elevator ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower just before dinner. I wasn’t sure whether paying to ride to the top would be worth it, but despite waiting in line in the freezing cold for more than an hour, I’m so glad we did it. That view was priceless. You’ll see in the pictures, but trust me, you had to be there to really understand what I mean. And I bet when it’s actually not frigid outside, it’s even more spectacular to be up there.

 My friends ordered escargot and frog’s legs at dinner Saturday night, but I wasn’t quite so brave and ordered myself another crepe, this one with cheese and mushrooms. Then, of course, I capped it off with a superb French version of an ice cream sundae, some kind of pastry topped with hot fudge and ice cream.



















Sunday we woke up bright and early and caught our flight and subsequent buses and trains back to Perugia. As much as Perugia is VERY different from Paris and France in general, and as much as I already miss Paris and would love to go back as soon as possible, I better appreciate some things about being here after being in Paris. With Perugia’s size, I have the chance to really know this city inside and out by the end of the semester. I already feel a sense of familiarity, of being at home when I walk down the streets. There are so many parts of this city I have yet to explore, little alleyways with quaint shops that I can’t wait to discover. The size of Perugia makes it more manageable, less overwhelming for a four-month stay than Paris. I can truly become a temporary resident here, recognize shopkeepers, become a “regular” at different spots, and just generally get to know this place beyond the surface-level tourist stuff. That’s what I’m hoping to do, anyway.

I’m planning on traveling a lot this semester, or at least as much as my budget allows, but I’m also looking forward to the weekends when I’ll stay here and have time to become further acquainted with the place I chose as a home-base for these four months.

The prices in Paris were so much higher than here in Perugia, so I also appreciate that I can get cappuccino for 1 Euro and a slice of pizza for 70 Euro cents in this town. Shopkeepers are so personable, too—yesterday I bought two random items at this little convenience store called Casa Del Pane, and as I was leaving the woman behind the counter told me in Italian to wait. Then she scooped up eight cookies from the shop’s pastry selection and told me to have them “per assaggiare” (to try)! Where else in the world do people do stuff like that?! And that’s not the only store I’ve been in in Perugia where I’ve been given free food to try. At the mini grocery store next to my school, the adorable older Italian owner is always giving out samples and telling people they don’t have to worry about paying for things they buy until the next day, if they want.

Other news—today I volunteered for the first time at a local high school. I’m going to help teach English to a group of 16 and 17-year-olds, and I’m basically like their student teacher once a week for an hour. I had no idea what to expect today, and it was a little intimidating at first. The teacher basically put me in front of the class of 25 students and told me I had free reign to teach what I wanted. She suggested I introduce myself and then see if the kids had any questions about life in the U.S. I did that, and a few of them asked me where I live and if I watch Gossip Girl (haha…for the record, I don’t) and then I got a bunch of them to introduce themselves. They all seemed to know basic English phrases, and some were better than others. It was a pretty unruly group, lots of talking over the teacher’s voice, but they seem for the most part like good kids, and I think it’s really going to be fun. I felt like I actually got a real sense of what life is like for people who actually live here in Perugia—not just to study here for a few months, but to grow up here and have this foreign perception of the U.S. The kids seemed really familiar with American pop culture—a girl told me she likes Beyonce and Lady Gaga, a guy said he likes Tupac, and when I tried to explain what the term “rush hour” means, everyone thought of the movie Rush Hour. They were also all excited to talk about the movie Avatar, which is about to come out here. It was crazy seeing the opposite side of the English-Italian language barrier. These kids are struggling with English the same way I struggle to express myself in Italian, and for some reason I find the whole concept of language so fascinating. They can spew out those phrases in Italian which would be SO confusing for me to come up with, but trying to say basic things in English is such a struggle. And for me it’s the opposite. Language is just so interesting—I don’t think I ever realized how fascinating I find the concept of it until I started getting into Italian, and especially now that I’m here really taken by it.

Well I’ve written more than enough in this entry—I apologize for how I go on and on, but I just have so much to say! Apartment life here is quiet but peaceful, and I’m practicing my Italian with Daniela, who is still very sweet. She texted me today that she was coming back to Perugia (she’d been gone for the weekend) and ended it with “un bacio,” which essentially is like saying “with love” or literally “a kiss” in English. How cute! Here are some pics of the new apartment:




(View from my bedroom window)



I’m off to Venice for Carnevale this coming weekend, so I’ll update next time on that, along with whatever else I’ve got on my mind. I miss you all, and in spite of the beauty of Paris and Perugia, am looking forward to how I’ll feel when I eventually am back in Pennsylvania and Maryland seeing those familiar places and faces I’ve missed!