Panache: Going "Paris-ing"

This city merits its own verb. I have to admit, I have never been anywhere where just aimlessly walking can be so rewarding; where you can go to one museum in the morning, one at lunch, and one in the afternoon; where just riding the train makes you feel like you're in a movie, complete with its own soundtrack. One of my friends simply calls it "Paris-ing."

I made a conscious decision to not just stay in my room doing my homework, but to get out and do stuff. So this week, my first week of school, I went Paris-ing.

On Sunday after church I visited the Eiffel Tower with friends and took the mandatory tourist photos, then went to a flea market on the afternoon, vowing to return when I was ready to spend money.

On Thursday, as I sat in my room with very little homework, I decided to just go into central Paris by myself. I ended up at St. Chapelle Church (famed for its stained glass windows) right as the sun was setting, so I sat and watched the light change on the windows. The church was built to house the Crown of Thorns, and indeed, built into the glass of the 13th-century windows was the exact same Crown of Thorns I kissed last week.

The guy in purple holds the Crown

Then I ate dinner in a cafe with the windows thrown wide open, soaking in the all-too-little sun. I'm not one to eat outside, but the weather was so perfect I absolutely had to. I bought myself a Berthillon ice cream before heading to the Centre Pompidou for my mandatory conversation session--a meeting at a cafe or a bar with a French student paid by UChicago just speak French with us. She took us to the Cafe de la Fusee, which she says is a real French bar.

On Friday I spent the morning at the Museum of Natural History with my biology class, and I spent the afternoon deep underground in the Parisian catacombs. More on this trip later...

On Saturday I spent the morning at the Rodin Museum. Since many of the sculptures are in a garden outside, I wanted to visit it on a nice day. What that man could do with stone is beyond words. Some of the sculptures brought me close to tears.