Paris Party People (& Paula)

Long time no blog, I know. November was a blur of travelling and incredible exchange nights, which (un)fortunately means I had no time for blogging. December, on the other hand, is considerably slower thus allowing me to, in the words of the ever wise Ben H., wind down and catch up.

But first. Today is my favorite P's birthday: Paula P's. A grandiose shout out then to my incredible housemate, who I hold in such high esteem and miss incredibly. Happy birthday, petite Paula.

Down to business.

I said in my previous post (and to a number of people) that I was not all that interested places like London, Paris or Rome. We are, I argued, so exposed by the media to images of these cities that once we are there, it's as if we've been there before. It's expected. And that cities like Prague or Budapest were much much more interested. I have come to realize that this is a lot like Logan not getting Facebook until this summer, or Paula not listening to anything that's even played on the radio. Non-conformity for the sake of non-conformity. I concede, I was playing that game to. Then this weekend changed all of that.

It’s 3AM. I’m riding full speed ahead down the middle of a major street, only a few cars in sight.  I’m peddling as hard as I can; desperately trying to keep up to the Polish couple I’ve just met a few hours ago, on whom I am relying to not get lost. And I’m wearing heals. Where else could I be, other than Paris?

Just a few days before that adventure, I was in a totally different kind of desperate situation. In fact, I was faced with a major dilemma, an exchange student’s worst nightmare: thanks to a national holiday in Belgium (L’Armistice, known as Rembrance Day in Canada), I had a five-day weekend ahead and no travel plans. Luckily enough, I have unbelieably gracious and generous friends, such as Ola, who are on Fall exchange in super cool cities and invite me stay in their apartments while they are off discovering foreign lands.

I thought that Paris being 2hrs from Brussels, and the train system in Europe being so superior to that in North America, getting to the City of Lights would be no problem. Word of caution: a last minute ticket will set you back quite a bit. I wasn't willing to spend more on my ride to Paris than my flights Budapest and Venice combined. Friends of mine suggested I look into the bus, and sure enough, it was a third of the price for just an extra hour or travel time. Deal. But first, website wouldn't accept my credit card (which sent me into frenzy and I ended up on the phone with TD through a Skype call to my Dad) and then the national holiday almost kept me Belgian-bound when I couldn't find a printing shop open.

A long day later, I got to Ola's Paris apartment safe and sound. Despite having to pull an all-nighter to finish a suprise paper, she had enough time to introduce me to her friends who in turn introduced me to the Paris nightlife. I have to honest here. Ola's friends were a riot, but, in my humble opinion, the clubs were not. Now, I'm notoriously not cool and my idea of a good time is a Taylor Swift concert, so house music is not exactly up my alley. But still. The clubs were packed, with everyone was just kind of bouncing their heads to a beat instead of dancing. A little Lady Gaga or Journey never killed anybody. In any case, the novelty of partying in Paris was enough to keep me happy and the aformentionned bike ride home was an exchange highlight.

My Paris plan was to do solo sightseeing during the day and meet up in the evening with my UCL friends who were also in town that weekend. This worked out perfectly for me, as I could plan out a jam-packed itinerary of the exact things I wanted to see. Like le Musée des Invalides (French war museum). Unfornately, upon arrival I got a major flashback of my Grade 11 trip during which we had visited this exact place. So I bailed, and moved on to the list's next item: a stroll down les Champs d'Élysés, Place de la Concorde, Jardins des Tuileries and across la Seine to le Musée d'Orsay. What a museum! Not only is it housed in the most gorgeous of buildings, but it contains the most incredible pieces: Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Renor (I've acquired a taste for Impressionists on this trip). I absolutely recommend this (in particular, you get in free with your European visa - I knew I filled out all that paper work for something). Finally, I wrapped up the day with a visit to le Cimetière du Père Lachaise, other must see: not only does it provide a peaceful break from bustling Paris but it's just as cool as it seems to see a famous person's tomb stone. You can't miss Jim Morrison (follow the guide tour, please), Chopin, Molière, Lafontaine and the WWII section.

I met with my fellow UCL Erasmus students for dinner on my second night. I can't gush enough about what a great group it was: Anne, Malin, Lotta, Helen, Robert, Brandon, Joel, Mattias, Thomas and Naoki. Laughs and crazy antics are guaranteed. Joel will inevitably challenge you to do something ridiculous, Robert and Thomas will belt an inpromptu rendition of Cologne's song, Mattias will sell you the merits of house music, the Swedes will suit up and you'll crack up with Brandon trying to teach everyone the correct use of English slang words. We all got ready in their hostel, suited up (only semi) and then rolled out to Showcase, a located under Alexander III bridge, overlooking la Seine. Somehow, we got in for free (probably had something to do with Anne's Finish blonde hair and blue eyes) and then took in the atmosphere. Once again, atmosphere was pretty much all there was, because despite the phenomenal location, the fabulously stressed patrons and the reknowned DJ, I was disapointed by the lack of... enthusiasm? I think we've all been spoiled by one too many nights at the cercles, jumping up and down to Club Can't Handle Me or shouting BARBRA STREISAND at the top of our lungs.

Woke up the next morning groggy but with a full agenda, of course... mostly consisting of discovering Montmartre. On my two previous trips to Paris I had visited this epic cathedral, but I had never walked up, down and around it. I am so so very glad I did. It was, and I quote Paddy this time, pure bliss. It wasn't hard to find cute Parisian boutiques and just when I was getting a little chilly, God heard my prayer and answered in the form a CUPCAKE shop. People who know me well know that 1) I eat treats and drink tea like it's my job and 2) I leave quite a mess. Elise, I was thinking of you when I got this.

Another bit of Olivia trivia. Favorite scene in a Disney movie: when the Beast presents Belle with his library (oh my, I'm a nerd). So I was exploring the coblestoned hills of Montmartre, and I FOUND IT. With ladders and books all the way up to the ceiling and piles everywhere! It was perfect. I got a copy of Molière's L'Avare for 1 euro and asked the shopkeeper if I could take a picture. He's perfect response was, "... but I don't want to be in it".

I met up with la gang down at Les Halls (shopping district) and it started to rain. Robert & I thought this was a perfect excuse to see the Louvre (once again, we could get in free with our EU residency). Robert is the perfect museum-buddy. He let me choose where I wanted to go first (Napoleon's apartments). Then he led me to the German section and enlightened me on his country's art. There are some moments on exchange when you just feel so incredibly cultured, like you can feel yourself internationalizing: ya, it was something like that. We met up with Brandon and Naoki at the Eiffel Tower for the necessary photo op. At that point, the rain was getting to me and I was oh-so-glad I had Ola's warm cozy apartment to go home to. 

Final morning in Paris: I had a few things left to cross off my list. I trekked off to the Montparnasse district where I visited another cemetery-with-famous-people such as Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, made sure to see a few notable art nouveau buildings, wondered over to Jardin du Luxembourg (gorgeous, another must) and then ended up just near Notre-Dame-de-Paris. This area was bustling with tourists of course and I couldn't have been happier to be among them. I was having one of those, I'm really really happy with my life right now moments: it was sunny, I was in Europe, I was in Paris and it felt good to be solo. And then I got the MOST delicious egg and ham crêpe and I was over the moon.

It kind of went downhill from there (sorry to kill the mood). I missed my bus back to Brussels and it was hell trying to get on the next one. There being only one agent available for, I would guess, about a hundred people were unbelievably stressful. Here is where I get down on my hand and knees and thank my parents for putting me through school in French and making sure I was fluent, because it truly saved me. Eventually, I got to Brussels, I few hours behind scheduled but back in Belgium, back home, nevertheless.

It only speaks to how deeply I had fallen in love with Paris that despite a hellish trip home, I was still on cloud nine. Or should I say, au septième ciel.