Well Paris, You Were an Experience

Welcome To Paris! My mom came to visit me in Belgium last week. We spent a few days in Leuven, and even went to Brussels for a day, before making our way to my dream city: Paris. We arrived Wednesday early evening. Can I just note how crazy it is that Paris is only an hour and 20 minutes by train from me?! Amazing! This is why I choose Belgium! Our first stop was the Louvre. I have to say, the moment I saw it and the Eiffel Tower in the horizon I teared up. My dream of seeing Paris was coming true. And it was stunning. **You have to read to see how this all turns out...

The Louvre is sort of ridiculously huge. There is just way Way to much to see. So we decided to do the completely tourist thing and only see the famous pieces. First stop: Winged Victory. Sorry about the blurriness of this. My camera is temperamental.

So I have to say that one of my favorite things about the Louvre (okay, maybe my favorite but that makes me sound like a complete twit with no appreciate for art. Which is not true! I just like pop culture more...) was overhearing this woman mention Audrey Hepburn. Then it all came to me...FUNNY FACE!!! I went up to the woman immediately, and was like "Wait--is this the famous Funny Face scene in the red dress". And she told me yes, and we bonded over how cool that was. Okay I can't find a better link, but if you have no idea what I am talking about 1) watch the movie 2) if you don't watch the movie then at least see this (around the 1 minute mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkXSbQ7i-7c          I should have rewatched this movie before going to Paris, so I could go to key places in the movie. Yes, this is something I do. I basically redid Roman Holiday when I went to Rome, and I loved it! Ah, Audrey Hepburn. You guide my travels! :) 

 Okay. So what the Louvre is known for...the Mona Lisa.  Amusing story: One of the reasons that there is glass there is for no one to steal it (someone also once through coffee at it...yeah). On our tour, we were told that the painting went missing for about two years. An Italian janitor working at the Louvre decided to take the painting, feeling that it was inappropriate for it to be in France with Da Vinci was Italian. For two years he kept the painting at his home. Then, he decided to sell it to Italy. This is where he got caught. However, the Italians convinced the French to let them punish this janitor. So what do they do? He goes to jail...for one day. The next day he is released with a parade in his honor!! Haha! Well I mean, the guy does have a point. What I learned about France, they should probably stop stealing things (art) from other countries (Greece, Germany, Italy etc). It's bound to make anyone annoyed!

Venus de Milo.  Again. I really fail at appreciating art apparently. I mostly just associate it with some movie I have already seen. Hercules anyone? Great Disney movie. One of my favorites. In particular the scene in the Garden. But here is why this movie is relevant to this statue (Check out the 8min mark):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfGmZKnY8Sw&feature=related

Okay, so I will spare you the million pictures I took of the Eiffel Tower. I mean I don't think it even borders on being ridiculous, it is just ridiculous. But here is my favorite one. Isn't it stunning. Sigh! (Thursday morning)

So. I am a little weird about firsts. I like firsts to be meaningful and in special places. I randomly decided I wanted my first coffee to be in Paris. Phew. Thank goodness I got to Paris before I had kids then! Here is my first coffee (an expresso). I admit, I felt all jittery in my arms! But it was sooo good. Best part about this all? So my mom and I are getting a little breakfast at a Parisian cafe near the Eiffel Tower and as I have my Expresso "It's Raining Men" starts to play! Love it! Too funny! Such a great memory.

Off the Versailles for the rest of Thursday. My mom joked with me that after seeing Versailles I would understand why there was a Revolution. Yeah...hm...with people starving in the streets it is probably not good to have a ostentatious, ornate palace in the suburbs. However, the people actually had no idea what this building looked like until the women stormed the Palace in search of Marie Antoinette, because it is located "far" (in their times) from Paris.

The Gardens. Even today they actually have problems running all the fountains. As such, they only run for two hours on the weekend. :( Bummer. I wish I could have seen it all done up. But still....wow.

Hall of Mirrors! AP European History textbook comes to life! Really, this is basically the only picture I remember from that book. Okay, so the French are a little obsessed with the fact that they are French. So at the time the Venetians were the only one making mirrors. But the King of France had to have mirrors to show off his wealth. But he could not just have mirrors they must be FRENCH mirrors. Of course! So he brought Venetians to France to teach French craftsman to make mirrors for his hall. Then he sent these Venetians home to be killed for treason. A+ France.

Okay, so that evening my mom and I went to this amazing dinner (haha except we saw a mouse and my mom freaked! aka screamed a little! When we told the waitress she was just like yeah we have that problem. Haha. Really?! That's it. Oh, and can I just add how I hate that in Europe they charge you for water! I mean not okay!). So this dinner, I wish I took a picture of me in this dress. It was the only time I have ever felt that when I walked into a room everyone stopped to check me out. It was so much fun! Guess I looked good :)

It's Friday. Already! Such busy busy days in Paris. My mom and I took a tour of the city. It was wonderful. But here is the thing about Paris. There is so much to do that it is impossible to truly get a sense of the city, to truly feel like you have seen "Paris". But this tour was a great overview. Plus, it is the free tour that I did in Edinburgh so the tour has character. And is super funny!

Don't want to pay a lot on a girl, but you want her to go weak at the knees for you? Our tour guide gave guys a great suggestion. This is a bridge for artists. One of the fun things that you can do is attach a lock to the railing. The symbol of it all. Our love is permanent. It is locked together forever, and then you throw the key into the Seine. Haha! But here's the kicker! It isn't permanent. Every few weeks there are too many locks, so the authorities come and cut them off! But it's the thought that counts...?

My mom's hero is Marie Curie. I mean not a bad choice, being that she is the only person to win two noble prizes (one in chemistry and the other in biology--I believe). This is where she worked! My mami is sitting at her desk!!! Oh fun cool thing we learned. She actually would have won 3 Nobel Prizes if she had lived. Her daughter won a Nobel Prize in science for doing work that her mother (Marie Curie) oversaw. WOW! 3 Nobel Prizes to one person...

This is her lab. If you did not know, Marie Curie died as a result of her work. She worked with radioactive elements that eventually lead to her death. Incredibly, she knew that this was a risk, but she felt that it was necessary for science. I love that someone has that kind of commitment to knowledge...learning at any price, even one's own life...for the improvement of society. Incredible. **Side note: look into her story. Especially her marriage with Pierre. It is a tragic but touching love story.


After this Curie Museum, my mom and I darted to Flore Cafe. On our way we saw this car (a Bentley right?). Um...gorgeous! So classic! Love it! I want one! Pretty pretty please?! Okay, well maybe just for my wedding day :)

Okay, but why we went to the Flore. It is where key thinkers spent there time. In particular, Existentialist writers like Sartre, Simone de Bouvior, and Camus to name a few. So cool. That is the amazing thing about Paris. Everywhere you go someone famous once was. It is crazy to think that X, Y, Z person slept here, walked here, ate here etc. It is awe-inspiring. However, I think that the waiters thought we were crazy, because we literally ran in, downed a coffee/tea, and left. Why? Because we were running to catch a tour of Montmartre! However, we could not miss this cafe!

Tour of Montmartre. It started at outside the Moulin Rouge. A little underwhelming during the day, I have to say. It has definitely been done up in the movies. MEH! This is frustrating I could not find a link to "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart" from Anastasia in English! What the fuck! Here is in Finnish at least. But yeah... Such a good song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ElX5stT0us&feature=related
Check out this movie too if you have not seen it!




Lyrics from "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart"

when your feeling blue come to la mode

when your hearts says don't
the french say do
when you think you can't
you'll find you can can
everyone can can can
you can can can too

Here is my can can in front of the Moulin Rouge. I swear, I am more flexible than this. But skinny jeans are restricting.

 

Time to enter Montmartre. So you know that image we have of Parisians: a guy with a striped shirt, a beret, a cigarette (omg everyone smokes in Paris), and a paint brush? That comes from this area of Paris. This is a picture outside of where Van Gogh lived. His life is super depressing by the way.

Okay, I have to finish this another time if I want to have dinner before class. Mas later! But here are some pictures in the mean time. Oh and the new Taylor Swift cd came out yesterday! I had to buy it, so it will be all that I am listening to for the next few days! haha or maybe for the month at least.

OMG! I have no idea how people attend big universities. Classes are soooo big! How does one bother to pay attention or contribute? Basically this study abroad experience has made me more appreciative of things like being from the USA and attending Haverford. But for another entry.
 





Beautiful Paris!

Street art is a growing movement. Here is one in France: Space Invaders. However, this street artists is just beginning to invade Paris.







Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. It is at the top of the hill in Montmartre. It does not look real at all, which is really weird. I don't know why I had that feeling, but that is how I felt. It is a controversial church and interesting for many reasons. For instance, architecturally it is a blend of the Greek and Byzantine style. What this means besides that Greek style means columns, I do not know. But that is what our guide said. Also, it was the first church built with the cooperation of the State following the French Revolution. This was a really big deal, because following the French Revolution there was a strict separation of Church and States. But the Church could not afford to build it without the support of the State, so eventually the States agreed to help.

Saturday. Last day in Paris. And I have to say that by the time it was Saturday I was really ready to leave. It was shocking to me how rude Parisians are. I thought it was just a stereotype, but I was constantly being scolded and lectured and pushed around. And I was sick of it! As the days went by I perpetually became more "American". Just thinking to myself about how snooty Parisians are, how France needs to get over themselves (besides we save their asses in two World Wars), and how USA is a dominant power too (if not more so). Anyway, more Parisian rants later.

But here I am at Oscar Wilde's Grave at Pere-Lachaise Cemetary. Chopin, Proust, Jim Morrison and many other famous people are buried here too. But my motivation for visiting again has to do with a film (even though I do love Oscar Wilde: please read The Importance of Being Ernest if you haven't--probably my second favorite play (second to Inherent the Wind). 

Great Movie: Paris, Je T'aime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5trjbcw51z0&feature=related

If you like this clip check out my favorite vinette:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY3gD85JZLY


Haha, yes, I kissed his grave :)




Paris Opera House! Yeah. It looks like Versailles. Also, this opera house is the inspiration for The Phantom of the Opera. Please read the book. It is so much better! Rather than the silly musical (while it has great music) that makes you sympathetic for the Phantom and turns it into a overly sappy story.

It is crazy that this is their Opera House. I have also dreamed of seeing the Marriage of Figaro, and I got super excited when I saw a sign for it here. But unfortunately it started the following week. Oh well.

So here is the actual theatre itself. Look like a forced smile? Well it is. By this point I had had enough of Paris. The morning at the Cemetery was the final straw while this horrible Parisian guard scolded me and tried to humiliate me while her fellow guardsman stiffed a laugh. Ugh. Fuck France. Don't worry I kept my cool and left. But I think the fact that Parisians are the worst people I have ever met really did affect my enjoyment of the city. I was ready to leave. And I still could not be tempted to go back. Maybe someday. But yes Paris, you were my dream to see and by the time I left it could not come too soon. But whatever. It is a beautiful place, but totally not worth its obnoxious people. I mean really now? Sigh. Not trying to be an arrogant, French-hating American, but the USA really is the key player in international politics. Not France. So get over yourself.



Of, and in the above picture the ceiling in this room is painted by Chagall. AND there is a huge chandler like in the Phantom of the Opera.


I love staircases by the way. I love how dramatic they are, especially when you walk down them in a grand dress. No grand dress, but still fun to walk down.







So now my favorite part of visiting Paris, not being in Paris: Claude Monet's Gardens. It really feels like you are walking though one of his pictures! One things that I am remiss that I did not do while in Paris is visit there many Impressionist Museums. I did not realize that they had such a famous collection before I visited, so I no longer had time to go. It was unfortunate, but I am sure the paintings could not top the real life experience of walking in an Impressionist painting. Here are Monet's famous water lilies!

The Japanese Foot-Bridges.

My favorite picture of my mom!

 

Then it storms and we get drenched!

 

Paris Opera House at night! Au revoir!! 

Castles and Palaces and Coos (Cows) Oh My!!!

Okay, so I will keep this super super brief, because I am really behind on everything. 

Edinburgh Castle

WILLIAM WALLACE! I should probably see Braveheart sometime. But I did see the closing scene, when he cries out "FREEDOM" as he is being castrated (?). And I just was like okay, a little much now. But It is an epic film, so it is on my to-do list.

Then we made our way to Scott Monument, and we climbed to the top!  

 

Finally to the Palace! Hollyrood Palace! My favorite! Mary Queen of Scots actually lived here! So Crazy!

Here is the monument to William Wallace. Thomas and I happened to barely make it out this tour, but I am so happy that we did. It was incredible! It was the Hairy Coo tour, and it took us to various places around Scotland (highlands tour!). I was so excited when I realized our tour guide was taking us to this monument. I had really wanted to see it!

They said that it is the tallest monument to a non-religious figure...hmm...I don't know about that. Clearly the building is not, because the Washington Monument is taller. Maybe they are counting the hill, but I do not think that is very fair.

Coconuts anyone? This is where the filmed Monty Python and the Holy Grail. So the tour had some coconuts for us to run around with. In particular, this is where the scene with the snooty Frenchmen was filmed!! I just rewatched that movie, and I think it is official that I have the weirdest sense of humor. I smiled, but there was no laughing. I really do not get random humor. But it is definitely fun to quote!

Skipping rocks at one the many beautiful lochs (lakes).

Hairy coo hat. If you look carefully you can see a real Hairy Coo in the background! (hint: on the right side)

Harry Potter Comes To Life

Forewarning: If you do not love Harry Potter, you might not find this entry very interesting. 

It is now Thursday in Edinburgh, and I did one of my favorite things, I took a tour. One of the best tours I have ever been on actually, and I highly recommend looking into this tour group. They have tours set up all over Europe. It is called Sandemans New Europe. It was founded by a Yale graduate who is trying to make learning about the wonderful cities of Europe affordable. So the day tours are free, and then you tip at the end according to what you can afford. Such a great idea!! Here are some of the things I saw/learned.

First off, I learned about Deacon Brodie. But being that I dedicated almost a whole entry to this

Now to my blog title...Harry Potter comes to life. The World of Harry Potter. Sigh. Dream come true. Growing up with this series of book, anything Harry Potter excites me (If I made you explore the Harry Potter amusement park website with me you understand, someday soon I need to go there!).  Well what I did not know is that JK Rowling wrote much of the Harry Potter series in Edinburgh. She is English by birth, but she has adopted Scotland as her homeland. During our tour they took us to some notable Harry Potter sites...

Want to see Hogwarts in real life?! Visit Edinburgh. J.K. Rowling has said that Hogwarts is suppose to be in Scotland in the books. And here is the real inspiration for Hogwarts...the George Heriot's School. Crazy isn't? Can you believe that kids go to school there?! Unbelievable. Here is a brief history of the school. After George Heriot died he asked that his fortune go towards making a school for the poor. While it does not serve that purpose anymore (it's absurdly expensive) it does maintain a bit of this tradition. The school reserves a small percentage of its seats for underprivileged students. However, back to Hogwarts. This school also has 4 houses that the students are sorted into...sound familiar :)

• Lauriston (green, after the school's address, Lauriston Place)
• Greyfriars (white, named after the adjacent kirk, Greyfriars Kirk) 
• Raeburn (red, after a famous former pupil)
• Castle (blue, after Edinburgh Castle to the north)

Here I am at the gates of Hogwarts.

As mentioned in the list of houses, there is a kirk neighboring the school. Rowling also spent a lot of time in this "kirk" or graveyard (apparently that is not weird in Scotland like it is in the States. Our tour guide said that a graveyard is the second most popular place for people to have sex in public...yeah). In the graveyard are tombstones that share names with some of Rowling's most famous characters. For instance, if you look near the gate that looks onto "Hogwarts" you will find McGonagall as well as Moodie!





 
Now perhaps this next part is not fair to Edinburgh or Edinburgh Castle, because it is magnificent in it of itself. But it is also part of the creation of Hogwarts in Rowling's mind. If you pick up George Heriot's School and then  place it on top of the Edinburgh Castle you get Hogwarts!! How did Rowling come up with all of this? Well the place that she wrote looks out onto Edinburgh Castle...

The famed Elephant House Cafe... where Rowling wrote part of Harry Potter!

Okay Okay. But enough Harry Potter. I know most do not have the same enthusiasm for the stories as I do even if you grew up with it. But PS there is more Harry Potter to come, because I am going to be seeing it in London when it comes out in theaters. So stay tuned!

So in the kirk where Rowling got a few of her names for characters is another famous story. The story of a dog who lived during the mid 19th Century: Greyfriars Bobby. The story goes that the night watchman of the graveyard, John Gray, bought a dog and the two became inseparable. However, two years later John died of tuberculosis, and he was subsequently buried at the graveyard he kept. Greyfriars Bobby lives for another 14 years. But he never forgets his old friend even and spends most of his time stationed near John's grave. This story has become famous worldwide for "Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all" (the worlds on the gravestone pictured here).

Okay last story now. And it is a weird one. As mentioned in the last entry, at one point in history public hangings were a form of entertainment. One of the most memorable story is that of a woman who is hanged and then comes back to life. I know, I know, it does not sound believable. But let me finish the story... In short, a woman gets pregnant out of wed-lock. She does not tell anyone, not even the father. However, she miscarriages. Feeling there is no need to tell anyone about the pregnancy she buries the evidence of the miscarriage. Yet, somehow the authorities learn of what occurred and bring her to trial. Her crime? Not telling the father of the child of her pregnancy. The punishment? Death by hanging. She is brought the gallows, hung, and pronounced dead by the attending doctor. Sounds pretty typical. But here is where things get weird. The body is taken in the back of a wagon outside of the city for burial. Suddenly, the wagon driver hears a commotion coming from behind him. So he stops and walks over to the back of the wagon. He hears pounding from inside the coffin! Terrified, he heads back to Edinburgh. The woman is alive!! The authorities debate what to do. Should they hang her again? No. They decide that she has ultimately served out her punishment that required she be hung and die. Both of things she fulfilled. Therefore, she was allowed to go free. Now the legends goes that the woman stayed in Edinburgh and regularly attended hangings. She would remind the guilty that everything would be okay, I mean she came alive didn't she?

Where the Gallows used to Stand