Too short To See: Finishing Bits, NYC, Paris Again

My last day in Paris

Sorry for the lack of updates—my parents told me I should probably inform everyone on my current travels. So here it goes. But first, let me finish up the last bits from my semester in Paris.
After returning back from Norway, I only had about 3 weeks left in the City of Light. I couldn’t believe how quickly time flew by. Upon arriving in January, it felt like I had all the time in the world…but alas, that was not the case. So it was time to do check off the last bits on my “Parisian To-Do List.”

The Catacombs
The Catacombs of Paris are located underground in the south central portion of the city. Around the 1600’s, the cemeteries in Paris proper started to suffer from ‘overpopulation.’ Added to that, the dead began to infect the living—stemming from the plague, I believe. As a resolution, quarrymen slowly moved the bones into an underground labyrinth. An estimated 6 million bodies are contained within the Catacombs.

Now these just aren’t piles of bones scattered any which way. They have been meticulously arranged to rows, heart-shaped patterns, skull and cross bones, etc. It isn’t for the light-hearted. And as the pile of confiscated skulls and femurs at the guard station at the exit indicated, no souvenirs allowed.

The Seine is Not a Swimming Pool
I was sitting at the banks of the Seine with a couple of friends when we witnessed this crazy man jump into the river. He jumped and then gingerly climbed out, without reason or care. Just another day, I guess?

Paris is for Lovers
On one of my last weekends, Romain and I took a ride on one of the super touristy bateaux-mouches. This time, he took control of the camera, so all photo credits go to him.

Early Birthday
As an early birthday present, Romain took me to the ballet at Paris’s National Opera house my last weekend. The ballet, comprised of 3 modern acts, was incredible. But the venue itself, is unbelievable. I think it’s safe to say, it was one of the best birthday gifts I’ve ever received.

What I’ll Miss Most
I never expected to fall in love with Paris as much as I did. My biggest fear was that it would never have lived up to what I had made up in my head. Thankfully, my 4 months is Paris completely surpassed that. As cliché as it is to say this, it was the best time of my life. I experienced the expected…and the unexpected.

I’ll miss sitting at a café with a café crème, ordering my favorite—a salad with hot goat’s cheese, lounging at the banks of the Seine, buying a crepe from the ‘Crepe Lady’ by my apt, writing in my journal in the Tuileries gardens, hanging out with the other ‘internationals’ in the courtyard of my school, overcoming ‘lost in translation’ moments while conversing in French…

New York, New York

Now, I’m back in NYC for the summer interning at Lucky magazine in the Fashion dept and Teen Vogue Magazine in the Production dept. The summer’s been great so far—minus the 30+ days of rain we’ve been getting. I never realized how much the weather can affect my mood. But needless to say, I’ve been feeling a bit gloomy.

But the weather couldn’t keep me down for long—especially when my friend Kevin came to pay me a visit. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at night, saw the final moments of the Gay Pride Parade, scoured through South Street Seaport, and got caught in several rain storms.

Back to Paris

On a slightly impulsive decision, I decided I wanted to go back to Paris for a quick visit to see my boyfriend. So, go back I did. Let me tell you, you don’t know what jet lag is until you’ve flown across the Atlantic and back within a week. By the time I had gotten use to Paris time, it was time to go back to New York. But, it was all worth it. I got to see Romain and some other friends that were still in the city.

In honor of spending 4^th of July away from the States, we ate hot dogs…well a Paris-approximation of hot dogs. The hot dog was actually spicy sausage, and the bun was a slice of bread. But hey, at least we didn’t use a baguette (which we almost did)!

One day, we went to the other forest in Paris and rented rowboats. Needless to say, he did all the work. I rowed for about 15 minutes…and my arms were still sore later that evening. It was great being back in Paris, especially during the summer time. Everyone was out enjoying the weather…meaning lots of picnics filled with bread, cheese, and wine.

The next day, my friend Amy and I were walking through the Tuileries gardens when we stumbled upon a random carnival. So, of course, we took a ride on the ferris wheel…to make up for the fact that I never went up the Eiffel Tower. The view was amazing! We could see le Louvre, les Jardins des Tuileries, la Sacré Cœur, la Tour Eiffel, et al.

And on my last day, I met up with my cousin Ann, who was in town for business. Romain and I tried to show her around town, but unfortunately it started downpouring—that’s Paris for you, though. We did meet up with my other friends and have a fantastic dinner at my favorite restaurant in Paris: Chez Justine. I got my regular: duck and roasted potatoes.