Saturday, march 14th, 2017
The trip is finally here!!! After getting through security and sitting at the gate talking about our nerves and excitement, we board the plane, and find our seats. Eight hours, two crying babies, three tear jerking movies, and one thousand times hearing the song "Budapest" on Delta's in flight commercial, we land in Paris and start our first day in France. The first thing I noticed, even fresh off a plane, was how well dressed Parisians generally are. I think the typical view of a well dressed Parisian involves a brightly colored, intricately tied scarf, jewels, and clothes that stand out as expensive. However, I think one of the biggest differences in clothing culture between Paris and Cincinnati is how well dressed the average person is. Clothes didn't always appear, as least obviously, to be ridiculously expensive, but most outfits were very well tailored and put together, even simple outfits. One observation in particular is that the men's suits were all tailored very well, a somewhat more rare find in America. The Charles de Gaulle airport was very diverse. Just before our flight came to customs, a large Air Africa flight went through, mostly consisting of French speakers. However, all the employees in the airport immediately switched to English when our group came through. Though being capable of communicating with people from different areas of the world is in the job description of a customs agent, I still marveled at the ability of each person to switch from language to language with such ease and fluency. As we walked through the airport, I enjoyed looking at the ads on the walls. Most were bold, simple, and featured beautiful models, usually on a simple white background. I also noticed that much of the time, the object or person featured on the advertisement had absolutely nothing to do with the product being advertised, but all were eye-catching and memorable. On the bus ride into the city, we all got our first taste of French architecture for the trip. I love the "typical" Parisian apartment, complete with a little balcony on a rounded corner across from a boulangerie, perhaps with a little dog poking out the window. The airport is, of course, not directly in the city, so our ride in showed us somewhat different areas of the city lying on the outskirts. Even these less glamorous residential and industrial areas tended to follow trends of French architecture such as those noted above. Our first stop was our hotel, the Hotel des Deux Avenues, located a few blocks from l'Arc de Triomphe, on an adorable street hosting a market every morning with vendors lining the avenue selling fruit, seafood, flowers, vegetables, and bread. I found the hotel charming, with only a few rooms and a family-owned feel. Most American hotels have a much larger, more sterile, corporate feel, though I will say the showers in America are more user friendly. Once settled in, we went to find a cafe for breakfast. I enjoyed un chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), which was much more expensive, intense, and bitter than anything I had experienced in America, but it was delicious. One part of the dining experience in Paris that is not prevalent in America is getting one bill for your entire group. While this would be pretty easy between just a few people, splitting a bill 22 ways can get a little...interesting. We then set off to the Arc de Triomphe. One aspect of Parisian architecture that I find interesting as an American is the lack of separation between important historical sites or monuments and the rest of the city. Beautiful statues and monuments are set in the middle of busy apartment blocks, stores, or offices, and native Parisians don't seem to give them a second glance, as they are just as much a part of daily life as the smell of bread or the noise of pigeons. I can't imagine being so familiar with Paris that I don't stop and stare at buildings like the Arc. I am fascinated with this monument, and the street on which it is found, the Champs Elysee. On my first trip to see this, I didn't quite see it clearly. The site is beautiful and intricate in ways I would need more than a few visits to fully appreciate. My favorite thing from the Arc is the view from the top. This is where I got my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and the city of Paris as a whole in person. I think this was a great thing to do on the first day there, as we could all see the city spread out in front of us, and clearly see all the opportunities lying ahead. From this view, I could see one of the things about Paris that differs from Cincinnati; the way traffic works. This was apparent staring down at the circle of the Arc and the lanes of traffic- cars, buses, bikes, coming from every possible direction without a traffic light in sight. However, everyone seems to know what they're doing. What I saw as narrowly avoided collisions were probably nothing out of the ordinary for a Parisian driver. American drivers, particularly in the Midwest, tend to be pretty polite when driving, letting everyone take a turn. We then got to explore the Champs Elysee. I was shocked at the sheer number of people on the wide sidewalks of the street, and the many languages and dialects I could hear. While Cincinnati is an urban place, the volume and diversity of people in Paris dwarfs that of Cincinnati. After this time, we took the metro to Tuileries. The Parisian metro is an experience in itself. As someone who doesn't often use subways or much public transportation at all, the Parisian metro system was a bit of a shock for me. A huge difference I noticed between Paris and Cincinnati, I took note of in the metro stations. Usually when you walk by someone in Cincinnati, you make eye contact and smile, or at least nod. This doesn't happen in Paris, especially in the metro. Everyone seems to be in a rush, with somewhere to be, and no one stops to look up and give you the time of day if they don't have to. It's simply not expected. Once at the gardens, we walked around and took some time for lunch at a cafe. While sitting outdoors in cold weather, blustery winds, and no sun in sight wasn't the best atmosphere for an enjoyable meal, the experience was certainly very interesting. I loved the chance to try out a little bit of my French on the menu, as well as listening to chatting at the tables around us. Also, watching my American classmates try beef tartare was fun. Next, we ventured to L'Orangerie. I've always been a fan of Monet's more famous paintings, so I was excited to both see them in person and to learn more about this artist and his more obscure works. I could stare at the water lillies paintings for hours. As our visit came to a close, a few of my classmates succumbed to the jet lag and fell asleep on a bench in the museum. I could have done the same, and was happily exhausted by the end of our first day in Paris.