Wednesday, March 18th, 2015
We started off today at the Place des Vosges. This was peaceful and beautiful, and I loved exploring the small. Hidden streets and gardens. We also saw Victor Hugo’s house, where he did a lot of his writing. This was my first experience with the Je Suis Charlie events. It was very interesting to see how modern issues tied in so well to what Victor Hugo wrote about. Next we went to the Carnavelet, a museum centered around the history of Paris and the country of France. I like how walkable of a city Paris is, as walking place to place in the city isn’t something you can really do in Cincinnati. The museum was quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. I think my favorite thing about this place other than the building itself is the garden in the courtyard, a place I could see myself reading and relaxing in for hours. We next went to the Musee Pompidou. Before going in, I got lunch. I went against my better judgement and ate gluten in the best form- a pain au chocolat, which I’m still convinced is the most delicious thing in the world. The Pompidou was… interesting. Modern art is definitely not my thing, but I found the museum, both the exhibits and the exposed infrastructure style of the building itself, fascinating. One of my favorite things of the day was the Music Museum. I love classical music, so I could have spent all night here, learning more about the history of music and listening to incredible pieces. I also had to chance to do some quality people-watching in La Villette. It was a more Parisian group of people, yet most seemed less stereotypically “French”. I enjoyed seeing this diversity.