Last Week In Paris

Eric, Reid, Craig, Kasey & I at the Christmas Market on the Champs-Elysees

My last week in Paris was very busy! I had exams, oral exposés (presentations), and final papers due all week, but of course that didn't stop me from finding time to have a little fun!

A delicious religieuse from Thevenin

Since I spent so much time going back and forth to school, I passed one of my favorite bakeries every time I came up out of the metro, so I just had to stop and pick up a religieuse (French for 'nun'). It's a big creme puff dipped in chocolate, topped with a slice of dark chocolate and a chocolate macaron on top - at 3,50 euro a pop (almost $5!), it was definitely a treat! And oh so délicieuse! 

Ad in the metro - so excited to have a ticket for the sold-out show!

One of my favorite French-language singers happened to have a concert in Paris at Le Bataclan, one of the city's famous theaters, and my roommate Eric & I had bought our tickets way back in September, so we were very excited to finally get to go! Béatrice Martin, stage name Coeur de Pirate (Heart of a Pirate), is from Quebec and relatively unknown in the US (except to my nerdy francophone friends and I!) but very popular in France - this concert was actually sold-out! She sings a mixture of pop-folk music and plays the piano like a pro! The concert was amazing and since the venue was very small, we were able to stand 6 feet from the stage during the whole concert - what a treat!

 

Coeur de Pirate!

Picking up some last-minute souvenirs/Christmas presents for my friends & family back at home, I did lots of walking around the city and got to appreciate it all decorated for Christmas. I went to the St-Michel district quite often to get lunch that week and as it is super-touristy (a.k.a. somewhere I usually try to avoid during midday), it was a good spot to do some shopping and sight-seeing as I passed by Notre-Dame on my way there. 

Notre-Dame all decked out for Christmas by day...

...and by night!

Of course, to get in the festive spirit (since it doesn't really feel like Christmas as no one celebrates Thanksgiving in France, and that's usually the official start of the holiday season...) my friends and I made our way over to the marché de Noel (Christmas market) on the Champs-Elysees to shop, snack, and have some more hot wine while we still had the chance!

Eric, Kasey & Craig strolling through the Christmas Market

This area of the city is really lit up for Christmas, and it's very pretty to walk through at night to see all the twinkling displays! 

So many Christmas lights!

I managed to find myself a unique souvenir of Paris as well during one of my study breaks that week - a new tattoo! I got a fleur-de-lys, the emblem of France, on the inside of my left ankle. I can't help but smile and think of my amazing time spent in France every time I look at it!  

My permanent souvenir!

I made one last trip to the Musée d'Orsay, where my Impressionist art history class met throughout the semester, to take my own time to browse around outside of our structured class visits. The museum used to be a train station but quickly became outdated as trains got longer and were to big to be accommodated here.  Certain original parts of the station remain, like its big clock below which looks out across the Seine and onto the Tuileries and Louvre - what a view! 

Musée d'Orsay's famous clock window

Looking out over Musee d'Orsay's main gallery

Also on my Paris Bucket List of things to accomplish before leaving was a trip to the Catacombs. Following rampant outbreaks of disease in the city, due to poorly-manged and overfilled cemeteries in the center of the city, the tunnels of the city's underground quarry (its stone was used to build many of Paris' famous buildings) were converted into an ossuary which contains the remains of about 6 million people. Cemeteries were systematically emptied during the night and the bones were transported by priests who ceremoniously arranged them far below ground where they were no longer posing a health risk to the public. 

Carvings in the walls deep inside the Catacombs

You walk for a long time through old tunnels containing various sculptures like the one above, which was carved in the 1790's, before arriving at the official start to the bone depository:

"Stop! This is the Empire of Death"

The bones are arranged in intricate patterns, and although it is a little creepy, it's really amazing to imagine how long it all must have taken to put together. The ceilings in there are low, water drips from the ceiling in some spots, and it's totally silent save for visitors' crackling steps through the gravel paths.

"Bones from the Cimetière des Innocents (cemetery), placed here July 2nd, 1809"

One of the many cylinders made of bones!

On a happier, less-morbid note, my host family put up their Christmas tree! It was much smaller than the standard American tree, but serves the same purpose and was just as nicely decorated as the one at my home!

Our baby "sapin de Noel" (Christmas tree) 

My host parents cooked me a big "going away" feast during the week as well! We shared many laughs and memories as we spent hours enjoying our fondue dinner and a couple bottles of wine. When we finally noticed that it was 1:15 am, we decided it was probably time to go to bed! The next night, Eric & I prepared an American-style dinner for our family - yum!

My host parents, Béatrix & Quentin

Of course, we had to go out one last time to say 'adieu' to one of our favorite bars in the Bastille neighborhood - Bastille Pub. Their happy hour went until 1am, so needless to say we could nearly be called regulars!

Last night out at Bastille Pub!

Before we all left the states to come to France, we listened to a speaker from our program at a last-minute meeting who was telling us all about how we'd make some of our best friends on this trip. Considering we'd only be together for 4 months, I didn't actually believe that I'd make some closer friends abroad than I had throughout my 4 years in Providence. But I have to say he was totally right. We all chose the Sweet Briar program because we're passionate about the French language and all things French, all come from competitive schools and because we wanted the challenging but rewarding full-immersion experience, and consequently a bunch of us suddenly had lots in common. While it was really hard to say good-bye, I'm confident that it was more of an a bientôt (see you soon) than an au revoir (good-bye). Most of my close friends live along the east coast, and we're already planning to see each other over the summer! 

Maddy, Nicole, Lauren & Kaitlin at Bastille Pub

And a quick word about the debacle that was my departure....

After waking up very early, sharing one last breakfast with my host family and a misty adieu, Eric (who is staying with our host family for the whole school year) helped me bring all of my bags to the airport. Upon arriving there, we said good-bye and my friend Reid and I began our struggles with all of our luggage. And a security workers strike. 

Our departure from Paris couldn't have ended with more of a cliché, as the French are stereotypically known by Americans as those who faire la grève (go on strike) every time they want better working conditions (which we've grown to learn is quite frequently). The French equivalent of the TSA workers decided not to work that day, and consequently there was a back-up in the security screening lines - only 6000 people total were in line, we were assured by a worker. Needless to say, our double-decker plane had to wait an additional 2 hours until all of its 550 passengers made it onboard before taking off, which led to me making my connecting flight from D.C. to Hartford with literally 1 minute to spare. Thankfully, I made the plane and got home on time. Unfortunately, after greeting my family, I came to the realization that none of my bags had made it onto the flight. Oh well! At least I was home. And my suitcases got delivered to my house sometime during the night and were waiting for me to unpack them all the next morning. All in all, it was a very hectic trip home, but thankfully those were the only travel issues I had the whole time I was gone - guess I needed to go out with a bang!

I'm still getting used to living back in Westfield - experiencing a bit of reverse culture shock, I'd say. I feel like I'm living in a country of gigantic things: cars, houses, people, you name it! And I think it's funny that my taste has changed, because I am finding everything I eat here to be far too sweet or salty for me! Guess all that healthy living in France really rubbed off on me. It will be interesting to see if my little Parisian appetite grows over the holidays, or if I regain my love for sugary Christmas cookies...only time will tell!

I'll post a final update after another week or so with my reflections on the experience as a whole, once I figure out what they actually are! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!!

Schloß, Glühwein & Bikes - Karlsruhe, Germany

Nadine and I in Heidelberg!

For my last weekend trip of the semsester (my last voyage before going back home - it's crazy to think that 4 months have flown by so quickly!), I took a train from Paris for 3 hours to Karlsruhe, Germany to visit my good friend Nadine. She studied abroad at Westfield High when I was a junior and we became great friends over the course of the year, so I figured I'd swing by to catch up and to see what Germany has to offer. As I speak no German - aside from the incredibly handy phrases "Hello, my name is Rachael" (Hallo, ich heiß Rachael) and "It's windy outside" (Es ist windig) that I learned in 6th grade - it was great to be with Nadine who could translate for me and offer great insider tips about everything!

Nadine and I at my Junior Year Semi-Formal (2007)

While probably not one of Germany's more well-known cities, Karlsruhe has lots to offer. It is located in southwestern Germany right along the banks of the Rhine. The city is part of the state of Baden, renowned for its famous spas at Baden-Baden, and was badly damaged during World War II but has since been rebuilt. Meaning "Carl's Repose," the city was named after Kaiser Karl Willhelm III and built in 1715. The Kaiser (German king) had wanted to find a spot to build a hunting lodge, and thus picked this location on the edge of the Black Forest. 

Schloß Karlsruhe

Over the years, the hunting lodge turned into the Schloß (castle) that acted as a royal residence and is today a museum. For anyone familiar with French history, King Louis XIV had already turned his hunting lodge at Versailles into the giant palace we all know today and served as inspiration for the Kaiser's constructions. Interestingly enough, the centrally-planned city of Karlsruhe served as one of the inspirations (alongside Paris) for the construction of Washington, D.C.

Map of how Karlsruhe was originally constructed in the 18th century

I met many of Nadine's friends over the course of the weekend, and to my surprise they were all super friendly and very eager to chat in English with me! This was a much welcomed change, as French students are very reserved and don't go out of their way to talk to foreigners. We got together almost every night and I had a really fun time with them all!

My new German friends!

On Friday, we went to one of Nadine's classes. It was a lecture on some sort of engineering given over the course of an hour and a half - and I'd have to say that math is the only universal langauge, because the equations and diagrams drawn on the board were about the only things I was able to follow! After class, we biked downtown int Karlsruhe to check out the city's castle. Everyone here rides bikes, which is a nice change from Paris' crowded, stuffy metro, except that it was freezing cold outside and rained all weekend - definitely put my coordination abilities to the test!!

Nadine and I at the castle

The castle's museum and tower are free on Fridays, so we spent some time inside looking at all sorts of cool objects from Karlsruhe that have been found over the years. I couldn't decipher any of the exhibit signs, but it was cool to look at everything and provided a nice break from the rain and wind outside!

View from the top of the castle's tower, with the Black Forest in the background

We climbed 300 steps to the top of the castle's tower - what a view! The city radiates from the front entrance to the palace, and the backyard opens out onto a big lawn and lots of woods. From this side, you really get the sense of the whole hunting lodge aspect of the castle's history.

The castle grounds

Saturday morning, we went back downtown to see the Weihnachtsmarket (Christmas Market). It was really neat - so much more festive than the ones here in Paris! In Karlsruhe, all of the stands were decorated with pine branches and lights and it really smelled/felt like Christmas. They sell lots of hand-made things here - candles, ornaments, decorations - and so much food!

Karlsruhe's Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market)

Of course I had to taste test the glühwein (hot wine) in order to make an expert comparison with its French counterpart, vin chaud. I'd have to say the German version is stronger, but the French one has tastier spices added to it - both are delicious though!

glühwein!

And we can't forget about bratwurst! This was a cheap, tasty lunch - I couldn't get over how everything here was 1/3 of the price it would cost in Paris! Definitely a nice change of pace after spending last weekend in London where we payed through our nose for everything!

bratwurst!

We then went to watch Nadine's basketball team play their last game of the season - they won! - and the coach let me sit on the team's bench to watch. All the players would run by and give me a high-five every time they were subbed out, and they thought it was cool that they had an "international" audience.

The city of Heidelberg lining the Neckar River

Sunday morning, we woke up early and took the infamous autobahn to the city of Heidelberg to tour its castle and see the Christmas markets there. The highway has no speed limit, and so it is a bit frightening to see how fast the cars whizz by to pass you. We were going about 90 mph, but Nadine told me that some people drive as fast as 200 kilometers/hour (about 125 mph!!). It was a little crazy, but a cool thing to experience nonetheless.

Ruins of Heidelberg Castle overlook the moat

We happened to arrive 2 minutes before a guided tour in English was going to start, so we tagged along and learned a lot about the castle during our hour-long tour. Much like the Louvre in Paris (which used to be a royal palace), Heidelberg castle was added on to each time a new king came to power. Consequently, there is quite the mix of architectural styles present.

View from the Castle's inner courtyard

The castle has one tower, the "Thick Tower," which measures 7 meters (21 feet) thick, making it impossible to blow up. In addition, one of the fortress' exterior walls is 31 meters (93 feet!) thick and was surrounded by a 50 meter (150 feet) deep and 50 meter wide moat- let's just say it was one well-protected castle. It was funny to see the little pieces of the wall and tower which were missing, evidence of failed attempts by invaders to lay siege to the castle.

The other half of the Castle, from the courtyard

Deutschland! Ja!

In the basement of the castle sits the world's largest wine barrel (Großes Fass). The barrel is 18 feet tall, holds 220,000 liters of wine (about 58,100 gallons!) and was directly connected to a large pump upstairs in the kitchen. Wine makers in Heidelberg were required to give 10% of their wine to the King every year (essentially taxes paid in wine), and so all of the "donations" (both red & white) would be collectively dumped into this one barrel. In the 18th century, the water in the river that flowed through the town was not safe to drink, as raw sewage was dumped into it by the townsfolk, so the royalty "resigned themselves" to drinking wine instead... to that, I say "Prost!" (pronounced 'proost,' meaning 'Bottoms up!')

Heidelberg Tun

We quickly headed to Heidelberg's Weihnachtsmarkt to get some food and attempt to dodge the raindrops for a bit. I ate some delicious spaetzle (German egg noodles mixed with onions and cheese) and we looked around a couple of shops in between downpours.  

A giant Weihnachtspyramide

I thought this was pretty funny - in both Karlsruhe and Heidelberg there were huge versions of the traditional Weihnachtspyramide, the German Christmas Pyramid that spins with the aid of heat from candles below the fan blades. My grandma has one in her house and I remember being completely fascinated with it when I was little, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw one big enough to hold a restaurant!

Over the Neckar River

Our umbrellas nearly flew away as we ran across the bridge to get a better view of the castle overlooking the town. Unfortunately, the clouds and fog had moved back in, so we didn't get very many good pictures, but in the one above you can see the castle above part of the town. 

Overall, I had an amazing weekend! It was great to see Nadine again, and even better that we were able to pick up right where we left off the last time we saw each other 5 years ago! Despite the weather, I loved exploring Germany and it was cool to see it from the eyes of a local and her friends! Definitely a great "last hoorah" trip before I head home in less than 2 weeks.