I'm in Louvre

Written while reading the US News & World Report's Best Things to Do in Paris article and figuring out how many more I can do before going to Roma. 

Bonjour!  First week of classes done, and I can say for certain that I love studying abroad.  Okay, so yes the classes are a little bit (cue a lot) longer in duration than regular classes, but that's what you get for going in the summer, where 6 credits in 6 weeks can be a challenge no matter where you are.  But also, how could you pass up the opportunity?  This week I have become familiar with the cute 14th and 15th arrondissements of Paris, made friends with the owners of 2 patisseries (1 near school, 1 near home), and more of the city than I ever thought I would get to in my lifetime.  So yes, we sat in a classroom for 2 hours today, but what we learned applied to much to our field study visit this afternoon that it is nearly impossible to have anything to complain about.

Today started off as the others have.  I woke up around 8:30, checked my email (not that I'd get anything when it is 2:30am on the other side of the Atlantic, where most of my messages would come from), and then noticed that weather forecast was showing a high of 82 (a good 20 degrees higher than anything we experienced all week).  Score!  I was happy to have an excuse to pull out one of my favorite dresses, and proceeded to finish getting ready for class.  My classmates and I met in the courtyard of our apartment building at 9:30 and then walked to the BIA Center, where we had our Museums and Heritage class at 10.  The 2-hour lecture was actually fascinating.  Our teacher engaged us in a conversation about how museums preserve their works and artifacts, and we learned about the steps that go into acquiring and conservation.  Once class ended at 12, we headed to Le Grenier a Pain for lunch.  My formula special included a sandwich, pasty and drink.  I got this cute chocolate tart; it was small but rich with just enough sugar to keep me going for the rest of the day.  With a quick turnaround, we headed towards the metro, which took us to our field study of the day at the Louvre Museum.

I may or may not have died a little of happiness inside.

When a tourist, do as the tourists do...again.  Thanks to the classmate who took this picture from 50 different attempts because there was no line.

We met our Scottish field professor at 1:30, who took us through different exhibits in the museum, with our conversations focusing primarily on what we have talked about in class: museum organization, conservation, communication, etc.  I enjoyed this visit because the museum itself is MASSIVE; the biggest museum in the world.  Room after room after room of famous artworks in the form of painting, sculpture, or artifact.  We actually went to exhibits visited primarily by locals and art lovers, the ones away from the major "tourist traps" in the museum.  I particularly liked looking at different ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, pieces from older artifacts and seeing how the buildings formed little courtyards with skyline views of Paris.  One of the rooms we went in used to be a courtyard but it was covered over when curators decided to use the space for artwork.  While it was the biggest tourist trap of the museum, I actually loved seeing the world famous Mona Lisa picture.  It required less pushing and shoving than I thought I would need (I was really happy about it), and I was able to look at it for about 30 seconds up close and personal.  The work itself is quite small, actually, and covered with 4 layers of bulletproof glass, but I figure you can't go to Paris in your lifetime and not see the famous painting.  Once we were finished, we had a quick meeting with our professor about our museum visits for next week, to the Museum of Modern Art and Fondation Louis Vuitton.  He left, leaving us to explore any exhibits that we want.  We wandered around for a little bit before I left with one of my classmates towards the gift shop and poles in front of the museum for a classic Louvre picture.  We took the metro home before stopping at the store to pick up lunch for our picnic tomorrow at Versailles.

View from inside the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre Museum.

Looking down into the Louve lobby & reception area.

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Excited to visit his home & gardens tomorrow!

May or may not have pushed through an entire crowd of people taking selfies with this famous picture, and yes, I judged those with long selfie sticks.

It is crazy how a place can become your home so quickly.  Staying in an apartment has made me feel closer to a resident of the city of Paris, rather than a tourist in a hotel as it has given me the chance to really live on my own in a community.  After all, you can stay in the 1st arrondissement without seeing the 15th, but you can't stay in the 15th without seeing the 1st!  I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to really live like a local, take public transportation (and walk...a lot), and have regular interactions with the market/patisserie workers.  In just a short amount of time I have enjoyed getting to know the IES staff as well, who made my adjustment to European living much easier, especially after the lost luggage crisis.  With that thought in mind, I am doing as much as I can to cross items off my Paris to-do list, even if it means doing some schoolwork in between.  Just a few things on there: seeing the monuments glow in the night sky, visit the artist's village, and explore the Pablo Picasso Museum back in Le Marais.  Fingers crossed I get it all done in time (chances are that I will, because we are doing many of them in class next week, but still).  

Until then, au revoir!