C'est La Vie, Paris

Paris was more than anything I have ever imagined. For something that I had seen in countless movies, I really didn’t know what to expect.

Something that instantly popped out at me was the size of Paris. Pulling into the train station, I was surrounded by a range of diverse people, which made me think back to the reading section on populations. I thought about how Europe’s population has gone up and back down throughout the centuries, but Paris didn’t look like it was currently struggling in the population department. It seemed that everywhere we went, there were people, and a large diverse group of people at that. As one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe, it is also a large tourist region.
Something that makes the population in the region so massive is the urban feel that people get when they come to this infamous city. From our class readings we learned why people wanted to move in cities instead or more rural areas. After seeing Paris, I now know why they wanted to do this. Living in a city there are more opportunities to get work. With a city like Paris, they also use the Seine River as transportation of goods and people. This made me understand more of the urbanization that went on in Paris’s history because people wanted to able to access the things that the city had to offer, like it’s resources.

Going to such an infamous city made my preparation a little different, because there was so much to cover in so little time. When reading my European guide book, something that I found interesting was the fact that my it mentioned that we should save the money from splurging on museums and spend it on the amazing French food. I disagree with this because I almost would have to say to do the opposite. Although French food is great, it’s also pricey. If I wrote my own travel book, I’d say the opposite and that spending the money on museums and sights is more of a pleasure because you get a full perspective of what the city has to offer. And that is exactly what we did.

In my case, spending money on the ‘hop on hop off’ bus was the best decision made this entire trip. This is a double-decker bus that takes you all over France to the major sights. And I must say, it was the best 29 Euro I’ve ever spent! This was the perfect way to see everything in Paris at once, especially if it is your first time to the city.

We literally got to see everything we wanted to see in just one day. My group and I also had the perfect day to do this, it was sunny and warm! We sat on top of this bus and got to drive all over Paris. The only challenge we had come our way, would be dodging tree branches!

Hopping on the bus, we were apprehensive to get going and start seeing all of the destinations. Were we going to have to get out at every stop, or would we be able to pick and choose what we wanted to see? I was really unsure of the whole idea, but I was later proven wrong.

First stop on the ‘hop on hop off’ tour, the Louvre. The Louvre was extraordinary and huge. It wrapped around the whole area we were in. It looked like a large palace from the outside, but filled with windows. I couldn’t believe the size until we actually went into the building and realized how lost we were. Divided into different genres of art like Renaissance and Greek, our first stop would be to find the infamous Mona Lisa. Once we found her section, I realized that the Mona Lisa was super small. I’d say about the size of an 8X10 picture. I was really shocked when I saw this because this is a globally recognized piece of art that almost everyone knows about, and it was so much smaller than I ever imagined. For something that contains so much history, I was really shocked to see its real size. This tour was a great way to learn more about the different genres of art and also the history of Europe. Geographically, this made me think of how much history is behind the works of art in the Louvre. This made me take into consideration the history that I was witnessing. After touring the museum I realized that the guidebook was wrong and it was definitely worth the trip and money!

Our next stop would be the Arc de Triumph, which I really didn’t know that much about. But when we drove up to it on our bus, I got more of a sense of its historical significance and meaning to the city of Paris. After seeing its large size and beautiful artistry engraved in the stone, I wanted to look more into why this was so symbolic to the people of France.

The Arc de Triumph is a monument in Paris that honors those who fought for France during the Napoleonic Wars. Something that I definitely observed on the monument was that at the top of the arc there all are of the names of generals and wars that were fought. Designed by artist Jean Charlgrin, this one of the most famous monuments in Paris its location is significant to its Parisian symbolism. Its location at the right bank of the Seine is also significant to its cultural meaning to the French people because it is also located by other historical monuments like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. This monument reminded me of last weeks theme of the different history’s of the cultures we are learning because this monument stands as a reminder to all of those who fought and risked their lives during that time. For some more information, I looked here, http://bit.ly/T35Nj

After this stop, we traveled on the tour bus to the Eiffel Tower. Which is another symbol to the people of France. This iron tower that is also globally known, stands 1,063 feet tall and is said to be the same height as an 81-story building. As a prominent symbol to France and Paris, it tells a lot about the history of the country. I didn’t know a lot about this figure until I looked more into it online. Originally made for a World’s Fair marketing the celebration of the French Revolution, it was often criticized by the public. Many did not like this “eyesore” and were certain that it did not fit in the region that it was in. Since it is the tallest building in Paris, many can see it from miles away, which made many people apprehensive at first. When looking at this though, I saw a lot of history and cultural symbolism because this is a piece of art that is known by all people in the world.

Although I went into the trip not knowing a lot about Paris, or even France for that matter, I came out knowing more than I expected to find out in a little amount of time. This weekend changed my perspective of Paris, and Parisian people. I recommend going to this city, because once you do, you’ll fall in love with it just as I did.