I hesitated to write this blog, because I don’t want to be insensitive or too cliché or minimize anything that has happened over the past week. But life in Paris is moving on, and we all have to move on, so that’s what this was an attempt to do.
I left class this past Wednesday feeling more motivated than I had for the previous five days. I made a vow with myself that every day I have left in Paris, I will do something to enjoy the city, visit one museum or monument or park at the very least. As the weeks continue, it’s becoming painfully clear only three short weeks remain in the program. I have 22 days left, and 22 new experiences left to have.
So on Wednesday afternoon, a group of my friends and I decided to walk over to the newly reopened Musée Rodin. It had been closed or partially closed for several years for renovations, and we were lucky enough to be present while it was open in full. The gardens feature some of the most beautiful views in Paris, as well as some of Rodin’s best works, including The Thinker, his controversial representation of Balzac in his nightgown, and a six-part series on French leaders who had sacrificed themselves during the Hundred Years’ War. The inside of the museum was more cheerful, with Rodin’s representations of lovers and busts of famous French people of his time.
The view of les Invalides from the Musee Rodin. If you look in the back, you can see the Eiffel Tower as well. The people who live in the apartments across the street might have the best view in Paris.
Yesterday, day two of the streak, I went out with a family friend for dinner and to try the Beaujolais Nouveau. I had never heard of Beaujolais, probably because it is known for being a particularly mediocre French wine. Yet its claim to fame in Paris is that every year the new bottles are the first to market, and it is tradition to go out and have a glass or several of this very fresh wine. As I learned while talking to a security guard later, the Beaujolais was released very late this year, and usually comes out in September. Indeed, he seemed offended that it was so far behind schedule. Despite the offense and the quality, almost every bar I walked past was spilling over with people, many of them drinking what I could only assume to be the Beaujolais.
The Eiffel Tower lit up with the colors of the French flag.
I later went to the Eiffel Tower with another friend. We had seen photos of it lit up in the colors of the French flag, and we wanted to see it for ourselves. To be honest, the Tower was dishearteningly abandoned. A handful of tourists walked underneath; there were more people there to sell cheap key chains and selfie sticks than there were visitors. Yet the colors were inspiring, and the city in that area looked beautiful for it. We spent time on the bridge that spans the Seine directly in front of the tower, admiring the view, helping French visitors take group photos, and generally feeling a little bit better about the world.