BYU in Paris

Genève

2011-08-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

The walk for Geneva was very confusing; luckily enough, the group with which I was trying to complete the walk ran into Professor Hudson. The reason this was so lucky was because had our group tried to complete the walk by ourselves, we would have been lost all day never completing the walk. The city was absolutely beautiful. The houses looked as though they came from a straight from a fairytale story. There was a huge clock made out of flowers, which was very cool. I saw clocks all over the city which I thought was interesting and good because I am always wondering what time it is.

We walked by many pianos that were chained to the ground, but were free to play. Amy and Caleb played a nice little song; I really liked the idea of having free pianos just chilling around the city. I thought it made the city so much more unique.

The city impressed me with its beautiful lake, parks, and freezing cold water fountains found all over the city. I also saw the coolest clock ever. The bells rang and there was a parade of characters that moved in front of the clock for about 5 minutes.

The last thing that really amazed me was the Jet D'eau. Professor Hudson had a handful of interesting facts to share about this sight. I enjoyed the facts he shared and looking at the Jet D'eau. This is just a short list of the really awesome sights to see in Genève.

Apres: La Tour Eiffel

2011-07-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

La Tour Eiffel. An icon of Paris. Beautiful. It makes me feel things I've never felt before. I went there in the morning, afternoon, and night. I felt very attached to it each time I went there as if there was nothing in the world that could make me any happier. I loved seeing glimpses of it in surprising places throughout Paris. It was a pleasant reminder of where we were. Sometimes I would see it and think, "Oh yeah, I'm in Paris right now." I feel like I got to know the Eiffel Tower very well. As much as I loved being at the base of it, there are a lot of tourists and obnoxious street vendors selling Eiffel Tower key chains. I felt bombarded while I was trying to have my own soul searching experience. I finally had my experience, but not at the Eiffel Tower. It was on a bright green bridge near Porte D'Auteuil metro stop. It was a beautiful day with a slight breeze. I leaned on the railing of the bridge looking out onto the Seine with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. I felt like I was breathing the Eiffel Tower. I wasn't worrying about anything. I wasn't thinking about the past or anticipating the future. I was simply living in the moment as me, Sarah Scoville. I let the present envelope me and seep into every part of me. I was healing any stress or care I had. There was nothing more I needed. I can't describe what I learned in this moment, but it's a moment that I will never forget.

The Eiffel Tower is a symbol of Paris for me and Paris will always be in my heart. I know that sounds really cheesey or cliche, but that's the only way I can describe how I feel about Paris.

Lyon Walk

2011-07-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

There is a noticeable difference between Lyon and Paris in how the people live. "Douceur de vivre" is a real thing. I noticed it on the metro when we first arrived. The people get on and off the metro slower than in Paris. The doors are opened longer. It was a little frustrating at first because I was used to the bustle of the Paris metro. Honestly, I had a hard time being in Lyon. I had fallen in love with Paris and I didn't want to leave. The metro in Lyon was clean and I couldn't fully appreciate it because I was missing the stinky metro of Paris. The people of Lyon are gentle and slow which is a lot nicer than the harshness of Paris, but it took me a while to appreciate that. In fact, the first morning in Lyon was the first time I was in a bad mood on the study abroad. I blame this on the fact that I wasn't in Paris anymore where I really wanted to be. However, doing the walk helped because Lyon is a very beautiful city. We sat in front of the Hotel de Ville for a while because that's something we used to do in Paris a lot. It was interesting to observe the people of Lyon instead of Parisians. During the sunset, we sat on a dock where the Saone and the Rhone meet. It was beautiful and very calming. I finally felt like I could love Lyon as much as I love Paris (almost).

geneeeeve

2011-07-01T08:36:00.001-07:00

geneva “land of the milk and honey”

I remember the first day I stepped foot on genevois soil almost four years ago! a completely new undiscovered culture and land laid before me! I had no clue what to expect! on one hand I felt very lucky to know we were finishing the program in geneva. frankly it was one of the primary reasons I came out. already having the hang of things around the city and having some great friends out there was very motivating! on the other hand though i wish I could have found myself in the shoes of my fellow classmates as they chartered on a new extraordinary piece of terre. I overheard a few say that it had become their new favorite city in the world! of course things had changed and I actually felt silly when id make a mistake attempting to guide us through the city! so needless to say I also felt new to the city! in fact, very new! I had never experienced the city life past 9h30 pm! and as “cheese”y as it may sound I found that when the sun sets on geneva lake it is almost a fantasy! we completed the walk in combining a few separate walks! and I was able for the first time visit les jardins botaniques and also got to climb saint pierre which was magnificent view over the city! however my nothing could compare to a nice job down the lac leman, a nice cool dip in the lake, only to cap it all with a “light show” at the jet d’eauI!!! thank you all for making my trip complete!

salut

john

call.your.girlfriend

What the River Said {Or "after," if you will}

2011-06-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Île de la Cité from the Pont des Arts

[From my journal, in the end of May, in response to this]
Well, here I am, listening to the river. I'm on the Pont des Arts because, whether or not it's cliche, it's my favorite bridge in Paris. (Then again, loving Paris itself can be a cliche, can't it? So it's alright.)
It's definitely the most welcoming bridge in this old town of mine.

I like that no matter when you come here, someone will be playing the guitar and someone else will be drinking wine in glasses with their friends, and Japanese tourists will be waving up at you from below as they spend their first day in Paris on an "informative boat ride."
I like the ugly padlocks that cover the grilles, fiercely affirming that Claire and Jerome will equal <3 4 ever, because it is clamped publicly,
just within view of the Eiffel Tower (if the Eiffel Tower stands on its tip-toes).
I like that I can see the Seine just as it decides to fork, making way for the Île de la Cité, and giving a peak of Notre Dame at Paris' heart.
I like the memories I have on this bridge, like Wednesday night drinks and smokes (them, not me) with nice but insistent french men, or the guy who knelt in front of me, politely said "vous êtes magnifique,"and then went on his merry French way without a backward glance.
But what is the river telling me, you ask? Well, that's between me and the river. But I'll tell you some of what I hear:

Stilettos, church bells, and a whistle.

Garbage bag rustling.

Oh no, now I'm distracted by how good the sun feels on my legs.

French, German. (The sun feels amazing!)

Little kids laughing, Arabic, stroller.

Americans (they're loud).

Rollerskates... a sort of late afternoon hum...

Bus.
Boat.
French.
Wind. Vent.

So how does this translate? It's telling me that I came here with a heavy heart and some desperate hopes of escape and reinvention. But I'm not Sabrina.

No, no. I'm trying to grow my hair out and my french still isn't that good.

I haven't acquired a poodle or much of a lilting, monochrome walk, and I still look very much like me, with a few more zits and maybe a few extra pastry pounds. Maybe I'm even starting to look a little bit like a pastry. (I am what I eat...or I eat, therefore I am. Something like that)

But I feel the effects of dipping my toes in a culture steeped in a love of beauty and a complicated past; something a little like myself, but foreign enough that I've been so confused and uncomfortable on so many occasions that I've had to get to know myself better as a means of survival.

The river is telling me that I can run away to Paris but not from myself, and when it's time to leave it will be possible (it must be) to find beauty and healing and myself elsewhere. In Adam Gopnik's delightful Paris to the Moon (I highly recommend, even if you know/ care nothing about France), his wife Martha says as it's time to go home,

"In Paris we have a beautiful existence but not a full life, and in New York we have a full life but an unbeautiful existence."

I find comfort in this, realizing that my sun on the Pont des Arts is fast setting, and my time in Paris is waning like that moon it takes you to. But this beautiful existence has helped me begin to tentatively cross the bridge to the full life I want to have when reality picks me up at the airport.
And I'll never be able to repay the river for that.

After: le Metro

2011-06-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

The metro is quite possibly one of the greatest inventions ever. I'm glad that I chose it as my before & after post because probably a quarter of my time in Paris was spent on it. I love that you can ride it anywhere you want to go at any time you want to go. Even when I wasn't 100% sure where I was, I never felt completely lost because I knew that there was always a metro nearby.

Metros definitely aren't the most glamorous things in the city. Although the above picture isn't the most crowded metro in the world, I definitely experienced my fair share of jam packed metros. Some days we were crammed like sardines into those little trains with full body contact with every person around you. I remember one exceptionally busy day being squeezed between the door & the people behind me causing my face to be plastered against the glass on the door.

Being on the metro often symbolized something great. Whether we were riding it at 5:30 AM to get to the sunrise at Sacre Coeur, or riding it home after watching the lights at the Eiffel Tower at 11:00 PM, it always meant a good time.

I also learned that it was THE spot for people watching. Everyone rides it, and while you're underground riding through dark tunnels there's really nothing else to look at than the other people riding it. People watching became one of my favorite things to do.

The easiness of the metro made me quickly feel at home in Paris. Being able to know my general location in the city was always comforting and I loved the freedom that it gave me to explore the city. The next time I go to Paris I'll be sure to visit all of my favorite stops, including the stop in the picture below, which I came to know as home.

After: victory for all

2011-06-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

The magic of Paris is something that will never leave me. No matter how life throws me around or if the years make my memories fuzzy, Paris will forever occupy a space in my heart that was waiting to be filled, nearly unbeknownst to me. Ernest Hemingway once wrote of the power that paris has over the human soul, especially the first time it touches your heart. Though my first foray into Paris is through, reflecting on everything that i learned I wait with baited breath for my next adventure among the cobblestones and cigarette smoke.

Before making this journey I wrote of my great desire to stand before "Winged Victory of Samothrace," an inspiring statue which stands in the Louvre. First of all, the Louvre is ginormous. There is simply no conquering it. The first time I went I saw nothing I even remotely recognized, my carefully honed humanities skills were ill-used in the realms of medieval tapestries and silver services. After this first visit, I was determined to return and find something that at least pricked my memory. My second attempt to walk among masterpieces was at the side of my dear friend Holly, and this time I was finally victorious. I walked into the stoney edifice with determination in my heart and a map in my hand. After some coaxing and tricky use of my ever-growing french-speaking skills, I finagled my way into getting a free ticket. Holly and I, with gratuit tickets in hand, plunged into the louvre head first. What a rush. Dashing through crowds of bleary-eyed tourists, and my eyes were plastered to my map to make sure i was heading in the right direction. Without looking up I noticed that Holly had stopped. I slowed to a brisk walk and suddenly raised my head to behold a thing of miraculous beauty. At the top of a flight of stairs there stood a woman. With no head or arms to speak of, this woman had stood for thousands of years proclaiming victory and denouncing defeat on the coast of Greece and now she stood before me. The "Winged Victory of Samothrace" stands above the hoards of tourists which litter the halls of the Louvre, composed and calm. Seeing this statue simply took my breath away. Her determination seemed to be contagious. In many ways she embodies my experience in France. In a strange country, far from home, she rises to the occasion and does not let the fear of defeat threaten her poised confidence. That day, victory was mine when I stood before this statue and realized that victory, no matter how far-flung, is always within reach.

link to my BEFORE post

Lyon

2011-06-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest- before doing the reading on Lyon I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I'd heard of it a few times here in there during a culture reading, but other than that it meant nothing to me. My first impression of it wasn't the greatest either... from lugging our luggage up & down way too many metro steps, to dragging it down that prostitute-white-van street to our hotel... I wasn't too excited to be spending the next 3 days there.

That all changed that same night when we got our first glimpse of old Lyon. Absolutely beautiful. Now I've never been to Italy before, but what I saw in Lyon was exactly the kind of architecture I imagined there to be in Italy. I loved it all! & the cleanliness was an added bonus. I was so used to seeing guys in green everywhere picking up trash, I didn't know what to do. This city is a definite must see when visiting France!

Can it get any better than this? Absolutely incredibly perfect.

Latin Quarter

2011-06-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

After our boat ride down the Seine on our first night in Paris, M. Olivier said that he was going over to the Latin Quarter. The what? I had no idea what he was talking about, so opted to head back to the hotel for some much needed sleep instead.

A few days later we were walking through these thin streets with tons of restaurants and shops lined up & down the way. I thought, this place is awesome, but what is it? I came to find out it was the Latin Quarter. So cool! I had no idea what to expect, so what I was seeing was a nice surprise. It became my go to place for cheap crepes & adventure. They also made these things, I don't remember the name for them, but they were everywhere. They had giant pieces of meat just hanging from their ceiling & they chopped slices off & combined them with lettuce & tomatoes & such to make them. Yumm. I quite enjoyed my mystery meat treat.

Millefeuille

2011-06-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

We were in Paris long enough to see many different layers of it. Though we may not have seen them all, we saw enough to recognize just how special Paris is. 3 of my favorite layers, & the ones I had the most experiences with, were museums, pastries & people.

Musee d'Orsay, le Musee du Louvre, le Centre Pompidou, Musee Rodin... I spent a lot of time in each of these museums appreciating the variety of art that each had inside of them. The museums alone had several different layers inside of them, they were all so huge & had different sections in each. I loved that they were all so different, le Centre Pompidou with it's exposed piping and modern insides, Musee Rodin having its statues outside in the beautiful garden, they were all so magnificent.

Ahh, pastries. Easily one of my favorite things in Paris. All beautiful and all delicious. I can't think of anything better than a pastry in the jardin. Speechless.

Parisian people are wonderful. I can't say enough about them. I came thinking that they would all be snobby & incredibly rude, but I was pleasantly surprised to put those American misconceptions behind me. Everyone I interacted with was so kind & helpful, and they were always patient to my limited French.

lyon, be mine

2011-06-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

once upon a time a young-ish girl went to lyon with approximately 25 other young-ish people (and two very young, very cute people), and there she fell in love. Not with a young-ish man, but rather with a very very old man and a very very old woman- the Rhône and the Saône. The love story of these rivers is every bit as charming as the city of Lyon itself, and boy, am I a sucker for love stories.

every corner of the old city is a delight, whether it reveals an old italian loge, a beautiful church or an antique market full of treasures. Its architecture, history and character have made Lyon a dear memory that hopefully won't just be a memory forever.

Apres: Street Artists

2011-06-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

The almost 6 weeks in Paris will definitely be unforgettable. It definitely exceeded almost all of the expectations that I had prior to coming out. Including one of the things that I was looking forward to the most from the very beginning; street artists and musicians of course.

I always imagined that Paris would be a lively, energetic city full of talent. And of that I was not mistaken. Perhaps it was a bit ignorant of myself, but when I thought of Paris before, I would picture the Eiffel tower lit up, and accordion music in the background. I saw the Eiffel tower, went to the top, and at various points throughout my stay in Paris I saw and heard typical French accordion music. But I was able to see alot more than that. Apart from the typical accordion players on the metro, and at the different bridges, I was able to see what might be either Roma or Eastern European couples making a living by singing romantic Spanish songs on the metro. These metro performers always seemed to add a touch of liveliness to what otherwise seemed to be a monotonous ride home.

I enjoyed seeing art vendors on the street, and I'm referring to those who sold their original pieces out in the streets. One of the most fascinating places to visit was the square right behind the Sacre Coeur, where masses of talented artists congregate to work on and sell their art.

I also enjoyed walking past this man's artwork every weekend.This man seemed to have something different to paint every week using chalk. He was always to be found between a church and the Pompidou center.

Last but not least, who can forget the graffiti that is present all over what is usually known as a
romantic city. This newer form of art, to me personally seemed to add a sense of realness to this very picturesque city. Seeing random walls tagged here and there reminded me that Paris is a modern city, that many of the places that we walked by were centuries old, Paris is an ever evolving city that mixes the classic and old with the hip and new.

All in all, I had the time of my life while in Paris. My eyes were opened to a culture that was very different than anything that I was used to. And getting to experience to experience the urban side of Paris made me enjoy and appreciate this city even more.

After...

2011-06-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

My goal was to make yummy selections based on the opinions of those in the patisserie. This was a great and delicious goal but I found three major problems with this plan:

1. Sometimes I didn't really want to buy what they suggested. Sometimes I saw something behind the glass that looked REALLY good - but I had to force myself to follow the advice of the french worker.

2. Sometimes the patisserie was super busy and the worker did not have time to discuss cultural preferences with me.

3. Sometimes workers are just workers, and don't really want to choose your patisserie for you. Often my questions for preferences where simply met by "everything is good" or "I don't know I like it all".

Despite these problems, as you can see they were ALL amazingly DELICIOUS!! And I tried things that I wouldn't normally have selected but were totally worth the risk! I am not even sure that I can really even choose a favorite because they were all very different and all super good. In that case, perhaps the workers were all right - perhaps "they are all good" is really an accurate statement. What amazing me the most was the variety of options to choose from and the fact that no matter what you chose it was delicious!

Strolling through Lyon

2011-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Depends on the day but sometimes Lyon is my favorite city I saw. As such, I loved the walk in this city! It started out with an intense boules tournament in the largest open square in Europe. After being super impressed by the skills of these middle aged men, we moved on toward the beautiful fountain of architects. This one was cool, but I have to say I was even more impressed by the fountain designed by the same man who created the Statue of Liberty. This fountain depicted a woman holding back four horses which represented the 4 major rivers of France. I especially enjoyed watching the steam issue from the horses' nostrils.

After that we walked to the old roman part of the city and saw an amazing old amphitheater. This walk was especially impressive because of how just on a simple stroll one can watch the change of history's impact on art and architecture. The Romans, Renaissance, and all the way to modern times, Lyon has a beautiful charm that is hard to beat.

Bienvenue à Suisse !

2011-06-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to discover un peu the city of Genève as we ended the program there. At first I felt like I was sort of let loose in the city and didn't even know where to begin or what to do, but after we had class and things were pointed out to me, along with the sights in the walk, I really enjoyed spending time there and seeing what the city had to offer.
I thought it was interesting when I first saw St. Peter's basilica that a Protestant church was still so monumental and Catholic cathedral-like. The church was beautiful, and I enjoyed so much going to the tops of the towers. I'd wanted to do that during the trip, and at St. Pierre's, I got the chance. The view was absolutely beautiful!

Going to Lake Geneva soon became one of my favorite things to do in the city. Whether it was riding a rented paddle boat, taking the ferry to the other side, jumping off a platform into the brisk water (which may have caused some bruises but was well worth it), or watching the sunset from a dock, the lake was an utterly lovely place to be.

Geneva is a wonderful, clean place from what I experienced. It was cool to hear and see the German in addition to the French everywhere, and it was interesting to see a French-speaking city other than Paris, especially one that wasn't even in France. I hope I get to go back to Geneva someday!

Après: Etre à Paris

2011-06-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

I look back on my Spring now that I've been home for a few days, and I can't believe I spent six weeks of it in Paris. It's still surreal--it's like I was in a fairytale that I've now returned from. The atmosphere of the city was every bit amazing as I had imagined, in ways that I imagined and also in ways that surprised me.
I found myself taking so many pictures while in Paris (sometimes many of the same thing) of everything--I wanted to capture the scenes, all of the beauty I was surrounded by (I'm sure only my mom really looks at my extremely large Facebook albums). Part of walking down the street is taking in everything that makes the city what it is.

I'm already beginning to miss the beautiful architecture with apartments on top and shops or cafés on bottom, and the cobble stone roads.
Another aspect of just being in Paris is the fact that you're "just being" in a city that happens to hold some of the greatest art museums and monuments in the world. The old monuments and churches mixed with more modern attractions that are scattered throughout Paris' streets give the city the charm that I looked forward to and was not let down. One of my favorite things during the program was getting to see some of the art and monuments that I've studied up close, in person.

The accordion players on the bridges and the bouqinistes that line the Seine, the beautiful and delicious patisseries and cafés scattered throughout the streets, the sense of past and history that pervades the city, and the absolute and inescapable charm and beauty exceeded all the high expectations I had. As Hemingway claims, and as I can now personally believe, Paris is a city that always stays with you. I really believe my stay in Paris has affected and changed my life--in that way, it will stay with me forever !

The high price of doing business (Geneva)

2011-06-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

From a young age I have often been known as a frugal girl. Never spending much on any single item, never buying extravagant things... When I walked down the streets of Geneva and I was assaulted by the fact that a McDo meal was going to cost me over 10 francs I nearly fell over from financial fear. And thus within the first few minutes of walking through Geneva I was already biased against it, and in the words of Jane Austen, "my good opinion once lost is lost forever." Luckily this did not turn out to be the case. After walking through the city, feeding ducks at the lake and eating a massively delicious Kebap, I was finally charmed. However my love for Geneva grew exponentially when, on our last day in the program, I laid on a dock in the middle of geneva lake soaking up sun and making memories with several of my most favorite people in the entire world. Geneva now represents the love that I have felt being a part of this program. I was nervous at first, scared off by the high prices and I almost let it slip through my fingers, but in the end the enormous joy that filled my heart was worth more than even the highest priced item on the McDo menu.

Geneve

2011-06-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Can I just say something? I love Geneva! Vraiment. I didn't really know anything about the city before going there. I hadn't even put much thought into it, it was just going to be one last stop at the end of my trip, Paris was all I could think about. But now I am so glad I got to go there! It is definitely somewhere I will return to.

The walk we had for Geneva was really neat. I was glad to get to know a little bit of the history and some of the important places that I wouldn't have thought to go otherwise.

The flower clock was a great way to experience a little of Geneva's famous watch industry, and I'm a little sad I didn't get to go to the Patek Philippe museum.

The city boasted of it's clocks on every corner. I never needed a watch because there was always a clock nearby to tell me what time it was.

The walk also led us by the wall of the reformers and through the park with the giant chess and checkers games. It was great. The walk ended though, and it was when I wandered with no destination that I discovered how beautiful the city is.

I feel like Geneva is built to be enjoyed. Everything from parks full of checkers games to pianos on every corner to be enjoyed by anyone who felt like sitting down for a second to the beautiful Jet d'Eau, it made the city fun to be in.

The history of the city is astounding, the chocolate is as amazing as you would expect it to be, the UN buildings were especially neat to see, but I think what won me over was the beauty. It's just so pretty. I couldn't stop saying it (it's true, ask the people who had to listen to me).

I think I could look at these pictures forever. I really love Geneva.

after

2011-06-20T11:54:00.001-07:00

jeeze! what a card I tell you!

I felt very privileged to have had a renaissance studies guru with us on our day trip out to Chambord. he really helped lead us along on our discovery of this magnificent work of art. to ring a bit of what I stated in my before post, I become less and less interested in things especially chateux when they become repetitive or when we are visiting them a la suite. this specific afternoon we fit in two chateux, not including many more chateux we have been able to visit, so we as a group naturally were not as enthusiastic to hear that we would be jumping from chateau to chateau but I tell you all those apprehensive feelings disappeared once we caught a glimpse of Chambord on the horizon! we wrote our stories within its walls as we wondered up and down through the halls, chamber rooms, roof tops etc. I will never will forget when we had it to the rooftop and we began to yell across over to some friends who had taken another route and the consequences which were to follow in result of our loud almost obnoxious American voices. “s’il vous plait” heeehe! however I must add that the most memorable moment of our visit was our cart ride around the gorgeous grounds of the chateau. we embarked on a small adventure around the chateau while the sun was brightly shining as it reflected off the water in the moat surrounding the chateau. we literally were able to enjoy Chambord from the inside out. or at least I will always remember it that way!

we didn’t get to act out beauty and the beast par contre we saw a couple taking their wedding photos! wOo!

salut

john

would.you.rather

After: Macarons

2011-06-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

Macarons have been my favorite sweet here in Paris. Yes, of all the beautiful elaborate pastries that I've been able to try, the simple little macarons have been the best of them all. I love everything about them.

The store is gorgeous, and the macarons look impeccable in their perfect pastel rows, but the women working there are a little too efficient. There's no time for ooing or awing because once you get in sight of the macarons you've got to choose, immediately. So although I was a little flustered, I just decided to try 5: rose, caramel and salted butter, blackcurrent violet, raspberry, and coconut.

Here's me taking my first bite of a Laduree macaron. It was rose flavored and.....delicious, yes, so delicious. They have them down to an art and they were incredible. I won't pretend they were the greatest macarons I'd ever had (the Pierre Herme ones we tried in class were probably better), but they were definitely in the running. Tres incroyable with the favorite going to the coconut macaron. I chose well with my before project. C'est magnifique!

Party à Genève

2011-06-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

Geneva was magnificent. I didn't think anything could compare to Paris once we left, and I was right. Geneva was its own kind of beautiful. So different from Paris, but so breathtaking. I fell in love with this city. The people were kind, the streets were clean, and the chocolate was incredibly creamy. We saw clocks on every surface, street pianos on every corner, and a lake of clear blue water that stretched on forever. The walk helped introduce me to the heart of the city and I loved it. Geneva was magnificent.

Lyon Walk

2011-06-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

Lyon was perfect. So clean, so picturesque. Very different from Paris- I am so glad I was able to such different cities both in France- I feel as if I was able to see two different sides of the country.

Our walk in Lyon highlighted a few things for me- first being the architecture. The architecture in Lyon was very unique. There was a large number of Turret towers- something I wouldn’t think to see in France, the architecture definitely had a large Italian influence on it.

Another thing I noticed on the walk, was how walk-able the city was. Unlike Paris, where you often ride many metros to get from one area to another, Lyon was easily navigable. Of course, the city is also smaller- but it was a nice change.

I loved Lyon- when I return to France, I will definitely make my way back there.

Quartier Latin Walk

2011-06-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Walking through the Quartier Latin is always enjoyable- but the Latin Quarter walk taught much more about the history of the area.

I particularly enjoyed learning about some of the histories of the street names in the area. For example, how the street “Rue du Chat qui Pêche” was actually named after a fishing cat. Another cool part was seeing the Cafe Procope- a home to many philosophical discussions.

Overall, it was nice to learn more about the area. I am now able to appreciate the Quartier Latin for more than just Gyros and Crepes.

Unraveling the Quartier Latin

2011-06-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

When I first heard the phrase "Latin Quarter" I had no idea what to expect. In my mind I pictured bookstores and cafes where intellectuals went to discuss philosophy. After all, that's what goes along with Latin, right? Wrong. In fact, the Latin Quarter is anything but prim. The whole place sort of radiates with chaos, which is what makes it so fun. The walk then gave me the chance to break down the chaos and discover spots I would never have noticed before. The smallest street in Paris, Theatre de la Huchette, random art galleries. The Latin Quarter's tight winding streets, shouting vendors, and shuffling crowds are contagiously exciting. With all its loud and crazy movement, it was definitely one of my favorite spots in Paris.

Latin Quarter

2011-06-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have walked around the Latin Quarter many times. I've even eaten at several different places there. Before doing this walk, I thought I knew exactly what to expect. However, I was wrong. I came to find out that there is so much more to the Latin Quarter than I knew before. There is so much history that you may never give a second glance if you don't know the story behind it. For example, the rue du Chat-qui-Peche is the narrowest street in Paris and you'd never know that. And to know the history of how the street got it's name. I really enjoyed taking time to explore the history of these streets. I loved how it ended strolling along the Seine. After wards, we ate our lunch sitting next to the Seine. This is a common thing for Parisians I noticed as many people joined us. I love the Parisian lifestyle.