oh, paris. today we had another excursion to paris to see the louvre, arc de triomphe and shop on champs elysees. this means that i saw, with my own two eyes, a world-renown piece of artwork: the mona lisa (known as "la joconde" in france) as well as a world-renown sculpture, venus de milo. this might sound cliche and/or ridiculous, but i didn't feel anything when i saw them. the mona lisa was really small and once i took a picture of it, we moved on. i felt no need to look at the piece and bask in its glory. same with the venus de milo -- sure, i took a picture with it... but so did everyone else and it just made it hard to really comprehend how spectacular the sculpture actually was.
anyhow, i was able to see some really cool sculptures, but the type of art in the louvre didn't interest me all too much -- in fact, i took more pictures of the ceiling than the art pieces, i think... the louvre was still spectacular, don't get me wrong... but, i think i would prefer visiting the musee d'orsay. after the louvre, i ate lunch in the park and it was really hard to believe that i was literally sitting within walking distance from some of the world's greatest monuments and museums.
after the louvre, we took the metro to the arc de triomphe when we were under the arc, i realized how amazing being in france was. i hadn't really realized what an extraordinary opportunity it was, being able to see all of these places, until i looked up and saw how massive the arc de triomphe was. it was spectacular, utterly spectacular. climbing the stairs to the top wasn't half bad (the bad part was listening to certain classmates complain the entire way up...)! when we got to the top, i was blown away at the view. it was so cool looking down on the city -- i can't even describe the feeling, i feel like it's something you have to experience on your own.
anyhow, after that AMAZING experience, we headed to champs-elysees. it was so overwhelming looking at how long the avenue was! knowing that i wasn't about to purchase a chanel purse, louis vuitton luggage, miu miu jacket or gucci sunglasses, i decided that it would be most useful for me to walk on the side of the street with the more affordable clothing stores. i found this great store called 'zara' that had extremely chic clothing! there were so many adorable things there, that i couldn't make up my mind. it wasn't a cheap store, so i had to be smart with what i bought. i think i did well, though. i bought a very high fashion shirt with a high-waisted skirt -- the ensemble is very me.
after all of that walking, my feet hurt so bad. especially, my ankle. i came home tonight, super tired and just wanted to go to bed. but, the good news is that i haven't been very homesick! at this point, i'm just taking in as much of france as i can and living it up before i leave on wednesday. it's all about being positive!
miss you guys and love you lots!
xoxo,
jyothi
3 comments:
The view from the arc de triomphe is really neat - I remember it was beautiful! Hope you keep enjoying yourself for the next few days! Have fun at sacre coeur tomorrow - that's really lovely as well.
Love you, mom
i love Paris. Isn't it just amazing to walk down the streets and experience the history? Just like in India...exciting places around the world.
i'm amazed at the amount of architecture here! i miss you guys lots -- hope you like the pictures! :) xoxo, jyothi
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