Paris (Day 3)

Monday we tried to get up early, but it was very hard. We saw the Pompidou Center, which in my opinion is not quite worth the admission fee, but we have museum passes so it was worth it to enter, look around quickly, and leave. The building itself is a marvel of architecture, where all the pipes, wiring, elevators, and escalators are built on the outside to allow the inner walls to be moved easily to accommodate the requirements of the art inside. However, since all the art is modern art, I have trouble appreciating it properly, and without giggling. We rode the escalators to the top, and someone has installed speakers in the escalators which play a recording of monks chanting. It was very strange. Very strange.

Then we grabbed another picnic lunch, this time from my favorite grocery store in Paris, the Grande Epicerie du Bon Marche. We sat in the nearby park and had a meal which I have enjoyed before: tomato and mozzarella salad, fresh bread, and two of the best desserts in the world. If you are ever in Paris, go to the refrigerated section at the back of the Grand Epicerie and look for the chocolate mousse and the fruit/cookie/cream dessert things with the owl on the package. They’re delicious! I realize as I write this that I’ve said quite a lot about the food here, but that’s because it’s been so wonderful to eat some of my favorite Parisian foods again. I think I’m more nostalgic about the foods than the sights. Also, I just like food.

We braved the Louvre, which was packed with tourists. We managed to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, my personal favorite: Canova’s Cupid and Psyche, and also the foundations of the medieval Louvre. Sadly, it was uncomfortably crowded. I know it’s a little more bearable on Wednesday and Friday nights, when it’s open later, but since our visit is Saturday through Tuesday, we just had to bear it. We were commiserating with a friendly girl in the hostel last night who described the Louvre like this: “The Mona Lisa room is like a mosh pit, and Europeans really don’t wear deodorant like Americans do.” In my experience, you won’t notice this phenomenon unless you’re in a situation where everyone raises their arms to take pictures, or to hold onto the overhead bars on the metro.

After the Louvre, we climbed all 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. This was probably a horrible idea, since by the time we returned to our hostel last night, Kelsey and I were both limping from blisters. I’ve had bad blisters before, but I don’t remember ever having this many, or this bad. Every single step hurts. Paris is a very walkable city, but you do have to walk a lot. Even when you take the metro, there are a lot of steps in the stations. You walk down, up, and around every time you make a metro connection. And then you do things like the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, which have many more steps. It’s very hard because I really want to do more things today. I don’t want to waste any time in my favorite city, but my feet are screaming at me.

I’ve been very surprised by how crowded Paris is. I’ve often heard people complaining about trips to Paris, and I didn’t understand at all. Paris is beautiful, and full of so many sights worth seeing that you could live for years here and not see it all. Some of the best art in the world is here, and some of the best architecture, and the metro is easy and convenient, and the food is delicious. But now that I’m here in the summer, I can almost see what people complain about. What no one realizes is that all the problems are caused by other tourists. So far, all the Parisians I’ve encountered have been friendly and helpful. But I’ve been pushed and shoved by other tourists. Other tourists have woken me up at 2am and cut in front of me in line. They get in the way of my pictures and crowd the metro cars and the Louvre. Because of other tourists, every time I go to the bathroom I have to lock up my belongings, for fear that other people in the hostel will steal them. It’s so frustrating to be in my favorite city in the world and to have other tourists frustrate my attempts to enjoy myself. I think everyone in the world should have a chance to go to Paris some day, but if you can, go in the fall or spring to avoid the rest of the tourists. I can tell you from experience, it’s a lot more pleasant.