My Favorite Experiences So Far

– seeing the Venus de Milo at the Louvre

– visiting Château Chenonceau, in the Loire Valley

– stumbling across views of the Eiffel Tower without seeking them out

My first sighting of the Eiffel Tower was my second week in Paris; from the top of Montmartre, I glimpsed the tower through the trees. Then a week later I caught a view of the tower from between two buildings in the 15e. Finally, 4 weeks in, I walked underneath the tower and took photos with it. But my favorite is still the sudden, surprise views I get of it sometimes: This week I turned around on my way to class for some reason and saw the Eiffel Tower across the Luxembourg Gardens — I’d been walking that route at least once a day but had never looked back before! A few days ago, I was walking along the Seine in the rain and saw the Eiffel Tower beautifully shrouded in fog. 

– going on the terrace of the Institut Arabe, and the hypostyle room

– seeing Frozen in French

La Reine des Neiges was amazing, even the 4th time — I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing it! I am proud to say that I now have all the lyrics to “Liberee, Delivree” memorized (that’s “Let it Go”), and I’m working on “Je vais feter ce renouveau” (“For the First Time in Forever”).  I really love the French versions of the songs — while some things are lost in translation, like the open door imagery (the French version of “Love is an Open Door” translates to “Love is a Gift”), other unique imagery is created (in “Do you want to build a snowman,” Anna sings that it’s like her sister has turned to ice). 

– walking through the Luxembourg Gardens

I hadn’t been doing this often enough, but now I’m taking more time to enjoy them when I have time between classes.

– couscous dinner at Chez Mamane

While looking for a restaurant in the 13e arrondisement, some other CUPA students and I found a place that serves nothing but cous cous. You order the meat you want, and it arrives accompanied by a gigantic platter of cous cous and bowl of vegetable stew to share. They also had some very intriguing Algerian wine that was unlike anything I had ever tasted before.

– 12-piece string orchestra in Châtelet metro

– Onéguine ballet

I haven’t seen that much ballet, and so this was a great experience. The piece is based on the story of Pushkin’s novel Eugène Onéguine, set to lesser-known music by Tchaikovsky, and choreographed by South African ballet dancer John Cranko.  It was absolutely beautiful.

– tea and fries at Turkish (?) place

This hole-in-the-wall restaurant is located near Sorbonne-Centre Clignancourt. Their menu is varied, so it’s hard to pin down whether they’re Turkish, Greek, or something else along those lines, but whatever their cuisine it’s cheap and delicious. I had the chicken cordon bleu sandwich both times I went. I guess the servers remembered me the second time, because despite ordering the sandwich instead of the menu they gave me a helping of their signature fries and offered me sweet honeyed mint tea, similar to the tea I drank at the Mosquée.

– walking through the courtyard of la Sorbonne

I never fail to be amazed by this! And because of my class schedule, I have the opportunity to see it at all times of day. 

– Julien

Julien is officially my favorite boulangerie. They’re right near CUPA, so I fell in love with them early and since a lot of my classes are still nearby, I go back several times a week. Their chocolat chaud is delicious, and I love their jambon-beurre sandwiches, but my favorite is days where they have their saumon-épinard quiche, which they serve hot. Their pastries are also wonderful!

– 2 encores by Lise de la Salle

– Mariage Frères tea

There is a wonderful crêpe place in Pittsburgh that imports Mariage Frères tea, which is where I was first introduced to it. After daydreaming of it for weeks, I finally went, and wow was it worth the steep price tag. I can’t say enough good things about it. The tea (I ordered Thé de Lune) was delicate enough to drink without milk, and the teapot contained a good 4 or 5 cups worth. The dessert was even more amazing — a Splendeur de Tibet which was a Marco Polo tea-infused crème brûlée topped with the first berries I’ve had since arriving in France. I went with my first new French friend and we sat there for a good two hours eating and talking.