Paris: City of Lights

2007-03-15T22:55:00.000+01:00

Living in Paris (photo: flowers at the market near my apartment)

Where do I begin to describe what it is like to live in Paris? France is the most visited country in the world, which I assume makes Paris the most visited city. So how to avoid the innumerable clichés: city of love, city of light, city of Amélie?

After seven months here, I realise that as I discover more of this beautiful city, I am slowly falling in love with it (as melodramatic as that may sound). Paris has often been compared to a moody lover, who seduces you at one moment and frustrates you the next. I think this is an apt description – as anyone who has ever experienced the horrors of the French administrative system will tell you, Paris can be pretty damn frustrating. But cross the Pont des Arts at sunset, or lounge under the Eiffel Tower for a picnic, or mingle with the crowds on a Saturday night in the Latin Quarter or the Marais… and you will see how Paris can be seductive as well.

Maybe I’ll start with the people. Parisians are usually characterised as being rude and obnoxious, as unwilling to talk in English or help tourists. Whilst this may be true of some waiters in tourist restaurants, on the whole I’ve found that Parisians can be quite… nice, to use a neutral term. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they are warm or outgoing. Even amongst young people, there is a level of detachment (a lack of desire to make new friends) that is quite discouraging. Perhaps this is a reflection of the university that I am attending, which has a reputation for producing the future political leaders of France – and thus the students are very intellectual, very serious, and not particularly friendly. If I make the effort to start a conversation, it won’t last outside the classroom. But, I do live with two lovely French girls, which has helped me to not be totally discouraged! When I ask French people about this seeming coldness, the only explanation they can come up with is that it is ‘just the French way’. What I find particularly stifling is the attitude of my teachers. As I said, the atmosphere at my university is quite formal, and whilst last semester my teachers were all quite friendly, this time around it is very structured. We only ever use the formal manner of speech, and teachers never call me by my first name. Frankly, being called ‘Mademoiselle Moore’ makes me… uncomfortable. But that’s just part of the academic culture – very different from Australia, where you’d be more likely to share a beer with your tutor at the end of the semester!

Speaking of ‘culture’: Paris may also like to claim that it is the most cultured city in the world. The wealth of art here is certainly amazing, and I have taken full advantage of free student evenings at the Louvre. I have to say that the Mona Lisa is rather disappointing, and I much prefer the Michelangelo sculptures or the Middle Eastern art. The Louvre is absolutely immense and very daunting: it has been said that if you just glanced at every piece of artwork, it would take nine months! So I have been taking it in more manageable pieces. Of course there are many other museums and galleries, my favourite of which so far is the Musée Rodin. Rodin was an incredible sculptor (‘The Thinker’ is his most famous work), and his works are set in landscaped gardens around a beautiful old house which also acts as a gallery. These tranquil gardens are amongst my favourite in Paris, as you can relax in the presence of some beautiful artwork and the golden dome of Les Invalides rising up above the hedges which cut you off from the outside world.

I have also been to the theatre and the ballet. The play that I saw was a bit boring (about Napoleon, and how he was forced to leave his first wife who was his one true love etc), but I went for the experience. It was a very small and intimate theatre, so you really felt close to the actors, and they did pretty well with a minimal amount of props. I went to see the American Ballet Theatre Company (amongst the best dancers in the world) perform at Châtelet Theatre. I had been inside this theatre once before, and its ornate beauty struck me so much that I was determined to go and see something there. The ballet was beautiful – the first time that I had ever been to one. After seeing those ballerinas perform, I cannot imagine the amount of training and skill it takes to perfect their moves, and I admire this dedication.

But of course, I don’t go to the theatre and ballet very often! Even my museum visits are confined to once every two weeks or so. Most of my time is simply consumed in living a normal life. The rhythm of life here is not different to any other city: people go to work, do the grocery shopping, the laundry, the gardening, take their dog for a walk, run in the parks… the only difference is the surroundings. I have to say that even when I walk down to the supermarket or the metro station, I am always struck by the beauty of the old Parisian apartment buildings. I think there is something about the light in Paris that is different to other cities… the way it catches buildings and strikes the Eiffel Tower in the late afternoon is something I can’t really describe. I feel like every second that I am outside, I am trying to absorb everything that I see, every aspect of light and shadow and beauty, and keep it in my memory for when I have left. Naturally, I take a lot of photos (I have put up some on Flickr of the places that I have mentioned), and I hope that I can catch the essence of the city. I realise now that I only have about three full months left in Paris, and I feel the need to see every part of this city…

2007-03-13T01:40:00.000+01:00

Travels in February (photo: in the gardens of the Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco)

So, where have I been in the last two months you
may be wondering?
After returning from Prague and having a great NYE party at my apartment, followed by random drunkenness on the metro and at the Eiffel Tower, and NO FIREWORKS at midnight, I settled back into the rhythm of Sciences Po…
January passed in a flash, not too cold and disappointingly lacking in snow. All of a sudden it was February, and exams, and the arrival of Beth and then my brother….
Dean and I went travelling together from the 11th to the 22nd of Feb, and in true Aussie backpacker tradition managed to ‘visit’ 4 countries in 11 days! It would be more accurate to say that we went to four cities, which gave us at least a taste of each country…

We began with BARCELONA:
My favourite city on the trip, and definitely up amongst my favourites out of all the places that I have seen since July. Maybe it was the fact that the sun was shining, that the streets were broad and lined with trees (not narrow and covered in dog shit like in Paris), that there was a real beach with boardwalk and palm trees, maybe it was the waterfront that reminded me of both Cape Town and Sydney… I really loved Barcelona, and one day I’m going to learn Spanish or Catalan and go and live there! At least for a while. That’s the dream.
We started at La Sagrada Familia, the infamous church designed by Gaudi. Construction began in 1882, and is still going! I think their target is to finish it within the next 30 years…The building is quite amazing, and certainly a bizarre introduction to Gaudi’s work. I liked the interior, which let in a lot of light (maybe because it was only half finished!). Gaudi drew inspiration for the columns that support the roof from tree trunks, it’s pretty cool, almost as if you are standing in a forest and the tree tops form the roof. You can see some of the stonemasons at work, and when you see the work that goes into each intricate piece of mosaic you can understand why it is taking so long!
Over the three and half days that we were in Barcelona, we explored the narrow streets of the Gothic quarter – home to the city’s cathedral as well as many fashionable stores, but still retaining its charm… We visited Park Guell in the north of the city. This is an entire park designed by Gaudi, sitting on a hilltop. I really liked the design of the park, in particular the huge terrace which looks out over Barcelona and is surrounded by a low, undulating wall covered in colourful mosaics (see my photos on Flickr). There were a couple of pretty odd buildings at the entrance, and as I read somewhere, Dr Seuss would have felt at home here! The park was lovely, and as we walked down through the residential area surrounding it I decided that I could quite easily live in Barcelona…
We went to the Picasso museum, the biggest in the world, which is housed in a beautiful building. It was pretty interesting and Dean discovered a hidden passion for Picasso!

NICE / MONACO
From Barcelona we caught a train (all day!) to Nice in the south of France, with a short stop-over in the pretty town of Montpellier. Thankfully the perfect weather continued, and we had a nice stroll along the beachfront in Nice. However, despite it being the off-season, you can still tell that Nice is very much a tourist town, which I didn’t like much. It is pretty though, but not unique.
But of course, Nice wasn’t the real reason we had come to the south coast… the real reason was the tiny, impossibly rich principality of Monaco situated next door. A 40 minute bus ride along the coast, with glimpses of beautiful villas and the azure Mediterranean (reminded me of the Amalfi coast… sigh), brought us to the capital of ostentatious wealth. And I have to say… I quite liked it! Everything is perfectly clean, perfectly laid out… the gardens of the casino Monte Carlo were beautiful, and the views of the ocean and the coast were stunning. The town of Monaco itself is nothing special, just a few shops and lots of yachts, although the old part of the town (up on the hill near the castle) was lovely. And of course, the cars… Dean was practically hyperventilating. Every second car was some impossibly expensive Porsche/Bentley/Rolls Royce, which you couldn’t even buy in Australia.
We also ventured into a huge underground shopping centre, complete with chandeliers and marble staircases, but didn’t actual go into any stores. In the end we only spent about 4 hours in Monaco, before heading back to Nice for the afternoon.

ROME
Yes, back to Rome! I had loved Rome so much when I went in August last year, despite the throngs of tourists, and I wanted to see things that I had missed out on last time – in particular, the inside of the Colosseum and the cupola of St Peters in the Vatican. We caught an overnight train from Nice to Rome, the first time that I had been on one: it was a bit weird, and the ‘bed’ was really narrow, but I managed to grab a few hours of sleep. We arrived in Rome at about 9.30am, and headed straight out to the Colosseum to make the most of our short time there (2 days). What a disappointment! The queue to go inside was as long, if not longer, than when I was there in August. We decided to skip it, as the weather was quite miserable anyway.
After wandering around the Colosseum and Roman Forum a bit, we caught the metro to the Vatican, and queued for a total of TWO HOURS to get up inside the cupola of St Peters. It was worth it though: the interior of the cupola is absolutely beautiful, and you can’t appreciate the grandeur of it from on the ground (although you do experience the grandeur of the sheer size of St Peters, which is incredible). We also climbed up on the outside of the dome, with some panoramic views of Rome.
Otherwise, we just wandered around the city, eating copious amounts of gelati (despite the cold). We saw the Trevi Fountain (still swarming with the damn rose sellers and bubble blowers and all other kinds of dodgy con artists), and the Spanish steps… and then Dean discovered the Ferrari store, and the sightseeing was over!

BERLIN
From Rome we caught a flight to Berlin: only €13.50 including taxes! Praise to Easyjet. Berlin, like Barcelona, is a city that everyone has raved about to me. And it was pretty cool (although I still prefer Barcelona). Unfortunately we were too exhausted to experience much of the legendary night life, but we did go on a fantastic walking tour of the city which showed us many things that we would never know otherwise. For example, we stood just above the bunker where Hitler committed suicide: it is now covered by a parking lot… We also saw the (in)famous “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe”. As you notice in the photo, the memorial consists of a large number of concrete blocks (they are actually different heights, it’s quite deceptive). Anyway, Berlin has a “slight” graffiti problem, and of course these blocks were like blank canvases. So the council commissioned a chemicals company to supply them with a repellent, which means that any paint/water just slides off the surface of the blocks. Pretty cool. BUT, if you take a look back at the history of this company… it is the very same one that supplied poison gas to the concentration camps under the Nazi regime. Needless to say, this didn’t go down well with the Jewish community… who weren’t too impressed with the monument in the first place. The information centre underneath the memorial was very interesting and of course the stories were very harrowing.
We climbed up inside the glass dome that is on top of the Reichstag, and saw the Brandenburg Gate, and the funky shops around near the zoo… and we saw Condoleeza Rice! She was arriving at a famous hotel (Adler? Astor?) – the very same one where Michael Jackson did his baby-over-the-balcony stint. The security convoy accompanying Rice was incredible. Dean and I were just trying to walk down the street, but since the police stopped us halfway we though that we would hang around and see. Unfortunately, because Dean doesn’t like museums and we didn’t have much time, I didn’t get to visit any of Berlin’s famous museums. Next time…

More to follow soon on Paris and my second semester at Sciences Po!

2006-12-29T22:32:00.000+01:00

Prague (picture: sunset over the Vltava River with Charles Bridge)

I’ve recently returned from spending a week over Christmas in Prague, with a day trip down to Český Krumlov in the south of the Czech Republic. Although I didn’t get the white Christmas that I had hoped for, I still had a great time! Highlights included:
- The best hostel breakfast ever, although it was an extra €4 it was more than worth it, and we ate so much every morning that there was no need for lunch!
- The view of Prague from the castle and cathedral
- The way the Czechs have adopted English words into their language simply by adding a ‘y’ to the end, Caitlin and I were continuously amused by menus with ‘steaky’ and ‘kebaby’, and ads for cameras with ‘mexapixely’…
- Charles Bridge and the Vltava River at sunset
- A first-hand experience of the famous Czech Christmas tradition: fresh carp on Christmas Eve. Scattered over Prague, there are rough salt-of-the-earth types selling live carp out of big plastic tubs. The guy catches the carp in a net, weighs it in front of the customer (whilst the fish is flopping around like crazy), then ceremoniously clubs it on the head… The customer takes the whole fish, or the guys fillets it, and it’s dumped into a plastic bag (blood dripping) ready to take home… ew! Apparently the real traditionalists take the live carp home and keep it in their bathtub before killing it themselves on Christmas Eve! Needless to say Caitlin and I avoided all the carp specialties on the menus after that incident.
- Trying and failing to make it midnight mass on Christmas Eve, and ending up in the old town square with a bunch of crazy Australians from our hostel, drunkenly singing ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’ to a crowd of bemused tourists… then pinching some Christmas decorations on the way home to put on our tree!
- The day trip to Český Krumlov, despite the bus drivers with a penchant for blasting the air con and playing bad Czech renditions of Elvis Presley and the Beatles! A beautiful old town on a meander of the Vltava River in the south of the Czech Republic (near the border with Austria and Germany), it has a castle with a moat that used to be filled with bears! There was only one there when we went…
I’ve put some more photos up on Flickr. I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas, and will have a wonderful New Year!

2006-12-19T22:11:00.000+01:00

Strasbourg, the ‘capital of Christmas’
I returned on Sunday night from three days with a friend in Strasbourg, a beautiful town on the border with Germany that has a reputation for its traditional Christmas markets and lights. Even though it didn’t snow, I felt that I experienced a real European Christmas atmosphere. Strasbourg is in the province of Alsace, and people speak Alsatian as well as French and German. The markets (‘Christkindelsmärik’ in Alsatian) were lovely, there were stalls selling decorations, lights, craft items, and lots of traditional Alsatian food. The smell in the air was delicious – a mixture of cinnamon and hot bread… I ate soooo much! Doughnuts, bretzel (like a pretzel made from bread, covered in cheese, or cinnamon and sugar), chocolate coated fruit, waffles, chocolate, and lots and lots of bredel (Christmas cookies – gingerbread, cinnamon, chocolate - delicious!!) I just wanted to try everything all at once! I also drank hot orange juice with honey, and Glühwein (hot red wine with spices). Strasbourg is a great place to wander aimlessly, and most of the time I just followed the prettiest streets. The city is located on an island in the middle of the river Ill, and the whole island is a Unesco World Heritage Site. There were lots of cobbled laneways with their own unique Christmas decorations. The area called ‘Petite France’ (Little France) is especially charming, with all the woodframe houses preserved for centuries. I’ll put up photos on Flickr, just click on one of the photos in the viewer on the right and it will take you to my photo albums. There were lots of free concerts, and I went every evening to go and see a choir sing in either the Temple Neuf or the cathedral (which is an amazing building). Although I didn’t know any of the songs (which were sung in French and German), it was still lovely.The Christmas lights at night were spectacular, and there were many people in the streets (lots of kids too!), despite the freezing cold. The giant Christmas tree (30m tall) in Place Kleber was strung with fairy lights and other lit decorations, it was really pretty. Apparently they cut it down in some forest, but it looks like it had been growing there forever! I returned to Paris at midnight on Sunday, and I realized that I hadn’t really seen any of Paris at Christmas time. So on Monday evening I went exploring a bit, and I saw the amazing displays are the ‘grand old dames’ of department stores: Printemps and the Galeries Lafayette (kinda like David Jones but way classier and more… Parisian), as well as a beautiful Christmas tree in front of Notre Dame. Tomorrow morning I have to pack, I have class in the afternoon and then I am heading off to Prague! My birthday present to myself :)

2006-12-04T10:33:00.000+01:00

A Winter's Day in Paris
I feel the need to describe a bit more about this beautiful city that I am living in. As I was wandering along the Seine yesterday on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was struck by the real beauty of Paris. Maybe it was the time of day, maybe it was the sudden break in the clouds that let through the bright winter sunshine and lit the gold statues on Pont Alexandre III, maybe it was the bare trees along the Seine and the Eiffel Tower etched in charcoal in the dusky sky… whatever it was, I felt incredibly lucky to be living here.
I think it was also because for the first time in a while, I took a day off to be a ‘tourist’. I met up with my friends Mel and Tori in the morning and went to the Musée du Quai Branley, which opened in July of this year. It holds an amazing collection of indigenous art from all around the world, in particular West Africa, but even some Australian indigenous art works. The architecture and layout of the building was quite modern and intriguing, and although it was busy the visitors were predominantly French which made a nice change. We spent several hours there, including a leisurely (and expensive!) lunch in the café with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
I am settling into what I imagine is a ‘Parisian’ lifestyle, although there are so many different aspects to life here there can hardly be ‘one’ lifestyle. I am eating inordinate amounts of baguettes and cheese, and trying to get accustomed to red wine. I have more or less mastered the metro system. I’ve found that Parisians can actually be quite friendly and don’t deserve their reputation for being rude and aloof. It probably helps that I speak French though. I find that I am starting to think in French and to use French words in English conversation… I’ve been going to charming cafes for hot chocolates (I wish I drank coffee – so much cheaper) with friends to observe the passers-by. On Friday evening I wandered along Boulevard St Germain, admiring the lights strung in the trees and the Christmas market, and discovering hidden cobbled laneways. It’s just like in the van Gogh painting, ‘Terrasse de café la nuit, Arles’. I’ve discovered, if not a local, at least a regular bar – ‘Chez Georges’. It’s run by a couple of Israeli guys, downstairs in the ‘cellar’ is the place to be: a bit cramped, but a great atmosphere and great music (an eclectic mix of French, Israeli and American classics) – and a place where Parisians go, not just tourists… although there are a lot of international students there as well…
And being a student in Paris… I enjoy all my classes, I don’t have too much work but enough to keep me occupied, I feel like I am learning a lot. I’ve done two presentations in class and feel more confident with asking questions. I’ve discovered the study area in the library with views of a garden and the surrounding charming buildings, with the quaint and distinctly Parisian skyline of mismatched chimney pots. More conducive to daydreaming than to working…
Ok, I will stop rambling on now! I guess this post has been a bit more reflective than previous ones, but I really wanted to give an idea of my day-to-day life, rather than just the travel.

2006-12-04T10:21:00.000+01:00

Mel and me in front of the Musée du Quai Branley

2006-11-30T10:16:00.000+01:00

It’s been a while
Ok ok, I know, 5 weeks without an update is perhaps leaving it a bit too long! My apologies… but hey, I’m having such a great time, I don’t want to be sitting in front of the computer for hours! And we still don’t have internet installed at home – there have been so many dramas, I won’t even go into it, but let’s just say I’m hoping we have it by Christmas…
So, the rest of October was pretty normal, classes, drinking red wine, eating too many baguettes, etc. At the start of November I went to London for four days, where I stayed with the lovely Alex Ponton (I mean van Wyngaard!), and then three days in Dublin with my friend Keri who is on exchange there from Melbourne Uni.
Flying into England made quite an impression on me, the countryside is beautiful: The fields are amazing, emerald green, and you can hardly tell that there are crops – they are just solid patches of colour, separated by hedges or lines of trees or low stone walls. I would like to explore the English countryside at some point… London was great, I had the most perfect autumn weather – not a cloud in the sky, clean crisp (cold!) air, beautiful autumn colours… Hyde Park was amazing. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament were equally impressive, much more intricate than they look in photos. Buckingham Palace was a bit underwhelming, although I did see the changing of the guard which was pretty cool. I didn’t realise that they had a marching band, who entertained us with a bit of instrumental Elton John! I spent some time wandering along the Thames (the Thames! One hears so much about it, and it’s just another river, broad and muddy), and took about a hundred photos of the Tower Bridge.
I spent a small fortune getting into the famous St Paul’s cathedral, and climbed up inside the dome and saw the mosaics up close, as well as panoramic views of London from the two upper galleries. Taking full advantage of the free entrance to all major museums and galleries (Paris could learn something here! Paris could also learn a bit from London about keeping the streets clean and the con artists away from tourist sites… but despite all this I still find Paris more charming, individual and less overwhelming than London), I saw my first works by Dalí, Warhol and Picasso at the Tate Modern, as well as some of my favourites by van Gogh (including ‘Sunflowers’) at the National Gallery. The Egyptian section at the British Museum is incredible. I spent a Saturday night in Soho with Alex and Renée at a very chic and trendy bar (Cocoon), very expensive too though… but it was great to see a bit of London nightlife, even if we didn’t succeed into getting into Milk and Honey later! Apparently one of the more exclusive lounges, and we didn’t have a reservation, nor were we members…
Dublin was of course very different, a very dynamic and cosmopolitan city. I knew I’d arrived in the land of the Irish wit when I asked the bus driver at the airport if he went to O’Connell St, and he replied ‘I try my best, love’. I really liked Dublin, the streets are broad and there is a real sense of space, there is a great boardwalk along the River Liffey and of course the Irish are lovely. St Stephen’s Green was as pretty as Hyde Park, and I was very impressed with the collection of ancient manuscripts (more interesting than you would think!) at the Chester Beatty Library, in particular the illuminated Korans. The only regret I have is that I didn’t get to see the infamous nightlife, partly because I was there from a Monday to Thursday (the bars close at 11pm during the week), but also because I was staying in the town of Blackrock about an hour away from the centre of the city. Although Dublin is pretty cool, there is not that much to do in terms of touristy things, so on the third day I headed out into the Irish countryside. I explored a bit up the north coast (the towns of Howth, Malahide and Skerries), which was beautiful in a unique way with its rough seas and moody skies. Malahide was particularly lovely.
The rest of November has been pretty busy in terms of uni, it is about the middle of the semester now so I’ve had a lot of assignments and presentations. I have done two presentations in French now, which were quite nerve-wracking. I have given up on the capoeira classes (did I mention I took it up?), I choose capoeira because it was something way outside of my comfort zone and it looked cool. It was fun but my muscles are so tense that I couldn’t do all the moves properly, I think I need to take up yoga or something to relax a bit first.
I am going to Strasbourg in the middle of December, which is a town in north eastern France famous for its Christmas markets. Then on the 20th of December (my birthday for those who have forgotten, ha ha) I am going to PRAGUE! I am so excited! I am going with an American friend from uni, Caitlin. I can’t wait! We have a whole week so we’ll probably go and see Cesky Krumlov as well. I’ll be spending Christmas Day in Prague – I really hope that I get to have a white Christmas!
PS This blog is still not letting me post up photos, so I'll put them on Flickr

2006-10-12T12:31:00.000+02:00

La Semaine Blanche (The White Week)
When you have a big night out in France and don’t sleep at all, they say that you had ‘une nuit blanche’ – a white night. For me, it has been a bit of a white week…
Last Wednesday night (4th Oct) there was a huge party for all the international students to mark the end of the orientation program (it ended on Friday). In the French spirit, the party started at 11pm (and nobody gets there in the first hour), and the boat set sail along the Seine at 1.30am. The boat was great, it had a dancefloor on the lower deck, then a middle deck and top deck – great to get some fresh air and take in the views of the Eiffel Tower and an illuminated Paris. It was a lot of fun… let’s just say that I didn’t make it to my 9am class the next morning… apparently only two people turned up to that class!
On Friday night (6th Oct) Barbara, Mathilde and I had a big party to celebrate moving into our new apartment and also for Mathilde’s birthday. It was a great success – everyone had a great time, they all loved our apartment, I was really happy! We had a cocktail party, so people dressed up… and we had some great drinks. A lot of people came but we didn’t get any complaints from the neighbours. We put up a note in the lobby as a forewarning, with our phone numbers, and I actually got a call halfway through the night from one of the neighbours asking if he could come to the party! And although the kitchen was a bit messy, the rest of the apartment was ok. For parties in France, everyone brings a bottle of alcohol/wine that they share with everyone else. So the result is we have about 15 bottles left over in our kitchen… enough to have another party… some are half-full, but there is still a lot of vodka and red wine!!! See Flickr for some photos of the party. I was testing out the ‘party/indoor’ mode on my camera, which is why some of the photos are a bit blurred.
I finally had a chance to do some sightseeing on Sunday afternoon – it was a beautiful sunny day, so I thought I should make the most of it. I visited the flower market on the Île-de-la-Cité, as well as the church of St Chapelle. It was so beautiful – the stained glass windows are incredible. I went to Notre Dame afterwards, but I think St Chapelle is much prettier. I also visited the memorial to the deportation of French Jews in WWII (I just happened upon it but it was very moving), and an outdoor sculpture garden. I then decided to walk along the Seine for about an hour, all the way to the Eiffel Tower. This was around sunset so I got some great photos.
I’ve also been exploring the area around my university (St Germain-des-Près), which is very chic. There are many exclusive little boutiques, as well as the big brands like Prada, with prices way beyond the means of any student. There seems to be a large number of Americans in this area, I don’t know if they are tourists or expatriates, but I’m sure that there is some correlation between their presence and the local prices! It’s a bit annoying, because you can’t really afford to go out to the local cafes (people tend to use the university cafeteria). But it’s a lovely area. I saw my first policemen on rollerblades there yesterday, trying to give a woman a traffic fine. I think she was having a hard time taking them seriously, so would I! Just imagine the policeman from the Village People with his tight pants, and then in rollerblades… and you get the idea.
My real uni classes started on Monday. It was a bit intimidating, as I had class with French students for the first time. However, it was better than I expected. My first tutorial (23 students, mostly French) was ok, the teacher is nice even if it is a subject (‘History, Justice and the Press’) that does not interest me that much. I had to take it because there were no other spaces left in other subjects. I also had a lecture (Introduction to the Contemporary Middle East), which was a bit hard to follow (some very formal French) but I understood most of it. My French language classes don’t start until next week. My other two subjects are taught in English (although the majority of students are French), and they are both really interesting. One is on the role of NGOs in international relations, and the other is on the concept of humanitarian intervention. Both of the lecturers have had a lot of experience in the field, which is fantastic.
Hopefully internet will be installed soon in our apartment. I can’t get the WiFi to work at uni, so now I am using the free Wifi at MacDonalds… classy…
I’m going to try and put some photos up now on Flickr...

2006-09-21T23:57:00.000+02:00

The Apartment
(Picture: Jardins des Tuileries)

We got the apartment! It’s perfect: three separate bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom; it’s massive… wooden floors throughout… only 10min by metro from uni… I am so happy! It is such a relief. I will be sharing with Mathilde and her friend Barbara. The only downside to the apartment is that it is unfurnished, so I’ve spent some time at Ikea and other furniture stores choosing a bed, desk etc… but it works out to be worth it in the long run! We are moving in on Saturday, and I don’t think the WiFi network has been set up yet, so it may be a while until my next post… although I will try to use the WiFi at uni.
Otherwise, things have been going well. As part of the orientation program, I have been taking classes on French language and civilisation each week, as well as classes on the ‘methodology’ at Sciences Po – how to write essays, how to format oral presentations, etc. They have quite a rigid system here and I’ve been told to expect a lot of work. Sciences Po is considered to be the best university in France for political science and international relations, so I shouldn’t complain! Sciences Po (short hand for the Institute of Political Studies) is the starting point for many French politicians, including the current president (Jacques Chirac) and current prime minister (Dominic de Villepin). The next French presidential elections are in May 2007, so there will be many debates and conferences held at uni – I look forward to seeing some of the heavyweights in French politics in action.
I haven’t had that much time for sightseeing here, although I have been making an effort to walk around different parts of Paris after uni. The weather has been beautiful, and in the late afternoon it is really lovely. It still feels very surreal when I think that I am living here now. Last Saturday I went to a party with Mathilde, which was a lot of fun. It was my first French house party, and I was the only non-French person there… so it was interesting! It was hard for me to follow conversations due to the noise etc, but I got by. The theme of the party was ‘the 1990s’, so they played a lot of great music. Mathilde and I caught the first train home and only got back at 7am… which is another of the reasons why I didn’t do any sightseeing last weekend! Life here as an international student is a lot of fun, and I think it will be even better once I have moved into the new apartment which is a lot closer to everything. The area is lovely, we have everything we need in walking distance, including several small bakeries… I look forward to buying my baguette in the morning!

2006-09-08T22:46:00.000+02:00

Paris (picture: Sacre Coeur)

My first ten days in Paris. It doesn’t quite feel like I am living here yet… it is all a bit surreal. In some ways it is exactly like I imagined, but I had no actual idea of what Paris would be like. It’s hard to get an objective picture from what you see on travel shows and in ‘Amelie’!
The major sights (Eiffel Tower etc) have been more or less exactly like what you see on postcards. The Eiffel is quite amazing, we had a picnic on the Champs-des-Mars (lawns in front of Eiffel Tower) on Monday evening as part of the orientation program, which was lovely. The walk through the Jardins des Tuileries to the Louvre is also beautiful. What you don’t see in the postcards are the hordes of tourists (not as bad as Rome though), and the numerous shady people trying to part you with your money in many different ways. If you are ever approached by a young girl who asks if you speak English… just say ‘Non’! Particularly if she’s not wearing shoes! I learnt very quickly that these girls are from Eastern Europe and there is always some elaborate story about being a refugee etc etc. At first I felt sympathy for them, but after the fourth one I started to get a bit annoyed.
In what ways is Paris different to what I imagined? Firstly, not everyone is super-chic and stylish. Perhaps because I have been spending most of my time in the areas where lots of students live, where people dress more casually. I haven’t visited Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré yet, which is famous for all the big fashion houses! Secondly, there are a lot of homeless people. And odd people in general. Every day I see someone sleeping on a park bench/at the station, I have seen several people drunk on the streets at 10am. There are a lot of beggars particularly around the metro stations. The metro stations are a whole other story: the metro system in Paris is very efficient (trains every 3 minutes) and very comprehensive. You are never more than 5 minutes walk from a metro station. However, the stations can be a bit dodgy at night. Peak hour is terrible, because there are heaps of people and no proper ventilation.
Finally, what has surprised me is the diversity of the population. France has a history of immigration from its colonies, particularly in northern and western Africa. This is reflected in the demography of the population. There are now second and third generations of immigrants who seem to have integrated quite well. However this is in Paris, not in the suburbs, where there are less opportunities are more dissatisfaction and tension in the immigrant communities. There are multiple debates raging around the issues of immigration and integration and it’s hard to talk about it without making bug generalisations, so I won’t go into it all now, but it is really different to Australia.
Anyway, moving on… My orientation at Sciences Po (Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris; Institute of Political Studies Paris) began on Monday. The first three days were filled with different activities, and next week French classes begin. The French classes run for about 4 weeks, right up to when normal classes start on the 9th of October. The French classes are about the history and civilisation of France as well as the language. I am managing quite well in French, I find that I understand almost everything when people are speaking to me. However it is difficult to respond! I find it quite frustrating to be listening to a conversation on an interesting topic, and wanting to give my opinion, but by the time I have formed the sentences in my head it is too late! I’m sure this will change with more time. I have really enjoyed my extended holiday, so I don’t want to go back to class! There will be 18 hours of class per week (14 hours of French and 4 hours of ‘methodology’, eg. how to structure essays), which is more than I ever had at Melbourne Uni!!!
There are about 400 international students taking part in the orientation program, of which about 100 are American. The European countries are well represented too. There is one other girl (Mel) here from Melbourne Uni, I assume there are at least a few other Australians but I haven’t met them yet. I have met a nice group of Italians who I have spent most of my time with. We have had some introductory talks on Sciences Po and the way everything works – choosing subjects etc.
I am still looking for an apartment. It seems like Mathilde (the French girl I am living with at the moment) has found a great place in the 15th arrondissement, about 15min from uni by metro, with 3 bedrooms. I really hope it works out! Fingers crossed! We will share with another friend of hers. It would be fantastic for my French!!

2006-09-01T15:44:00.000+02:00

Italy
(Picture: Isola Bella, Sicily)

Ok, I know, it’s been ages since I wrote here… I was just too busy to use the internet much! Plus it was quite expensive!
After Rome I spent a few days in Naples, using it as a base to visit the ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the beautiful island of Capri. Approaching Capri by ferry is something special – the sheer rock faces rise out of the bluest ocean I have ever seen. I even splashed out on a one hour boat tour of the island, to see all the rock formations, although unfortunately the famous Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto) was closed due to rough seas.
After Naples I headed down to the Amalfi coast, where I stayed in a lovely small town in the mountains called Agerola. The view across the ocean was amazing! There were hardly any tourists in this town (it was about 40 min by bus from Amalfi – the most scenic bus route!), and every evening the locals would take a walk down the main street, saying good evening to everyone, eating ice creams, there were old people on their balconies and verandas, young people in the street café… it was really nice and relaxing. I visited Amalfi (I even walked once! 10km downhill!!), Ravello, Positano… all very beautiful small towns. It’s really hard to describe the sheer physical beauty of this area, so you’ll have to visit it yourself!
I then spent one night in Salerno, and visited the very well-preserved ruins at Paestum. I then took a train down to the ‘end of mainland Italy and a ferry to Sicily. I stayed for three nights in the small town of Taormina on the east coast, which is very popular amongst Italians to spend their summer holidays. The beach there (Isola Bella) is spectacular, have a look at the photo!! It was the first time I really relaxed, so it was great.
I had planned to go further south in Sicily (Catania and Syracuse), but unfortunately I couldn’t find accommodation. So, I went straight to Palermo, the largest city on the island. To be honest, Palermo is pretty crappy, but it was probably worse than normal because I arrived just before a big public holiday (Feast of the Assumption) so everything was closed for the week. Palermo is quite dirty and not safe at night. On the plus side, I spent one day at the lovely beach of Cefalù (very crowded though), and I visited an amazing cathedral in nearby Monreale.
I was keen to leave Palermo, I had planned to go to Sardinia but unfortunately the ferry only went once a week, and I didn’t want to hang around. So I coughed up a huge amount for a one-way plan ticket to Milan. I was only there for an evening, it seemed nice, the church there is really amazing.
I then spent four days in the stunning Cinque Terre region, which is along the coast roughly between Genoa and Pisa (north west if Italy). There are five tiny villages perched on sheer cliffs overlooking the ocean, it is really beautiful (again, see the photos!). I stayed in the town of Riomaggiore. I did the famous walk between the villages, I think its about 12km, a lot of uphill and downhill, I was exhausted at the end! But it was a very picturesque walk and I took lots of photos.

Switzerland
On a whim, I decided to go to Switzerland. The original plan was to go to Greece, but since I spent so much time in Italy I didn’t think it was worthwhile to go all that way for one week. Plus Switzerland was on the way to Paris.
I started in the town of Zermatt, in southern Switzerland at the foot of Mount Matterhorn (which I believe is the tallest mountain in Europe). It was very beautiful, of course very different to Italy. The air was fresh and clean, the mountains green and snow-capped… amazing. I took the scenic railway up to Gornergrat, with views of more snow capped mountains and Mount Matterhorn.
I then spent two nights in the small town of Lauterbrunnen in central Switzerland. Lauterbrunnen is nestled in a valley with 72 stunning waterfalls, the view from my room at the hostel was incredible! I took a cable car up to Mount Schiltorn, where a James Bond movie was shot in the 1970s (I think it was ‘Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ or something like that). It is the longest cable car in the world, very steep, and as we kept going higher the temperature kept falling until it was below zero! At the top there was even a light covering of snow on the ground. I was quite excited, it being only the second time I had ever seen snow! However I was freezing, having brought mainly summer clothes – I think I had about five layers on! Although it was cloudy I still got some amazing photos. On the way down I stopped at a few of the small towns on the slopes, including Gimmelwald, which were very picturesque – straight out of ‘Heidi’!
I then spent one night in Lucerne. The afternoon was sunny and I saw most of the town, which is situated next to a beautiful lake. Unfortunately the weather turned and it started raining, I got soaked (even with an umbrella), so the outdoor music festival that was planned for that night was rained out.
I ended my trip with two days in Zurich, where I met up with an Australian girl who I had met in Riomaggiore. I’m glad she was there, because Zurich was a bit boring! Again it was grey and raining, which didn’t really help. I think if it was sunny it would be nice, because there is a huge lake next to the city, and you can rent bikes for free. There was a street festival the one night which was quite good. We even tried a traditional Swiss cheese fondue – I didn’t realise that they actually melt the cheese with white wine and cherry brandy! It was ok, I prefer chocolate fondues though!

Paris
Ashley and I caught a train together to Paris, where I met my friend Mathilde. I am staying with her and her family in the suburbs just outside of the city, which is nice because I am experiencing how it is to live in a normal French family. I am especially enjoying the three and four-course meals!!! And having my own bedroom after all that time in hostels. The weather has been mostly sunny, so I have done a fair bit of walking around the city – I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe (8 lanes of traffic all going around in a circle!!), the outside of the Louvre. Yesterday I went to see Sacre Coeur in the late afternoon, it was very beautiful. I have also met up with a couple of people from Melbourne Uni who are here on exchange, there are four others: a girl (Mel) and a guy going to my uni, and another girl and guy going to a different uni. I have now got a French mobile number (I sent an email out about it), although I still have to set up a bank account etc. But most importantly, I need to find my own apartment! I am hoping to share with some other students. I’ll keep you posted!

2006-08-06T16:38:00.000+02:00

Rome
I arrived in Rome in the evening of 31st July, to a great hostel and a free concert in front of the Colosseum. What better way to start my stay in Italy! The Colosseum is amazing - you just turn the corner and there it is at the end of the street. The police had cordoned off the street, it was packed. Bryan Adams played and was great, all the classics - Summer of 69 etc. Billy Joel also played but he wasn't that good.
Tuesday morning I headed to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. It seemed like everybody else in Rome had the same idea! There were about a hundred tour groups. Lots of them were German, they seemed to be some kind of youth group - but more on them later. It was really hot... I walked around the outside of the Colosseum, but didn't go inside because the queue was a mile long. The Roman ruins were interesting, but unfortunately there were no information boards or anything so I didn't really know what I was looking at. The only way to know was to take a guided tour, which were expensive and looked kinda boring - so I just wandered around. I then walked to the Trevi Fountain. It is really amazing - very beautiful. Despite the crowds. I did the obligatory toss of the coin over the shoulder (with your back to the fountain), which is meant to ensure you come back to Rome. I walked from there all the way to the Spanish Steps, which are a huge flight of stairs leading up to this church on a hill. It was nice, but again crowded. I walked to the top and alongside a hill- nice views of Rome. Later in the evening I then went to the Piazza Navone, which has at its centre the 'fountain of four rivers'. There are lots of cafes all around, with outdoor tables, lovely atmosphere. I walked along the Tiber River as well, where I also saw an absolutley massive group of German youth again, all chanting German songs and overwhelming everything in their path - traffic stopped, buses were swamped, gelati shops were over-run... crazy Germans!
Next day I headed to the Vatican. Wednesday is the day that the Pope gives his weekly address. I thought that maybe the Vatican museum would be quiter then, as everybody went to watch him. But, no such luck... as we just happened to stumble upon some huge congress thing of European Catholic youth (this is where the Germans fit in!), all gathered in the piazza in front of St Peter's Basilica singing hymns! Walked through the Vatican museum, after about a hundred rooms finally came to the Sistine Chapel - very beautiful.
In the evening went back to the Spanish steps hoping it would be quieter than before. However, the Germans had taken over. By this stage those kids were starting to annoy the hell out of me. There were literally about 200 of them sitting on the steps chanting 'Deutschland Deutschland'. needless to say there were some very pissed off Italians on the sidelines. Probably some kind of German revenge because Italy won the world cup. Decided to walk to Trevi fountain - pretty at night time. But as we approached... what did we hear... more German chanting. Then we saw the big German flag and knew it was a lost cause. They had taken over the Trevi too...
Observations on Italians:
- The majority of Italians are very good looking, especially the women. They all have really nice olive/brown skin. but they don't look as if they would ever deign to sunbake (plus there are no tan lines), so either its genetic or from a sunbed. Either way i am jealous! They are very well groomed. Women usually wearing heels despite the crazy cobblestone streets (which make walking quite tiring)
- Aviator sunglasses) have never gone out of fashion in Italy. Even the police wear aviators, they look like that guy from the Village People!
I'll put up photos at some point... I have taken a ridiculous amount!

2006-07-30T17:07:00.000+02:00

Singapore and the Netherlands
(Picture: Canal at Dusk, Amsterdam)

My last few days in Singapore were really nice, I saw some of the city centre and the area along the river. It reminds me a lot of Darling Harbour in Sydney. The weather in the evenings is just perfect, and there are always people out having a good time.
However, the time had come to move on, and on Wednesday night I flew out to Heathrow, which has to be the worst airport I've ever been to (for it's size). Maybe I was just in a terrible mood after sitting on a plane for 3 hours while they fixed the air con before we took off, and thus missing my connecting flight to Amsterdam, but it really was a depressing place. But eventually I did make my way to Amsterdam, where I was met by Tim (my cousin Jayde's husband) and their son Peppin, who is about to turn 1.
On Friday morning I caught a train through the flat green countryside to Amsterdam, about 45min away. It was just like in the postcards: canals, windmills and cows, and people on bicycles! I arrived in Amsterdam around 9am and headed to the tourist info, where I was aghast to discover that I had to PAY for map! It was €2, about $3, but still... it's the principle... The map was very good though.
I walked all the way from Amsterdam Centraal (train station) to Anne Frank’s House. It was a nice walk, I saw many pretty canals and old houses that. Anne Frank's house was interesting, but not great, because they have taken out all the original furnishings and just have a few glass cabinet displays and quotes from the diary written on the walls. The best part was climbing up the actual staircase that was hidden behind a bookcase when the Franks were there.
I then walked all the way to Museum Plein, which is where all the big museums are, including the national museum (Rijksmuseum). I only went to the van Gogh museum. It was really good, I really like van Gogh’s work and the gallery was laid out well. I saw some of his most famous works, including the one with sunflowers. I also looked at the other exhibitions, which included a huge collection of Japanese art from the Meiji period.
I walked all the way to the Royal Palace (trying to save money by not catching trams! Besides, you get a better feel for a city on foot) to meet my friend Wouter, who is a Dutch guy I met at Melbourne Uni who is now living in the Hague (a city on the west coast). We decided to take a cruise of the canals, which is a very touristy thing to do but still very interesting. There was a commentary, so at least I knew what I was looking at! Saw lots of lovely old buildings and bridges. There are a lot of small boats anchored along the sides of the canals, which people take out along the canals in the late afternoon. There are even some house boats. Wouter and I then wandered around an area of Amsterdam called Jordaan, which is a residential area (only the very rich can afford to live in the central district). It was nice to see how actual residents of Amsterdam lived, the streets are pretty and narrow with tall buildings. There are lots of flowering pots of geraniums, petunias etc. We then walked to Rembrandtsplein (‘plein’ means ‘square’). This year is the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth, and so on display in the plein there is a big group of statues depicting his most famous painting, the Nightwatch. There is a small grass lawn surrounded by trees where the statues are, and all around this there are bars and restaurants with outdoor tables - it's great. I really like Amsterdam and will definitely be coming back for the Dutch ''Queen's day'' celebrations at the end of April!
There are bicycles EVERYWHERE. I almost got hit by one about 5 times in Amsterdam, because I didn’t know which were bike paths and which were pedestrian paths (they are normally the same), and I would instinctively step in FRONT of the bike instead of away from it (because of the whole riding-on-the-other-side-of-the-road thing).
On Saturday morning I caught a train to the Hague, which is the centre of government for the Netherlands (even though Amsterdam is the capital), it is also home to the International Court of Justice. There are many old government buildings, it is quite pretty. I had some of the famous ‘fries with mayonnaise’ that you can get everywhere in the Netherlands. It was nice but also very rich! We then caught a tram to the seaside suburb of Scheningven (that is an approximate spelling...) around 5pm. It is a very popular beach, especially amongst tourists. There is a long promenade, and hundreds of beach bars/restaurants with lots of outdoor tables. I guess it's a pretty good beach by Dutch standards... but doesn't really measure up to Clifton (South Africa) or some of the Australian beaches! We sat at one of the beach bars to have a drink (well I just had a Coke because I was feeling very poor by this time!), which was lovely and relaxing.
Today (Sunday) Jayde and Tim took me out to see some Dutch countryside. We drove out to a pretty town called Zaandijk, where they showed me some of the tranquil residential streets. There are small narrow canals between some of the houses, which are all about 100 years old. We then went to an area just on the edge of the town, where there are some working windmills and other things, including a clog-making workshop and a cheese factory. It was really geared towards tourists, but still very pretty.
Tomorrow afternoon I am flying out to ROME, which will be great I am sure! I'll probably have pretty limited internet access for the next month, so won't be able to put up many updates... but I'll try!

2006-07-24T07:32:00.000+02:00

Singapore and Bangkok
Well things did work out, even though after much frantic repacking my luggage was still 8kg overweight. Thankfully the nice man at Qantas allowed me another 5kg, so I only had to pay for 3kg extra…The flight to Singapore was great: good service, good food (mostly), and awesome in-flight entertainment. Those of you back in Melbourne will be pleased to know that I finally caught up on some classic Australian movies: I watched Lantana and the Castle, both of which were great. I also watched Somersault, which was a bit disappointing.
Anyway, so I arrived in Singapore late Wednesday night and was met at the airport by my friend Boris, who I am staying with here.
Thursday morning I set out to explore the Arab district of Singapore, as well as Little India. Both interesting places. Singapore itself is a lovely city, despite the heat and oppressive humidity, it is spacious, clean and has a lot of trees to provide shade. After wandering around and getting lost several times, I realised that the great Singapore city-wide sale was ending on Sunday, and that I had better get a move on because Boris had organised to go away for the weekend. So I traipsed off to Orchard Rd (shopping district), along with every other tourist in Singapore. Have to admit that I wasn’t really in the mood for shopping, and I didn’t buy a single thing!
On Thursday evening Boris and I flew out to BANGKOK for three days. Friday morning we took full advantage of the hotel’s buffet breakfast, before heading to the city’s most famous tourist attractions: the Grand Palace and Wát Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). I took lots of photos, hopefully they do it justice. A wát is a temple monastery, a huge complex full of amazing temples covered in mosaic tiles. The detail and colour is just spectacular. The dress code for these areas is very strict: have to have legs and shoulders covered, and wear closed shoes. I nearly died ! It was very hot in Bangkok, but not quite as humid as Singapore.
After that went to Wát Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), which is the oldest wát in Bangkok. It houses this HUGE figure of a reclining Buddha (46m long, 15m high). Thai Buddhists are very fond of gold leaf, so it is all quite opulent and overwhelming.
Bangkok has about 8 million inhabitants. I’m sure at least half have a motorbike. The traffic is horrendous – despite the construction of an overhead ‘Sky Train’ and a metro system underground. There are a lot of taxis, it’s all we used because they are so cheap – just a few dollars each time. And air-conditioned! Once we caught a tuk-tuk, which was slightly hair-raising, but fun. The pavements are very crowded, made worse by the ubiquitous street vendors selling all sorts of food. There are few pedestrian crossings, so walking anywhere in Bangkok is quite an experience. Thankfully the traffic is as adept as dodging pedestrians as pedestrians are at walking straight in front of oncoming cars.
The Thais are generally a friendly people. However, being a Westerner makes you an instant target for all sorts of cons. The taxi drivers in particular will always try and convince you to go to this tailor/shop/jewellery store. The trick is to say that you have been in Bangkok for at least a week, so they won’t try and rip you off.
We visited many other temples and markets, and decided on Saturday night to hit the town. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out quite as planned… A friend of Boris who lived in Bangkok for 6 months recommended that we go to QBar, a nice laid-back bar down a small side-street. So after much walking, we found QBar – only to be told that it was closed. As were the majority of bars and clubs in Bangkok. Why? Because elections were being held the next day, and the government had banned the sale of alcohol for the whole weekend!
Anyway, I had a great time in Bangkok and now I’m back in Singapore, relaxing at the apartment before heading to the Chinese Gardens. Next stop: Amsterdam!
PS I'll post some photos soon, it's taking too long right now...

2006-07-17T14:23:00.000+02:00

First Post
Well this is it, the first posting… this blog is still a work in progress! Although I am fairly html-illiterate, so this is possibly as good as it will get…
And what is this blog all about? I am embarking on the trip of a lifetime – a year abroad studying at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, with a bit of travel before and after. You can expect to see many interesting pictures from Singapore, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece… and that’s just the first 6 weeks!
There are a few pictures up from my farewell dinner on 13th July and drinks on the 15th– thanks again to everyone who came along! Both nights were fantastic and a wonderful way to say goodbye.Well, that is it for my short intro, stay tuned for the next post which will probably be in Singapore or the Netherlands… I have to go and PACK because I am leaving on Wednesday and feeling slightly disorganised! But I have great faith in things working out in the end!