Kansan to Parisian: Montmartre, Versailles, Rodin Museum, and Orleans

This past week and a half was full of seeing historical places and famous monuments. I had the opportunity to visit an old friend and see a town in the Loire Valley as well. Despite battling a bad cold, I tried to do as much as I could since I have a little less than a month left! Its hard to believe that I have already been living as a Parisian for more than a month now. I know that I have been here for a while when I get to my Metro station and I relax since I feel at home in my neighborhood. Its going to be hard to say goodbye to my apartment, roommates, and all the beautiful things I get to see everyday. I am, however, excited to see my family and friends as well as get some gluten free bread!

Recently, I have gone to the area called "Montmartre" twice. Montmartre is home to Sacre Coeur, a famous basilica, to bars that artists frequent, and to beautiful views of Paris from above. Montmartre is situated high on a hill that overlooks Paris and the surrounding neighborhoods. Nearby are artists painting canvases, the bar that Amelie Poulin from the movie "Amelie" worked at, and the well known Moulin Rouge. No, I did not go in, but I did walk by! Since the mountain is rather high up, one can either take a beautiful set of stairs that seems to go on for forever or there is a metro car that cruises up the mountain for the price of a metro ticket. I opted for the metro car since you can watch the surrounding areas as it takes you to the basilica on the top of the hill.

While I as at Montmartre the second time, there was a city square full of artists painting canvases and musicians playing accordions. I felt as though I stepped into a movie. The streets are narrow and sprinkled with quaint bars and "creperies" that make delicious crepes. There is even an ice cream store that scoops your ice cream into the shape of a rose. Since the facades of the buildings haven't changed in years, you feel as though you are experiencing France from years ago. Montmartre is almost as though you stepped into a time capsule. This is one of my favorite areas in Paris.

Let me preface this next bit with a tip for anyone that wants to go visit Versailles on a Monday. It is closed. This is what I found out after a friend and I made the train ride out to the chateau on a Monday before class. We made the best of it though because the town is very nice and we could still see the outside of the chateau. When my family and I were here in Paris in 2006, we saw the interior and the beautiful gardens. If you ever come, make sure to not go on a Monday!

Fridays are the only day of the week that I do not have class so I try to go do something interesting. This week, my roommate and I walked to the Musée Rodin which is just next to Napoleon's tomb and the army museum. It was incredible to not only step into a scene from the movie, "Midnight in Paris," but seeing the statutes in person was equally as incredible. In France, if you are a student within the European Union, you can get discounts on entrance fees to museums. At this particular museum, it was free!

Rodin's Museum included lush gardens that are home to many of his statues, including The Thinker. The interior of the museum houses his smaller works as well as his personal art collection that included works from Picasso and Monet. The beautiful estate that the museum is housed in was Rodin's property. Upon his death, he donated all of his artwork and estate to the State of France on the condition that they turn it into a museum for the public. Now, the house has the museum, but it is also where parts of Paris Fashion Week happen. This year, Dior has their runway in the backyard of the museum.

Although Paris is lovely, it is also sometimes overwhelming since it is a concrete jungle. As a Kansan, I am quite fond of green space and fields of plants. Here in Paris, you have to go out of your way to see some green space. Even then, the green spaces are parks with grass. The best garden in Paris is the Tuileries which are just outside of the Louvre Museum. This garden has artwork and beautiful plants to see.

This weekend, I took the train outside of Paris to a town called Orleans. Orleans is best known as the hometown of Joan of Arc, or Jeanne D'Arc, as she is known in France. Her house is in this town and it is open for tours by the public. Her statue is the focal point of the town square. My visit to Orleans included meeting up with a family friend that my father has known since he was in college!

Our family friend took me on a visit of the beautiful castle from the Middle Ages, Chateau de Chamerolles. This Chateau is located in the Loire Valley and is known for being a perfume producer many years ago. Not only did this chateau have a lovely exhibit of how perfumes were made those years ago, it also had period furniture, and beautiful gardens. This chateau is well garded by a bridge and moat!

Hopefully this cold will go away soon so I can keep exploring the area. I hope to visit some smaller art galleries this week. More to come!