Our first stop of the day was Versailles Chateau, which is a fancy word for "big palace in the countryside". Versailles actually started as a humble hunting lodge for Henry the Fourth. But as it progressed through the generations, other kings expanded it (mostly Louis the 14th) until the property was 500 acres and the building was large enough that each member of the band could have their own private wings and we would still rarely see each other. For some reason, this made the starving peasants of France a little angry, so they stormed the Chateau in the first French Revolution and basically kidnapped and murdered the entire royal family. But the Chateau was very pretty and held many of France's greatest treasures, so the angry starving peasants reduced the land to a measly 100 acres and turned the entire thing into a museum. For more information, try the following link: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/gardens-and-park-of-the-chateau-
The museum was decadent. Every surface was decorated with gold or tapestries or murals and other artwork. It was a bit crowded, but that only highlighted how big the Chateau was. The throne room had to be about the length of a football field, some fireplaces were bigger than some New York apartments, and the murals on the ceilings were so intricately detailed that placing mythological names with faces was easy. I knew France was rich during this time, but seeing the extravagance at Versailles showed me that they were far richer and far more powerful than anyone could even imagine.
We were given audio guides for the tour, and at the end, Kevin took about half of them to turn into the desk. Thanks Kevin!!
After Versailles, we headed back into the city to visit the Tour de Montparnasse, the second tallest tower in Paris. The tallest is the Eiffel Tower, but it costs a lot of money and it's really hard to see the Eiffel Tower from there. It just didn't seem like a good deal.
The Paris skyline is very different from American skylines. In America, the buildings all shoot up, creating a forest in the sky. In Paris, there are a few tall buildings (like the Eiffel Tower), but most of the buildings do not tower. It gives the skyline a more empty look, but it represents how much of the city is still classical and little more down-to-earth. The change was shocking at first, but it actually makes a lot of sense.
Then, around 2:30, we got lunch at the Louvre food court. There was cuisine representation from all over the world, such as French, Spanish, Italian, Mediterranean, Asian, and McDonald's. With such a wide variety, we all scattered about, eager to try new food and converse in languages few of us know how to speak. I personally went French because we are in France. I ate roasted chicken and cheesy cauliflower and broccoli. But more importantly, our continued to strengthen our bonds by sharing information, laughter, and good food with each other.
Now that we were all fed and watered, we began exploring the Louvre. The Louvre was an old palace (pre-Versailles) in the middle of Paris. When the royal people moved out, they gave the Louvre to an artist. During the first French Revolution, the angry starving peasants took back the Louvre and turned it into an art museum from France's most prized art work. For more information, try this site: http://www.louvre.fr/en
I was super excited to see the Louvre. My 11th grade history teacher spent a lot of time teaching us about any different styles and pieces in the Louvre, and I couldn't wait to see it all for myself. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and she made it fun for everyone. We even got to see the Mona Lisa. The room was only mildly crowded, so many of us were able to work our way up to the line to get a close-up of her. The painting was bigger than I thought it would be, which was a pleasant surprise. The pictures also don't do her justice. She looks almost real in the museum, and so the pictures I had seen weren't enough to prepare me for the beauty that was the Mona Lisa.
We saw many other great paintings as well, such as Liberty Leading the People and The Raft of the Medusa. We all left the museum an hour later tired and only partially satisfied. They showed us as much art as possible in that hour, but it was only a droplet in the ocean. I greatly anticipate the next time I can visit the Louvre and stay for a week, just wandering the endless labyrinth of beautiful art.
Dinner was at a cute little French café, where we ate salad, beef and rice, and chocolate cake for dessert. We debriefed after our intense day and used the time to simply enjoy one another's company.
But we weren't done yet. After dinner, we all headed down to take a boat cruise on the Seine River. With the wind in my hair and camera in hand, it was a great way to end our visit in France. As we were heading back to the dock, the Eiffel Tower (we finally found it!) began to flash white lights up and down, like it was celebrating. It looked magical, like the Eiffel Tower was spraying fairy dust everywhere. It stopped the moment we docked, a perfect ending to a wonderful visit.
These were two accordion players on a bridge we passed. They sounded great and waved at us excitedly.
And now it's time to pack up again and relocate. While we are a little sad to be leaving such an historical place, we are even more excited to travel to Germany tomorrow and meet our host families. We are anxious to meet new friends, learn a new culture, and to share a universal language with people who live on the other side of the planet: music. Until then, I need to go to sleep. We have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow.
