So, since our arrival in France, Katharine and I had been talking about a mini-Wooster-reunion in Paris. We knew that it would happen…even if it just meant the two of us would be there by ourselves. With there being six Wooster graduates in France this year (all in different parts of France, doing the same teaching program as us), we thought it would be wonderful to meet up with our former college French professor (who is currently on her sabbatical in Paris working on the memoir of an American author who lives in France) and share our teaching experiences amongst each other. In the end, after the invitation was extended to everyone, three of us made it to Paris…and we truly had an amazing time!
Coming from three different areas of France—Katharine in Marseille (south, 4 hours), Lucy in Cambrai (north, 2 hours), and myself in Tours (central, 1.5 hours)—we decided to coordinate our travel so that we would be able to meet up on Tuesday, October 26. I left Tours around noon on Tuesday; I had an expected arrival in Paris for around 3PM…key word being “expected”. However, I did not arrive in Paris until 8PM. There was work being done on the railroad tracks between Orleans and Paris, so my train had to stop in Orleans. I was in Orleans for about 3-4 hours before I could leave for Paris. So, with my newly acquired “free time”, I toured the oldest hotel in the city and looked around the city’s gothic cathedral. I was finally on my way at about 6:30PM…
We all planned on meeting at Notre Dame de Paris at 8PM, but, with my delays, we met up at around 9PM instead. When we finally met up, we had a big group hug and were on our way. Katharine, Lucy, and I had dinner around 9:30PM at a small, quiet restaurant in the Quartier Latin; we all ordered salads and shared our teaching and French experiences amongst each other. Katharine is working with high school students (she only works on Mondays and Tuesday…) and Lucy is with middle school students…so we were able to cover all levels of the French education system in our conversation, as well as our experiences with the strikes! Katharine had said she had days where she had only a handful of students in classes and Lucy said that one day a group of middle school students refused to leave the courtyard (they had sent out a Facebook message to strike). All in all, it was wonderful to catch up with the two of them; it was the first time we had all seen each other since our graduation in May 2010!
On Wednesday we met at Le Centre Georges Pompidou (modern art museum); Lucy and I had never been before so we decided that it would be a great place to visit. We spent about three-hours in the museum before we grab lunch at a falafel restaurant (known because Lenny Kravitiz once stated it had “the best falafel in the world”). After lunch in the Marais, we headed to the 14th to meet up with our former college French professor (Carolyn Durham)!
We arrived chez Carolyn around 4PM (see our excitement in photo below). As we headed up the stairs, the anticipation and excitement was building. We could not wait to see Carolyn; we had come to Paris for this very thing! :) When we got to her apartment she showed us around (it was French, so it was a minute and a half tour tops!) and then we sat down to talk about our experiences. It was absolutely wonderful to share our teaching experiences with the person who had recommended us to apply to this program, let alone guided us in all of our French endeavors at Wooster! After a little bit of conversation, we headed out for a walk around her neighborhood; she showed us interesting architecture (especially for Katharine—art major), her former apartments (as well as those of famous people), university housing (Cité Universitaire), and, eventually, Parc Montsouris (where we walked around for a bit, taking in the sights of the second largest park in Paris). We could have spent all day outside…the weather was perfect!
But, after about an hour or so, we headed back to her apartment for an apéritif (cocktail/snack before dinner) and continued our conversation about our teaching experiences, as well as French/American politics! We then headed out for a wonderful dinner at one of Carolyn’s favorite Italian restaurants. It was delicious; I had some tortellini with meat sauce, Carolyn also ate pasta, and Lucy and Katharine had pizzas! Yummy! Then dinner finally ended and we had to (inevitably and sadly) head back. We walked Carolyn back to her apartment and began to say goodbye…but then realized we had forgot to document our evening with a photo! Nevertheless, we found a gracious family (in first photo) to take our picture…below you can see both versions! All in all, it was a fabulous day! Katharine, Lucy, and I cannot wait for our next rendez-vous! Marseille? Cambrai? Tours?
On Thursday we met at La Place de la Concorde (place were Marie Antoinette and a 1,000 more people were executed). We did a lot of walking on Wednesday, so we decided that today would be more leisurely…it was, however, not! Our plan was to meet up with a Wooster student who was doing his junior year abroad in Paris (Chris) around 2PM on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower. But, before we met up, we did a mini-photo shoot, found the mini-version of the Statue of Liberty, and bought food for our Eiffel Tower picnic lunch! The three of us did not spend the evening together…we returned to our respective places for dinner. When I got back to Nancy’s (yes, I stayed with Tess’ aunt again…so thankful!), I played Guess Who? with Lexie and Allegra…and then “store” with Lexie.
On Friday we went shopping and met up with Chris and Daniel (another Wooster study abroad-er) in Chinatown! We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant (La Lune...I think). It was very yummy; I had Chinese broccoli and a trio of Chinese meats (duck, roast pork)! While we were there, we also jokingly pretended that we were doing a semester in China program. It was great to head to Chinatown because none of us had been there before (with the exception of Chris and Daniel who said they go there weekly!). After lunch Lucy had to head back to Cambray, so we took her to get her stuff and sent her off to the station. Katharine and I then made evening plans with the former Wooster French language assistant Wooster who lives in Paris (Ceclia). We grabbed dinner at an Italian restaurant, reminisced about Wooster, and enjoyed crepes in front of Notre Dame de Paris before we were all off in our separate directions.
In the end, Saturday finally came around…and I had to pack my bags, leave Paris, and headed back to Tours. All in all, Paris was AMAZING, but very exhausting (lots of walking), so I was glad to head back home… and just in time for Halloween festivities!
Enjoy the photos! Enjoy the blog! I think I am off to the Chateau de Chambord tomorrow!
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