It’s been a packed week, and I definitely have not been getting enough sleep – but who cares, I’ll sleep in the U.S.
On Tuesday, I was feeling pretty homesick so I decided to go on a walk to the Arc de Triomphe. This sounds weird, but whenever I’m missing home, I actually love going to touristy places because it gives me some perspective. Paris is a dream destination for so many people, and I’ve had the privilege to live here for almost two months.
On Wednesday, I visited Bois de Vincennes, which is a HUGE park on the outskirts of Paris. My friends and I had a picnic while we made some plans for our last week together in Paris. I will have one more week here because my mom is coming to visit and we decided to spend some extra time in Paris after the program ended so I wouldn’t have to worry about going to work.
On Thursday, I got to fulfill a dream of almost six years – I went to the Moulin Rouge! I have wanted to visit it ever since I watched the Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman movie in 2019 and completely fell in love with it. It has been one of my favorite movies ever since; it speaks to my romantic, musical-loving soul. Speaking of, I got to see Moulin Rouge the musical in 2023, the last time I visited New York City. So after seeing the film and the musical and absolutely adoring both, I’ve been eager to visit the actual club itself. My desire to visit only got stronger as I got more into art history. Henri de Toulouse Lautrec is one of my favorite artists of all time, if not the favorite, and he coincidentally did lots of advertisements for the Moulin Rouge as he was a frequent visitor.
In August 2023, I went on a tour through Europe with my brothers and my dad. It was a great experience, but the thing about tours is that you don’t get much time with each city you pass through. I absolutely loved the time I spent in Paris, but it was only two days. On our last night there, we went to Montmartre (the neighborhood where the Moulin Rouge is, and my favorite neighborhood in all of Paris). I had wanted so badly to go in, but due to a lack of time and tickets, it just wasn’t possible. That night, I swore to myself that I would study abroad one day and come back to Paris so I could go to the Moulin Rouge.
The show was absolutely amazing. You’re not allowed to have your camera out while the performers are on stage, so I don’t have any pictures to show, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. My favorite act was the contortionist – I have never seen anyone do anything like that. My mouth was open for her entire act.
On Friday, I visited the Musée Delacroix, located in the last studio Eugène Delacroix worked in before his death. It was cool, but very tiny – only three rooms. I will say the gardens were absolutely beautiful though.
On Saturday, Chloe and I visited La Maison de Victor Hugo, as we are both huge fans of Les Miserables. The museum is free and I would definitely recommend going if you happen to be at the Marais. Afterwards, I went to the Louvre for the third time, once again visiting the Italian and French painting wing. I should definitely explore more, and I know I’m going back at least one more time because I have to show my mom around! I also met up with my friend from Pitt, who is doing the program in Dublin. We got to eat delicious steak frites at a restaurant only 5 minutes from my apartment (had no idea it was even there) and go to the Bal de Pompiers, an all night party hosted at fire stations to celebrate Bastille Day.
On Sunday, we went to Parc Astérix, an amusement park east of Paris. It was a lot of fun and had some unexpectedly intense rollercoasters. The only amusement park I have ever been to is Kennywood, so maybe I’m used to their very old coasters, but even the wooden ones at Parc Astérix were super intense. I usually don’t consider myself very brave when it comes to theme park rides, but after riding the Toutatis (the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in France), maybe I’m ready to conquer the Steel Curtain – if it’s ever open again.
Yesterday was Bastille Day, or le 14 juillet en français. My friends and I camped out at Champs de Mar (the park where you can get a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower) for 7 hours (!!!) in order to secure a spot for the fireworks. It was a challenging day, but the fireworks made it all worth it.
Now to address this week’s prompt. I bet you guys will miss these smooth transitions.
How does my internship define success? Well, it’s hard to compare to any of my previous jobs because the only metrics of success were “were customers satisfied with their food?” and “did you leave the kitchen clean?” I would say at my internship, my boss is typically happy if you have made at least some progress every day, but there’s typically not pressure to get things done as soon as possible. As long as you can demonstrate that you have made progress on your goals, you have done well. Or at least that’s what I’ve experienced in my internship so far, but I also think that my metrics for success might be especially different at my internship because my supervisor is so hands-off.
I’ll see everyone next week for my final entry. À plus!