Impressionism in Paris

This past weekend was my last trip abroad. I was back in Paris but with my Impressionism in Paris class this time. We arrived late Thursday night in the Saint-Germain district in the Latin Quarter. It was the perfect location with some very cool places and delicious restaurants around us. 

Versailles

Friday morning we were up early, ate French baguettes with jam and coffee for breakfast before walking to our bus tour of the city. Our guide was great and very informative. We even made a few stops to jump off and do a little exploring.

Versailles

Our bus tour concluded at Versailles. We then had a guided tour of the palace and grounds. My roommate, Hannah, and I had coincidentally just watch "Marie Antoinette" the week before so it was all very appropriate. It's a great movie and being able to see the lavish luxury these people actually lived in was incredible. My favorite room in the palace was Marie Antoinette's seen below.

Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

The grounds were converted into a palace by Louis XIV when he moved in the mid 1600s. It was originally the hunting lodge of his grandfather. Louis XIV had become so afraid of his own people rioting that he felt he needed to leave the city of Paris and rule from twenty miles out. This in part led to the French revolution a century later. Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette of Austria when she was just fifteen years old. She and her husband ascended to the throne just four years later with the death of King Louis XV. The French people were initially charmed by her beauty and spunk but eventually came to dislike her with her incessant expensive partying, gambling and promiscuity at Versailles. Her husband meanwhile spent endless tax dollars supporting the American Revolution. The French people were starving and discontent which led to revolution in 1792. Both she and the king were imprisoned and executed. Their young son was imprisoned and brutally tortured for years before dying in the cell. The daughter returned to Austria in a prisoner exchange and died childless thus ending the French royal line.

The gardens at Versailles

That night in Paris a few friends and I went out for drinks and then dinner. I decided to be brave and ordered escargot! I was a little nervous but it was delicious. Incredible actually! We had French bread and I also ordered a salad with duck. The food was so good. Afterwards we went to a bar across from the hotel and ran into a few Danes, which was quite a surprise in Paris! We felt we could relate being from Denmark ourselves. 

Saturday morning we went to Musee de L'Orangerie and saw Monet's Water Lily paintings, which were displayed in two white oval rooms. It was a pretty moving experience so see those in person. 

Afterwards we crossed the bridge to the Musee D'Orsay where we had a guided tour of the museum. I love Impressionist painting and could not believe I was seeing all the pieces I had only seen in magazines and art history slides for years before. My favorites were those of Monet and Degas.

We had free time the rest of the afternoon and figured it was only appropriate that we head to the original Longchamp in Paris.

We gained admission to the Opera House next and then popped in the Galeries Lafayette, Paris's major shopping gallery.

Galleries Lafayette

The Opera House

Our day concluded with a dinner cruise on the Seine River with our class. The tour ended under the Eiffel Tower when it was all lit up and sparkling. So beautiful!

Beef with foie gras

Sunday morning our professor led us over to Notre Dame where we attended the morning Mass. I have been to mass in Rome, Barcelona and now France. Each has taken place in churches centuries old with enormous history. They are so beautiful and offer such moving experiences. The music, stained glass windows and open space is amazing and all contribute to the magic.

My friends and I then went on a walking tour through the old Jewish district, Marais. Our weekend in Paris concluded with our class at Le Pub Saint-Germain, where we were given five different plates of dessert.

The Tuileries at the Louvre

I'm now back in Copenhagen and enjoying every last second of my last week here! I cannot believe how fast it has gone by!!