Summer break is always the perfect time to experience something new. However, I wasn’t in the market for shopping for new experiences but rather continue with the things I was used that. That would be chilling on some beach with my friends, looking good, and meeting new people all summer long. However, my parents had other plans for how I would spend my summer: in Paris, France! I was totally psyched to go until I saw my mom’s schedule for the trip. Museums, gardens, some playbill? Ugh. Talk about an expensive field trip. Not only were that but my parents taking my older sister, Nikki, along too. Double bummer. The beginning of the trip was very hectic, like clothes laying everywhere and the constant “Did I leave the stove on” checking. It was like the scene out of Home Alone, but instead of forgetting a child, we forgot some of our luggage. It was only by the stroke of luck that my mom was looking for something out of one of her bags that we realized that the other bags were still at the house. My dad made a U-turn and sped back to our home, picked up the bags, and sped to the airport. I believe Lady Luck was on our side that morning because we made it with ten minutes to spare and didn’t run into any police officers on the drive there. Going through the TSA was just as eventful because Nikki had left a liquid bottle, a hair product, in her bag and she was screened for the full body check. Looking back, it was actually kind of funny seeing her upset as she’s patted down by two TSA agents. It’s usually me who draws the short end of the stick when it comes to things like that. Thankfully, boarding the airplane didn’t include any surprises and we were able to get fully situated in the coach class without any mishaps. My parents sat two rows ahead of me, while Nikki was a row and a few seats behind me. I was kind of bummed of not having her sit next to me because I would have liked to have someone to talk to for the length of the ride. I looked back there to see what she was doing, and she already had her earphones in her ears and was swiping away on her MP3 player. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned around to see that a woman was trying to get my attention. She had a golden-brown tan, black hair with a streak of red highlights, wore a black-and-white stripped tank top and blue jean shorts. “Pardonne-moi miss, but would you mind letting me to my seat?” I was shocked to hear that the woman spoke with a thick French accent because from her looks I assumed she was from southern California. I stood up to let her by and took a quick glance to see what my parents were doing. My dad was staring out the window while my mom had a brochure spread out in front of her. “What part of France are you from,” I asked the lady as we both took our seat. “Originally Marseille, but I live in Grenoble now.” “Are those places closed to Paris?” The woman let out a laugh and looked at me. “Is this our first time to France? Many Americans make Paris their first chose, but there are so many other wonderful places to see.” The stewardesses were coming out and telling people about the safety procedures, but I was only half-listening to them. I was more intrigued by what the woman had to say about France. Maybe she would know where all the cool places were to visit. “Yeah, my parents decided. I wanted to go to some place likeI don’t know. France just seems to artsy for me.” The woman laughed again and the plane began to rumble as it was taking off. “I would be happy to tell you about other place in France. That way you won’t get stuck in those places. Je m'appelle Carmen. Et-tu?” The basic French I had taken in middle-school was finally paying off because I understood her! “Je m'appelle (INSERT NAME).” The plane had started to rumble as it was beginning to take off and out conversation was put on hold. Gripping the arm rest of my chair tightly, I closed my eyes until the initial takeoff was over. I never like how the plane shook and made noise, it always made me think of it crashing down if the takeoff failed. The shaking lasted about ten minutes before it finally settled into a smooth plane ride. I looked behind me to see if Nikki was shook up too but she was looking down at her phone. “Rough takeoff, non?” “Yeah, can you tell me more about France though” I asked Nikki. Over the course of the flight, she told me places that my family and I should especially visit plus some food we should try. I was kind of put off by the places because they didn’t sound like something people my age would visit but I told her I would give them a try. We talked for hours before I got tired and ended up falling asleep. By the time I had woken up, we were just a few minutes outside of landing in the Paris airport. As the plane came to a complete stop on the landing strip, everyone stood up to stretch and get the crooks out of their bodies including me. “It was a pleasure meeting you, bon voyage (INSERT NAME). Remember the places I told you about,” Carmen said as she walked past me. I grabbed my things and waited outside in the terminal for my parents and Nikki to catch up. “Bone-juria Pair-we,” I heard my Dad try to say as he and my mom stepped off the plane. “It’s bonjour Dad. The French would kick you out the country if they herd you butcher their language like that again,” Nikki corrected him as she lugged her luggage behind her. “(INSRET NAME), you’re our little translator. Let’s get situated at the hotel then visit the first place on the brochure,” my mom stated as she ushered everyone out of the terminal together. “Hey, I was talking to this lady on the plane and she’s from France. She told me a few choice places to check out while we’re here.” “Oh that’s very nice,” my mom exclaimed as we gathered into a taxi. “Well let’s see your places after we get settled into the hotel. How does that sound?” “Jusqu'où,” the taxi driver asked us. Before I could answer, Nikki spoke in flawless French to the driver. “Au Louvre Hôtel Lumen Paris s'il vous plait.” “Oui, madame.” “Louvre? Isn’t that by some museum,” I asked. The taxi got to the hotel and thankfully, all the desk workers spoke English. We were checked-in in no time and in our room laid out on the furniture. “How about some fuel before we go sightseeing huh? I see that this hotel has a restaurant in it,” my dad said. The restaurant was on the first floor of the hotel and was pretty empty. We were seated at our tables and picking out what to order on the menu. I didn’t see anything I liked, or recognized, and was put off by the menu. Before I was about to pass on ordering anything, I remember that Carmen had suggested that I try the fish soup. “The soupe de poisson is very good. You eat it with toast and a spicy spread for the toast. You should try it if you get the chance, I know you’ll like it.” I was skeptical about the soup, but I ordered it anyway to give it a try. The only time I ate fish was when it was either baked or fried and even then it was on rare occasions. The dad ordered the equivalent to whatever a hamburger was, my mom a steak and fries, and Nikki ordered a fried sandwich that had an egg cooked on the bread with fries. When our food arrived to the table, I instantly regretted my decision when I saw the orange soup laid out before me. Everyone else around me was enjoying their food so, I took a spoonful of the soup and tasted it. Surprisingly, it was good and had a very smooth taste. Before I had knew it, I had finished my food before anyone else. “To the museum,” my dad exclaimed as he paid for our meals and was heading out. “The brochure says the museum is not that far from here since the hotel is named after it.” “What does the brochure say what’s in it,” I asked my mom. “The museum has a collection of over one million works of art, of which about 35,000 are on display, spread out over three wings of the former palace. The museum has a diverse collection ranging from the Antiquity up to the mid-nineteenth century,” (A View on Cities). Ugh, I thought, just what I wanted to do on my first day in Paris. Learn about art. We got to the museum within five minutes and paid the entry fee. It was packed full of people! We took a tour guide around the museum and I saw a few statues and paintings that I really liked. I was shocked to see the statue of Venus de Milo within the museum. I had only thought I would be resigned to seeing it in art books and never up-close. I pushed and shoved my way up closer to it so I could see it better. It was even better than I had imagined. The tour continued on and I saw many paintings of Greek and Latin heritage. The tour ended in the Italian Renaissance room where it was the most packed. “At the far end of this room, you’ll see why so many people are in here,” the tour guide stated. When we got our chance to get close, we were all surprised to see Mona Lisa smiling back at us. Never in my life would I have imagined myself coming face-to-face with Leonardo da Vinci’s famous muse. “I bet she’s smiling because she knew she’d be famous,” Nikki commented. “That’s the smile of a woman who knew she was going to be a star.” We were lead out as another tour was being taken in to enjoy the painting. “Can we go to the gardens next,” I asked my mom. “A garden? What’s special about that, “my dad said. “Well the brochure states that the gardens are right across from us. Also The Carrousel and Tuileries Gardens are veritable open-air sculpture museums: 20 sculptures by Aristide Maillol are on view in the Carrousel Garden, and, in the Tuileries, visitors may admire over 200 exceptional statues and vases, dating from the 17th to the 21st century” (Louvre Lens). My mom was right about it being close to us because right when we stepped out the Louvre Museum, we could see the Tuileries Gardens in front of us. It was a beautiful garden full of flowers and statues that I had never seen before. Each statue pedestal had flowers arranged around them to make it seem like the statues were growing out of the ground. We walked around in silencing enjoying the view and pointing out specific statues that we liked an wishing that we would pick some flowers and take them home with us.
Overall, my family and I really enjoyed our trip to France. I got to experience some things that I would have never guessed that I would enjoy such as the beautiful Milo de Venus and mysterious Mona Lisa. The Tuileries Gardens were filled with the most gorgeous flowers and statues to match. Finally, the tangy and spiciness of the fish soup will always be in my memory. My only regret was not being able to bring home more than two boxes of macaroons. Thanks to Carmen’s advice, I did things that were out of my comfort zone and learned a bit more about myself as well as a new culture. I gave up trying to find places that would be “cool” to visit and learned to enjoy my time in a new culture. Sometimes things may seem boring an unappealing, but if you are willing to give them a try then you’ll be surprised how many things you can enough when you step outside of what you’re familiar with.
Works Cited:
"Louvre, Paris." A View On Cities. A View On Cities. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/louvre.htm>.
"Collections & Departments The Tuileries and Carrousel Gardens." The Tuileries and Carrousel Gardens. Louvre Lens. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.louvre.fr/en/departments/tuileries-and-carrousel-gardens>.
