To the City of Love

By Danielle Silas
Our day trip to Paris began early Sunday morning. After eating breakfast, the group headed out towards the train station where we gathered our tickets, and to our surprise, Sabine had managed to upgrade our seats to first-class (at no extra charge!). We departed the station around 8:40 A.M. and began the hour long ride to the City of Love.

We arrived at the Parisian train station approximately 10:00 A.M. and caught the subways to the Champs-Elysées Quarter. As soon as we ascended the steps out of the metro station, the Grand Arc de Triomphe stood before us. This striking monument, built by Napoleon in 1806, stands 164 ft. tall. Through engravings which are marked on every façade of the structure, the Arc de Triomphe commemorates heroic French battle victories. After view the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a shrine to a WWI victim in the center of the arch, we climbed to the top of the arch. The climb (which Dr. Karp counted as 195 steps), has everyone breathless by the time we reached the top, but the long climb was well worth the exertion. The panoramic view of Paris was magnificent, even despite the lingering fog. From one direction, we could see the Eiffel Tower off in the distance, while from other directions we could see several important and historical buildings. After viewing the Parisian skyline, we descended the steps and headed towards the subway.

We rode the subway to the Ile de la Cité, and situated n the middle of the city was the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Although we were not able to tour the inside of the cathedral due to time constraints and a very, very long line, we were able to take picture and admire the amazing craftsmanship of the gothic style church. Build in 1334, the entrance of the Cathedral was elaborately detailed with Biblical scenes, above which were the symbolic towers upon which the famous gargoyles perched.

We continued our trek through the city, stopping momentarily to get coffee in a Parisian café. After winding through the city streets, we found our way to the Musée du Louvre, which is the world’s largest museum. Though the massive building was once a royal palace, today it is home to famous artwork like the Glass Pyramid, which is visible from the outside, in addition to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. We were unable to tour the huge museum due in part to its sheer size, but also due to time constraints, but we did take a leisurely stroll thought the museum’s gardens.

The visit to Paris, brief as it was, was a great experience. Personally, it was inspiring to be in a city full of such a rich and vibrant history. Around every corner, there was evidence of this grand and cultured society, from the numerous monuments and striking statues to the grand architectural structures scattered around the city. The trip was most effective in expressing the timeless quality of Paris, which is an understanding that I believe that we all gained from our experiences. The trip, while brief, was memorable and impressive enough, that I believe many of us (if not all), hope to return and to more fully experience as much as the city has to offer.