Leapfrog

I had my first real planning breakdown my third day in Paris- I was going to go to two museums, Musée d’Orsay and Musée Rodin, but I completely forgot that it was a Monday, and that almost all museums are closed on Mondays. Whoops. So I decided to walk towards a large glass building in the distance which turned out to be the Grand Palais, and they are open on Mondays. There was an odd exhibition going on, and it was entirely in French, so I was a little lost as my French vocabulary is really limited to the everyday basics, and this exhibit was some sort of puzzle/ matching game that provided a common element through seemingly unrelated works. It’s called Carambolage, which I was told translates to billiards. That turned out not to be the case, Carambolage is a term used in the game, but I am grateful to the patient frenchwoman I asked for her answer.

I then walked along The Avenue des Champs-Élysées for awhile before heading for The Seine towards the Eiffel Tower. Visiting that famous monument wasn’t on my list but it was easily visible from my starting position and I need a strong visual guide in order not to get lost. I’m very good at getting lost. Yes, going to see the Eiffel Tower is a completely oversold tourist activity, but it was amusing to watch all the tourist from different countries and speaking different languages taking the same photo with their arms raised, fingers pointed down ready to squish the very top of the impressive tower. I didn’t opt to walk up the, I’m assuming, 5 million stairs but the weather was very pleasant and I had a nice walk through the park, so I count the experience as a success.

I caught the metro by the Eiffel Tower and headed back to my friend’s apartment. I spent the afternoon walking around in her neighborhood with my camera, trying to see something new, but I got the feeling that I’ve gotten a lot so far in Paris– that this place has been bled dry by many generations of amazing artists. I’m looking forward to coming back to the city, if only just to visit all of the museums I missed out on, but right now, I’m not worried about leaving it.

My last morning in Paris was spent doing errands and playing cello. It was wonderful. I woke up, went to the bakery, went to the Monoprix, and then walked the 7 minute trip from where I was staying to the luthier’s shop. He handed me a french cello with a fresh and open tone and just let me hang out in his studio for a little while and noodle around. It felt amazing to play again, even if it wasn’t my instrument and I didn’t have any music. Then I headed back to the apartment, packed up, and took the metro (which I really mastered– I am very proud) to Paris L’Est, Paris Nord’s pretty little sister. I hopped on the train to Strasbourg, and here I am, ready to explore a new city.

I arrived in Paris in the early afternoon after my lovely morning in Brussels and made my way to a friend’s apartment whose couch I would be crashing on. The journey from Paris Nord to Villiers was fairly smooth, the Paris metro is not the best introduction to this beautiful city, but it was a nice slice of reality. I spent the afternoon wandering around her lovely neighborhood, the 17eme, and staking out bakeries for breakfast.

I spent all of my second day at The Louvre, which was incredibly easy. That museum is a whole world, and I definitely got lost in it, metaphorically and in the sense that I needed to ask for directions several times.

After sleeping in and I headed back into the metro and headed for the Palais Royal stop. I’m still under 18, so my admission to almost all museums is free. I spent 6 hours in The Louvre and I did not see close to everything, but I had the luxury of going at my own pace and being virtually alone. I highly recommend museum visits in Christian countries on Sundays!

Leaving Amsterdam was very smooth and not very difficult, I had really gotten a sense of the city and was ready to move on. I just woke up, walked to the Central Station and hopped on my train. The train ride was lovely, I saw amazingly bright yellow daffodil farms and the Antwerpen skyline.

Hello Brussels! I had a little bit of a mix-up on the train and I went to Brussels-Midi instead of Brussels-Central. I walked around a little bit outside of Midi, but the lack of other women walking around made me uncomfortable so I headed back inside and caught the train to Central. I spent some time exploring that area and then made my way back underground to catch the metro to Isabelle’s place. I had dinner with her and her family and then went to bed a little bit early to prepare for my one whole day in Brussels.

I spent my whole day in Brussels in museums. I started in the Coudenberg, a lovely museum that was once a palace and is now an archeological site and ruins that visitors can explore. I was alone there and the acoustics were fantastic so I spent some time just making funny noises and waiting for them to bounce back. I then walked over to The Musical Instrument Museum, which was fascinating. The had traditional instruments from all over the world and you could listen to samples of them being played you could dial on the little device pictured above. I particularly liked looking at and listening to the bass viols and the violas de gambas, as they are my cello’s great-grandparents. From there I entered the intimidating and underground complex that is The Fin-de-Siecle Museum, The Old Masters Museum, The Modern Art Museum, and The Magritte Museum. These museums were great, especially because they were also totally empty. It was a little creepy underground and alone, but the art was great and it was nice to be able to sketch and write in peace.

I also walked through The Galeries Royales, which was pretty but also seemed overly wealthy and touristy. I liked the rainbow gloves though.

After the exploring I took the metro back to Isabelle’s for dinner. I took a little bit of a detour and wandered around my gracious host’s neighborhood, there is a beautiful park nearby, with this giant gate.

I woke up the next morning and went to the market and bakery with Isabelle and Anouk before taking the tram to the station and getting on the train to Paris.