City of Lights

Out of a 100 plus people sleeping at this hostel, I am positive that I was the first to wash up, dress, and head out. No alarm, but mind was just ready to explore Paris. 

At the northern most side of the city, I decided to walk through to the south central part to my first destination of the Paris Catacombs. Leaving before the sunrise, I watched the long shadows form across buildings and people. The prevalence of this city in popular culture understandably dominates the minds of millions who never been there. From Hollywood movies to Facebook pictures of the Lourve to the little Eiffel Tower statuette in the living room of a hopeful soccer mom, the word "Paris" carries a mythlike ethos. 

   With the golden morning rays continuing to bask the Parisian cityscape, I felt the fog of modern fables and imagination melting away.

Thousands of neatly organized bones lined the claustrophobia-inducing corridors. My travelling pace somehow allowed me to walk alone through the silence and passageways of the catacomb. I thought I would think about human mortality, but I was more curious on the construction, collection, and care of the catacombs.

Travelling around Paris for me wasn't all about the destinations. I walked through the touristless alleys, next to local cafes, into the cigarette smoke of old men, high fived an afternoon drunk, tripped over cobblestone, and took in the beautiful Paris architectures. 

 Paris Pantheon

Heading towards Notre Dame

Paris has unique powers in its dominating imagery in my mind. The names and the general appearance of buildings come easily to mind when I see them on the map or looming in the distance. I've studied them. Both inadvertently through popular American culture or formally in a classroom. But the pictures in magazines or descriptions of the building style in an art history text book can never give the experience. 

By experience, in the context of Notre Dame, I mean the feelings of awe that wash over you as you first walk into its grandness. The sudden understanding and connection to the people who lived hundreds of years ago. The experience of knowing that they felt the same wonder as they walked under the same flying buttresses and into the same colored spotlights from the stain glass windows. There's a limit to how much learning about a subject or location can reveal. Though I could describe the columns used in the cathedral or the era of French Gothic style, I could not and still cannot describe completely the experience of entering the doors and viewing the interior.

Small fountains and statuettes spot the city. 

I spent a few hours at Musee d'Orsay. Absolutely incredible to learn from looking at the original paintings of Monet, Cezanne, Pizarro, Gauguin, and others. From flashcards for exams to standing in front of the brushwork, I'm fortunate to always be student of art and learning. 

The special exhibition on display was "Van Gogh the Man Suicided by Society"
Special exhibition provides a new perspective on Van Gogh's publicly described"madness". The exhibit examines his works and self portraits in context with letters and sketches of Van Gohn's. The artist was cognizant of the public their burdening negative perception of mental illnesses. The exhibitions puts an argument forward that it is the public that eventually pushing him to suicide. The discussion slights towards post-moderism as mental illness still carries a stigma.

Gardens of Luxembourg

I sat right in front of the Eiffel Tower for a couple of hours to rest as well as wait for the sun to go down. I took a nap, wrote, and watched legions of tourists pass by.

When it came close to sunrise, I joined the crowds and long lines. Admittedly, I was hesitent on going up to the observation tower. Seemed too touristy. What's the big deal. I made the last minute decision to go up.

I was crammed into the tight crowds and treated it a little grumpier than normal since I wasn't too enthusiastic about it anyways. When I reached the top, sun setting sky rapidly changing colors, streetlights turn on, I realized something. This is amazing. The beautiful sight wasn't what I realized was amazing. It was that I'm 21. I'm in Paris. I'm in the Eiffel Tower overlooking the glowing city. I graduated college. I'm starting medical school in a couple months. I'm circumventing the world. My family and friends are supportive. I'm finding out the hobbies I enjoy and the subjects I love to learn. I'm thankful for everything.

I realized that I will be carrying these memories with me for the rest of my life. "When I just turned 21, I travelled the world."