Wandering the gardens at Versaille, I found that my favorite area was the Grove of Enceladus, a clearing in the trees surrounded by arched trellises and smaller fountains carved to look organic and almost fluid. The centerpiece of the space is the fountain that depicts Enceladus sinking into the ground. Made of lead and created… Continue reading The Giant in the Grove

Since I got to Paris several weeks before the start of the program, I have some experience with some of Paris’ public transit. When going from CDG to my mother’s cousins apartment near the Champs-de-Mars, the RER B stop at Charles De Gaulles was in Terminal 2. One thing I noticed on the RER C …

Continue reading “Observations About Paris’ Public Transit (RER C & M6)”

While in the Latin Quarter this week, I noticed a lot of tiny pixelated art work on the buildings and wondered why they were there. I did some research and found that most of them were created by a street artist called Invader, who mostly works within the Latin Quarter. The author of the article …

Continue reading “Paris Blog – Week 1 Pt. 1 (Street Art Around France and Belgium)”

My first week across the pond is complete! Although there was a bit of a rough start (nearly fainting in my first 15 minutes here, sweating enough to fill a bucket, experiencing exhaustion, and lacking a fan, for example), I’m starting to feel like I’m getting the hang of things. Studying abroad is always somethingContinue reading “Saturday, July 5”

Starting the trip strong, the first three days included some of the best museums I have ever been to. The Louvre and the Musée de Cluny both showcase the long history of Paris, with a wealth of centuries-old art and architecture. Despite being “out of the timeline,” I found the trip to be a great … Continue reading “Musée de Cluny: The Art of Inspiration”

As someone whose focus in HISP was museum studies and who plans to work in museums one day, my goal in Paris is to visit as many museums as I can over the next month and document them here. This will likely turn into something for my final class project, but I’m not sure what […]

I did a lot yesterday: orientation, shopping for a fan, getting a fancy Citronade at a Cafe, walking around with the class and finally (and what I’m going to write about) visiting the Louvre in the evening. My professor offered to show those of us who were interested the original walls of the building when…

Hi, I’m Rebecca Settlemyer, and after a rough start to this trip I feel like I am settling in pretty…

I wrote this first part about 24 hours ago now while desperately hoping I’d be able to fall asleep on the plane. My name is Laurie Zdenek and I’m writing at 2 am ET on the plane that is taking me to Paris. The cabin is dark and most people around me sleep (I’m jealous).…