Paris!
As they said in the movie Casablanca, “We’ll always have Paris.”
I arrived in Paris’ du Nord train station mid-afternoon on Friday. The sun was shining, the temperature was mild and every single person was friendly. I swear, I think the universe knew Dean Gregory Rodgers was due in Paris that very weekend and made everything come together for this very quintessential European city.
Everyone was friendly, stylish and just so… so… “French.” Old men in J. Crew sweaters riding bicycles, women in sun dresses carrying a bouquet of flowers through the street. Does this really happen on a day-to-day here in Paris?
I was only in Paris for three days, but I made the most of it. I stayed with friends Fabrice and Kevin and their apartment was a stone’s throw away from Pere Lachaise – the cemetery where Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison (and many others) are buried. It really is a gorgeous cemetery to stroll through and enjoy. I recommend it for any Paris-goer.
And here she is!
I went to Louvre, saw Mona, Venus de Milo and enjoyed the rest of the Renaissance wing. Okay… please sit back and hear my diatribe on the Louvre. The museum truly is breathtaking! The glass pyramid, the history of the building itself and the countless, countless works of art in the museum truly are mind-blowing. To reveal my ignorance, I had no idea how large the Louvre actually is. Someone said if you stand for one second in front of each piece of art in the museum, you would be there for over a week. Whether it’s true or false, I’m not really sure, but there really is so much to see.
So of course I enter and what do I want to look at first… The Mona Lisa! How could I not, right? It’s like flying to Rome and saying, “I’ll skip the espresso and just have a Starbucks.” I enter the Museum and head straight for the wing. Basically, just follow the massive crowds, tour groups, little children and 50 languages you’re overhearing. Overwhelmed, party of one please!
It takes about 20 minutes just to get the wing, which holds the hall,  which holds the room, which holds what the modern world deems as the most famous painting. As I walk through the wing, it sounds cheesy, but I’m kind of nervous for myself. I don’t know why, but I’m thrilled and excited, sort of the feeling you have on a first date or right before you take an important test or something. I’ve seen replicas of the masterpiece for two and half decades – in school, college, on TV – and here I am a few moments away from witnessing the REAL THING.
I turn the corner into the room of the Mona Lisa and BAM!!! Lights, camera, flashes, crowds of people, INSANITY!!! Are Brad and Angelina here I said to myself? What is going on!? I knew it was going to be crazy, but wow, it was crazy! I elbow some German tourists, I skirt around some families and manage my way through the crowd. Hey, I’ve been waiting my entire life to enter the Louvre, I am NOT getting a back seat. Seriously, I was sweating, it was hot, and I was exhausted. And here SHE was, there the whole time watching over us. Laughing at me, laughing at all of us. Wouldn’t that be funny if that was the joke of the Mona Lisa? “La Joconde” as the French call it. Translating to “the Joke” or “Joker” of course referring to her smile and the world-famous riddle of what she is laughing at.
To wrap this up, the painting was gorgeous. I knew what to expect, but it was much prettier than the replicas. It was more blue, serene, more calming than I thought it would appear. It was not as rusty or yellow as some duplicates make it out to be. I know this may sound ironic, but it was larger than I expected. People kept telling me how small it was going to be and how tiny the real painting was, that once I finally saw the real thing, I was well, pleasantly surprised!
And of course, since everyone was taking a photo, I had to take one. But of course I much more classy than everyone else for I turned my flash off! đ I respect the world of art!!
The Dean's List 