C'est Comme Ça

Today was my last day of my trip, and it was such a beautiful day! I'm so glad I got the chance to come to New York before I came home. The gloomy Parisian weather followed me to New York and today was just the kind of last day I needed...
I woke up early to go grab a bagel and coffee at this wonderful place called Bergen's Bagels in Brooklyn. Then of course I had to grab a bunch to take home! After breakfast on the go, it was time to head to Coney Island. Today just happened to be the Annual Sandcastle Sculpture Contest which was beyond crazy. Some of the older guys must have been building these sculptures for a long time because they were real works of art. There were several castles, a couple of turtles, mermaids. After a few days of rain that has been following me around, it was incredibly sunny and so warm today and it felt amazing to walk along the beach with the sun beating down on my face. As the day was starting to get to the hottest part of the day, it was time to move on from Coney Island and see Chinatown! Here I tried some kind of Asian pancakes and dumplings for the first time. I had never been to a Chinatown anywhere so it was really interesting to see. About a block from Chinatown was Little Italy which wasn't as big as Chinatown. Nevertheless, the sudden culture change in the span of a block was drastic and caught me off guard. It went from never ending Asian restaurants and markets to cafés and guidos.  Much of today was spent walking, eating, and putting endless amounts of sunscreen on. It was a wonderful way to end this phenomenal trip, I couldn't have asked for anything better!
I cannot believe that I will be waking up in a few short hours to go home. To be honest, I've been gone so long I don't quite know what to think of it. Living out of my suitcase for the last two months has become kind of comforting. Not knowing what's going to happen to the day is quite exhilarating. Seeing my friends will be such a relief but I don't really want to stop traveling. Transitioning back into America has been exhausting, especially emotionally. This last week in New York has made me take notice how much I've really changed in this short amount of time. This entire experience has given me the clearest view of my future. As nice as New York has been, it's been nothing compared to Paris. I really wish I could go back. I don't know what to expect when I get home, but no matter what happens, I'll always have this time to look back on and remember fondly.

To everyone I met, everyone who pushed me, everyone who helped me during this trip, everyone in slight passing, I could not thank you enough. Thank you to everyone who has listened to my long rants, long emails, to everyone who supported me until the very end of this trip. I could not have done it without you. Most of all, thank you Mom. If it weren't for you and your support, I could not have done this. Your words kept my spirits up and kept me going this entire time. Without you I wouldn't have had this experience to remember.

To everyone, thank you :) I'll be seeing you.
- Tyann

"Now I know that rose trees never grow, in New York City" - Elton John

I once heard somewhere that, "the art of travel is to deviate from one's plans."
In my initial plan, I was supposed to stay in Paris until July 19th but at some point in the middle of my trip in Paris, I felt the need to stop in New York on my way home. I've been here only a few hours and I already feel jet lagged and high on coffee. After I get off the plane a very nice cab driver told me that the hotel I was planning on staying in Brooklyn was in the ghetto of ghettos. So he helped me find the YMCA hostel in Midtown Manhattan, which I think is a much better place than what I had originally planned. I'm right across the street from Central Park, ten minutes away from Times Square, and loving every minute of it. Even though I've only been here a short time thus far, the reverse culture shock is starting to kick in full gear.
First of all, it's really weird to be in an elevator and the person is asking me about my day. People are smiling and it's super bizarre. But the one thing that is really starting to stick out is how Americans act. We carry ourselves in such a different way than the French do. In the way that we dress, talk, even standing is totally different. No one really wears UGGs or sweatpants in France, and everyone who has glasses has Ray-Bans, even the little ones. Everyone dresses nicely and I've come to notice how loud Americans really are.
My first day back in America, I decided I needed a bagel and some hot coffee. Of course there's a heat wave, 80 degrees by 9 AM and I cannot resist a nice hot cup of coffee. It may not be anything like France but it was sure delicious. It is incredibly hot but...finally! Sun, heat, no thunderstorms coming out of left field. I am taking in this heat wave with the biggest smile on my face. After this wonderful breakfast and catching up on some reading, I decide I need to do a little wandering. And where do I end up but smack dab right in the middle of Times Square! Naturally I had to do some shopping. I go into the stores and there's someone to greet you and ask you how your day is. They'll say, "Hey, how you doin'?" Once all of my shopping had been fulfilled, I thought it might be a good idea to check out Central Park. I have to admit, it's not as beautiful as the Luxembourg Gardens I was used to for two months but still pretty awesome anyway. There I pretty much wandered, watched a couple of baseball games with the faint smell of dirty water hot dogs in the air. So much wandering, so many new things to see, I can't wait to do even more exploring.
Probably the most American thing I've done in two months....

Paris Je t'aime

I could not have asked for a better night to end my time in the beautiful city that is Paris.
A couple of friends and I first grabbed some crêpes from a vendor by the Seine and then walked down and sat with the hobos at Pont Neuf. There is nothing like sitting and watching the sunset along the river with some good food and good company, reminiscing our previous night celebrating the Bastille at a party at a fire department. After hanging out at the river it started to get a little chilly, and I said that for my last night I want to go walk around the Eiffel Tower and see it in all its ravishing, sparkling beauty. We get off the métro and I notice that we happened to walk by a café called Café du Trocadéro which was in the opening sequence of Midnight in Paris. A friend so graciously offered to buy some hot chocolate as a treat so we were able to sit and enjoy some amazing hot chocolate while watching the Eiffel Tower glitter. Then we start walking toward it, and the overwhelming feeling that this is my last night in Paris started to sink in.
It won’t be the last time I’m here, but Paris has become my new home these last two months. I’ve become accustomed to the culture and the crazy life that comes with living here. Everything in Paris changes on a dime like the weather, or even the simple plans of the day. For my last night I wanted to go back to Dining With Strangers but at the last minute I decided I wanted to eat dinner along the river with some good friends instead. This experience has shown me that the day can always turn out even better than planned and that nothing is ever set in stone. When I woke up this morning, I had no idea I would be having hot chocolate with an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower, and how perfect it was. Not just tonight, the whole trip was kind of perfect. I’ve met such incredible people along with sharing beyond wonderful memories with them.
I wish my time here didn’t have to come to an end now. I know I’ll be back, and as much as I miss you Mom and all of my friends so dearly, I wish I wasn’t coming home. I can’t wait to cuddle with Stormy for a week when I get home though! That might be the only thing that would make going home tolerable.
As for this next week, I’ll be going to New York to enjoy some bagels and coffee. COFFEE. It will be so nice to wake up to coffee every morning. I’ll still update this stupid blog about my transition but I won’t be able to post many photos because my camera might have broken my fall the other night...sorry Mom! It’s going to be so weird having a phone, having internet, hearing English, using real plug ins, and having all the water I could ask for. Even as happy as I’ve been in Paris, I’m looking forward to do some more wandering in the Big Apple and learning another new subway system.
Paris, you were sensational, beautiful, inspiring, life changing, crazy, exhausting, everything, and exactly what I needed. See you soon New York!

Une petite visite au Château de Versailles

Today I spent all day in Versailles! Ah, there will never be enough words or enough pictures to perfectly capture the beauty and tranquility that is the Château de Versailles. A couple of us spent some time in the gardens a couple of weeks ago, and while it was wonderful, this time it was even more perfect.

After waiting in line to get in, I was finally able to walk around the beautiful palace where it seemed so bizarre that the kings and queens of France had walked. Besides the overwhelming crowd, I was able to take my time and enjoy the enormous and historical palace.
First I walked through several rooms, some describing the different stages of how the palace changed over the centuries to how it currently looks now. Then on to some other rooms for the cabinet, a couple of “bedrooms,” all were very elaborately decorated with paintings and furniture but quite small for such lavish people. And then it was there. The Hall of Mirrors. It was something I knew I had to see, and it was gorgeous. The mirrors looked a little dirty, but the chandeliers simply made the long hall look wonderfully extravagant. Despite a little bit of dust, the Hall of Mirrors still seemed to shine.

Continuing on, I saw the king’s bedroom...

One of Marie Antoinette’s bedroom....they slept separately? Weird.

They also held public dinners where people would just come to watch them eat...also weird.

What really caught my attention walking through the palace were the art installations. At the end of the Hall of Mirrors there was a pair of high heels made out of casserole pots and lids, at the opposite side of the room where they ate, there were two lobsters made out of lace called Le Dauphin/La Dauphine. In the next room there was a helicopter made out of feathers, and then in the hall following there were even more art installations on the ceiling of odd creatures called Royal Valkyrie, all done by Joana Vasconcelos.

Once my exploration of the palace had come to a close seeing all of the bedrooms, apartments, and cabinet rooms, I decided I needed to go back to the gardens and spend some serious time there. I unfortunately had to pay to go there today since it was Tuesday and every Tuesday they decide it’s a day to place music. I decided to start as far back as I could at the Grand Trianon, where Marie Antoinette and the other women of Versailles would spend their time being oh so lavish. It was basically a big building just for them to sit around in several different rooms, play music, hang out, party, along with an incredibly beautiful garden in the backyard. Marie Antoinette had her second room in here as well.

Moving on to the Petit Trianon where Marie Antoinette would play some pool, the other women of Versailles would hang out here too, or if Marie Antoinette didn't like her other two rooms, she could sleep in the Petit Trianon as well.

Then walking outside of the Petit Trianon, there were a few walkways to get to the Hamlet of Marie Antoinette. I could have spent all day just in this part of the gardens. There was lavender, everywhere. She used these cute little cottages to pretend that she was a peasant, for whatever reason. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. Flowers were everywhere, little vegetable gardens, countless pathways. There was also a large pond with lily pads and coy fish in it.

After sitting in here for not long enough, I decided it was time to go back to walk around the inner gardens. Here I saw the Colonnade...

The Mirror Pond....

The Ballroom....and by this time, it was time for the gardens to close.

I spent about a total between the two days, 10 hours in Versailles and still wasn’t able to see everything. There’s so much walking, looking around, things to see, it would take forever just to be able to see everything. Goodness knows I didn’t even see everything in the palace. Like I said, I spent quite a bit of time there and was able to thoroughly enjoy it, but no matter how much I describe how beautiful it was or how peaceful it was to just walk through all of that greenery, or however many pictures I took, it really cannot compare to being there. I literally had to consciously remember to breathe after stepping outside of the palace. I only hope I have another opportunity to see this beautiful place again. It was so worth it, the sketchy ride on the RER, the long wait to get in. Maybe next time I’ll be able to relax even more and sit in the grass and have a little picnic or ride a bike all around Marie Antoinette’s lavish estate...only maybe though. Until next time...adieu :)

Dining With Strangers

This morning I woke up and had no clue what I was going to do today or what I would even eat for dinner. Since most stores are closed on Sunday’s and all I have is an apple left for my lunch, I didn’t really know what I would do. I remembered that of course it was Sunday! And that one of the things on my list was to go to Jim Haynes house for dinner. It was recommended in my guidebook as one of the things to do, especially when traveling alone. Mr. Haynes has been hosting Sunday dinner for the past 30 years at his beautiful apartment in lower Paris. It’s called Dining With Strangers...naturally. And that’s exactly what it is. Every week is a different kind of meal whether it’s lasagna, Chinese, pasta, French, pretty much anything, made by a volunteer chef.
At first it seemed extremely odd that some guy would just have dinner at his house, almost free, it’s suggested to make a donation in which he donates to charity. Yet at the same time it seemed so incredibly awesome that this guy would host dinner every single week for people he didn’t even know...it seemed too good to be true. I had no idea what to expect, or what to even think about it, so I was on my way to this dinner with high hopes and an open mind. Of course I had my directions and map, but at some point I thought I went too far or in the wrong direction. I was looking at my map and overheard a family trying to find the same street and I asked them if they happened to be attending the dinner as well. It turns out that they were lost too but we were able to find the apartment. This lovely family was from California and Hawaii and all of them were just the sweetest people I have come across thus far, I wish them the best of travels :)
We got there right at 8 which was perfect timing because dinner had just begun. I grabbed myself a glass of white wine and a plate of a little salad and the first garlic bread I’ve had in forever, and the main course was in the words of the chef, “more like a shepherds pie but technically it’s called a lasagna because that’s what Jim wanted me to cook tonight.” Whatever you want to call it, it was incredibly delicious. While munching on this wonderful dinner, I was able to get to know this kind family along with several other strangers from all over, like a salesman from Miami, a kind ecologist from Marseille, and the barely 20 year old chef from Michigan who cooked the entire meal for some 60 people. And for dessert we had vanilla ice cream with raspberries. Ah, simply mouth watering. And to dine in such kind company was the perfect way to end a Sunday evening. Dining with strangers has been kind of the norm during this trip so it wasn’t too different this time around, but this particular experience in itself was simply worth it.
I’m thinking next Sunday for my last night in Paris, to enjoy a filling meal with some random good company would be the perfect to end my time in France. The chef even promised to make my favorite meal of spaghetti and maybe some meatballs, which isn’t the most French meal, but hey...it beats the frozen vegetables I’d be eating in the hostel.
Thank you, Jim Haynes for a wonderful meal and a beautiful place to enjoy meeting people from all over the world. I only wish I could stay in Paris and have the opportunity to be a part of this kind of meal every Sunday.

http://www.jim-haynes.com/index.htm

Livin' in the burbs

Life in the hostels has been quite a transition coming from an apartment for a month. After I get off the métro to go to my new home for a few days, I realize I’m not in inner Paris anymore. I’m in the burbs.
Paris is surrounded by Le Périphérique which is a circular freeway thus, Paris literally can’t grow outward. And everything outside of the freeway are the suburbs of Paris. During orientation for CEA they told us 1) not to smile. Easy enough, no one in Paris ever looks happy. 2) never go to the suburbs. Why not? Back home when one lives in the suburbs it’s usually a lot safer than the inner city. Downtown has the homeless people living under the bridges, walking downtown at night couldn’t be any more sketchy and if you’re smart, you never walk alone at night. And if you live in the suburbs, you live around lovely little houses with kids playing in the yard and street. In Paris it’s the complete opposite. In the inner city, you’re more likely to live next to a lot cafés and brasseries and a lot of little shops at every corner. You could walk down a whole street and probably find several restaurants, multiple patisseries, a pharmacy or two, and a Monoprix with people walking around at anytime. And you’re only five minutes from the métro stop. In the suburbs of Paris, there’s a lot more crime and generally just not a safe place to be.
The first hostel I stayed in after I get off the métro, I look around and see they don’t even really have street signs. No worries! I got my map. Um...wait...all it shows is the stop and that’s where it ends. I wrote down my directions but how am I going to get to this hostel? Luckily a generous guy from Normandy helped me out and walked me all the way to my hostel. As we’re walking, I notice that I haven’t seen any shops, maybe the occasional Japanese restaurant and a sign for McDonald’s but never actually found it. Never found a boulangerie either...where will I buy a baguette?!
Once I reach the hostel I get settled in and come time for dinner, I sit down to meet an array of people from all over the world, young, old, couples, lone travelers, and we enjoy a traditional Korean dinner. And for breakfast? Bread, jam, coffee or tea, and a hard boiled egg. Staying in this hostel was probably one of the highlights of the trip so far. It was so interesting to meet people and hear their stories of where they came from, where they’re going, and why they’re even traveling in the first place. It would take about 15 minutes just to walk to the fruit store/métro and upon arriving, it would be expected to see a couple of odd people walking around, more often at night especially since the epicerie was also the liquor store. Despite being in a not so safe part of town, the experience and people was so beautiful and I was truly sad to leave. C’est la vie, I had to move on to my next hostel which wasn’t too far.
The neighborhood is much nicer, there’s quite a few old people walking around, I live in an alley but I haven’t seen too many scary people...yet (knock on wood). Luckily, this is a more residential area than the previous one with an elementary school nearby and all the Indian or pizza food I could possibly want. Best part? There’s a boulangerie and fruit stand right outside the alleyway from my hostel. Going for a run every morning smelling the fresh bread...ah. There’s simply nothing else quite like it.
Most of the people staying here find it extremely odd that I’m traveling by myself, but at this point in my trip, besides waking up to five British girls singing Hakuna Matata, I find it the most relaxed I’ve been; wandering around, sleeping in Centre Pompidou watching movies, or taking a nap under the sun in the Luxembourg gardens and reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac that I bought at Shakespeare & Co.
I have 10 more days to spend in Paris, who only knows where I’ll end up wandering around and getting lost. No matter if I get lost, I somehow always manage to find my way back.

Santé à Paris!

Today was the day we had to move out of our homely apartment. A sad departure it was to leave the people I’ve come to know very well within this last month. I want to say thank you to Elle, Katie, Lucy, Brittany, Danielle, Alex, Soren, Kenny, and Charlie for making this trip one for the books. I am extremely fortunate to have learned something from each one of you. The memories we’ve made, I’ll never forget. I am so happy to have met such different kinds of people, from different kinds of places, who all have different views about the world. You’ve all helped me learn how to see the world differently in a more positive light and roll with the punches in the craziest of cities. Seeing the Eiffel Tower, going to Normandy and Versailles, walking through gardens, listening to all different kinds of music, exchanging such random stories, I’ll never forget it. Perhaps in the future our paths will cross, perhaps not. There would be nothing better than reminiscing our memories of Paris over a bottle of the cheapest wine we can find with a baguette and a jar of Nutella.
I wish you all the best of travels in your future, and I hope all of you enjoy being back in the good ol’ U.S. of A. While you enjoy going back to driving and the barbecues, I will enjoy a traditional Korean meal in a hostel...in the suburbs :)