Diary of London: Paris: the city of lights?

Mom, what can I say?

I LOVED Paris! I wasn't that excited, you know--I've never had a huge love for France in general, but OH! I am looking at the world through new eyes now, Mom. Whoever said the French hate Americans was WRONG. They're the sweetest people! (Right after Denmark, of course!) They absolutely loved it when I tried to speak French, and if they ever teased me, it was good-naturedly, and I could tell it warmed their heart for me to attempt it, even if it was just, "Je suis desolee--Je net parle pas Francais" (I don't know how to spell it all.)

Whew! I've learned so much in such a short time! Let me try and give you a run-down of what I did! On Monday, we arrived around lunch-time, and after checking into our hotel (which was actually pretty nice) we headed out on the town. We started by going on a walk through the Latin quarter, and we walked past the skinniest house in Paris (less than 6 feet wide, I believe. I have pictures.) and Shakespeare & Company, where Ernest Hemingway wrote after WWII, along with a bunch of other tragically neo-romantic American poets. We saw le fontaine du saint michel, and I got my first Parisian crepe. Life-changing experience, I'm telling you. Shannon told me a story about it, actually. Her uncle was travelling in Paris and ran completely out of money. He had just enough to either call home and ask for more money OR to buy a crepe. He chose the crepe, and he recalled later that it was the best darn crepe he'd ever had. Just to tell you--crepes in France do NOT taste like crepes anywhere else! Not in London or Copenhagen, or America. There's a reason people eat them when they come here. If you ever go to Paris, Mom, and you do not eat a crepe? Oh, the horror! You'd deserve a spanking! (Not that I'd give you one--you'd just deserve one, is all.) That being said, French crepes are amazing. Amen. :) After that little walk around the Latin Quarter (gained because there used to be a university in the area, so all the students would wander around speaking Latin. I know--not what I expected, either.) we took a boat tour down the Seine. Our tour guide was hilarious, and had the funniest facial expressions and the cutest French accent and gnarled English grammar. I have a recording of her talking about the Eiffel tower. :)

Another thing I did was leave the people I was with because I wanted to go to Notre Dame (which I did) and I had a funny realization. If I speak French convincingly enough, they will actually respond in French. And I can't understand them. Silly, isn't it? "Excusez-moi," I said politely, "ou est le toilettes?" She went off on something about "Derriere" and I nodded and smiled and walked away quickly. I don't understand basic directions in French, so my only option is really to say, "Je suit desolee--Parle vous Anglais? Sil vous plait???" Ha ha . . . oh, dear. Notre Dame was beautiful, but from what I saw (and I didn't go up into the tower), aside from the enormous rosette stained glass windows that were gorgeous, it was just like any other cathedral. I've seen so many, and they're all so beautiful. But that special feeling is just MISSING in them. I am SO glad that our temples are private, only for endowed temple recommend-holders. Somehow, a building where everyone is in jeans, constantly taking pictures, with machines selling pressed coins isn't exactly my idea of a pious place of worship. And I will never EVER forget that sign outside Mary le Bow's church in Cheapside: "Fresh food from the crypt." That's just wrong, Mom. Wrong on so many levels.

Another time, I picked up a pastry (beignet, or donut, swirled with "pommes," or apples) and walked down the Champs Elysee on my way to the Arch du Triomphe. The arche is SO COOL! It's probably my favorite thing I saw in Paris. SO cool! It's huge, for one thing. I was expecting, in my mind's eye, something about 30 feet tall. DEFINITELY not the case. It's ginormous. Lemme tell you--climbing the stairs to the top was long. It was at least 8-10 flights of stairs! The view from the top was incredible, though. I got the best pictures of the Eiffel tower ever, and I just loved the view of the city from there. Also, there was a little touch-screen display with pictures of various triumphal arches around the world. I looked at one on the east coast that was a war memorial for American soldiers that died in one of the world wars. There was an American flag unfurled and billowing in the background, and it struck a chord in my heart, and I started tearing up. I miss America, Mom. Yes, I miss you and my friends and school, but I miss AMERICA, too. It's my nationality, my home, my country. Part of my identity. I really do love it, and I'm excited to come back home. America is so wonderful!

Now, what did I truly learn? Here goes: No culture (with roughly similar morality) is intrinsically better to live in than another. Not a hut-dwelling tribe on the African savannah, or a cramped apartment in Manhattan, or a little English village, or the heart of Paris or Copenhagen. No culture is intrinically better than another, because all are surviving today, and only "the fit" survive--those that can support a large number of people for a long period of time. However, I am still allowed to love my country because it is MINE. Not because it is better than the others in some deep, cosmic way (because it isn't) but simply because it is my homeland, and it is a lovely place. I could be just as healthy, happy, and content if I had grown up in France, with French parents, and surrounded by French culture. (But I'm glad I could be born in the covenant.) Is that sad that I had to come all the way over here and travel to half a dozen different countries to really absorb that? All cultures have merit, but my culture is MINE, and I'm fully allowed to love it. Such a simple principle, but I really feel I've absorbed it on this trip.

You should really go there. Bring me with you when you do. :)

Love,

Mary-Celeste

Pictures:

Lovely view of the Eiffel tower from the top of the Arch du Triomphe. I know it's smoggy, but I think it actually looks sort of fuzzy and romantic like this.