"Paris reminds me a lot of L.A."

I have never had much luck with hostels in Paris, and this time was, at first, no different.  Since I initially wasn't sure if I'd stay all weekend in Paris or go somewhere else, I only booked two nights at a place near the Louvre.  Like many Paris hostels, it was rather dingy and cramped...but most worrying was its lack of proper lockers.  While I can definitely rough it for a few nights, I've been carrying my flute with me during this trip and I really have to make sure I have a safe place to store it when I'm out for the day.  The only lockers available were in the lobby and looked like they could disintegrate if you brushed them while walking past, but as they were the securest option, I grudgingly used them.

I shared a room with five other Americans - college-age students on some kind of cruise ship tour of Europe.  They had also just arrived in Paris and were a rather entertaining bunch; the title of this post is a quote from the most astute of the group.  Another gem was, "Oh, God, I'm so glad you're normal" (when they discovered that I was also American).

I have an agenda of things that I always have to do and eat in Paris:  I did the usual picnic by la Tour Eiffel at sunset, hike to Place Monge for my panini and nutella crêpe from my favorite vendor, pain au chocolat and people-watching in the Jardin du Luxembourg...  But this time, I was lucky to have five days and plenty of time to relax and discover new things.  I took advantage of the sketchy hostel's location and spent a day near the Tuileries, where I visited two new museums on the west end of the gardens.  Le Musée de l'Orangerie holds Monet's les Nymphéas as well as an impressive collection of impressionist paintings; I recommend it.  Just north of that is the Jeu de Paume, which had a couple of more modern, philosophical artist exhibits.  I enjoyed seeing Kati Horna's photography, but the other two exhibits were rather bizarre.  I read the French descriptions; I looked at the artwork; I didn't understand; I read the English descriptions; I looked at the artwork; I still didn't understand.  At the very least, I collected a lot of new French vocabulary for mon petit cahier (my little notebook).

View from my hostel

View from the top of Sacre-Coeur

The next day, I switched to a new hostel in Montmartre.  When I arrived, I felt like I'd won the lottery - it was clean; small, but not cramped; my room opened onto a nice terrace with a view of Sacre-Coeur; there were free, secure storage lockers right in my room.  The Village Hostel in Montmartre: my official Paris hostel recommendation.  I took advantage of the opportunity to spend a day in Montmartre; there are many cobblestone streets and shops and restaurants to explore.  (You'll also get an unavoidable workout walking up and down the hill.)  If you walk about twenty minutes behind Sacre-Coeur, you'll find a less-touristy neighborhood with espresso for under two Euros.  My favorite new adventure was climbing to the top of the Dom of Sacre-Coeur; I went mid-morning to get a stunning view of all of Paris.  The steps were much sturdier and less scary than those in Delft.

That weekend, les Journées européennes de la Patrimoine were happening - a celebration of European heritage, which means that in every city, for one weekend, nearly all museums and national monuments have free admission.  (It also meant that Paris was extremely busy and there were long lines for everything.)  I did go to and enjoy Musée Cluny, a collection of art and artifacts from Paris and the surrounding area during the Middle Ages.  Many of les sculptures, les tapisseries (tapestries), et les vitraux (stained glass windows) are worn or broken, but the museum holds the famous Dame à la Licorne tapestries, a series of six impressive tapestries made in the 1400s that show the five sense (le toucher, le goût, l'odorat, l'ouïe, et la vue) plus one extra: mon seul désir (my only desire).

My favorite part of les Journées de la Patrimoine was a free Saturday evening concert I came across by accident.  I attended the récital inaugural des grandes orgues restaurées de Notre-Dame de Paris.  Notre-Dame's organ has been undergoing restoration for about two and a half years; aside from a short period in July of 2013, when it was used to celebrate Notre-Dame's 850th birthday, it hasn't been played.  The sound of the organ, which has been my favorite sound in the world since I first heard it while studying abroad, returned to the cathedral for the first time Saturday evening.  Three major organists played, all official organistes titulaires (tenured organists) of Notre-Dame: Jean-Pierre Leguay, Olivier Latry, and Philippe Lefebvre.  Lefebvre is a legendary improviser who teaches improvisation courses at the Conservatoire de Paris; his final improvisation was truly one of the most incredible musical moments I've ever heard.  Beyond the music itself, people-watching at concerts in Europe is truly an experience in itself.  Notre-Dame was packed with people that evening: every seat was filled and people of all ages were standing in the halls and sitting in the aisles.  You could tell that the récital meant a lot to some who couldn't seem to wipe the smiles off their faces throughout the program and even after the final chords sounded.  The following clip is the end of a the classic Bach Prelude et fugue en ut mineur played by Leguay:

http://youtu.be/A3ZSv6G-VEs

If that wasn't enough excitement, I decided to get a ticket to a Sunday evening small string ensemble concert at Sainte-Chapelle, a smaller chapel not far from Notre-Dame which is known for its incredible vitraux.  If you want to see Sainte-Chapelle, I really recommend going for a classical music concert there.  You get to sit, relax, enjoy the music, and spend time slowly admiring the stained glass windows.  The l'Orchestre Classik Ensemble's music was incredible smooth and skillful, and they really put on a show, moving around the altar (and sometimes running around the chapel) as they played and interacting with each other.  The highlighted piece of the evening was Vivaldi's 4 Saisons, but this is a bit of their rendition of Pachelbel's Canon that opened the performance:

http://youtu.be/-C0DgAJhEoY

The final highlight of the Paris adventure was visiting Edith, another friend from the CELTA who works for Disneyland Paris, and her family for Sunday lunch.  She lives in Torcy, a suburb of Paris accessible by a forty-minute train ride.  It was a nice afternoon seeing her and her husband, David (who visited Strasbourg last summer) and meeting their two kids and cat, Kiwi, while speaking a lot of French.