Before going about this past week, I want to apologize for not having updated in damn near forever. My hard drive crashed a few weeks back, and I couldn't get a new one installed and get my computer back until this past Wednesday. Sadly, I have a brand new hard drive and none of my old data to put into it (including pictures I'd taken in Brussels). I may be able to retrieve some from Facebook So I'm starting over with a fresh computer in an old shell essentially. If I find the time, and somehow manage to recall everything from the last couple weeks in Brussels, I'll come back with some late updates for that. In the meantime, here's Paris:
Week 5: Paris
Sunday started off well enough. Woke up before too late, got all my things thrown together. Had my bags packed already, had a box ready to send home, laundry was done, cleaned my room, made my bed, swept up, and ate American waffles for breakfast. Henry and I got a ride to the metro around 1:30 in the afternoon. Mr. Quinn was away for the weekend, so we only had Mrs. Quinn to say goodbye to. Quick ride to the central station, short wait for everyone to arrive, then on to the train and on our way!
The ride to Paris was remarkably short from Brussels, or maybe it really wasn’t. I had never been to Paris so I didn’t really know the distance. But I expected it to take a few hours; we arrived within an hour and a half. Thankfully, Dr. B decided it would be easier to load everyone into cabs than take the metro, so we get outside the Paris station and load up.
And this was my first look at the city of Paris. The driver was nuts, like just about anyone else with a license in this city. As we zoom across the city, we happen to pass a handful of old buildings and popular monuments along the way. And soon enough we're here, home number two for the trip: Hotel Saphir.
Our room is about the size of a broom closet, if you somehow managed to squeeze two twin beds in it side by side. That wasn’t too terrible, but it makes living out of a suitcase a bit more difficult than it already is. Wore, there are two electrical outlets in the entire room, both of which are on the wall opposite the head of the beds. The bathroom is actually fairly large, compared to the expectation set by the room, and we actually had a full shower and tub. Unfortunately, there is no shower curtain. Instead, there is a glass pane, less half the length of the tub, and it swivels in and out of the tub. On more than one occasion, more water might have ended up on the floor than down the drain. Sleeping wasn't exactly easy either, but it got better over the week, and a thunderstorm rolling in the first night made it a bit easier.
My laptop had been out of commission for almost two weeks, so Sunday afternoon I took it to an Apple store for service and left it with them. And in the evening we went across the city to for food and a sunset cruise on the Seine. It took us down to the Eiffel Tower, turned around back towards Notre Dame, and then looped back to dock. Monday was a free day and a welcome day off. Breakfast was served at the hotel. And we roamed the city for most of the day. A group of us went to Notre Dame, and then later to the Louvre before splitting the group in half to either go in and look at the artwork or wander the city more. I went in and straight to the Mona Lisa, then saw the Venus de Milo before wandering aimlessly through Egyptian artifacts and Napoleon’s Apartments. We got back early enough to spend the evening on the lawn of the Eiffel tower, sharing a picnic and a couple bottles of wine amongst the group.
Tuesday we had our first site visit. We were able to sleep in, and met at 2pm to leave for the Quai d’Orsay, the French Foreign Ministry in Paris. We first had a chat and Q&A session with press officers for the Foreign Ministry. The first Mr. Benoit was formerly at the French mission to NATO during the Libya crisis. He spoke for a length about the future of NATO, and France’s role in that future. And when talking about Syria, he stressed France’s will to push diplomacy in the region for the time being.
The second Mr. Benoit and a Ms. Stephanie, spokespersons for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained their job as the magnets to journalists’ questions at the Ministry. They hold press briefings five days a week, and Benoit focuses on EU, while Stephanie focuses on Arab and Middle Eastern media. The brunt of the questions we had for them regarded Syria, with some about the Euro crisis and what is needed for economic growth.
After our time with the speakers, we were granted the privilege of touring the Quai d’Orsay. We got to see where the minister receives guests, hosts dinners, and luckily we were even shown the minister’s office. We also were taken through the guest offices and private restrooms of hosted dignitaries. And as we left, we were given the honor of walking out through the front doors of the building.
Wednesday we were up early, 9:30 start to go to Senate. We were given a walking tour of the Senate building by Senator Bernard Saugey, getting to see the Hemicycle and the grand Library of the Senate, among other things. He talked about the history of the Senate and how it works in conjunction with the National Assembly as a functional legislative system. The library of the Senate housed over 10,000 books, and we are also shown busts of Victor Hugo and Marie de Medici; Hugo being a very prominent French Senator and statesman, and Marie de Medici having had the Luxembourg Palace, seat of the French Senate, built for herself.
Thursday morning was another 9:30 start. Woke up earlier than necessary, but I couldn’t fall back asleep so I got breakfast early. Got suited up and ready to go, and no sooner than I stepped from the hotel to the sidewalk, I started feeling ill. The feeling lasted through most of the morning’s briefing at IFRI, or the French Institute of International Relations, a non-partisan think tank on France’s external affairs. Luckily, I was able to ignore my stomach, as the briefing was extremely interesting.
We had two presentations and Q&A sessions with three different speakers. The first was given by a short overview of why France entered in Afghanistan and about opinions about France pulling out early. The second focused on the French Perspective of the Arab Spring. Both of these topics are of great interest to me, and receiving the deeper thoughts of a foreign perspective on these topics is very intriguing. And both of these were completely overshadowed when the third speaker arrived: Etienne, the Director of the Center of Security Studies at IFRI. Etienne is a very strongly opinionated man, and quite the realist in regards to French and European politics. It was almost depressing hearing him talk, as realism can almost be taken as pessimism, especially in light of the very pro-European talks we had in Brussels. But there is nothing wrong with new and different ideas being brought to the table, and Etienne is very good at bringing ideas anywhere it would seem. It was unfortunate we couldn’t stay longer, but we had to rush across town.
Our second briefing for the day was at the US Embassy in Paris. We made it through security rather quickly for an American embassy, but I certainly won’t complain about that. We were hosted by a Consort Officer named Kyle. He gave us a quick overview of the role of the State Department in foreign service, then went on to talk about US-French relations. He talked, and we discussed, about Syria, Iran, and Russia, and how US and French relations affect and are affected by relations with these other nations, and before we left he went on to talk about the process of becoming a foreign service officer.
I was exceptionally happy come Thursday evening, as I finally had a working computer again. We also went out to dinner with some of Dr. Birchfield’s former students, and some their friends who study in Paris. Thursday night was Fête de la musique, a huge music festival that goes on all across Paris. We were able to walk through much of it as we went up to the Sacré Coeur, a church situated at the highest point in Paris. The evening was capped by a fight to find ice cream, and the struggling through the crowds that were everywhere for the festival.
Friday was Normandy, and one of my favorite site visits by far. It took about 3 hours from Paris to arrive at the historic site, and once we reached the memorial site, I broke off from the group to wander and take it all in by myself. It was amazing and inspiring and depressing. The stories of individuals were touching, some with heroism and courage, and some with sadness and sacrifice. I caught part of a tour that highlighted the Garden of the Missing and the Cemetery. I walked through it for at least an hour, and found one of the three Medal of Honor recipients buried there. Unfortunately, I took too long and had hardly any time to walk the beaches and no time for the bunkers. I nearly sprinted down the hill just to walk along Omaha Beach, and I emptied my water bottle so I could take a bit of the sand back with me. I met back up with the group with enough time to spare for the bus ride, and we went into the town of Bayeux to see an historic tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings.
Saturday was just a day of relaxation and tourism. I woke up very late, and did very little. My highlight of the day was visiting the Arc de Triomphe, climbing up to the top. I spent well over an hour at the top of the Arc just looking across the city. Around 6 or so, I came back, bought a baguette, and began the evening that would be filled with packing. And now I sit, finishing this entry recounting the week, because I’m a terribly lazy person and am doing it last minute. And I have to be up in 3 hours to leave for Berlin. Hopefully there won't be 3 weeks in between this post and the next one, but who knows.
"We may lose and we may win, though we will never be here again... so take it easy." - Eagles
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