Aero: Arvilla Mast – France 2018 – City Life

Posted by LEAF Architect on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Aero: Arvilla Mast – France 2018 – City Life

…

Arvilla Mast

Paris… the week we spent there was such a busy exhausting blur that sometimes it still feels like a dream that I can’t quite recall properly. It’s such a beautiful city! Not overwhelming with lights, noise, and advertisements like New York City, but it’s so classy, dignified, and ancient. The buildings are very low and look to be no more than five or six stories. But the architecture is so elegant even the most basic apartment buildings would distract me and I would fall behind to take photos. The French definitely take pride in the way they present their city. The streets are angled so the trash goes to the gutters and street cleaners are out early every morning. When construction is going on they don’t let it defile the view. It is covered with large pictures of artwork or a picture of what the structure would normally look like without construction. You can find the seams of the real building and the cover picture if you look real close, but it still looks great, and it’s wonderful the extent they go to keep up the beautiful appearance.

The Metro in Paris is awesome. Compared to some other train transportation it is supper easy to navigate and very efficient. A lot of Metro stations have interesting artwork on the tunnel walls as well. It’s like a whole another world down there. I would think it’s just a normal tunnel and then we would come upon all kinds of little shops underground. Although, it did feel like a slightly sketchy place to clothing shop or buy fresh fruit. Definitely, because all train stations smell a little wonky.

The atmosphere in Paris does not feel as busy and stressed as NYC. It is not unusual at all to see a Frenchman sitting reading a book just about anywhere. The sight of people relaxing outside a café with a good old-fashioned paperback book just feels like something out of a movie and makes my heart happy. I even saw one guy reading while walking. Most people very much mind their own business and expect you to do the same. You don’t really share your life story with someone on the train like we might do here in the US. But if you have a reason to chat like at the market or when going out to eat, they are all super friendly. The stereotype that Europeans are unfriendly or aloof is mostly wrong. If you make an effort to learn about the culture and a little language they will be very welcoming. And let’s face it, if I had millions of tourists pouring into my home every year I would be very reserved with them as well.

I was surprised by the show of police force wherever we were in France. Not just your regular officers either. These were basically super models with assault rifles and riot shields. It makes sense in light of recent events, but I just didn’t think about it before hand. I would just be enraptured by art in the Louvre, turn a corner and yikes there’s a whole lot of soldiers with assault rifles. That took some getting used to. One thing I noticed first thing when we arrived was the sirens; they have a very distinctive sound. In my childhood favorite movie there was all kinds of police chases in Paris. I haven’t seen it in years but I stepped out of the airport and instantly recognized those distinctive sirens. It’s just a silly thing that I thought was so awesome.

There is basically a cathedral on every street corner in France. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s a lot of cathedrals. I don’t even remember how many we saw, but one of my personal favorites was Sainte-Chapelle. The first floor was somewhat unassuming but then you climb the small spiral staircase, enter a long skinny room with a ceiling so high and the sun is glinting so beautifully through so many purple stain glass windows, it takes your breath away. This one cathedral was only a short stop in a busy day, but it was one of the most memorable for me.

Overall visiting Paris was a wonderful experience. For all of its sort of dreamy romance I think sometimes people forget it’s still a real city. The metro smells a little wonky and there’s graffiti and sometimes trash. But it just makes it more real and lifelike to me so that it’s okay. I hope to return and spend a few days maybe just exploring the Louvre. Everything was such a blur I wasn’t able to take everything in and appreciate it, but it was wonderful seeing somewhere so beautiful, that is referenced in so many stories, and where so much history is recorded.

Arvilla Mast
Study Abroad – France 2018 @ FLCC

…