Finales and Farewells

First thing on our agenda this morning was a thirty minute concert at the most well known and iconic cathedral in France, Notre Dame de Paris. Though our schedule didn’t allow for much exploration of the cathedral itself, let alone time to hunt for Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame, the group marveled at this quintessential example of gothic architecture (it was one of the first structures to utilize flying buttresses) and could scarcely comprehend that we were were about to give a concert here.

Our last concert was a difficult one, given the echo within the church and the lag time between created by the placement of the choir and the distance to the organ, but we overcame these challenges and left the cathedral knowing that our mission as CCVA had been accomplished. We gave wonderful concerts and touched lives with our music.

After changing back at the hotel, we traveled by bus to the Museé D’Orsay, the Impressionist art museum. The itinerary for the day couldn’t have been better. We woould be seeing Monet’s paintings of the very gardens we had visited the previous day. Once used as a train station, the museum is a beautiful experience, in and of itself.

Impressionist art is a "trip" for the brain. Up close, it is difficult to distinguish anything at all of such paintings. Lines and dots of color all blur together. But as one steps away from the painting, the dots and lines merge into more than themselves to create something extraordinary: a glimpse of a moment in time. There is just as much attention to detail in an Impressionist painting as in Realism, if not more so, and the emotion in Impressionist painting is just as clear. We had a wonderful afternoon taking it all in.

After freshening up and changing, we embarked on our last evening in Paris. We began with dinner on the Eiffel Tower: truly an amazing experience. We crammed into the elevators that took us to the first floor and had a wonderful meal together as a group, already beginning to discuss our fondest memories of the past two weeks. What a fantastic trip and what a great dinner with which to end it.

We took some time to gaze over the city of Paris before heading back down and taking a boat cruise of the Seine River. We passed many of the sights we had seen over the past three days in Paris, and remarked at how different and beautiful they looked lit up in the night. As we pulled back in to depart, we were treated to the beautiful sight of the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the night sky (it sparkles every hour on the hour once it gets dark).

We returned to our hotel energized by the great night we had shared together, yet a little saddened, knowing that we were all heading back to our rooms to pack for our flight the next morning. To say that these past two weeks were special would be an understatement. Yes, it had been the same trip I took with CCVA five years ago, but it had been an entirely different, unique experience: another never to be forgotten.

Monet and Music

Up bright and early this morning, it was another stunning day for the hour and a half bus ride to Giverny, the home and gardens of Impressionist artist Claude Monet.

My 2006 visit had been the stimulus for a presentation to my high school French class on Monet and his visionary style. I had been able to combine a few notes from Art History with a little français and my very own pictures from this place. I was anxious to return with wider, sharper eyes.

The gardens were filled with so many different kinds of beautiful flowers, and it was nice to have the time to take a leisurely walk through them. As we passed by the now famous water lily gardens that Monet painted so often, it struck me again how revolutionary Monet and the Impressionists were - how they painted things not as they were in reality but how they were seen in their minds' eye. Monet painted the same pond hundreds of times, yet each painting was unique. His use of color and light were extraordinary, and it was wonderful to be in the place where his genius came to fruition.

As I reflect on the "reality" of nature and "impressions" of it, I recall a discussion during my intro. course in Theology at Villanova. When any person, regardless of his or her faith tradition views a beautiful painting, especially by an artist as accomplished as Monet, none doubts the existence of its author, the artist. Yet, in society today, so many hold the view that the "composition" that inspires the painting exists simply by coincidence, an "accident of nature," no author, artist required, just a set of random events. For me, at least, the beauty of this place is powerful proof of the existence of God.

My Photo Reality

His Painting Impression

My Photo Reality

His Painting Impression

Our free afternoon went by quickly, with lunch, perfume shopping for me and my mom, and even a quick nap! Soon, it was time for our concert at the American Church, which has several magnificent choirs and is widely known as sponsor of a wide variety of choral and cultural programs. The extra rest must have done the choir a world of good, because the evening's concert was clearly the best of the tour!

Knowing that we had given a good performance, we headed back to the hotel for the evening, excited to “sleep in” the next morning until 8 a.m. I can’t believe that this has become an operative definition of "sleeping in!" Even more so, I couldn’t believe that the next day would be our last in France. These two weeks have flown by!

Palaces and Paintings

We awoke to another beutiful morning and rode the bus to one of my favorite places, Versailles. The night before, Lisa and I had listened to the soundtrack of the French musical, Le Roi Soleil (the plot is based on the life of King Louis XIV who had Versailles built), so we were both even more excited to visit the palace.

Walking up to Versailles’ golden gates never ceases to completely amaze me. I can’t even imagine living on such expansive grounds, let alone having the means to create them! Each room was more fascinating and elaborately decorated than the next, but my favorites will always be the hall of mirrors, with its many chandeliers and Marie Antoinette’s bedroom, with its pink, delicately detailed bed coverings. The interior design here is a little too elaborate for my tastes, with intricately patterned fabrics often lining the walls, but the regal beauty of the rooms cannot be denied.

Although the palace itself is remarkable enough, my absolute favorite part of the Versailles experience is the visit to its gardens. The second time I visited Versailles was when I was studying abroad in London last year. When I visited then, it was February; the trees were without their leaves, there were no flowers planted, and everything looked stark and a bit sad. That was not the case this time around, and we stepped out onto the back steps of the palace for a tremendous view of the fountains and topiaries along with the palace’s truly expansive lake that seems to stretch on for miles.

In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful views I have seen. We walked through the gardens to reach the bus, which took us back to the hotel to get ready for our second concert at La Madeleine.

To me, the façade of La Madeleine has never seemed to be what a church of its stature should look like. The building’s architecture lends itself much more to being a judicial building and is much more reminiscent of a temple than of churches commonly associated with European style. However, its interior speaks for itself, with its large altarpiece depicting Mary Magdalene being carried up to heaven by angels. The Renaissance art here is beautiful. What a gorgeous place in which to sing!

After our concert, we changed, had a quick dinner, and visited the Louvre, an Art History student’s paradise. The minute we walked into the main lobby, I began to recall all the essays and projects that my Academy classmates and I worked on in Art History. At the time, the artists and paintings were only words and pictures in a textbook. But since then, traveling with CCVA has allowed me to visit the very places where the artists stood, see and in some cases touch their work!

Before I knew it, I was again face to face with one of my favorite sculptures: the winged victory statue from the Hellenistic period of Grecian art.

I was thrilled to be able to share the story of the statue with my friends. Actually, the statue used to be a fountain, which created the first documented piece of dramatic art, involving all the senses to evoke emotion. I can’t exactly say why it’s one of my favorite pieces, but I think it’s stunningly beautiful.

We moved through a gallery of religious paintings and icons before reaching one of the most famous pieces of art in the Louvre, the Mona Lisa. In my opinion, the experience is rather anticlimactic, since the painting is so much smaller than many imagine. It is almost as if her iconic smile is one of taunting, watching the faces of semi-disappointed museum patrons as they realize that her portrait isn’t as glamorous as they had expected. Regardless, it’s an incredible feeling to stand so close to such an important part of Art History; perhaps it is true that great things come in small packages.

After seeing the Mona Lisa, I visited some of my other Art History favorites like Medusa’s Raft and The Coronation of Napoleon. After about an hour in the museum, a fraction of the time you truly need to see even the highlights, we went back to the hotel in the hopes of getting enough sleep before another early wakeup call!

Landmarks and Landscapes

This morning after a wonderful night’s sleep in our extremely cushy beds (perhaps even more comfortable than my bed at home), we boarded the bus for a driving tour of the city. Along the route, we passed many of the sites we would be visiting later, such as the Arc de Triomph and the Eiffel Tower.

After passing L’Hôtel des Invalides, where Napoleon is buried, our bus dropped us off at the Palais Garnier, one of Paris’ many opera houses. This one however, holds a special place in my heart, since it is the opera house upon which The Phantom of the Opera is based. My obsession over all things Phantom has cooled slightly since the first time I had visited the opera house, but the excitement was certainly still present. I still got chills as I entered the building, remembering that there actually is an underground lake under the building. Of course, its story isn’t nearly as exciting as the novel and its accompanying musical would have visitors believe! When Garnier built the opera house and began to dig the foundation, he found water; lots and lots of water. He realized that not only would it be handy to keep the water under the opera house in the event of a fire but the water would also help with the acoustics of the auditorium! Reasons definitely more practical than providing a lair for a mildly psychotic musical genius! As we made our way up the world famous staircase and through the halls of the opera house, I was astounded again by their intricate decorations and the attention to detail that can be so lacking in present times. It is truly one of the most enchanting buildings I have ever been in. After taking plenty of Phantom inspired pictures with box five, the Phantom’s box, the group was given some free time for lunch.

Mrs. Marciano, my roommate Lisa’s mom, is a true Francophile at heart and had been traveling with us on the trip. She knows Paris better than anyone I’ve ever met, so Lisa and I decided to spend the free afternoon with her parents. What a great time! Just when I had begun to panic over what to bring home for my dad, the Marcianos' told me about Maille, their favorite mustard shop in Paris. With 260 years of experience and entire walls filled with different kinds of mustards and vinaigrettes, I knew this would be a wonderful place to find a gift for my dad. He loves mustard, especially of the spicy variety. Maille had sooooooooo many options, that certainly there would be several here to suit his tastes!

After a bit of shopping there, the four of us walked down the street to Laduree for lunch. It’s a pastry shop, the décor of which practically screams “Paris” at you, and the food was just as wonderful as the small restaurant and bakery looked. Lisa and I were thrilled with our éclairs, and before we knew it, we were ready to rejoin the group and walk up a rather steep hill to Le Sacre Coeur.

We took the scenic route, passing the Moulin Rouge as well as the houses of Renoir and Toulousse-Lautrec. The art history nerd in me was ecstatic! We reached the monumental church at the top of the hill and were given free time to explore. After walking around the tiny artist village and making a visit inside of the Sacre Coeur itself, the group walked back down the hill and rode the Metro to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, one of the most famous streets in the world, for food and shopping. This night, instead of eating together as a group, we were given meal vouchers so that we could eat at any restaurant that would accept them. Lisa and I had a fabulous dinner together then squeezed in some shopping time before we had to meet up with the rest of the group near the Arc de Triomph.

Fortunately, this afternoon I was able to catch up on my multilingual Harry Potter collection. Everyone has something they collect from each place they visit: shot glasses, postcards, figurines. When I was in Germany with CCVA two years ago, I decided that I was going to create a multilingual Harry Potter collection, purchasing the series according to the order in which I visit various countries. I hadn’t thought of the collection the first time I was in France, and had only managed to find a paperback copy of the book on my last visit to Paris. So, I headed into the three-story Virgin Megastore in Paris, and there, in their book section, was a beautiful special edition, hard cover version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Now, my collection is almost complete; I only have to visit two new countries!

After more browsing and a few more purchases, Lisa and I rejoined the group yet again, this time to climb up the Arc de Triomph. I had never seen the view from the top of the Arc de Triomph, and I was excited to get some pictures of the city from its high vantage point. Of course, one can take some beautiful pictures from the top of the Eiffel Tower, but the Tower itself can’t be in them!

We all managed to get some great cityscape photos, then made our way back to the hotel for the evening after quite an exhausting day of walking and touring.