My last two days in Paris were magical. The weather was beautiful, and I was able to enjoy every minute of my free time visiting a few more museums, sites, and shops in Paris before our departure Saturday morning. 

After class on Thursday, a few of us grabbed seats on the hop-on-hop-off bus and visited the Musée d’Orsay. In addition to an impressive collection (an unintentional pun– there was also a great impressionist collection!), the d’Orsay also had an incredible building. It was a converted railroad station, so it had these amazing ceilings and features like the clock (picture below). The museum’s website gives some interesting history for this aspect of the museum. It was built around the time of the 1900 World’s Fair, and the architects had some obstacles creating it: “The project was a challenging one due to the vicinity of the Louvre and the Palais de la Légion d’honneur: the new station needed to be perfectly integrated into its elegant surroundings” (Museum website). I think they accomplished that! 

The next day, I started my morning by exploring some of the local culture. I was really interested in checking out a few record stores (one of my favorite things to in Atlanta). Although they were similar experiences, one thing that differed was the organization. For instance, they had separate sections for US Rock, UK Rock, and French Rock! I’ve loved noticing these slight cultural differences since we’ve been here. 

In the afternoon, I walked over to the Musée Rodin where I met Nicole and Dr. McLeod. I think I could’ve spent the entire trip just visiting art museums. There is so much art and inspiration in Paris– I love it! In the same way that our tour guide at the Louvre taught us to view sculptures in the round (at least the ones where that was intended), I found myself noticing new things when I checked out the different angles for Rodin’s masterpieces. As we were leaving the museum, we were able to catch a student climate march proceeding down the street. We saw so many demonstrations on this trip, and I think it speaks to the history of Paris that we have been learning about. People always have and always will organize for change when they feel like their government isn’t doing the right thing!

 Our final evening in Paris, a group of use walked up the hill to view the Sacré-Cœur (The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris). The church itself was beautiful, but the real prize for the climb was the breathtaking view of the city. We were able to point out some of the places we had previously visited on the trip and take in the last sunset. Once again, I found myself marveling at the convergence of the natural and architectural beauty of Paris. All of the buildings are accented by some natural aspect, whether it’s the sunset or the water or a garden. It was a perfect cap to a great visit!