Submitted by Heather Fard on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Paris, France sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences…
This week in Paris, I sat in a cafe and had an espresso with my breakfast and watched the Parisians in their everyday life. While living in Paris, I have noticed that everyone is so chic. I have noticed that many people spend their time with friends and that the European lifestyle is about enjoying life. That being said, almost everything is closed on Sundays, turning Paris into a ghost town.
Luckily, we still have many tourist things left to check off our Paris bucket lists. This week, instead of class, we visited the Château de Versailles and the Louvre Museum. Versailles was extremely beautiful and dramatic. I have never seen an estate so large or elaborately decorated. I was excited to be in the famous hall of mirrors, and to walk through the bedrooms of the kings who had lived there. The gardens at Versailles were beautiful, though it is winter, the winter flowers looked amazing and the lawns were perfectly manicured. I think my favorite excursion while on this program was visiting the Louvre Museum. I saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the apartment of Napoleon and the French crown jewels. The ceilings at both the Louvre and Versailles were unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. On our own, a few of my friends and I visited Sacre Cœur, the Dali Museum and the Banksy Expose. I was excited to see both since they are some of my favorite artists of all time. It was extremely interesting to see that some of the Dali’s in the museum were for sale, and not that expensive.
The past two weeks here have been couture fashion week. We have been watching people on Champs Elysee, where most high fashion fittings take place. I have felt completely under dressed while being here and that I stick out like an American sore thumb. I feel that this program has given me an even greater appreciation for fashion and I hope to bring some of it home with me to the United States.
