WEEK 4 IN PARIS: Cultural Immersion at a Very High Speed!

With only a week left of the Sign Language Studies in Paris Global Seminar, I raced against Time this past week to immerse myself in French culture and the rich history of France. Despite looming finals and presentations coming due in the next few days, I’m happy to say that my mission was accomplished.

SACRED HEART BASILICA, MONTMARTRE

First, I went to see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre. Known as Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre in French, this Roman Catholic church represents the Roman-Byzantine architectural style in contrast to the Gothic style of the Notre-Dame Cathedral that I visited the week before. The basilica is said to have been built to atone for the moral decay in France following the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the Paris Commune (the revolutionary socialist government that briefly controlled Paris in 1871). 

The church’s location at the top of Montmartre offers spectacular views of the city of Paris that lies at the foot of the hill.  

A view of the cupola or the dome at the basilica

More stained glass to feed my addiction 🙂

THE LOUVRE

We had two “official” excursions this week (yay!). The first was to the Louvre.  Our group reservation was for 5 p.m. and since we had a group reservation, we were able to enter through the Passage Richelieu entrance and avoid the lines at the general entrance. Because our reservation was for later in the day, the museum was relatively quiet. 

Between two caryatids in the Salle des Cariatides (Hall of the Caryatids). 

The “Winged Victory of Samothrace” (aka “Nike of Samothrace”, “nike” being the Greek word for “victory”). The statue is at the top of the Daru staircase at the Louvre which leads visitors to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. 

VERSAILLES PALACE

Our second official outing was to visit the Palace of Versailles. We met our LSF (French sign language) guide at Paris’ Montparnasse station early in the morning for an approximately 45-minute train ride to the town of Versailles. What was special about this trip was that we had brunch at a fun little cafe / coffee shop / wine bar near the palace called Green Story.  

Officially known in French as the Château de Versailles, the palace was a hunting lodge commissioned by Louis XIII before he turned it into a castle. His son, Louis XIV (“the sun king”), made it his residence and since then, many kings of France have lived and held court at the palace. (The palace courtyard is shown in the above photo.)

One of the highlights of our visit to Versailles was the tour of the King’s Private Apartments. These are a set of rooms where the royal families of various kings gathered back in the day and where some of the king’s favorites lived. The private apartments feature rooms such as the clock room, Louis XVI’s library, the post-hunt dining room, some of which are only open to guided tours and not the general public. Our LSF guide took us to see some of the rooms such as the porcelain dining room (below).    

The Porcelain Dining Room was mostly used by Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette to entertain their guests. The room came to be known as the “porcelain room” because Louis XVI liked to display his newly acquired porcelain items during Christmas.

The iconic Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces) 

BACK IN THE SADDLE (literally) IN CHANTILLY

What was really nice about this week was that Professor Lott organized a horseback riding experience at the Henson-Chantilly equestrian center to celebrate her child’s birthday and very thoughtfully invited those of us who have July birthdays to join. Although my friend Maddie’s birthday is July-adjacent (somewhat), she joined us for the ride (pun intended 🙂). 

Although rain was forecasted, we had perfect weather. We met at Gare du Nord and grabbed breakfast before taking the train to Chantilly. The equestrian center is located on the grounds of Château de Chantilly, a magnificent castle 25 miles North of Paris. It is described by some as one of the finest jewels of France’s cultural heritage. Its Great Stables are the largest of all princely stables in Europe. We had lunch at the cafe of the Musée Vivant du Cheval (Living Museum of the Horse) before our 2 p.m. reservation to ride.

The castle’s Musée Condé is open to the public and houses a large collection of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and rare books in ornate galleries.  

Our group riding through the castle grounds

I used to ride in elementary school, so I was excited to literally be back in the saddle. 🙂

My horse “If” (I kid you not!)—a Fjord cross—reminded me of my German-Anatolian shepherd dog—about the same size and just as stubborn. He preferred to stop and “smell the grasses” or snack whenever he felt like it instead of toeing the line like everybody else. 

“IF”— the silly gluttonous mongrel who accidentally and very lightly stepped on my foot as I was trying to lead him away from temptation.

Most Surprising Observation of Week #4: Most drinks come unsweetened (and sodas aren’t as sweet as they’re back home in the US). Make sure to ask for sweetener if you have a sweet tooth.

With just one measly week to go, this post almost seems like a farewell—a sad reminder that my trip in Paris is coming to an end. But it’s still an adieu for now.