Beautiful background for an ‘au revoir‘.
My time in Paris is coming to an end. The year has passed very quickly and it feels weird to leave this beautiful city now.
In order to have a proper good bye I crammed lots of things I wanted to do but never have into the last few weeks as if this was my once-in-a-lifetime chance to do so. I am certain though, that a return won’t wait for long. Ce n’est qu’un au revoir, Paris [It is only a so long, Paris].
Of course, I came to Paris to study, so towards the end of the semester I had the usual bulk of essays and exams to get through. At least this semester I was a lot better organised and managed to squeeze the presentations into the first few weeks so they were out of the way. Still, it was a lot of work as I had some highly demanding professors this week that didn’t quite realise that exchange students are not that prepared to invest loads into extensive research papers.
However, let me concentrate on the nice things that filled my last month here.
I had quite a lot of visitors recently as my friends realised that soon they wouldn’t have the opportunity anymore to claim free accommodation in Paris. Obviously those visits were great fun, despite the weather impairing with my sightseeing plans.
The other weekends were filled with house parties at friend’s places, pot lucks, picnics by the Seine or the Eiffel tower, park runs in the sun and various modes of consuming wine.
Always impressive how much stuff one can accumulate during nine months.
Then, for the last two weeks, my family came to Paris. This was very handy as they rented a holiday apartment where I could live as well; saving some money on rent. It was also cool to things I wanted to do but lacked money, a car, or organisation and for those I was happy to provide semi-guided tours through the city I called home for over nine months and visit all the museums once more.
We visited Monet’s garden in Giverny which was certainly amazing. I have been to the Musee de l’Orangerie so often that it was about time to see the artist’s inspiration in full colour and real life.
One evening I also got to watch the ballet with my mum in the Opéra Garnier and another we went to the Philharmonie de Paris for a classical concert. I very much like these kind of things so they were a proper treat.
On one of the last days we had lunch on top of the Tour Montparnasse with amazing views over Paris as we celebrated my mum’s birthday.
Overall it was nice to show ‘my Paris’ to my parents and it was good to take in this much of Paris during my lasts days there.
I have a lot planned for the summer so I have a lot to look forward to. Nevertheless it was sad to say goodbye, especially to friends I won’t see for a very long time now.
Alors, au revoir Paris!
Durham Students Abroad 