From Paris to Bruges

In the morning we went to the Louvre Museum, which I was very excited to see. The building is so long, over two blocks long in itself. It is very old-looking and originally used to be a palace which each succeeding monarch added a wing to. This makes it a museum that is interesting inside and out. There is also a lovely glass pyramid that was added to the courtyard area in the middle of the museum. It combines the old with the new in a way that is striking and pleasing. That is something that I have learned about Paris; it is a synthesis of old and new, without undermining the value of the old. I like that.

            I didn’t know what to expect from the Louvre except seeing the Mona Lisa, which I wasn’t exactly thrilled about. It was nice to see the Mona Lisa. She is a little creepy though; everywhere you go in the room, she is staring at you! What I enjoyed about the Louvre the most was seeing my favorite paintings there. I had no clue that they would be there, but I saw some of my favorites including several works by Delacroix. It is strange to see a painting in person rather than in a book. It becomes alive and personal. I felt like I had experienced the art the way it was intended to be seen.

            After the Louvre, we rode in the bus to Bruge, Belgium. I talked the whole ride to our British Pre-Tour that was arranged through the program. Her name is Sian, pronounce Shawn. She picked us up at the airport and will be with us until we reach London. After about 3 to 4 hours of talking to just Sian, I said some words with British pronunciation unintentionally. My roommate got a good laugh out of that.

            When we arrived in Bruges, it was raining which made it more difficult when we found out we had a 10 minute walk to the hotel from where the bus parked. We formed a procession of 20 young people dragging their rolling suitcases on cobblestone streets. By the time we were at the hotel, we were frustrated at the weather. We rested for about 30 minutes before heading out into the downpour for an hour and a half walking tour of Bruges. I didn’t learn very much about the town because I couldn’t even hear the tour guide. The rain soaked through my boots and my socks were sloshing the whole time L I did like the town though. The buildings were quaint and pretty in the dark. The whole atmosphere was less touristy than Paris. I couldn’t wait to see more of the town the next day when I dried off. My raincoat was completely soaked (apparently not water proof), my feet were freezing and numb but the rest of me was dry. I hung up my wet things and hoped they dried by the morning—most of it didn’t.