Not Quite Déjà Vu

Upon hearing that Kris Jenner and Jennifer Aniston's vacations in Paris overlapped with my first weekend abroad, I expected to find myself peering around street corners and glancing into café windows in an effort to spot them, however insignificant such a star sighting may be.  Instead, I was fortunately, and quickly, overcome by the energy and vibrance of Parisian life and have not so much as thought about the States, let alone American celebrities.  The only way I can describe my engrossment in my new degree of longitude is with a feeling that many describe as déjà vu, with just a few important tweaks.  When literally translated from French, the phrase means "already seen," adequately explaining the odd feeling of repetition that washes over me at very unpredictable times.  Having been to Paris twice before, it's obvious that I will at some point, if not frequently, pass by a store or visit a monument that I have seen before:

La tour Eiffel

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

La Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre

(Although I had, in fact, never seen a double wedding there...)

While we have already had an unbelievable time covering a large portion of the city, there is, as I mentioned, a twist to this feeling of paramnésie.  I may physically be in the same place as I was just a few years ago when I last visited, but I am a much different person than I was then.  The city has not changed on a large scale by any means, but my perspective has, and it has made all the difference on my trip thus far. For fear of sounding contrived, I'll attempt to show and not tell (which I will gladly do since this, thankfully, isn't a college essay).

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to take classes at La Sorbonne.  My French class was housed in a building in the Latin Quarter, right down the street from Le Panthéon.  I passed it every day that I walked to class from the métro stop, lingering once in a while to admire its grandeur and beauty, but never really asking what the heck it was built for.  This time around, I had the sense to ask.  I was amazed to learn that great figures such as Voltaire, Braille, Hugo, Rosseau, Zola, and many more are in its crypt.  Suddenly, what was once simply a huge, seemingly arbitrary, neo-classical structure became a much more significant symbol of the French Revolution and a resting place for the nation's heroes. 

To my eight year-old self, Le Centre Pompidou seemed to be a combination of a silly fountain filled with colorful sculptures; a stage for entertaining street performers, artists, and musicians; and a large building comprised of colorful tubes that you simply cannot miss.  I will admit up-front that I know next to nothing about art, and, perhaps even more of a confession, I do not find contemporary art particularly aesthetically pleasing.  Still, Le Centre Pompidou deserves more than I gave it credit for a decade ago.  Standing right in the center of the city, the museum itself is quite a contrast from its environs.  I think that in itself is something to admire; Renzo Piano's vision has changed the 4th arrondissement and made Le Centre Pompidou a destination for all.  We visited on the last day of the Matisse exhibit, one that I would normally have passed on, but am thankful for having had the chance to see. This is not because I am now a fan of Matisse's work, but more because of the fact that the exhibit was presented in a way that displayed the artist's progression, from the conception of his idea to the different progressive stages until its completion in its final version.  I found this to be representative of more than just art, but I'll move on before this turns into a shameful cliché.

I could go on and on about how I've come to view Paris in a new light, but I'll be merciful and end now with one of my favorite elements of Paris that is absolutely indispensable: its architecture.  I am not claiming to be an architectural protégée nor particularly well-versed in its history, but after taking a semester-long course in this department last fall, I do know quite a bit more than before, and this knowledge has led to an appreciate I have never before held.  There are extraordinarily intricate details on some of the most unassuming buildings, which has taught me to never watch my feet as I walk because I run the risk of missing some of the most breathtaking parts of the city (it's worth the risk of tripping, I swear).  With the knowledge that I have barely scratched the surface of this amazing place, I am anxiously looking forward to overcoming these feelings of déjà vu with another few weeks of discovery. 

Coming to you from an undisclosed bell tower on Rue Dante,

Alexandra Ballato