Right now I’m in The Middle Of Nowhere, Wales, doing my first workaway on a small homestead that grows food and keeps animals. It’s just what Thomas Jefferson would have wanted. *shudders*
I left Karelia and spent about a day and a half in Saint Petersburg before I had to move on. Although I was very nervous about facing Paris on my own, I had a good time in Saint Petesburg. I spent hours in the Hermitage, just wandering around. I saw two of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings. I may have teared up, just a little bit.
After that, and after eating at a Georgian restaurant one last time (I miss you, bread boat), I took a bus to the airport and sat on the floor for hours and hours until I could get on my 3:45AM flight to Paris. The sun was already starting to rise as I boarded the plane.
As I said, I was incredibly intimidated by Paris. But, it ended up being a lot of fun. The subways weren’t too hard to figure out and were very useful, so I went all over the place. My hostel was just minutes away from Sacre-Cœur. I went up there twice. The first time I walked around inside the building, and then I just sat down and cried because it was so beautiful. The second time I got up early to observe a 7AM mass. The whole service was in French, of course, so I didn’t understand anything, but it was still nice.
I saw Sainte Chapelle, the Notre Dame and the Crypt archaeological museum, I visited the Petite Palace art museum, I walked around the courtyard of the Louvre, and I looked at the Eiffel Tower from afar. I really enjoyed visiting the Panthéon, and spent a couple of hours there.
But really, there was one reason I wanted to come to Paris, and that was to see the grave of the Marquis and Marquise de Lafayette.
Picpus Cemetary, where they and a few hundred guillotine victims are buried, was out of the way and almost deserted. I went inside the chapel first, which wasn’t big, but was completely empty. The acoustics were amazing. I’ve wanted to be part of a French acapella choir so many times during this trip.
Then I went into the garden and walked a while until I found the small, walled-in cemetery. As soon as I saw the American flag on the other side, I started to fight back tears (a useless effort).
Honestly, it was surreal. They were right there. Sure, they were a couple of piles of bones, but they were there. Right in front of me. I left flowers on each side. I’m hoping they wouldn’t have minded splitting a bouquet too much, since I am not rich. I hung around for a little while, and then I had to hightail it to the airport.
Paris was stressful. Not as bad as I had built it up to be, but I did have to deal with constant rain, and a public transportation strike the last day I was there. But although it could be scary, I also really started to appreciate traveling alone. I spent hours in museums, or wandering around the streets just to track down a statue. I’d frequently think about how nice it was that I didn’t have to worry about my brothers getting tired and complaining, or having to balance someone else’s needs and interests with my own. I went where I wanted to, ate when I wanted to. It was nice to have that freedom.
Anyway. Now I’m in Wales, doing hard labor on a farm. It’s been fun so far. The family I’m staying with is a lot of fun (with a very cute baby), and I’m learning some very interesting things. Tomorrow I have a full day of door painting ahead of me. I also get to take advantage of their library, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to finish all the books I want to read in three weeks.
After this I fly to Maryland, and then I meet back up with my family. And as much as I’ve enjoyed this trip, I’m also really looking forward to not having to worry about any travel plans for a while.
Daisy M. Hall 