We once joked about how we would travel around the world in a green tour bus, presenting Galaxy Zoo and Hanny’s Voorwerp everywhere; my Zoofriends and I. And I was once in Paris, with my fellow classmates and a couple of teachers-who-are-now-my-colleagues. The last few days both memories merged, as I was invited to lecture about the Zooniverse and my discovery in a school near the capital of France…
After just a few of hours sleep (what else is new), I woke up this Thursday of my May holiday thinking how amazing it is you can be in Paris just as quick as it takes you to get from me to Amsterdam. The thought of me standing on the Eiffel Tower that afternoon still seemed a bit unreal though, or at least far away. ‘The man of the radio’ had wished me viel spass while I packed some stuff. The Green Tour Bus actually was the very comfortable Thalys train (which comes with power sockets) to Gare du Nord.
Some friends had warned me of the lack of French people able to speak English, but general opinion seemed to be it wouldn’t be that bad in a touristic place like Paris. My French is almost non-existing, but I discovered I knew more than I thought. Still, it indeed turned out to be difficult to have a proper conversation, but that only added to the feeling of being abroad. I’d also heard of the French ‘attitude’ and I quickly discovered it was a good thing I fitted in, as you can’t really participate in traffic without it. The metro system reminded me of the familiar big L though and thanks to GPS the last time you heard from me wasn’t the last time you heard from me.
The last time I was here – I am writing this from the very same station I arrived at two days ago while waiting for my train back to Aachen – was in the last summer of last millennium. I graduated in 1999 and every year our teachers organised a trip to lively Paris. That was my first ‘real’ holiday and I remember vividly we had a brilliant time visiting all the famous landmarks. It was in the days when nobody had digital camera’s yet (yes, I’m that old), so I always wanted to go back to picture it and this seemed the perfect opportunity to do that.
My lectures were planned for Friday, so I used Thursday to blend in with the masses of tourists at Le Louvre, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe and of course the Eiffel Tower. It’s only just the month of May, but I’m pretty sure the summer weather drove even more tourists to these places and so I decided not to climb the tower again. Instead I strolled along the Champs-Élysées, back to my hotel. I find it amazing how many moments of the trip 12 years ago I remember and I could swear I found the same spot we once decided to picnic because the Gay Parade prevented our bus from being able to drive back that afternoon. I now had to save myself from pushy sales guys on the streets though…
But Paris is beautiful. It’s sandy, probably because the weather made it so dry, and above all it’s relaxed. So many people chill out on the grassy bits of the City of Light; just reading or practising their acrobat skills even. I grew to love it fast and I still had two days to spend here…
Le Louvre, La Seine, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.
Pictures: Hanny van Arkel.
2 Comments
Another great account of another great adventure. And nice pictures too
Yeah, but it’s just too easy to take nice pictures of pretty France! (Although with all the tourists, sometimes tricky).
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[...] Last year in May (which is two school years ago), I was invited to give a ‘conférence’ by the lovely Laurent, who’s a teacher in France. We kept in touch since and in the meantime, he changed schools. Last month I did a lecture at his current school, Lycée Rotrou, in Dreux – a little west of Paris. [...]