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Hannah Wilson

Montmartre & the Salvador Dalí Museum

Comments Art, Paris, See & Do, Uncategorized

Montmartre used to be a village on the outskirts of Paris, but as the city grew, this charming, hilly, cobble-stoned area was eventually integrated into Paris. “Back in the day,” so to speak, starving artists and bohemians frequented this area. At the base of the Montmartre hill lies the famous Moulin Rouge and Pigalle, the red light district of Paris.

Lucky for me, the metro line I live close to takes me directly to Montmartre! I surfaced from the metro at Abbesses (TAKE THE ELEVATOR UP – I made the mistake of using the stairs, and I think I hiked up about 10 floors-worth of stairs) and the first thing I saw was a vintage clothing store. I immediately went inside to see what they offered, and was extremely happy to see dresses priced at 10 euros and skirts at 5! I didn’t end up buying anything, but I will definitely return someday.

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Hannah Wilson

Marché aux Fleurs

Comments Paris, See & Do

This is the second half of my Ile-de-la-Cité trip!

The Metro station Cité dropped me right on the edge of the flower market, and directly in front of St. Chapelle. I was pleasantly surprised by the flower market because I had forgotten about its existence, and because I love anything to do with flowers.

Not only were there flowers neatly arranged in rows and bunches, but also pots, lanterns, and garden accessories strewn about in the most charmingly chaotic way. I’ve heard that this area also becomes a bird market on certain days… I’ll definitely have to see what that’s all about. I mean, how many people can there possibly be who buy birds every week? In any case, here are the photos:

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Hannah Wilson

Notre Dame

Comments Paris

I’m back with some more pictures!

This was my second excursion of the semester. This trip particularly will remain in my mind because it was the first moment of authentic enjoyment I felt in Paris after the dismal loneliness of the first few days. It was the first time I felt myself relax and thoroughly enjoy being in Paris. I didn’t think I’d enjoy seeing Notre Dame as much as I did, but it was beautiful! I was able to leisurely stroll through the streets taking pictures. The entirety of Ile-de-la-Cité had such a charming ambiance. One of these days I’m gonna go back and see St. Chapelle and wait in line to go inside Notre Dame.

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Hannah Wilson

First Few Days in Paris

Comments Paris

I’ve been here in Paris for one week! That feels a little surreal to say. My first few days were… how can I put this… actually quite horrible. I had multiple anxiety attacks, cried everyday, and seriously thought that coming to Paris was a SERIOUS mistake. Anybody who says that studying abroad is amazing and wonderful has left out a big part: culture shock, missing home, and feeling seriously overwhelmed. Apparently, though, feeling all of this is completely normal. Anybody who is considering studying abroad, listen up! Organize as many things as possible before your departure! Any decrease in stress is well worth the effort!! Even after a week I still find myself wondering if I should have just stayed home and instead saved up money and gone on a long vacation to Paris. Seriously consider if you want to take the enormous time and effort it requires to live in a foreign country, it is not for the faint of heart.

I’m happy to say, however, that within 3 more days, the anxiety has almost disappeared, and I am happy to be here!

I’ve been so busy the past week I haven’t had time to come to Starbucks (Free Wifi), and upload photos. I have a feeling that blogging from now on will consist of 3 posts in one day covering my previous week, because of wifi (it’s a loooong, boring story).

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Hannah Wilson

Learning to be Lonely

Comments Diary

As I was driving home alone, thinking about a loved one that I can’t spend time with at the moment, I started feeling really lonely. I then realized that I’ll feel ten times more lonely in Paris, and my stomach dropped. Foreign country. friends, family, and boyfriend out of reach. I guess that part of it hasn’t really hit me until now, and I’ve always considered myself quite independent.

If I’m going to embrace Paris %100, I need to learn to accept loneliness. There’s no getting around feeling sad, alone, and fearful – but what I can do is not let them consume me.

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Hannah Wilson

How to Pack Part DEUX: pre-packing and planning

Comments Uncategorized

This is part {DEUX} of my How to Pack series! Part {UN} can be found here, and is all about having a consistent color palette. This time, I’ll be sharing some tips that will prevent some of the stress you’ll be feeling on the departure day.

Since my departure is exactly one week away, I thought I’d get a head start on packing. Here are some important things to pack for very long trips! I suggest packing these a week to three days before your departure.

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