Thoughts in Transit

May & June 2024

Our favorites:

• Jazz at Le Caveau de la Huchette
• Visit the Lourve
• Grab a book and read at Shakespeare and Company
• Get coffee at Noir
• Picnic near Eiffel Tower
• Nuage Café to study or read
• Walk through the Luxembourg Gardens

I touched down in Paris for the first time on May 23, 2024. I had dreamt of this place since I was a kid! The Eiffel Tower, the coffee, and the croissants! Megan and I grabbed our things and loaded up in a (really expensive) Uber that took us right to the center of Paris. As we drove nearly an hour to our airbnb the streets were everything I could imagine. The white large apartments, with balconies that looked like everything the movies said they would be. And as we rounded the corner, there it was, the Eiffel Tower! It was beautiful! 

We got out of the car and humbly carried everything we packed for the next three months against the cobblestone streets (if we didn’t already look like tourists, the sounds of our huge suitcases against the cobblestone definitely confirmed it). We soon realized that Paris, and Europe in general, was not a fan of elevators. We carried our stuff up 5 flights of stairs and arrived at our door. When we opened our room there was one full sized bed and just enough room to put our bags in the corner. We did not mind living like this, the Airbnb was only $120 a night and was just a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower.

By the time we arrived it was nearly night time, and we planned just enough time to go explore the city. We walked outside and directly towards The Eiffel Tower, where we planned to have a nice picnic and watch the Eiffel Tower light up as the sun set. To our surprise the entire grass area was blocked off to keep tourists and others off the grass, and the city was full of construction. I guess planning a trip just a month out from the Olympics was not our brightest idea. But, we were determined to make the most out of our short three days in the city. 

The second day we woke up and hunted for an iced coffee, but our efforts failed and we settled for a cappuccino instead, the Paris way of course. We, as tourists in Paris do, headed to The Louvre and waited in the 2 hour line outside in the pouring rain. We walked straight up the stairs, and attempted to make our way to the Mona Lisa (which is MUCH smaller in person). We grabbed our pictures (for proof of course) and walked around the Louvre for the next hour. We ate lunch and headed home for a MUCH needed afternoon nap and woke up just in time for dinner. The food in Paris was very underwhelming, as well as the croissants, but hey, we were in Paris! 

After dinner we made our way to my now favorite place in the city, La Caveau de la Huchette. Le Caveau de la Huchette was the best jazz club I have ever been to. Fun fact, this jazz club was in the movie La La Land, which made it even more incredible.

Now, let me set the scene. The drinks at Le Caveau de la Huchette weren’t particularly memorable, but the atmosphere more than made up for it. Tucked away underground, this historic club hosts a live jazz band that plays for hours each night. We arrived around midnight, just as the party was getting into full swing.

The energy was electric. The entire room was dancing—something you almost never see in America. What struck me the most was how natural it was for strangers to ask each other to dance. It felt like stepping back in time (cut me some slack, I’m only 20!). Men of all ages were asking young women to dance, and to my surprise, they always said yes. There was a charm and grace to it all that felt so refreshingly different.

I stood there, soaking it all in, watching the joy on everyone’s faces, and feeling like I’d discovered a hidden world. We finally made our way home around 3 AM, exhausted but exhilarated, and fell straight into bed.

We left Paris the next morning to head towards Lake Como, but loved Paris so much we decided to come back in June with our friends, Maggie, Elizabeth, and Katie who were studying abroad in Europe also. They loved the jazz bar just as much as us.

Entry from Paris:

“I was sitting on the subway today when I overheard a conversation between a young girl and her mother. The girl, still dressed in her school uniform, sat on the subway’s windowsill. She asked loudly, “What is the world?” Her mother laughed, walked over to her, and gently reminded her to keep her voice down. I couldn’t quite make out her mother’s reply, but whatever she said must have sparked something because the girl continued, “Why can’t everyone in the world eat food?”

Her curiosity and eagerness to solve some of the world’s largest problems captivated me. She went on to excitedly share everything she’d learned at school that day. Her mother listened politely but not with the same intensity as her daughter spoke. Watching this exchange, I couldn’t help but reflect on the nature of youth and its curiosity. It made me wonder: why does society seem so eager to escape youth?

From as far back as I can remember, I wanted to grow up. I counted down the days until I could stay up past 7 p.m., drive, have no curfew, and finally experience “freedom.” But now, living in this so-called freedom, I feel a strange loss. My eagerness to learn has dulled, my sense of wonder has faded, and problems like hunger and inequality seem too far out of reach, if not impossible.

I find myself longing to reclaim the youth I was so eager to leave behind. Why are we so desperate to grow up? When do we start believing that curiosity and hope are childish and that maturity means settling? Maybe the young girl on the subway had it right. If we all thought more like children—bold, curious, and unafraid to ask the big questions—perhaps we’d find solutions more quickly. Maybe nothing would feel “too far out of reach.”

Olivia K