Classy Classy

So I’m done with my first week and half of classes. My classes are looking interesting. Two of my classes, Museum as a Medium and Paris Architecture take fieldtrips every week to different sites around Paris. My Renaissance art class will also have frequent field trips, most of them to the Louvre. I have study trips in two of my classes- I’m going to Venice for my Venice history class and to Belgium for my Renaissance class. Clarice and I are planning two more trips- One to Rome and one to London. We’ll visit our friends Anna and Janine in Rome. We have to go to London- it’s only two hours away by train and Clarice and I both really want to go. My classes have some heavy reading assignments, but hopefully I’ll be able to handle them.

I’m trying to get involved at bit at AUP so I won’t sit around and be bored in the evenings. I signed up to write for the newspaper. I am also going to a meeting for a service club called Roots and Shoots. I have to do community service for Loyola anyway, so I figure this is a good way to be active and take care of that. I also signed up for a program where art history students give pick a painting at the Louvre and give talks about it on three different evenings. I’m a little nervous for that, it sounds pretty intense, but I had to take advantage of it. Giving a lecture at the Louvre- how crazy is that?!!

Speaking of the Louvre, I went for the first time last weekend. I went Friday night with Clarice b/c it’s free for anyone under 26. We hit up all the biggies like the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory. Winged Victory was my favorite. She’s at the top of a flight of stairs and it’s very dramatic. I’ve always loved pictures of this statue, so it was great seeing it in person. Then on Saturday morning I went with my Museums Studies class. We got a tour and learned about the history of the museum. It was really interesting and I enjoyed it. I had to pinch myself- I’m taking a class that often meets in the Louvre!

Yesterday I went on another field trip with my Paris Architecture class to the Notre Dame. I had been earlier, but it was cool to get a lecture on it and learn all about the catherdral. It helped me brush up on my gothic architecture vocab! Then we went to Saint-Chapelle, which was the royal chapel. It was beautiful- like being in a stained glass bubble! Or a greenhouse all made of stained glass.

So I’m glad that I’m seeing lots of the different sites in Paris. I want to see as much as possible!