Love at first sight

A woman passes by a fashion boutique on Champs Elysees. Photo Credit: Carlos A. Moreno

If I would have to sum up what I felt about my experience in Paris it would have to be love at first sight.

Inspiration flowed through my veins when I landed to Paris. It was all that I had envisioned and more. London has cosmopolitan down

...but Paris had charm and romance.

Everywhere you turned history and love filled the air. Pictures surrounded me effortlessly.

It was magical and exciting.

London was an interesting city but Paris had class and style - making the city a league of its own.

Parisian culture was both oddly adventurous and calm all at once. People expected you to be quite on public places but had no problem showing affection for each other on the streets.

The people, at least some of them, where friendly to me. I knew no French when I arrived, but after a few days in the mix of the streets and the Metro - I felt some of the language sip into my consciousness.

I had even gained an accent too. All without effort.

Maybe it was because I grew up with Latin roots. Possibly my fluent Spanish speaking abilities helped me in not feeling alienated by the culture and city's fast paced life style.

It definitely came in handy when I was conducting interviews and/or when I was getting around through the city.

One thing is for sure, it is a city that never sleeps. The food in Paris was the best I had tasted in a while.

Even a loaf of bread tasted more real. U.S. grocery stores have nothing on France.

It's amazing what a little traveling can make you realize. It allowed me to understand how others live, work and still manage to have time to play.

If only the U.S. was more like this.

If anything this trip to Paris confirmed to me my desire to venture on to distant and familiar lands and learn more about the people who inhabit them.

Paris struck me as a place I would like to visit again and maybe even live there one day myself.

Luckily, according to legend, I might have that chance to return to Paris, since I touched the star outside of Notre Dame on my first night in Paris.

So maybe my return will mean inspiration not just in waves but random as love at first sight.

Carlos A. Moreno
Photographer
Photojournalism

PREPARATION IS THE BEST PREPARATION

Wednesday, March 25

Lesson learned today: The best thing in the world is working while having fun, but you need to prepare a lot for it as well as have a tremendous amount of luck.

Before the trip, I spent hours sending tons of e-mails to people I’d never met, researching for story ideas and not sleeping until 5 a.m. for many days.

It all paid off, as I was able to enjoy parts of Paris on the way to my first interview in the city, though the weather was ridiculously cold and windy.

Walking on Quai du Louvre along the Seine River from Musée du Louvre and seeing Conciergerie-Palais de Justice and Notre Dame on the other side of the river were experiences that I couldn’t leave Paris without. After my interview, I also got to experience Paris’ jam-packed metro at Châtelet Les Halles during traffic hours.

I could see what a bunch of busy people the Parisians are. My Parisian friend said that a lot of times people just rush past when someone approaches them. I considered myself lucky because my interviewee was very helpful and I have a friend in Paris who helped me during my interviews. However, this whole experience --- from not sleeping until 5 a.m., making contacts, to enjoying the scenes in Paris --- it's made me realized the importance of preparation.

It’s true that there are lots of unexpected things in journalism, but the more you prepare, the more likely things will work out for you.

Ya-an Chan
Copy Editor
Magazine Journalism
My Blog.

PUNK'D BY THE FRANCAIS

03-24-09

My first night in the beautiful city of Paris was extremely memorable not only because I was overwhelmed by the scenery, but because I was a victim of a French prankster.

A handful of our group dined out at a fondue restaurant near Notre Dame and got real taste of what France had to offer.

Suzanne Yada and I, being the daring individuals that we are, tried escargot for the first time. The French couple sitting behind us were amused when watching Suzanne fling shells across the table as they slipped out of the grip of the prongs.

Our garçon seemed frustrated as he watched us Americans struggle to get the snail out of its shell. He disappeared to the back of the restaurant, returned with a metal hammer and bludgeoned the shell in front of me. The garçon presented me with the snail's meat and I was surprised how delicious it tasted.

After finishing our authentic French cuisine, we put together 116 Euros to pay the bill. We set the bill on the side of the table and all of a sudden a man grabbed the Euros and ran out the door.

Everyone was confused and thought we got robbed and I was so afraid we were gonna have to pay again or wash dishes in the back to cover our meal. But the act was a prank and the man who grabbed the Euros was the owner of the restaurant.

Bursting in laughter he walked back into the restaurant and asked: "What would you have done if someone really did that?" I didn't have an answer to that question but the whole table breathed a sigh of relief that the robbery was only a prank.

I need to be more aware of my surroundings while in a foreign country and try not to get punk'd again during the rest of my stay in Paris.

Brielle Washington

PARIS WHEN IT DRIZZLES

This wet Thursday marked our final full day in Paris.

I headed out to the 6th arrondissement to meet with an SJSU International Business student who is studying abroad for the semester. Her name is Carly and she is living with extended family while attending school in Paris. She speaks French and has a job as an English tutor for a family who lives in the 17th arrondissement.

After we had lunch I ran over to Notre Dame. Although this trip was my second voyage to Paris, I had not been able to fit Notre Dame in the first time.

After about 2 minutes, I was done visiting and checked that off my list of things to see. I think when I am older, I will take the tour, but for now, seeing the outside was fine enough for me. Besides, there was no place to rest my feet as the rain took care of every possible chair, bench or ledge.

I have yet to set one foot in the Louvre, but I think that will have to be its own trip as I hear it is a maze of wonders not to be rushed through.

Andrew Martinez

Magazine Journalism