Christy Lin’s Travel Blog

3/4

i am here but it hasn’t hit me yet. it’s typical paris weather. cold, rainy. just had breakfast. My cappuchino was 7 euros (11 us dollars). wow. i love hearing French being spoken all around me. i love being submerged in at different culture. america becomes so flat and stale. i get so antsy if i’m in Atlanta too long. paris is the most beautiful city i’ve been to and i can not wait to start exploring tomorrow. i can’t wait for ana to get here. she is such a beautiful, free, spirit. it will make the biggest difference sharing this experience with a close girlfirend.. seems like everytime i travel, i go alone or meet friends out there. this will by my 1^st venture with the girls.

3/5

last night we had dinner @ café de flore. we started our night w. wine, toasted bread and cheese. this brasserie was a well know hangout for famous artists ie. hemmingway, picasso. after we had dinner @ lipe. i had duck confitte and i ate an entire order of escargot in pesto garlic. mmmmm…. i ate every last one. we took the train back and saw some young soul cracked out w a huge stuffed panther. he just lay on the floor with it, petting it and speaking to it. i suppose he thought it was real. the jet lag has been bad. we were all wide awake @ 2 am. we finally fell asleep and woke up late this morning. we missed breakfast. today we walked to the newest museum in paris. on our way, we walked over the river. the architecture here is so elaborate. it’s as if every building was make for a king. i walked to the eiffel tower while ana and her mom were in the museum. i am filled with inspiration . i took some shots i missed out on last time i was here. moving carousels … i got more than i hoped for with the eiffel tower in the background. once again i saw the green berets with machine guns patrolling the tower and there were so many gypsy beggars . they trick you by asking you if you speak English, in a tone of desperation then start asking you for money. i tried to outsmart one by telling her i only spoke spanish but then she just started asking me for money in spanish. danmit. i was still able to shoo her off in espanol. i’ve seen so many french children today. they are all so beautiful and i just love their thick French accents. i could listen to them speak all day.

3/6

today i’m at the museum dorse’. it’s an old train station converted to museum. mostly rennasanse art and sculpture. this is not my favorite art at all. this kind of art seems so serious and dark. the themes seem to folow war, destruction of evil, sex. i enjoy modern art so much more, you can use more playful themes and subjects. all though i find the art a little boring the museum itself is beautiful. i enjoy seening where art began and i always enjoy visiting my dear friend claude montet. i can see the lourve across the river and it’s as breath taking as i remember it. paris just blows me away with it’s beauty. i am completely exhausted. i haven’t slept well since we got here. i believe they hotel used paper for the walls. i can hear everything in a 2 block radius. this place i’m having lunch is amazing. i’ve not ever eaten somewhere so ornate. i feel like i’m having lunch at a palace. i felt safe eating here b/c it’s in a museum with international visitors. menu’s have english translations. fhew. i hate not knowing what the hell i’m ordering. last night we had a delcisious dinner at this restaurant that had these crazy presentations for their food. they’d stack seafood on crushed ice on dual and triple level platter and just load it down with shrimp (bodies and all), lobsters and oysters. it was almost too gaudy and elaborate to be eaten. it looked more like a table center piece than a meal. ana and i had wine last night @ a small café near the hotel. france has banned smoking inside public places so we sat outside at a sidewalk table, which was humorous. the inside of the café was empty and the outside was packed… it was freezing out even though they had heaters, it was funny to see how far people will go to smoke. i love the people watching here. women’s fashion is like a living waking issue of vogue magazine. i wish i could get past my exhaustion. i really hope i can sleep tonight.

3/6

my birthday is 1 week away so i decided to celebrate in pairs. ana couldn’t have done a better job of showing me a a good time. this whole trip has been amazing. today we went to sacre couer (one of my favorites) once again the live music brought me goose bumps. i shot tons today. i came to paris prepared and with a new vision. i feel like i’ve met my own expectations. ana and i had a birthday dinner not soon to be forgotten. i ate every last bite on my plate. then i ate dessert. every bite melted in my mouth. venison with a cranberry chuttney. oh my god… then she took me to buddah bar. so cool. reminded me of tao in nyc. the music was amazing and we made friends with the bartenders. one of them went to emory! SMALL WORLD. the more i travel, the more i realize just how true that is. i love to travel and i love the people i meet along the way and i love the people i travel with. my legs are sore from walking and hairy from not shaving… (when in paris?) i hate that i forgot my razor. i’m so glad i came back to paris. this trip has blown the last one out of the water. i miss my mom. seeing ana and her mom hang out makes me want my mamma! i could travel to paris like i do nyc. i don’t think i’d ever get tired of it. i also like traveling and being the only american. it puts life into perspective and humbles the american spirit.

3/8

i’d consider today my day off. i had horrible nightmares last night. so horrible i woke up in tears. i’ve only had that happen to me one other time in my life and it was many years ago, and it was also while i was traveling. the dream was so real i couldn’t shake it when i first woke up. i had fou gras yesterday (goose liver jelly) and escargot. i had the most delicious french onion soup yesterday at montremere. we forgot to go to the graveyard @ sacre couer, so i think i’ll do that tomorrow, i’ve noticed so many little differneces in european life than american. i’ve become immune to a few but there are so many cultural differences i appreciate. everyone smokes. i believe the babies come out with cigarettes in their mouths. many american stereotypes do not exist here. you don’t see anyone sporting bling or rims. you won’t see women dressed up as small men. the men here dress so nicely. so do the women. i love the fashion here. such particular style. i wonder sometimes if i should leave the states and leave my life here. abby would come with me. i have not found a place yet i would want to call home but i would submerge myself in another culture, learn another language and walk to a different beat. maybe buenos aires will have something to offer. there is too much arrogance in france. i guess america’s not much better. i’ve loved everyone i’ve met. i’ve met some very friendly open people. i just haven’t found a home away from home. the planet gets smaller and smaller every time i get on a plane. 6 degrees of separation holds true. today i went shopping. i’ve had the whole day to myself. i left my camera @ the hotel today i’ll never forget evans words to me 12 years ago… ‘ don’t look thru the camera too much, you’ll miss out on your experience. he didn’t remember those words when i brought it up to him, but i have not forgotten them. in fact, i have lived by them. i’ve watch it happen to others. spending so much time taking video, pictures or talking on the phone that they forget the whole point or the experience. only to have their trip slip past them as they stare at video screens submerging themselves in their technology rather than experience the world around them. i can not thank evan enough for his simple words and simple thoughts. i have enjoyed so much of this venture. i love traveling. i am eager to see it all, the whole planet. i learn so much thru experience than thru text books or history class. i’m contemplating going to normandy tomorrow. i believe i would cry. i cried like a baby in nuremburg. i can’t imagine normandy would be any different. we’ll see how things go and where tomorrow leads me. i miss my bed and i miss my princesss abby gale. my shooting experience has been phenomenal. i grow as an artist every time i shoot. every time the camera clicks i become better and gain perspective. yesterday i shot a french military ceremony under the arc du triumph. full uniform, french flags, trumpets, and don’t forget the machine guns.. i never know what is around the corner. and you never know what your artistic expression of your surroundings is going to be until it is right in front of you.

3/9

i left dinner tonight with the biggest buzz. not from the wine, but from the friendliness i received @ dinner tonight. many have the idea that parisians are rude. they are like every one else in every large city. i don’t speak French. only 15 words at most. being polite and smiling go a long way. i’ve received many sincere compliments this trip. i’m leaving paris with warmth in my heart. this city is unforgettably beautiful. i took a long look around me on my walk back tonight, trying to memorize every detail for i don’t know when i’ll see it again, if ever. i would love to return one day but only with someone i love. paris is too romantic to keep going alone. today was so rainy and cold. i tried to walk around and shoot but my camera was getting too wet. i had a long lunch and cappuchino then came back to the hotel and napped then it was off to dinner. i saw a group of asian girls having dinner near me. one of the girl at the table would raise her hand (as if to ask a question in class) to get the waiters attention. she did it a couple of times. i thought for sure the waiter was going to slap her silly. i watched the bbc all day today. i love hearing foreign perspective of america and it’s politics. Even in paris, i can’t escape hillary. the travel commercials have also inspired me. instead of carribbian commercials, you hear about dubai, egypt, india or greece. i have so many more places i want to see. i have not begun my travels. i look forward to many more adventures in many other cultures. i thank god for my adventurous spirit, my talent and my safety thus far.