Day trips

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Planning a big trip is one of my favorite things to do - probably at least a little because, as Steve pointed out, it's putzing with a purpose: to putz some more! He will admit, however, that he had no idea how thoroughly I had planned for our honeymoon (11 days in Vienna and another 10 days seeing Salzburg, Mittenwald, and Prague before returning to Vienna) until we were there.

That said, I have come to realize that my wanting to see EVERYTHING usually means a trip that is full and exciting but completely exhausting. At least with a whole month I don't have to feel bad if I just hang out at a café one day, or, horror of horrors, don't leave the apartment! Unless I haven't done my research yet..!

So, it's been fun working on my potential day trips over the last few days:

CHARTRES. Since learning about Chartres Cathedral in Dr. Everett's Medieval Music class last year, I have been dying to go, so that will probably be my first stop. Parts of the building date from the 12th century, and it has incredible stained glass. While doing a project (warning for the motion-sensitive... it's a Prezi), I learned about Malcolm Miller, who has written several books about the cathedral and gives daily tours at 12 and 14:45. There's nothing better for the nerd than meeting someone whose work you admire!

Of course there's also Versailles... I'm wondering when will really be the best day to visit. I'd like to see the fountains (photos and advice on this blog post I randomly came across), but I'm not sure I'm prepared for the weekend crowds. Instead of going out on two different days, maybe I'll suck it up and visit on a Saturday, arriving as early as possible to beat the crowds in the security line for the chateau and strolling the gardens with the fountains in the afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet with my mom; I have a feeling she'll really enjoy that.

The curious art historian that's in me somewhere - I firmly believe someone should create an intro to art history course geared towards musicology grad students - is looking forward to a morning at Giverny followed by an afternoon in Rouen. I plan on taking the train to Vernon and renting a bike for the nice 30-minute ride to Monet's house and gardens. After lunch back in Vernon, I'll get back on the train to Rouen, seeing the Cathedral and visiting the Joan of Arc Museum. A long but fulfilling day!

Two other options are Reims and Chantilly. Since I don't like the bubbles of champagne, Reims might be a little expensive of a trip just to see a cathedral, so we'll see about that one. In Chantilly, it sounds like (well Rick Steves says) the house is boring inside but there is a nice horse museum that includes a stable tour and dressage demonstration. Apparently the prince who built the stables thought he would come back as a horse, ha. Anyone that has known me for more than an hour has probably heard me say how much I miss the horseback riding I did through high school, so it's unlikely I'll be able to resist that. (Yes, the tour of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna was one of my favorite moments of our honeymoon!)

Departure from EWR in 42 days!

So many sights to see!

We arrive at Charles de Gaulle at 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 30th. By about 8:15 (8:30 if customs is grouchy) I intend to have purchased my six-day Paris Museum pass! After an intense week of sight-seeing maybe I can focus on some of my research?

Some of the included sights on my list are:

the Louvre (Rick Steves says avoid Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, crowds worst in mornings)
Orsay Museum - collection of Impressionist works in an incredible old train station (visit Wednesday, Friday, or Thursday evening)
Orangerie Museum - Monet's Water Lilies! and a fascinating looking Apollinaire exhibit
Sainte-Chapelle - incredible stained glass - I'm avoiding looking at too many pictures!
Rodin Museum
Army Museum - includes Napoleon's tomb 
Notre Dame tower (best to arrive before 10:00 or after 17:00)
Paris Archaeological Crypt
Cluny Museum - medieval stuff galore!
Picasso Museum
Versailles (of course!)

The pass will save about €30, and a LOT of time, because you can skip lines! Yesssss. 

After getting to our apartment and maybe taking a brief nap (ha! not me, probably Steve; I will be way too excited), we'll do Rick Steves' Historic Paris Walk to get oriented. We'll also need to test out the best route to get to La Schola Cantorum, since Steve will be busy with that already the next day!

Depending on what time he has to be there on Friday morning, I might get up early and start with Sainte-Chapelle, getting there when it opens at 9:30. Then I could stay on the Left Bank and check out the Orsay... but as tempting as it is to try and plan ahead every moment, I know it's probably pointless.

What a delightful problem. 48 days!

Sara's research assistant

Naturally there are a lot of things I'm looking forward to with this trip (which is now 53 days away, by the way! ...How has it only been three days? Good grief.), but one of the most fun is that I have a special research assistant flying in from Philadelphia to help me when I drive south from Paris to visit some important sites. This post is inspired by this picture that was just emailed to me:

My mom(!), with her freshly renewed passport, flies in on Friday morning, July 8th, and here's some of our itinerary:

Friday: flight arrives at 9:30 a.m., short nap at apartment, then lunch and off exploring! Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, river cruise to the Louvre, obligatory selfie at the Eiffel Tower... that seems enough for one afternoon!

Saturday: leave early, quick visit Versailles in the morning, pick up rental car after lunch, drive two hours to the Loire Valley(!) and visit Chateau de Chambord. Stay overnight at 15th century hotel in Amboise.

Sunday: two more chateaux (Chenonceau and Chaumont-sur-Loire)

Monday: four-hour drive to Rocamadour, where sight-seeing meets Poulenc research. We'll be staying in an old flour mill with roots in the 13th(!!!) century.

Tuesday: second day at Rocamadour

Wednesday: leaving Rocamadour, either for Beaune (wine tasting in Burgundy!) or Fontainebleau to meet Steve and avoid Paris because...

Thursday: is Bastille Day.

Friday: I lose my research assistant! :(

We are going to have a ball!

The countdown begins: 56 days!

Steve is excited to be participating in the European American Musical Alliance summer program for conductors, and I will be doing research for my masters thesis on 20th century composer Francis Poulenc. 

We have a place to live (an apartment in the Latin Quarter we are renting from a linguistics professor).

We have our plane tickets (spending every penny we budgeted for, unfortunately...).

Guidebooks (Rick Steves) are purchased, perused, and highlighted.

Leather walking shoes (Keene's) are broken in so I don't wear sneakers that scream "I'M AN AMERICAN!" 

Just 56 days to wait! ...and some details about the Bibliothèque nationale to sort out since, oh right, I have research to do!

If you've been to Paris, what was your favorite moment? If you haven't been, what would you most want to visit?