Orleans, Where I Live Part 2

SO, I'm kinda behind on posting pictures and such. I'll try not to make this post too overwhelming.

Last Friday, I finally left Paris for the first time by taking a train down to Orleans with two friends. Orleans is a fairly small city/town with a long history. It was about an hour away by train. This was my first time seeing France as it exists outside of l'Ile de France, as all of my previous trips to France have been confined to Paris.


The day we went was one of those raw, grey days where the sky sort of mists on you for hours on end. I think we still had a good time. We were able to see a good portion of the city in only a few hours. They were putting up Christmas decorations and lights in the main square and on some of the side streets; unfortunately, we didn't really get a chance to see everything all lit up and pretty. What we did get to see was a pretty wicked cathedral.

Usually, when you go to one of these really old cathedrals (I've only been to ones in Italy and France, maybe it's different elsewhere), they're always packed. There are tons of other tourists wandering around, trying to find significant stained glass windows, or reading aloud from a guidebook. Going inside one of these cathedrals usually necessitates a lengthy weight in line, only to be herded into whatever church with a bunch of other people like sheep being guided onto a truck or something. It's never quite an entirely pleasant experience. While it's great to see the building and "experience the history", the whole endeavor is often frustrating and exhausting. Visiting the cathedral at Orleans was the exact opposite.

The only people in the church were me and my two friends, and a few old people. The temperature inside was the same as the outside, which isn't really all that mind-blowing in retrospect. The church was built in pieces and at different times (again, not surprising). I mean, in thinking about it, nothing was really all that shocking. It makes perfect sense that there weren't a ton of people, since it was a grey November day in a small town. But there was something so mesmerizing about the whole thing. I think it's one of the first times that I've actually been blown away by a cathedral. And the thing is, it wasn't all that different from Notre Dame. It was just that is was quiet—you had a chance to really absorb the space and explore every little twist and turn unhindered by crowds. They also had music playing—it was that sort of ethereal, eerie chanting/ singing that monks probably did a lot of in the Middle Ages. It totally added to the whole ambiance.

After the cathedral, we walked around a bit, exploring some of the side streets and the like.


These little side alleys remind me a lot of Volterra.


I think one of the biggest reasons we went to Orleans was to see the Joan d'Arc museum, which is located in a house she lived in at one point. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day in order to prepare for some exhibition or something. However, there was no sign to indicate that this was the case. The door was just locked; Chloe rang the little doorbell like, 5 times before a woman came out and apologetically refused to grant us admission. It was disappointing. Instead, we wandered into this random exhibition about some famous French author's World War 1 postcards. The whole exhibit was comprised of either postcards written to or by him. The odd thing was, the images on the front of the postcards look like they'd been colored on with a highlighter or something. Maybe it wasn't actually a highlighter—whatever it was, it was neon.

The "closed" museum. Le sigh. I'll just have to visit some other time, perhaps (but probably not).


Ok, so it doesn't look very neon here. But it is. I swear. Many apologies for the flash.

So we wandered around some more. We went to go look at the Loire river, which runs through the town.


Chloe and Sunanna by a store that sold guns. And knives. We passed another store that looked exactly the same, with the same sort of merchandise on display in the window. Maybe there's a large community of rednecks—or the French equivalent—in Orleans.


If only my hair were this artificially luxurious.


We had a good time, despite the dismal weather. Definitely one of the more exciting Fridays I've had since coming over here.

And now, more epic photos from my neighborhood, as promised. I can just feel your anticipation mounting.


They still haven't lit up these Christmas decorations. I wish they would.

This is the Metro stop before mine.


Oh look I live here.


Part 3 to be posted sometime soon. Also, as I am going to Barcelona this weekend, expect another post with an obnoxious number of pictures in the next few days.