La Ville-Lumière

After finishing up with the trying academic labors of the last two weeks of term here in Oxford, I will be off to visit Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and then Paris, la Ville-Lumière, the City of Lights.

I've been to Paris before. The summer before college I went on a trip led by my French teacher that wound its ways through Europe and allowed us to spend a few days, including le 14 juillet (the French independence day), in Paris, the most brilliant city I've ever known.

But I'm returning because, ever since I left it behind in Europe and went to live in cold, blustery, dark New England to learn about stuffy, uninteresting things, I've longed to go back. I imagine--I know--that I am not alone in feeling that way. It's a sort of neverending village, filled with street vendors, singers, painters, booksellers, and, well, annoying tourists too. But this time I'm going to try to resist joining the ranks of the fannypack-wearing, sunscreen-nosed American visitors. I'm going to take in the sights not as the main event of the trip but rather as a consequence of wandering and tasting Paris for what it is--which is far more than a dizzying hike up the Eiffel or a stroll through the Louvre in search of the (utterly disappointing) Mona Lisa.

Here's where I'll be staying for my four nights: St Christopher's Paris. It's been voted the best hostel in all of France, which hopefully means it will be better than the average stay in a hostel...