Honfleur & Another Notre Dame

At the end of our time studying abroad, I left for the weekend to go visit a friend in London and I got to travel to London with Lizzy which was a lot of fun… despite the annoying cold I had conveniently gotten the night before we left. Saturday through Monday we spent time around London, and Monday afternoon I returned to Paris on my own to meet up with my Family for my final week in Europe.

We stayed in Paris Monday and Tuesday, and in that short period of time I met them at Montmartre, we went to Versailles, and got to the top of the Eiffel tower (there’s a separate post to come on that experience). They also saw a good amount of Paris highlights, like Notre Dame, the Louvre, etc. before I had returned from London. Wednesday we got up bright and early to board a train to Rouen, where we rented a car and quickly see the Notre Dame cathedral… it looked like the one in Paris except for the fact that it was poorly kept up and there weren’t nearly as many people (in fact, there were next to none) who cared it was there. After our quick stop at the cathedral we made our way to Honfleur.

Honfleur was a beautiful costal town that seemed to take the breath away from each person in my family. My pictures don't do it justice. Sadly, we had limited time in Honfleur, so knowing we had a lot of driving to go we decided to spend that time eating a nice lunch along the harbor. It seemed there were an endless amount of restaurants all packed with customers sitting outside enjoying the heat and quality seafood, most restaurants had nearly identical menu items. We finally found a place with an open table, and an option for my picky brother to eat, and enjoyed our time out of our rental car (we called it the big blue rolling turd… RV reference anyone?) Being in Honfleur, even for the short amount of time that we were, really got me thinking about how many different places there are to see in France, and how diverse the country’s towns can be. I felt like I definitely began to get a grasp of the French culture but each town I visited added to that, and I didn’t even make it to all the regions I wanted to.

I’m so happy we got to see Honfleur, for me it was worth going out of our way to have the short experience we had. In retrospect, I would have liked us to plan more time there. It is definitely a town I would recommend visiting if you have the chance.

Thoughts on Toleration

Perhaps one of the most interesting, and most heated, discussions we had during our philosophy course was the discussion regarding Voltaire’s “Toleration” and it seemed everyone had something to say. The topic of how we as human beings treat others and coexist with different cultures, viewpoints, religions, etc. is always an interesting subject to explore. There is something to be said about the need to understand and tolerate one another. Yet, as our conversation delved into the idea of toleration an interesting point was made: doesn’t the word toleration itself seem to suggest there is something that cannot be accepted, but instead must be tolerated?

It’s something I honestly hadn’t thought about when examining Voltaire’s essay, but after that discussion it’s something I thought a lot about. Personally, I do think that using the word toleration is not the ideal. The conversation should be about inclusion and acceptance. The end goal in ending stereotypes or hatred towards a group because of its general identity is not to deal with it but to embrace it. However, there is something to be said about the steps you have to take to get there. Toleration is far better than hatred. Wouldn’t we rather someone tolerate a group or idea and coexist in a civil manner than either no toleration? If toleration is what it takes to get people to open their minds or to live their life without hurting others than I don’t think it’s such a bad thing. Though being tolerated is not nearly as comforting as being understood, it is at the very least a baby step in the right direction.

Flâneurs

Before my stay in Paris, I had never heard of the concept of, or even the word, the flâneur. In the beginning, it seemed to be such an obvious observation. Of course walking, observing, and experiencing the city was a way of developing an understanding of yourself and the things around you. Throughout our stay in Paris the word was constantly brought up, it seemed everywhere we went and everything we did there was a reference to the flâneur whether it was related to academics or our little inside jokes. It seemed like the word was always looming over us, reminding us we were on an academic trip to experience and more importantly learn about Paris and the arts and culture within it.

However, as haunting as the word could be, it came to be one of my greatest takeaways from both the philosophy class and the trip as a whole. There is something to be said about Baudelaire and Benjamin’s examination of the flâneur. It was a concept simple enough for people like me, that don’t always understand the complexity of all things philosophy related, to understand and really embrace. Soon after being exposed to this word, I found myself relating to the concept more and more. Experiencing a city, or anything for that matter, takes just that: experiencing it. Anyone can philosophize and build their experience by walking through and interacting with the things around them. Every day we were asking questions, learning new things, and adapting to the world around us. We were the ultimate flâneurs whether we wanted to admit it or not. Ultimately our experiences shaped who we are, and left an impact on how we think about the world, those around us, and maybe most profoundly, ourselves. Though I would like to think everyone is constantly partaking in some form of being a flâneur, our time in Paris was focused on embracing the concept of immersing yourself in a city and seeing where it takes you. As cheesy as it sounds, living out those three months of being a flâneur is something I will always cherish, and I hope to continually strive to be a flâneur in every setting I am placed.

Maybe there's more to Imagination....

“imagination: every one is jostled by it, but some are overthrown by it.”

For as long as I can remember I have been full of imagination. One of my favorite things in life is dreaming and using my imagination to be creative and fulfill my hopes. The word imagination has always been something positive in my life; a way to describe the interworking of my thoughts and dreams. I was excited to read Montaigne’s “Of the Force of the Imagination” because I thought it would emphasize the power and the importance of the imagination. Instead it seems that Montaigne was questioning the power of imagination to take over an individual and those around them.

“’tis quite another thing, when the imagination works not only upon one’s own particular body, but upon that of others also.”

I don’t know that I fully connected with the point Montaigne was trying to make. However, his essay did get me thinking about another aspect of imagination. When someone becomes consumed with an idea, they start to embrace that concept. Their enthusiasm and attachment to that idea can then lend itself to others, and in a way it seems the imagination of one person has become contagious, plaguing others. It’s interesting to think about the power imagination can have over ourselves, and the people that surround us. Though this power can be positive and productive to our lives, it is also the type of power that can turn into a type of evil or negativity. Montaigne’s essay made me start to consider that there’s more to imagination than the positive dreams, imagination can fuel the negative as well.

Walking In The City

Certeau’s “Walking in the City” is intriguing in that it investigates the effects of those who think they determine the city, and the people on the ground who actually makeup the city. Walking through a city really does give a perspective to the city that wouldn’t be seen from the drawing room. It’s the experiences in a city that shape the culture. Though the planning of a city is essential to its livelihood and success as a whole, there is something to be said about the effect the citizens have on a city after the planning has taken place. The tools and plans put forth by the creators of the city become merely the foundation for the city as a whole.

“Walking in the City” got me thinking about the difference between the concept of the city and the experience of the city. So often we conceptualize what it would be like to live somewhere else, or to visit a place we’ve never been. For me, I always thought about living in Paris. I thought about how Paris was supposed to be, how it had been portrayed. I knew about the design of Paris with the arrondissements being organized in the shape of a snail shell, and I knew a few vague descriptions of what some of the major arrondissements were like. However, it wasn’t until I was walking and living within the city that I truly began to conceptualize what each neighborhood was like. The same could be said for my experience in Chicago. There is always the stereotype and plan of what a neighborhood is supposed to be, but it is not until you are out experiencing the neighborhood that it truly becomes what it is meant to be.