Mozart in Paris

Saint-Chapelle
Paris, France

When I was in 7th grade, my family went to Paris for spring break. The trip there ended up being much more stressful than any of us had imagined. It all started when we were informed that our first flight would not be taking off. Panic stricken, we searched for any mode of transportation to get us to Philadelphia in order to make the flight to France. After endlessly searching it seemed as though the reality of our Paris excursion was coming to a close. But finally, with the help of some southwest workers, we managed to get on a flight to Baltimore, at the expense of some other travelers. Thankfully, I don’t think they ever knew, hopefully we wont have to deal with karma later in life. The rest of the day was one of the most hectic and stressful days in my life. After renting a car in Baltimore we raced to Philadelphia in the middle of a massive snowstorm, as cars swerved off the road left and right. I remember sitting in the backseat of the cramped car in a dream-like state, attempting to divert my eyes from the crazy scene outside our warm car. At long last, we reached the deserted Philadelphia airport, jumped out of the car and ran inside to the AirFrance desk. Believing that we didn’t have enough time to take the rental car back, my dad simply parked the car in the airport lot and hurried inside to meet my mom and me. Thankfully security was a breeze considering we were the only people in the terminal because all other flights had been canceled for the night. We ran with our bags swinging and scarves flying until we reached our gate, only to find out that the flight had been delayed another hour. We took a satisfied but somewhat defeated breath and sat down, becoming known to those around us as ‘the crazy running Americans’.

Yet, I would go through that hectic day again if I could go back to France. Walking next to the Seine eating a homemade crêpe, listening to live music in the streets, viewing beautiful architecture, it doesn’t get much better than that. One of my favorite, yet coldest experiences was when we visited Sainte-Chapelle. The alluring building is known for its incredible stained glass windows. From the outside one can’t appreciate the multitude of colors, but the interior is astonishing. I remember walking inside and looking around in awe as the light shone through the windows. The wall-dissolving style of Sainte-Chapelle exemplifies High Gothic architecture in France. An astonishing 6,450 square feet of glass make up the high windows all around the building, the largest designed during their time.

Enticed by the concert flyers tacked up in the front of the building, my family and I decided to go to the Mozart concert that night in Sainte-Chapelle. Not surprisingly, the building did not have a heating system… none of us were fully prepared for this considering we had never been to a concert in an ancient stone building lacking the seemingly simple technology of a heating system. Needless to say it was a very cold surprise. Saint-Chapelle at night was a different church altogether from the shining, colorful building I had seen earlier that day. It was a perfect setting for a horror film: ominous shadows bouncing off the dark walls, the notes of Mozart wafting throughout the interior, as a group of innocent American tourists sat shivering in the cold. Still, we couldn’t have listened to a French string quartet in a more desirable setting.