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Paris
  • Kirsten Allmeroth

Paris

A 21-day adventure by Kirsten Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 4, 2023
    Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    Sitting on the Seine

    June 9, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Bonjour!
    Happy Friday- we made it through our first week! Its so exciting to have a weekend with no set plans and to rest up a little bit after all of the activities :) After a long week a couple of us decided to go and shop around town, I got a new pair of shoes and some clothes! We explored the Champs de Lysees and popped into some stores. It was cool to see the styles here since they really are so different than the ones at home. I think in a good way at least. Whilst going around town, I noticed how many different auditory methods I used within the day. One of which being the different auditory streams used at once when in highly stimulating environments.
    Later in the day, we went and got all glommed to go sit on the Bateux-Mouche, and have a glass of wine. It was so charming and beautiful outside and it was really fun to sit with the girls and just feel like a local. This is when I noticed the dialing in of some conversations vs others, like we discussed in class. It is so crazy when you think about it how the mouth you’re watching and dialing in on listening to makes it so hard to keep in touch with everything else auditorily stimulating around you. Once paying attention to this- it changes everything. This made me realize how much of hearing is what your mind and ear chooses to listen to even over what you want to be hearing! We stayed out for a while, chatting on the seine. Eventually we walked our way home, and ultimately had such a wonderful evening.    Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    A Day at the Flea Market

    June 11, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Bonjour!
    Today was a crazy day but so fun, as a couple friends and I went to the flea market outside of town. Getting there was a bit of an excursion, as it was a bus, to metro, walking and another bus away, it forced us to really travel out of our comfort zone today! Halfway through our journey, we suddenly heard a rumble, and then a couple drops started coming down. A few seconds later, we then heard more than a trickle.. it started to completely downpour! We decided to still shop around the flea market, and the rain let up a little bit while we walked around. However, the market sellers were not even remotely shy when they came to interaction with us. Even after saying “no merci” a million and one times, they were haggling so hard at any potential sale opportunity. We had to activate out peripheral vision and stay alert in all zones of our eyesight to ensure that we weren’t getting grabbed, run into, or pick-pocketed. We then decided to call an uber to get home- as we did not feel like navigating the metro in these conditions. It began to pour again and we were so thrilled to be back at the hotel. All in all, we had some great finds, fun foods, and it was nice to explore outside the liens of the typical city.Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    Paris from the Seine

    June 12, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Bonjour!
    Today I got to walk around and explore a little more on my own between classes and afternoon plans- and it was exciting to navigate around town really feeling like a local. After class I took the metro to a film store and sent in some of my film to get developed, and sat at a cafe on the road and people watched a little bit. After doing so, I made my way back before getting ready for a dinner boat cruise. On the way to the dinner boat cruise we got to see a new side of town and it was nice to get dressed up all fancy! Once we boarded the boat, we sat down in our seats and all of them faced the seine- which was cool. It almost felt like a cabaret boat. The windows went from floor to ceiling, and the lines on the panels broke up the view of the seine and neighboring buildings. While watching the view on the seine, I had to use Illusory contours to make up some of the gaps that the panels blocking the views in order to see the greater picture in my mind.All in all, the views from the boat alongside the decadent dinner was one of the most beautiful things that I got to see this trip. If anyone has a free evening- I highly recommend going on the seine cruise!
    Au Revoir!    Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    A mellow day around town

    June 13, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today was a really fun day with lots of new experiences. After class, Edessa, Kesley, Hailey and I all went to Le Tuileries together to see the flowers and get some lunch. We had some very American food today- as we were so excited to see a chicken nugget on a menu. On the tram ride back, the train stopped in the middle of the tunnel as they spoke some muffled French over the megaphones- as we all sat in confusion hoping we would leave the tunnel soon as the claustrophobia set in! We finally made it back, and I went for a nice run along the seine. I got to watch everyone enjoying their afternoon in the sun and it was nice to see everyone in their habitat. I was running in my bose noise cancelling headphones, so I didn’t have much awareness to what was going on outside of my running zone cone. This reminded me of the cone of confusion that we discussed in class today. As I approached the Eiffel Tower, the crowds got larger, and I suddenly saw a bunch of policemen surrounding a certain area. Since I couldnt hear much- I didn’t think much of it until I saw them wave me to run the other direction as I was right in their “crime scene” . As I pulled out my headphones They then kindly asked me to run somewhere different as I was indeed in their way and had no idea. Not being able to hear more than a muffle had me in a whole trans that was not in tune to reality and I was so confused! I then made it back to the Trocadero and grabbed some Joe and the Juice, my favorite spot from home.Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    Cobblestones and Concerts

    June 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Bonjour!!
    Happy Friday!!
    Today was a really fun day. After class, we went shopping, did some returns as well… well needed ! We got a wonderful lunch about town- some açaí bowls today! I was craving something that wasn’t pizza or pasta. When we were walking about town- I was paying extra close attention to the use of my vestibular senses. I was wearing inopportune shoes and was tripping and fumbling all over the place- so it reminded me of how “on” your brain has to be sometimes to keep balance!!!
    After walking about town, we then got ready for the concert. I really enjoyed the concert since it was something so different than what we are used to alongside analyzing how we hear instead of just attending a typical concert and not wondering what stuff is happening in our ears! I enjoyed trying to turn my head- Etc to see how it processed in different ways!    Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    Rainy day and Sushi

    June 17, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Hello!! Happy Sunday.
    Today we went to cafe de fleur- the iconic gossip girl spot.
    We used our vestibular senses when we got off the metro and saw it was POURING and then got lost, running around like crazy people in the rain, trying not to slip and fall.
    We got HIT with a rainstorm, and not just a few droplets… poured on. It was kind of fun to frolic in the rain and feel like a little kid. Some nice man offered us an umbrella and people were laughing at us sopping wet on the metro back. Hearing the rain pouring on the cobblestones reminded me of elementary school playing around and being told to not get sick if I don’t warm up!
    Once getting back, we ordered in a whole bunch of sushi and got warm again. It was most definitely a cozy evening :)    Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    A day at Disney

    June 18, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today was so fun and long. We spent the whole day at Disney Paris! Starting out on the RER, we rode it for about an hour out of town to Disneyland. The ride was beautiful, and it was nice to see all the different scenery outside the outskirts of Paris. Upon arriving, we immediately Rode space Mountain!!! It was so much better than ours at home. The sounds coming from each direction of the ride, and our heads shaking throughout the roller coaster- showed our perceptions of hearing, balance, and smell! On the ratatouille ride it was so cool. Not only were we swinging around in a little rat cart on the floor of Gusteaus; they had all of the smells coming out of fresh bread etc and water spraying on us- it was a full exposure of perceptions and sensations! The way they made us truly feel like we were a little rat scattering on the floor was such a trip. It’s crazy that we can trick our minds into that.
    When we left the next ride, we went outside to POURING rain .
    We got soaked but didn’t want to end the day early. We went and grabbed some ponchos and continued on, sloshing in our shoes. We are now back on the RER, and we are excited to warm up and get some sleep for the week!    Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    Lafayette and le train

    June 20, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Happy last week of class! Writing this is bittersweet as I can’t believe how quickly this went by. Since this week crept up on me much faster than I had hoped, today I had to catch up on some souvenir shopping and last minute errands. On the train ride back however, we had a frightening moment where we were strongly told to get off the train by the conductors out of no where. We all look at each other wondering what is going on, and quickly leave line 6 as they shut it down. I noticed my fight or flight mode for a second as we all scurry away wondering why we had to leave so suddenly!
    Once we arrived to the famous Champs D’lysees, Edessa, Hailey, Kesley and I went to the famous Lafayette mall… which was truly unbelievable. Never have I ever seen something so beautiful, let alone a mall. The structure of the dome was a kind of architecture that I have never seen before- it was almost an optical illusion where you couldn’t tell where what started and what ended! After doing some light shopping, we went and grabbed some lunch at a nice local açaí bowl spot. I’m starting to believe they might be better here than at home. As we walked into the store, I could smell so many good smells, bit it did then go away after about 5 minutes and forgot what I was smelling. While eating it, I couldn’t help but now think of all the different odorant molecules I may be using/ binding while enjoying my bowl. After coming home I decided it was time to go to the gym and finish up my work- and we called it a night!    Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    Sipping wine to Strassbourg

    June 20, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Today we did our wine and chocolate tasting! I really enjoyed this activity actually. It was so fun and different. My favorite part was the chocolate since it was funny seeing all the different ones people chose! Although I will say that was the earliest that I’ve ever eaten cheese, chocolate, and wine haha. That on its own brought its own kind of senses out of this feels and tastes a bit weirder at this time of day. I do love chocolate though, as I was trying all of them I was thinking of the ‘science of good chocolate’ article, and how a good peice of chocolate really can make your entire day. It was wild how much some of my tastes differed from many of my peers which was interesting to see. Its weird that I can find something so foul that they actually love! This showed what we read about supertasters versus non and medium tasters and how we process and enjoy bitterness.
    Afterward, I quickly ran to the train station, I was low on time so I was worried I’d miss my bullet train to Straßbourg. The train was so wild, it went 200 mph all the way and the scenery was so beautiful the entire way.
    Upon arriving, I had a fantastic lunch out on the river- the smells and atmosphere were completely different from Paris, and it was a breath of fresh air. Following that I went to the Notre Dame Staßbourg, which was unbelievably beautiful. The intricacy in the stained glass was unreal. After walking around, we got hit with yet another storm, which I am not even shocked by anymore! I then reached the hotel and ordered in some wonderful pad thai and called it a night.    Read more

  • Kirsten AllmerothParisTraveler

    Scents, Speakeasys and Steak frites

    June 21, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Happy second to last day of classes! I can’t believe how quickly this all went by. It really does feel like we just got here yesterday. After classes, Edessa Kesley Katie, and I went to go pack up a bit before the exciting perfume outing!
    The perfume-making class was so cool and like nothing I’ve done before. Some of the smells were so so good and it was nice to get some smells that were so much nicer than ours. I will say, I noticed the olfactory senses go away after about 5 minutes of smelling when I suddenly couldn’t smell anything anymore!! I had never experienced that to such an extreme, I had such an overload it was giving me a headache.
    After that, we went to do some work, pretty boring in-between times today, and then got all ready for Pink Mama for dinner! We have been looking forward to this reservation for weeks now. The food we got was unbelieveable.. I got steak and potatoes and we shared prosciutto and pizza!! The best part was the olive oil, the amount of different senses that brought out on my tongue was insane! Following that, we went to a really cool speakeasy and walked around all the street music festivals. There were performers everywhere- it was most definitely a new cultural experience.    Read more

    Trip end
    June 24, 2023
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