Why I’m Having Parisian Nightlife Withdrawals

Crista Pillitteri is a student at Rowan University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Crista has recently returned from an ISA Summer 2 program in Paris, France.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I am having Paris nightlife withdrawal.  Now that I am back in South Jersey, I cannot seem to find anything as stimulating to do on any night of the week as when I was living in Paris. No night in Paris had to be a dull one.

A group of us girls could get together so easily and make it a good time.  Bars, restaurants, and clubs were always an option.  But we could even go to places that required much less and were just as memorable.

Some nights we went to the grass behind the international center, which was only feet away from our dorms. Or to the Eiffel Tower, where everyone drinks wine and awes at the tower. We would sit and talk, and watch the other kids, or eavesdrop on French conversations. We told stories about our lives back in the states, and learned a lot about each other and how we all ended up in Paris together.

But I think my favorite place to relax was at the Seine River.  About five of us would head out to Saint Michel metro stop and find a good spot by the riverside’s edge.  It was always filled with other kids laughing and talking, or playing music.

We met people from Britain, Italy, Spain, and local Parisian kids just hanging out with their friends.  It is really a beautiful and serene place to spend a calm night.

At home, not so much.  Where’s the Seine river? I want to relax by the water and listen to my friends play guitar and hum along.  I want to meet people from all over the world and hear their story about how their lives led them to Paris on the same side of the River as mine did.  And when it hits 12:00 am, I want to rush back to the metro to try and catch the last train back to our international dorm.  Please, someone point me the way to the river.