Europe Trip 2016: Part 2, Paris
by Shaun
Day 1
The train dropped us off at the Gare Du Nord, from which we quickly learned how to use the Paris Metro
(may-troh) to get to our flat in the
arrondissement of Montmartre. We set our things down and hiked up an epic set
of stairs to the Sacre Coeur, a ivory-colored cathedral keeping watch over the
City of Lights.
Below the domes and spires of the cathedral crowds from
around the world were gathered, as they do nightly, playing music, taking
selfies, drinking wine and speaking in French, Italian, Russian, English,
Chinese, Somali, etc.... The scene was the love child of The Tower of Babel and
It’s a Small World After All.
Afterwards, we went to a café and used my survival French to
order dinner. The French waiters gave me pointers and seemed to enjoy it.
Day 2
We raced from our flat to the Metro to the bowels of the
place right as people started lining up. Once we got in, we made a b-line for
the Mona Lisa like Tom Hanks in the Da Vinci Code.
She’s all she’s cracked up to be. From each angle, her face
seems to take on a different expression. Benignly regarding you from the left
side, coquettishly suggestive in the middle and then mildly bored by you from
the right. Clearly, you need adverbs to describe her. Her expression has, in
the past, evoked complex responses from men. One guy stole her and was her
captor for two years, another guy threw acid on her, which scarred her face for
another two years while artists restored her and a final male assailant threw a
rock at her. Now The Louvre keeps her safely behind bullet proof glass. Me? As
I have a lovely muse of my own, I felt free to observe and move on.
Other highlights?
The Venus de Milo.
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| As she dates back to the Greek period, she should be called Aphrodite de Milo |
Captif: One of two slaves Michelangelo, at age 27, created
out of marble to adorn the tomb of Julius II, both representing the pull
between the earthly and the celestial. This guy has gleefully resigned himself
to dying and succumbing to the flesh. Doesn’t seem so bad by the look of
things.
The Cour Marley, a courtyard of marble and granite designed
to resemble the tiers of a classic French garden. Each statue alone would take
an hour to fully appreciate, including the anatomically correct horses.
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| No use telling this guy to ‘grow a pair’. |
The randy friezes.
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My greatest interest has and always will be wholesomeness.
|
Somewhere between the thirteenth chamber of Napoleon III and
the wall of Impressionists (Monet and Renoir originals jumbled up on some
sidewall as if they were gift shop prints), we got tired. A line from a literary
critic echoed in my head: “poetry should be sipped not gulped”. The same must
be true for art. Our hearts and minds were simply too full of beauty and
meaning to handle any more. We began to cry and tear our clothing. I said I wanted
to watch a football game or a super hero movie. We ran from The Louvre like rats
from a sinking ship.
We were greeted with a sunny day in the court yard and we
breathed sighs of relief. No more art for the day.
At Trocadero station, we caught a grand view of the Tour d’Eiffel
before proceeding on to macarons and tea at Laduree, the dream tea party of any
girl (or boy) come to life.
Then, it was the Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s intended
present for his kick-ass troops who conquered most of Europe by 1806.
Unfortunately, the arch wasn’t completely until 1836, over a decade after
Napoleon himself had kicked the bucket.
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| A view of Paris taken from the top of the Arc. See the arch dead center of the buildings? That's Paris' 3rd arch. All three--the arch at the Louvre, The Arc de Triomphe and this one--line up perfectly. |
Exhausted, we wandered down to the Ile de la Cite and crossed
a bridge over into the Latin Quarter, where Julio Cortazar, Samuel Beckett,
Albert Camus and countless other artists have written and composed.
We did
dinner Bohemian style—baguettes and wine on a quai along the Seine. Above loomed Notre Dame,
but we were too full to take it in just then. The spires and flying buttresses
would have to wait until morning.
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| That night we mustered up energy to take a river cruise along the Seine. |
Day 3
We woke up at 8—late for us—and returned to Notre Dame intending
to conquer it like the cathedral’s vassals had intended on conquering the Holy
Land.
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| The center entrance depicts the Last Judgement--demons on the right, saints on the left. |
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| But why are the demons so much more interesting than the saints? |
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| A view of the "Great Mother" from the side |
The city was so photogenic, I found it hard to take a bad
photo.
Except for maybe this one.
Good thing I made up for it with this one.
These ones are okay.
We had a great trip. Though at times it may have been a
bit too much to uptake in the moment, that’s the beauty of photography and writing; both
give us chances to reflect on past revelries and understand how fully blessed
we’ve been. These memories will carry me through the quotidian.
In closing, thanks to our families for believing in us and
supporting us in so many enriching ways. We hope this blog and these pictures
are a small token of our gratitude. Thanks especially to Sandy for hosting that great party which kicked off our adventures and to Mary Anne for loaning us her wonderful camera.
Love,
S & K
