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Maybe they'd have to hold each other when it rose, all organe and full and close. Maybe that's where our romantic notions about the moon first came from. Two people holding each other to keep their hearts from breaking, because everybody they knew was dying in the cold rocks and dust piles a quarter million miles away...
The Brothers K
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onsdag, juli 28, 2004
So, I think I’m going to have to talk about Paris thematically, not chronologically. Besides, you’ll see what I did chronologically from the photographs. But here’s an overview of what I did each day, so you have a little bit of a framework :)
Day 1: Arrived. Glanced at Opera, Galeries Lafayette building. Saw le Tour Eiffel (didn't climb - gotten more acrophobic over the years). River Cruise down the Seine. Popped into Notre Dame in time for Vespers. Lunch at Soleil d’Or, dinner at Bergamonte.
Day 2: Versailles, all day. Chateau Favorites: Chapel, Hall of Battles. Hall of Mirrors was closed for renovations – ARGH! Will see next visit, along with Opera House/Theater, Fountain Spectacle, Queen’s Hamlet. Saw the gardens for free, thanks to goober guard. Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon – the more modest (?) retreats from palace life for king & queen. Breakfast at hotel, lunch at a great crepes place, dinner at weird place near hotel.
Day 3: Museum day. Mom at work, so went to Louvre and Musee d’Orsay by myself. In Louvre, only went through Denon and part of Richelieu wing, but saw lots of wonderful paintings and sculptures (yes, including the Mona Lisa). Orsay’s second level was the best there, filled with Art Nouveau furniture and the original Grand Ballroom. On the third level were the impressionists, and I enjoyed Renoir particularly much. In evening, went to a classical concert with Mom at Saint Chapelle, and wandered the Champs-Elysees at night (where they were preparing for the Tour de France).
Day 4: Went on Metro to Abbesses stop, where there’s an original covered Art Nouveau “Metropolitan” metro stop. Walked through Montmarte (the artists' district), up to Sacre Coeur. Had lunch in Maison Catherine. Went back to Champs-Elysees to look at Arc de Triomphe. Ran into a bajillion to the bajillionth power people because of Tour de France. (I never knew I hated crowds until I saw this.) Did a blitz tour of Orsay with Mom before dashing back to hotel to get stuff and head to airport. Departed.
More for myself than for you, here are the themes I’m going to talk about.
- Personal Space Violations
- Parisians: Things to Love, and Things to Hate
- Food: the Tasty, the Trash, and the Tepid
- Musings on Specific Works of Art
- The Future of Languages, in light of Technological Advances
If you’re interested in impressions of particular sites, you should look at my photographs. They all have commentary, and I’ll include more in-depth blurbs about each place as an introduction to those places. Once I return home, I’ll scan some of the brochures, maps, tickets, etc, that I collected while in Paris, to round out the digital scrapbook.
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