Getting My Tourism On (Paris: Day 2)
Lloyd: What the hell are we doing here, Harry? We gotta get out of this town!
Harry: Oh yeah, and go where? Where are we gonna go?
Lloyd: I'll tell you where. Someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called Aspen.
Harry: Oh, I don't know, Lloyd. The French are assholes.
-Dumb & Dumber
Pardon my French (pun intended), but this excerpt from such a classic movie just kept popping into my head during the trip. Most likely because I think Harry has a point; the French were not helpful people. I found that a majority of the time, the people probably could speak English, they just refused. I suppose my frustration stems from the fact that the English language is the primary language of the world and therefore ought to be used by everyone, but that is just my colonialist tendencies and I could be wrong. But I am rambling again, so on to the main event.
Today is Sunday, and though I felt bad about skipping church, there is nothing you can really do about it when traveling in a country where a good church is hard to find. First on the list of things to see is the Louvre. This is home to thousands of pieces of art. I heard that if you spent 30 seconds at each exhibit, you would need at least a year to see the whole collection.
But upon entry this was the least of my concerns. I had one goal in mind and that was to see da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The lines for the museum were fairly short because it is not yet peak tourist season, so as soon as I got in, I was able to head straight for her. Many people have expressed disappointment upon seeing the Mona Lisa. They say it is too boring, or too small, or not worth the wait. I didn’t have to wait in any lines, so that may have added to my appreciation, but I thought the Mona Lisa was incredible! After hearing so much about a single painting, probably the most famous woman next to Mary mother of Jesus, it was exhilarating to see the number one piece of art of all time. I moved in a half circle around the painting and its true that her eyes follow you, and I think her smile changes subtly as well.
Most galleries did not allow for pictures, but I did visit, what I thought to be, all the most famous of the artwork in the Louvre. Among others I saw Venus de Milo, the Marly Horses, the Raft of Medusa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Michelangelo’s Slaves, Jan Vermeer’s The Lacemaker. I also saw the Code of Hammurabi which is one of the earliest sets of laws which was discovered in the area of Mesopotamia. Its importance is that it features one of the first examples of a law code which is past down from a Divine Being to humanity. Being as the French don’t really practice law, but “mob-ocracy” (at least that was the example they set during the French Revolution), this wasn’t really important to them, but to us Anglo-Americans the idea of a Divine Law Giver is immensely invaluable.
It was also at the Louvre where I think I found my favorite artist, or at least one of them. Jacques-Louis David was a Neoclassical painter and did such famous paintings as Oath of Horatii, The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, The Intervention of Sabine Woman, and the Death of Socrates (not at the Louvre). I know little about art, but I enjoyed his paintings.
In the middle of the Louvre, which is outside in the midst of the Louvre’s massive courtyard is a giant glass pyramid which was spectacular. From here you can see the Arc de Triomphe (which we got to a bit later).
One chance to take a picture in front of an ancient law code, and I pull a dull face
A small section of a massive museum
Through this small arc you can see the Arc de Triomphe on the horizon
After the Louvre, I headed to Saint-Chapelle which is a famous cathedral next to the Palais de Justice. It is also similar to my last name so “Nah-Nah Nah-Nahhh” (San Diegoans: I have adopted Robbie’s annoying saying, but only because I miss him). It is a gothic cathedral which was built by King Louis IX to house such relics as the crown of thorns, pieces of the cross, the nails of the crucifixion, and supposed drops of Christ’s blood (Note: I don’t believe any of them were actually what Louis claimed them to be). This chapel was one of the disappointments of the trip. I had learned much about the chapel in an art class and was looking forward to the breathtaking altar, stained glass, and outer design, but the front was being remodeled as well as the altar in the front of the cathedral. It was still impressive, but the pictures I had seen of it did more justice.
A view of Saint-Chapelle from the front of the Palais de Justice
Sainte-Chapelle is not far, actually only about a block from Notre Dame. So I hopped over a street and visited one of Europe’s most famous cathedrals. As it was a Sunday, there were large crowds and the line was long to get into the bell tower. But never fear! I went back the next day, and will be blogging about it shortly. Notre Dame is massive and was truly a sight to behold. I took shots of as many sides of it as I could. It was one of my favorite sites thus far. It was actually scheduled to be torn down, but Victor Hugo’s famous novel saved it from demolition. It was also almost destroyed during the French Revolution which produced, among other important things,…actually it didn’t do anything important. Outside the cathedral, I saw children feeding birds scraps of bread from their hands. It was neat.
The Arc de Triomphe was my next destination. I really liked the Arc. It had that massive, in-your-face grandiose appearance that a nation’s famous structures should have. Below the Arc is an undying flame which is basically France’s tomb to the unknown soldier (I like the one at Arlington Cemetery much much more). On each side of the Arc are really impressive sculptures of, I think, famous events in France’s history. From my position at the Arc, I can look out and see the Louvre away to the East as well as the upper half of the Eiffel tower which was next on my list.
The Eiffel tower is, well, the Eiffel tower. I don’t really know the history. It was impressive, everything I hoped it would be, and pretty much awesome. I took the lift to the very top and got a view of the whole of Paris at night which was truly breathtaking. You will have to take my word for it because my camera does not take good pictures at night, but the view was really unbelievable. For once, I thought the city of Paris was truly beautiful.
It was a full Sunday, and rather than a day of rest, it was a day of endless walking and tourism. It was a delight observing Paris’ five top tourist spots. The Eiffel tower truly did give me the feeling of smallness. It was incredible to think of what seemed to be a limitless city and that fact that it was just a small spot on a map, which was part of a smaller spot on the globe, part of a smaller spot in the universe all held in the hand of our Heavenly Father.
Harry: Oh yeah, and go where? Where are we gonna go?
Lloyd: I'll tell you where. Someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called Aspen.
Harry: Oh, I don't know, Lloyd. The French are assholes.
-Dumb & Dumber
Pardon my French (pun intended), but this excerpt from such a classic movie just kept popping into my head during the trip. Most likely because I think Harry has a point; the French were not helpful people. I found that a majority of the time, the people probably could speak English, they just refused. I suppose my frustration stems from the fact that the English language is the primary language of the world and therefore ought to be used by everyone, but that is just my colonialist tendencies and I could be wrong. But I am rambling again, so on to the main event.
Today is Sunday, and though I felt bad about skipping church, there is nothing you can really do about it when traveling in a country where a good church is hard to find. First on the list of things to see is the Louvre. This is home to thousands of pieces of art. I heard that if you spent 30 seconds at each exhibit, you would need at least a year to see the whole collection.
But upon entry this was the least of my concerns. I had one goal in mind and that was to see da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The lines for the museum were fairly short because it is not yet peak tourist season, so as soon as I got in, I was able to head straight for her. Many people have expressed disappointment upon seeing the Mona Lisa. They say it is too boring, or too small, or not worth the wait. I didn’t have to wait in any lines, so that may have added to my appreciation, but I thought the Mona Lisa was incredible! After hearing so much about a single painting, probably the most famous woman next to Mary mother of Jesus, it was exhilarating to see the number one piece of art of all time. I moved in a half circle around the painting and its true that her eyes follow you, and I think her smile changes subtly as well.
Most galleries did not allow for pictures, but I did visit, what I thought to be, all the most famous of the artwork in the Louvre. Among others I saw Venus de Milo, the Marly Horses, the Raft of Medusa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Michelangelo’s Slaves, Jan Vermeer’s The Lacemaker. I also saw the Code of Hammurabi which is one of the earliest sets of laws which was discovered in the area of Mesopotamia. Its importance is that it features one of the first examples of a law code which is past down from a Divine Being to humanity. Being as the French don’t really practice law, but “mob-ocracy” (at least that was the example they set during the French Revolution), this wasn’t really important to them, but to us Anglo-Americans the idea of a Divine Law Giver is immensely invaluable.
It was also at the Louvre where I think I found my favorite artist, or at least one of them. Jacques-Louis David was a Neoclassical painter and did such famous paintings as Oath of Horatii, The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, The Intervention of Sabine Woman, and the Death of Socrates (not at the Louvre). I know little about art, but I enjoyed his paintings.
In the middle of the Louvre, which is outside in the midst of the Louvre’s massive courtyard is a giant glass pyramid which was spectacular. From here you can see the Arc de Triomphe (which we got to a bit later).
One chance to take a picture in front of an ancient law code, and I pull a dull face
A small section of a massive museum
Through this small arc you can see the Arc de Triomphe on the horizonAfter the Louvre, I headed to Saint-Chapelle which is a famous cathedral next to the Palais de Justice. It is also similar to my last name so “Nah-Nah Nah-Nahhh” (San Diegoans: I have adopted Robbie’s annoying saying, but only because I miss him). It is a gothic cathedral which was built by King Louis IX to house such relics as the crown of thorns, pieces of the cross, the nails of the crucifixion, and supposed drops of Christ’s blood (Note: I don’t believe any of them were actually what Louis claimed them to be). This chapel was one of the disappointments of the trip. I had learned much about the chapel in an art class and was looking forward to the breathtaking altar, stained glass, and outer design, but the front was being remodeled as well as the altar in the front of the cathedral. It was still impressive, but the pictures I had seen of it did more justice.
A view of Saint-Chapelle from the front of the Palais de Justice
Sainte-Chapelle is not far, actually only about a block from Notre Dame. So I hopped over a street and visited one of Europe’s most famous cathedrals. As it was a Sunday, there were large crowds and the line was long to get into the bell tower. But never fear! I went back the next day, and will be blogging about it shortly. Notre Dame is massive and was truly a sight to behold. I took shots of as many sides of it as I could. It was one of my favorite sites thus far. It was actually scheduled to be torn down, but Victor Hugo’s famous novel saved it from demolition. It was also almost destroyed during the French Revolution which produced, among other important things,…actually it didn’t do anything important. Outside the cathedral, I saw children feeding birds scraps of bread from their hands. It was neat.
The Arc de Triomphe was my next destination. I really liked the Arc. It had that massive, in-your-face grandiose appearance that a nation’s famous structures should have. Below the Arc is an undying flame which is basically France’s tomb to the unknown soldier (I like the one at Arlington Cemetery much much more). On each side of the Arc are really impressive sculptures of, I think, famous events in France’s history. From my position at the Arc, I can look out and see the Louvre away to the East as well as the upper half of the Eiffel tower which was next on my list.
The Eiffel tower is, well, the Eiffel tower. I don’t really know the history. It was impressive, everything I hoped it would be, and pretty much awesome. I took the lift to the very top and got a view of the whole of Paris at night which was truly breathtaking. You will have to take my word for it because my camera does not take good pictures at night, but the view was really unbelievable. For once, I thought the city of Paris was truly beautiful.
It was a full Sunday, and rather than a day of rest, it was a day of endless walking and tourism. It was a delight observing Paris’ five top tourist spots. The Eiffel tower truly did give me the feeling of smallness. It was incredible to think of what seemed to be a limitless city and that fact that it was just a small spot on a map, which was part of a smaller spot on the globe, part of a smaller spot in the universe all held in the hand of our Heavenly Father.
3 Comments:
maybe its the angle, but i thought the eiffel tower didn't look as tall as i thought it'd be.
get a haircut!
ps. marcy gasped in delight at the site of the painting she wanted you to photograph.
Thanks for the cool tour Eric,now I won't have to go. Harry was right about the French! The only things they did right were to give us the "Statue of Liberty" and offer us the "Louisiana Purchase".
Eric, not gonna lie, it makes me incredibly happy that you took an interest in art. David is a pretty freaking good artist, however, he was wishy-washy politically (he went were the money was). But Oath of the Horatii is an amazing painting. I still think Manet's Le dejeuner Sur L'herbe is the more significant painting of the two.
I am way jealous that you got to see all that amazing stuff in Paris, even if the french are assholes. Don't you worry though, someday I will see it as well. I'll talk to you soon. (or maybe not, I'm leaving for spring break tomorrow)
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home