IMMERSED IN CULTURE
Monday 10/2/06
Today we shall delve into the world of the art and architecture of Paris as we explore the past and present. First is the lesson Mary K. gives us on the proper use of the bidet as a foot bath. At least it’s not a drinking fountain. We now also use our vast experience to send the girls to Starbucks for coffee and the boys to Paul’s for pastries. With the chores properly divided we meet successfully back in the hotel lobby for breakfast.
We’re back across the Pont Neuf this morning for our visit to the Louvre, less than a ten minute walk from our hotel. Using the museum passes we picked up yesterday we are able to bypass the lengthy ticket and security lines by using the “group” entrance down an escalator away from the main entrance. The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and houses more than 30,000 works dating from Adam and Eve to about 1850. We grab a map at the entry and, following earlier advice, we head directly to the Mona Lisa. She is hanging out at the end of a large gallery along with many of her contemporaries and we are able to snuggle right up to the velvet ropes just a few feet from the lovely lady. She seems pleased to see us.
Where does one begin to describe the level of talent and expression housed here? Every piece deserves to be in this hall of fame and every artist a superstar. The K’s have promised the Z’s an abbreviated art lesson and the Z’s have promised not to chew gum and burp. The museum is divided among major historic art periods, the earliest western version being the B.C. Greek collection. Our star here is the Venus de Milo who is mesmerizing in her topless-armless style. As we move from wing to wing, we appropriately pass Winged Victory a number of times. This is the tougher iron-pumping version of Venus who has been relishing ancient victories for about 2500 years.
Not to be outdone, the Romans have their assortment of Caesars and Etruscans. The Italian theme continues through the Renaissance with a little Botticelli here and Raphael there with some more of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo thrown in for good measure. The French take over in the late 1700’s after the King got whacked and the major piece is the Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David that depicts this major event and all the participants. Virtually every painting is familiar to some part of our brains and the process is overwhelming.
There are other corners of ancient Oriental, Egyptian, and Middle-Eastern carvings but we are all wearing down. A month would not be enough time to do it justice so we will be happy with our highlights. There is a tourism office in the main lobby where we hope to buy SNCF rail tickets for tomorrow, but they are closed today. Ah, the French. It is early afternoon and we make our way through the underground “Carrousel du Louvre,” a shopping mall that connects the museum to the rue de Rivoli Metro station, and grab a bite of lunch along the way.
We hop on the Metro Yellow Line and zip up to the Charles de Gaulle station (the “Chuck”) where we walk up the stairs and into the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe. The arch is 165 feet high and sits in the middle of the mother of all traffic roundabouts with four lanes going around counterclockwise like a NASCAR race. The Arch was built in honor of Napoleon whipping the Austrians and has all the appropriate carvings befitting the champ.
There is a tunnel that goes under the roadway to get you to the center without getting killed and then for a price you can walk the 284 steps up to the top for a spectacular view of the city. We decide to go for it and discover that the stairway is a 3-foot wide spiral going straight up with interesting gyrations whenever you meet someone coming down. About two-thirds of the way up is a museum which is under construction during our visit with only a few murals but a good place to rest. Oh, and by the way, the stairway going to the top is also closed so if you are interested in the view you are out of luck. Perhaps someone told us that, but how would we know. Back down we go.
We stroll down Champs-Elysees, the most Parisian of all Paris boulevards and gape wide-eyed and open mouthed at the sights. Here is where the big stores, the big hotels, and the fancy shops all live. This is New York’s Fifth Avenue on steroids. We spot a SNCF sticker on the window of a travel agency and decide this is the right spot to get our train tickets for tomorrow. This could be a modeling agency instead of a travel agency since all of the “agents” are babes. John plops down in front of the youngest and prettiest and asks if she speaks English. “No.” No Problem. We need quatre billets to Bayeaux tomorrow at 7:00 AM, returning from Caen in the evening. Blank stares. Now all of the models, er agents, are coming to the rescue and we are pointing at maps and clocks and finally get the transaction completed. John apologizes for his incompetence and Dave said he could have sat and watched all afternoon.
We continue down the Boulevard until we all decide we’re toast. There is a little rain falling and we grab a metro at the FDR station and get off across the bridge from our hotel. After a nap break we get to round two of Pub St. Germain. Now that it is Monday we discover that even in Paris there are weekday happy hours with €5 martinis. Perfect! We have an early wake-up tomorrow so we walk across St. Germain and up the block to a little bistro for an early and easy dinner.
Perhaps we could have done more today, but none of us could imagine how.
Monday 10/2/06
Today we shall delve into the world of the art and architecture of Paris as we explore the past and present. First is the lesson Mary K. gives us on the proper use of the bidet as a foot bath. At least it’s not a drinking fountain. We now also use our vast experience to send the girls to Starbucks for coffee and the boys to Paul’s for pastries. With the chores properly divided we meet successfully back in the hotel lobby for breakfast.
We’re back across the Pont Neuf this morning for our visit to the Louvre, less than a ten minute walk from our hotel. Using the museum passes we picked up yesterday we are able to bypass the lengthy ticket and security lines by using the “group” entrance down an escalator away from the main entrance. The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and houses more than 30,000 works dating from Adam and Eve to about 1850. We grab a map at the entry and, following earlier advice, we head directly to the Mona Lisa. She is hanging out at the end of a large gallery along with many of her contemporaries and we are able to snuggle right up to the velvet ropes just a few feet from the lovely lady. She seems pleased to see us.
Where does one begin to describe the level of talent and expression housed here? Every piece deserves to be in this hall of fame and every artist a superstar. The K’s have promised the Z’s an abbreviated art lesson and the Z’s have promised not to chew gum and burp. The museum is divided among major historic art periods, the earliest western version being the B.C. Greek collection. Our star here is the Venus de Milo who is mesmerizing in her topless-armless style. As we move from wing to wing, we appropriately pass Winged Victory a number of times. This is the tougher iron-pumping version of Venus who has been relishing ancient victories for about 2500 years.
Not to be outdone, the Romans have their assortment of Caesars and Etruscans. The Italian theme continues through the Renaissance with a little Botticelli here and Raphael there with some more of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo thrown in for good measure. The French take over in the late 1700’s after the King got whacked and the major piece is the Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David that depicts this major event and all the participants. Virtually every painting is familiar to some part of our brains and the process is overwhelming.
There are other corners of ancient Oriental, Egyptian, and Middle-Eastern carvings but we are all wearing down. A month would not be enough time to do it justice so we will be happy with our highlights. There is a tourism office in the main lobby where we hope to buy SNCF rail tickets for tomorrow, but they are closed today. Ah, the French. It is early afternoon and we make our way through the underground “Carrousel du Louvre,” a shopping mall that connects the museum to the rue de Rivoli Metro station, and grab a bite of lunch along the way.
We hop on the Metro Yellow Line and zip up to the Charles de Gaulle station (the “Chuck”) where we walk up the stairs and into the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe. The arch is 165 feet high and sits in the middle of the mother of all traffic roundabouts with four lanes going around counterclockwise like a NASCAR race. The Arch was built in honor of Napoleon whipping the Austrians and has all the appropriate carvings befitting the champ.
There is a tunnel that goes under the roadway to get you to the center without getting killed and then for a price you can walk the 284 steps up to the top for a spectacular view of the city. We decide to go for it and discover that the stairway is a 3-foot wide spiral going straight up with interesting gyrations whenever you meet someone coming down. About two-thirds of the way up is a museum which is under construction during our visit with only a few murals but a good place to rest. Oh, and by the way, the stairway going to the top is also closed so if you are interested in the view you are out of luck. Perhaps someone told us that, but how would we know. Back down we go.
We stroll down Champs-Elysees, the most Parisian of all Paris boulevards and gape wide-eyed and open mouthed at the sights. Here is where the big stores, the big hotels, and the fancy shops all live. This is New York’s Fifth Avenue on steroids. We spot a SNCF sticker on the window of a travel agency and decide this is the right spot to get our train tickets for tomorrow. This could be a modeling agency instead of a travel agency since all of the “agents” are babes. John plops down in front of the youngest and prettiest and asks if she speaks English. “No.” No Problem. We need quatre billets to Bayeaux tomorrow at 7:00 AM, returning from Caen in the evening. Blank stares. Now all of the models, er agents, are coming to the rescue and we are pointing at maps and clocks and finally get the transaction completed. John apologizes for his incompetence and Dave said he could have sat and watched all afternoon.
We continue down the Boulevard until we all decide we’re toast. There is a little rain falling and we grab a metro at the FDR station and get off across the bridge from our hotel. After a nap break we get to round two of Pub St. Germain. Now that it is Monday we discover that even in Paris there are weekday happy hours with €5 martinis. Perfect! We have an early wake-up tomorrow so we walk across St. Germain and up the block to a little bistro for an early and easy dinner.
Perhaps we could have done more today, but none of us could imagine how.
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