Paris,
France
2001
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Paris, France 2001 |
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Paris to me has a very special place in my heart. I arrived in this city just three weeks after September 11, 2001. The whole world seemed to be going through a very difficult time and traveling was edgy. After sitting through a ten hour flight were I kept judging hand-to-hand combat with every one that got up to go to the bathroom (just in case they wanted to highjack the plane), landing in France was a relief. My friend Jim, whom I was there to visit and stay with for a few weeks, met me at the airport. I had just experienced going through an airport in the United States. Three weeks after 9/11, going through an airport was as much fun as a root canal without anesthesia while on horse back. To my surprise, the French did not care to look at my passport, nor to check my bags, how odd.
At first, Paris kept reminding me of New York. Subways, traffic, crowds, rude unfriendly people and all. The news that came from home painted a very dismal scenario and attacking Afghanistan seemed unavoidable. My friend Jim kept telling me to be ready in case war broke to return home. I decided to push on with my vacation, a decision I will forever be glad I took.
Paris turned out to be a great city full of charm, color, art, history, wonderful friendly people and places that could only be described as magical. Everywhere I went, I could not scape the feeling of history. Not even 24 hours had passed, when the French were already asking me to pose naked for a magazine. How can you dislike people who are eager to see you naked?!
Bohemia for days! Seemed like artist were everywhere. By the amount of pictures I took you will see what a love affair I developed with this city. I spent nights dancing in their discos to the sounds of Bonny M!
Arc de Triomphe
This Arc was a gift from Napoleon to his soldiers to celebrate the victory of the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. The first stone was placed the next year and construction began. It took 31 years for the arc to be finished. It is amazing! It is hard through pictures to understand how big this arc is. Once I was standing under it, I never felt so small in my life, the structure is enormous. The statues and shield that decorate it's walls are very beautiful. In 1920, the body of an Unknown Soldier was buried under the arc to commemorate the dead of WWI. The eternal light is lit every evening.
 Arc de Triomphe |
 Arc de Triomphe |
 Arc de Triomphe |
 Paris Opera House |
 Paris Opera House |
 Arc de Triomphe |
 Arc de Triomphe |
 Arc de Triomphe |
Pompidou Center
If I recall correctly, the Pompidou is a building with all the things that are supposed to be on the inside, outside. The building has its guts on the outside, from the steel structure, to elevators, water and power pipes and stairs. From Picasso to Matisse and Miro', the center holds an impressive collection of Vubism, Fauvism and Surrealism samples. On the entrance of the museum, there are usually a lot of street performes. A lot of fun.
 Pompidou Center |
 Pompidou Center |
 Pompidou Center |
 Pompidou Center |
 Pompidou Center |
 Pompidou Center |
 Pompidou Center |
 Pompidou Center |
Musee' du Louvre
Unfortunately, I only allowed myself a day to see the Louvre. This means you enter when they open, spend all day jogging from one end to the other and wait until the guards drag you out. If you look closely, you can see my nail tracks leading from halfway in the museum towards the exit.
You push you way through the crowds towards the Mona Lisa, block several small people's groups-pictures, step on feet, lean on heads, wack people on the head for using a flash on their cameras and try to get two seconds of quiet around you, while you are trying to appreciate being in the presence of such a magnificent work of art. Tourist were sooooooo FUCKING RUDE!!! From every country, they would arrive and talk out loud and push and shove and take FLASH pictures!
Still, being sorrounded by such beauty is an espiritual experience. You can not help it but to feel humbled in the presence of such works of art. The canvas and marble speak to strings deep inside of you. I will always remember the day I said hello to Michael Angelo's Mona Lisa, looked in the eyes of the Venus de Milo, and felt the chill of death coming from Gericault's The Raft of The Medusa. (Dramatic, aren't I)
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
 Musee' du Louvre |
Jardin des Tuileries
No it is not Alfred Hitchcock's Bodega Bay for "The Birds". Although, seeing every statue there, you could guess as to where Hitchcock's muse spends her summers at. As you stroll through this incredible gardens, you can not help but to observe the silent battle between the pigeons and the statues.
The beautiful Jadin des Tulieries (Tulieries Gardens) are just outside the door from the Musse' du Louvre, and once belonged to the Palais des Tuileries and were demolished by the communards in 1871. They were originally built in the 17th century by Andre Le Notre. This is a very popular place in the city and you see people everywhere just sitting around, chatting, picnicking and people watching.
It is amazing the things that give someone joy. My first great adventure started when I told Jim that I would make him dinner and to expect it when he got home. To my surprise, mainly because I did not give it much thought, everything on the supermarket, from signs to labels was in French! Well, it turned out to be a really fun scavenger hunt. Dinner was interesting to say the least.
The Catacombes
Now, here is a place that was really able to give me the creeps. A series of ancient Roman tunnels was used to store all of the remains of the Les Halles cemetery. Thousands and thousands of corpses were moved here in the late 1700s. You are underground, is dark and damp and the walls are lined with human bones. Now, when I say lined, I mean...walls several yards deep filled with human bones and skulls. Not a place for those who have issues with death.
 Paris |
 Paris |
 Paris |
 Paris |
 Paris |
Opera Garnier
It has been said that the whole world will pass you by if you sit for long enough at the Cafe de la Paix (opposite the Opera Garnier). Built back in 1875, this grand opera house is a great example of the great things that happened to Paris during the second empire. I went there because it was not only a famous site, but also the place where one of my favorite books takes place, Leroux's "Phantom of the Opera."
"The American goes to Paris, always has, and comes back and tells his neighbor, always does, how exorbitant and inhospitable it is, how rapacious and selfish and unaccommodating and unresponsive it is, how dirty and noisy it is-and the next summer his neighbor goes to Paris ." by Milton Mayer
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