An American In Paris

Wow.

So, I haven't any pictures yet, but a quick rundown of my day (Sunday):

In the morning, we figured out the Metro(politain) System and managed to get to the Cathedral of (At? in? of?) Notre Dame. Yes, that one. It was rather cool. Okay, this is not my country loyalties flaring up, but I was more impressed with the cathedral at Cologne. Okay, okay, it may have been influenced by the fact that the first sight I got of the Cathedral of Notre Dame was from behind two very large, very smelly garbage bags on the sidewalk whilst emerging from the Metro station. Or, maybe it is true that the first is the best. XD After taking a few pictures outside, we went inside and attended a mass. A mass. At the Notre Dame cathedral!!! It was so cool! And entirely in French, but eh. Most people weren't too formally dressed, so I was able to blend in for the most part. And it was so awesome. I have no idea what most of the parts of the mass are called, but still! It was very stirring, and at least Communion was the same as always (except for the priest’s murmuring in French). Gen, not now… It’s still pretty awe-inspiring, even to a non-religious but still confused Christian like me, that so many people from so many places share (generally) the same faith. It’s pretty amazing. And when the incense from the… uhm, swinging braziers? Burners? The smoke wafted up to the halfway point (from the wall to the very tip of the vaulted ceilings) before dissipating. It was beautiful. So was the choir- young kids, in blue cassocks. The music was so amazing, and the organ was ginormous.

After the Mass, we explored some of the interior of the cathedral, but because there were so many other tourists it was hard to look at anything for too long before you nearly got swept off your feet and down the stream of people. So I lit a few candles and prayed (generally in front of the famous statue of St. Jeanne d'Arc, asking for some benevolence, guidance, and a divine hand in some matters for myself and a couple others), then we headed out to the Louvre.

The Louvre, the Louvre... Wow, that was an experience not to be forgotten. Hopefully we can go back tomorrow, but we covered a few of the major sights. The Venus de Milo, the winged Victory of Samothrace, Botticelli's frescoes, Borghese Hermaphroditus, the Mona Lisa (of COURSE!), the Crowning of Napoleon, and a bunch of photos we saw in our old Latin textbooks. Like the Rape of the Sabine Women, the Horatii, and the one where a dead guy is being brought past a room with a woman and two younger women, all of them half-fainting, by a group of muscley looking guys. By the way, billyboyd07, the angry baby is still there, and is still very angry. xD There were a few halls that are nearly completely gilded in gold paint- that’s what you get for using a palace as a museum. Unfortunately, the French Crown Jewels were out for restoration. It was saddening, but there were so many other things to see! Michelangelo’s sculptures were amazing, and I saw so many things I’d only ever seen before in books. It was amazing. Seeing them, up close- the cracks in the paint, the veins in the rock, so close you could touch it! Well, no, that would be wrong and probably get you in a lot of trouble, but still! So close!!

After the Louvre we got temporarily lost with respect to the Metro, because there was a bomb threat on one of the tracks we were planning, and my da had to plan an alternate route. With regards to the bomb threat, nothing happened, thank all the gods. So we got home, had dinner, and went to sleep.

Next Day (Monday):

So, the Museum Orsay is closed today, so we went to… The Eiffel Tower!!!! Okay, subtract a few exclamations. It was truly an awesome sight. The metal, painted brown, soars to the sky in an organized tangle of metal girders and thousands of rivets. I have to say that originally, I thought that the Tower was, well, kinda icky looking. It’s so very industrialized in comparison to the other monuments around (the palaces, the Arc de Triomphe), and it’s standing like a defiant, gawky teenager on the horizon. But it kinda grew on me. We ascended to the second floor, which was rather high up. The top wasn’t quite available to our meager budget, but that’s fine with me. I would have passed out in fear. XD

You could see so much from the second floor, it was amazing. Paris was at my feet, spreading out in a quilt of grays and browns and tufts of green. It was fairly early in the morning (early to most Europeans- days start later and end earlier), so there weren’t many people around. Good gracious, it was amazing. The breeze was a healthy one- enough to chill you if you weren’t wearing a jacket, but if you wore a windbreaker you were fine. The Seine stretched down at the base of the Tower, or so it seemed, where barges and passenger tour boats floated. There were also a few floating restaurants.

After the Eiffel Tower, we went to the Arc de Triomphe, which was an amazing piece of work in itself. Ascending to the hollow top, we looked through the history of the arc, then ascended to the top here. While not as high as the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, it had a better view, because a “Star” of streets radiate from the Arc, 12 in all. They all led out and into the city, where you could also catch a view of the Eiffel Tower. It was pretty amazing.

After the Arc de Triomphe, we looped back to the Notre Dame for a look at the Deportment Monument, or the monument dedicated to all of the French deportees that were brought to concentration camps in Germany and Poland and didn’t return. It was a testament to the ingenuity of the architects- the monument was made to make the visitor think about concentration life. The two corridors were mainly small and cramped, single-file, and you only really got a glimpse of the sky and a bit of the river- everything else was shut off. You were in a blank-walled space, with no city around you and you were in a blank place where people meandered listlessly through rooms. The rooms were also designed roughly around the triangle-theme of the Germans’ form of identification of prisoners- colored triangles. Down one long corridor, the walls are lined with 200.000 lighted crystals, standing for those who were deported. The remains of the unknown deportee are interred at the beginning of the hall, and the undying flame in remembrance is lit at the end. On the door of the exit, above the mantel as you leave is written, “Forgive, but never forget…” or something along those lines, something you will find on every memorial of this sort. It was truly a sobering experience.

After the deportation memorial, we went to Shakespeare and Company, a bookstore founded by a woman named Sylvia Beach. There, writers like James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Andre Gide, Ezra Pound, D.H. Lawrence, Alice B. Toklas, and Sherwood Anderson took time to read, find their books, find their bearings, and get aquainted with Ms. Beach. Some even stayed there for a while, living there and writing their pieces on the bank of the Seine, in Paris. But the one standing there is actually a sort of re-creation, because when the Nazis took France in WWII, she eventually got shut down and Sylvia Beach was sent to an internment camp for 10 months. She herself never re-opened, but later on this one was. The bookshop is truly a literary lover’s heaven. If I were to die, I’d want to go here. The shelves are crammed with books, little crannies hold more loaded-down shelves of books new and old. Tables hold stacks of newer books, and occasionally you’ll find a hideaway with a narrow chair and maybe a sofa. Oh, don’t get me wrong, this place is teeny, especially with the dozens of people going in and out. The narrow staircase in the back corner serves to lead to another small storey of loaded-down shelves, and a bohemian-looking writer woman sleeping on a couch. Did I mention that poor writers are given refuge here? It’s amazing. Shakespeare and Company is truly a testament to book-loving everywhere. It’s a Mecca of English bookshops, or it ought to be. Yes, it’s an English bookshop in Paris. I loved it so much. I’d go back if I could. I want to own a bookshop like that one day. It was amazing.

After my rejuvenating experience in Shakespeare & Company, we took dinner at a Parisian restaurant on the Seine. Let me tell you, French cuisine is to die for. I had pasta (of course), and I think it was one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had, if not the best. It was fun and relaxing, so afterwards we Metro-ed down to the Eiffel Tower again.

At the Eiffel Tower, we made our way onto the Parc de(or du? I can’t recall) Champ de Mars, where we sprawled on the grass and relaxed, gazing at the Eiffel Tower above us. Let me quote (very roughly) from a letter I wrote (and have yet to send).

“I think I fell in love with Paris, at least for a night. I’m in Paris, city of art, history, and romance. God, if I could stay here for one more day, I would. Life! I appreciate it so much more, now. How could I ever think of ending myself, my life, when there are things like this to be seen? Feelings like this to be felt? What is “this,” exactly? I don’t know. Or at least it’s near-impossible to verbalize… the Eiffel Tower looms above like a beautiful, awkward, clumsy… thing- both unnatural but still wonderful, gawky but still having the potential for amazement. There are people of all kinds here on the grass. There’s a group of Italians- one young boy, one young man (mid-twenties), and one older man (middle-aged), kicking around a soccer ball. They look to be family. A group of Aussie college grads picnic and talk, their earthy accent pleasant to hear, while American students noisily discuss their colleges in their group. I hear ASU pop up once or twice in their conversation. Around me, I can hear the currents of French, Italian, Spanish, and other Romantic languages, eddying in groups of people who look like their language. Korean tourists are here too, sitting in a rough circle and cheering noisily in random spurts… God, I love Paris. I think this is a city you could fall for again and again… How can I even begin? There are people from all over the world on this lawn, and no one’s fighting, no one’s yelling, it’s all comfortable affability. I bet I could just wander over to a quiet group and sit down, and maybe join in their conversation for a bit. But for now, I think I’ll lay back, and try to soak it all in…”

We left, seeing the lights of the Eiffel Tower light up in the distance as our Metro train pulled away and into the trees. A perfect ending to a perfect day. I absolutely love this busy, sprawling, old-school hulk of a city. ^^

Alright, my internet time (And battery) are running short. I may not be around for a few days!