Punch Drunker

Stairs

So Zach and I have been having some fun with stairs on this trip including the noble sport of stair racing:

We also climbed to the top of Sacré-Coeur which has eleventy million stairs but a very beautiful view at the top (See the Day 7: Paris post for them)

Punch Drunk

OMG - My Space!!!

All She Wanted Was to Eat a Baguette

Day Seven: Paris

Last night was Friday night and party central again at the Irish pub below us. It would have been a tolerable drone of noise if not for the screaming man. Just as we'd begin drifting off, he'd begin screaming as very drunk people are apt to do. Needless to say, everyone was sleep deprived and cranky today. So, why not walk ten thousand miles?

First stop: Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur, approximately ten million steps up from the Metro station. Montmartre is a charming part of Paris if one can manage to overlook the t-shirt shops and artists who will sketch your portrait for a mere 50 euros. Zach and Alex climbed the tower at Sacré-Coeur which they videotaped. I believe Alex plans to post that. Here are some views from Montmartre:













We also visited one of my favorite places in Paris, the Pere-Lechaise cemetery. There are many famous people buried here, including Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. Beyond that, though, it is an eerily beautiful place. I took a lot of photos - I love a good graveyard!



I love the rogue hollyhock taking over:





Jim Morrison's Grave:









For some reason I didn't take any pictures of Oscar Wilde's Grave. Maybe because it was covered with lipstick kisses and generally looked defaced. A strange custom, that. There were some notes left on the side under flowers and rocks. One man had written, "Without you, I couldn't be me." I teared up and wished that Wilde was here to see how far the gay community has come in becoming accepted and the role he and people like him played in that progress.

raison d'être

So, as you are all aware, the whole reason we went on this trip was to see the Mona Lisa. No really, didn't we tell you that?

So, you'll be relieved to know: Mission accomplished (just like in Iraq!)


I was able to get within about 20 feet of the picture, and indeed, it is a really cool painting. I guess.

My advice to anyone going to the Louvre is: look up and look down. Everyone one else is looking ahead and missing things like this:

Looking up:
Pretty much every salon had a ceiling that looked like this.




Looking down:
At the base of one of the statues, there was a mosaic of butterflies. Here is a little montage of several followed by a close up on one of the tiles.




There was some really interesting history about these but it was in French, so I have no idea what it meant :)

Just plain looking:
This was a recent (2007) installation. It is about 40 feet tall at the end of a stairway. I sat here for a long time. 90% of the people passing through the stairwell completely missed it.


Here is a close up of the man:

The conclusion that the four boys came to (we did the Louvre while Lisa and Audrey hit the Marais) was that most museums would be pretty much empty if it wasn't for Jesus and Hercules. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto the following stained glass window:


Yet another homage to the Passion? Hardly! It is the Celebration of Science and Art! Sacre bleu!

Day Six: Laundry Day (Woo-Hoo!)

Brad and I are sitting in Laundromat Juice having finally figured out how to work les machines. When we arrived there were just two others here. Now the place is packed. There are fourteen washers and six dryers. Hmm. Today is a day of errands. My dad and Alex have set out for the Louvre. Brad and Zach will catch up with them shortly. I think Audrey and I are going to have some girl time shopping and chilling out in the Marais. Brad will be posting about the Louvre. I wonder if the gypsies will be there…