After a four-hour mechanical delay at O’Hare, I’ve arrived in Paris, finding that the RER train from the airport to Paris was not running (presumably on strike, as often happens). But I made it, and took a walk around central Paris, which, after over 40 hours without sleep, was all I could do. A few random shots:
I found ducks! The Seine has many of them, but I never noticed! Swans, too.
The most famous tourist site in France. Even in November the lines were too long to get in, and it’s free:
And, on the Rue de Seine, which harbors many galleries, a work of art: “Doubting Mickey”. You can’t get more blasphemous than this;
My favorite cathedral and walk. Haven’t seen in 62 years
Yep, me too, lived across the Seine at Quai de la Tournelle in the summer of 1968, the year of les Evenements…. Prof. Ceiling Cat (pbuh) will have to be my avatar.
It looks as if the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the Carpenter are at loggerheads as to which type of wood makes the best broomstick😸.
At loggerheads. Now there’s a word that could have an interesting origin.
A ‘logger-head’ was literally a ‘block-head’. A logger was a thick block of timber which was fastened to a horse’s leg to prevent it from running away. In the 17th century, a loggerhead was also recorded as ‘an iron instrument with a long handle used for melting pitch and for heating liquids’. It is likely that the use of these tools as weapons was what was being referred to when rivals were first said to be ‘at loggerheads’.
You’re looking pretty good for a sixty-something who’s gone 40 hours without sleep.
You’re looking pretty good for a sixty-something who’s gone 40 hours without sleep.
I’ve had eight hours and still I’m double posting.
Entry to Catholic churches is nearly always free to the regret of the Church that has according to Mephisto a big stomach.
Apropos: I am looking forward to reading about your Paris food discoveries.
You have to pay to get into St Paul’s in London. Sixteen quid and so a short queue. Much the same at Westminster Abbey.
Neither of those are Catholic churches.
I’m excited in expectation of a vicarious tour. I’ve been in Paris a few times and always have the feeling I should have stayed longer. Much longer.
Micky mouse has a belly button. Who were Micky’s parents??
Walter.
Re: Doubting Mickey.
I think you can get wayyy more blasphemous than that, but it might be the most you can get in a mainstream art gallery.
I plan to be in Paris next summer. Enjoy.
Some adventures in Paris of long ago— concerning such basics of French culture as the carte de sejour, escargot tongs, suppositories, and existentialism—can be found at:
http://www.ralphmag.org/IV/pacte-des-loups.html
That’s an interesting list of activities. I would shy away from combining them. 😉
You cannot get more blasphemous than that? I bet the French can. They have a long and proud history of blasphemy, bless them. And sarcastic humour, bless them twice.
I bet you can get good food in France, nearly as good as in Belgium ( 😉 ). Looking forward to your mouthwatering food posts (yes, I know I sometimes hate them, but just because I can’t eat posts).
A quick search tells me that an onomatopoeic duck quacks (Le canard cancane) coin-coin. Nifty.
Our best Paris adventure: we always get the multi-day pass for the water taxi (bus?) that circulates on the Seine. Going for an evening ride to enjoy the lights, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower stop just as a large group of musicians were doing a serenade with French style hunting horns. Amazing. To fully appreciate this experience, you need to know that I am an avid amateur horn player. Oh, and our best stay in Paris: we rented one of the houseboats tied up along the river just down from Notre Dame.
If you have the time, the Musée de Cluny is a gem.
I dispute that. I reckon it’s the Eiffel Tower.
I was about to say the same. Monsieur Eiffel’s ‘temporary’ monument to science and engineering is – probably – the most recognised structure on the planet.
cr
And one of the very few rivals for that honour, the Statue of Liberty, is also Monsieur Eiffel’s work.
I thought the Eiffel Tower was now in Vegas. Near the Pyramid. Postmodern geography.
I understand there is one in China too.
Paris has to be my favourite city. Even the women walking down the street somehow look more stylish than anywhere else in the world (that I’ve seen).
And all* the buildings, even the tenements, are elegant stone buildings.
*to a first approximation. There may be an ugly building somewhere in Paris but I haven’t found it yet 😉
cr
The Three Bastards of Paris – The Pompidou, the Pyramide and the Tour Montparnasse – are all popularly considered the ugliest buildings in the city.
Have a wonderful time, Jerry!
Who’s the nice person taking the photos of you?
The artist was indeed blasphemous with that sculpture! Jesus’s lifeline is too long!
…or too short.
Jesus’s hand is awfully large; I wonder if that means…….?
Yes, I’m sure it does. Just like a puppy, when he finishes growing, he’ll be much taller. 😎