Bonjour Mes Amies!

I have been thinking a lot of my time in Paris...it seems the further away from it I get, the more I realize how much I love it.

I was taken aback originally by the costs ( okay you bleed money in Paris, just know that ahead of time) and by the very uprightness of the city.

Now as I reflect upon it, I am also seeing behind the veneer of Paris a little better.

The warmth in people's face as I worked to speak their language, the welcoming smells from every nook and cranny.....(so much pastry) The sheer volume of art....
A city that respects its art that much has got to be doing something right.

Here are a few pics of "My Paris"!
A growing love affair of the senses



















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food...France...yummmm

Continuing with my food yumminess, I next want to discuss my time in Paris and the mmmmmmmm.....tasties I had there.

My mom "Mumzie" has always given me escargot, since I was a little Kimmee.....escargot and spaghetti usually, a funny combination for sure, but after 7 weeks of travel, I was craving a little "taste of home...

So I took myself out for dinner in the Opera De Les Halles District, where I was staying and had dinner here...


I ordered...drum roll please....

Escargots and lasagne.........mmmmmmmmmmmmm funnilly enough, it tasted like home and Paris at the same time.
Combined with a yummy Pinot Noir and fantastic crumbly bread for dipping, what is escargot for if not garlic/butter sauce drenched bread, I was in heaven........mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Now let's talk pastries and Paris....oh man..could I eat enough yummy things from street vendors?
I don't think so. My fave was a little stand outside the Louvre in the Tuillerries, where I ordered "un paine de chocolat et un quiche de fromage, s'il vous plait"

Best Quiche I have ever...ever...ever...had.
Sigh..no pics sorry, but trust me it tasted fantastique!

after getting all that off my chest ( see previous posts)

I am spending my last night in Paris and begining my last full week in Europe...sigh!

I have exhausted myself by spending all morning at the Louvre, some 5 hours...and really just getting from floor to floor is a marathon...up the stairs, down some stairs...up and escalator, over to the left walk though an arch......down an escalator...and that is just to get to the 1st floor! Whew!

After being quite blown away by both the art and the extreme rudeness of the masses....I walked through the entire tuilierries jardin to the L'orangerie, taking in a cafe au lait by a fountain mid route..( it is a good 40 minutes from end to end)

What the Louvre offers in palatial granduer that sometimes competes with the art, the L'Orangerie makes up for with its simplicity. To view the Nymphees series, in natural light, in a simple oval room......divine and perfect and 3 hours disappears in a blip.

I feel I have taken in as much as I can, and actually come out having experienced and walked through a lot.

Saturday
-Musee D'Orsey
-walk along the Seine and the Champs Elysee, people watching

Sunday
-The Seine, other side and patisserie stopover
-Arc de triumph, T'our Eiffel, Notre Dame, La Concorde Square, Pantheon, Jardins de Luxemburgh, Les invalides and more...
-dinner at a Moulin Rouge inspired tastiness....mmmmm....escargot!...outside cafe seats to people watch

Monday
-The Louvre
-la Touilleries Jardin
-L'Orangerie
-Louvre undergroung mall, for shopping people watching
-shopping at local market for tomorrow's train ride

and now have my feet up and am preparing a quiet night's stroll along the Seine...seriously can not get enough of that...and then to Liverpool Tuesday...

Ahhhhh, Paris....Je suis enchantement, merci Bouqous!

A little art lesson for gallery viewing….

Okay people…I have spent the weekend at some of the world’s most astounding art museums, The Mussee D’Orsey, The Louvre, The Orangerie, and I have a little museum etiquette guide I feel the need to share..

1: don’t stand in line if you have a museum pass and do read the small print, you will wait endlessly only to find out you could have walked right in the front door with pass….line is to BUY tickets…..( not me, others who complained loudly about this, I read the small print thank you very much ☺!

2: DO NOT, walk, stand, stop, block or otherwise impair the viewing pleasure of those people who are actually taking in the art with eyes, in order for you to snap a picture, only seeing the painting through the lense of your camera.

3: it is called deodorant people…say it with me….. D E O D O R A N T …..and I don’t care if you have been living under a rock for 6 months….when entering a sophisticated environment in close quarters with others, remember your pit stick please.

4: timing people, timing….take a few moments……..pick what you want to see and allow just a few distractions along the way to chosen area…….don’t keep twisting down corridors, ending up helpelssly lost and then complaing art viewing is tiring (not me… overheard in line) I mean really…it is leanoardo Da Vinco…how can that be tiring?

5: PLLLLLLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE……
There is no need to fight, claw, scratch or otherwise maim art enthusiasts because all you want to see is the Mona Lisa and oh my god, we are standing looking at the rest of the art in the room and blocking your access to the mosh in front of her.
It isn’t even that great in person……

6: and finally…….take your time……be in the moment and drink in the sublime creations you are speeding past. These works of art were all created by a pair of hands……appreciate it for what it is and also recognize what it isn’t, you don’t have to love everything, just cause the guide books say.
.
This is the mosh in front of Mona I am talking about......see why deordorant is an important part of this equation....?

The Mona Lisa, or "what is all the fuss about?'

I don’t get it…truly, I am baffled…..after clawing my way politely through the mosh, and I mean….MOSH of people fighting for the perfect picture…forget about just getting to look at it with your eyes, the Mona Lisa is very anti climactic and it is really small.

The Louvre has all this amazing art, art that lives and breathes, with light pouring in dark and brooding…but the Mona Lisa is what we all hear about?

I found another portrait done by Davinci to be far superior…..vastly more interesting with subtler tones and lighting…
You decide for your self…here is the Mona Lisa..I have not altered the lighting at all..it is this dark…..





And here is the portrait of a woman also by Da Vinci…look at how the skin bretahes and has life….look at the focus of those eyes……….so I ask you…..which do you prefer?