I am in love, really. Paris is amazing. Karen and I got to Paris on Thursday afternoon, and used the fantastic, incredibly intriguing, albeit grimy metro system to get to our friend Mike's apartment (see picture of view from the window!!). That night we tagged along with Mike on his job- he's a tour guide for a pub crawl. The next few days consisted of exploring Paris, usually guided by Mike, who speaks fairly good French. We were planning on leaving on a Sunday night train to get back for class on Monday, but Paris had other plans for us, because all the trains were booked until Tuesday night. I may be paying the price for it now, but who is going to complain about 2 extra days in Paris??? Here are some of the highlights and the reasons why I'm finding my way back to Paris somehow.....
In Rome, cars and people battle for the right of way in narrow winding streets intended for pedestrians alone. In Barcelona, people walk alongside cars on their narrow strip of designated sidewalk, and cars reign supreme. In Paris, people have their own streets to walk on, with a wall of greenery between them and the cars. The city is still dense, but feels as though it has been stretched open so that air and people can flow about. PIC
Notre Dame: We happened to walk in at night mass, which was an experience to behold. Right away I am received by the ethereally floral, yet earthy smoky smell of incense. My other senses are engaged in equally sensual yet immaterial ways: In the stony cold, hazy darkness candles burn in a warming glow of flickering orange, and light takes on a physical presence. The powerful ring or organs occupies so much space it invades my body, and the ephemeral chanting of the priest floats into the vast depth of the ceiling, reverberating back down with a haunting profundity.
I'll write more about the following when I'm less sleep deprived (also more pics if I can get the internet to cooperate):
The Louvre
Pomidou
Tulleries, axis
Tomorrow we are headed to Tuscany to visit Siena and Firenze (Florence). We are staying in a haunted farmhouse in the country on Halloween! ;)
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