La Ville de la Lumiere

So I have been in paris now for what is to be my fourth night tonight. Let me say first that the french keyboards are terribly annoying. They have about seven or eight letters in different places from ours. It makes me actually have to look dozn at the keyboard and type real slowly. Damn french, always causing problems.

I am staying in this hostel I believe run by the french government though I am not wholly sure. It is costing me the unbelievable sum of 20 dollars per night and I am in a room of 4. They actually keep it rather clean, so it isnt all that bad. The only problem is that it is filled with 17 and 18 year olds who, being away from home for the first time in a land where they can drink, are doing just that. So I am seeing all these little kids getting drunk and really not knowing how to handle it. Hey, at least that means there are few people for breakfast.

The first couple days I was here, it rained non stop and only really stopped last night in time for the bastille day fireworks which I will talk about later. I guess at first the rain was a blessing in disguise. The tourists dont like to leave either their hotels or their buses when it rains, so the sites were relatively empty. I began by walking around Notre Dame and had to step over large puddles in the entrance. They keep the cathedral so dark, and I learned from my two previous visits that photos just dont come out -- so I didnt take any. Afterwards I began walking around the streets aimlessly. Paris is probably the best city in the world simply to walk. It is such a shame thqt so many people take bus tours of Paris, because you lose so much of the flavor that is Paris. So I put away my map and just started walking. I ended up going through the Luxembourg Gardens neighboring the Senate Building and walked around until I came upon the Eglise(church) St. Germain des Pres. There I noticed that a concert of The Four Seasons by Vivaldi was going to take place later in the evening. Figuring it would be a cool thing to do I bought ticket. I then went to grab a quick bite to eat at a neighboring cafe. While eating this man on a moped couldnt brake and he skid for about 20 meters on the ground with his cycle before hitting a pole and stopping. My initial reaction was surprise, then I began laughing to myself. I dont know why, it shouldnt have been funny, but it was, and he was okay.

So the concert was great. The acoustics of the church were suprisingly good and the small orchestra was great. It was a pleasant way to end my first night.

The next day I was finally able to see a site that I missed both previous times I had been to Paris, Les Invalides. This was initially a hospital set up by one of the Louis' but during Napoleon's reign it changed a bit in function and was used as barracks. Today, it houses the Musee des armes and Napoleon's elaborate tomb. The arms museum was fascinating and well presented. It housed all war memoribilia dating back to the 15th century. Uniforms, weapons, declarations, commendations, etc. were all on display. Some of the uniforms resembled more of costumes as they included hats seeming to have plumage, that are in fact in use today. There is this one painting of Nap. where he is slouching in a chair in a very frustrated form. It seems as though he is fed up zith his subordinates and their inability to comprehend his military genius. His expression is unforgettable, especially since I bought a postcard of the painting. Napoleon's tomb was very majestic. He lies in the center of a rotunda with great sculptures and paintings atop the rotunda: His actual sarcophagus(i think that is what they are called) is fairly simple but very grandiose for such a small (physically) man. What bothered me was alll the people taking pictures inside the tomb. I personnally think it is very disrepectful to take pictures inside a tomb, no matter who they are -- and i actually told the guards this. However, to my amazement, they disagreed and thought nothing of it. Frustrated I left.

on a side note, when visiting les invalides, i was walking down this corridor all by myself into a courtyard where the band of the french foreign legion was practicing this majestic piece. As I neared the courtyard, the music became louder and louder - it was as if they were playing for me - what a feeling.

The next day, saturday, was bastille day. I was told that to get a good view of the parade on the champs-elysees, you would have to line up at 8am for a 10am parade. So i decided to go a bit earlier and show up at 7:30. As soon as made my way outside the hostel, it began to pour and continued throughout my wait for the parade. I had also brough my backpack with me as i didnt want to leave my air tickets and the like around in a common room with this one Frenchy that i didnt trust. So I stood in the rain without an umbrella and finally all these battalions began arriving and lining up. They quicky did formation and scurried off to find cover from the rain before the parade began. Now I am thinking these are armed forces men and women, what business do they have sheltering themselves from a little water when all the parade on lookers couldnt do the same? Again, damn Frenchy's. So finally, after becoming completely drenched, the parade began without much pomp or circumstance. Some different battalions marched on by, then some trucks, then some cannons. The only high point was that President Jacques Chirac went by very quickly without getting much applause due to a scandal he is immersed in. I guess it was worth being there to say I have seen the parade, and it was also necessary to get there early as it was impossible to see over the first row of umbrellas; but all of my stuff got soaked and i didnt feel any sense of nationalism and it didnt seem as though the Frenchy's did either.

That night however, the skies cleared a bit making the fireworks behind the Eiffel Tower amazing. I found a spot on the grassy knoll behind the tower and caught the fireworks in all their splendor. At first, the powers that be were playing Michael Jackson songs, but as soon as the fireworks began, the music turned to 20's and 30's french music. The fireworks were divided into different segments corresponding to different songs. And the finale was a very brightly lit sky with white pulsating lights flashing all around the tower. It was awesome and certainly the best thing that I have done on this trip. After the fireworks show, I proceeded to walk back to my hostel with the throngs of other revellers -- and i saw an indian-french family lighting fireworks. These indians are everywhere.

The next day began with me having to complete the chore of laundry. Just an observation to that end, i saw that french people wash their shoes along with their clothes. I mean i guess that everything is getting clean so it shouldnt be all that big of a deal, but i thought it was a bit disgusting and a bit un-hygenic. Afterwards, i made my way over to the centre George Pompidou, Paris' museum of modern art. My first thought was back to the museum reina sofia in madrid and how terrible i thought modern art was; but this museum surprised me and along with the audioguide, I spent a long time (for me) in it. There was also this temporary exhibit on Alfred Hitchcock that had all these little pieces from the movies. If i was a hitchcock fan i am sure i would have appreciated it more. I also ate lunch atop the centre at this rather haughty restaurant but had this amazing young waitress named chantalle who made my meal very pleasant and enjoyable with her conversation and recommendations.

So after the museum i decided to walk the city and went from the CGP to the louvre, then through the gardens into the place de la concorde. From their I walked to les invalides and then over to the eiffel tower again. Finally I made my way over to the L'arc de Triomphe which I ascended, all 289 steps. Paris is such a great city to walk. The people fill all the parks and street side cafes giving the city such a great intimate feel. This feel is so wasted if you take a bus everywhere which even capable young people would do. That night, i hung out along the river with my new three Argentinian roommates and we drank beers and compared notes on life in our respective countries.

Anyway, so I am off to amsterdam tomorrow to meet up with old friends -- and NO, I dont mean Marie and Juan.