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Published: August 8th 2007
Typical Paris: Champs-Élysées, the Louvre, the Seine, Notre Dame, Crêpes, Cheese and Wine True to form, Bettina gave us an account of our second day in the city of lights. We could get used to this kind of blogging. Keep it up, Butters!
Marcher-ing Down the Elysian Fields My recollection is starting to fade as the days pass. Leroy and Melissa phone us around 1030 and agree they would be here in an hour and a half. Apparently Melissa was catching up on some much needed zzz's after a grueling four days of travel and a late night at Hubert's. The life of jet setters. Sheesh.
While we wait, Tita Lut and I go to our local patisserie. I decide to have a chocolate brioche, pear tart as usual for Bob, and a chocolatine for Tita Lut. The brioche was delicious. It looks like a bread roll with pimply chocolate chips. It looks like it could almost be a crunchy sourdough, but it was really soft. Delish!!!
When they arrive, we learn that today would be for the Arc de Triomphe, Champs- Élysées and Louvre. I am ecstatic! We head to the Metro; Villiers is our local exit.
It was a short ride to our exit - Charles De Gaulle - Etoile. As you go up the stairs of the exit you immediately see L'Arc de Triomphe. You're also immediately bombarded with gypsies asking if you speak English and try to hand you a note. Luckily, I'm with a professional so instead of answering I give Melissa a confused look and let her say NO.
After a couple of snapshots of the Arc, we forge on and explore Avenue des Champs Élysées. This is when I decide Paris is very cosmopolitan. The street was lined with big brand shops, restaurants - brasseries to McCafe (this is a part of McDonald's where they serve French pastries!!!), and local stores such as a pharmacie (Bob bought his razors in one).
Melissa and I spot what must be a Louis Vuitton flagship! It was bright lights and big money - almost like Las Vegas. I said we had to go there in honor of my sister in-law, Claire. I was hoping to find something small enough to buy her. Whatever my small pocket could afford. As we were crossing the street we saw an Asian couple (probably Japanese) who
Just like my people...
Impossible to be Asian and not go into Louis Vuitton in Paris.stared me up and down. I think it might have been my PANCY coach travel bag (nice Filipino accent there, Bett, and yes, your Coach bag is very fancy - I fancy it.). I know she was coveting it. Anyhow, the store was grand to say the least. It definitely catered to the rich - goodness knows no one served us any café. There were a lot of looky loos for sure. I didn't spot too many people buying. Melissa and I spot a keychain and it was 280 euros! That's obscene. We chuckle and keep looking. Honestly, this is nice stuff but not my cup of tea.
I think the best store we walked into was the Toyota dealership. They showcased a couple of "cars of the future". This silver-blue car featured doors that opened up like Lamborghinis. The chairs rotated and the steering wheel protruded out. The design was minimalist but very sophisticated. A car that was showcased that also looks like it was for sale was the Auris. I wish they would sell that in the States. I liken it to a prettier Matrix. Very smart of me, though, to have not taken a picture of
it.
Dude, I’ve Been to the Louvre Subsequently, we decided to hope on the Metro again. We didn't think Tita Lut would enjoy the Louvre if we continued walking… it was another half hour walk! She was suffering from a bit of jet lag and had been up since 4 AM. We got off Louvre - Rivoli. The back end of the famous museum. I was already EXCITED! Leroy thought I should contain myself on the photo taking since this was not the grand part. Nonetheless I was psyched and did it anyhow.
The Louvre was beyond what I had imagined. It is as people say GIGANTIC and EXCITING. I am loving it right now. Thank goodness it's shoulder season and the line was not that long. Don't get me wrong - I think it was still a ton of people. After several attempts at buying our tickets on the credit card kiosk… we plan our excursion. We decide we'd see all the major artworks together - Venus De Milo and Mona Lisa.
Venus de Milo was beautiful. I managed to delete my only picture with it...BUT I have like 5 photos of just the statue...where was
my group? The lighting was a bit tricky… it was dim in there. People clamored all around it too, so it was difficult to get a quiet angle.
Next up - Mona Lisa. I seriously thought this painting was going to be teeny. It was small but not microscopic. It was housed in a glass case and a barrier was built so that no one's greasy mitt could touch it. (I was annoyed, by the way, because I witnessed several people touching precious works of art... one man was tapping some sculpture trying to see if it was hollow. C'mon man, you do that with chocolate or some random street structure, not with ancient sculpture). Anyhow, Mona Lisa was great. I had to elbow my way to the front...Melissa instigated a pushing match between me and an 8-year-old (Hey! There was no pushing! You just can’t let them monopolize the whole thing because they’re little. You’re little too. I learned that in Dubai when that little girl bullied me). What can I say, she was almost as tall as me. I needed to see the art work. Seeing the Mona Lisa in person was as we had studied her
MTRC
What a concept! - the mysterious, scrutinizing smile. That naughty stare, in my opinion... it can't be replicated.
We now decide it was time to energize and eat lunch. Melissa and I circled the fancy Louvre food court and decide on baguettes - both of us had tuna with hard boiled egg and tomatoes. It was good. The other three had Moroccan food. Tita Lut got annoyed at this point because of the misunderstanding of how they wanted to order their food - combo/meal style. Rather they charged her individually and she ended up paying up the whazoo for lunch...I think they spent close to 48 euros...that translates to a 56 US dollar lunch. The issue was that Leroy had gotten the same meal, but for some reason, the cashier decided to give him a break (Leroy: a wink and a smile will get you far ). He got the combo meal discounted, an extra salad, and an extra drink. Maybe it was because he spoke to them in French or they just liked his look. Tita Lut was peeved that she didn’t get the same deal and she felt that they were dismissive when she went back to complain. That’s museum
food for you - way too expensive! Melissa and I were quite happy with our cheap(er) sandwiches and coffees.
This didn't dampen the rest of our museum visit, though. We all split up - me and Melissa, Leroy alone, and Tita Lut and Bob. We set up a meeting place and time, and onward bound!
How to “Do the Louvre” in One Hour: Be Picky and Walk Fast Melissa and I marathoned the museum. We picked some key pieces we wanted to see but also perused just about all the rooms. It was hard to really not want to see all of it for your first time. I think it was a smart strategy. I didn't absorb all of it but enough to know that, if I were to go back, I can focus on certain rooms. Some key works I really enjoyed seeing:
- Lacemaker by Vermeer - this was TINY...amazing the detail of such a small painting
- Cupid and Psyche - trés passionate
- Tomb of Phillip Pot - I liked the mixed installation added. The “deathsicles” (our term for the scythes hanging from a wire) were a nice touch. There were several works which
included current "added" installations. I didn't like it much… especially this one with a fake man holding some kind of microphone amongst all these sculptures. Nice details on the Levi's jeans he was wearing, though.
- Raft of the Medusa by Gericault - the first painting Melissa and I ever studied for art history in 9th grade
The Seine and Notre Dame Okay, there are too many works of art at the Louvre to talk about… so I'll keep on. After picking up some items at the museum shop, we meander on to get a view of the Seine and get to Notre Dame. The church epitomized Gothic architecture. So much so that I was kind of afraid of being in there. If it weren't for the beautiful stained glass you would never think it was a welcoming church. I did enjoy it, though. I love seeing churches... I almost went to confession… NOT. Anyhow, this part of the day was short. We got there just in time to really go in and take a look at the interior of the church. It was dark and the arches were very very sharp. We took some pictures of the Ilê
de la Cité and the Seine, then walked into a narrow street in the Latin Quarter. I wanted a crepe with nutella and banana, and everyone took bites. We planned on sitting somewhere for happy hour, but decided it was more economical to just grab some food at markets and head home. Tita Lut liked my crepe so much, she bought her own, but then everyone was full and she had to eat most of it on her own.
Finally we head home and gather some baguettes, more fromage, some asparagus (Bob cooked them perfectly), and wine, of course! We all relax and chit chat and watch funny French music videos and news. We even caught a special on terrorists in the Southern part of the Philippines. This was kind of depressing actually. Melissa thought that maybe a trip to the southern beaches of the Philippines is not such a good idea.
In the end, as Ice Cube would say - today was a good day. (You didn’t even have to use your AK?)
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Alea
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Akhenaten was the first to introduce the concept of a monotheistic religion. Really brilliant fascinating odd looking tall dude with a serious beer belly.