(13) Passion of Paris

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Hop on a jet and you're in another world. It was becoming a fun activity. There was no trace of the epic waves I was expecting and I wasn't done with the first world. I had been seeing a French girl so I would cut the trip short and return to Paris for their national holiday and re-acquaint myself with amour! This voyage would prove a lesson that all things change and change rapidly.

First stop Barcelona! I had an awkwardly timed flight which dropped me in the party district of Barca at 5 am. At this hour all the zombies were starting to lose power and seek shelter. I practiced my Spanish with a cabbie who guided me to my hostel and I slept the morning off. When I woke I met a Mexican who had moved there and was working in the hostel. I asked him if he had one day in Barcelona what would he do. He answered Parc Guell.

Parc Guell is an outdoor creation of the renowned architect Antoni Gaudi who is from Reus in Barcelona. It is a one of a kind park that overlooks the magnificent city on the sea. Gaudi lived in a house there for several years. I wandered through the environment and soaked in the ambience of a few musicians jamming away.

That evening I got on another jet and set off to Paris for Bastille Day!

I had been expected in my new homeland for several days and so it was with great pleasure that I reentered the world of crepes and wine. But things had changed. Heat was in the air and love was waning.

After a hot day in the city checking out French patriotic happenings I had to withdraw cash. I found a busy ATM machine near the louvre museum. As soon as my card was in and I entered my passcode there was a teenager that came up from behind and hit the buttons on the machine. I was surprised and raised my fist to him. He backed off and stood to the side whereupon I heard a few other guys behind me, no doubt his posse. The machine was beeping at me and speaking in French which I knew not a word in that moment. Flustered, I pressed "non" and as it returned my card I grabbed the plastic turned around and left.

They were able to get 300 euros from the ATM. I filed a police report and the officer said it happens all the time and there is little hope to catch the kids. My worst sting of the trip. Happy ending was that I was reimbursed by my credit card company for the monetary loss.

That last day before I left I went to the Louvre museum as a cherry on the top. So many people had said it's overwhelmingly massive and you need weeks but here is my advice on it: Let it overwhelm you. Let this classic collection of some of the greatest art of history wash over you. Go there alone. Spend a day. Have lunch between museum wings. Eat ice cream. Treat the experience with reverence and you will not be disappointed.

Words cannot describe the power that even one piece of art holds in the heart of its creator. At every turn there was a new masterpiece beaming back at me. The only justice served to the museum is not to treat it as a mission to conquer (yes see what you have always wanted to) but to wander, lost in its magnificence and be taken by both its boldness and sensitivity. In the presence of all the splendor I was humbled and I believe the artist in you will be too. I walked out of the museum at closing time knowing that I had been witness to the greatness of man. As much as there were other downfalls on this Parisian journey the Louvre day made the voyage "bon".

It was almost time to return to the land I actually ended up visiting more than any other spot on the entire trip: Barcelona! But first the graveyard...

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