Escargot and a glass of wine. Ahh, the Parisian life. In sixty to seventy degree evening light, we savor chocolate mousse as a street performer strums his guitar and sings an Italian love song. We don’t give him any money.
Eating out is a commitment in France. The waiters are relaxed. No extra service and smiles and checks to see if the food’s okay. As a matter of fact, you barely see the waiter, and when you do it is after such long periods of time you’ve almost forgotten what he looks like. Twenty minutes or so after you order, the appetizer comes. Forty five minutes later, the main course comes. An hour later, the dessert arrives.
4/9/14
Today is my last day in Paris. I visited the Louvre and saw DaVinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, Michelangelo’s sculptures, and my favorite, the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi is the first written Code of Law we know today. It was fascinating to see it in person. The Louvre is a magnificent feat of decor and architecture. It is a work of art in itself and holds the paintings within the shadow of its own might.
A sculpture garden I walked through was particularly striking. 3 terraced levels of marble floors and an overarching glass-paned ceiling, dotted with white, static bodies in a spectrum of positions, from Hope to Despair, from Love to Hatred. Beauty still and almost antediluvian, seemingly eternal, living from the beginning of the past to the end of the future, but never quite grasping the genius loci. They seemed to be giants, struck by the gaze of Medusa and placed in Circe’s garden.
The glass pyramid which serves as the main entrance to the museum, is one of the Louvre’s idiosyncrasies. Although it is stunning, it seems alien, not quite fitting with the ornate, stone-pillared structures around it. The white spraying fountains surrounding it add to its ethereal aura. However, all the mystery is dissolved in the crowds of tourists. A Japanese girl in doll-like petticoats with a cake-face of makeup is a bit anticlimactic especially as she does not seem the type to enjoy or appreciate an art museum one bit. I’m guessing over half the people who take photos and selfies in the big courtyard of the Louvre don’t even enter the museum itself. Maybe when they get home they lie and say they did.
After lunch, I walked to the Metro station, and boarded a train to one of Paris’s hills. This hill had a humongous, domed church at its top. I grabbed a strawberry lemonade and marched towards the landmark. I got to the top, stared out at the view of Paris below, oohed and aahed my way through the building, and marched on through the town. Very soon, we came upon a square filled with artists painting and selling. It was amazing to wander through all their stalls, noticing different styles and observing the high prices. There was one long row of caricaturists and portraitists.
The key to portraiture is to show the subject in their best light. Oh, and give him a virtual makeover as you draw. It’s a job of flattery.
I ate a French pastry literally called “a thousand leaves” which is made of custard and berries layered between baklava-like pastry with powdered sugar on top. Nearing the day’s close, I returned to the hotel in the Latin Quarter of Paris which is just across the Seine from Notre Dame.
For dinner, I went to a small French restaurant where I got delectable pate. My guardian was brave and daringly ordered a dish vaguely labeled seafood stew in squid ink. It came out, a black pond in which white, rounded objects floated sedately between curlicues of mysterious starchy stuff. A lime garnished the plate’s side.
Perhaps to your surprise, it was tasty.
What a wonderful last day. Everything about it was lovely. It is astounding to think of the amount of pastries I’ve eaten in the last few days. The food! Caprise de Deux cheese on baguette beneath the Eiffel Tower with melt-in-the-mouth strawberries and 3 pastries from a Parisian boulangerie!
Nobody can truly describe how thankful I am for this experience. These past three months. . .
Tomorrow, tomorrow. I’m excited for tomorrow. But also dreading it because I have a long, afternoon flight. Dehydration and stiffness and bustling about exhaustion.
Farewell,
farewell,
farewell.
I liked how you said it but did you drink wine or see a lot ? Also how was the hotel is this true or false but it sounds interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-faith
g b