Paris
Well, this is where it all started, finding myself at thirty-something, once all three kids were all in school and I had a little time on my hands. JBP and I made that first unforgetable trek to Europe and after only one day in la Ville Illumiere I was in love. This picture of beautiful Notre Dame de Paris was taken a dusk from within restaurant La Tour d'Argent. What a perfect moment and a fabulous meal, thanks Mom!
Notre Dame is one of the world's finest examples of Gothic architecture. It is on this site that druids first worshiped, followed by the Romans, and then the Christians. Pope Alexander III set the building cornerstone in 1163. This was the site of the funeral mass for Louis IX (St. Louis) who had built the beautiful St. Chappelle (below). During the French Revolution, citizens beheaded the statues, believing them to be wordly kings and nobility and renamed the cathedral the secular Temple de Raison. Later, it was reclaimed for Christian worship and in 1804 Napoleon here crowned himself emperor. Notre Dame is also where Paris celebrated its liberation from Nazi control in August 1944.
Marvel at the spectacular yet often overlooked 13th century cathedrale of La Saint Chapelle built by Louis IX to house the Crown of Thorns attained during one of the early cruisades. One of my favorite sites in Paris, she is located on Ile de la Cite and adjoins the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before her execution. Here is a view of the lower chamber used by the lesser nobels of the court. Access to the upper chamber, reserved for the king's worship is by a very narrow, winding stairway.
Unimaginable stained glass and accoustics in the upper chamber - blessed is the visitor who happens to be there during organ rehersals!
Built by Louis XIV in 1670 for his wounded soldiers who had nowhere else to live. The dome was designed by Monsart. Napoleon is entombed beneath the dome, surrounded by 12 huge white marble statues and 54 flags, each symbolizing one of the litte general's victories. Here too, you will find the Musée de l'Armée,one of the best of it's kind. Open daily, admission charge.
Montmartre is THE place to be once the sun sets in Paris. The lighted Sacre Coeur sits like a jewel on the highest point of the city. From her steps leading to the city at her feet, a multicultural musical extravaganza fills air each night. One of the most phenominal views of Paris is from here. Bustling behind her is a quartier of street artists and wonderful cafés serving Real French Onion soup and magnificent mouille frites (steamed mussels and fries). My favorite is La Mere Catherine.
A true celebration of world cultures here - live music, good onion soup, and an unforgetable view! On my last trip with students, I managed to 'get lost' for a while here. Behind the church and down one of the steep alleyways I heard the most melodious, angelique sound I've ever heard. There were 2 young girls practicing acapella the songs that I would later hear them perform on the steps with all of Paris as an audience. It was one of those magical moments that I shall never forget.
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Thursday, March 13, 2008
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Funny Stuff
If you know anything at all about a language other than your native one, you know that somethings can't be translated, and when one tries to, it just doesn't come across as planed. Here are a few translation slip-ups that originally ran in one of Ann Lander's newspaper columns. I hope that maybe one of them brings a smile to your face :)
Rome Laundry: Ladies, please leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time.
Moscow Hotel: If this is your first visit to the USSR, you are welcome to it.
Japanese Hotel: Cold and Heat: If you want to condition the warm in your room, please control yourself.
Greece Tailor Shop: Order your summer suit. Because of the big rush we will execute customer in strict rotation.
Hotel: It is forbidden to steal hotel towels. If you are not a person to do such a thing, please do not read this notice.
Hotel: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m. daily.
Hong Kong tailor shop: Ladies may have a fit upstairs.
Tokyo Car Rental Firm: When passenger with heavy foot is in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage, then tootle him with vigor.
Copenhagen Airline: We take your bags and send them in all directions.
Now I'd like to share some souvenirs of my travels with kids (and their parents) - there are some good times and some bad times. There are times that they have learned, and others when I have learned. For the most part, however they've been rewarding times - I like to think of it as an investement in my future and theirs. For what it's worth, read, enjoy, and be glad that it didn't happen to you.
My Top 10 Worst Travel Experiences With Students:
10. En route from Dallas to Paris via London's Heathrow hearing, Mme Peace (Mom), I left my ticket on the plane. That was during immagration clearance and we had 15 minutes to board for France.
#9. At Père Lachaise Cemetary in Paris, two student splattered with pigeon doo!
#8. In Paris with 12 cute 15 year olds and 20 something young Sicilian males in the same hotel with rooms that would not lock! #7. Doing room-check at midnight for a girls-only trip to France and discovering size 11 mens' tennis shoes protruding from the shower curtain in the bathroom!
#6. Loading 34 students and parents onto an overnight train from Venice to Paris - we had 2 weeks each worth of baggage and were booked on couchettes!
#5. Italian Waiter dumps a bowl of hot pasta all over a student at a restaurant in Rome.
#4. Doing room-check at midnight and discovering 3 15 year old females missing in London. They begged, borrowed and stole money to go see a Dave Matthews concert on the other side of town after telling the teacher/chaperones a different story - Oh we're going to be with Mme *!!!.
#3. Turning around in the Paris metro to discover that you are 4 students short - the gendarmes had detained them for skipping through the turnstyle without verifying their tickets. (yes, they did have tickets, they just wanted to see how many could squeeze through at one time!) They were charged $60 American on the spot! And don't believe the add - American Express IS NOT EVERYWHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE. Thank you VISA!)
#2. Learning for a fact that a certain student has brought marijuana into a foreign capital city inside ballpoint pens, much to the dismay of her peers! We could have ALL been strip-searched and detained at the police station, and believe me, it would not have been a pretty sight.
#1. Discovering on the return that in a grudge match, 3 females used their roommate's toothbrush to clean the doggie-doo from their tennis shoes in Paris! They were kind enough to rinse it off before replacing it in her container for use the following morning.
Rome Laundry: Ladies, please leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time.
Moscow Hotel: If this is your first visit to the USSR, you are welcome to it.
Japanese Hotel: Cold and Heat: If you want to condition the warm in your room, please control yourself.
Greece Tailor Shop: Order your summer suit. Because of the big rush we will execute customer in strict rotation.
Hotel: It is forbidden to steal hotel towels. If you are not a person to do such a thing, please do not read this notice.
Hotel: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m. daily.
Hong Kong tailor shop: Ladies may have a fit upstairs.
Tokyo Car Rental Firm: When passenger with heavy foot is in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage, then tootle him with vigor.
Copenhagen Airline: We take your bags and send them in all directions.
Now I'd like to share some souvenirs of my travels with kids (and their parents) - there are some good times and some bad times. There are times that they have learned, and others when I have learned. For the most part, however they've been rewarding times - I like to think of it as an investement in my future and theirs. For what it's worth, read, enjoy, and be glad that it didn't happen to you.
My Top 10 Worst Travel Experiences With Students:
10. En route from Dallas to Paris via London's Heathrow hearing, Mme Peace (Mom), I left my ticket on the plane. That was during immagration clearance and we had 15 minutes to board for France.
#9. At Père Lachaise Cemetary in Paris, two student splattered with pigeon doo!
#8. In Paris with 12 cute 15 year olds and 20 something young Sicilian males in the same hotel with rooms that would not lock! #7. Doing room-check at midnight for a girls-only trip to France and discovering size 11 mens' tennis shoes protruding from the shower curtain in the bathroom!
#6. Loading 34 students and parents onto an overnight train from Venice to Paris - we had 2 weeks each worth of baggage and were booked on couchettes!
#5. Italian Waiter dumps a bowl of hot pasta all over a student at a restaurant in Rome.
#4. Doing room-check at midnight and discovering 3 15 year old females missing in London. They begged, borrowed and stole money to go see a Dave Matthews concert on the other side of town after telling the teacher/chaperones a different story - Oh we're going to be with Mme *!!!.
#3. Turning around in the Paris metro to discover that you are 4 students short - the gendarmes had detained them for skipping through the turnstyle without verifying their tickets. (yes, they did have tickets, they just wanted to see how many could squeeze through at one time!) They were charged $60 American on the spot! And don't believe the add - American Express IS NOT EVERYWHERE YOU WANT IT TO BE. Thank you VISA!)
#2. Learning for a fact that a certain student has brought marijuana into a foreign capital city inside ballpoint pens, much to the dismay of her peers! We could have ALL been strip-searched and detained at the police station, and believe me, it would not have been a pretty sight.
#1. Discovering on the return that in a grudge match, 3 females used their roommate's toothbrush to clean the doggie-doo from their tennis shoes in Paris! They were kind enough to rinse it off before replacing it in her container for use the following morning.
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