FROM PARIS, FRANCE

(click on images to enlarge)

Leaving London

PARIS, Mar 15, 2008 - I got up early this morning to make my EuroStar (train) "Chunnel" crossing from London to Paris.

It was a rail trip all the way.  You can see from that first photo of the Gloucester "subway" (a.k.a. underground a.k.a. tube) station why the London subway systems got its nick name - "tube." The St. Pancras station from which the international trains leave for the continent using the tunnel under the British Channel (the "Chunnel") was very modern and very nice.  And so were the trains.  They were clean and fast...

...and even had a club car with snacks and refreshments (left). The Paris Gare du Nord train station, which is where we arrived, is much older by comparison to St. Pancras (the right three photos).  But it was nevertheless well maintained and functional - meaning, easy to find your way around.

A Walk around Paris

Except for a short cab ride from the train station (above left) to my hotel, which is near the Paris Opera, the rest of the pictures you are about to see were taken during a long walk I took this afternoon.  When I got out of the taxi in front of my hotel, I almost fell for the latest scam by the Parisian con artists.

Just as I stepped onto the sidewalk, I saw a young man (in his mid-20s) bend down to pick up a golden ring.  He then gave me a broad smile and said, "here, you keep it for good luck.  It's real gold, as you can see," he said pointing to the mark inside the ring.

I was taken aback at first, and just looked at the ring while holding it in my hand.  "Go ahead, keep it," the man encouraged me.  But something didn't feel right to me.  So I reached in my wallet and said, "well, let me at least then give you a tip."

When the man saw me taking out a $5-bill, he said, "no, $10 dollars, please.  $10 dollars."

That's what convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a scam.  So I just stuffed a ring in his coat pocket, saying, "here - see if you can find another patsy."  I then turned around and walked into my hotel.

Now, the was at least one good reason early on in this scene for my to become suspicious.  Which is probably why "something did not feel right to me."  What was it? [that's your Paris con-artist quiz for the day).  :-)

Oh, yes, one more thing... the man did look middle-eastern.  So feel free to add another data point to the "racial profiling" controversy.

In the immediate vicinity of my hotel, there are some pretty Anglo-American establishments (right three photos.  I was not shocked to see the English and the American 'culture' represented there, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a bona-fide Irish pub (rightmost shot) - two days before St. Patrick's Day, no less.  I took it as a good omen, as I celebrate St. Patrick's Day as my second birthday.

...even though the Opera (two left photos) and the surrounding area is actually quite an old Parisian neighborhood.  The weatherman had predicted rain, but early afternoon was actually quite lovely and sunny.  Which brought many people out in the streets and into sidewalk bistros, like the one above.

My walk then took me through Place Vendome with a huge Napoleonic Memorial (erected in 1805) as its centerpiece (left three shots), and past an incredibly lavish entrance to a "mere" Westin hotel in Paris.  :-)

And then I entered one of my favorite places in Paris - the Tuileries (royal gardens) that separate the Louvre from Place de la Concorde.  The park was brimming with life and bristling in early spring sunshine.  From a wide alley in its middle, you can see the obelisk at Place de la Concorde, and even Arc de Triomphe (L'Etoile) in the distance (two middle shots).  And then there was one unusual scene that I have never seen before in several dozen of my earlier visits to Paris.  A group of what looked like Shetland ponies were bunched together in the middle of the park. 

[Later on in this travelogue, both you and I will get a clue as to what they were doing there.  But if you can't wait that long, go ahead and take a guess right now... :-) ].

If you turn around 180 degrees in the middle of that wide alley, and take a look ahead, you will see the entrance to the Louvre (the left two shots).  That's where yours truly also marked his presence today in the two right pictures.

In the close up of the Louvre (left) you can see another smaller version of the "Arc de Triomphe," I suspect also erected by Napoleon.  No wonder his monumental ego gave psychiatry a new term for patients suffering from "a Napoleonic complex" (self-grandeur).  If you look carefully in the middle shot, you can catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.  And the rightmost picture is that of the quay that runs along the Louvre - the right bank of the river Seine (you can see it also from a different angle in the first picture below).

The river Seine looked swollen and muddy from springtime rains. Once again, if you look even more carefully in the middle right photo, you will see the top of the Eiffel Tower protruding above Museum d'Orsay.

I then walked past the many artists display stands on the left bank of the river.  I almost bought a painting from one of them; at least went as far as talking turkey (the price).  But when I came back, I didn't "love it enough" to have to have it.  And so I threw that one back in the river... :-)

Speaking of which, wasn't that a pretty scene of the willow tree over the river Seine?  Then as I walked on, I finally arrived at my destination - the Notre Dame Cathedral ((the rightmost shot).

I don't know about you, but certain places denote the core or the heart of each city I 't visit.  And if I don't get to pay homage to that "sacre coeur" (sacred heart - which happens to be the name of another famous Paris cathedral that means nothing to me), it's as if I had not been there.  Well, Notre Dame is that sacred heart of Paris for me.  And every chance I get, I pay that old dame a visit.  After all, she has seen a lot, having watched over Paris since the late 12th century (it was started in 1186 and completed in 1230, an English-speaking French guide informed us).

At first, I did the usual thing - admired the architecture, the beautiful stained glass windows, walked around the church and even listened to a part of the service.  If you click on the right-hand PLAY button, you can also watch a short video clip I made.

Then I looked and really "saw" the cathedral with all of its 12-13th century symbolism and mysticism that the gargoyles, Baphomet's and other stories carved in stone tell (two left shots are close-ups of gargoyles way up toward the top of each "steeple").  As the interesting French guide pointed out (middle right), back then there were no printing presses.  So the stories were literally "written in stone."  And the stories were about the myths and the truths passed on from ancient history, yet wrapped in the "PC" cloak-talk of Christianity of that era.

For example, right above the entrance doors, there is a row of large statues that depict the 28 direct ancestors from whom Jesus Christ descended.  You can recognize the oldest, Kind David, in the leftmost close-up because he is standing on top of a lion, thus elevating the power of a king over a powerful beast.

Above the left entrance to Notre Dame, there is a large statue of Mary, holding baby Jesus. Yet it is the  baby that's blessing the mother, not the other way around (two middle shots).  Furthermore, if you look carefully at the scene below Mary's feet, you will see that the female wisdom is venerated symbolically by a serpent with a female head.  But Catholic church being what it was back then (minimizing female power), you have to look very carefully to see that, as that symbol is very tiny in comparison to the rest of the scene, let alone the entire cathedral.

The rightmost photo above, off to the side of the left entrance, is also interesting for several reasons.  If you look carefully at that column on the right-hand side, you will recognize all the Zodiac signs, thus clearly pointing to a celestial influence on our earthly affairs (I've also taken a close up of that on the left).  And we thought those people were dumb and backward?

Furthermore, you will see a holy man among the statues holding his own head.  This was based on a legend about a bishop who was beheaded by the Normans (pagans at the time), who was said to have walked holding his head for quite a while.  And where he fell, a church was erected and still stands after many renovations.

You can even see the sign of the fish underneath the Zodiac column (left) - an important symbol not just in early Christianities, but in the eras well before that.

And then, if you take a look at the close up on the right, taken of the scenes underneath the feat of the large bishop statues, you will notice that I have highlighted two things for you.  First an other-worldly creature that looks like a reptile.  Its presence here may bolster those who espouse theories of our reptilian origins.  And second, a small relief that looks like St. George slaying the dragon.  St. George and his cross, of course, are the central parts of the British flag - the Union Jack.  He was also revered by Knights Templar whom the French Kings had persecuted.  Yet, he somehow managed to wangle his way into the walls one of the most prominent Catholic Temples in the world.  And he remains here, 'written in stone', for all these centuries.

Anyway, if you click on the left PLAY button, you can also watch a video clip of that French guide.

Outside the church, little kids were probably getting an entirely different level of education from this teacher in the outdoor classroom (left). And elsewhere on my way back to the hotel, a new protest gathering was on the way (left middle). Meanwhile, tourists were happily sailing up and down the Seine (middle right); while some with a funny sense of humor (like yours truly), thought it was interesting to record the presence of a Kevorkian Gallery on the east bank (right).  A new career for "Mr. Death?"  :-)

Back in the Tuileries, I came across another beautiful pink magnolia in full blossom, just like the one I saw yesterday in London (left). And then finally, the Shetland pony mystery solved: They were there to amuse the kids (middle).  Meanwhile, the promised rain had arrived, so I had to rush back to my hotel before a real downpour started.  Suddenly, the Opera did not look so happy anymore, either.

And that's all she wrote from this trip to Paris.

Return to London

LONDON, Mar 16 - Well, I am back in London, after this short sojourn to Paris, but not before I took some more pictures along the way...

...both in Paris (above), and in London (left) at St. Pancras Station.  I thought that the huge statue of the two sweethearts meeting and greeting at the train station was just adorable.

TO BE CONTINUED...(maybe).

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