31 October 2007
Chartres is a charming little town near Paris with a world famous pilgrimage cathedral. There, we had a really interesting tour and informed lecture on reading stained glass windows. I was not there long, only long enough to get some lunch, and we returned to Paris for a free afternoon and evening.
I went to the Cimetiere du Père Lachaise. It seemed fitting on Halloween—but I really like cemeteries and there are famous people in this one! With a little help from Rick Steves, we saw the graves of Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin, Baron Haussmann, and Rossini. It was a perfect autumn day for a stroll through a very old cemetery. Wilde’s grave definitely had the most personality. The Egyptian symbol of homosexuality is proudly carved into the stone that emits a strong odor of lipstick. For clarification, I did not sniff the monument—you could just smell it! Many people have applied lipstick and kissed the monument over the years, despite a sign that says that it should not be defaced in any way…oh well!
We are but human, and we had to eat. We took the metro to the Student Quarter for some dinner and Crème Brule, in honor of my dad! After supper, we came across a huge concert near the Pantheon. A gospel choir caught our attention and we stayed for an hour, rocking out to P.U.S.H—a French Christian and. It was a lot of fun, even though we didn’t understand the language. We caught “Hosanna” and “Amen” and I vaguely understood a phrase here and there. Later, I wrote a little poem about the experience:.JPG)
We stumbled on a celebration,
Versaille fresh in our minds.
A strange culture, new nation
But the music made it all fine.
Unsure, lonesome and a bit homesick
I walked toward the light
The dancing and loud music
The magic in the crowd that night.
Avec lui, pour lui.
Everyone knew. Everyone understood.
Avec lui, pour lui.
I didn’t understand.
Cares melt away,
Lifted by a feeling.
I’m carried to a new day,
A new life, a new me.
We decided to return to the Louvre and admire the glass pyramid at night. There, we were interviewed by some students who work for NBC World. Maybe we’ll be seeing that online—
“They aren’t representing. They aren’t even dressed up!”—Americans, Peter Pan and Elvis on the Paris Metro.
Chartres is a charming little town near Paris with a world famous pilgrimage cathedral. There, we had a really interesting tour and informed lecture on reading stained glass windows. I was not there long, only long enough to get some lunch, and we returned to Paris for a free afternoon and evening.
I went to the Cimetiere du Père Lachaise. It seemed fitting on Halloween—but I really like cemeteries and there are famous people in this one! With a little help from Rick Steves, we saw the graves of Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin, Baron Haussmann, and Rossini. It was a perfect autumn day for a stroll through a very old cemetery. Wilde’s grave definitely had the most personality. The Egyptian symbol of homosexuality is proudly carved into the stone that emits a strong odor of lipstick. For clarification, I did not sniff the monument—you could just smell it! Many people have applied lipstick and kissed the monument over the years, despite a sign that says that it should not be defaced in any way…oh well!We are but human, and we had to eat. We took the metro to the Student Quarter for some dinner and Crème Brule, in honor of my dad! After supper, we came across a huge concert near the Pantheon. A gospel choir caught our attention and we stayed for an hour, rocking out to P.U.S.H—a French Christian and. It was a lot of fun, even though we didn’t understand the language. We caught “Hosanna” and “Amen” and I vaguely understood a phrase here and there. Later, I wrote a little poem about the experience:
.JPG)
We stumbled on a celebration,
Versaille fresh in our minds.
A strange culture, new nation
But the music made it all fine.
Unsure, lonesome and a bit homesick
I walked toward the light
The dancing and loud music
The magic in the crowd that night.
Avec lui, pour lui.
Everyone knew. Everyone understood.
Avec lui, pour lui.
I didn’t understand.
Cares melt away,
Lifted by a feeling.
I’m carried to a new day,
A new life, a new me.
We decided to return to the Louvre and admire the glass pyramid at night. There, we were interviewed by some students who work for NBC World. Maybe we’ll be seeing that online—
“They aren’t representing. They aren’t even dressed up!”—Americans, Peter Pan and Elvis on the Paris Metro.
.JPG)
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