Finding the art of Paris

I put myself in Paris for 2 days, a short time maybe, but I managed to see everything that I'd wanted to. I wouldn't say I know Paris well, but there was the odd time I caught a glimpse and saw what makes it unique.

The Metro

I rolled into Paris quite early in the morning which is probably the only time you can see some real Paris because it was too early for the usual tourists. The biggest problem I had with Paris was there were too many tourists spoiling any attempts to understand Parisians and their home. Unlike most people, my first stop was the cemetery, not because I have a love for the morbid, but because it opens an hour and a half before any other attraction and I wanted to make the Rock and Roll pilgrimage to visit Jim Morrison.

The resting place of Jim Morrison

The first hour felt the most Paris of all, riding the Metro with the real Parisians and having the morning coffee with them in the local Cafe, I was also in an area far from any popular tourist attractions. It might be because I was so in need of a coffee but I swear that was the best coffee I have ever had in my life. The cemetery was huge, big enough to get lost in. I know, because I got lost. I eventually sourced a map from a groundskeeper and found Mr Morrison and was underwhelmed because I had built it up so much in my mind and expected to feel something when I felt nothing. It was interesting though that 35 years after his death the grave is still so decorated, protected and visited.

I got back on the metro and headed to Montmartre, the location of many sites and also where my Hotel was. Before checking in though I headed to the Basilique de Sacre Coeur to get a glimpse of Paris.

Basilique de Sacre Coeur

The view from that Basi... scre cure ... whatsit, church thing.

It was on the way to the top that a Senagalese man stopped me to try sell me six pieces of string for 20 Euros, luckily I managed to talk him down.

In Montmartre

Not far from my Hotel was a Salvador Dali museum, not terribly impressive, but there were a few pieces and displays that still made it all worth it

Dali sculpture

I'm not going to get into a big discussion about his art but it seems he had a pretty good sense of humour. The last display that appears on the walls of the staircase leading out of the gallery is an interview with Dali. Each question is answered with words and then above is also answered with a picture. I took a photo of my favourite one, the question put to Dali was "Why do you paint?", to which his answer appears in type as "Because I love art.".

Notre Dame

Notre Dame is near the first site of settlement where Paris began long ago, it is upon an island in the Seine river that divides the city in two. The interesting fact is that although the districts of Paris spiral outwards from the plaza in front of Notre Dame.

There are plenty of landmarks I have photographed and omitted dye to them only looking pretty and I can't tell you more than what a tourist guide could. So I'm cutting straight to the part where I went to the Rodin Museum. The Rodin Museum has a garden dedicated to the display of his sculptures.

The garden in the Rodin Museum

Look its The Thinker

According to my lonely planet guide, the place where Parisians go for relaxation and recreation is the Jardin du Luxembourg, a 24 acre arrangement of parks and gardens. People where playing chess, children were sailing wooden boats across the pond and people were taking a load off in the shade of the Chestnut trees. I thought I'd become part of the scenery and laid myself out on one of the benches.

Jardin du Luxembourg

Here it is, the symbol of Paris and the subject of many a tacky souvenir.

The Eiffel Tower

In case you missed it the first time

And again

I really liked the fact that close up it is not just impressive on a physical level but is also quite a beautiful structure.

Arc de Triomphe or the bottom half of a giant Lego man.

The Vineyard of Montmartre

Right in the heart of the city is this block of vines, the site of a yearly wine festival and also a memorial to the time when the hill was covered in vines.

The Restaurant where I had dinner

Instead of putting my money to going to the tops of buildings, I chose to buy a real French dinner. Snails to start, with Duck l'orange for mains.

Escargot, a lot easier to eat than snails.

Here is my snail eating tip; use you snail pliers to grip the shell, pry some of the meat with your snail fork and hold it down on the plate, then use the pliers to pull the shell away from the meat. Holding the shell still while using the snail fork to pull out the meat results in sauce flying everywhere when the meat's elasticity snaps it together quickly once it departs the shell. Only took me two snails to work it out, now its a skill for life.

Its a little hard to see but in the upper right corner is a Coca Cola sign

Montmartre is apart from being very, very Paris is also home to the Moulin Rouge and the Red Light District. Walk down the median strip to avoid being hassled, people here just can't understand why you don't want to come into their sleazy joint to watch naked women RIGHT NOW.

Le Chat Noir is a bar? Well now all those souvenirs make sense.

Day one was a treasure hunt to get a glimpse of all the major sites of Paris, day two was set aside to go through the Art Galleries at my own pace.

Musee du Louvre

The Louvre is a amazing in every way and truly is a monument to visual art of all classical forms. The artworks tended to be an anticlimax, and after an hour and a half I never wanted to see another painting a story from the Bible ever again in my whole life. What is truly amazing in the Louvre is the surroundings of the artworks. Forget the art, have a look at the room.

Hey old man get down from there, it's not safe up there.

Good luck trying to appreciate your art in peace

What a crappy statue, it doesn't even have arms!

The coolest elevator ever

I should have borrowed somebody's kids just so I could ride in this elevator in the Louvre that is a large cylinder that rises out of the floor, rises level to the ground floor and extends a metal tongue across which you enter or exit.

I left the Louvre overloaded with although beautiful mainly boring themes and ideas for the artwork, and you have to leave some time. I think it's in the DaVinci Code where Dan Brown writes it would take 5 weeks to appreciate all the art in the Louvre properly. I didn't have that much time and even less patience, especially with so many tourists.

So I left and went to find the Picasso Museum and get some lunch. Lunch was interesting, I found a cafe near the Museum and not wanting to spend too much I asked if I could just get a sandwich. After an exchange of words and the passing of some time, the waiter returned with a ham and cheese sandwich covered in melted cheese and topped with a couple of fried eggs. Not at my most masochistic have imagined such a sandwich.

Leaving the past behind, I entered the Picasso museum and instantly felt a lot better.

Musee Picasso

He sure had some ugly models

It's silly, but it is one of my favourites.

It was great not just to see some really good works but also to understand the man a bit better too.

Roller Chasey

By the end of the second day I was feeling tired and lost for ideas to spend the remainder of my time as best I could. This frustrated me that I was wasting the little time that I had left. On my way out of the Louvre for the second time I stopped to work out where I was going I realised there were people Rollerblading in the square. They were really, really, really good. It was a real joy to sit down and watch skating at its best. They were playing a game of chasey that would go within centimetres of the odd person walking across the square completely unaware of the game taking place while in the middle others practiced their jumps. It was my last fond memory of Paris made even more sweeter by all the people who just walked on by never knowing what they missed.