Come to the end of First day, I reached my host's place and was offered some nice Morrocan food. Over coffee later, we chatted on many things including religion. Some people in India and Pakistan will get a heart attack hearing this (Specially the secular & Pious Muslim types) that we discussed why is the host Muslims and why I have no respect for religious Memes. In this we also agreed that since we are born in a particular religious group, we tend to go along with so that we don't have to loose our family.
Come next day and I decided to go and visit the famous Latin quarters. I again set out from Ronespierre station, got down at Nation and took the RER (A) to Chatelet and changed again to RER(B) and gt down at Luxemborg. As I came out of station, I saw a tourist office and asked for help on directions to Sarbonne university. I was guided straight and 5 mins of walking I was in the Latin quarters or officially written as "Coluny le Sarbonne" . This is a unique bazaar of old style with small alleys full of eating places.
I could just smell food and food every where, saw families roaming around , eating and walking a little ahead I saw a magnificient river with beautifully cemented shores and properly navigational. Lesson for us to make a water grid. Saw an Indian family where the father was trying some interesting love positions for pictures, trying to hold wife in different ways and asking daughter to click . Wife was feeling a little awkward and then the family asked me to click a picture of them, spoke to me in English while I spoke to them in pure Hindi. After crossing the river I sat down at one of the cafes and had my lunch. It's nothing to say as the choices for vegetarians are limited to salads and sandwich only and the bread is long shaped and cold.
While eating I saw long line of people trooping along the river going somewhere. Once I finished , I decided to be part of the line. Walking around a mile I was face to face with the Louvre museum. On my right . On the left the river was all in its glory flowing and ferrying people in open top boats and with lots of people sitting on the cemented banks holding books or just sitting still. Lovers , star crossed and alone. I crossed the road and entered the complex.
For a moment I was stunned at the huge expanse of the compound. It's a series of palaces housing different artefacts and have different names too as 'Richeu Pavilion' etc. on the right were the famous glass pyramid. In the middle is the big one and 2 small one on both of the sides of large one. Just in front of the Large Pyramid there is a statue of King Louis XIV mounted n his horse looking like a Greek God. Ther are these stone stools on which one can stand and extend hand in a way that it looks as of you are holding the pyramid.
I entered the museum walking through the line into the large pyramid. There are escalators to go down. Onion inside the the sky through the glass pyramid looks a different beast. It was beautiful feeling. Once inside you can take a ticket for €10 and get into the museum. The museum is so huge that it will look like a conspiracy to somehow get you inside by calling it a museum. You can't see anything in 1 day. The amount of artefacts that this museum holds needs few weeks to see them all.
Mona Lisa was a big dampner and the crowd of photo seekers immortalising their resumes by having a picture in front of Mina Lisa was so huge that I quickly moved away. In 2-3 hrs I gave up and came out of the museum and also through the stairs out in the open in front of glass pyramid . Right opposite the pyramid , across the road is a victory arch(built by Napolean) and I walked towards it. Looked magnificient and then there are these grass lawns with some of the most beautiful sculptures of full bodied voluptuous women. Amazingly beautiful and women looked so beautiful specially the voluptuous ones and I am forced to concede that meat on bones look wonderful on women.
Lot of young people were resting in the park, sun was on the head and I was wondering about the time and it was just 7.30PM. I walked into the lawns and took off my shoes to rest for a while. Just then saw a group of 3 young boys in a rush and then saw the reason for that, police were chasing them. Cops called them out and searched them in the park, made them take off their pants too. I was looking the cops curiously just then the lady cop told me that they were pick pockets and I am lucky if I have everything of mine with me.
I could make out the buys were clearly n it Gauls, may be gypsies or some Algerian or morroco descent. Police made them run away and I tried to think again. Took another look at series of palaces that this museum now occupies, it's opulence and the pride with French treasure this heritage can be
understood from the prime place Louis XIV gets.
Compared to my experiences of visiting British museums and the loot of nations they colonised, I must say that French have far more cultural wealth of their own. They patronised arts, music, culture, sculptures and respect them. They do have a taste of things autistic. English in that respect come out very poor from my perspective . I was reminded if what Napolean called them,"A nation of shopkeepers"
I walked back from the Louvre to the same place along the river. Thought of buying some stuff which Sonal, my friend and a friend's wife had asked me to buy but forgot in my state. Lot of young beautiful people in Paris and a river. Alas, romance needs the other.
Still thinking about those two things , one was the wealth of treasure that French have and are creating now also and the 3 young boys . Will they have a sense of belonging or attachment to the treasures and history? Will they call it their own.
French need to answer.
Come next day and I decided to go and visit the famous Latin quarters. I again set out from Ronespierre station, got down at Nation and took the RER (A) to Chatelet and changed again to RER(B) and gt down at Luxemborg. As I came out of station, I saw a tourist office and asked for help on directions to Sarbonne university. I was guided straight and 5 mins of walking I was in the Latin quarters or officially written as "Coluny le Sarbonne" . This is a unique bazaar of old style with small alleys full of eating places.
I could just smell food and food every where, saw families roaming around , eating and walking a little ahead I saw a magnificient river with beautifully cemented shores and properly navigational. Lesson for us to make a water grid. Saw an Indian family where the father was trying some interesting love positions for pictures, trying to hold wife in different ways and asking daughter to click . Wife was feeling a little awkward and then the family asked me to click a picture of them, spoke to me in English while I spoke to them in pure Hindi. After crossing the river I sat down at one of the cafes and had my lunch. It's nothing to say as the choices for vegetarians are limited to salads and sandwich only and the bread is long shaped and cold.
While eating I saw long line of people trooping along the river going somewhere. Once I finished , I decided to be part of the line. Walking around a mile I was face to face with the Louvre museum. On my right . On the left the river was all in its glory flowing and ferrying people in open top boats and with lots of people sitting on the cemented banks holding books or just sitting still. Lovers , star crossed and alone. I crossed the road and entered the complex.
For a moment I was stunned at the huge expanse of the compound. It's a series of palaces housing different artefacts and have different names too as 'Richeu Pavilion' etc. on the right were the famous glass pyramid. In the middle is the big one and 2 small one on both of the sides of large one. Just in front of the Large Pyramid there is a statue of King Louis XIV mounted n his horse looking like a Greek God. Ther are these stone stools on which one can stand and extend hand in a way that it looks as of you are holding the pyramid.
I entered the museum walking through the line into the large pyramid. There are escalators to go down. Onion inside the the sky through the glass pyramid looks a different beast. It was beautiful feeling. Once inside you can take a ticket for €10 and get into the museum. The museum is so huge that it will look like a conspiracy to somehow get you inside by calling it a museum. You can't see anything in 1 day. The amount of artefacts that this museum holds needs few weeks to see them all.
Mona Lisa was a big dampner and the crowd of photo seekers immortalising their resumes by having a picture in front of Mina Lisa was so huge that I quickly moved away. In 2-3 hrs I gave up and came out of the museum and also through the stairs out in the open in front of glass pyramid . Right opposite the pyramid , across the road is a victory arch(built by Napolean) and I walked towards it. Looked magnificient and then there are these grass lawns with some of the most beautiful sculptures of full bodied voluptuous women. Amazingly beautiful and women looked so beautiful specially the voluptuous ones and I am forced to concede that meat on bones look wonderful on women.
Lot of young people were resting in the park, sun was on the head and I was wondering about the time and it was just 7.30PM. I walked into the lawns and took off my shoes to rest for a while. Just then saw a group of 3 young boys in a rush and then saw the reason for that, police were chasing them. Cops called them out and searched them in the park, made them take off their pants too. I was looking the cops curiously just then the lady cop told me that they were pick pockets and I am lucky if I have everything of mine with me.
I could make out the buys were clearly n it Gauls, may be gypsies or some Algerian or morroco descent. Police made them run away and I tried to think again. Took another look at series of palaces that this museum now occupies, it's opulence and the pride with French treasure this heritage can be
understood from the prime place Louis XIV gets.
Compared to my experiences of visiting British museums and the loot of nations they colonised, I must say that French have far more cultural wealth of their own. They patronised arts, music, culture, sculptures and respect them. They do have a taste of things autistic. English in that respect come out very poor from my perspective . I was reminded if what Napolean called them,"A nation of shopkeepers"
I walked back from the Louvre to the same place along the river. Thought of buying some stuff which Sonal, my friend and a friend's wife had asked me to buy but forgot in my state. Lot of young beautiful people in Paris and a river. Alas, romance needs the other.
Still thinking about those two things , one was the wealth of treasure that French have and are creating now also and the 3 young boys . Will they have a sense of belonging or attachment to the treasures and history? Will they call it their own.
French need to answer.
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