Paris

 

I liked the paintings of Shirley Jaffe, a post WWII American woman on display at the Pompidou.

Paris:

The Louvre

The constant struggle I have with traveling is whether to ‘be’ the tourist and see as many sites as possible; or to treat these cities as just stopping places where I can read and rest and experience life, the little of it I have left. I’m dissatisfied with what I have done so far in this city, but I suspect I would feel the same way no matter what choices I made. I haven’t read nearly enough. I haven’t relaxed nearly enough. I’ve walked and walked and walked, trying to take in the notable places fearful that when I return home everyone will be disappointed because I missed one or another ‘must see’ sites. 

I did go to the Pompidou Museum, famous for its modern art. I was mystified by most of what I saw except for the first third of the exhibits that centered on 1900-1930 or so. Why is 1900 ‘modern’? I went to the outside of the Louvre but haven’t gone inside, and, since this is my last day, I probably will not make it there. 

I spent a day at Versailles. The ill-fated Marie Antoinette spent her adulthood (what there was of it) at this palace. It is preserved in ways that only Paris could do since they have mostly been able to avoid destruction at the hands of the Germans. The Germans were here briefly during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Luckily, though the Prussian army was headquartered at Versailles no damage was done. And, of course, famously a German general refused Hitler’s order to level the city in 1944. Thus we have the intact relics of the Louvre, Versailles and countless other buildings. 

The palace is a monument to royal vanity. The first thing you notice upon approaching the structure is the gold covering large parts of the upper walls. Bring a paint chipper if you come; you could get rich.

The interior is old, of course, but really vapid to me. Lots of colorful paintings, period furniture, thick rugs, but nothing that feels alive. I prefer the tenement museum in Lower Manhattan where you find pots and pans and rocking chairs once used by Italian immigrants. That seems more alive than Versailles. 

The grounds are pretty. The Versailles gardens is a splendid botanical garden with many species. That I liked. 

Water was diverted from the Seine to fill canals on the grounds. You can still rent a rowboat and take a short ride. And the botanical garden has some water courses, too. 

But I just couldn’t get excited. 

Overall I was disappointed that much of the monumental structures of Paris (Arche de Triomphe, parts of Versailles, The Tuilleries) were devoted to lionizing Napolean of all people. And the ones that didn’t celebrate Napolean centered on other wartime victories. With a civilization that featured Zola, Hugo, Rousseau, Voltaire, Pasteur, and countless other philosophers and scientists you would think they’d glorify those folks instead of the bloodthirsty warriors and would be conquerors. 

The city of Paris is pleasant. The transit system is vast and incredibly convenient. It takes one day to master it and they have the same kind of Navigo card that they have in Holland, so that you can use buses and trams and subways without a second thought. I enjoyed my time here, but I should have done more reading. 

Marie Antoinette no doubt stood on this spot in her garden, Versailles palace in the backgound.

And more of her garden.