Where's this Paris thread of yours, eh?
-
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
Sorry, I had a neice and an xbox to attend to. Though I'm debating whether or not she actually is my neice, but as Kelly says she is, I guess she must be.
Paris though. I don't know what to make of it all. I kept a notebook with any thoughts that occured to me, but it's packed somewhere, and I'll be fucked if I'm the first opening the suitcase, as that means I'll be responsible for doing the washing. So I'll come back to this thread as and when.
* Beer. As I said on the other thread, I think there's something a little bit crazy about a place where a sarnie costs less than half a pint. OR, maybe, there;s something wrong with me thinking there;s something wrong with that. Three and a half euros seems fair for a slab of fromage et jambon in a butty, but four euros for a half, sorry, 25cl, of lager is fucking insane. And the 8 euros I paid for a pint of Becks was certifiable lunacy. I suppose a few months ago that wouldn't have been so badm, but as it was. Fucking hell. Eight quid, eh? No wonder everyone drinks wine over there. Worst of all the pint tasted like shit, and I had to drink every drop of it. Not shit in a Stella Artois 'it's meant to taste like that kind of way' but shit in a 'that's been sat in the pipes for as long as you'd expect an eight quid lager to have been sat in the pipes for'. It was rank. But every drop I left in, I was converting in to firstly money, and then sandwiches. "Just leave it." Kelly would say as she saw my grimace. "I can't," I'd reply. "There's a sandwich and an orangina left in the glass."
I pretty much think that this - the sarnie/lager differential - sums up the differences in our culture and theirs better than anything else.
* The Louvre. Fucking hell. What an amazing space. What an incredible building. What an fantastic collection of art. What a bunch of cretins that were in it. Why the clamour to see the Mona Lisa? Now, I'm probably going to out myself as a raving, raging philistine here, but is the Mona Lisa the most underwhelming painting ever? Perhaps much of it is due to the sheer over exposure of the piece - I feel like I've seen it every day of my life - but my initial reaction upon getting a glimpse of it in the flesh, as it were, was 'meh'. I was far, far more impressed by the frescos on the ceiling. But then that's just me.
We didn't spend a ot og time in La Louvre, not as much as we both would have liked to. Kelly's sister had just dropped her sprog, and minds were elsewhere. We bought the little'un a copy of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' in French from one of the gift shops. Actually, 'one of the gift shops' is a little misleading. There appeared to be a whole shopping centre in there.
Oh aye, and it's a good job the gaff was so jaw-smashingly spectacular as the whole place stank of drains. It was worse than the stretch of Grantham High Street outside McDonalds. Good God it was bad. I told Kelly that as crass as it sounds to judge one of the world's finest collection of arts on the place smelling of shit and piss and eggs... well, you know...
* Beggars. The number, heh, beggars belief. IS there an difference in attitude between here and France? Or is it a Paris thing? They were fucking everywhere. And far more aggressive than I've ever experienced before. And they were multi-lingual. One, outside Notre Dame, failed to coerce any monnai out of me en Francai, so then asked "Do you speak English?" "No, love, not a word." I replied, and she seemed to accept that and walked off. Which was good of her.
* Montmartre. Fuck me, what an amazing, achingly beautiful place. By far the best bit of Paris. I could have spent all day mooching about those long, windy, steep roads. Which is just as well, as that's where our hotel was. OK, it was a little touristy, and if one more 'artist' had asked to draw Kelly and me, I'd have made his pencil disappear a la The Joker in The Dark Knight, but once I'd got past that, well, the streets around Sacre Couer are among my favourite places in the world.
Hmmmm, I had loads more to say. I'll dig out that notebook later. -
Eric's - pull your finger out
Excellent, that's a great start man. Give Kelly a nudge on the washing front. Maybe wear some really dirty clothes or something.Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
I haven't seen the Mona Lisa, but I saw the Nightwatch for the first time last week. It's a very big painting. That's about it.Now, I'm probably going to out myself as a raving, raging philistine here, but is the Mona Lisa the most underwhelming painting ever?Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
whereas the mona lisa is pretty small. I think it takes people by surprise. Then you find you can't get anywhere near close enough to have a decent look at it because there is already a crowd clamouring around as if it might start dispensing £50 notes at any momentComment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
That was my recollection, mafu. Really small, and tough to see behind the plate-glass, keep-away ropes and tourists snapping pictures in plain view of the 'No Flash Photography' signs.
The gaudy, oversized knock-off of the Pogues' 'Rum, Sodomy and The Lash' cover art was my favourite. That and sculture of the headless broad with the wings.Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
I don't really understand the brouhaha over the Mona Lisa either. I was extremely disappointed to find it behind glass (well, as disappointed as a pissed 17-year old could be over something like that).
I was much more impressed by Montmarte and Le Sacré Coeur. Did I mention that I played my violin in Cathédrale Notre Dame? Well, I did.
So there.Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
Did they ask you to leave?Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
Drunk in the Louvre? Disgusting!Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
We went to the Louvre with a seasoned visitor (well he'd been there before) who advised that we get there for opening time. So, we got in when the doors (turnstiles?) opened and sprinted directly to the room where the afore-mentioned Mona Lisa was (usually) housed. Unfortunately, on the day we were there, the famous daubing had been replaced by something resembling a Penny Black, behind a pane of glass, much to our disappointment, given that we were the only people in the room and would have had a fantastic view of the ML (if it had been there of course).
The rest of the Louvre was fantastic, though.Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
TT - I know, gaudy American teenager!Comment
-
Eric's - pull your finger out
Yes.Now, I'm probably going to out myself as a raving, raging philistine here, but is the Mona Lisa the most underwhelming painting ever?Comment
Comment