Most of our trips are last-minute affairs, with activities and even accommodations arranged at airports or on arrival. This has gotten easier as data has become more accessible. Before connections were widely available, we had some charming impromptu experiences, but there were also bad moments. One of the lowest was trudging around Barcelona with a beach bag and wearing flip flops, unable to find our way to the waterfront. (I am remembered on that trip for packing one pair of pants and dozens of socks.)
When we had a chance to go to Paris, I decided to do more advance preparation. I spent hours touring the city in Google Street View, revisiting streets that I had wandered aimlessly on previous solo trips. The Palais Garnier near our hotel had interior imagery, so I explored inside. Floors from 7 down to -2 were available, affording views from the rooftop down to the basement.
Being able to navigate without consulting a device was quite helpful. It's a great place to get slightly disoriented, enjoying the sights on the way to the next attraction. When I did find a data connection for a map lookup, Google turned on the charm.
Approaching the destination from a random direction was delightful.
Tourists are part of the landscape, and people freely walk into traffic to get their snapshot.
I think the views are best from the 2nd floor, and you can take the stairs. We also took a boat tour and stopped for refreshments here and there. We had a meal on a sidewalk near the place where Giacometti had his accident. A cat guarded the way to the restrooms.
The kid wanted to take the train whenever possible, so we took a rainy day trip to Disneyland Paris. Rebranded after struggling as Euro Disney, the resort brought back childhood memories from Florida, of waiting forever so the adults could fork over staggering sums for the privilege of waiting in more lines. The thirty-second thrill at the end somehow redeemed the wait, at least for the underage customer whose opinion mattered.
Parental duties dispatched, I went out that night for an after-hours promenade. I wanted to stop in at one of James Bond's favorite spots.
- When Bond was in Paris he invariably stuck to the same addresses. He stayed at the Terminus Nord, because he liked station hotels and because this was the least pretentious and most anonymous of them. He had luncheon at the Café de la Paix, the Rotonde or the Dôme, because the food was good enough and it amused him to watch the people. If he wanted a solid drink he had it at Harry's Bar, both because of the solidity of the drinks and because, on his first ignorant visit to Paris at the age of sixteen, he had done what Harry's advertisement in the Continental Daily Mail had told him to do and had said to his taxi-driver “Sank Roo Doe Noo.” That had started one of the memorable evenings of his life, culminating in the loss, almost simultaneous, of his virginity and his note-case. For dinner, Bond went to one of the great restaurants--Véfour, the Caneton, Lucas-Carton or the Cochon d'Or. These he considered, whatever Michelin might say about the Tour d'Argent, Maxims and the like, to have somehow avoided the tarnish of the expense account and the dollar. Anyway, he preferred their cooking. After dinner he generally went to the Place Pigalle to see what would happen to him. When, as usual, nothing did, he would walk home across Paris to the Gare du Nord and go to bed.
Harry’s, after midnight, did not disappoint in authenticity and I sensed I was the only tourist in the place. But it was quiet and I didn't have to order food, so I mumbled some French and got a drink or two. William Least Heat-Moon was my travel companion, and Blue Highways promptly took me back to 1978 Cedar City, Utah, where he discussed the Hopi Way with Kendrick Fritz, a Native American chemistry student.
- The Hopi believes mankind has evolved through four worlds: the first a shadowy realm of contentment; the second a place so comfortable the people forgot where they had come from and began worshipping material goods. The third world was a pleasant land too, but the people, bewildered by their past and fearful for their future, thought only of their own earthly plans. At last, the Spider Grandmother, who oversees the emergences, told them: “You have forgotten what you should have remembered, and now you have to leave this place. Things will be harder.” In the fourth and present world, life is difficult for mankind, and he struggles to remember his source because materialism and selfishness block a greater vision. The newly born infant comes into the fourth world with the door of his mind open (evident in the cranial soft spot), but as he ages, the door closes and he must work at remaining receptive to the great forces. A human being's grandest task is to keep from breaking with things outside himself.
Something clicked. Things made sense. I marked page 193 with the receipt, to remember the Hopi Code, to make it my code, and went outside.
On my first visit, to see the 1999 eclipse, I spent days wandering aimlessly. At some point I stumbled into Shakespeare & Company, not knowing its significance. After Harry’s, I wondered if I might accidentally find it again. I walked back and forth across the bridges, trying to remember which was Pont Neuf.
At some point, completely unexpectedly, an Audrey Tautou lookalike approached me and sweetly asked for directions. I stammered out some kind of semicoherent apology in faltering English for my ignorance of my own whereabouts, and she walked off into the night. To this day I congratulate myself for escaping a close call with the notorious tourist-organ-harvesting organized crime trap.
Next day we went to the Louvre. They say the Musée d'Orsay is better, but when you come back from Paris no one asks you if you went to the Musée d'Orsay. We followed the herds following the signs for La Joconde.
Recently the painting was moved, leading to chaos, but I don't know how it could be any worse.
The Mona Lisa experience is one of elbows and close quarters. Everyone has the same objective, to force their way as near the front of the crowd as possible, in order to capture on a five-inch screen a digital image of a painting everyone has permanently memorized, with resolution far inferior to what you could get by tapping the words Mona Lisa into a browser.
Mum, I saw the fine art
Of course the Louvre is huge, and we made sure our kid soaked up as much cultural heritage as his attention span would tolerate. This is not exactly an aesthetic experience, though there were brief moments. Marching down some corridor, we passed “The Raft of the Medusa,” the unforgettable fold-out centerpiece of A History of the World in 10½ Chapters.
It is also a familiar image, but familiar in books. Larger than life, it looms from the wall, arresting the weary tourist with a few moments of transport, before pressing on to the next wing. We will have to go back again, before long, just as we said about Paris.
• • •
- “A Hopi learns that he belongs to two families,” Fritz said, “his natural clan and that of all things. As he gets older, he's supposed to move closer to the greater family. In the Hopi Way, each person tries to recognize his part in the whole.”
“At breakfast you said you hunted rabbits and pigeons and robins, but I don't see how you can shoot a bird if you believe in the union of life.”
“A Hopi hunter asks the animal to forgive him for killing it. Only life can feed life. The robin knows that.”
“How does robin taste, by the way?”
“Tastes good.”
“The religion doesn't seem to have much of an ethical code.”
“It's there. We watch what the Kachinas say and do. But the Spider Grandmother did give two rules. To all men, not just Hopis. If you look at them, they cover everything. She said, ‘Don't go around hurting each other,’ and she said, ‘Try to understand things.’”
“I like them. I like them very much.”
Thanks for sharing this. I enjoyed reading it. How long were you there in total?
Your pictures make me want to go, especially that shot of the Eiffel Tower with the tourist in the road. It's a reminder that this is a real thing with people and not just the same picture we always see.
How packed was the Louvre away from the Mona Lisa? I walked through the National Gallery of Canada in 2006 and enjoyed it. Those big galleries with famous artwork can be very impressive. Was the the Louvre much less busy in other areas?
I chuckled at this:
- Most of our trips are last-minute affairs, with activities and even accommodations arranged at airports or on arrival.
You and I seem a lot alike, but finally here is a clear difference. I'm the traveler who arrives with a folder of printed directions for each step, organized in order along with printed hotel and flight confirmations at the appropriate step. This has changed with data, too.
You'd dig it the most.
The Louvre is huge, so I am sure there are many quiet corners where you could quietly contemplate the fine art, though it might be oil paintings of fruit and dead kings.
We stayed four nights. The main reason for the last-minute arrangements is that we travel standby, so we never know if we will even arrive. I also prefer to do more advance research, but many times we have changed the destination the day before based on flight loads.
On an earlier trip to Paris, we couldn't get on the JFK-CDG flight. We saw that there was a flight to London leaving in an hour, and figured that was close enough, got listed and got cleared. On arriving at Gatwick, we discovered that all the low-cost carriers flew out of Heathrow, or vice versa. A black cab was something crazy like £60, and the Underground was too slow and intimidating (without a smartphone).
We ended up taking the train, which wasn't cheap but worked out great. We arrived at the Gare du Nord and I booked a room using a pay phone and my prepared list of possible accommodations. Ready to settle in at last, we stepped outside to get a ride to the hotel and discovered a line around the block; the taxi drivers were on strike!
Reading this as I wait to go up the Eiffel Tower. Suddenly worried for my organs and not just from the drinking I’m about to do on Nuit Blanche, which is tonight. Though if anyone can steal my organs, it’s Audrey Tautou.
From France
6 little known facts about weight control
Losing weight is not simply a matter of calories. Other factors that are not always thought of as important also play a role. The good news is that identifying them and correcting the shot, is often enough to get rid of those rebellious kilos
Good long enough nights
Experiments have shown that sleep-deprived people eat more and gain weight. Due to the lack of sleep, the stomach secretes a hormone called ghrelin in excess, which in turn causes carvings. Thus, any sleep debt can generate these effects in both adults and children. Not forgetting that sleep deprivation also affects memory, vigilance and our immune defenses, which become less effective against viruses and bacteria.
The solution is straightforward: although sleep time tends to have dropped (compared to las century, we sleep about 1h30 to 2h less per night), we must ensure that, at least some nights, we go to bed early.
The drugs side effects
If it is known that, overall, antidepressants and some contraceptive pills (especially those based on desogestrel) can stimulate appetite. What is not always known though is that many commonly prescribed drugs can also have this adverse effect, to varying degrees: those against allergies (cyproheptadine); migraines (pizotifen), diabetes (glitazone)…
The solution: if you notice an unexplained weight gain or if you have a question about a drug, talk to your doctor. In most cases, he may find an alternative to limit the side effects, and the weight gain. https://www.healthline.com/ has an article on the subject.
5. Choosing the right fat
Olive oil, salmon, walnuts and almonds… all these natural products contain protective fatty acids that nourish the organism without provoking a gain in weight (eaten in reasonable quantity of course!). That is not the case of pastries, sweet biscuits and aperitifs, margarines obtained by hydrogenation, spreads, fries…: those products contain 'trans' fatty acids, created during the industrial processing of oil into solid fats. Poorly assimilated by our body, this fat is immediately stored as fatty tissue.
To limit the consumption of those aliments, we read the composition of the products and we avoid those that mention the presence of “hydrogenated vegetable oil” which, according to https://sagessesante.fr, is inevitably synonymous with “trans”.
Stress reduction
Under the influence of frustration, you may tend to comfort yourself with a small piece of chocolate… or even the entire tablet! But this “compensatory” aspect is not the only reason for weight gain. It is now known that stress has a direct effect on fat accumulation and weight gain. The culprit is the NPY - a peptide produced by the brain. Secreted in excess in case of repeated stress, it stimulates food binging.
In an ideal world we should stop stressing… but obviously it is rather unrealistic. On the other hand, you can do physical activities or at least relax a bit with a few with breathing exercises, massages, or a hot bath…
5. Take care of your intestinal flora
The digestive tract contains billions of bacteria whose role, among other things, is to ensure the digestion of food and the proper assimilation of nutrients. But recent studies in mice suggest that the absorption of calories could be modified according to the composition of the intestinal flora. Thus, an imbalance can promote weight gain even if you don’t eat more. It would seem that some bad bacteria even encouraged the formation of lipopolysaccharides, substances that pass into the blood and cause, through an inflammatory process, obesity and diabetes.
One solution is to boost one’s intestinal flora by feeding it fructooligosaccharide, present in onions, artichokes, endives or bananas. These substances promote the development of beneficial bacteria in the colon, bifidobacteria, which fight against the proliferation of bad ones.
What if weight gain was related to pollution?
Could living near a factory or a highway make you fat ? This is at least a hypothesis recently raised. Experiments carried out on animals and subsequently confirmed on humans by means of tissue samples have shown that fat melting which occurs naturally at night is blocked when exposed to various substances, including benzopyrene. This compound belongs to the family of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, released during combustion (industrial processes, exhaust gases.) Volatile, it is found in the atmosphere at various concentrations (especially in the vicinity of industrial plants and roads) but also in barbecued and blackened foods. At least, on this last point, we can easily act upon.
- A human being's grandest task is to keep from breaking with things outside himself.
this reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry_breaking
maybe later i will dig up some relevant quotes i have jotted somewhere
you make a good point about the larger-than-life paintings. at the modern art museum in manhattan, for example, although arrested by starry night for long minutes, what i really remember is the realization that some of the pictures of lilies were huge. something you could really fall into, like eustace scrubb