EuroTour 2010, Day 4, Paris

No major plans today.  Just the Louvre, L'Orangerie, and a wedding at the Ritz Paris.  If you built a time machine and went back 20 years to tell 21 year old me what he would be doing today, he would look at you strangely and probably walk away as fast as possible.  The concept would be so foreign he would not even react.  And yet here I am.  Once In A Lifetime.

Another day begins the same way.  What is that?  You noticed?  Yes, the sausage of yesterday has been replaced by the bacon of today.  

And did I mention I woke up after four hours of sleep again?  And did I mention there is a downpour this morning in Paris?  Rain or no rain, our day remains the same.

Nobody is going to let some rain keep them from the Mona Lisa.

Besides, the Louvre she is dry inside.

Another picture to demonstrate how modern the Louvre Pyramid happens to be and how modern the rest of the Louvre happens to not be.  There.  I tried to say that in a way to not bore myself, but I believe I failed.

I know a lot of people avoid this museum.  I know people avoid it because this museum is such a "must visit" that it draws enormous crowds.  I know the majority of people walking inside the Louvre do not even care about art and are walking around not really certain if the Egyptian stuff came before all the paintings of Jesus.  The Louvre simply overcomes all of this with its incomparable beauty and outstanding collection.

A supremely delighted Lon, taking a picture of a fairly delighted me.

La Victorie de Samothrace.  In 1863 an expedition uncovered this statue at the bottom of the Aegean Sea.  Sculpted around 190 B.C., this heavily damaged statue is, in a word, perfect.  You cannot explain art.  Perhaps if Nike still had on her head we would find this statue boring.  We will never know.  

Final Fact Moment: in Greek mythology Nike flew around battlefields awarding victory and fame.  I always forget that.

You know I love getting a picture of a picture being taken.  And when you can see a picture clearly framed in another iPhone?  Well, that is just the (cute curse word for the things a woman has that men often do not.)

A picture meant to show you how beautiful the rooms of the Louvre can be, the amount of artwork there, and the number of people strolling the halls.

I fail to remember which god this happens to be.  But gods are cool.  By the way, note how everyone behind this statue is moving in a similar direction.  This is because the greatest non-Picasso painting ever painted by a human is through a door to the right.

There is so much to say about Da Vinci's Mona Lisa.  Yes, in many ways it is famous for being famous.  This crowd, fighting to stand near the painting, is surely filled with people who might get a zero out of five score if asked to answer the most basic questions about this painting.  But I have to go on the record and say that I have put in the effort to see the Mona Lisa twice, and both times I felt something very significant.

The crowd is ridiculous, but how else do you get to gaze into a painting that transcends painting itself and allows you to look into a human being's soul?

If getting near this painting of Lisa del Giocondo -- drop the conspiracies and wild tales, we know and have always known who sat for Leonardo's masterpiece -- makes you feel the way this woman feels, then tell your friends to skip it.  Odds are her friends would see what she saw, while I hope my friends would see at least a little of what I see.

When I last came, I had a very good 35mm SLR camera with a high quality Nikon zoom lens.  I took pictures that got right up to her face.  This time, we are traveling with only an iPhone 4.  So, you know what?  You have to go for yourself.  When someone asks me why I like this painting so much, I think it comes down to the fact that when you look at it, you are looking at her.  The painting disappears, and you are not looking at a portrait, you are looking into a person's face.  There is something about this work of art that allows this.  When you look at a photograph, you see a representation of a person.  Somehow, through the inaccuracies and accidents of the brush, Da Vinci allows us a peek into something we almost never see, the truthful gaze of a person who never looks away.  Okay, soapbox abandoned.

Final Fact Moment:  Da Vinci began this painting in 1503, and finished it around 1519, right before his death.

Self Portrait @ the Louvre.

I have alway been a fan of THOSE Medieval halos.  They are so unreal and odd to me.  They are like appendages that do not fit.

Crossing a walkway, I look to the right and see Winged Victory from another angle.  How fantastic does she look placed there?

Another masterpiece, Aphrodite of Milos.

Unfortunately, the time of day lead to light that made quality photography nearly impossible.  It would have been better to come back an hour or so later.

Final Fact Moment:  This Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) statue was discovered in 1820, buried as two pieces, near the city of Milos on the Greek island of Milos.  

Okay.  You have the headless Nike and the armless Aphrodite.  Bizarrely, both seem perfect as we see them today, as if the damage was needed to complete the work.  Figure that out.

This amazingly beautiful statue of Hermaphrodite is particularly notable for how the sculptor made the marble bed and pillow appear soft.

Yes, this is Hermaphrodite, the son of Aphrodite and Hermes, who merged bodies with a water nymph and became of both sexes.

Beneath the Louvre you can see the 13th century Medieval fortress that the Louvre was built upon.

A Sphinx, rather dramatically lit.

Time to leave.

When you do not scrapbook, you need to find a way to save mementos.  I do so photographically.

Nearing L'Oranerie, where we will again visit Monet's Nympheas.  We love having Sean & Lon with us; it provides an excuse to keep revisiting favorites.

I took fewer pictures this year than last year.  Still, I have to say that when you combine the size and scale of these water lilly murals with the presentation of the two oval rooms, L'Orangie becomes one of the most must-see spots in Paris.

Lon taking it in.

Self Portrait @ L'Orangerie.

Double-Self-Portrait?  Does that even make sense?

Sorry.  Sometimes I get carried away with experiments and grow to love the scent of my own.

Barbie at Lauderee.  When the Canadians next to us let us know that they had been waiting ninety minutes for their food, we, "bounced."  After all, we have a wedding to attend in just a few hours.  For the record, "bounce," was the exact word used by the too hip for his own good USC student from Vancouver.

We bounced right into Salles Climatisees, the brasserie where we ate day before yesterday.  You cannot knock a great Croque Madame around the corner from the hotel.

A nap was taken.  A tuxedo was stepped into.  And we walked across the street to the Ritz.

Barbara Howard entering the wedding.

One of my favorite new people from the wedding, Tom the yoga instructor, officiated the wedding.  He had never done this before, but it went perfectly.

The ceremony was non-traditional, to be sure, but there was one moment I need to share.  Right before the vows, Tom called upon everyone there, all one hundred guests, to make eye contact with the bride and groom.  And we did.  And they took their time looking each and every one of us in the eye.  It was a powerful, touching moment.

And, yes, it reminded me of making eye contact with the Mona Lisa.

Having a friend officiate your wedding is a great idea.  How often does the priest/minister/rabbi look that happy for the newlyweds?  Like, never.

One reference I could not avoid during this wedding reception, which was filled with toasts and roasts and good cheer, is the Young Frankenstein version of, "Putting on the Ritz."  I dare you to sit in the Paris Ritz for a few hours and not say to your wife/partner/friend, "Puuuuhhhdin Ahhhh Duuuuuhh Rihhhhh!"

Final Fact Moment:  The Young Frankenstein performance of Putting on the Ritz was Gene Wilder's idea, and Mel Brooks did not think it would be funny.  I saw Mel tell this tale.  He shot it anyway, as a concession to Gene, and was extremely glad that he did, as it may be one of the funniest performances in motion picture history.

Time for bed.