Paris Haiku: 2nd Edition, Part Deux
Put your pencils down people. You have had plenty of time to try and figure out how my mind works….if indeed you have figured that out, please let me in on the secret, ok? So, answers to this week’s haiku:
little eye contact, even less personal space, get me out of here
Here you have a very crowded métro car, which is not even as crowded as they are capable of getting. In some instances there would be absolutely no way to pull back and take a picture as there’s just a crush of bodies wanting to get to work in the morning or head home in the evenings. I am claustrophobic, not in a disabling way, more like I really need to know that I could get out of a space if need be. The thought of being stuck in one of these tin cans at rush hour, pressed against many people that I don’t want to be pressed against leaves me queasy. So over time I have figured out how to avoid this situation and it works fairly well. If a train pulls into a station and looks like the photo or worse, I just wait for the next one. Often times at peak travel hours, the next one is just as bad. I have found that 3 is a charm and a practically empty train will pull up and there is no need for hyperventilating. Of course, if you are pressed for time this may not work, but trains do run more frequently at rush hour and we’re talking just a matter of minutes to get from panic to peace of mind.
reviled by some, the yin to beloved yang, angular and clear
What has become another icon for the city of Paris, the Pyramid at the Louvre, started out as a most controversial solution to an increasingly difficult problem of crowd control. Architect I.M. Pei was commissioned by French president François Mitterand to find a way to deal with the long lines of people trying to enter the museum that wound their way throughout the courtyard. In response, Mr. Pei created this triangular entrance where visitors enter the museum, descend into the main lobby to purchase tickets and then re-ascend into museum. In so doing, more space was created in the lobby area allowing for additional ticket windows. By creating this underground” entrance, additional exhibition space was added, along with a mall where a smaller inverted glass pyramid acts as an additional skylight. The controversy stemmed from the fact that many people felt such a futuristic edifice had no business being a focal point set against this magnificent classically inspired structure. Others who embraced it, praised the merging of old and new. I initially sat on the side of the fence with those thinking it was hideous. My first trip to the Louvre was pre-pyramid and of course it seemed perfect just the way it was. A second visit had me standing in what I still considered a long line, only this time I was entering through that “glass thing”. Having spent so much time around it these last few years, it is no longer jarring or out of place for me. I actually like it. Oddly, there are several ways to enter the Louvre, a few with no lines whatsoever and yet, tourists flock to stand in the longest line that will take them through this entrance. The Pyramid is the Louvre.
it’s good to be me, i have reached great heights while i, stay close to the ground
Our guy Napoleon being all uptight and pompous in this painting. He was powerful, but short–get it–close to the ground…that wasn’t really fair, but I did just write about him the other day so at least he should have been in your consciousness.
the color of gold, little is what one should be, floating to the top
I could wax poetic on this yummy treat but won’t. If we were all together we could just pop a few corks and enough said. Let’s see….this is a photo of Dom Perignon, which is not my favorite Champagne (taste testing is a lifelong work in progress for me) but I have been to La Maison Moët & Chandon, which also owns Dom and can tell you that it is a fabulous day trip out of Paris. I happened to be part of a private tour for a liquor distributor that sold these Champagnes in Chicago, so our experience might have been a bit different from what others might get, but a trip here is so worth it. A very handsome young man, he was British actually, was our guide for the day and we spent much time in the dark caves where thousands of bottles are stored, tipped on an angle to allow for a second fermentation to take place (I am not even going to pretend to explain the process. You will be redirected momentarily to learn more) where they stay for at least one and a half years. During that time, “riddlers”–turn the bottles by hand so the lees can settle in the neck of the bottle and allow for the carbon dioxide to stay in so as to create “little is what one should be“, little bubbles in the final product. In the case of Champagne, tiny (bubbles) is better!! For future reference, a friend of mine who is a sommelier in Paris swears by Krug. He should know!
i have lost my head, but not my hope of being found, i won over time
The Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of the first works of art you will come across as you begin your visit to the Louvre. It stands triumph-ally at the top of a staircase that everyone must ascend and therefore there can be thousands of individuals under the impression that they are the only people on the stairway who want to have their picture taken with the statue (why?) and the person they are with stands at least 40 feet away trying to get a great shot. Do you see the dilemma? No one is going to stop walking by so each person can have a solo moment with this beautiful creature. It’s weird. Anyway, as you can clearly see she..”has lost her head” and her arms which could have suggested the Venus de Milo, but she doesn’t have wings and wasn’t victorious over anything that I am aware of. This marble statue dates back to the 3rd century BC which is even older than me (said it before my family could). It is thought to have occupied a niche in an outdoor amphitheatre and prior to losing her arms she was poised with her right hand cupping her mouth as if shouting out victory. French archaeologist, Charles Champoiseau discovered the statue in 1863 and had it shipped to Paris which must be why it is here–a Frenchman found it, so apparently, they get to keep it. It took years of digging to find all the parts that you see today which is why she never gave up “hope of being found”.
Well, that was a much longer post than I meant it to be. But there is much to learn about this, our favorite city in the whole world. Now, however, you can go forward into your weekend and amaze all your friends over cocktails with the little bits of Paris trivia you learned today. You are free to go. Have fun!
Photo credits: Wikipedia, about.com, stlouis.art.museum
Tags: , , b5media, champagne, Dom Perignon, François Mitterand, france, I M Pei, Krug, Louvre, Möet and Chandon, Napoleon, paris, Paris-Metro, Pyramid, the paris traveler, travel, travel blogs, Winged Victory of Samothrace
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POSTED IN: Family Fun, History & Information, Miscellaneous, Museums
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