Mona, Eiffel, Cows and French Rap
That's right. Give it up to us. We conquered Paris today.
Now it did not go without its bumps and stalls - just getting into the Louvre was nerve wracking enough. No one will ever steal a thing ever again from that place because they will not be able to figure out how to get into the museum in the first place.
You see, we already had our tickets so we did not have to wait in line to purchase tickets. Plus the vendor who sold us our tickets told us about the super not-so-secret downstairs entrance where we'd surely bypass all the crazy people entering through the glass pyramid. So we went down there only to find signs telling us to go some other direction if we already had tickets. We were to follow arrows to the PRIORITY entrance. Well that sounds good...until we followed those arrows through an underground mall up a flight or two of stairs and popped out across the street and no where near the Louvre. What the??
So we re-traced our steps, verified that we had followed all the signs correctly - priority my arse(nal)... So we asked a guy in a coat and tie and badge from the museum and he simply told us to follow the signs because he's French and stupid and could care less. This turned out to be the complete opposite direction we should have gone. But that guy will collect a paycheck and he'll go home content that he did his job which really provided a service to no one that day
I have figured out that the French are both ignorant and selfish - sometimes it is an even 50/50 but it varies from more dumb to the other extreme, more selfish. Let me explain - you ask a question to which there should be a correct answer. They'll likely give you the wrong answer. If it is clear they don't want to be bothered by your question and situation, they'll tell you whatever answer to make you go away and they don't care how or where they send you. However, there are occasions where you have to question their intelligence. For instance - the girls wanted to use the pool here at our hotel. So Jule took them to the pool and the minute they got in, a hotel employee ran over and told them to get out because they had just dumped chemicals in the pool to clean it. So Jule makes a comment that if the pool is closed due to cleaning, there should be a sign so no one gets a chemical burn. The response - "but madame, the pool is not closed." But you just said it was closed - "oui, you cannot use it because we are cleaning it, but it is not closed."
That's dumb.
I'm not French expert after 3 days and I won't claim to be, but I've watched a lot of people in those 3 days and questions of French intelligence as well as their genuine care for others are valid.
Don't believe me? Google a French rap star and give that jingle a listen for a while. I had the pleasure of hearing this at the train station in Caen as a group of teens hung around the exit to the station rapping along to their hero Oui MC. It literally sounds like a cow trying to moo repeatedly while chewing a mouth full of gum. Kurt Cobain must have written that song "Dumb" after touring in France. (or watching cows moo while chewing gum).
In any event, today's checklist:
Mona Lisa
Venus de Milo
Winger Victory or something
A statue by Michaelangelo
A bonus statue by Antonio Canova (he of Possagno..what what)
a bunch of other paintings
the Eiffel Tower (not to the top...too crowded for that)
Cruisin the River Seine
Saw a bunch of other things - Arcs and Notre Dames and formage and oui merci boucoup.
And I want to add in, my mom is a champ. She braved it without her cane which I thought was not wise. She kept up with our tour group. She even at the end of the day hiked up onto the top of the sightseeing bus so she could see more. Champion!! Not bad for a nearly 72 year old.
Dad was a champ too - he's been quite patient. Mom said its because of his meds. Whatever ... drugs are welcome.
They both get to sit on a train for almost all day tomorrow. Paris to Lyon to Mulhouse (wasn't he on the Simpsons?) to Zurich to Chur, Switzerland. Are you chur? Yes, I am chur. Mang.
Anyway, oh-wvah to Paris and France. We'll see if I come back - I cannot say I am that enamored by the French? Obviously - but as Humpty once said "Its obvious I also like to write" so I guess the French are good fodder.
Not sure how wifi will be over the next few days. It has been spotty at best here. If available, we're recall Paris, Disneyland, and such. If not, see you in Italy.
bonjour!
Now it did not go without its bumps and stalls - just getting into the Louvre was nerve wracking enough. No one will ever steal a thing ever again from that place because they will not be able to figure out how to get into the museum in the first place.
You see, we already had our tickets so we did not have to wait in line to purchase tickets. Plus the vendor who sold us our tickets told us about the super not-so-secret downstairs entrance where we'd surely bypass all the crazy people entering through the glass pyramid. So we went down there only to find signs telling us to go some other direction if we already had tickets. We were to follow arrows to the PRIORITY entrance. Well that sounds good...until we followed those arrows through an underground mall up a flight or two of stairs and popped out across the street and no where near the Louvre. What the??
So we re-traced our steps, verified that we had followed all the signs correctly - priority my arse(nal)... So we asked a guy in a coat and tie and badge from the museum and he simply told us to follow the signs because he's French and stupid and could care less. This turned out to be the complete opposite direction we should have gone. But that guy will collect a paycheck and he'll go home content that he did his job which really provided a service to no one that day
I have figured out that the French are both ignorant and selfish - sometimes it is an even 50/50 but it varies from more dumb to the other extreme, more selfish. Let me explain - you ask a question to which there should be a correct answer. They'll likely give you the wrong answer. If it is clear they don't want to be bothered by your question and situation, they'll tell you whatever answer to make you go away and they don't care how or where they send you. However, there are occasions where you have to question their intelligence. For instance - the girls wanted to use the pool here at our hotel. So Jule took them to the pool and the minute they got in, a hotel employee ran over and told them to get out because they had just dumped chemicals in the pool to clean it. So Jule makes a comment that if the pool is closed due to cleaning, there should be a sign so no one gets a chemical burn. The response - "but madame, the pool is not closed." But you just said it was closed - "oui, you cannot use it because we are cleaning it, but it is not closed."
That's dumb.
I'm not French expert after 3 days and I won't claim to be, but I've watched a lot of people in those 3 days and questions of French intelligence as well as their genuine care for others are valid.
Don't believe me? Google a French rap star and give that jingle a listen for a while. I had the pleasure of hearing this at the train station in Caen as a group of teens hung around the exit to the station rapping along to their hero Oui MC. It literally sounds like a cow trying to moo repeatedly while chewing a mouth full of gum. Kurt Cobain must have written that song "Dumb" after touring in France. (or watching cows moo while chewing gum).
In any event, today's checklist:
Mona Lisa
Venus de Milo
Winger Victory or something
A statue by Michaelangelo
A bonus statue by Antonio Canova (he of Possagno..what what)
a bunch of other paintings
the Eiffel Tower (not to the top...too crowded for that)
Cruisin the River Seine
Saw a bunch of other things - Arcs and Notre Dames and formage and oui merci boucoup.
And I want to add in, my mom is a champ. She braved it without her cane which I thought was not wise. She kept up with our tour group. She even at the end of the day hiked up onto the top of the sightseeing bus so she could see more. Champion!! Not bad for a nearly 72 year old.
Dad was a champ too - he's been quite patient. Mom said its because of his meds. Whatever ... drugs are welcome.
They both get to sit on a train for almost all day tomorrow. Paris to Lyon to Mulhouse (wasn't he on the Simpsons?) to Zurich to Chur, Switzerland. Are you chur? Yes, I am chur. Mang.
Anyway, oh-wvah to Paris and France. We'll see if I come back - I cannot say I am that enamored by the French? Obviously - but as Humpty once said "Its obvious I also like to write" so I guess the French are good fodder.
Not sure how wifi will be over the next few days. It has been spotty at best here. If available, we're recall Paris, Disneyland, and such. If not, see you in Italy.
bonjour!
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