A tour of the Louvre

We got a guided tour of the Louvre recently.


We only saw the most famous of the art in the Louvre - and I'd seen it all before - but we got some very interesting tidbits about it all.


For instance, the reasons that the Mona Lisa is so famous include a theft by an Italian who tried to take back a painting that he believed should rightfully be in Italy. He then tried to sell it, and was of course arrested. Also, a visitor to the Louvre once threw a stone at the painting, and though I don't know the reason why, I'm sure it caused a bit of a scene.

The painting that Napoléon had commissioned for his coronation as Emperor is impressing of course, but what the guide told us was that the coronation took place in Notre Dame Cathedral, which is not at all apparent from the painting. The reason for this is that Napoléon had the cathedral decorated with marble walls over top of the original stone to fit the architectural style of the day.


We were informed that the Winged Victory and the Venus de Milo are not complete sculptures because they are both ancient works that were found during excavations, and that they had to reassemble the pieces that they could find. She pointed out that the stance of the bodies could help art historians understand how the arms were originally designed, though the arms themselves were not found. They did recently find the extended hand of the Winged Victory, which they were able to identify scientifically as the same piece of stone, or marble or whatever it is.


We also saw the former crown jewels of the French kings. The crown that they have on display is actually full of fake gems, because of the custom of removing the real stones after the coronation. There is on display, however, a large, clear diamond that was used in the crown of the kings as well as in the sword that Napoléon wore at his coronation.


At the end of our tour, we went underneath the Louvre to see the original walls of the fortress that the castle started out as. It was in fact the former moat that we were walking through, surrounded by the inner and outer walls of the fortress, which were unearthed during the renovation of the museum in the 1980s-1990s.

From Paris, Fall 2007

My Room

Well, here you are folks- a video of my room. I love my camera!

A Run Through Paris

I went on two runs in Paris last week. The first was a trip to the MICEFA office (the organization who coordinated the exchange I'm in). Since I had to pay my fees for class, I decided to take advantage of the trip to jog over. It took about 30 minutes, and I walked back, but it was nice to get out and get my heart rate up. On the way, I climbed Boulevard Pasteur, and when I got to the top of the street there was a large circle that I had to go around to continue. As I walked around to the other side, I suddenly noticed what had been at my back the whole time- a great view of the Eiffel Tower. Blvd Pasteur is a wide, straight street sloping downhill, and in the distance the Eiffel Tower stood just in the center. It was an amazing view that is not at all captured by the photo I took with my phone.


And this is the picture I took on the way back down the hill on my way home.
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On the way home, I walked past the south wall of the Montparnasse Cemetary, and across the street I saw this great house with vines and flowers painted all over the pink facade. Once again, the phone photos do not do it justice...

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Anyway, the point is that Paris is frankly fantastic.
I went on another jog a few days later to the Luxembourg Gardens, no pictures that time. It was nice to jog around the park where there were many other joggers at the same time. It is a very popular place amoung Parisian runners, from what I hear. It's nice to get off of the pavement and onto a gravel path. It's not Forest Park, but there is a nice break from the hard sidewalks and the traffic. And jogging among statues and a castle also provides some nice scenery.

Update, 15 September

Okay, so maybe I won't add more about what happened in Vegas since so much has happened since, and I probably just don't really remember much. Let's suffice it to say that I stayed up all night playing blackjack, had a blast and came out a few bucks ahead. The weather was nice, and of course hot, and the company was good, most of the time. That's all one really needs ask for in Vegas.

So, on the matter of France, I find myself settled in a little room in Montparnasse two weeks after arriving in France. My first week, I spent in the countryside in a small town called Montoire. What a fabulous place with a fabulous bunch of people.

We visited the nearby town of Vendôme...


We saw the castle at Chambord...


We visited the village nextdoor with Pierre...


We drank a little wine...



And a little coffee...

From Montoire 2007

In short, we had a hell of a good time. It was a great way to start of the trip, and it allowed us to put off the bureaucratic nonsense that we would all have to deal with once we got back to Paris.

Until next time...

Viva Las Vegas!

Well, I had a great time in Vegas last weekend. Rachel, Vijay, Anisha, Ricky and I went for a few days and crammed as much alcohol, food, fun, sun and good times as we could into those few.

From Las Vegas '07

Check out my album for more pictures. I will add more about the craziness that ensued during our fantastic vacation.

Good-Bye, New York!

I had a lovely dinner with Mary Beth and Rachel at Arriba! Arriba! The margaritas were just right. The conversation was great. The company was perfect. Well, maybe I wish that a few more people could have been there. (Tabitha, you never called! And Anthony, I'm sorry I missed you.)

Well, I'm leaving today, so I just wanted to say...
Good-bye, New York. I'll miss you while I'm gone.

It Is Done

I read the last of the Harry Potter books. I laughed, I cried, I finished. It took me less than two days, while working two shifts somewhere in the middle. I am impressed with my reading stamina.

And just for fun, let's see which house of Hogwart's I would fit into.

Harry Potter Survey:
Whichever group gets the highest points is the one your in!

LET'S GO!!


GRYFFINDOR:
[] You've never done drugs.
[] You have a lot of friends.
[x] You get along with everyone.
[] You love soccer.
[] You love baseball.
[] You're into writing and art
[x] Favorite music genre is rock.
[x] You believe in "innocent until proven guilty" theory.
[] One of your favorite colors is red or gold.
[x] Good grades at school.
[x] One of the worst things you can do is lie.
[x]You plan on going to college.
TOTAL: 6


HUFFLEPUFF:
[] You're content with mostly everything in your life right now.
[x] You laugh a lot.
[] You like to follow trends.
[x] Politics suck.
[] You love to swim
[] Water polo is awesome.
[] Pink is one of your favorite colors.
[] Black is morbid & depressing.
[x] you're an optimist.
[] You're very emotional.
[] You believe in going steady at a young age.
[] You haven't made fun of anyone this month.
[] Loyalty is one of the MOST important things in a relationship.
TOTAL: 3


RAVENCLAW:
[x] You're depressed to a certain extent.
[x] You love to read.
[x]You appreciate theater & arts.
[x] Sports suck.
[x] Hate is completely unneeded.
[] Indie is one of your favorite genre of music.
[x] Every once in a while you have little anger outbursts.
[] Lying is sometimes okay.
[x] Blue is one of your favorite colors.
[x] Knowledge is the key to power
[x] Sarcasm is the best kind of humor
[x] People should know what they're talking about before they talk.
T0TAL: 10


SLYTHERIN:
[] There's at least one person you hate.
[] Basketball is a good sport.
[] Football is amazing.
[x] Black is a cool color.
[] You've lied about something serious
[x] You're a very deep person.
[] You have considered suicide.
[] You are not very loyal.
[] You like heavy metal.
[x] They make school seem more important than it is.
[x] You don't want to grow up.
[] Anger is one of your primary feelings.
[] You have trust issues.
[] Guilty until proven innocent.
TOTAL: 4

And the winner is Ravenclaw!