From the Louvre to Disneyland... and back again

So, I started this writing last Wednesday. You have to understand that I access the internet about only three times a week, so I write on my computer before I use it so I can copy and paste my emails and the blog posts. Accordingly, I have parts written from several different days that were never uploaded as intended, with a note for which day each is from.

Wednesday: What a great day! I mean, let’s be honest, it wasn’t a red day, so I got to turn on the heater while I was showering. I’m living the high life, now. It makes quite a difference when you’re in the tub like we are… And that was all within the first ten minutes of waking up!

Then I went on down to the Louvre for my art class. I’ve heard from other people who have done the Paris study abroad that some folks get tired of being at the Louvre all the time, but I can’t really understand that. Granted, after a few hours of class, I was ready to be done with the class, but I was hardly done with art. Although I don’t really understand it all, I can appreciate it for its aesthetic beauty and some of its embedded ingenuity. We spend about three hours a week walking around, pointing out specific paintings and discussing them. We get to about 7-10 paintings each week. It’s all very interesting, but I guess what gets me is that we’re standing up the whole time, and it’s not very interactive. We each have a presentation on a specific artist that we have to do, but that only means that I’ve put in 10 minutes of talking to class time, and otherwise it’s mostly just the teacher talking. And we can all imagine how very well I do standing and listening to a long presentation in a room filled with dozens of priceless works of art…

So, class was over and I took off right at the end with some friends, and got kebabs. They were great. Most every kebab I get is great. I love them. After a brief stop in the institute building I went with Summer and Jacqueline to the Musee d’Orsay. It’s not clear to me how the different museums arise (for instance, the Musee d’Orsay versus the Louvre versus the Claude Monet Museum, versus… etc), nor am I familiar with the finances of the respective museums, but I imagine that they are subsidized by the government. If that’s the case, then one would hope (I know, a hope against hope, especially in a socialist state like France… and that’s when even America can’t get things all right) that there would be some central planner who would think the museum situation through and have one museum where they house the renaissance art and another where they house the impressionists and another with the post-modern art, etc, so as to reduce redundancy. If each museum had to be completely independent, then the incentive would be to have a wide variety of paintings to appeal to a wider audience and get more people to come so as to be able to finance the entire thing—which is what I generally see in private collections that have turned into museums. The pragmatist in me knows that my hope is a lie, but I do hope against hope. In any event, something similar might have happened, without a clear definition of where historical and where modern art mix, as the Louvre tends to hold more ancient things and the Musee d’Orsay tends to hold more modern things. There is a blurry line in between where both museums ended up with a lot of neoclassical statues and some nice paintings, but most of the Orsay’s collection is impressionism onward. I have decided that I really like some impressionism (the stuff that’s too impressionistic I don’t like—so really, I don’t like most of it, but what I do like I really like). Renoir has won a place in my heart through his beautiful yet clear impressionism. Granted, there are a few that you can’t really make out, which I’m not a fan of, but most of his paintings have very clear faces, which I appreciate.

On Thursday I went on a walk past the stock market of France, and I explained to my friend how the stock market works, which was exciting. We were planning on going on a tour of La Bourse, as it is called, but apparently you have to make reservations beforehand, so we got a slip of paper with the phone number and we’re going to go back next week. I then capped off the day with a movie, Modern Love. No, it wasn’t in English (the title was a bit misleading; it was actually made in France. I guess it’s kind of like how when we put French on chocolates or a restaurant in the states it makes it more high class. Similarly, if they put English on their things it makes it more high class. It’s kinda funny how the grass is always greener on the other side…).

Friday: The coup de grace of the week was Disneyland. I know, I know, what a crazy thing to do while in Paris, but it was actually really fun. I went with several friends, and they really enjoyed it (and were really into it, which made it that much better). Apparently, contrary to popular belief, it is pretty busy. Luckily, even though it is Easter weekend, and our family here warned us against going because of the crowds, the inclimate (sp? Word tells me I’m spelling this wrong, but I can’t fathom how else it would be spelled) weather kept things tame. We had lines of 5 minutes or so, which was pretty decent. It rained in the morning, but was clear most of the day. We got to go on the Rockin’ Roller Coaster, the Tower of Terror, and Space Mountain (five times). It has mostly the same rides as the real Disneyland, only in Paris.

Saturday to Monday there was a young single adults conference here in Paris, and people came from England, Germany, and all parts of France. I heard that there were over two hundred people inscribed. Saturday afternoon there was speed dating (in French… I’m afraid my French isn’t that good, so rather than provide fodder for your enjoyment here on the blog I decided to opt out), and afterwards there was a presentation by Brother Welch, (still of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon fame), about the Good Samaritan. Then there was a dance, where I cut a rug till I got too tired. Between Friday and Saturday, I was pretty tired. Sunday was more of the YSA conference (imagine your youth conference with slightly older and slightly more French people, and that’s kinda what it was like).

Monday! Monday, Monday. Today was great. We did a walk with the YSA’s along the Seine from the Hotel de Ville (town hall) to the Eiffel Tower, and went into the Louvre on our way. After seeing the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa (I’ve already seen them, but I figured I ought to go again to further engrain them into my memory) I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was pretty cool. It’s really high up (you may or may not have noticed… I’d put my money on “had,” though), so there’s a great view from it. It snowed while we were up there, and it hardly ever snows in Paris. I love how it always snows wherever I go, from Palma (the first time it had snowed on that tropical island in the middle of the Mediterranean in 20 years was while I was there) to Andorra to Paris. I love it! I had some fun with pictures in sepia from the top. The pictures today (in no particular order… maybe you can have some fun guessing which is which?) are of: Jacqueline, Susie and I; Susie (in sepia); me tripping up the stairs in the Eiffel Tower; and a picture from the trip to Normandy where some of the girls wrote a note in the sand for me… see if you can make it out).

The only downer on the day was that because it’s a holiday, I had to… er… got to… walk to and from the train station, and all day in Paris, which probably makes about 6 hours on my feet. I was kind of tired by the end of it all, and am happy to be here writing on my Blog.

Well, I am happy to finally be up to date. It is a great feeling. I hope you all had a happy Easter, and that you’re excited for spring. J One month from today and I graduate from college… kind of crazy, huh?