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On the Road with Fast Eddie
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On the Road with Fast Eddie |
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| Recently discharged after her four-year commitment to the U.S Army, my daughter Nicole celebrated
her new-found freedom by visiting me while making her first visit to Europe. We started by spending four days exploring
Berlin. Just about all the places we went to have all been described in past On the Roads, so I won’t repeat myself
by going over them again. They are the classic sites that anyone wanting to experience this historic and diverse
city must see, including the Reichstag, Unter den Linden, Brandenburg Gate, Tiergarten (with the Soviet War Memorial),
Checkpoint Charlie Museum, The Wall, Bebelplatz (where the infamous book burning by the Nazis of 1933 took place),
etc., plus various areas such as Kreuzberg, Oranienburgerstrasse in Mitte and Friedrichshain where I live. We also
visited Schloss Sanssouci in nearby Potsdam, the opulent 18th century collection of palaces, surrounded by its
massive, sprawling park. We then took the train to Paris, across Germany and through Belgium, a nine-hour journey on the ICE, traveling up to 200 km/h. We spent four nights in Paris and covered a lot of ground, walking our asses off and becoming Masters of the Metro. I have also talked about the City of Lights in the past, but we went to some places I have either not been to before, or which I inexplicably forgot to mention after doing so. When I asked Nicole before going what she wanted to do there, she replied, “You know, the usual touristy stuff.” Fortunately, “the usual touristy stuff” in Paris suits me just fine, as this city is one of my favorites anywhere, and the must-see list we compiled was chock full of delights. Our first night, after a delicious and inexpensive Lebanese dinner, we strolled to the Eiffel Tower. Controversial since it was completed in 1889, when author Guy de Maupassant described it as an “excruciating nightmare”, it is still often discarded as tourist hype, and the endless array of cheesey trinkets on sale everywhere displaying the tower’s image made me want to puke with disgust. It’s easy to be a cynic, but more rewarding to enjoy it for what it is: a very impressive sight at night, looming magestically upwards, a lovely, lacy hologram of steel girders. At the heart of Paris is the Ile de la Cite, an island on the Seine which contains the imcomparable Cathedral de Notre Dame. Completed in 1361, it deeply moved me the last time I was in it, and I was thrilled to revisit. Nearby is Ste-Chapelle, a wonderful 13th century Gothic church with its Upper Chapel “an extraordinary fusion of space, color and light” (Let’s Go Paris, 1999). The delicate stained glass windows are a treat. As the entrance to Ste-Chapelle is also the entrance to Palais de Justice, I was forced to relinquish my tiny Swiss army knife before entering, no doubt keeping France safe from terroist threat. For the first time, I decided to take on the hordes to experience the Musee du Louvre. And hordes there are. We may have shortened our wait by entering via the subterranean Carrousel entrance off the Metro (recommended to me), rather than on street level next to the glass pyramid. It took 40 minutes to get in, 20 minutes to buy tickets ($7), and then 10 minutes to get into a bathroom. We were then ready to elbow our way through what is arguably the most famous museum in the world. Of course we just had to see what is unarguably the most famous painting in the world: da Vinci’s “The Chick with the Alluring Smile”, better known as Mona Lisa... can’t go to the Louvre and not see her, right?! Also had to see the statues “The Chick with No Arms” (Venus de Milo) and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, which was conveniently swiped from Greece in years past. What I most enjoyed in Musee du Louvre were paintings by Gericault, Delacroix and Corot, all 19th century artists. As I have pointed out before, pre-nineteenth century paintings don’t really ring my chimes... too much of a religious theme for my taste, and Nicole aptly reminded me that, “religion was a really big deal” in those days. Since this museum features art from before 1850, we appreciated a great deal more the Musee d’Orsay two days later. The Musee d’Orsay is the pre-eminent Impressionist museum in the world, which should be of no surprise since French painters dominated that style. This was my second visit, and I was very pleased that I would once again spend time there. Room after room display the remarkable bright colors and soft strokes of the likes of Monet, Pissarro, Manet, Gauguin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, Seurat, Sisley, Toulouse-Lautrec, etc....a feast for the eyes and the soul. In addition, there are some delightful sculptures by Rodin and others. And... no lines to get in, at least both times I’ve been there. The Champs-Elysees is a broad ten-laned avenue of restaurants and chic shops that leads to the Arc de Triomphe. We sat and ate French pastry with our coffee at a sidewalk cafe and explored a perfume store to end all perfume stores. Standing at the Arc, I recalled photos of shocked, teary-eyed Parisians watching Nazis goose-step though this historic military symbol in 1940, and then of joyful citizens celebating the arrival of triumphant American troops in August 1944, liberating the city from occupation. From the top, we looked out at the twelve symmetrical avenues that radiate from what became the world’s first traffic circle in 1907, the huge Charles de Gaule-Etoile. The highest point in Paris is Montmarte, an area crowned by the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. A mix of Romanesque and Byzantime styles, with an impressive white onion-shaped dome, it was completed in 1914, dominates the skyline, and is visable from many parts of the city. On a clear day, which unfortunately we did not have that afternoon, one can look out over the city and see as far as 30 miles (I am told). Inside there are striking mosaics and murals, and there is a quiet and serene atmosphere that is a welcome calm after joisting with crowds on the city streets and in the Metro. Montmarte once housed many famous artists, writers and philosophers and contains, among other things, the infamous cabaret Bal du Moulin Rouge. We discovered a ethnically-mixed neighborhood where we were served a custom-designed platter of French cheeses, accompanied by the essential baguette. Yummy... and quintessentially French! We had many fine meals in Paris. I have found that it is easy to find relatively inexpensive, delicious meals if you try, especially if you focus on ethnic food.... we chowed down on Chinese, Italian, Indian and, as I mentioned previously, Lebanese. Good wine is sometimes as cheap as bottled water, and patisseries offer up delectable pastries for a fair price. Our favorite area of Paris was the Latin Quarter on the so-called Left Bank. It’s a great place to just stroll around the twisting, narrow streets and soak up the atmosphere and classic French architecture. And because it has been home to the Sorbonne (one of Europe’s oldest universities) since the 13th century, there are plenty of book stores, and it’s especially easy to find restaurants there that won’t break your budget. I also returned to the nearby Jardin du Luxenbourg, site of Palais du Luxembourg and once off limits to the “common people”, but now a place for everyone to soak up the sun and enjoy the flowers, statues and fountain that adorn it. Across the river on the Right Bank is the Marais. Once a swamp and later a slum, it eventually became a center of fashionable, upscale living and here you’ll find elegant hotels, chic stores, a few museums and the city’s gay district with cafes and bars filled with guys so gorgeous they make women mutter to themselves. Our last “site” to see in Paris, and one we visited spontaneously, was Cimetiere Pere-Lachaise, the final resting place for luminaries such as Balzac, Rossini, Delacroix, Moliere, Proust, Gertrude Stein, Chopin and Oscar Wilde. Between the winding paths there is an unbelievable clutter of tombstones and memorials...over 1,000,000 people are buried there, although there are only 100,000 actual marked graves (only!). But despite all those I’ve mentioned, it was James Douglas Morrison (known to his friends and fans as Jim) whom we had come to honor. A Doors fan from way back, I was keen on seeing where Jim had ended up after expiring in a hotel bathtub in 1971 from a drug and alcohol-induced stupor. Even though we had a map, it took some time to find his grave. Nicole finally spotted a group of modern-day hippies... a pretty good clue... and we joined them in silent homage. Strewn on the grave were lit candles, fresh flowers and some hand-written poems and song lyrics (maybe his?), plus a burning cigarette butt... all of which seemed more than fitting to his memory (just a cigarette?). I softly hummed to myself, “Come on baby, light my fire.” Even the frenzied rush of locals and tourists, and the ubiquitous dog shit on the streets doesn’t sour me on Paris. And to share it with my daughter was a extra special treat... she loved it and why not! It is a magical place. Since it is a mecca for students, college grads and families, I recommend the “shoulder seasons” of early May or late September. The weather should still be fine and the crowds will be more managable, but you should still pre-book hotels or hostels. You can buy a multi-day Metro pass to save money, but be aware that a three-day pass doesn’t start when you buy it or first use it, but counts as three consecutive calendar days. So if you roll into town late, buy a one-way ticket to your hotel and then get a multi-day pass the next morning. |
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ To read Fast Eddie's adventures from the beginning, go here ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ CURRENT NEWS: ALL
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