Okay, so Paris is a pretty amazing place. I mean, it is soooo old. I guess there are older places on the planet, but this place is pretty old. We go by buildings and some good Daughter of Charity says something like, “St. Louise would’ve prayed in this church,” or “St. Vincent would visit the sick there.” I mean they lived like 400 years ago.
You see these arches all over the place – built by Napoleon and Louis XVI and stuff. I just don’t have an experience of that. We do have old things in California – it’s not that. It’s that this whole city is old. Every block is full of historical meaning and landmarks.
Yes, there is more to come on the blog about the pilgrimage I am on, but I wanted to take a bit of time to share some of the historical, touristy stuff.
We did see the Eifel Tower. It’s impressive and pretty metal-like. In fact, the artists living in the city at the time it was being erected opposed it, saying it was too ugly for such a beautiful city. I am not saying it’s ugly. I am saying it’s a lot of metal.
We did go to the Louvre and the D’Orsay - home to some of the greatest masterpieces of all time. I mean, I stood a foot or so away from original Monet, Millet, Degas, Rodin, ….. And I don’t mean just one – like they have at the Getty in Los Angeles. I mean painting after painting…sculpture after sculpture.
I saw churches that famous authors refer to in books and poetry. I saw people sitting on a bridge over the river Seine painting! Sure they do that at Golden Gate Park also, but THIS IS PARIS!
I rode the Metro. I imagined Ezra Pound’s “In a Station at the Metro.” Mrs. J, (Junior English Teacher) thank you for the gift of that poem. I saw what you shared, what you talked about. Thank you. I am here and I get to see it.
Look at the pictures. They are so simple compared to the experience. And guess what, all of this is nothing compared to hanging out in the Chapel here at the Motherhouse – Mary’s hang out. None of this compares to visiting the homes of St. Vincent and St. Catherine. Nothing compares to walking where Catherine walked that first night when the angel led her to the chapel. There is more to come about that awesome part of this trip.
You see these arches all over the place – built by Napoleon and Louis XVI and stuff. I just don’t have an experience of that. We do have old things in California – it’s not that. It’s that this whole city is old. Every block is full of historical meaning and landmarks.
Yes, there is more to come on the blog about the pilgrimage I am on, but I wanted to take a bit of time to share some of the historical, touristy stuff.
We did see the Eifel Tower. It’s impressive and pretty metal-like. In fact, the artists living in the city at the time it was being erected opposed it, saying it was too ugly for such a beautiful city. I am not saying it’s ugly. I am saying it’s a lot of metal.
We did go to the Louvre and the D’Orsay - home to some of the greatest masterpieces of all time. I mean, I stood a foot or so away from original Monet, Millet, Degas, Rodin, ….. And I don’t mean just one – like they have at the Getty in Los Angeles. I mean painting after painting…sculpture after sculpture.
I saw churches that famous authors refer to in books and poetry. I saw people sitting on a bridge over the river Seine painting! Sure they do that at Golden Gate Park also, but THIS IS PARIS!
I rode the Metro. I imagined Ezra Pound’s “In a Station at the Metro.” Mrs. J, (Junior English Teacher) thank you for the gift of that poem. I saw what you shared, what you talked about. Thank you. I am here and I get to see it.
Look at the pictures. They are so simple compared to the experience. And guess what, all of this is nothing compared to hanging out in the Chapel here at the Motherhouse – Mary’s hang out. None of this compares to visiting the homes of St. Vincent and St. Catherine. Nothing compares to walking where Catherine walked that first night when the angel led her to the chapel. There is more to come about that awesome part of this trip.
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