More Paris

Guess where? A look at the outside today and the inside tomorrow!

In the very long queue - that actually moved quickly, so it wasn't as bad as it first appeared - I chatted with a very nice lady from Areys, mmm Aries, mmmm, Ar....something Inlet. Merde - have only been out of the country for days and can't remember how to spell that Inlet. Anyway, Notre Dame was worth every minute of the wait. Awesome. Am I really in Paris? PARIS!

A tiny portion of the whole. Phwar - those celings.
Timing. I found a seat to plonk down in for a bit of 'quiet' reflective time in amongst the other thousand or so people who had been in the line with me, when a mass began. A negro lady behind me began to sing the responses. It was so beautiful I had tingles down my spine. Very special to be there.

Moi on the banks of the Seine.

Et moi dans Le Jardin des Tuileries...mmm, actually Des Champs-Elyses.


More entertainment on the metro. Today it was this young man doing his violin practice and making some money on the side. Was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And look at that lady. She didn't even turn around! Can you believe that? What is the world coming to?

Tis the dome of La Fayette. All I could afford to buy was a Coles-type shopping bag that had 'La Fayette' on it.

The Opera.


...and inside. I did a waltz in the middle of the floor when no one was watching. YES!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black Saturday

It’s the same story told over and over and over. Same horrific details. Same descriptions. Same turns of phrase – It was like a hurricane – a hurricane of fire You could feel the oxygen being sucked out of the air The roar was like a thousand jet aircraft – I’ll never forget the roar I saw the fire come in the smallest crack – like a blow-torch – searching for oxygen The tops of the trees were snapped off – not by the fire – by the wind – by the force of the wind We had no warning We only had seconds The house was on fire and so was the car We lost everything – everything The whole town is gone – it’s all gone The whole family has gone It’s a wasteland of death It’s like Hiroshima I haven’t been able to cry yet This morning he was here — The same story. But always a different story teller. So many story tellers. Too many story tellers. Not enough story tellers. It is Wednesday and five minutes before the end of the music lesson. Twenty five eight-year-olds have been happily engaged in ...
Read more

Perspective

It is impossible to concentrate. When you know your child is on the operating table, anaesthetised, tube down her throat, and soon to have seven teeth hacked and yanked from her mouth, how can you? You look at your watch again. Wonder which tooth he’s up to, the oral surgeon who casually told you in his rooms about the nerve that runs close to the extraction site, the one that controls taste and sensation in the lips. You feel guilty that you didn’t take her to the hospital yourself. Even though her father was happy to take time off and she was happy either way. You time-travel to two hours ago and watch them drive off, waving. Feel the gut-wrench of staying behind. Everything is ready for when they return. You’ve filled the fridge with mush. You’ve googled mushroom soup recipes and watched a how-to video. You’ve diced the ingredients and cooked dinner for yourself and the hollow legged man-child. You’ve got the ice pack cooling in the freezer. This could be a time when you could catch...
Read more

To the land of daffodils and roses

Image
What do you think? Give it a go? Yes - we did have a ride on a double decker. Of course! After doing our apprenticeship on the Metro, the London underground was a cinch! My Auntie Doreen - Hannah's great Aunt! - loves teddies. Guess how long she's had this one! This bear had us in stitches. It does an hysterical foot-tapping rendition of Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head. An unusual and poignant reminder of what the women did. Liz - my cousin, well - second cousin actually - and Hannah. So is she Hannah's third cousin? Does anybody know how this family stuff works? Looks like some got the punch line and some didn't. Come on Uncle Haydn, where's that Welsh sense of humour? The river Cothi in Wales where my uncle catches salmon - though, sadly, not as many these days. The Black Lion in Abergorlech serves up a pretty hearty Wednesday lunch. Did you know the Welsh have never heard of a 'lemon, lime and bitters'? I ordered one in a pub in Aberaeron and w...
Read more