Well, folks, if you are interested to know, I recently returned from a vacation in Paris. Yes, and I'm not trying to brag or make you feel bad about your life at all. Promise.
Anyway, on said vacation, I took several pictures. Three hundred and sixty-seven pictures, to be exact, not counting the ones I deleted because they were blurry or sideways or otherwise unacceptable.
I did not write any poetry in France. Since I was trying to absorb the French words and become accustomed to the French accent, my usual English word play took a back seat. French in, English out. (You know, it's funny that I even found myself copying the French way of using English.)
Thus and therefore, there is no poetry this week. Instead I am posting photos. Fortunately for both of us, I am not posting all 367. You may thank me in the comments.
The Arc De Triomphe. I walked down the Champ De Elysees toward this arch, thinking that it was very near because I could see it. I didn't realize that it only seemed near because it was gigantic!
The Eiffel Tower as seen from the aquarium park across the river.
The Eiffel Tower as seen from the terrace of my hotel (The Holiday Inn, Paris).
Yes, it's moi, on the terrace. French people are very accommodating to tourists who want their picture taken.
What I saw through the fence at Luxembourg Garden. I think it might be a mosque.
The model version of the Statue of Liberty that is in the Luxembourg Garden. The sun was helpfully near the torch and I didn't have to contort myself TOO much to get this photo.
Pickup basketball in Luxembourg Garden. Here we have the French Michael Jordan.
Notre Dame is such an amazing building.
Here you can see the famous flying buttresses of Notre Dame.
The Louvre.
The Louvre (so big that you can't get it all in one photo).
I can understand why the Eiffel Tower is photographed so often. It's hard to take a bad photo of it. I'm in awe of how such a large structure can appear so graceful and light.
A view of the Seine from the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
I visited Pere Lachaise Cemetery, only because I like cemeteries. I was not disappointed by this one.
World War II concentration camp victim memorial. There were several of these in the cemetery. Standing there, I felt an overwhelming sadness, almost to tears. It's hard for me to comprehend how incredibly cruel humans can be to each other.
The Hotel De Ville
A bridge across the Seine. You can see from my photos that I like to include as much of the sky as possible.
I can't even remember what building this is, but I like the photo.
Parisians dress to impress. I was impressed. Look at those heels!
A delayed plane allowed me to stay the night in Montreal courtesy of Air Canada. I even had time to visit the downtown area, plus I didn't have to go alone because I ran into another hotel guest who was also going downtown. Similar to Paris, they have outdoor art and ornate buildings. But you can also see a more modern influence in the art, like this piece of art. From the side it appears to be a jumble of letters on poles...
but if you look from a viewing stage, you see the letters spell out a phrase in French. My rough translation (helped by a kind passer-by) is "We believe that our differences don't divide, but enrich us."
I think that makes a good ending for this post. Wherever I travel, I meet people who are like me. Maybe we speak different languages, maybe our noses are different shapes, and maybe we have different political views, but as I communicate with these different people, I realize that at the core there is no difference.
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