Some history of Paris ...sort of !

We just spent a couple of hours in the Musée Carnavalet. I had so much expectations about this museum, who should illustrate the cardinal events on the history of the City of Lights.   Instead, I came out more confused than ever and completely disappointed. The guide at the information point didn't have a clue about which rooms where open to the visit and at what time...Even worst, you start at the ground level with the prehistoric ages, on the first floor you have the XX century and you end up on the second floor with the section dedicated to the French Revolution!  What's the point of having a history museum if you can't even organize the visit in a rational way? There so much space and so much to see but you can't expect someone to understand or learn the history of Paris if you make him jump back and forward in time room after room, floor after floor. Is would have been so easy to follow a time-line, so much instructive and interesting. Too much of a challenge, I guess. 

Oh, another suggestion: instead of giving free entrance to the museum and then shutting down several rooms  because you don't have enough money to hire personnel, just charge 5 or 8 euros per visitor and get someone to open those rooms...

Aside from that, I loved the hall with all the artisans and merchants's signs, which were used mainly to help customers orientate themselves in a city who didn't have numbers on the streets. Additionally, very few people could read, so that's why these signs are so clear! 

l'auberge du boeuf normand

le chat noir

la main de Séjournan, avec kyste

Josh loved particularly the model of La Bastille, which is actually made out of a real stone taken from the building materials, after its demolitions. This is only one of the "models" fabricated, since several others were sent to all departments, and exhibited at patriotic celebrations. 

Bastille model

We decided to relax nearby, in  Place des Vosges, where Josh realized how important is to get a good breakfast in the morning. He's as light as a feather, can't even play on the seesaw with his friend Gabe!

Why do French say..." prendre son pied" ?

To know the origin of "prendre son pied" (literally "take his foot"), we should not take this expression, which means "get a kick out of something", "having fun doing something", literally. Here, the "foot" refers to a measurement unit still widely used during the XIXth century. At the time, the foot, which measures about 30 cm, was used by pirates and thieves to share their booty. It was collected in a heap. After measuring the height, each one took up the equivalent of a "foot" of the treasure, objects or money stolen. Part of this amount was then spent for their pleasure in various activities (mainly prostitutes...). "Take his foot" was then generalized in the popular language. This unit of measurement is however still valid in aeronautics.

Place des Vosges

The Place des Vosges is the oldest square in Paris, built by Henri IV from 1605 to 1612. Place des Vosges was originally known as Place Royale. Napoleon changed the name after the French Revolution when the region of Vosges was the first to pay taxes to the new French government. To honor them, one of the most beautiful squares in Paris was named after the region. A true square (140 m x 140 m), it was one of the first efforts of royal city planning, setting a precedent for the future architecture of Paris. The spreading style of the Place des Vosges was due to King Henri IV order that the 35 buildings bordering the square have the same design. The two pavilions of the Place des Vosges were intended for royalty; however no King or Queen has ever lived there.

Sortie au Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Mercredi, Février 15, nous sommes allés au Musée des Arts Décoratifs   voir l’exposition sur le Moyen Âge. Nous avons appris comment le Seigneur vivait à cette époque: il habitait dans un château avec plusieurs serviteurs en charge de des soins, de la nourriture, des vêtements, des animaux et de la maison.
La maison du Seigneur n’avait pas de salle à manger: la nourriture était  servie dans le jardin ou dans la chambre à coucher.
Cette chambre était la seule pièce avec cheminée : les murs étaient couverts de bois et de tapisseries décoratives, qui servaient à garder la chambre chaude. Le lit avait les pieds haut s pour empêcher les animaux de grimper dessus. En outre, il avait des rideaux pour empêcher l’air froid de pénétrer. Dans la chambre il y avait également des chaises et des coussins de sorte que les amis du Seigneur et les invités pouvaient s’asseoir confortablement. En fait la chambre à coucher a également été utilisée pour les réunions et pour manger.
Nous avons aussi vu un coffre en bois énorme avec des barres métalliques, qui ont été non seulement utilisés pour les décorations, mais aussi comme un support structural. Le coffre a été utilisé pour garder des objets, comme les vêtements précieux, des statues et les documents. En outre, le coffre pouvait être utilisé comme un lit.
Plus tard, on a observé une peinture du Seigneur mangeant avec ses amis: il était au centre portant des tuniques très colorées et des robes. Les assiettes n’étaient pas en usage à cette époque: les gens mangeaient avec leurs mains. Une autre curiosité est qu’il n’y avait pas de toilettes: les gens utilisaient pour ce but des trous creusés dans la terre ou des piles de foin.
J’ai trouvé l’Exposition très intéressante et j’ai été surpris par le nombre de choses nouvelles que j’ai apprises.

                                             Giovanni Sebastiano

La classe au Jardins des Tuileries

London - day 4

After three days, we were ready to go back to dear old Paris. We walked once more to the St Paul Cathedral, then to the Tate Gallery and then back on the train.

There are a couple of things I won't forget about this trip to London: first, this city is much more impressive and beautiful than expected. I guess I imagined it as a cloudy gray big city and that's it. How I was wrong: it's cloudy, it's gray but it's spectacular. There are so many places we didn't have the chance to visit, such as a musical, the Dungeons, the markets so I hope we'll come back for another weekend. Second, the most dramatic and tragic discover: Josh has gray hair, just as me! I'm not kidding: two long perfectly gray and shiny hairs...he wanted them to be removed so he could check with his eyes so I did take them off, wondering if after all it's true that for each one you remove, seven new grow. I hope not. But then again: what's going on? With all the good things he could inherit from me (are there any?) why specifically white hair? At ten years old? Needless to say, he was desperate. He kept saying: "No, mom, not like you!". Thanks, I feel so much better now.

London day 3 - English vs French

This morning, like hundreds of other tourists, we waited an hour before the gates of Buckingham Palace to see the much-famed Changing of the Guard: how can they stand for so long, immobile, impaled as logs, in the cold morning , waiting for a change that seems never come? I guess the reason why they march up and down without resting has nothing to do with patrolling the court, it’s just to stretch their legs and avoid collapsing! Eventually, after much waiting, the change came: the Commander of the guards yelled incomprehensible orders like a madman then, after several walks up and down the yard, he marched straight up to Josh, who had his nose stuck to the gate, and said, with a very serious expression on his face, a polite "Good morning". The kid, at first intimidated by his uniform, finally relaxed and enjoyed the show. Shortly after the order arrived and the newcomers took their place. End of the show. Pretty spectacular, still. 

-->

--> So we walked to Trafalgar Square, where we had a closer look to Nelson's Column, which is very reminiscent of the Vendome column in Paris. Another symbol of the British victories on their historical enemy across the Channel, as the magnificent obelisk on the Thames (Cleopatra's Needle), the Royal Air Force Memorial just close to it (the eagle's head is turned to France...). It seems they never forgive William the Conqueror to invade them, so they kept reminding themselves (and the rest of the world) that it won’t happen again.  

--> What about the the British Museum? The Rosetta Stone, originally taken by Napoleon, came into British possession after another French defeat!!! Now is the most visited object in the Museum. They may be neighbors and allies, but the British never miss a chance to to point out the defeats and differences. Even in food: worldwide French fries are called "French" fries, but here, they are simply called "chips". Forget about the French.... 

They may be neighbors and allies, but the British never miss a chance to to point out the defeats and differences. Even in food: worldwide French fries are called "French" fries, but here, they are simply called "chips". Forget about the French.... 

We obviously spent a couple of hours at Hamleys, from now on Josh's favorite toy store

then we went to the Westminster Abbey to listen to an organ concert. No recording allowed. Sorry. Well, Giuseppe  fall asleep and that tells all about how extraordinary the concert was....Josh had crayons and papers and he just kept drawing through all the concert. What about me? Impressed by the building, not by the music.

London day 3 - on Harry's footsteps

As lovers of all Harry Potter's books, during this short break we went on the trail of the most famous wizard in GB. We were able to see the Gringotts Bank (which, in reality, is the Australian Bank).   

 

We couldn't verify how many goblins were at work, since it was a Sunday! I guess a few. In any case we had no interest in changing our Dollars (already converted to Euros and then again in British Pounds) in the wizarding currency (Galleons, Knuts and Sickle): the only place where we could probably use these coins was the Leaky Cauldron (actually an optical shop in Bull's Head Passage in Leadenhall Market). Unfortunately we missed it, as well as we skipped Diagon Alley.

However we safely crossed the Millennium Bridge (as may be seen from the trails in the sky, the Death Eaters had already past and have not attacked us)...

and we tried to book a ticket for the Hogwarts Express, on Platform 9 and 3/4 but some elf (Doby perhaps?) locked the gate so, by the time we crossed the wall, the train had already left!!!

So we decided to make a formal claim and we went to the the entrance of the Ministry of Magic (which, to our great surprise, in reality is nothing less than Great Scotland Yard!!). 

 

And here, something unexpected happened! Josh took advantage of a moment of distraction and "disapparated" ...

London day 2

First let me say that I'm not a fanatic of the organized tours: normally before leaving for a trip, I inquire, I look at sites and books and with a little imagination and the help of Google map, I can manage on my own. On this occasion, with so few days left and so many attractions to visit, we were persuaded by the first guy on the street corner to get the 48-hours tickets for a hop-on/hop-off sightseeing tour.  

I must admit that it allowed us to avoid the stink of the subway (comparable to those of Paris ..) and to relax between visits to the other, while listening to the commentaries from the tour-operators.  It would have been much better if the weather was not inclement (it was freezing cold) but we could not ask for too much.
The first stop was Hyde Park. 

Giuseppe vainly sought the "Speaker Corner" to perform in one of his proverbial sermons.  Too bad, the British have lost a unique opportunity. In return we discovered that Londoners not only love horse back riding, but they have a passion for cross country and not lose the opportunity to practice! We met dozens and dozens of "skiers" ... Isn't it easier to just get a bike?

  

Again we hopped on the bus, direction Trafalgar Square and the City center.

 

How not to indulge in a tour boat on the Thames? As soon as we were on board began to rain. The few months spent in Paris taught me to always have with me, in the bag, at least one portable umbrella: the weather changes at an incredible speed. In London it's even worse: I believe that here the weather forecasts are probably calculated to predict the weather for the next two hours or less! Nevertheless, these two drops failed to discourage us in our tour.

So we arrived to the Tower of London: surprising and spectacular at the same time. Unfortunately the guide who was supposed to take us around the fortress gave forfeit citing as an excuse that "he could not do the tour with umbrellas". What a joke! Britain is probably are one of most showery countries on Earth and you guys fail to organize when it rains? Boh ...

 
Josh was obviously fascinated by the models and the armors, shiny and of inestimable value (some were made out of gold!). I have found that the explanatory videos were very well done.  

Obviously the part of the tour that has struck me more was the Crown Jewels collection: it took 45 minutes waiting to enter the hall but it was worth it: we admired in the same room, within walking distance of each other, the 2nd largest cut diamond in the world (the Cullinan I a.k.a. the Star of Africa)  

 

and the more purest diamond in the world, the Koh-i Noor.

Obviously the pictures were banned (and the doors of the room were slabs of steel to 1000 kg each!) Therefore I added from the Internet the pictures  that I could not take personally. Not bad ... then don't tell me that the English Royal Family is suffering the economic consequences and should cut spending. Ma va la' !

On the way back we walked through the London Bridge, which was not falling down

and we headed towards the London Eye, just in time to admire the sunset over this beautiful city.

 
Small note: if you suffer from vertigo, do not climb on the Wheel. The cabins are fully transparent and seems to float on air. With just a breath of wind , they begin to sway alarmingly on the river. We found that one of the cabins is missing (the number 13 ... superstition?) and another one is painted red (the sponsor). For the rest, the experience was great but, for me, not to be repeated. I don't want to end as as Homer Simpson in The Regina Monologues! 

By the time we had our feet safely on the ground, it was already evening and the pubs do not allow entrance to minors, so no fish & chips and not even the famous steak & kidney pudding ! We'll have to find another way to sample this specialties.