A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

Often I see something worth writing about but it's such a snippet, it's not worth a blog post by itself.  So I'll accumulate them, then post the collection.

The French love column monuments.  The most famous is at Place Vendome.  There's also one here at the center of Place de la Bastille.  It commemorates a three day revolution (the French seem to either love or badly need to have periodic revolutions) at the end of July, 1830.  Out went Charles X & in came Louis-Philippe I.  He served as king until he was forced to abdicate in 1848.  The 19th century had lots of French rulers forced out, starting with Napoleon in the early part of the century.

The column commemorates with names those who died during the revolutions of 1830 & 1848.   IOW, commemorating those who died bringing Louis-Philippe I to power and those who died kicking him out.

 

At the top is the figure of Liberty, obviously a guy.

I say that because there's a painting in the Louvre entitled "Liberty Leading the People", and being topless, that Liberty is most definitely a she. She was also on one of the Franc banknotes until the Euro came in and ruined it all.

The lions at the base represent the zodiac sign for July, Leo.

The video cams are new since 2007.

The column from one of the Bastille Metro stops.

Here's the column in the late afternoon.  Those ominous clouds kept their promise.  About 20 minutes after taking this shot, we were safely in the restaurant for dinner when the sky opened up & it rained like the dickens. But it finished by the time we finished.

Last column pic, I promise....the column at night.

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Back in the '70's when I first started coming to Paris, there were street musicians all over the place...on the street & in the Metro.  I considered them an annoyance & ignored them.  As the years passed, there were fewer & fewer until, like good background music, I didn't appreciate them when there were present, but missed them when they were gone.  So now I toss a few coins into the hat or instrument case of all street musicians I pass.

These two fellows were playing "The Girl From Ipanema".

Yesterday in the Metro, there was an accordionist playing a very complicated piece that I recognized as a tango, but darn it, I couldn't think of the name. I dropped a few coins & we moved on.  It bugged me and it wasn't until we left the Metro did it come to me...it was Piazolla's "Libertango".  I wanted so badly to be able to tell the musician that at least one person knew what he was playing.  But we were long gone. 

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Housekeeping:

No one guessed where I was when I shot the shoe pics.  Hint: I was sitting, they were standing.

Just so you know how this blogging website works, I publish a post.  If you're simply going to my blog address, it will be there.  If you subscribed by email, the website accumulates posts, then between 5 & 7am AZ time each day (I choose the time zone, that seemed to make sense), it emails out the posts for that day.

If you want to comment on a post but not go thru the hassle of signing in, you can send me an email.  Use <stevemaricopa@gmail.com>.  It's an alternate email address that I'll check often on the trip but maybe only once a week when I'm home.

Today I'm going to finish the Vincennes post.  The photos are done.  Just have to decide which ones & write the text.

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Betcha didn't know Caesar Salad came with onion rings.  Neither did we.

Which brings me to a point.  When travelling overseas, you may see something on a menu you think you recognize.  If you order it, don't bet on it being the same or even close.

I pretty much know my way around a French menu, but a German menu not so much.  You might know the local words for beef, chicken, fish, etc. but it's those other unfamiliar words in the listing that tell you how it's prepared & can become a whole 'nother thing.  IOW, overseas, every meal is an adventure.

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Breakfast is included with our room but it's the same every day...a croissant, a roll, plain yogurt, watered down juice, & coffee or hot chocolate. But Sunday mornings are special to us, whether at home or travelling. So we go out.  I can say that we had breakfast in America.

OK, to be totally correct, we had breakfast at Breakfast in America.  It's a little bit of '50's America in Paris, decor & menu-wise.  So we had eggs over-easy, sausages, toast & coffee.  BUT, while the serving staff are Americans or Brits, the cook is still French.  So the eggs over-easy show up over medium, sometime yolk broken.  And the sausage links would not make Jimmy Dean proud.

If you'd like to check out their website, click HERE

There's a Canadian place on the Left Bank; will try them next Sunday.









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