The Arts

Recently, I've been listening to The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It uses architecture as a vehicle for the story - the old style of the great buildings of the world vs. the new, modern and unusual. The story is long and complex and I won't go into it here. My verdict is still out on how I feel about the story. But my recent trip to Paris was a great opportunity to look at architecture and the see how it shapes the city and the activities that go around the various style of buildings. It was a time to ponder on what is beautiful and desirable and what is art. Earlier this month, Dennis and I went to the Rodin Museum and the Orsay Museum which have many great works of art and are contained in amazing and beautiful buildings and grounds. This trip, I wanted to see some of the different type of art, although there were still some beautiful buildings that I either hadn't seen before or hadn't seen for many years.

St. Sulpice - although there was restoration work being done on the highest domes the history and beauty of the building are still remarkable.
Luxenbourg Museum and gardens - a little bit of heaven in the hustle and bustle of a big city.
I was busy taking pictures of this area and the monument in the gardens when I suddenly noticed what was on the skyline behind it.


Huge statues surrounded by large grassy areas surrounded by trees, shrubs and chairs. Parisians come to paint, read, eat, sunbathe, play and exercise. It is the kind of park I wish we had in our back yard.


Sailing boats in the pond of Luxenbough garden. One of the many pleasures had here. There are also tennis courts, basketball courts, a boule court and huge playground.


The incongruity of this statue caught my attention. This fairly stern looking woman, which is beautifully made has wires sticking out of her head. They are usually used on the tops of buidlings and doorways to keep birds from perching there but this is the only statue that I noticed that had spikes.Notre Dame - so simple in comparison to the Koln Cathedral and yet still one of the crowning jewels of Paris.

A quartet of singers outside Notre Dame. They sang traditional French folk songs and the crowd around them sang and danced with them. They were very fun to watch - especially as it gave me an excuse to sit and relax for a while.


The walkway along the top of the Centre du Pompidou -the museum that houses the modern art of Paris. The building itself is ultra modern. All the pipes, heating ducts and escalator are on the outside.




A juggler/acrobat performing outside the Pompidou. In the hour that I spent in the squares outside the buiding, I saw 6 different entertainers - mostly singers but also a little odd puppet show. There were so many interesting people to watch and see.

The modern art pool to the side of the Pompidou with a old church - such a huge contrast of the silly and odd against the great, solid and aged.

A building in the Montparnasse area. It is 1/3 glass with nothing inside. In front of the building is a long wall of very impressive graffitti. The main floor windows are also covered with paint that makes one wonder if it is a purposeful grafetti or just an overflow from the wall.
It was a fun and interesting trip. We had dinner Thursday night at a popular French restaurant, La Couple, and on Friday night we went to a Moroccan restaurant. We also went on a nighttime river cruise. We made a quick stop on the way down to pick up my new residency card and on the way back at a mall in St. Niklaas. It was good to get home but we were already talking of were else we wanted to travel to and what we should see. Regardless of how far or near our travels take us, there will always be interesting buildings to see and things to love and things to ridicule.

Traveling Europe with the Young Marrieds

The fun began on August 3rd when Dennis and I went and rented a vehicle large enough for all 8 of us to travel for 10 days and the kids left the US and headed to Dusseldorf. The next morning we were off bright and early to pick up Lisa and Cameron, Mindy and Jeran, and Andrew and Lindsay from the airport. We headed to Koln where we spent some time visiting the magnificent cathedral there.


From there it was off to Marksburg Castle, a medival castle in the Rhine River Valley.

We got to Elst in time for Dennis, Jeran and Cameron to ride bikes to the market for a few things for dinner and to take on our travels.

The next morning we were off bright and early to Zanse Schanse and then Amsterdam. We saw most of the traditional sights for Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum, Ann Frank house and a canal ride) and had a nice rijsttafel dinner at an Indonesian Resturaunt. That night we headed back to Elst and made our final preparations for heading out of town.

Mindy is walking towards me. Andrew and Lindsay are on the M.

The following morning we headed out bright and early and drove down to Paris. We checked into our hotels and then drove out to Versaille but decided that due to the crowds and lines, it would be better if we went early the next day. We drove around and saw some sights in downtown Paris and then parked and went to see Napoleons Tomb and the museums associated with it.



From there, everyone split up and went and saw the things they wanted to see. Dennis and I went to the Rhodan Museum (sculptures- "The Thinker") and then the Orsay Museum (Impressionists).

The next morning, Dennis drove us out to Versaille and then he went into the Elitech office to work while we went through. He got back in time to see some of the gardens with us. That afternoon we dropped all the kids off at the things they wanted to see and we went to the "Museum of Modern Fashion Design and Retail - a.k.a. Galeries Lafayette" (Founded in 1893, Galeries Lafayette has always been a trend-setter in the Parisian fashion world. The multiple store complex is home to scores of famous luxury brands, but also serves as a launching pad for young and upcoming designers. Galeries Lafayette is not only well known for shopping, but also has a reputation for being one of the best sightseeing spots in Paris. The splendid glass dome of Neo-Byzantine style has been classified as a historical monument. It is an architectural landmark which attracts people from all over the world.It is a huge store with many of the big designer and high fashion names featured.) There were some really beautiful clothes as well as some pretty bizarre fashions. Then we went to the Arc de Triumph and climbed up all the stairs to the top. It was a beautiful view. We had dinner at a Thai resturaunt in the Latin Quarter.

The following morning, we checked out of our hotels early and headed to Normandy. We spent some time at the Musee du Debarquement in Arromanches and then drove over to the American Cemetary. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone learned a lot enjoyed their time there.



From there, we drove up to Calais to catch the ferry for England. We had tried to leave an extra hour to get there in case we had problems - and our problem was the many toll booths that had traffic queing for miles. We were lucky that our boat didn't take off on time so we made it but were one of the very last ones on. It was a nice smooth ride and we had some time to play the dice game with those who wanted. Once on land, we made a brief stop at Canterbury Cathedral and then on to Gatwick to the Marriot there for the night.

Sunday, we went to a nice big ward in Crawley. In Sacrament meeting they confirmed a newly baptised family, a mom and her 6 daughters. I was impressed with how friendly the ward was and how organized it seemed. Afterward, we checked into our Hotel in London. I spent the afternoon in the hotel sleeping while Andrew and Lindsay went to St. Pauls for Evensong and everyone went to Westminister Abby for the organ recital.


While in London, Dennis and I went to the zoo and walked in both Regents Park and Hyde Park. We went into Westminister Abbey, the Victoria and Albert Museum (amazing!!), the Science Museum (lame) and the Natural History Museum (awesome). That evening was show evening but only Lisa and Cameron ended up seeing a show, the rest of us went to dinner. The place Dennis wanted to go to ended up being closed so we parked on a street with what looked like a lot of little eateries and finally ended up in a little place that had burgers, fish and chips and such. It was not very classy but it was filling and since it was 9 PM that was all that mattered at the moment. We picked Lisa and Cameron up and drove out to the Marriot at Heathrow.

The next day we headed out for a long day of driving. We went to Stonehenge, and Bath in England and Chepstow Castle and Tinturn Abbey in Wales.

As we got near our hotel we decided to go see Coventry Cathedral. That night we stayed in a nice Marriot on a big golf course called The Forest of Arden. We drove into Birmingham to have a dinner of Bangers and Mash although Lisa got Faggots and Peas and several of the kids got some kind of meat pie type thing. We were well and truely exhausted after that day. As I looked around the dinner table, almost everyone had big black circles under their eyes.

Warwick Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon were on the agenda for the following day. Warwick has turned into a big touristy place since the last time we were there. It was very crowded and there were some pretty lame shows that they put on but there were a couple of interesting ones also. The Falconry show was the best, but there was also jousting, and a demonstration on how the Trebuchet, a colossal catapultcatapult worked. Our stop at SuponS was quick due to everyone's fatigue. That evening we checked into the temple housing at the London temple.

Thursday morning we went through the first session of the temple and then headed down to the ferry and home.

There were several more pictures of the different venues I would have liked to add but I guess I'm maxed out. It was a wonderful trip and we saw lots of interesting places. All the kids arrived safely to their various homes so I guess the vacation is over. The fun may have ended but with the hundreds of pictures we all took, the memories will live on for years to come.