Under a white Parisian sky

What makes a masterpiece? Is it the color used, the technique, the process or the end result? Is it the artist, the design, the message, or a combination of each element? Is it the way the painting makes you feel or the way the painting is supposed to make you feel? As I walked through the Louvre this morning, I thought about these questions. Sometimes I wonder why certain pieces are so esteemed, while others are simply portraits hanging on a wall that barely receive a lasting glance. Why is the Mona Lisa such a phenomenon, and yet a painting 50 times its size, more detailed and far more grand hanging on the adjacent wall is one I have never heard of before? How is it that we let fame so easily distort the critical eye? Look at Britney Spears – the woman cannot sing for the life of her, and yet the infatuation with her is relentless, whereas an actress on Broadway with pipes that could rival Mariah remains unrecognized to the masses. In a world where art is subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, how come we are so easily told what is art and what is beautiful?

 

Saturday morning we woke up to a white sky – almost as if the clouds were about to release snow into the chilly air, but it was much too misty for that actually to happen. We had a delicious breakfast buffet in the hotel lobby, met up with Katie, and then headed on the bus toward Montmarte. After a fifteen-minute journey through the streets of Paris, we were dropped off at a small street that was full of lower class people rummaging through boxes of used clothing – it was kind of sketchy. However, our eyes were guided upward to the top of a large hill where the Sacre Coeur stood. This beautiful white church was exteriorly one of my absolute favorites. It was so elegant and regal. The 150 + steps to get to the top were a welcome work-out, and once inside, we were amazed by the beautiful detailed stain glass and candles that lit the inside. It was stunning.

 

After viewing the church and having some free time to walk around the pretty cafes and explore the square full of amazing artists displaying their work (and of course, hounding us to draw our portrait), we walked with Andrew (our tour guide) through a series of streets passing all the famous moulins of Paris (who knew Moulin meant windmill?! Not me….) of course ending with the famous Moulin Rouge! We took tons of pictures and had a blast posing outside the façade – and naturally, appalled by all the sex shops surrounding the club – Paris is certainly not Disney World, that is for sure…. Being around all those disgusting stores felt a bit dirty. I will simply never understand any of that…. Yuck!

 

We then got back on the bus and headed to Notre Dame Cathedral, which was exquisite! The inside was so gothic and felt just like I had jumped into a scene from the Disney movie (The Hunch Back of Notre Dame)… this made Katie, Andrea and I all reflect as to how Disney movies really expose children to the world at a young age. I would not know about so many of the landmarks I have seen if it had not been for Disney – which is why Disney is the most magical – and educational – place on Earth J. Unfortunately, it was much too dark on the inside to get any good pictures, but it was beautiful and had a long aisle down the middle leading to an elaborate cross. The stain glass was formulated into large circular shapes above the columns, and it was simply breathtaking.

 

Before we knew it, our tummies were rumbling, and so we took the rest of the time to grab some French onion soup – very delicious – at this adorable café by the cathedral. We ate quickly in order to make it to our tour group on time, but little did we know, we could have had a five course meal…. Our bus driver got lost, which left us standing for 90 minutes in the freezing cold waiting for him to find his way back to us to bring us to the Palace of Versailles. After trying on tons of hats in a shop nearby and freezing our butts off waiting in the cold, the bus finally pulled up and after a 45 minute ride (and nap….) we were at Louie 14th’s humble abode – the 700 room Palace of Versailles.

 

The golden gates leading up to the largest palace I have ever seen in my life were incredible all on their own – but the building it gated was simply unbelievable. Its vast size in addition to the beautiful furnishing of the staterooms was totally worth the long and cold wait. There was a weird modern art exhibit going on throughout the palace rooms of large balloon animals, which kind of took away from the ambiance, but walking through the halls was like being transported back in time to the days of Louie’s reign – and reign he did. The man was so obsessed with himself! Hundreds of pictures just of him…. Unbelievable! To be among so much rich history…and when I say rich I mean it literally…. dating back centuries was really exciting.

 

And as if the interior of the palace was not enough – the gardens, even though shadowed by the gray sky and the darkening night, were out of this world! I cannot even imagine how beautiful they must be in full bloom. And to think Louie had all of this when the French people were starving… it just goes to show that the palace itself may be considered a masterpiece, but a selfish masterpiece at that.

 

As our toes began to freeze to the point of numbness, we headed back to the bus for the ride back to the hotel. As we drove back, we passed the site where the guillotine took the lives of over 3,000 citizens including Madame Bovary. Now there is an obelisk with a gold flame marking the deadly site forever. We also drove through the tunnel that took Princess Diana’s life, which was so surreal. Above the tunnel is an enlarged replica of the Liberty Flame (the flame held by the Statue of Liberty – there is also a small replica of the entire statue at the site along the Siene river where the it was originally constructed before gifting it to America) and even eleven years later, people still rest flowers on the flame in Diana’s memory. Now that to me, is a masterpiece.

 

Andrea was not feeling great, so Katie and I headed out on our own to a small pizzeria by our hotel. We were so tired from the long day and just needed some quick food not far from the hotel – walking alone at Paris at night is scary, so we just wanted to be close. The food was actually delicious, and when we got back to the hotel, we all cuddled up and watched hours of Friends episodes before falling to sleep. And what an amazing sleep it was! Our beds at the hotel were so comfortable!

 

And the breakfast the next day was just as filling and delicious as the first. We then checked out of the hotel and loaded up on the coach with our luggage to head to our last stop in Paris – the Louvre Museum. From the glass pyramids, to the sheer history of the building and the contents inside, it was a surreal experience. After purchasing our tickets and stowing our luggage, we headed straight for the Mona Lisa, of course the major tourist attraction of Paris. I already knew it was going to be small and “disappointing” because everyone told me so before hand, so I squeezed my way to the front, took my pictures, took in all 12 inches of it in (not really but it was pretty small….) and then made my way around the rest of the room. I have to admit, I was taken by other paintings so much more simply because they had color and life behind them – features I think the Mona Lisa lacked.  I know the Mona Lisa has a very controversial history, but the hype that surrounds the painting itself is much more grand than the actual canvas. If Mona only knew how famous she would become, maybe then she would have a reason to smile.

 

We walked around the rest of the Louvre for a little while, seeing the winged angel among other famous must-sees. We did our best to explore the overwhelming maze of art, and then went outside to take pictures of the exterior. After, we headed back inside and walked around the specialty stores that lined the entrance and had some lunch in the food court. Before we knew it, it was time to head to the train station, so we separated with Katie, who took the bus back, hailed a cab and headed to the train station to get the Eurostar back to London. With the exception of some rowdy Englishmen who kept trying to lick temporary tattoos on the girls on our trip, the train ride was pretty uneventful and I was able to get my final internship paper written, which is a load off. One more paper left to write for the whole semester, which is very exciting!

 

And just like that, I was back home in my flat in London, the city of love miles away. My traveling outside of London came to a close with a great weekend. From this point out it is just London and me until December 8^th, which is only weeks away. I still cannot believe how quickly this trip is passing by, and yet I am starting to really yearn for the comforts of home. Not to mention, I have so much left in life beyond this trip, and being in Paris made me really excited for that future. I really cannot wait to go back to Italy with my sister and Paris with my future husband – beyond all the sex shops, it really is a romantic city! I can picture it now – me and him (mister tall, dark and handsome….) standing at the top of the Eiffel tower with the sun shining warm against my face – now that is what I call a masterpiece J.

 

Love and hugs,

Jenny