Every Sunday afternoons the Centre Georges Pompidou is a mecca for interesting activities. There are always street performers, artists, jugglers, pickpockets, and police swarming around. I was on the side embankment taking photos of the square when a street performer took charge of a piece of the square and started setting up for his show. Wanting to get a little closer for his show, I moved to the lower level. As I stood there taking photos, the performer motioned to me to come sit in the front (he had previously placed a rope on the ground to indicate the edge of his stage). I sat down and watched as he set up his presentation. The performer soon started looking out on the growing audience apparently looking for participants in his show. I had no idea what his show was about as he came up and motioned me to stand and join him on his “stage.” He only spoke French so he communicated to me in sign language. I joined three other audience members from Korea, France, and Italy.
His performance was an improvisational comedy skit that involved a loose story line about making a movie of a young girl finding her love after having to escape from the evil Asian kidnapper. I was the goofy American movie producer. You get the picture – stereotypes, double entendre, slapstick, ethnic jokes, general public taunting, and a hilarious fun for all. The show lasted for about 30 minutes and the crowd eventually numbered a couple of thousand. The comic had each of us do stupid stunts to we would make fools out of ourselves. The four of us didn’t care and did everything he wanted us to do. The comic had the Korean guy do karate tricks, the pretty French girl be the sexy love interest, the Italian guy was the lover, and I was the silly American movie producer.
The comic set the stage for each scene of the movie and when he called my name I had to “prance” across the square and snap the movie board and yell “action” to start the scene.
Upper level photo of the square.
Crazy comic setting up his “stage,” note the rope.
Gathering a crowd by making fun of everyone.
Getting my first public acting lesson – note silly directors hat.
Scene 1, ACTION!
Korean guy in karate action pose.
Prancing across the square to my next position. The Asian girls in the front loved my prancing.
I didn’t know that Koreans were into butt slapping.
The cast of characters taking a group bow.
Taking my separate bow as the silly movie director.
Caught in the act of prancing.
Personal thanks from the host.
I know you are going to do a trick on me.
Some of the audience
Better view of the audience.
An umbrella full of money and a roll of coins in his pants.
Centre Georges Pompidou is my favorite art museum in Paris. Modern art is my thing and this place is my art heavan. There is always a new exhibit going on featuring a major player in the modern world. Even the minor player’s exhibits are fablous.
The area around the building is a thriving center of action. This center is where I usually went to find interesting action. This is the place where I found the performance artist pushing the piece of meat around with his face (see earlier blog). This is where I was featured in a street show on a Sunday afternoon in front of 2,000 people (see next blog). This plaza is an amazing fun place.
Centre Georges Pompidou is a unique building that was designed by architect Richard Rogers, whose design was not very popular at first. However, under the guidance of its first director, Pontus Hultén, it quickly became a noted attraction in Paris. Its design is based on the idea of turning a building inside out. All of the structural supports, electrical, heating, plumbing, and air conditioning are on the outside. All of the interior walls are smooth.
The museum houses the Bibliothèque publique d’information, a vast public library, and the Musée National d’Art Moderne. The Musée National d’Art Moderne is the French national modern art museum located on the fourth and fifth floors of the Centre. The art collection consists of modern pieces by artists such as Kandinsky, Matisse, Miró, Picasso, etc. Some of the art movements represented are Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. It has 50,000 works of art (including painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography), of which 1,500 to 2,000 are on public display.
Check out some of the amazing art.
Front of the museum on the plaza.
Back side of the museum.
Plaza fountain facing the cathedral.
Cool view from inside the museum towards fountain and cathedral.
The Grand Palais is a large glass exhibition hall that was built for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. During the time I was in Paris, a traveling exhibition of “Egypt’s Sunken Treasures” was featured. Apparently, this exhibit was a biggie and received press in all of the papers, television shows, and in every subway station. The exhibit features newly found sunken treasures that retrace once more the history of Egypt from the last Pharaohs to Alexander the Great, from the Hellenic conquests to the Roman Empire, and from the Christian era to the rise of Islam.
The French have made the design of museums an art form. I have visited many museums over the years but found the Musée du quai Branly of ethnic art to be one of the finest presentations of art and antiquities I have ever seen. The Musée du quai Branly features indigenous art, cultures and civilizations from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. This museum is designed to handle large groups. Instead of a large room filled with items, the museum designers have created a structured flow that meanders like a stream through the art space. There are eddies and branches that reach off in unique directions which highlight unique sculptures or ethnic dress. Overhead are hung larger wooden sculptures that seem to fly by out of the corner of your eye. The museum also holds one of the largest collections of African musical instruments. All in all a must see in Paris.
Museum is on stilts above gardens from around the world.
Witch doctor and his balls of glory.
These are about twenty feet tall.
Metrosexual forest creature.
I’ve seen these guys on a Star Trek episode.
The penis pavilion featuring the band – Rock Hard!
The Japanese have the ability to fit large groups of themselves into small spaces. Many years ago I was in Hawaii and would be waiting for a hotel elevator when a tsunami of Japanese tourists would come around the corner, surround me, lift me up, and float me into the elevator car. The elevator cars would normally hold 12 normal size Americans, but if properly stuffed, could hold 40 Japanese tourists plus me. I have further seen video of the Japanese subway during rush hour. People are packed like sardines into the cars. With that heritage, I guess the Japanese tourist would feel totally at home on the Versailles garden tour tram.
Since I was at Versailles during the winter, there wasn’t much to see in the gardens. Most everything was brown and dirty and the fountains were not operating. As I strolled around the top plaza of the gardens I noticed off in the distance a tram snaking itself through the dirt flower beds. As the tram climbed up to my level I was astonished to see plastic sided circus cars filled with Japanese tourists. Apparently, there was no ventilation in the cars and thus all of the plastic sides were fogged up. I have been to the circus many times, but this was the coolest show I had ever seen. Instead of one clown car, this was a clown train. The car doors opened up and 20 – 30 Japanese climbed out of each car. I truly expected to see shaving cream pies start flying through the air, but no such luck. A man raised a colored flag in the air and they all got in line behind him. Such organization. Where is Godzilla when you need him. Probably on Monster Island taking a nap.
Versailles was the unofficial capital city of France from 1682 until the death of Louis XIV in 1715. Versailles is located in the western suburbs of Paris 10 miles from the center of Paris. It is an example of aristocratic excess and arrogance that eventually caused the French Revolution. Almost everything at the palace is gold or gold leaf. Every room is completely adorned with huge paintings and sculptures along with fantastically painted ceilings. I was there during the winter and thus the gardens were not in full bloom. The extravagance at the palace was explemplified by finding out that one servant’s whose sole job was to keep a fresh warm napkin ready for the king while he was eating. No one wanted the king to wipe his face with a cold napkin.
The Musée d’Orsay is a wonderful museum that is housed in the former Orsay railway station. It holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography, and is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces by popular painters such as Monet and Renoir.
The museum building was originally a railway station, Gare d’Orsay, constructed for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle.
By 1939 the station’s short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains that had come to be used for mainline services. After 1939 it was used for suburban services and part of it became a mailing center during World War II. In 1977 the French Government decided to convert the station to a museum.
The Musée d’Orsay is my second favorite art museum in Paris with the Pompidou being first. The architecture of the old rail station makes grand statement for this collection. Check out these photos and then click on the video presentation of more pieces from the museum.
Huge clock at the end of the station.
Don’t be alarmed ladies, they’re real!!!
Isn’t nymphet dancing illegal?
And I thought they were tough on gators in Louisiana.
I caught this interesting juxtaposition of architecture in the Vichy section of Paris. This church was in an interior courtyard. The red brick bell tower fit nicely between the two gray apartment buldings.
The goal of every French person is to do nothing on Sunday. Most stores are closed on Sunday and only restaurants in very public spaces are open. One of the most interesting park settings is next to the Châtelet Les Halles metro station. People stroll through the park arm in arm. Couples get their dose of sun on one of the numerous benches. And there is always a protest about something going on. The French love to protest and the Paris police are always there to “keep the peace.”
Catching the first rays of spring.
Thousands of people out on Sunday.
There is always a protest about something.
Police are always just around the corner waiting to have their fun.
If you are going to haul away protesters, do it in mass.
Châtelet is the largest Metro hub in the Paris subway system. Many of the subway lines intersect at this huge underground shopping/transportation super center. The main lines that feed the east/west and north/south areas of Paris all connect here. These lines all intersect at one centrel intersection in the Châtelet station. Most Metro stations have solo musicians or duos. This intersection has large groups that play scheduled performances. Every hour the musicians change. One hour may be a Romanian ethnic orchestra. Another hour might be a twenty piece string orchestra playing Mozart. Another hour a group playing Peruvian music would take the stage. It was this last group I was able to record a little video. These groups play everyday and apparently make a living from the thousands of passersby. Each group has an attractive female who works the crowd selling their CDs and soliciting donations. I dig free entertainment.
The Paris Metro is a marvel to behold. There is always a station nearby and I have never waited more than 5 minutes for a train at any time of the day or night. The stations are well lit and clean. I never once had a moment of trepidation in any station as I sometimes had experienced in New York City when odd characters would be hanging around. One of the coolest things about the Paris Metro is the constant music. At almost every station there are top quality musicians performing for the passersby. This was one of my more interesting musical experiences.
I was making a Metro line change in a station I had never been through before. I followed the direction signs to my new train and turned right into a tiled 10 x 10 foot tunnel that was at least 100 yards long. As I turned the corner, I heard some great tenor sax playing way off in the distance as if it was a dream moment. I walked for many minutes with the music getting louder with each step. As I reached the end of the tunnel there was a guitar and sax duo playing away. Stopping, I listened for a few minutes, left them some money and walked on down the next tunnel. This new tunnel was as long as the first one and as I walked for many minutes, the music got fainter and fainter. When I finally reached my train, I thought this musical experience was fabulous. These musicians selected this special spot because of its acoustical properties. I had been in almost every station in Paris and the acoustics at this location were superb. I walked back the 100 yards to their location and listened more and took this photo.
The experience of hearing great music way off in the distance and gradually homing in on it is analogous to seeing a mirage way off in the desert and fruitlessly chasing it. Except this musical mirage appeared and I left them money – so it must have been real.
I don’t get it! This is an ad for KFC in the Metro stations around Paris. Does this jerk in the ad make you want to eat this sandwich? It makes me want to shove it in his Western face. I never saw anyone in France who looked or acted like this attempt at being an American hardass. This tortilla wrapped, American cheese draped, deep-fried animalish product, and bad Matt Dillon impersonation is nauseating. I refuse to eat a meal labeled “BoxMaster.” I will have a paninni and a glass of wine thank you.
One thing is for certain in Paris, if you see a crowd forming down a street, go there. There will always be something interesting going on. One Sunday I was walking around Paris near the Hôtel de Ville mourning the fact that it was Mardi Gras weekend in New Orleans. I needed a parade fix. Wouldn’t you know it, as if it I had magical powers, I saw a large group of people moving down a street. Following my basic Paris math equation of: Paris + crowd = fun, I took off down the street. The loose crowd congealed into a large tight mass snaking itself down one of the main streets. I saw others cutting off a block and running down a parallel side street. I took the path of least resistance and went down the side street. As I looked up each cross street the crowd got thicker and thicker. Eight streets up I was in front of the large group and cut right to head them off.
I arrived at the main street to witness thousands of people celebrating the Chinese new year. The parade was marching up the center of the street and featured hundreds of costumed Chinese carrying signs and lighting millions of firecrackers. I have previously witnessed Fourth of July celebrations in the states where kids light a few strings of firecrackers to annoy their parents with the noise. But nothing can compare to the sound of a hundred thousand firecrackers going off at the same time. Humongous strings were lit. The firecrackers filled the street with smoke as their explosions created a roar that echoed between the tall buildings. The sound can only be compared to a hundred high speed machine guns shooting off a million shells in fifteen seconds. Even a block away you had to cover your ears.
I needed costumes, floats, and music, and here it was. After taking a few photos I jumped out of the crowd and mixed into the parade and marched down the street. All of the revelers were shouting slogans in French and Chinese. I didn’t understand anything they were chanting so I started my one and went down the street chanting “Go – Ho Chi Min.” Apparently, I got my Asian revolutionaries mixed up and should have been yelling something against Mao Tse-Tung.
Traditional Chinese serpent.
Firecrackers going off. Check out the smoke plume.
More serpents.
Always got to have flags.
Saw this same costume at the New Orleans gay pride parade.
Au Bon Marche Grand Epicerie – Paris is the world food store to end all world food stores. It is famous for having a top quality selection of gourmet products from all over the world. Foodies can go crazy in a place like this. For example, this place bakes over 80 varieties of bread each day. Check out the variety in all of the display cases. I think this is where Whole Foods got the idea to bring top quality world foods to the upscale American market. When you look at each of these display cases, remember each of these cases is a large square and the photo only shows one side. What I am trying to say is each one of these food areas is enormous.
Front of the store.
Prepared desserts.
Cheese.
Prepared appetizers.
Vietnamese rolls to stuffed pasta.
Anything you can put in a casing.
They really have meat off the hoof here. Whole legs they are cutting from.
Spices in bulk.
They roast over 100 coffees from around the world.
Wine selection is the entire side of the store and each aisle is 30 feet deep.
I went looking for the Hunchback today but he was on strike – a typical event here in France. I did find his hideout and it is a breath taking structure both inside and out.
Notre Dame de Paris is one of the first Gothic cathedrals and is among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress. Construction began in 1163 and was completed around 1345. It sits on an island surrounded by the Seine River and is of the most visited attractions in Paris outside the Eiffel Tower. I was surprised to find admission was free and that you have full access to the ground floor even when normal mass if going on. You just had to be quiet. I have visited the cathedral several times, since it is in the center of one of the best areas in Paris, and you pass it frequently. Basically I usual need a nice place to sit down for a while and what better then a 750 cathedral. One of those visits they were playing the organ. I would love to hear an organ recital in this cathedral.
Seine River split around the island (stolen from the web)
Dogs are everywhere in Paris and so is their poop. Over 20,000 pounds of dog poop is dropped on the sidewalks everyday. You have to be careful just walking down the street or you could slip on a land mine. I was sitting in a restaurant when this woman came up to order from the window. Along with her was the classic French poodle. Yes, it’s not just Americans who have French poodles, they really have them here in France.
Color and design are two of the most important aspects of a good window display. Here are a few cool displays of products you probably won’t find in America.
Paper mache rinoserous head.
Paper mache giraffe.
Bar and kitchen implements.
More kitchen tools.
Star Trek mixer. Whip me up a batch of Ferengi please.
There is always something to protest about in France. It’s either the government is doing too much or they aren’t doing enough. A rule of thumb in Paris is whenever you are out walking around and see a crowd forming – go there. There will always be something interesting or crazy going on. This was a protest about something being staged by about 200 people. They had a leader with a megaphone and another person with a drum. All of the protesters had whistles. You can only imagine what a sound that was. As they marched around in front of the Hôtel de Ville they were watched by at least 100 security people and police. This was a scheduled protest so the police arrived in force just in case things got out of hand. The riot police were stationed at each entrance to the hotel and looked hungry for action. Nothing happened and everybody eventually went home.
There is always a protest going on somewhere in Paris. I have seen this riot squad roll code-3 through Paris on numerous occasions.
A rule of thumb in Paris is whenever you are out walking around and see a crowd forming – go there. There will always be something interesting or crazy going on. This was one of those moments. I was walking down a street by the Centre Georges Pompidou and came upon a crowd watching a performance artist. A young man was on the other side of this glass window and was pushing around a piece of meat on the window with his face. You know what your face looks like when you press is against glass. This young man was making his face look like the piece of meat. As the meat slid down the glass, so did his face. Just as I took out my camera to catch the action, he jumped back as the meat slid down the window. The only photographic evidence that this story is true, is the piece of meat at the bottom right of the glass. I added the red arrow to make sure you wouldn’t miss it.
The Bastille Marketplace is an open air market on Sunday mornings between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Thousands of people flock to this market to shop for almost anything. There are over 300 merchants selling everything from wallpaper to fresh vegetables to clowns to a few carnival rides – and of course a carousel. As you walk down the many aisles, the merchants sing their song or yell out what they have for sale. The cacophony, sights, and smells make for an wonderful diversion to the average boring day in Paris. I ate some of the best paella I have ever had that was cooked fresh in one of the stalls. I also picked up some of the tastiest fruit.
Looking down the market street.
Fresh vegetables.
Even ethnic schuptures.
Paella – doesn’t that look good!
All kinds of fresh fish.
This rooster cocked his doodle doo one too many times.
Balancing a fish tank on his head while making balloon animals.
There is the Paris skyline taken from the Centre Georges Pompidou on a hazy day. A large church anchors a beautiful park which is behind the Les Halles shopping center. Beneath this church and shopping center lies the underground station Châtelet-Les-Halles, central hub of Paris’s express urban rail system, the RER.
The French love their carousels. There are more roundabouts in Paris then probably any other city. Okay, I made that up. I am not used to seeing this many flying horses in any one locale. These contraptions can pop up in an afternoon on a street corner and disappear by night. Most of the fancier merry-go-rounds are permanent structures on busy corners. If you don’t think there are a lot of them in Paris, here are seven I found just walking around.
This is a well-maintained classic French carousel.
This one is a little more cheesy.
This carousel in front of the Hôtel de Ville is gorgeous.
This advertisement was in the Paris Metro and looks as if this woman is getting massaged with wasabi. Let’s see – I like wasabi and I like a massage – so why not put those two things together? But, after thinking about this odd combination during that next subway ride, I decided it wouldn’t be in my best interest. You know, Thai massage parlors always give a man a “complete stress reduction” – and you know what that means. No way, I ain’t gettin’ no wasabi there!
