ginzo Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Liz & I joined the fun of the TPR Europe trip this summer and had a great time. We visited some of the best theme parks in the world with an excellent group of people. The trip went off flawlessly and most everyone involved was a joy to travel with. Well, everyone except for me maybe, but that's another story. Table of Contents: Pre-trip stuff: Musée d'Orsay #1 Eiffel Tower Musée d'Orsay #2 Versailles Pompidou Centre Jardin d'Acclimatation Louvre Official Trip Stuff: Parc Astérix #1 Parc Astérix #2 Walibi Belgium This first set of pictures is from the pre-trip in Paris. Despite being jet lagged and irritable, Paris is so vast with so much to see and do that it's hard to have anything but awe for the place. The highlight of our Paris pre-trip was taking a night bike tour with Miles & Michael, which ended with a drunken boat night boat tour on the Seine. If you haven't seen Paris from a boat all lit up at night with a head full of wine, then you've really missed out on something awesome. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of that. My bad. Just another miscellaneous Paris city scene. I believe this residential building is in very close proximity to the Eiffel Tower. Just one of the very pretty display rooms inside Musée d'Orsay. What the hell? More amazing sculpture. Do you ever wonder how the heck someone can take a raw block of marble and make it look like that? I always stand in awe of anyone with any sort of artistic ability because I can't even draw a straight line. Do you think they're real? Never take pictures of a person with the blazing sun right behind them. As you can see, the results are bad. This gives you a better idea of Musée d'Orsay history. Looks a lot more like a train station than a museum to me. Another masterpiece of sculpture that is lost on a brute like me. And he wondered why the porno company never called him back for an "acting" job. One important rule in art museums is to never use a flash when photographing ANY of the art. Please note that this even includes statues as I found out when one of the museum workers scolded me. Seriously, this is a very important rule as slowly damaging the art just makes you a douche. Follow it! A close up of Musée d'Orsay's awesome old train station clock. "The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine, housed in the former railway station, the Gare d'Orsay. It holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, 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. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum's opening in 1986." (Great artists & Europa park steal.) Everywhere you looked there were awesome scenes like this. Get a room! This is where they used to sacrifice virgins. Notre Dame was my favorite building in Paris. This picture does not give you a great perspective of its immensity. The level of detail and craftsmanship are unlike anything I've seen. Liz in front of Notre Dame. A closer view. Liz poses on one of the city's countless bridges with the Seine and some miscellaneous buildings in the background. Notice the beautiful architecture? Well, most of the city is like that.
terrancew_hod Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Get a room? Looks like they got all the room they need! You're lucky you don't see them taking advantage of the bench! It's worse when you see 16 year olds at it in line at Disney! Terry
BeemerBoy Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 There are three cities in the world that are of little to interest to me at all. Paris is one; however, you got some good shots, and it's a nice start to the TR. Anxious for more.....now don't go getting lazy on us, Joe. Keep updating it.
ginzo Posted July 25, 2008 Author Posted July 25, 2008 It's worse when you see 16 year olds at it in line at Disney! I'll mark myself down as lucky for not having seen that. There are three cities in the world that are of little to interest to me at all. Paris is one; however, you got some good shots, and it's a nice start to the TR. Anxious for more.....now don't go getting lazy on us, Joe. Keep updating it. I think Paris is worth a look. There are very few places with quite that much to do. Granted if you're not into museums, art, architecture, etc. then it might be a little bit dull for you.
terrancew_hod Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 ^Hey! I didn't say that second quote... besides I spent almost a week there! Terry EDIT: France still needs to be wiped off the face of the earth. There's some rude-a$$ed people there!
ginzo Posted July 25, 2008 Author Posted July 25, 2008 ^Hey! I didn't say that second quote... besides I spent almost a week there! Sorry Terry! Copy/paste strikes again! I fixed it. EDIT: France still needs to be wiped off the face of the earth. There's some rude-a$$ed people there! Agreed. Can England please invade France, move the French to some colony in Siberia, and then repopulate the country with Brits?
BeemerBoy Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 I think Paris is worth a look. There are very few places with quite that much to do. Granted if you're not into museums, art, architecture, etc. then it might be a little bit dull for you. Well, the other two cities are NYC and Los Angeles. And based on Terry's thoughts of France, you should be able to notice somewhat of a pattern. It's not the museums, art, and architecture I'm against.
terrancew_hod Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 ^And you didn't have the pleasure of spending time with one... especially after finding out he stopped taking his meds. The 'clicking out' wasn't pretty. Later, I was at the airport 3 hours early, drinking and watching the planes taking off. That was a better use of my time. And I told him so... and to seek professional help. Terry
Moose Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Hmm. I found people in France to be perfectly polite. I have always been told that if you try and speak their language they will be polite in return and have found that to be the truth.
terrancew_hod Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 ^I guess you didn't have any try to step in front of you in line, be in a hurry, or get dumped by someone else and take it out on you. You'll see that traditional French person real quick. Terry
Moose Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Was that any worse than in Belgium or any other country? From my own personal experience France was the country that had the least line cutting of all the countries we visited. I still think the "rude french" is just a stereotype. When walking along the Seine, people said hello (well, Bonjour) Someone offered me directions when I got lost and asked (I walked the wrong way from Notre Dame). Shop keepers were helpful. When walking around the little town by the first (and my last) hotel, the villagers were all pleasent.
terrancew_hod Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 ^Well they were working my nerves in most places... and that was with me speaking French. And I also had a high percentage of people using me as a prop or punching bag when I'm just minding my own business. I shouldn't have total strangers putting their chin on my shoulders or their kids slapping me in my back and expect not to get punched. It was unreal. The only place they weren't rude was the bars... rudeness never works when you're trying to hit on someone! Terry
BeemerBoy Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Hmm. I found people in France to be perfectly polite. I have always been told that if you try and speak their language they will be polite in return and have found that to be the truth. Yeah, I've actually heard this from several people as well. Naturally, there's exceptions to every rule, and like L.A. and NYC, I know there's some great Parisians that fit into the "exception" category. Still, generalizations exist over time because most are true to some extent. Actually, I just thought of something that Terry could probably attest to. After living in South Florida for 28 years, the "season" brings a TON of old and grouchy French-Canadians to town for the winter. From experience, I can tell you that on the whole, they are some of the rudest, most impolite people I've ever experienced. I'm sure that plays a huge factor in my overall feelings of things associated with France. But still, to me, Paris is one of those huge cities that I feel I've seen so much of on TV, that I'll never feel bad if I don't get to see it in person.
terrancew_hod Posted July 25, 2008 Posted July 25, 2008 Actually, I just thought of something that Terry could probably attest to. After living in South Florida for 28 years, the "season" brings a TON of old and grouchy French-Canadians to town for the winter. From experience, I can tell you that on the whole, they are some of the rudest, most impolite people I've ever experienced. You forgot they are some of the worst drivers! I hate to see the accidents as they try to navigate that new express lane on I-95! The first day they opened the lane there were multiple accidents and people had undercarriage damage slamming through the poles dividing the lanes! The city is still trying to correct the setup to reduce the confusion! Terry
ginzo Posted July 25, 2008 Author Posted July 25, 2008 Here are some more pictures from our first day in Paris: Another pretty city vista. Pretty view from the second floor of the tower. This is one photogenic city! The people below. If someone down there asks you if you speak English, the correct response is "No, never. Go away!" More of the gorgeous ironwork of the Eiffel Tower. And you can get an idea of the insane amount of stairs you have to climb to make it to the second floor. A view of the city from the first floor. I actually preferred the views from the first two floors over the top floor. You don't have to mess with zoom as much when you're taking pictures on the lower levels. And it's really cramped up at the very top. I'm told that the view from the top is best at sunset, but we were much too impatient to wait another 90 minutes for that. This is what the observation area on the first floor looks like. Note that they had to put fencing up to keep idiots from jumping over the side. If you want to go to the very top, you'll have to climb more stairs to the second floor. The lawn behind the Eiffel Tower. Or is it in front? Heck, I have no idea. This is the elevator shaft that the ACErs take to the second floor. If you walk, you'll be seeing a lot of this. But, I didn't mind a bit as it was a very quiet and peaceful climb. And, as I said before, it just looks really cool to be trapped in the belly of this 19th century iron beast. To get to the top of the Eiffel Tower, you have two options. You can either wait to take the elevator to the second floor and then wait to take the elevator to the top. Or, you can walk to the second floor and then wait to take the elevator to the top. I advise walking the first part because it's cheaper, quicker, and an experience in itself. In fact, walking inside all this amazing ironwork was perhaps my favorite part of visiting the Eiffel Tower.
Meteornotes Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Loving the PTR. The Musee is the one large attraction that I have not visited. As someone that's spent a fair amount of time in France (my wife worked there for three years), I have found the residents of that country to be rather polite, especially when compared to America. In my travels, I have found that the "ugly American" stereotype is something that a lot of Europeans just expect (you know, the type of person that expects everything in another country to be exactly like a trip to their local mall, and they bitch endlessly when it isn't), and perhaps they are a bit "standoffish" at first, but in general, I've only had good experiences when dealing with people in Europe. I will say that people at Disneyland Paris are rude, but people in US theme parks are just as rude, and likely more dangerous. I love Paris, it's my second favorite city in the world (after London, aka Lou's home town), and cannot wait to visit again. And I still say the rudest and most obnoxious people on the planet reside in San Francisco/the Bay Area... dt
robbalvey Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Yeah, I would say that, oddly enough, in the city that the "French Crunch" was born in, I saw the least amount of line jumping on the trip in France. And where did we see it most in France? Disneyland Paris of all places! In the past it has been HORRIBLE at Asterix. I don't know if we just got lucky this day or if something has changed in the past 3 years... But overall, I don't find people in Paris (or anywhere else in the world for that matter) any more/less potentially rude that the people here in Valencia. --Robb
ginzo Posted July 26, 2008 Author Posted July 26, 2008 Loving the Photo TR. The Musee is the one large attraction that I have not visited. If I have any decent ones left, I'll try to throw up a few more pictures of it tomorrow for you. It's a very nice, well-kept art museum, just not insanely huge like the Louvre. In the past it has been HORRIBLE at Asterix. I don't know if we just got lucky this day or if something has changed in the past 3 years... I thought Asterix was totally fine in terms of the other guests. Probably better than an average day waiting behind gang members at Great Adventure.
ginzo Posted July 27, 2008 Author Posted July 27, 2008 Here are a few more shots from Musée d'Orsay. Apparently, we missed most of the galleries with paintings, but statues make for more interesting pictures anyway. I'm still trying to figure out what that is exactly. You can tell you're not at Efteling because the statues aren't deformed. More display room opulence. "Le Chat Noir (French for "The Black Cat") was a 19th-century cabaret in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard Rouchechouart by the artist Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 (much to the disappointment of Picasso and others who looked for it when they came to Paris for the Exposition in 1900). Its imitators have included cabarets from St. Petersburg (The Stray Dog) to Barcelona (Els Quatre Gats). There is a "Black Cat" cafe in the City of Corfu, Greece, next to the sea on the main street between the (new) harbor and the center of town, and a quite conventional tourist restaurant called "Au Chat Noir" in the center of Brussels." More statues with boobs. As you can tell, I was still using a flash like a doofus at this point. Hi ho, Silver! I guess I don't have a foot fetish because someone sticking their foot in my face just makes me think, "Ewww, stinky foot!"
jamesdillaman Posted July 29, 2008 Posted July 29, 2008 Some more nice pictures. Can't wait to see more... -James Dillaman
ginzo Posted July 29, 2008 Author Posted July 29, 2008 On the morning of Friday, June 20th we took the RER up to Versailles. Now I've seen a few fancy huts in my day, like the Biltmore in Asheville. Nothing in the US comes anywhere near the excesses of Versailles. The Biltmore isn't fit to be an outhouse at Versailles. And although I haven't been there yet, the same is most likely true of Hearst Castle. A dirt floor slave cabin when compared to this palace. Another view of fountain FAIL. If you're going to visit Versailles, be sure to check the schedule and go on a day when they are actually running the fountains. Fountain FAIL! It turns out that they only run the fountains on specific days. Versailles has several fountains, but on many days they don't run any of them. I can understand why they wouldn't run the fountains every day, but couldn't they at least run the big one directly behind the palace? This gives you a better idea of just how friggen' huge this place really is. More boobs. In the back of the palace. Please realize that the palace is so huge that this is only 1/3rd of the rear facade. You'd need one heck of a wide angle lens to capture all of it. Very nice stairs. The King's bed. Or is it the Queen's bed? Heck, I forget. I'm going to go with the King's bed. Liz in the Hall of Mirrors. I couldn't resist taking a crappy Myspace style mirror shot here. If you look to the left, you can see the mirrors for which this room is named. Remember that mirrors were not so commonplace when this room was built in the 17th century and therefore this spectacular room would have been all the more impressive. And this is the fabled Hall of Mirrors, which was my favorite room inside the palace because it's so big it didn't feel as crowded as the other rooms did. It was in this very room that the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, ending World War I. Many historical figures, such as the economist John Maynard Keynes, thought that this treaty was too harsh on Germany and set the stage for World War II. However, this is controversial and still a subject of debate among history geeks. A closer view of one of the many busts of Julius Caesar. If I've got my emperor wrong, please let me know. The first of many school groups I would encounter on this trip. This is the entrance to the hall of mirrors. Notice the busts of Julius Caesar. The Sun King had no problems with comparing himself to some of the great figures of history. He seemed to have a particular fetish for Roman emperors as busts of them are littered throughout the palace. Though this could just be part of the recreation of Versailles. Most of what you see here is a recreation because the peasants looted and ransacked Versailles during the French Revolution. One of us will betray you. Because you can't just bolt your chandeliers onto the ceiling in a palace. More gaudy hallway statues. I gotta get some of these for my place. A peek out the window into the gardens of Versailles. The palace is just as famous for its gardens as it is for the palace itself. A close up of one of the many statues. It's not a royal hallway without a bunch of statues in it. Another view of the insanely opulent chapel. "The present chapel of the Palace of Versailles is the fifth in the history of the palace. These chapels evolved with the expansion of the château and formed the focal point of the daily life of the court during the Ancien Régime." We stayed in an apartment in this building for the pre-trip. The apartment was on the sixth floor and the elevator only carried one person at a time and no bags were allowed on the elevator. Didn't matter because it was a really good deal compared to most of Paris's shockingly expensive hotels. The building itself is a textbook example of a 19th century Haussmann style building. Napoléon himself gave the order to remake the medieval city of Paris in this architectural style.
Moose Posted July 29, 2008 Posted July 29, 2008 From what I remember the reason they don't run them all the time is that they are trying to prevent excess deterioration of the fountain itself. Something along the lines that the plumbing etc is all original and quite fragile and running it every day would cause a lot of damage. From this standpoint, I can understand why they wouldn't run it all the time, but I agree, it does make them a lot less impressive.
Meteornotes Posted July 29, 2008 Posted July 29, 2008 Fountains or no fountains, Versailles is still one of the most impressive sights you will ever see. I really recommend anyone that gets a chance to take the trip up there and visit. Thanks for the pics! dt
ginzo Posted July 29, 2008 Author Posted July 29, 2008 From what I remember the reason they don't run them all the time is that they are trying to prevent excess deterioration of the fountain itself. Something along the lines that the plumbing etc is all original and quite fragile and running it every day would cause a lot of damage. From this standpoint, I can understand why they wouldn't run it all the time, but I agree, it does make them a lot less impressive. Yeah, I'm mostly just irritated with myself for not having looked into the matter more carefully. Next time we go, I think I'm going to try to do this: http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/bikes/bike-tour/versailles-bike-tour.shtml We will spend most of our day riding through the tree-lined gardens and the average Versailles tourist doesn't realize that they can only visit a small fraction of the gardens on foot. We’ll see it all!
Nrthwnd Posted July 29, 2008 Posted July 29, 2008 Mmmm, Versailles. Last (and only) time David and I were there was back in 2002, just after the massive storms had ripped out several parts of the estate's gardens and treed forests. It was pretty sad to see photos of the destruction Mom Nature smacked down, and several areas of the gardens were roped off as they were replanting and reshaping as much as they could, as fast as they could. The fountains of course, weren't on back then either, lol. We were hoping to get back to Versailles last year, but then our touring plans didn't allow even a day for it. Glad you and Liz got to see it, Joe. It's quite the place to tour around, and the surrounding town was nice (for our visit) for a mid-day meal.
Recommended Posts