The day after Notre Dame was pretty mellow. We spent it walking around, getting drinks (boba and a banana mango smoothie) and just generally exploring the neighborhood. We also scouted out the neighborhood jazz club, which was called the Cave du 38 Riv'. I've definitely gotten a lot more into seeing live music as of late, and we planned lots of opportunities for us to go out and see some.
In case some of you aren't aware (which I'm sure the majority of you are), boba, or bubble tea, is tea with little chewy balls made of tapioca inside. If you want to know where it originated and all that stuff look it up on Wikipedia, they have quite a detailed explanation.
That was pretty much it. The next day was an at home day (Nicholas gets them once a week so that he doesn't go crazy from having to go places all the time) and the morning was spent doing nothing. In the evening we headed out to the jazz club. We got to see some Brazilian music (samba and MPB), which was a lot of fun. The second set was actually a jam session, and some of the musicians from the audience were really good. There were even two kids who looked like they were brother and sister, probably between 16 and 17, who were totally killing it. Their solos were very good and I was thoroughly impressed. The girl played piano, and the boy played trombone. To be honest she was probably the better of the two, although they were both very good. I can only hope that I'll be able to solo as well as they did when I'm their age.
The group we saw (before the jam session).
Anyway, it was a lot of fun. The day after that we headed to the Basilique du Sacre Cœur, or Sacred Heart Basilica. The Sacre Cœur is quite beautiful. In some ways I like it even better than the Notre Dame. It is heavily eastern influenced, which I appreciate, and its interior decoration is extremely 19th century with many colorful mosaics in the art nouveau style of the time. My favorite part by far, however, is the dome. Not only did it have an elegant shape and an intricate geometric design, but it also let in a lot of light, illuminating the entire floor below. It was absolutely beautiful. While we were there we also got to hear some music, because there was some sort of ceremony or prayer there, and a bunch of nuns appeared out of nowhere and started praying. That was pretty interesting, especially because most cathedrals/churches/basilicas are designed to echo any music that is played. We also got a great view of the city from the top of the hill where the Sacre Cœur is perched (although we paid dearly for it through the climb to the top).
We weren't allowed to take photos inside so I got the last two off the Internet. ;)
Ugh why is that guy's head in my picture.
One thing that really annoyed me, however, was how touristy that section of the city was; it felt like Disneyland. The streets were lined with tourist shops, selling bags and hats and T-shirts and sweaters and mugs and snow globes and anything else that you could possibly imagine with the word "Paris" and the Eiffel Tower on them. Oh, and let us not forget the berets. I have yet to see a single Parisian wearing a beret, but every tourist shop has them and I've seen many a tourist wearing one. I like to joke that the reason why the "I heart SF" sweaters sell so well in San Francisco is because tourists come here over the summer wearing shorts and tank tops and imagining southern Californian sun and beaches and palm trees and all they get is our foggy San Franciscan summers which are pretty much just as cold as the winter. And then what can they do but buy a sweater at Pier 39 to keep them warm? So an I heart SF sweater is really the mark of a tourist, a mark which the wearers are oblivious to and which are as clear as day to the locals. I'm sure Parisians feel the same way about those berets.
That wasn't the only interesting tourism-related thing which we noticed at the Sacre Coeur. We also saw that a lot of the buskers (and because of the tourism of the neighborhood there were a lot of them) were being asked for permits by a group of cops who roamed around on bicycles. One group, which were totally crowd-pleasers, even had their dance performance broken up in front of hundreds of amused tourists because they didn't have the proper permits. The cops were totally cracking down. On a side note, there was another guy who was doing some amazing tricks with a soccer ball. He was kicking it, balancing it on his head, on his neck, rolling it over his shoulders and onto his arms, even climbing up a telephone pole with the ball balanced on his nose and then sticking out of the pole horizontally with the ball between his feet, all without ever letting it touch the ground. It was pretty incredible. We were all discussing the fact that if he had gotten someone who was good at collecting a crowd and milking money out of them like the dancing guys did, he could totally make a couple hundred bucks a day.
What else was notable that day? We saw some poor guy get a full pat-down from a bunch of cops because some tourists were accusing him of thievery. He looked pretty innocent and I felt really bad for him. We also saw some awesome graphic art on some of the walls in the area. And finally there was a great chocolate shop which had full chocolate sculptures, which was very cool. I am a huge chocoholic, as I'm sure all of you know.
CHOCOLATE!!!!!!! 😍
Oh, and how could I forget? That day was also Mother's Day. My mom is the absolute best, guys. Later that evening we all went out and saw Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was AWESOME. I am a huge Avengers fan and this one was great. But so many cliffhangers!!!!!! I can't believe I have a whole year to wait for Captain America: Civil War...... DX
That was it for the Sacre Coeur day. The day after that we went to the Rodin Museum. Rodin, as you probably know, was a sculptor who worked in bronze, using a complex process of wax and plaster to create his final masterpieces. Stanford University actually has a large collection of Rodin sculptures, and my parents were recalling many a memorable event which took place at the Rodin Sculpture Garden during their college days—some beautiful, like my mom's bridal shower, and some more humorous. I personally loved Rodin's style, which is very human. Even in his more traditional Classical nudes, he manages to make the subject feel less like a grand, god-like figure and more like a real person. It was for this reason that one of my favorite pieces of his was the Burghers of Calais. In case you aren't already aware, the Burghers of Calais were a legend of six people who volunteered to sacrifice themselves so as to save the city of Calais from destruction during one of France's many medieval wars. In the end they weren't executed, but because of their bravery in offering their lives up for the sake of their city they were forever remembered in history. Rodin's sculpture of the Burghers has a very human quality, with all six of them standing together with melancholy expressions. Everything about them—from the wrinkles in their faces to their stances as they face certain death—feels incredibly human. My other favorite was The Gates of Hell, which was spectacular not only because of its grandeur and symbolism but because of the general mood of suffering surrounding it. Human forms stick out of the sculpture, reaching out pleadingly, expressions of pain and panic on their faces. Some appear to be in the process of being tossed from the upper levels of the gate, falling and flailing their arms. Everywhere there is fear, pain, and chaos, and all the while the three Shades point down at the sinners and the thinker sits up above, pondering humanity. Some say that the thinker is Dante, others say that he is God. Regardless, he seems to be sadly considering the plight of these people. Again, the humanity of the statue is simply astounding.
The Gates of Hell
The Burghers of Calais
The day after that (or rather the day after the day after that, the next time we did anything of any relevance) we headed to the sewers! Paris has this cool thing where you can take a tour of their sewers and learn about their history, layout, and functions. Believe me, we got to see the sludge of the sewer system up close and personal. It was absolutely disgusting and smelly. I think they really need to work on the logistics of the sewer museum, because they have all these signs for you to read to learn about the history and workings of the sewer, except the signs are right above/next to the open sewage river, so you get to enjoy the full effects of the sewer while you learn about it. Very fun! They really just should have had the exhibition be in a different, above ground, non-smelly room. But oh well, it was an adventure. Aside from the fascinating subjects of the history and mechanisms of Parisian sewage, we also got to walk through the sewage pipes and, most fascinating of all, learn about the different types of machines which are used for pushing the sludge along in the pipes so that they won't clog them up. And when I say sludge, I mean anything from the random cigarette butts and tree leaves from the streets to... well, you probably know. Something had to be creating the smell down there, and I'm sure we all know what it is. But I don't do it justice. It was overall a VERY cool experience. After all, how often do you get to explore an active sewer system? Anyway, back to the sludge machines. The main difficulty with moving sludge is that you have to move it without blocking the stream of water/liquid waste. The mechanisms used ranged from a barge (literally a sewer boat) to a giant metal ball, just smaller than the pipe, which rolled through Indiana Jones-style. (You guys get that reference right? I can't remember if it's in the movie, too, but it's definitely in the ride. Anyway, I digress.) Basically the purpose of all the systems were to hold the water back while simultaneously pushing the sludge, or "mixed material," in a different direction. Thankfully by the time the barge and the ball came around people no longer had to be involved in the system, or at least not enough that they had to be in contact with the sewage. Unfortunately, in the early days people had to use hand-operated devices—and that meant standing knee-deep in sewer water. Disgusting. I would not have wanted to work in the sewer. Although it's a good thing they even had a sewer; up until the early 19th century Paris was notorious for its streets which reeked of waste. It was absolutely filthy, with people leaving their garbage and sewage alike in the streets or dumping it in the river—the very river which others drank from. The city was a dump. As I said, it wasn't until the early 19th century that a working sewer and water system was set up. Another thing which contributed to the squalor of Paris was the fact that many cemeteries were built into the city. You had people living right next to their dead. But how they dealt with that problem is a different story altogether, and a different underground adventure.
Ok I know it's blurry but that's a sewer barge and a sewer river below it.
A better picture of the sewer barge,
Anyway, the sewer was quite fascinating. After we left the souvenir shop (they sold toy rats) we stepped out into the sunlight, greatly appreciating the fresh air. we ended up walking around for a while and eventually ended up underneath the Eiffel Tower. We decided not to go up it yet, but we got plenty of photos and got to enjoy its beauty. It's pretty amazing, because the Eiffel Tower is made entirely of steel beams; it could be hideous, but it manages to be beautiful and elegant. And that's all in the design. After all, if it had been built in a rectangular shape it would have been an eyesore.
So! I suppose I'll have to cut this post off here. Just so you know, I am currently writing this from a pub in Dover, where we arrived earlier today. As you can see I'm very behind on posting. On an offhanded note, did you guys know that "pub" stands for "public house"? I probably wouldn't have ever known that if my parents hadn't started watching Downton Abbey. "He's working at a public house?!" That's become a favorite phrase in the Herko Felton household as of late. Speaking of Downton Abbey, the other night my parents were watching it and I could hear them in the other room while I was trying to fall asleep. All of a sudden I heard a gasp so loud that I shot straight up in bed. I heard my dad yell, "Oh my GOD!" in the most dramatic and shocked voice. Then, "No....." This, coming from my dad, whom the most I've ever heard from while watching a movie or a show was an offhanded joke. This was genuine shock, so much that he was yelling out in the middle of the night! I suppose that's what a soap opera will do to you.
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