Sunday 18 June 2017

We almost saw the Catacombs - Death in Paris

The queues were longer than our patience!

It was rather hot in Paris yesterday!  Originally we had planned to visit the catacombs, but when we arrived, after a long leisurely lunch, the queues frightened us off.  I mean, standing in line for hours on end, waiting for a chance to look at artistically arranged human bones, at 30 Celsius ....

It didn't happen.  Even the fact that the temperature down there is only around 14 Celsius did not motivate us enough to wait in the basking sun for our chance to descend.

Instead we meandered about, did a little judicious shopping, and also some in-depth research into the liquid offerings of various little drinkeries.

We did happen across Montparnasse Cemetery, and strolled amidst the stoney monments for a while.  The cemetery looks like a little town, with a house for every family.  Very different from for example German cemeteries, which look like a collection of small gardens, each decorated with a cross or tomb stone and lovingly planted with flowers.

All in all we had a pleasant, civilised, day in Paris, full of gossip and chin wagging.

The catacombs can wait - another time there might be fewer tourists.  Not in October, though - apparently the catacombs are extremely popular in the month of Halloween!

A sort of historical marker

Interesting monument


Massive china shop - mostly just white dishes, for the restaurant trade, it seems.

A few coloured dishes


Entrance of a church where we sought shade and lower temperatures


There it is

Interesting mural

Interesting sign?

Religious establishment or school

Cute little street train!

Never seen it before
 
Streetlight fixed with packaging tape - another novel sight!



Entrance to the cemetery

Inside the cemetery











And finally, another weird art work in front of the Gare du Nord!



Monday 12 June 2017

It's the scarf wot lost it!

The little known role of the Hermes scarf in British politics:


          L'Ivresse De L'Infini, L'Indomptable, and Le Redoutable





Yes, we have had another electoral upset!  Obviously I have opinions about this, but I am somewhat ashamed of my Schadenfreude, and don't feel it appropriate to alert my readers to the nocturnal libations I have poured for the goddess Hybris:

"HYBRIS was the goddess or personified spirit (daimona) of insolence, hubris, violence, reckless pride, arrogance and outrageous behaviour in general. Her Roman name was Petulantia."

However, I do think it appropriate to draw my readers' attention to the role that Theresa May's scarf played in last Thursday's tragedy.

She wore it with a tomato-red suit, the same ensemble she had during her mug-up with Trump, the one were he held her hand rather longer than was called for - another disastrous occasion, and no doubt also causally enabled by the same scarf.

The villainous silk square is called  L'Ivresse De L'Infini; it was issued by Hermes and designed by Zoe Pauwels.  It refers to the madness, the vast incomprehensibility of the universe - a visual representation of the swirling atoms that form the chaos that is the universe.  If one if full of ill will and in a mischievous mood, one might hide behind one's flawed command of the French language and translate the title of this scarf as 'Infinite Madness' - and that is exactly what I am doing here!

What were you thinking woman, wearing a scarf like that while 'negotiating' with Trump, or during a general election day?  On occasions like that one should wear a masterful, dominating scarf - ideally, obviously, one depicting a nuclear submarine!

Since I have disabled comments on this blog there is no way you can argue this point, but it is surely unnecessary anyway - where I am right, I am right!

Look at the photos of the scarves below, and admit that I am so totally right! 

Luckily I actually own these scarves, so I can provide photographic evidence below.  By the way, if you are interested in the French nuclear submarines depicted below, try this link|:

Wikipedia entry for Redoubtable class of French nuclear submarine

I am still looking for the scarf that depicts Le Foudroyant ....

By the way, have you investigated Macron's ties lately?



Hermes scarf L'Ivresse De L'Infini







Hermes scarf L'Indomptable




Hermes Scarf Le Redoubtable