La Tour Eiffel
 I believe that the Eiffel Tower is truly a beautiful piece of architecture. The tower represents the union of science, art, liberty, technology and social progress. It also represents modernity. The way that it is built and all the history that comes with it is astonishing. To visit the tower, one has to know the history to be able to make judgments and to truly embrace the beauty that it has to offer. The purpose of the tower is to enjoy the vistas of the city, but also to enjoy the pictures that one can take. People are compelled to take pictures of this icon because they believe it is the most important popular thing about Paris. When I was at Paris, I also believed the same thing, that it was highly essential to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower. It’s like I wanted everyone to know that I had been at the Tour Eiffel. It is just a natural impulse I had been at the Tour Eiffel. I just HAD TO take a picture being there, like if it were the most important thing. After I knew the history, I realized that the Tour Eiffel is very important, but not because of its physical appearance, but because of all the history that accompanies it. |
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Le Musee de Cluny
When I first went into the Musee de Cluny, I was awed by all the religious themes that the museum revolves around. I was confused as to why the museum revolved around religion. Once I learned more about the Musee de Cluny, I understood. Before becoming a museum, it was a monastery of the Cluny order. The Abbey of Cluny helped stop the decline of the Roman Church. The Abbey was a center of major monastic movement. “The Abbey was founded by Benedictines who practiced perpetual prayer and emphasized liturgy and spiritual pursuits rather than labor and other monastic duties”(Exploring Paris, Discovering the Humanities pg. 13).The Middle Ages were also known as the Dark Ages, but in reality they weren’t even dark. They were dim. Once you visited the museum, you wouldn’t get the impression of them being called the Dark Ages, you would get the opposite feeling. Being in the museum, you would get a sense of the Middle Ages, as if you were in those Middle Ages. It is because the museum gave you that sense because of the artwork that is preserved in the museum. The museum revolved a lot around religious themes because they sought divine revelation through the beauty of artwork. In the Middle Ages, art was used to convey God. It was such a thrill to be in the museum itself. The museum portrays a lot of medieval tapestries and sculptures. Each tapestry, sculpture, and stained glass window has a story behind it. They are not just portrayed because they want to be shown, they have a story behind them that wants to be shown to the world. Once we study the history behind it, we examine everything that had to do with that period of time. We might not get the whole history but we are left with parts that allow us to know more about the piece of art we are trying to understand. Furthermore, many artists lacked personal identity. They would never sign their artwork. They would work for the glorification of God, not for themselves. Wooden sculptures were created to tell a story about its history.
Romanesque and Gothic Cathedrals
The Romanesque and Gothic Cathedrals in Paris are the St. Germain de Pres and the Notre Dame. St. Germain de Pres is one of the oldest churches, which dates back from the 6th century. During the middle ages, this church was very important because it became a cultural and religious center. It was nearly destroyed several times by the Normans. Then by the late 18th century, the abbey was destroyed but leaving the church intact. When I entered St. Germain de Pres, I couldn’t believe it. It is so beautiful! The way that the church was built was astonishing. When you entered, you knew it was Romanesque style. The building was made of stone and had stone roofs that looked so thick and heavy.The walls were so thick. The style of St. Germain de Pres is said to be “dark and heavy”. Now we know why they were “dark and heavy” because of the structure of the building.
Another cathedral in Paris is the Notre Dame. WOW. I literally have no words for the beauty of this church. It is amazing. When I first saw it, my jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe the immensity of the church. It is so big I thought that I could never finish seeing it. When we got closer, it seemed even bigger. There were a lot of people in line trying to get in. I thought we would never be able to get in. That day we went, we didn’t try to wait because we thought we were never going to get in. We went back to the Notre Dame on a Sunday because we wanted the advantage of also going to Mass that day. When I entered the cathedral, I almost wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe that I was inside the Notre Dame of Paris, inside such amazing beauty. It was a wonderful experience. It was so amazing to see all the architecture that is inside the Notre Dame. Since it was a gothic style cathedral, you could see creatures known as gargoyles decorating the roof. These gargoyles would carry water when it rained from the roof all the way to the ground. I really found the cathedral interesting because of the gargoyles. I always thought that the gargoyles were to scare people and birds off, but in reality they are there to carry water from the rooftop to the ground. To my mind, the relationship between beauty and religion is to awaken us into an ideal world. When beauty and religion are put together, I feel that together we can find God through the beauty of art.
Le Louvre
While being in Paris, I had the
privilege to be in the largest most prestigious museum of all time. The
Louvre, which was built by King Phillip in the 11th century, was to
protect the capital from tribes and to secure treasures. Inside this museum you
could find all types of collections, including oriental antiquities, Egyptian
antiquities , greek, Etruscan, and roman antiquities, graphic arts, painting,
sculptures, art objects, African,
asian, oceanian and American arts, islam arts, Mediterranean orient in the
Roman imperia, and the history of the louvre and medieval louvre. This museum
is SO BIG that there are three entrances. The primary entrance is
through the pyramid; the first one is through the Porte des Lions, then through
the Galerie du Carrousel, or through the Passage de Richelieu.
To me the most popular and
important paintings and sculptures were the Mona Lisa, Virgin of the Rocks, and
Venus de Milo. Don’t get me wrong, I think that all the collections shown are
very important and beautiful, but the ones that caught my attention
were those. When I first thought about the Mona Lisa, I knew that I needed a
picture right away with her. It was the same situation as the Tour Eiffel. When
one visits the Louvre, everybody goes right away to the Mona Lisa and takes a
“selfie”. I don’t understand why we do that, but we do. It is just a natural
impulse or instinct that we have. I also did the same thing. I got to the
Louvre and I went directly to the Mona Lisa and took a picture with her. When I
got to the Mona Lisa, I was actually disappointed. I always thought that the
Mona Lisa painting was big, so when I saw it in person I grew sad. They dedicated a whole wall to the Mona Lisa. I was astonished as to how many people I saw
taking pictures with the painting. People show too much attention on this
particular da Vinci painting that they don’t even notice his others. Da Vinci also painted Virgin of the Rocks. Many people don’t know about
this one because they spend too much time admiring the Mona Lisa. The Louvre is
such an amazing museum you can’t even finish it in one day. It takes days to
complete the Louvre and to understand fully what one is seeing.
VERSAILLES
Versailles is a symbol of Royal Power, Extravagance and Paranoia. When I first walked into Versailles, I was speechless, over the edge I was breathless, I never thought that I ‘d get hit by this beauty. This day trip to Versailles was a terrific day trip. I really had so much fun because of the beauty that Versailles portrays. Versailles is an enormous palace where Marie Antoinette and King Louis XV used to live. The rooms were beautiful and I couldn’t believe that once someone used to live there. There were long hallways and ceilings. Even the ceilings were beautiful decorated, I might add. Everything in the castle reminded me of the King and his power. The gardens were amazing and everything was big. We walked through the gardens and I thought they were infinte. The gardens were breathtaking, everything was ravishing. We walked and walked and wow everything fascinated me. There was even a fountain. I can’t describe the feelings I felt just being their walking. There were lots of crowds of people so it was hard to appreciate the wonders that Versailles has to offer. Marie Antoinette lived in the palace with her husband the King Louis XV. When she wanted to escape from her life, she would come to her palace in Versailles and relax and be away from her life. The people didn’t want a monarchy so they were beheaded in October 1793. Marie Antoinette was a very arrogant person. She didn’t care about the peasants and treated them very badly, because she only wanted people from her social status. Because of the French Revolution, many people were tied down and weren’t able to express themselves as freely as they wanted to because of the monarchy. When the monarchy collapsed, they could do whatever they wanted to. King Louis was a very narcissist person. He would gaze and admire himself in the pond which is a reflection to his palace. Since he was to obsessed with his power, wealth, and appearance. He lost control and he drowned in the pond.All I could see were paintings of gods, goddesses, antique furniture, and sparkly enormous chandeliers. Everything was kind of old and antique but I still loved it. The architecture was fantastic. Everything was done and organized perfect. The walls were even amazing. I felt like I was transported into those times. I could imagine myself wearing a long dress like the ones Marie Antoinette would wear. I even felt part of the royal family by just walking down the halls and imagining myself living there. I felt so livid and happy that I teleported myself to that time, and wondered what could've been if I lived during those times.
THE PANTHEON
The Pantheon used to be the church of St. Genevieve. It is a place where heroes of the French Republican are celebrated. 73 men and women were buried like Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Pierre and Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, and Emilie Zola, No kings or queens were honored in the Pantheon. It was only the common people. It is a symbol and record of Western civilization. It is a poignant symbol. The honored people that were buried carved the way out for the French Republic. The Pantheon came about because of the French Revolution. It paved the way for the Musee d’Orsay. Those honored at the Pantheon helped bring out the scientific and cultural revolutions. This scientific revolution is called the Focault pendulum. Jean Leon Foucault created this experiment. The pendulum provides evidence of the rotational motion of the earth. . The pendulum triggered philosophical movement. Science was now transformed. Science was the new religion. | The three subthemes of the Pantheon are philosophy, science, and literature. The purpose of the Pantheon is to honor those that died because of the effort they put in to have an independent country. The pantheon had a lot to do with enlightment, which was revolutionary. Science was transformed by philosophy and philosophy by science. It was all about energy or a force. When I entered the Pantheon, I thought to myself “ugh, what am I doing in a Pantheon, dead people are buried here”. Little did I know that it was the most interesting place I could visit. When I entered the tomb part, I felt like I was in a trance. I felt the cold rush through my veins and goose bumps appeared. The tombs of the people that were buried there looked perfectly intact. I was shocked. The place looked as if no one had ever been buried there. It certainly did not look like a pantheon. It was so big and cold. There were long passageways that took you to the rooms where the honorees were buried. The Pantheon is now a place of enlightenment and also honors the flourishing of the individual. I don’t think there is a Pantheon in the United States of America. I think that France and the United States are very different, but in some way they are similar. If we were to have a Pantheon, or if there is one in the United States, I believe that common people would have been buried there, like the Pantheon in Paris. They would have been buried there because of the important actions they did that really stood out. |
National Holiday and National Monuments
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When I arrived to Paris I was excited because the next day was July 14. I had been told that the French celebrated July 14 the way that I celebrated 4th of July. I was really excited because I had never been in Paris, and much less celebrated July 14. What did they honor? I didn’t know, but once I learned it made sense. They honored the democratic ideals of equality and political and religious freedom, which were granted thanks to the French Revolution of 1789. On Sunday, we went to the parade, it was a never ending crowd of people. I had never walked so much with a lot of people. The parade was amazing. Everything was amazing. The parade was a display of military honor. They are also honoring the end of the French Monarchy and specifically the guillotining of Queen Marie Antoinette and the King Louis XV. I was astonished when we saw the airplane display. It was so amazing I couldn’t believe my eyes. In the book, Exploring Paris, Discovering the Humanities, it states that “The parade makes clear that the powerful military industry fuels capitalism”. life was defined by the monarchy.T Hitler’s forces destroyed France in WWII, so it can be argued that France wanted to show to the world it's strength. the French want to show their strength in the parade today, so to make up for their devastating losses. . As I visited the Arc de Triomphe, I thought about how Mexicans display their nationalism the same way. They also have buildings that represent their pride and honor.
When we visited Blois, I was in total shock. The place was beautiful but rustic, which I believe is what made it even more beautiful. It was the total opposite of being in Paris. I felt I was dreaming because it was so old. We visited le Chateau du Chambord. I loved visiting that castle. It was so beautiful and big. There were like 5 levels in that castle. It was a never ending castle. It was an amazing experience. While we were in Chambord, we went boat riding. I loved being in a boat even thought we almost tipped over because we couldn’t ride it. It was so fun. the place was so big I thought that I wasn't ever going to finish seeing it. It was amazing being there. Before catching the train back to Paris, we were able to stay in Blois for two or three more hours. We were just having an adventure, exploring the village, having a fun time.
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SACRE COEUR/ MONTMARTRE
In Montmartre there is the biggest most beautiful church. It is the basilica of the sacred heart, known in French as the Sacre Coeur. It was built in the 19th century in a Roman Byzanthine Style.The most beautiful interesting point about the Sacre Coeur is its height. It is the biggest and tallest basilica I had ever seen in my life. It’s size is immense and I couldn’t believe it. It was amazing. It was one of the most beautiful basilicas I have ever been in. I believe that it was equally as beautiful as the Notre Dame. The architecture in the Sacre Coeur is not the same as the architecture in the Notre Dame. As I walked up to the basilica, I couldn’t believe the outstanding views. I could see almost all of Paris there. I was breathless. It was amazing. I felt honored to be there viewing the amazing city of Paris. As we were waiting to go inside the Sacre Coeur, there was a group of schoolgirls singing. They were singing so beautiful and I just felt so majestic being there feeling everything. I got so many mixed emotions when I walked into the Sacre Coeur. I felt like crying. I was in this trance and I couldn’t believe I was standing there. I entered and I walked and gazed and breathed in the beauty of this basilica. When I think of it now, I am still astonished by the beauty. I was so lucky to get the chance to be there, I am so blessed. The basilica has a stone called Chateau Landon that gives the church a unique color. This stone reacts to rain, so when it rains it releases calcite, which cleans the stone and makes it bright and clean. I think that is very interesting how the stone can be cleaned just by rain.
Montmartre is an “arrondisment” in which the Sacre Coeur is located. They told me that Montmartre was a sketchy place so when I got there I was kind of scared. I was grabbing my bag the whole time and looking around, but nothing happened. The truth is that I really liked Montmartre. I really liked walking through all the souvenir stores and buying junk. I really had a fun time when we visited Montmartre. In Montmartre, the theater for Moulin Rouge is also found there. It is a very pretty view. In this place, St. Denis was beheaded and he had walked all the way to Montmartre with his head and just dropped it there. The Commune took place in 1871 and Montmartre was dedicated to the 58,000 soldiers who died in the Franco Prussian War. MUSEE DE RODIN |
 MUSEE d'ORSAY
| Le Musee de Rodin gives emotions and motions to his sculptures. Agustin Rodin lived part of the 19th century, which is considered the modern era.His art kindred artists whom we saw in the Orsay.This museum was beautiful. The garden was amazing. All the bright colors that were in the trees and the flowers just amazed me. It looked beautiful. I felt as if I were in a dream. I must’ve been dreaming. The three shades that are in the garden of the the Musee de Rodin make up for the thinkers lack of emotion. The thinker sits there and thinks and analyzes and understands. Rodin had a lover named Camille Claudel and was inspired by her. Rodin celebrated his sensual love through his art. Camille Claudel, his lover (1864-1943) was also a great artist herself. Many of his sculptures had motions and emotions, which was very contradicting because stones don’t move. In one sculpture, Rodin’s victory of war, he shows how this sculpture won her battle. He shows in the sculpture emotions and motions. The figure of Rodin’s Victory of War is on the move. Her body just says it all. Her muscles are flexed. She shows passion by just her facial expressions. The museum was very big. Everything was beautiful. I felt back in their time looking at the sculptures and paintings. Everything was very antique and it even smelled antique. Everything was beautiful and I was too afraid to get to close to those antiquities, I was afraid that I would ruin them. The Musee de Rodin has various compartments where one is the permanent collections, the thinker on Rodin’s "Gates of Hell", the column with the walking man, and the villa des brillants. The part that I loved the most about the Musee de Rodin was the gates of hell. . The doors were black and hand mini three shades on the top. Sculpture was reborn in the Rodin museum. I believe that Rodin is THE father of Modern sculpture because of the effect he gives it. He makes them seem as they were moving. He gives them motion and emotion, while other artists would not do the same thing. The way he does his sculptures makes them very modern especially because of the way he does the facial expressions and the body movements.
This museum known as the Musee d’Orsay, which is an impressionist museum was the one that fascinated me the most. I couldn’t believe that the museum we were in was once a train station. I would gaze and gaze at everything. The hallways, the ceilings, the walls, even the stairs. Everything was perfect. It did not look like it could have been a train station before. It didn’t look old. It was in no doubt conserved and remodeled before it came to be known as a museum. When it was a train station, the “rich” people would hang out in the train station and talk about politics. It was like their point of reunion where everybody could go. Inside the train station, there was also a hotel where people could stay. Inside the train station, there was also a ballroom. There would be dances and balls. How exciting right? I can totally see myself during those time, attending all the balls, wearing long poufy dresses with exotic hairstyles that were used back in the days, with a lot of royal people. The size of the Museum now is enormous. Now I understand why. It had to be enormous to have a hotel, ballroom, and for it to be a train station! WOW I’m impressed! I am so happy that I went to the museum! All the paintings were wonderful. The section that I loved the most was Vincent Van Gogh’s collections. I can’t even begin to describe how lovely “Starry Night” is. I believe that Impressionism really was considered offensive because it broke the tradition of classical art. During that time, everything was supposed to be the same as if it were mandatory. Maybe this is why it was considered offensive because it was different. It was out of the ordinary. It broke the norm, that everything was supposed to be same, as if it were. |
Museum of Modern Art and the Pompidou Museum
There is only one word to describe the museum of Modern Art: BIZARRE!! It is the weirdest museum I have ever been to. All the things that I saw in the museum, I would never in my whole life label as art. I was shocked to see what I had seen in the museum. Now I know why it was such a radical opinion. It was different and that is why people had trouble understanding why it was acceptable. They wanted everything to be the same, so they had trouble adjusting to modernity. It represented a new way of thinking, which to many people it was not accepted. The Pompidou center is an example of being out of the ordinary. Even though I found it to be very bizarre, I still believe that art is fascinating. The way that they can come up with stupid ideas and make them art, it just makes me wonder that even I can make art. It was interesting to see all different types of modern arts. Like I would see them and laugh because I couldn’t believe that that was called art. I couldn’t find any sense into some of the art in the museum, but it made sense to me because it had to have some sense to the artist so that they drew it. Now that didn’t make sense, but it does. When I walked into this museum I was kind of relieved that it wasn’t the same classical paintings that we would see at the Louvre, Cluny Museum, Orsay Museum, and the Musee de Rodin. It was like I was taking a break and going into a modern world. It was really interesting to see all the types of art that were made in the modern era. What caught my attention the most was seeing a urinal. Like I couldn’t believe that was art. It’s so plain, so simple, it is where men go to the restroom and it is called art. I could not believe it. The thing that also caught my attention was that in one wall, there was a chair, stairs, and handcuffs. How can that be called art?! They are such random objects that I don’t even think that they can even have sentimental value. In the end, I really enjoyed the museum because I got to see art that I never would’ve thought could be art.
Finally we went to another museum that didn’t contain any classical or impressionist paintings. This museum was the museum of natural history. I was so excited to get to this museum because these type of stuff really fascinates me. We got to see the fossils of dead animals. This museum was the gap between humans and other animals. I really had a fun time looking at all of this because it is what most interests me. I really love biology and it thought this was great to learn for my experience and for my education as well. Beauty in nature promotes survival. Many hunters believed that animals were equal to us. They were even worshipped as divinities. Humans didn’t see any difference between animals and themselves.
 There were few cars and traffic. Everything we did was on foot or on bike. I wish we would have stayed more time because we didn’t get to fully take advantage of the city. We got to Giverny in the train but when we went to Monet’s house, we went in bicycles. I was so tired, I didn’t think we were ever going to make it back alive. Monet’s house was incredible! It was so perfectly preserved I felt that I was back in time with him. The pond that was by his home was perfect as well. Everything was beautiful. I felt I was dreaming. I couldn’t believe I was seeing to much beauty. I remember that day so much because it was so so hot and we were bike riding for like almost an hour. Everything we did in Giverny was really a memorable experience. I would never change it for anything else. | Natural History Museum   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0OCnYIGZ3E |
