Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite!
Met up with my dear cinnamon_kisses for lunch today at Downtown Disney. Squeee!!! *glomps* So good to finally meet you in person, Katie!!
And now, because it's Bastille Day- pic spam from Bastille Day in Paris last year. (Warning: not dial-up friendly.)
Before the fireworks began- I took a series of something like 5 pictures at intervals of a few minutes to track the progress of the moon in relation to the Eiffel Tower- The moon started out on the left side of the tower and gradually, over the next hour or so, moved over to the right side. This is, obviously, just after the moon moved behind the tower to emerge on the other side.
And now the fireworks...
The Eiffel Tower getting lit up...
The Eiffel Tower when it's sparkling is quite a sight to see...
Alas for the Bastille! It's my biggest regret every single time I go to Paris, that the building doesn't exist anymore. I'd have loved to see it! The monument just doesn't cut it; I want to see the building, walk through it, imagine Madame DeFarge with her ever-present knitting...
Just like I almost wish they still had a model guillotine set up in the Place de la Concorde- not because I'm morbid but because I'm a history geek. To strike a pose in front of the guillotine and go into Sidney Carton's last speech- ah, yes, that would be wonderful! He saw a beautiful city and the people throwing off their former masters; he saw peace in the places where blood flowed that day. He saw a child with a forehead that he knows and that bears his name bringing honor to the name in the profession which he himself brought only shame to; he saw the girl with golden hair telling his story and he knew that he was honored and remembered by them all and by the girl for whom he gave up his life... "It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done. It is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever had." Dickens is not my favorite author, but I do think in 'Tale of Two Cities' he reached the pinnacle of beautiful, poignant prose-- and I would so love to be able to see places in Paris to remember it.
Ah well, I did see the Conciergerie and the more expensive cells for the aristocrats must have looked very like the cell in which Charles Darnay stayed in; I could picture him pacing back and forth counting the steps, picture him crowding in the window peering down into the street for a glimpse of his wife and daughter, picture him sitting down at the desk writing the letter which Carton dictated to him, before Carton chloroformed him to take his place... I could picture it-- and I thrilled to it.
Just like I thrilled to see names like St. Just in the list of the executed and to think that the Scarlet Pimpernel was real! (Hey, if Paul Deroulede was real, then I see no reason why Sir Percy Blakeney shouldn't have been real too...) ;-)
Oh, I miss Paris. I miss Europe. I miss England, damn it!
(and kudos to you if you managed to get through all this...)
Happy Bastille Day, everyone!
And now, because it's Bastille Day- pic spam from Bastille Day in Paris last year. (Warning: not dial-up friendly.)
Before the fireworks began- I took a series of something like 5 pictures at intervals of a few minutes to track the progress of the moon in relation to the Eiffel Tower- The moon started out on the left side of the tower and gradually, over the next hour or so, moved over to the right side. This is, obviously, just after the moon moved behind the tower to emerge on the other side.
And now the fireworks...
The Eiffel Tower getting lit up...
The Eiffel Tower when it's sparkling is quite a sight to see...
Alas for the Bastille! It's my biggest regret every single time I go to Paris, that the building doesn't exist anymore. I'd have loved to see it! The monument just doesn't cut it; I want to see the building, walk through it, imagine Madame DeFarge with her ever-present knitting...
Just like I almost wish they still had a model guillotine set up in the Place de la Concorde- not because I'm morbid but because I'm a history geek. To strike a pose in front of the guillotine and go into Sidney Carton's last speech- ah, yes, that would be wonderful! He saw a beautiful city and the people throwing off their former masters; he saw peace in the places where blood flowed that day. He saw a child with a forehead that he knows and that bears his name bringing honor to the name in the profession which he himself brought only shame to; he saw the girl with golden hair telling his story and he knew that he was honored and remembered by them all and by the girl for whom he gave up his life... "It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done. It is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever had." Dickens is not my favorite author, but I do think in 'Tale of Two Cities' he reached the pinnacle of beautiful, poignant prose-- and I would so love to be able to see places in Paris to remember it.
Ah well, I did see the Conciergerie and the more expensive cells for the aristocrats must have looked very like the cell in which Charles Darnay stayed in; I could picture him pacing back and forth counting the steps, picture him crowding in the window peering down into the street for a glimpse of his wife and daughter, picture him sitting down at the desk writing the letter which Carton dictated to him, before Carton chloroformed him to take his place... I could picture it-- and I thrilled to it.
Just like I thrilled to see names like St. Just in the list of the executed and to think that the Scarlet Pimpernel was real! (Hey, if Paul Deroulede was real, then I see no reason why Sir Percy Blakeney shouldn't have been real too...) ;-)
Oh, I miss Paris. I miss Europe. I miss England, damn it!
(and kudos to you if you managed to get through all this...)
Happy Bastille Day, everyone!