14 Mai 2005 - the city of blinding lights, the consequence of a duel

- i wish i could upload my photos, but you'll have to use your imagination. dang. it!

- just came back from paris. people are right. the city is gorgeous and though i experienced it with my mother, i found it nonetheless very romantic and very lovely, especially in the drizzle. at 10 pm, sharp, the eiffel tower lit up with a million dazzling lights. it literally sparkled. incredible. people are also right when they say parisians are, um, rude? ok, not rude... just totally into themselves. here's why:

- no english. you're a world class city, so put up some english, folks! my mother and i were stunned that at the musee du louvre, on all the placards, nothing at all was in english. totally unfriendly. the louvre itself was fine, and the mona lisa, the lovely la giocanda, is beautiful even if it is hoarded by about 40 ppl at a time and behind about five plates of glass.

- paris and london are both bidding for the olympics of 2012, so let's hope that paris wins and they'll update their metro system. compared to london, that metro station is so archaic. still, it was marvelously wonderful to get around on.

- a few words to men of paris: laissez-moi tranquille. merci. enough said.

- my mother and i celebrated mass, unexpectedly, at 12noon, at notre dame. i couldn't beleive it, it was such a treat. even though je ne parle pas francais. but amen, anyway.

- god has managed to show himself to me daily through various things that happen. he speaks various languages, and when i don't understand the language and ask repetez, he doesn't just rattle off in that language which i don't understand. thank god!

- i love michelangelo merisi caravaggio's work from the baroque periods (well, he mainly was all baroque. if it ain't baroque don't fix it. sorry). i'm seeing an exhibit tomorrow at the national gallery (i'm back in london). the guy killed another dude in a duel and had to flee rome for a while. a word to the wise: settle arguments quickly.

okay, i think that's all for now, although i had way more thoughts that i haven't typed up. thanks for reading. :) monday: madrid.