A Day at The Louvre

A Lovely Breakfast, A Wonderful Stroll, and the Worlds Best Museum!

Not a bad day by any measure.

After suffering the usual jet lag crap-ola, we wound up sleeping till about 8:30 am Paris time. Seemed somehow comforting to be (mostly) acclimated after only one day.

The hotel had a lovely breakfast which I enjoyed (partly because it was amazing and mainly because it was free for Marriott Platinums). Despite its quality, with a 29 Euro menu price (just under $40 USD), if it had not been free Monsieur Cheap-O Roadboy would have opted for a quick stroll out to the street for a coffee and tasty pain au chocolat!

From the hotel we walked down the Champs Elysee past enough gold leaf to last a lifetime to the Place de la Concorde. Today this is the home to the obelisk given as a gift from Egypt, the US Embassy, and the Hotel de Crillon. It serves as the ceremonial end of the La Tour de France and is home to Frances' worst traffic. 

In 1794 it was the site of the most prolific guillotine in Paris and is where Marie Antoinette ever so briefly got to reconsider her hasty comments about cake.

From there it was on to the Tuileries Gardens which serve as a a perfect gateway to the Louvre. While the day was cold, the sun kept peeking through the clouds.

Miss M in Les Tuileries Gardens

We spent much of the day in the Louvre and frankly it was about the nicest visit ever. The Napoleanic Apartments were open (my last visit they were closed) and we spent time in the Egyptian gallery. OK, I admit it I love mummies - no trip to a museum that has mummies is complete until I see the mummies. We also enjoyed the huge skylit sculpture galleries. 

Dining in the Louvre's Napoleonic Apartments

The Louvre began its history as a fortress in the 12th century when it was at the extreme west end of Paris. It was modernized by Francois I and later expanded as the palace of the Sun King Lois XIV and finalized by Louis XV. After completing Versailles, interest in the Parisian Palace waned and the Louvre became dormant.

The Winged Victory

Its life as a museum began with the French Revolution. Hence, in 1793 parts of the Louvre opened as public galleries. In 1882 the Palace was officially designated (almost) in its entirety as a museum. Various expansions have transformed it into one of the world's most important museums. Except for a period in  1939 when all but the heaviest sculptures were removed to Chateau's throughout France (where they were moved like a shell game throughout WWII) the museum has remained open.

In 1981 the museum was so overcrowded that the decision was made to perform major surgery. The commission to redesign the Louvre was given to American Architect I.M. Pei (who had just built a major expansion of the Smithsonian) and from 1986 to the present renovations and expansions have been completed. Most notably were the controversial "Pyramid" entry in 1983, and the massive skylit sculpture courtyards and the wonderful underground shopping (complete with an Apple Store - i.e. new power adaptor) and dining Galeries du Carrousel. Later space was doubled for Egyptian antiquities and work is presently underway for the display of Islamic art.

One of Two Giant Skylit Sculpture Gardens

And yes, being a winter visit we got to see the Mona Lisa without being shoved!

Roadboy With Leonardo's Lady

The Police Still Patrol the Grounds of the Louvre on Roller Blade's!

Nearby we saw a wild performance art event (two modern full sized jack-in-the-boxes), enjoyed window shopping at the chic shops along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore (on one corner we saw two double parked Rolls' with a Bentley on the other corner.) Clearly, this is the Rodeo Drive of Paris. Along the way is the Elysee Palace home to the President of France. Along the way we saw the Eiffel Tower do its 6 PM twinkle and beacon. It is truly breathtaking.

Performance Art

We made one additional stop at the eight-story vertical Citroen concept car display after seeing the Audi and Peugeot displays earlier. The French love their cars and the concepts were pretty stunning.

Even the Baby Rides in Style In This Citroen Concept Car

A New Citroen Rotating On Each Disk 
at Citroen's Champs Elysee Highrise Concept Display

Tomorrow we finish our museum tours with my personal fav the Musee d'Orsay.

Nighty night (Bonsoir!) from Paris!

Roadboy's Travels © 2011

Ka-Pow Goes the Converter

The Joys of International Voltages


Bonjour from Roadboy and Miss M!

Well the little international voltage device I have went "pop!" and power does not seem to be flowing correctly to my laptop...

Battery life is draining.

Sadness.

So I will be seeking new devices to fix it, but will postpone Roadboy updates to preserve my battery.

Wonderful flight (very cool US Airway's Envoy lay flat beds!)

Envoy Business Class Cocoon

Update June 2014

Well (sadly) due to the merger with American, the US Airways Envoy designation has quietly disappeared. Envoy is now simply "Business Class". The pride and extra touches found when it started have faded as well. Amenity kits are minimal. Dinner menu's are dashed out and collected as fast as possible (sometimes even before the plane has taken off). The "Envoy" Lounge at Philadelphia has downgraded to just another US Airways club. Goodbye tapenade, hummus and luxury snacks, hello trail mix and crackers. They now limit you to 1 free drink (by voucher - only if you remember to ask for one - since the club greeters are typically too busy chatting with each other to remember to offer drink vouchers). 

On a recent flight back from Dublin US Airways made a last minute aircraft substitution (they overbooked the original flight was scheduled with lay-flat pods - so they substituted an older 767 with conventional Business class seats). The family of 4 sitting by me (that had paid full fare with the understanding they'd get the lay flat pods) was pretty steamed.  

Alright back to original post......

Hotel is beautiful! Had great dinner of street panini's. Took a very nice walk up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and then along the Avenue Haussmann (big stores) to the Garnier Opera and embassy district yesterday. Light rain overcast. Very doable for walking.

Hotel is Walking Distance for the Arc de Triomphe!

We are now dealing with jet lag. Flopped over in our chairs at 5 PM Paris time. Wide awake at 1 AM.

Tomorrow the Louvre!

Sheesh!

Love to all.

Roadboy's Travels © 2011

The Pre-Trip

Roadboy Packs for A Winter's Trip to Europe

Sometimes the preparation leading up to big trip is daunting. Call the credit card companies to alert them to travel plans. Make two weeks of dog food for the dogs before they go to Brandon's doggie spa. Call the security monitor company. Tell clients that I will be out. Add a new message to the cell phone for when they forget. Sign checks at the office. Get a new passport belt. Pay bills. Remember a spare pair of glasses. Print out duplicates of our itinerary. 

The weather is cold so the suitcase will have wool pants and sweaters as well as a pair of good durable shoes. Yes, my beloved white cross trainers, that instantly identify us to pickpockets as tourists (targets), will await my return at home in the closet. 

Some people take trips as spontaneous events (no hotel reservations, itinerary left unscripted). Others plan every minute with military precision snuffing out any chance of spontaneity.

My goal is to be somewhere in between. I want to plan just enough. Enough to make the trip as safe as possible and avoid wasted time. 

After that it is my hope a trip will take on a personality of its own. 

Months of detail now culminates in anticipation. This assures a sleepless night. Not sure if that will help or hinder our inevitable bout of let jag....

And finally we must see if some new storm will put our flight connection in Philadelphia at risk (sure did last year....).

Roadboy's next post will be from Paris - the City of Lights!

Hold down the fort!

Roadboy's Travels © 2011

A Time to Cry

The Day My Childhood Ended

When I was in junior high in Oakland my favorite class was journalism. The class was run under the watchful eyes of Mrs. Leydecker. We were told to look for something newsworthy. Then we were shown how to research the story. The final step was learning to write the story in a way that would make someone want to read it.

We learned the sacred "W's: Who, What, When, Where, and Why"

In my role as a fledgling reporter I was invited to interview our new Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marcus Foster. I did my homework on him and then went to district headquarters for the interview. 

During my interview I came to realize he was full of new ideas. Instead of punishing poor attendance, he wanted to establish rewards for good attendance. He wanted to make the schools safer by issuing Student ID's with our photos (seems almost quaint now). He wanted to institute ways to allow for the immediate removal of unauthorized people from any school property. He felt school grounds must be free of fear.

I was so impressed. Dr. Foster demonstrated such energy and he was wonderfully articulate. I reported that we finally had a Superintendent with no desire to simply be a caretaker. He was planning to take us to new places.

On November 6, 1973 Dr. Foster was gunned down by the SLA using a hollow tipped bullet they first packed with cyanide.

The passing of Dr. Foster signaled the official end of my childhood.

This weekend the same feelings welled in me as America's eyes turned to my adopted home of Arizona in disbelief and horror as one of our elected officials was the victim of an attempted murder. Making the sadness even worse was that her staff, a child, a federal judge, and those unfortunate enough to simply be near her became victims as well. 

This is not a time to make political statements or speculate "Why". There is no "Why". There can never be an acceptable reason for senseless violence.

This is a time to pray.

This is a time to cry.

Roadboy's Travels © 2011

I Love A Parade!

A Slice of American Pie

OK lets start with a rhetorical question? What could possibly be more American than a parade?

We love parades. Whether large, medium, or small parades occupy a special place in the American psyche. I sort of think our reverence for parades is a souvenir of a time when conquering heroes, returning GI's, and astronauts, would be celebrated in parades with streams of ticker tape. Parades were our way of saying "WOW!!!!" 

Of course when we think "parade" we normally think of the two mega-parades: the splendid Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena and Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Nobody matches those two.

The Tournament of Roses Parade has been an American institution since 1890 and is clearly Southern California's way of razzing the wintry denizens of all cold places. The annual trip down Colorado Boulevard now averages over 1,000,000 spectators a year.

The Rose Parade always has always been special for me because my mom loved it so much. Also because a friend's family raised many of the begonia blossoms used in its floats each year. Sadly, this year their farms near Santa Cruz closed permanently due to a fire after more than 80 years in business.

A relative newcomer, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is just 84 years old. In 1927 it became famous for including giant helium filled balloons which where released in a grand finale. As they drifted off they would burst falling all over Manhattan and creating a bit of a PR mess for parade organizers. So in 1928 the balloons were improved, designed for reuse, yet equipped with return labels (informing the finder of a reward for their return.)

Today Macy's floats are built by Manfred Bass in an old Tootsie Roll factory in Hoboken where each float is designed so that it can collapse to pass through the Holland Tunnel for parade day.

Before I pass from this realm I intend to go see each of those parades in person!

On a more local level there are literally hundreds of parades that are more intimate. Veterans Day, Columbus Day, St. Patrick's day, and the Fourth of July just would not be complete without a parade! These are the parades most of us enjoy and maybe even participate in year after year.

"My Parade" is the annual Fiesta Bowl Parade in central Phoenix. Since moving to Phoenix 16 years ago I have enjoyed this parade almost every year. Of course I'm spoiled since I live close by and can walk to it. 

Now almost 40 years old, it is Arizona's largest single-day event attracting nearly 200,000 spectators. Rated as one of America's top 6 parades by USA Today, it is now presented by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. 

A neighborhood tradition for residents of North Central is to put the kids in PJ's, hoist them to your shoulder and walk to Central and Bethany Home Road around 10 PM the night before the parade. There you can watch the staging of the floats and see them adding all the finishing touches. 

The parade route has had to change to accommodate our marvelous new light rail. So it now starts on Central then makes a jog over to 7th Street.

The reason I like this parade so much is because it features so many great high school bands. You can just see how delighted the kids are to get a chance to travel to Arizona in January. It also has a sense of humor. 

Lots of Floats

The Geeks

The Balloons 

(Being Spinned)

The Clydesdales

Expect more than the magnificent Clydesdales. There will likely be the last remaining WWII Navajo Code Talkers, some geeks in Star Wars and Ghostbuster's outfits, Shriners in little cars, even some stilt walkers. Silly string is used in profusion. And, of course, there will be the Sun City Poms (use your imagination...) and the Wild Women of the West on horseback!

Each year we also get to see what new item of military hardware Sheriff Joe will sit on as he gets both cheered and jeered along the parade route.

So Dec. 31 at 11 AM you know where Roadboy will be. I'll be at Montebello and Central watching the parade with a whole bunch of my fellow Phoenicians and their seasonal guests!

Come see it! Oh, and don't forget a good hat and some sunscreen - cause New Year's Day in Arizona is almost always perfect!

Post Parade Update:

This years parade was better than ever. It was unseasonably cold though. Sheriff Joe rode atop his tank. Oklahoma University sent their splendid marching band. First time I can remember no Bud Clydesdale's! 

Here's a couple of shots from 2010.

Mariachi's and Colorful Ballet Folklorico

Typical Float

Roadboy's Travels © 2010

A New Year Shapes up for Roadboy

The 38th Festival International de la Bande Dessinee!
(With Mid-winter visits to Paris, Amsterdam, and Brugge Thrown in For Good Measure!)

So what sort of fool goes to Paris in January? 

Good old Roadboy thats who.

Yes, in the true spirit of contrarian travel, Miss M and I are breaking out the cold weather clothes (which is painful for Phoenicians) and heading to Europe.

So what is in store for us? 

Well in January:

1. It is real cold in Paris, Amsterdam and Brugge.

2. But, lines are short in Paris and Amsterdam's world class museums. Heck, we might even be able to stand directly in front of the Mona Lisa without being shoved.

3. It is annual sale time at Paris' famous department stores (sales in France happen only twice a year and are government controlled.) Scarves anyone?

4. You can enjoy hot chocolate in the country made famous by chocolate - Belgium!

5. When the canals freeze in Amsterdam, people ice skate on them!

6. You don't have to worry about broken AC units in your hotel room.

7. Street cafes put out heaters!

8. It is time for the annual International Comics Festival in Angouleme.

OK, so you may be asking "what the heck is the Festival de la Bande Dessinee?" I asked that question when Miss M said she would like to attend it.

I now know that it is the oldest and largest festival of comic book art in Europe. It is to Europe what San Diego's ComicCon is to the US.

The difference? 

Well comic book art is considered serious art in France and the Festival is a very serious event. 

In San Diego people (usually seriously fat) dress up like characters out of star wars. Usually exposing too much skin in all the wrong places.

In France, they don't.

I'm good with that.

So, I believe the proper question to ask should be: "What sort of fool goes to Paris in hot and crowded August?" 

Roadboy's Travels © 2010

A Time for Miracles

Chilly Nights, Bright Lights and Timeless Expressions of Love

Roadboy is about two thirds the way through an extended trip. The first part of my journey was Chicagoland. Brrrrrrr! 

Now I find myself in lovely Richmond Virginia. Yes, I've gotten to explore some new restaurants - more about that later.

Next week I finish up in Northern VA.

Traveling this time of year is both a burden and a joy. Yes, it gets crowded. Yes, we have to de-ice planes. Yes, we all have to wear a ton of clothes. But, in my heart of hearts, I know it is all worth it. 

You see, I happen to love Christmas. 

Oh, The lights!

I love the lights. I love the music (although I could live without ever hearing that barking dogs thing again.) I love the smells (especially the bubbling of Miss M's holiday caramels!) I love the dazzling profusion of reds and greens. 

But, most of all, I cherish how this season brings families (no matter how you define that word) together.

The hotels I have visited this trip have all been full of multi-generational guests, not just the usual road warriors.  This morning as I emerged from my room a lovely "grandma talks with her 2-year old grandaughter" moment was happening in the hallway. It was a scene of tenderness traveling in two directions. It brought it all home.

You see Christmas is not about gifts (really, I'm fine with another pig, duck, or musk ox in my name from Heifer International). It is the celebration of the miracle of God's amazing gift to humanity.

I can live with that. 

Slow down, remember to tell those around you that you love them, and enjoy the season of Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Roadboy!

Roadboy's Travel's © 2010