Being Here Now

Mon Monet: Paris en la pluie

There are so many things to see and do in each port, including leaving that city to explore more interesting ones in the area. From Antwerp, people went to Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, The Hague, even Paris. And from our most recent site, LeHavre, there is of course Paris as well as Giverny, Honfleur, the D-Day beaches of Normandy, etc.

I am learning to make peace with my choices and the impossibility of doing it all, or anywhere close to it. It also strikes me that we spend so much time taking pictures to document our presence at a place, that we don't really experience it. The students bent over phones, sending their selfies immediately into cyberspace, are the extreme example of missing out on real life, but aren't we all distracted and not present to some degree? I realized how addicted I was to taking pictures when my camera battery died in the middle of Monet's gardens. Deep breath, and then I could see more colors and details, and feel the atmosphere. And of course I bought a photo book to remember the big picture : )

I've heard an ugly American tourist complaining because no photos were allowed in the Musee de L'Orangerie, where due to just this rule you can sit in blissful peace surrounded by Monet water lily murals. And I've heard of a complaint that the one-minute Hawaiian chant performed only on the first morning in each port spoiled someone's video of the view of the harbor. Don't we (including myself, often guilty) realize that postcard views aren't reality? What about your own, real experience, with all its quirks and frustrations and perceived flaws, and laughing them off? Why not embrace and record that? Isn't that what you want to remember?

So, once again, I will share a random assortment of imperfect photos. I had about 7 hours in Paris, and here is what I did:

• ·         Ate a 10-euro fast meal of bruschetta, Coke, and tarte de pomme while talking to Australians
• ·         Filmed some good live music on the street; went back later to buy their CD but they were gone
• ·         Took the batobus up the Seine to Notre Dame
• ·         Climbed to the top of Notre Dame to pet the gargoyles, and heard thunder roll; looked around for Iago
• ·         Got back on the batobus in time to enjoy the thunderstorm on the water
• ·         Visited the aforementioned Musee de L'Orangerie, just the right size for limited time
• ·         Strolled the Jardins des Tuileries, pausing for a hot dog with spicy mustard on a baguette, near a pond
• ·         Bought a pain au chocolat to take back for bedtime snack
• ·         Found my way from the metro to the train tracks with the help of a Frenchwoman who appeared to be a commuter
• ·         Spoke French all day and was understood, and mostly understood the replies in French
• ·         Took the train back to Le Havre with several students and had an interesting conversation about Bosnia with students from there

So that was my Paris experience, and I'm happy with it. I also took a tour of Monet's gardens and house in Giverny, and we stopped in Honfleur on the way back. Did you know that the founder of Quebec came from Honfleur? (bonjour Jean-Pierre!)