Home : Plato's Words : April 2002

April 2002

Well the month of March was an exciting month for me. Lou and I went to Rome and Paris for just over two weeks. We spent most of the time in Paris where we literally covered the whole city by walking in a different direction every day. Rome we had visited before and we have a special connection to the city because Lou has family there. This time we were there just a few days and then we headed to Paris for two weeks. We loved it! There are crowds of people everywhere and there is an insane amount of traffic but, interestingly enough, no road rage so to speak. Sure, there is honking, but that is more of the warning kind: "look out I AM going to cut you off NOW". Very civilized I have to say because there is not really the anger that we witness here, only a quick reaction to move out of the way and then perhaps the next time that person that was cut off will do the same to someone else. Perhaps not the best way either but, none the less, better than some of the insanity we have come to see here in Vancouver at almost every intersection and on the roads in general. Why are people so very angry behind the wheel?

The Parisians were wonderful and very welcoming to Canadians. The architecture was unbelievable and we saw building after building that caught our eyes with the detail and design features from another era. The art galleries there are home to many very famous works that were inspiring to see up close. Yes, the Mona Lisa is even more impressive when you stand right in front of her. Also seeing some original Monet and Chagall paintings brought back memories of a time when I seriously studied the music of composers such as Claude Debussy, who was always one of my favorites. When you look at some of those paintings you can actually hear certain pieces play in your head. It was very exciting to experience that as you walked by endless works of art that you had previously seen only in books or in calendars or postcards. I could have spent a week just walking through some of the galleries. It becomes almost overwhelming to try to truly study all of those works of art, to store a memory of them into your head and save that memory for future reflection.

There was the art, and then there was the wine…You couldn't buy a bad bottle of wine (we tried) and the cheeses and breads are out of this world and anyone would have to break their dieting routine while visiting there. Every block has at least one patisserie and at least one coffee bar and perhaps every 5 blocks there was a cheese shop of some kind where the clerks look like lab techs in their freshly pressed white smocks.

There was music on the Metro and several of those musicians were truly outstanding. I actually was moved to tears one day when a classical violinist played to perfection on the crowded Metro car. She had her little cup there to collect money from anyone who wished to contribute after the performance. Needless to say, I did.

There were several accordion groups and a wonderful kalimba player at one of the stations and even a vocalist who got on at one point and sang Autumn Leaves with the original French lyric. We did not make it to any jazz clubs as we had intended because we ended up being entertained by something more immediate, the people on the street, the people in cafes and in bars. It was a study of people from a culture perhaps not so unlike ours, yet in some ways we were distinctly different, too.

Paris is densely populated but not nearly as widespread as a city like Vancouver so by the end of the vacation we had walked the entire city. Every morning we headed out and chose a new direction and discovered new things about the city, the culture, and the people. We also happened to luck out with weather since it remained sunny and around 20 degrees for our entire time there. No jackets and no umbrellas required!

Now that I have visited Paris I can finally learn to sing Cole Porter's song "I LOVE PARIS" and other standards that speak about Paris and its wonders. Wonders indeed will bounce around in my memory for a long time to come…

I love Paris in the springtime,
I love Paris in the fall,
I love Paris in the winter, when it drizzles,
I love Paris in the summer, when it sizzles,
I love Paris ev'ry moment,
Ev'ry moment of the year,
I love Paris, why, oh why do I love Paris?
Because my love is near.

COLE PORTER

Have a lovely spring…
Karin