Day 23 - Almost Not There

Nymphaes (Water Lillies)

In a beautifully contemporary gallery of concrete and glass inserted into a beautifully classical building on the edge of Paris' sprawling version of a city park, called  the Tuileriers, are two oval rooms. They are the rooms Monet imagined at the end of his life. They are oval because they represent 2 circles overlapping to form infinity. Nice one Monet, like where you're coming from. The works looping around the walls here are of his lilliy pond, the one we saw in Giverny last week at his place. He used the botanical 'Nymphaes' for 'Water Lilly' because he liked the sound of it and the romantic vibe of the myth in the name. This work is wild. There are no real forms, no horizons, no foregrounds or background. It is Monet's surface of reflections and depths revealed. Man, you nailed it mate. (Some of the wild crazy, colourful brushwork reminded me of Basquait, the crazy wonder boy from New York who Andy Warhol sucked up to. This was about 50 years later.)

We all went to this gallery and wondered around in a separate daze. Afterwards we drifted off in separate directions for this last afternoon in the city. Dion took a trip to the Eiffel Tower to sit in the park and day dream. Remy relaxed back at the apartment. Karol went last minute shopping and I took a trip to Montmarte. It was great emerging out onto a small tree covered plaza at Abbesses. Two street performers in costume were hamming it up in some kind of French theatrical  musical.

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I walked around soaking it all up. The cafes, the small, interesting shops, the tourists, the locals, the dog shit artfully placed onto the grills surrounding trees. I found a messy little 2nd hand shop with junk piles of old records, magazines, bric a brac. I spied a little glass eiffel tower which I bought for a few bucks. I needed a souvenir of this city I could stomach and this was it. Delicate, reflective, etched - almost not there.

spraying olive oil onto some nice bread

yes, snails

We came together later that night sitting outside at a street side table at a great sea food restaurant our apartment manger had recommended. There really is wonderful food everywhere. 

The holiday is about done now, that's the only thing ending though. Our memories, our little family - we survived this one too.