I'm more excited to see Pearl Jam than the Mona Lisa

CreedDisease · June 2010

I have to be in France the last week in June for business and looks like (If i can get tickets) I will be able to catch the France and Belgium music festivals after a day or 2 stop in Paris. Anyone have any suggestions of what else to do, and/ or helpful tips for the festivals? Thanks!

DewieCox · June 2010

I dunno. I think the Mona Lisa is pretty stoked.

curmudgeoness · June 2010

Seriously? Look at it this way: just as PJ needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated, great art needs to be seen in person rather than in a book to be appreciated.

If you are going to be in Paris, go to the Louvre. Really. I never cared much for art until I went to the Hermitage; that was a life-changing experience.

I also think that the great cathedrals of Europe are awe-inspiring, regardless of whether one is a religious person. Take the time to see some of those, too.

shep · June 2010

curmudgeoness wrote:

Seriously? Look at it this way: just as PJ needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated, great art needs to be seen in person rather than in a book to be appreciated.

If you are going to be in Paris, go to the Louvre. Really. I never cared much for art until I went to the Hermitage; that was a life-changing experience.

I also think that the great cathedrals of Europe are awe-inspiring, regardless of whether one is a religious person. Take the time to see some of those, too.

You could spend a week in the louvre and still not see it all... what a place... definitely book a day for that if you have the time...

Other than that, there is so much to see, I wouldn't know where to suggest to start... curmudgeoness is on the money about the churches though... so much history are contained in those buildings...

Jokertt14 · June 2010

Word

what is the Mona Lisa anyways . lol

mysameoldfriend · June 2010

Skip the Louvre! Musee d'Orsay! It's the Impressionist and post-impressionist museum in Paris. A whole room full of Van Gogh. It's much more impressive/fun than The Lourve.

DangDang · June 2010

jokertt wrote:

Word

what is the Mona Lisa anyways . lol

DangDang wrote:

Stone Gossard repealed the use of the following childhood photograph from inclusion with the liner notes of the Backspacer album

DangDang · June 2010

jokertt wrote:

Word

what is the Mona Lisa anyways . lol

DangDang wrote:

Stone Gossard suffered from a condition called "crackle skin your face" as a young child.

Blah · June 2010

You know the Mona Lisa is a self portrait right? Dude was a cross dresser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculatio ... sa#Subject

derbydave · June 2010

mysameoldfriend wrote:

Skip the Louvre! Musee d'Orsay! It's the Impressionist and post-impressionist museum in Paris. A whole room full of Van Gogh. It's much more impressive/fun than The Lourve.

I couldn't agree with you more...
The d'Orsay is a lot less crowded and the art (and the architecture) here is STUNNING!!!
The Louvre is almost too much...there's so much it's overwhelming.
If you like the impressionists, you should also go to the l'Orangerie and see Monet's Nymphs!!
Don't forget Pere Lachaise (sp) cemetary and just walking through the open air markets are soooo much fun.

chiquimonkey · June 2010

The Louvre is overwhelming but so impressive. It was like a pilgrimmage for me going there. As for the Mona Lisa, meh. I thought the Virgin on the Rocks by DaVinci outside the Mona Lisa room was more beautiful, and there was nobody around it so I was able to drool up close

For churches, Notre Dame of course, although for me tied as one of the most beautiful churches ever is Sainte Chapelle.

No photo can do it justice. It's actually a small little church in a government courtyard, built in 1236, and it's like walking into a room made completely of stained glass. When I was taking an art history class in college my teacher had shown a slide of it. I asked him afterwards about it just because it was so stunning, and he made me swear that if I ever went to Paris, that I'd go there. He was an atheist and even he said standing in that room, he felt if God did exist, he lived there.

I kept my promise

and now I recommend it to every person I know that's going!

It's very tall and narrow and the space between the windows is very thin. It's not far from Notre Dame either, so definitely worth a visit! http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Ca ... elle.shtml

If you get the Museum and Monument pass then you can see damn near everything for cheap, it's a great deal. Plus you get in a quicker line for the Louvre. It's nice because you can just pop into a place if your'e walking past and not worry about the admission. We saw Napoleon's tomb and Rodin's house/museum just on a morning walk and the pass let us into both. My sister and I went into Sainte Chapelle like 3 times

http://www.discoverfrance.net/Boutique/Travel/Passes/

Suffice it to say being an art geek AND PJ geek, I don't think my heart could handle the combo

dimitrispearljam · June 2010

when mona lisa go on tour?

Suziemay · June 2010

I support this post

I did see the Mona Lisa and it was a big giant letdown. I'm not big on art so that may be why but I still don't get all the hype. Few things I would rather see than a Pearl Jam concert. Can't even think of anything better right now!

DangDang · June 2010

chiquimonkey wrote:

For churches, Notre Dame of course, although for me tied as one of the most beautiful churches ever is Sainte Chapelle.

Chiqui,

Went to Paris (& Belgium & Amsterdam) for my honeymoon. This room in the Sainte Chapelle was indeed breath taking.

I stood at the top of the stairs at the entry to the room and videotaped the reactions of the people walking in..it was gasp after gasp.

I forget if Venus De MIlo is in Louvre or Deorsey. I never knew her butt was out. But then again she couldn't pull her robe up, now could she?! AHAH HAHA HAHHA HA HA

redrock · June 2010

chiquimonkey wrote:

...one of the most beautiful churches ever is Sainte Chapelle:

Sainte Chapelle is stunning. One of my favourite churches too. Everytime I go to Paris, I must go (and I'm not even religious). The bottom bit is fantastic.. those deep blues and reds with all the gold.... There is SO much to do and see in Paris. Get yourself a guidebook or google - there is for all tastes. Orsay is wonderful because of the architecture (old station) but there are renovations taking place so some bits are closed. There is nothing like sitting in the Orangerie surrounded by immense Nympheas. Quite breathtaking. If you go to the Louvre, go for a few things you want to see - again seeing a painting 'for real' is nothing like seeing pictures of it.
And just walk around.. Champs Elysees, Montmartre, Sacre-Coeur, etc.

SoonForgotten2 · June 2010

I love the Louvre. It's beyond amazing. I've been to d'Orsay as well, but it's the Louvre that is forever imbedded in my mind. And not for the Mona Lisa. I can say that I've seen it in person, but beyond that, it's really nothing spectacular.

TUTMAN08 · June 2010

I offer a different perspective...Paris is the most over rated city in the world. It is expensive, dirty, difficult to get around and populated with an exceptionally large percent of rude and arrogant people. Certainly, there are interesting and historic sights. But in my opinion the hassles of the city are not worth the benefits.

My advice. Do whatever you must for work in Paris then bolt to another city. Lille is about 1 hour away, Brussels is 90 minutes, Strasbourg is 2.5 hours and Amsterdam about 4 hours. All easily accessible by train (and the TGV is awesome) All these are much, much better cities than Paris.

redrock · June 2010

Lille and Strasbourg are nothing compared to Paris. Brussels is very nice but Paris has something these other cities don't have. Of course it's a big city with all the 'negatives' of such. But it's a beautiful place with incredible 'culture' and.. it is very easy to get around with the metro. One thing about the French, you can't expect them to 'fit in' with you if you are a tourist. Paris is not over-rated at all. This is from someone having actually lived in all four cities you mention!

DangDang · June 2010

TUTMAN08 wrote:

I offer a different perspective...Paris is the most over rated city in the world. It is expensive, dirty, difficult to get around and populated with an exceptionally large percent of rude and arrogant people. Certainly, there are interesting and historic sights. But in my opinion the hassles of the city are not worth the benefits.

My advice. Do whatever you must for work in Paris then bolt to another city. Lille is about 1 hour away, Brussels is 90 minutes, Strasbourg is 2.5 hours and Amsterdam about 4 hours. All easily accessible by train (and the TGV is awesome) All these are much, much better cities than Paris.

I disagree and thought that Paris was overly simple to get around on the metro, and I never previously rode a subway in my life. Every historic site had a metro gate right by it and I found it way easy to ping pong across the city. I WOULD NOT want to get around it by car, however.

I did not find the city dirty, but remarkably ancient with so much history & culture & artifacts & a gargoyle staring at you wherever you went. Besides the stained glass, much of the architecture was gray as was the sky, perhpas leading to a "dirty" effect.

Well, of course the people were rude, it's France!

theboxerorthebag · June 2010

mysameoldfriend wrote:

Skip the Louvre! Musee d'Orsay! It's the Impressionist and post-impressionist museum in Paris. A whole room full of Van Gogh. It's much more impressive/fun than The Lourve.

+1
go to the Orsay.

Black Diamond · June 2010

theboxerorthebag wrote:

mysameoldfriend wrote:

Skip the Louvre! Musee d'Orsay! It's the Impressionist and post-impressionist museum in Paris. A whole room full of Van Gogh. It's much more impressive/fun than The Lourve.

+1
go to the Orsay.

+2
And the way it was set up in an old train station is amazing...

Dissidentman · June 2010

DangDang wrote:

TUTMAN08 wrote:

I offer a different perspective...Paris is the most over rated city in the world. It is expensive, dirty, difficult to get around and populated with an exceptionally large percent of rude and arrogant people. Certainly, there are interesting and historic sights. But in my opinion the hassles of the city are not worth the benefits.

My advice. Do whatever you must for work in Paris then bolt to another city. Lille is about 1 hour away, Brussels is 90 minutes, Strasbourg is 2.5 hours and Amsterdam about 4 hours. All easily accessible by train (and the TGV is awesome) All these are much, much better cities than Paris.

I disagree and thought that Paris was overly simple to get around on the metro, and I never previously rode a subway in my life. Every historic site had a metro gate right by it and I found it way easy to ping pong across the city. I WOULD NOT want to get around it by car, however.

I did not find the city dirty, but remarkably ancient with so much history & culture & artifacts & a gargoyle staring at you wherever you went. Besides the stained glass, much of the architecture was gray as was the sky, perhpas leading to a "dirty" effect.

Well, of course the people were rude, it's France!

Paris has that HUGE underground crypt right? That would be cool to see.

helplessdancer · June 2010

CreedDisease wrote:

I have to be in France the last week in June for business and looks like (If i can get tickets) I will be able to catch the France and Belgium music festivals after a day or 2 stop in Paris. Anyone have any suggestions of what else to do, and/ or helpful tips for the festivals? Thanks!

when i was in paris and saw the mona they cant even claim that its the real one as it's been stolen, returned, found, and forged so many times they've lost track...

go see jim morrison's grave instead

OceansJenny · June 2010

Le Louvre (spend a few hours, pick exhibits you are interested in it is HUGE! I suggest ancient Egypt)
Sacre coeur (beautiful view of the city, worth going up alllll the stairs)
Moulin Rouge (just the outside)
Notre Dame
Eiffel Tower (cheaper and less time if you climb the stairs)
Latin Quarter, nice place to eat plus look for the cool fountain

You really need recommendations?! Its PARIS!

chiquimonkey · June 2010

redrock wrote:

Sainte Chapelle is stunning. One of my favourite churches too. Everytime I go to Paris, I must go (and I'm not even religious). The bottom bit is fantastic.. those deep blues and reds with all the gold....

Yes! The Lower Chapel is very beautiful too!

DangDang wrote:

Chiqui,

Went to Paris (& Belgium & Amsterdam) for my honeymoon. This room in the Sainte Chapelle was indeed breath taking.

I stood at the top of the stairs at the entry to the room and videotaped the reactions of the people walking in..it was gasp after gasp.

I forget if Venus De MIlo is in Louvre or Deorsey. I never knew her butt was out. But then again she couldn't pull her robe up, now could she?! AHAH HAHA HAHHA HA HA

I love that about the videotaping...my sister had the videocamera going as she was going up the stairs. Now by this point we had visited about 4 cathedrals and she was muttering on the camera, here we are at another church. And then when she got to the top, she tripped and said DAMN!

Now it's like her favorite place in the whole world

As for the myth that the French are rude, it's just that....a myth. When my sister and I went we were treated like queens. We got more attitude from people in London!

I did notice the locals copping attitudes with tourists, but that’s because the tourists were acting like jerks. Like one bakery we went into, I asked if they spoke English (did that everywhere we went, just to be polite, they invariably always did). They said no, and then turned to someone else and started speaking English. I was like hey!

they started laughing and said they were just playing. It was all good

So yeah, rule of thumb for anywhere you travel….don’t be a dumbass

I'm more excited to see Pearl Jam than the Mona Lisa

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