Wow! Has It Really Been 10 Years? Paris, Je T'Aime!

 

It just struck me recently that it has been 10 years since I first ventured outside of this continent. I'd been to various destinations in Canada and the U.S., but never further than that.

I'd always wanted to visit European cities, and, perhaps it's a cliche, but Paris was always first in mind. Like New York, it was a place that was in lots of movies (like "Paris, Je T'Aime," "Amelie" and "Midnight In Paris"), so I guess that was what made me so eager. So, after both of our parents passed away and left myself and my surviving siblings equal parts of a modest inheritance, I could only think, "If not now, when?" Of course, I didn't blow all of the money! Half went into an RRSP, and the other half to this and future trips that I hoped to take (and did).

I did a bit of research, and found out that August was considered the best time to visit Paris, or France in general; apparently, many workers have a nice month-long vacation!

The timing turned out to be good, too. Since 2011, some terrible things have happened in Paris: the Bataclan nightclub killings, shootings, bombings, and of course, the heart-wrenching fire at Notre Dame cathedral. Having visited this impossibly beautiful building twice (I returned in 2012), my heart sank like a stone at the sight of that raging inferno on the cathedral's roof. It didn't cause irreparable damage, thankfully, but, in spite of President Macron's wish that it be repaired in time for the 2024 Olympics, it will no doubt take years, perhaps decades, to be fully restored.

Well, on to the trip! There were many places I wanted to visit, and these were the "top-of-mind" destinations for this occasion.

I recall telling friends as far back as high school that I wanted to visit a Gothic cathedral before I died. They quickly teased me with a scenario where I'd be carried to one on my deathbed, before expiring on the spot! Well, the joke was on them, because one of the first things I saw just after arriving at my hotel (about a 20-minute walk south) was, yep, Notre Dame:

It was only a quick snapshot at that point, though, because another spot that I was eager to see was one that had been featured in at least one of the movies mentioned above, Shakespeare and Company.

It was a fascinating, multi-level place, with many rare books, including founder Sylvia Beach's own collection!

I lingered there for some time, even making a purchase, before moving on, in search of the original location, further south and west in the Rive Gauche area.

On the way, I saw this place, and had to explore it. It's the cathedral of St. Severin, built between 1300 and 1600. It would turn out to be the first actual Gothic cathedral I would go into.

Here's the breathtaking nave of St. Severin, with the incredible vaulted ceilings and arches that I'd only ever read about or seen on TV. And this is a relatively modest example!

And here, on Rue de l'Odeon, is the original location of Shakespeare and Company. All that's left is the small commemorative plaque between the two windows on the right middle level. It's in French, but it reads, "In 1922, in this building, Miss Sylvia Beach published James Joyce's "Ulysses." I'd read "Ulysses" for a second time a few years before that, so this was a real piece of history.

Perhaps I'll get to Dublin one day, and see the actual places in the book! One day...

The next day, the morning was taken up exploring Notre Dame itself. Here's the nave, which you can see is even more spectacular than the one at St. Severin.

There was much to see in this part of the church, what with the stunning stained glass windows, the altar and choir areas, and even the original statue of Mary, a/k/a "Notre Dame de Paris."

Also, that same night, there was a concert of mostly baroque music here, and it was certainly a wonder to hear the Grand Orgue, choir and musicians in this space!

It still makes my heart ache to think of the condition of this nave right now, but I'm confident that every effort will be made to restore it properly.

Even in the lineup to get into the north tower, there is still much to see. These incredibly detailed carvings of different characters doing various activities is a feature of  many doorways here. There are also saints, kings and popes represented in different ones.

A highlight of the visit to the north tower is the Chimera Gallery, an imaginative collection of monsters that runs along the outside of the building at the first level of the tower. This is only a few of them. Some pretty weird creatures!

That afternoon, another Gothic cathedral, Sainte Chapelle, was on the schedule. It's famous for its amazing 40+-foot high stained glass windows. This is what they look like from the outside.

There was a lineup to get inside, and airport-level security before you could enter, but the windows, including the stunning rose window seen here, made it worth the wait.

And, here are just three of the couple of dozen brilliant stained glass windows at Sainte Chapelle. Each one tells a pictorial story of each of the books of the Bible, from Adam and Eve to Revelation. The colours are absolutely incredible, and are maintained on a regular basis so nothing is lost.

Next day, it was off to another location I'd been wanting to see: the most famous landmark in the whole city, and its worldwide symbol. It has its own unique colour, "Eiffel Tower brown," and is repainted about every seven years.

The first level is open to the air, and has this awesome view of the Champ de Mars, and beyond it the Ecole Militaire. The views from higher up are even better, but those levels are all enclosed in glass. And, they make sure you don't linger, so we couldn't stay at the top for very long.

Since I didn't spend as much time at the tower as I'd thought, I went over to the Champs-Elysses, and got some pics. At one end is the Arc de Triomphe, originally built in tribute to Napoleon Bonaparte, but more recently serving as more of a war memorial.

It's also one of the locations on the last leg of the Tour de France bicycle race.

At the other end of the Champs-Elysses is the Place de la Concorde (also part of the Tour de France), with its beautiful obelisk, replete with hieroglyphics!

The entire next day was spent here, in the beautiful Louvre museum. This is the lineup before opening, about 9:00 am or so. The entrance is through the striking (or controversial, depending on your point of view) I.M. Pei-designed pyramid.

There are so many works here that it was impossible to see them all in one day. I picked which ones I wanted to see most, and was still there until about 7:00 pm!

By 7:00 pm, I was tired and ready to go, and got this evening shot of all the pyramids in the Cours Napoleon. Inability to see the whole place motivated me to come back again, and the next year, I did. But that's for another entry!

The final museum on this trip was the striking-looking Centre Pompidou, a modern art museum, with this unusual exterior. The ventilation, water, and other pipes, as well as the escalators, are all on the outside of the building, which leaves lots of room inside for the exhibits.

That evening, I made my last crossing over the Pont Neuf bridge on my way back to my hotel, which was a short metro ride from the station here, to near the Gare de l'Est. Each of the faces you see running along the length of the bridge is different. Amazing workmanship.

As I said, I knew I had to come back to Paris, and did, pretty much to the day, a year later.

Well, that was a jaunt down memory lane! These trips have proved to me that you can watch all the movies or documentaries you like about a place, but it just doesn't compare to the full sensual experience; the sounds, atmosphere, and smells of the real thing.

It's crazy to think that it's been 10 years, but as I said above, much has happened, in Paris and all over the world, since then *coughCOVIDcough*.

I've traveled since then, mostly with the TWMVC, and we were scheduled to go back to England & Wales again last summer, but that obviously didn't happen. We can only hope things get better.

Spring Stations 2021

 

It was delightful to get back to our wonderful Distillery District a few weeks ago to catch the installations for Spring Stations.

Usually, the display is known as Winter Stations, a series of installations along Woodbine Beach during - yes - winter. Things being how they have been, though, they decided to wait an extra season this year, and set it up at a different location.

It was a lovely sunny day, and, with everything being outdoors, I didn't have to think about needing to wear a mask. Bonus!

There are four installations, and I included an extra previous one just for fun! Here they are:

The first one was called The Epitonium, and was conceived by a group of artists from Iran. It's a kind of natural shelter, in the form of the seashell by the same name, and there is a remarkable resemblance.

It's striking-looking from every angle. You can see a little "entrance" here...

...and these young boys (just the right size!) certainly had fun goofing around inside while their families took pictures!

Next was the ARc de Blob, a very colourful piece from a combined Austria and UK group. As you can see, it deliberately resembles famous arches like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Marble Arch in London, and the Washington Square arch in New York.

It was designed to be an interactive experience. The title board shows a QR code that you could link to with your smartphone. Unfortunately, I wasn't "smart" enough to bring mine, so the interactive part will have to remain a mystery. Here's a view of the left side:

And a view of the right side. The candy-like colours are certainly striking. It looks like a gigantic cake.

This was the "extra" piece I mentioned, left in place after the Toronto Light Fest back in 2018. It's titled IT, and is still striking - even in daylight - in its resemblance to the Martian tripods from "War of the Worlds."

The next piece was called From Small Beginnings, created by a team from the UK. You can sit on the small bench and look up through the bright interior at an expanding view of your surroundings.

The boxes that ran around the outside of the sculpture contained evergreen saplings, and the artists encouraged visitors to take one with them and - in keeping with the piece's title - plant it!

Here's the view from the other side. There's also a bench here for people to sit on.

The final piece was a short distance from the Distillery District, on Parliament St. It's by a team from Germany, and is titled Throbber, after the 'spinning' computer icon that you see when a video or application is in waiting/buffering mode. Each colour of the rainbow in included in this side, and as with the previous piece, visitors are encouraged to sit on the benches.

The other, interior side, by contrast, is merely in different shades of grey. You can step inside, turn slowly, and see the shades get darker - or, if you like, by turning the opposite way, lighter!

Well, it was nice to have something like this to get me out and about. I'm still reluctant to risk much more of an outing than this, but it made me hopeful for more of a return to "normal" in the future.

Update: Shingles - A Still-Not-Fond Look Back

 

After I posted last time, I took a trip down Memory Lane, and looked at past entries in this blog. I happened to read once again about my very unpleasant experience with shingles, and thought an update might be appropriate.

In this time of COVID-19, I've been seeing a lot of posts to social media about victims' experiences with this illness, and how there are many after-effects, even after they've "recovered." I can certainly relate to this, given my experience.

To anyone who scoffs at the seriousness of the Novel Coronavirus, or thinks that things just go back to the way they were after it's been beaten, listen up:

It's been five years since I became ill with shingles, and almost all the after-effects that I wrote about in my follow-up post a year after are still happening. They've almost become a regular part of my life by now, but every once in a while I notice them, and it reminds me all over again.

First, I should mention my feelings of isolation and loneliness during that period. During these multiple COVID-19 lockdowns, I've noticed very little change in my own lifestyle, and it took a re-reading of the original post to remind me that I couldn't go anywhere, that is, I couldn't even step outside, as opposed to the situation now, where I can come and go as I please, as long as I practice physical distancing, and wear a proper mask in stores, on public transit, etc. Those who catch COVID are in the same boat as I was, and the isolation must be terrible.

To their credit, in these times, many businesses have stepped up, offering home delivery for many everyday items. Due to the various lockdowns, I've had to order several things online recently (as mentioned in my last entry), for later pickup at the store, or delivery when necessary. This may well become a permanent service offered by most businesses, but there was no such service five years ago, and I am fortunate to have had friends who helped me out. Being totally isolated affected even a "loner" like me! So I can only imagine what it's like for other, more "sociable," folks.

But physical effects are still there, also. The entire left side of my face was affected by the illness, and that's where I still notice them.

Occasionally, looking in the mirror, I see that my left eyelid droops a bit, and if I try to widen both eyes, the left one won't open as wide as the right.

There is still a periodic itching in my left eye, but it's worse with my left nostril. It will still sometimes itch so intensely that several rubs or scratches don't ease it. Also, especially in winter, there's a slight discharge from that eye during the night, which I don't notice until morning, when there's a bit of crusting in the lashes and at the edges. It only recently occurred to me that the shingles is probably the cause, since this doesn't happen with my right eye at all.

There is still a numbness in my left cheek and left upper lip. I've become inured somewhat to feeling less sensation when I shave that part of my face, but I can't help noticing it now and then. There's also some slight scarring on the upper lip, not unlike that left by acne, presumably from where the blisters and scabs were. But again, it's only something I notice occasionally.

I'm also convinced that the muscles around the left side of my mouth have been affected, especially since I see my own face online so much these days. I don't think my smile was always that lopsided - certainly hope not! I guess anyone who's seen my face in the past several years has gotten used to it, but it sure threw me for a loop when I first noticed it.

In other words, I believe that there was enough damage to the nerves in the left side of my face as a result of the illness that some muscular control has been lost, probably forever.

The one thing that has cleared up, though, is the weird tingling or prickling sensation I used to get in that area, even a year after. I haven't noticed that for a long time. So, progress there, at least!

My point here is that, with a viral disease like shingles or COVID, even though you're nominally "cured," there are still effects that linger. I may never be rid of these symptoms, and so it is with survivors of the Novel Coronavirus - only many of them are much worse off than me.

My hope in posting this is that we can all have a little better understanding of this phenomenon, and show more empathy towards those who have recovered, those who are still suffering, and certainly, those who have lost friends or family to this modern plague.

Yes, It's Been A While

 

Hello again!

I'm back, after quite a long hiatus. I guess I don't need to add my voice to all the rest who say what an unusual year 2020 was!

I've missed all the usual events that I post to this blog about: Bach Walk (sadly missed again this year), Nuit Blanche (fingers crossed that'll happen this year), and several others.

I'll only mention that I've been relatively lucky in relation to many others who have faced so many difficulties this past year: parents of school-age children, the elderly in long-term care homes, those in the service industry, and so many more.

I live on my own, and am able, with very little trouble, to work full-time from home. In terms of getting out and about, walking has always been something I've enjoyed for exercise - which should be pretty obvious if you've followed me on this blog at all!

I've missed getting out to musical concerts, or relaxing in a coffee shop with a book or my tablet for company. With vaccinations against the COVID-19 virus coming soon, I hope to be back to those types of activities again.

You will recall that I'm a member of the Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir. We haven't had a concert for a year now; our last one was in celebration of St. David's Day, on March 1st of 2020. Lockdowns started shortly after, and the vast majority of us haven't seen each other in person since. As many of you probably do, we've been meeting - and, recently started rehearsing again - on the Zoom platform. Not the same as being there, as you will agree, and it has its quirks, but it's been a lifeline for many of us.

We've also been able to post some videos to our recently created YouTube channel, and are currently working on some "virtual" performances. It's almost more work than rehearsing in person, but it certainly helps maintain a feeling of community and camaraderie.

Oh, one other advantage of this otherwise unfortunate situation - I don't spend as much (well, any, really) money on eating out, concerts, coffee shops and so on, and so have been able to buy a few new things. I've replaced my camera and smartphone, and got a better chair for my computer desk here. Might as well take advantage while I can!

As mentioned, I've been getting out for plenty of walks in the last year. I've certainly become more familiar with the lanes in the neighbourhood - as have many of my neighbours! (It's been kind of sweet to see people having to move at the pace of their children, or their dogs. I hope it helps them see the world with the same curiosity and wonder!)

I enjoy walks along the waterfront of this city as much as ever, and a few weeks ago, I got out to the Woodbine beach area, and took some pictures with that new camera I mentioned.

As you walk along Lake Shore East, around Coxwell, you can't miss Ashbridges Bay, and its marina. Here's a view south, towards the lake, of the frozen water (curiously enough, with a rock or two on the surface!), and the Lions Club building:

Looking north towards Lake Shore East, you can see that there is still moving, unfrozen water in the bay.

Skating not advised!

Moving on to the beach itself, you can see the dunes they've installed since there was a flood here a few summers ago (there are entries in this blog that make reference to that). It was pretty serious here - the whole lake's level rose, and much of this area was under water. These dunes were put here to keep that from happening again. They're also mini-conservation areas; as you see, they're fenced off to allow native plant species to grow.

There are several breakwaters along here now, which will be seen in several of the following pictures. Here, I liked how a wall of ice had formed at the shore, unlike at other parts of the beach. Yes, at lower right, standing out against the grey surroundings, is a tennis ball, probably left behind when someone's dog couldn't - or didn't want to - retrieve it!

I wanted to get a longer view of the shore here, with a view in the distance of another natural reclamation area. There's no ice along the shoreline here, possibly because the tide is stronger, and keeps ice from forming.

For these next two pics, I was fascinated by the coating of ice on each of the rocks and pieces of concrete. Couldn't help thinking of glazed donuts!

Here, the ice is very thick on the rocks and pier, probably because, as you can see, the tide is much stronger. People were letting their kids were play on some of these, sliding on the thick ice. Looked kind of fun - as long as you were really careful.

A display of art by Mother Nature, on some of the outer breakwaters, with cascades of ice, frozen in place. I used the zoom to get a better view of the ice formations, as well as the surf crashing against the rocks.

More "glazed-donut" effects on this group of rocks. You could almost walk out to them on the gravelly surface. Just to the right of this pic (out of frame), someone had set up a camera on a tripod, perhaps to get a "time-lapse" effect of the tides, or of the setting sun? They weren't around to ask!

Another shot of the breakwaters farther out in the water (without zoom), once again, with the water crashing against them.

It was interesting walking along in the sand this time of year. In summer, it shifts under your feet, making it a little difficult to walk steadily. This time of year, the whole ground felt more solid, and made for a pleasanter walk. This rock, though a fair distance in-shore, was still coated in ice, some of it thick enough yet to be transparent.

There was a strong west wind that afternoon. which made for very powerful waves (and yes, pretty cold for picture-taking). The beach here also had no ice because of the movement of the water.

I was glad to get out to the beach during the winter. It brought back fond memories of my walk through Tommy Thompson Park a few years back. It was also just as cold!

I walked home from here; once out of the wind, I got warmed up, and was ready for something to eat. I eagerly await the day when I can simply go into a restaurant once again, and sit down for a nice meal.

I've enjoyed making a new entry here, and can't wait to get out more, and make more entries, once this health crisis has passed. With the variants that we're seeing now in the virus, it's once again uncertain when that'll happen. I'm hopeful for a "new normal" in the future, where we're all a little wiser for the experience.