feldmanlarry

April 1 begins a new phase of my trip. For the last 30 years or so, I’ve imagined myself just living in Paris without rushing to see the tourist sites. Soon after retirement, I began planning to make this a reality. It’s here and it is truly my dream come true.

I’ve been speaking very little English although more often then not, French people respond to my French in English. I then respond in French and they switch over. Many people have told me that the French are stuck up and refuse to speak English. My experience is just the opposite. Maybe it’s because I speak French to them and they appreciate the effort. A book seller on the bank of the Seine said exactly that. He was telling me about how awful Americans are except for people from New York City. He then asked me where I was from. He had no idea I was American and seemed a little embarrassed.

My advice to English speaking travelers to France is to learn a handful of simple French phrases and on the rare occasion they don’t switch to English when they hear your accent, apologize and ask them to please speak English. They understand that the vast majority of visitors to France speak English and not French.

There were three memorable visits for me on April 1. One was to the Georges Pompidou Center, which is a massive ugly building that sticks out badly in its neighborhood. Its ugliness is what makes it work. It’s not trying to be another Parisian palace and apparently it’s quite well loved by most Parisians. I was surprised to also like it, because it is so ugly and inappropriate.

They had a modern art exhibit by Jeff Koons with this dog as what seemed to be the best known piece.

I liked this set of three mirrors. My “color dullness” that I discussed in earlier posts makes me appreciate art like this since the focus is not on subtleties of color but on a story line.

The Picasso Museum and the Pompidou center are both just a few minutes from my apartment so I definitely had to get to the Picasso Museum. This is probably the best picture I’ll take the whole trip. The Facebook caption was “Picasso’s ‘Head of a Bearded Man’ next to a head of a bearded man”. Hopefully, you can tell which is the Picasso and which is me.

One of favorite trips was to Korea (the blogs are way below). The South Koreans have gone through so much, being destroyed by the Japanese and Chineese and suffering through the Korean War. The country today is a really wonderful place. It’s amazing what they have accomplished. This painting by Picasso was created on January 18, 1951 just a few months before I was born and is called “Massacre in Korea”.

Here’s a closeup.

French colonialism extended far around the world. I spent some time in the former French West African countries. I arrived in Dakar, Senegal (which is the furthest west point in Africa) on a ship in 4th class. I and one Frenchman were the only non-Africans in fourth class. The hundred or so of us slept in bunk beds in a massive hold several levels below the surface. We were given water from garden watering cans and most days we were fed cous-cous from big vats. I ventured into the first class one day, which of course the Africans couldn’t do, and discovered a world of swimming pools, deck chairs, jazz bands, and fancy bars. Never have I felt the class system more.

When we arrived in Dakar, I immediately felt a strong smell permeating everywhere I went. It didn’t take too long to realize it was peanuts. I bought some peanuts from a street vendor and had to spit them out since I was expecting them to be roasted. The point of this story was that near the Picasso Museum was a restaurant called “Le Petit Dakar”. Of course I had to come back and get the peanut beef dish, called “Nafe (boeuf et ses petits legumes, beurre de cacahuete”). It was excellent but not spicy enough.