I Have Walked Along The Champs Elysee

In Paris.......

   It was summer time. I was staying in Paris, as my family flew ahead of me to Dublin, Ireland. It was a long time ago, before the September 11th attacks in New York, before so much turmoil and strife, when it was safer to walk the streets of just about any city.
   My main reason for visiting was to view the museums and art work, to see all the things I had learned about and yearned to see. The Louvre, Monmartre, cathedrals, shops, cafes, the River Seine, the people. I did not go to the Eiffel Tower, for me it had no interest.

A New Dawn for Paris

   After spending days upon days in the Louvre in the many floors and wings and art, and yes, gazing upon the lovely Mona Lisa, I ventured over the the Musee D'Orsay for the Impressionist paintings. When I was done I began to walk, and found myself on what was the Place de la Concorde. I was trying to cross the street to walk along the Jardins des Champs, but found it difficult to do so. The traffic was roaring past at very fast speeds, an endless stream of cars, with seemingly no break in any direction. As I stood there, I was feeling overwhelmed and somewhat dizzy, I thought from all of the noise and speed. I finally made it across and sat on a bench in the park for a few minutes to recover. Little did I know where I had been standing was where the guillotine was positioned for the French Revolution. It would be folly to think that had contributed to my confusion at that spot, but it does make one wonder. Does energy exist long after an event? Who knows.
   After my brief respite on the park bench, I continued down the Champs Elysee to the shopping area. After a day of the museum, and walking, it felt very different to be in the shopping district, with all the different people weaving in and out in their own kind of traffic. It was a much faster pace, larger crowds than the small streets near my hotel, the quiet cafes, the museum, the fashion district. I went into a few shops, wandering up and down, and went into a music store. At every location I go to I try to buy music from local artists, to get a feel for the people, its folklore and music. Because that, more than anything else, is where the heart of a land, a town, a city or country is found. It is expressed in the colors of clothing people wear, in the homes, the architecture, the language, the arts, the music, the books. I bought the music of a lady named Linda LaMay, not knowing who she was, but liking the sounds of what she sang. Other names come to mind like Edith Piaf with the song "La Vie en Rose" but really it is more to do with art and all the artists who have flocked to Paris, as well as authors, philosophers. The Age of Enlightenment.
   I was saddened to hear of recent violence on Champs Elysee, for it seems nothing is sacred any more. At least I had a chance to explore the avenue before this. To see the Arc de Triomphe at one end, built to honor Napolean's triumph, and the Luxor Obelisk at the other end at the Place de la Concorde, one of 3 obelisks taken from Egypt. Interesting they are found in London, Paris and New York.
   The world is connected in many ways, through its people and monuments, customs, art, folklore, our common needs and trials of everyday living. Celebrate those things that bind us and make us one, celebrate our honor our differences. What a difference that might make in the world.

Maery
2017