Aurevoir

The Church of St. M. Magdleine

The last day in Paris was somewhat a leisure one. We walked along the Rue de Madelein where the Church of St. Mary Magdelin rests, in the center of the square. One would expect to see a typical church with its skyward spires and crosses. This church is the size of the Parthenon. It looks like the Parthenon. The outside has elaborate sculptures in relief, of Jesus and the apostles. Columns surround the outside pretending to hold the structure up. The inside is designed very similar to Notre Dame. There are beautiful statues throughout where candles are lit and prayers are read.

When I see the artwork on these buildings and the detail used, it is incomprehensible how such things can be created. From the center of the square we walked about 3 miles to the gardens in front of the Louvre. The French not only love their architecture, they spare no expense on their gardens. When one looks at the Louvre, it doesn't appear to be a museum at all. It is a huge (I know I use that word too much, but I don't know how else to describe it), U-shaped fortress. Large domes with gargoyles and statues. Directly in front is an Arch which Napolean had built. It holds up the statue of a horse-drawn chariot, Oh, and did I mention the horses and chariot are blue? Not a worn out tired blue --a beautiful bright blue. We almost talked ourselves out of going into the Louvre. After three days of walking and sight-seeing we were ready to rest. I'm so glad we didn't. This place seems to have no beginning and no end. I learned two things about Paris yesterday. The first: If seeing the Louvre is part of your "bucket list", you should go as soon as possible because it will take 20 years to see everythinig this famous museum has to offer. No. 2 is: always carry plenty of euro change with you in case you need to use the restroom. There are no exceptions here. Any look of desparation dos not work. You simply have to pay to get in. I learned the hard way. I don't want this blog to read like a history book so I won't go into details about when why and how the Louvre was built, what is remarkable to me is the size. If you were to move the Louvre to Denver, you would have to clear the downtown area out. Between the gardens, the square and the buildings --

Saying goodbye to Paris was okay. Three days of sight-seeing was perfect. I know there is so much more to see and experience here. But walking was a great way to "feel" the city. Moving on, we packed our bags and took a cab to the train station heading for Luxembourg. The train was to leave at 4:09 sharp. It did, and I was on it! It was a little cumbersome carrying all our bags onto the train, but we settled in just fine. Jonathan might describe it a little differently, but who needs young sarcastic humor?

Why is it that train stations seem to be in the worst part of town? When pulling out we saw the industrial sector and the tenament housing with graffitti everywhere. After about 15 minutes, the plush farmlands began to appear. Everything was like a picture book: Rolling hills, plowed to perfection; round bails of hay perfectly placed in the midst of green pastures; with patches of bright green healthy trees that obviously get plenty to drink. The farm houses were few and far between with their a-framed red tile roofs. The train was very fast and smooth. Zipping along we passed another train and it felt like a ghost and just flashed by our eyes. As I sat mesmerized by the whole experience, I began to have sort of a Dr. Zivago type experience. We were so far from home, not having any real contacts here. A language barrier is a loney thing. I could hear "Laura's Theme" playing in the background. (not really).

Arriving at the station in Luxembourg, we departed and hailed a cab. Well, really they were just parked outside. The cab driver loaded our bags into his trunk as we stammered through the name of our hotel and the address. He then took the bags out and pointed across the street. We walked. Most people here speak French. So far it has been hard for me to determine what a true French person or Luxembourgian person looks like. Most people look like you could walk up to them and begin speaking English. Just like Americans. Luxembourg is its own country My paternal great grandfather is from a small town about 20 miles from Lux. His name was Nicholas Erpledange and he was born in 1870. He left for America, settling in Nebraska in 1884 where he ran a farm. (From this to Neb. -- go figure?) He had 11 children. My grandmother Gertrude, never experienced Luxembourg. To my knowledge they never came back. There are 3 cities in Lux. named Erpeldang. It is strictly a Luxembourgian name. After a late dinner it didn't take long to welcome a good night's sleep. As I closed my eyes, it was hard for me to grasp the fact that just 2 generations ago, a little over 100 years, my great great grandfather was here.

P.S. My spellcheck is not in German so I can't check. All my words appear to be mispelled -- how funny!