Mercredi: the Louvre!

Ali: One word: Humongous. We descended the elevators of the I.M. Pei's pyramid-inspired atrium around 1 o'clock had a quick lunch and emerged not until 8 at night. We started in the hall of European sculptures, journeying to the ancient civilizations of the middle east, and ascending to the Rubens and his northern European counterparts. I quite lost my patience by the time we hit 18th century French painters, mostly because I was hungry. After lunch we decided to get the mona lisa over and done with. Quite a mad house she stares back at. I enjoyed Delacroix and then the Greek sculptures much more. At the Venus de Milo, all the women were having their picture taken with her, so I thought I would too. It turns out the de Milo might not even be a Venus. Minerva or Diana is a better role model for women anyway.
The Louvre is just way too big to do in one day, even for a pretty patient person like myself, but we managed to hit the major works and then some without succumbing to a "one look, take a picture, and move on" method. Taking the time to sit down and study one painting or sculpture is much more rewarding than giving a five-second glance to a hundred of them.

Eiffel Tower day

Eiffel Tower at night




Ani Kerr and the restroom line. Paris restrooms look more like space pods than a place to relieve oneself.


Place des Invalides and Eiffel Tower


Ali's favorite Rodin sculpture


Les deux penseurs



One of the prettiest bridges in Paris is named Pont Alexandre


Ani Kerr and the Eiffel Tower


All I need is a beret


Ali: We made the essential pilgrimage to the Eiffel Tower On Tuesday. It's quite awe-inspiring. To think that it was meant to be a temporary exhibit when it was first erected. Good thing someone decided to keep it up. Judging by the crazy amount of tourists, including us, the tower is an incredible source of revenue for the city. For lunch we had baguettes and a view of the tower. The Musee Rodin collection was amazing. The staff are pushy for you to get out at closing time though. We went back to the Eiffel Tower in the evening after a stroll down the Champs Elysees, lots of shops they have everywhere else in the world. We weren't expecting the Tower to light up in a glittering frenzy. C'est tres beau!

our little flat in montmartre

Ani: it feels like home already!

Montmartre is very hilly. there are lots of steps to climb. the nearest Metro station to us has 115 steps itself. i love the area, it's really artsy with all the 'graffiti' (think Banksy, not gangsta) on the walls and buildings. my favourite has to be the picture of Kafka pasted on one wall. i kept seeing all these faces poking out of walls, so i have a collection of pictures of those.

Paris in the Summer: First days

Ali: After making a blunder of check-in at our Paris flat (forgetting to bring enough money for the deposit and spending 20 minutes trying to unlock the ancient door we now call the door of agony [porte de l'Agonie in French]), we finally found a place to eat. It was only natural for us to be as cliche as possible with our orders,,baguettes and crepes.
Our first full day in Paris included lunch at a restaurant with a creepy, pervert waiter, endless stairs, an essential tour of the Sacre Couer, more endless stairs, a trip to the raunchy Rue du Clichy and the Musee Dali. The Musee Dali was the highlight of the day,,the creepy waiter I'd rather forget.
Verdict: I love Paris.

Alas, all good things come to an end: Last days in Cambridge

Ali's modcon room at Stephen Hawking Building


Ali's allergic reaction to the English countryside


The Beer Portal of the old Nunnery at Jesus College


Inspired at Jesus College


Intelligent Cambridge Conversation


Ani Kerr and the Gate of Virtue


Quite a fancy set-up


Last Supper


Post-Hamlet group shot


They were so young..



Fish and Chips at The Eagle...it's okay.


oop! did I just step on the sacred grass?

Ali: Dear Cambridge,
Thank you for giving me, if not a love for, at least an appreciation of Rabelais' Pantagruel and Gargantua. My love of literature on the whole has grown tremendously...Hardy, you are a genius. Also, thank you for international nights at Soul Tree, an abundance of bookstores and pubs, and romantic evenings on the Cam. And because of that, I will not complain about the thistles that gave me leper-like sores for an hour, or the freezing, rainy weather during pretty much the whole of my last week there.
Truly,
Ali

Punting on the Cam

Ani: Here are some pictures of our punting adventure. Ali was better at punting than all of us, so by the end we just sat back while she did all the work. I steered us right into a tree and got the punting stick stuck in its branches. It's harder than it looks, okay??

Ali: you can't visit Cambridge without a punting tour of the Cam. We were lucky enough to try it out on a rare day that actually felt like summer: warm and sunny.