Where to, captain?


 
I believe we took the same tour 10 years ago. Very, very moving. Standing right on top of history. Brings back memories of our trip there. The bonus of Bastille Day celebrations on the same trip. Thanks for taking the great photos. Hope you enjoyed today.
 
Been a busy few days so here’s the catchup.

On 14JUL, we enjoyed some Bastille day festivities. Wife and I walked the Champs
Elysee from Place de Concorde up to the Arc de Triumph.

Look, I’m not going to criticize or pass any judgment on the French people. They’re pretty fine, kind and nice people and truth be told, they helped fund the American Revolutionary War. It was the perfect opportunity for the French to stick it to the King of England. And so they did.

The Arc de Triumph celebrates the French achieving a representative government and the end of monarchy rule. So yeah, we have a lot in common right there.

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Sitting at 168’ tall (iirc), this monument is pretty impressive in size and stature

The next day we took a guided tour of Le Marais district, the historical Jewish quarter in Paris.

The largest immigration happened during the late 1800’s up until WWI. Jews were feeling the Russian empire due to the constant pogroms and violence perpetrated against the Jews. Who would have thought of that?

The Jews settled in what is now known as the 4th Arrondissement. Originally this area was swamp land located outside the walls of Paris. You can see today that the land is still settling as many buildings have and continue to shift with time.

With the timing of the Jews arriving in Paris and the end of monarchy rule, many of the monarchy’s buildings were abandoned by their prior inhabitants as it was seen as living in those castles and compounds could cause the death of those inhabitants.

So over time, many in the Jewish community wound up buying the abandoned compounds as prices were very inexpensive. Hey, land is land and buildings are buildings. We all know, buy low and sell high.

Many of those buildings were subdivided and repurposed. Some were bought by the city government and turned into public works buildings. Think libraries, government offices, museums and so forth.

World War II brought about a lot of change to Paris. The Nazis basically walked into France and seized it with zero fight. Paris was occupied from 1940 through its liberation.

The Nazis used Paris as a showcase of how good they were to all citizens, Jews included. Up until 1942, when in the night, the Nazis we’re rounding up tens of thousands of Jews and shipping them off to the worst of the camps, and set them to die.

Paris lost about 50% of its Jewish population during the war. And after the war, those who survived, most of whom elected to move away from Europe, Paris in particular.

Here’s some photos from our tour. Take the time to read the large plaque naming the children who were rounded up and sent to die. One was only a few days old. By reading these children‘a names, you are giving them life when their life was taken away from them far too early. That is the beauty of memorials. We give life to those who cannot speak for themselves.

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Yes, that is the same Saint Louis who lends his name to those ribs you like so much, from St. Louis, MO,
 
Continued

McMansion - now a government building where Paris manages its public statues from

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On the right is where the horse and carriage were parked.

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The original Jewish temple circa around 1900. It’s still a functioning and in use synagogue.

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Google Translated:

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Continued

27 jours is 27 days. Think about that.

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For dinner, we went back to Laurent Dubois to get some stinky cheese and some
Fresh cherries from the produce market next door.

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We bought cherries to enjoy with our cheese, baugette and champagne dinner. This market is amazing.

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The assortment we enjoyed for dinner.

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Cheap for a reason. No need to have this experience twice.

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Today was that day.

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So I’ll ask, where to, Captain?

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The answer is somewhere within. Stay tuned.
 
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That is what I love about seeing Europe vs many places in the US. Nothing against the US but the history you learn there is so much richer.
 
I love my country but, it’s not the only place on earth, we are part of global existence, perspective is only gained when you look from another point of view.
Brett, thanks for sharing your beautifully photographed tour! I’m so out of practice with a camera I’d have lots of pictures of my shoes!
My wife said the same thing when she got back from her last trip, “You get to the train (or airport) and there are SO many places I want to go!”

I have not been outside the border since I was 13, my perspective has changed that’s certain, I’m not against travel, I’ve just been held back by, apparently, not very good life choices!

Bon Voyage M. Brett!
Safe travels.

I believe my next stop would be Nice or Marseille!
 
We landed safely yesterday and made our way to our hotel.

One of the most interesting ceilings I’ve ever had in a hotel room. Truly felt like royalty. I could only imagine what the old monarchy people lived like. I’m still a working man and will remain so as long as I can.

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On our walk to dinner, this street scape really caught my eye.

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For dinner, the wife had cod and I had veal.

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Found this cathedral on our walk home from dinner.

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And then we found this store! OMG! Thankfully they were closed or I’d be broke.

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Now I’ve probably given away the city.

More to come. We’re on the move today, bigly.
 
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That is what I love about seeing Europe vs many places in the US. Nothing against the US but the history you learn there is so much richer.
I've said to people in both England and Ireland that you've got paving material that's older than my country. It's a entirely different scale of history. Nor should we allow ourselves to forget it.
 
I've said to people in both England and Ireland that you've got paving material that's older than my country. It's an entirely different scale of history. Nor should we allow ourselves to forget it.
We are them, they are us. The greatest part of our experiment is that we’re an aggregation of the world.
 
Internet has been spotty and time has been limited in our trip. So a dump is coming and overdue.

Finding your ship can be a challenge when the port can host up to five at a time. So I tracked our ships via its GPS off a cruise tracking website. This way we avoid the driving around in our cab wasting time and money.

Nailed it.

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70% humidity isn’t very fun when you’re used to 20%. Some days I feel like I’m dying in this weather.
 
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70% hahahaha
When my dehumidifier gets full and shuts off to me it reads 80%....indoors, yesterday and the humidity " comes back " tomorrow
It's fun....tomorrow is expected to be 86 but supposed to feel like 104.

Quite the trip you have going on there dude.....I appreciate the photography.
 
70% hahahaha
When my dehumidifier gets full and shuts off to me it reads 80%....indoors, yesterday and the humidity " comes back " tomorrow
It's fun....tomorrow is expected to be 86 but supposed to feel like 104.

Quite the trip you have going on there dude.....I appreciate the photography.
I’m about 7 days behind in posting. Trying to do anything on LTE is like sticking fingers in your eyeballs.
 
@Brett-EDH Looking forward to your pics.

You are missing delightful spring weather here. Highs in the 80s, overnight low last night was 54.
I’m saltier than the Med Sea today. Likely sweat off 5 pounds. More to come when I post the pics. We should have better cell tomorrow and definitely come Saturday evening.
 

 

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