Oct 16, Part 12 - Paris: The Louvre, Finding Nike of Samothrace

Whatever else it is, the Louvre is 100% unique. It has something like 11 miles of corridors, but I'm sure that all of them aren't open all the time. Still, it's a daunting experience to try to "see the Louvre"! The art is world-class and magnificent - that goes without saying - in fact, the Louvre probably does as much as any museum or gallery to define what constitutes world-class art. But inevitably, I reach a point where it becomes overwhelming to look at one more piece. It was at that point on one of my visits that I realized I enjoyed the building itself almost as much as the works of art. I began to refocus from the displayed works to their setting.

I began to notice floors, ceilings, arches, lighting. No two rooms are the same, or so it seems to me. Many, if not all, were designed to complement the pieces that are in them. This in itself was an astonishing discovery. Now when I go to the Louvre, I begin to look at my surroundings from the minute I arrive. Transforming a room into a period-compatible showcase for the art on display may not be an unusual idea now, but I wonder how many museums did that when the Louvre began? I wonder how many actually do this? I love it that a manifestation of this concept exists in the world.

Coming upon Nike of Samothrace - by accident or by design - is exciting. There she is at the top of the stairs. I'm always surprised that there isn't more fanfare around the approach to her form, I'm not sure why. And so, we walk expectantly toward the stairs.

In the darkened hall en route to the famous Greek is a glimpse into one of my favorite rooms. It has sculptures and mosaics from Roman times, and perhaps Greek and Etruscan, too. I don't remember. What I remember most is the room itself - small enough to feel intimate, illuminated by skylights, and loaded with interesting art (the mosaics are always of special interest to me). It's the overall feel of the room that I like the best. And I love this view of it through the arch at the foot of Nike's stairs. But today we were unable to visit, because the room with the mosaics was being prepared to go on the road. As much as it will be incredible for people of other cities to see this work, I know it will be missed!

I think that Nike must be the second-most-photographed work in the Louvre next to the Mona Lisa, but that's only my guess. Venus de Milo, who we missed this trip, must come third.

And there she is. I can still remember the thrill I felt seeing Nike for the first time. It was totally unexpected. I simply glanced and she was there - a vision - something familiar I'd seen in books - and thus powerful in her own right and in her fame as well.

Nike stands on a platform that seems to represent a ship. Her setting is pure, uncluttered, and serene. I tried to wait until the people had cleared away so I could get a picture of Nike alone, but that didn't happen. As it turns out, I love the image of the photographer in jeans next to the bright window on the landing.

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Oct 15, Part 11 - The Exterior of St-Denis Basilica

When you've been to Notre Dame, the outside of this basilica doesn't look so impressive. But once you begin to observe the details, and especially once you begin to tour the interior, you can see what a special place St-Denis really is. If you click on the photos, you can see the detail around the doors. Each small pillar has a separate pattern. The details are unique wherever you look. I read that the facade is essentially Norman Romanesque, and without doing research, that sounds about right to me. There is so much to know about the history and architecture of St-Denis that it's worth looking it up online. St-Denis is considered a basilica, not a cathedral. "Basilica" was initially a term applied to some Roman buildings. Wikipedia says, "After the Roman Empire became officially Christian, the term came by extension to refer to a large and important church that has been given special ceremonial rites by the Pope. Above is the right-hand (southern) door of the facade.

Here is the central door of the facade.

This is the right-hand door again.

Now we're walking around the south side of the building.

At the arm of the south transept, they've set up a ticket kiosk. You can enter the church to the left or the museum to the right. The grounds beyond the museum are huge. I didn't realize this until after our visit, and I also don't know how much of it is open to the public. A visit to the church itself takes quite a lot of time, and it's possible to exit with information overload.

Here's looking back toward the front of the basilica from the south side where we'll soon enter. You can see the buttresses, which are attached and vertical, not flying as in Notre Dame. Well, it seems they fly for a short distance at the top, but they are not the huge arched affairs of the latter.

Here (on the south side still) you can see how the buttresses hold up the walls and make it possible for the stunning glass windows to take up the expanse of the walls that they do. This was one of the major objectives of Gothic architecture - the design of a building to allow for as much leaded glass in the walls as possible. Since glass and the thin stone frames that hold the glass can't sustain the weight of the building, a solution had to be found for holding up the walls, and buttressing was that solution.

Here's Lee at the door of the south side of the church where we will enter. Does it appear to be damp and shaded here? Look at all the moss! It must play havoc with upkeep and restoration. I wish I had all day to research and write about some of these things we're seeing, but I have to get back to work! Very soon Daryl will be here to help with the final processes of installing our new shopping cart, and it's very exciting!

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Some of Astoria's interesting facades

The top photo is, of course, a residential building, and the rest of the architectural details on this page are all commercial. I didn't plan the day. It was cold and sunny and nice out, with, for the most part, blue skies. I couldn't help taking a lot of pictures as I walked first up to Polk Riley's graphic art and print shop to pick up my new batch of cards, then later walked to the post office and back along Commercial street. I'll let most of the pix speak for themselves. I love architectural detail. The first time I took a lot of photos in Europe, nobody was interested in looking at them, and it was then I realized they were mostly architectural detail and not "scenic." Nothing gave the big picture. I've tried to change that somewhat over the years, taking pix of the detail, of course, but remembering to give it a setting (sometimes!). Anyway, here's some detail of Astoria without much setting until you get to the bottom.

The Purple Cow (above) is a landmark and much-loved toy store in Astoria. Here you can see it in relation to 14th Street, which leads to the River Walk one block away.

The Fort George Brewery and Blue Scorcher Bakery and Cafe are in the historic Fort George Building. It was empty with broken-out windows for most of my time in Astoria from 2001 until a year or two ago. I mainly took the pic because I like the tree in autumn plumage. I'm not sure what the history is behind the building, but I'm sure it can be found online. This photo telescopes the distance. In the foreground is the Area Properties parking lot with the AP moving truck visible, then there's Duane Street, which you can't see, and Fort George fronting on Duane. The streets in Astoria are alphabetical parallelling the river, with Astor being short and cut off by the way the town sits, then Bond Street (also short). Marine Drive (not alphabetical) is the wide artery through town along the river, then Commercial with most of the businesses on it, Duane up from that with a number of businesses, but fewer, and and Exchange next, then solidly into the residential area with Franklin, etc.

A conference in Vancouver, Washington

This is my brother, Gary. No, he's not in jail. Nor is he in the zoo. Actually, the bars reminded me of the back area of a zoo, where the keepers work near the animals but need protection - which is why I took it. I've enjoyed going behind the scenes at various zoos in my life. But in this case, it's only the parking garage in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Gary and I attended a NutraMetrix conference there for three days from October 3 to 5. I took these pix on the 4th. It was educational and enjoyable - some parts were spectacular. I just hate sitting in a room like that for so long.

Here's the Hilton, where the conference was held.

This is the park across the street from the Hilton. A couple of years ago, Lee and I saw Bo Diddley play a concert there. It was totally memorable. What a master he was! I took more pix of the salmon bell tower, which was fun. I love whimsical public sculptures and fountains and such, and a lot of the ones around here have salmon in them.

Above is one of the several lecture rooms we used at the Hilton. This is during break, of course. The rooms were packed.

Across the street from the Hilton. I don't know what the building is, but it's fun to look at and I love the sky. I don't love the power lines. I know it's expensive for cities, but if they're going to make nice things to look at, could we ditch the obstacles? Thanks.

Nice colors - again, across the street from the Hilton (above and below). Architectural detail again. Some of my favorite things to look at.

A good day in Portland

This is the day I found out I DO NOT have atherosclerotic degenerative disease (also called hardening of the arteries), or intermittent claudication of the arteries in my feet. YESSSSSSS!!!!!! I've been living with that diagnosis and some disgusting medication that took me six weeks to adjust to initially, as it caused headaches, nausea, and depression. It felt toxic and harsh, to say the least. I'm now RID of it, and of the worry about the diagnosis. To my chagrin, I'd put off a second opinion for two years. I didn't want to hear bad news. As it turns out, the news was fantastic. More on that later, maybe. I still have to deal with whatever IS going on with my feet, which apparently is the tingling, partial numbness and occasional pain from a chronically pinched nerve in my back. But at least I can focus on fixing that now. I've been working on it for awhile with some success. Onward. So Lee and I realized we each had a doctor's appointment in Portland on the same day. His was his regular check-up.

The top photo is crossing the bridge into Washington. Obviously, a foggy day. It was supposed to be 80 degrees in Portland today but the coastal fog seems to have crept up-river faster than expected . . . or something. I love the way the bridge looks in fog. You cross the Columbia here at Longview, then travel on the Washington side of the river till you get to Portland and cross back into Oregon as you enter the city. Portland has something like seven or nine bridges.

We picked up Ashley and had Chinese lunch at a great dim-sum place where there is little English spoken and they bring everything around on carts. So, how much was the bill? I guess we need to learn to read Chinese. Ashley said she had tried to learn it one time, but the "Learn Chinese in 10 Days" CD was inappropriately named.

We didn't spend much time on the ground. Most of these pix are from a moving car as the mood struck me. Above - I do like the tree-lined streets of Portland with its interesting buildings. This street (above) is not as pretty as some, but it's not untypical, either.

I forget the name of this pinkish reflective building. Its outside is all glass.

Color and pattern in both these photos.

And, NICE AFRO. It's fun to see the assortment of people on the streets these days. This 'do was very picturesque.

More design. I never tire of looking at the varieties of color and shapes in Portland's downtown. There's a piece of a crane above. They're always working.

Powell's Books is a landmark - a warren of stuff to think about. We bought a book on Paris and another on the Loire Valley. We'll be in Paris in about 11 days. I hope we get a chance to see the Loire. We'd love to get out of the city, and we'll see if the time frame makes it feasible to see both. I've never been in the country outside of Paris. I know it would be incredible.

Powell's parking garage is almost as famous as the store. It was made for what, I'm not sure. Just don't get stuck on the ramp driving a stick-shift like I did on one visit, and be prepared for tight turns and oncoming obstacles.

The ubiquitous street scene. The sign says, "Even pennies help."

This was my destination today - St. Vincent's Hospital, and a vascular surgeon who has an office there. Oh, my god. What a relief! I can't believe I avoided this appointment for two years! WooHoo! Fantastic news!

This was along Highway 26 coming home. Fall is beginning in earnest. I should have taken pix of the trees in Hillsboro after the sun finally came out. They were spectacular with the yellow and red leaves and the glowing sun on and behind them. At that point, I had other things on my mind. We were looking for dinner (not finding what we wanted), and I was affronted by the reception in a Verizon store. I'd been looking for a case with a hand strap for my new BlackBerry like the cases they make (or did make) for phones and small cameras. I couldn't find one online, so we went into a Verizon Store. Talk about feeling like bait in a cage. There were about 6 or more sales people standing around with phones on their heads, most of them doing nothing but looking pseudo slick in their mandatory sales get-up and pouncing on anyone who came through the door. There was a lot of noise and activity for so few people who appeared to be customers. But the catch was, you had to sign your name and who-knows-what else into the computer before they would answer a single question. I'm not paranoid. Verizon already has all my info, since I'm on their plan, but I was totally repulsed by the idea of filling out a computer form before they would even TALK to me. One of them said, "It's just like taking a number." Don't give me that. It is NOT like taking a number. Numbers are anonymous. What the heck e-mail or phone list was I going to end up on, and how was this sign-up thing going to make it easier for them to apply pressure while I was in the store? I know there was a system. I'm not interested in being a pawn, so I asked again if they could just help me find a case. They would not, unless I signed in, and I told them it was weird and I walked out. Yeah, I know they would like to upgrade my plan or some nonsense, but I just did that. Phooey. Goodbye.

Some cool clouds on the way home. The drive is through forest, and we saw little sky as the sun was setting. The clouds looked serene. We stopped at Camp 18 (below) for dinner . . .

. . . and ate 'midst carved bears and antlers. It was kind of hard finding something that wasn't greased, buttered, or heavily sugared and gravied, but I found something and we had a relaxing dinner. It tasted good. We came home and watched the rest of Pride and Prejudice, the old BBC video version I like so much. It had been a pleasant day.

Astoria jail and more color - pipes against a building

Another landmark - the Astoria jail (above). Below, more colors. I like photos of architectural and industrial detail. I've always loved analogous colors (below). These are luscious! I find that more recently, I'm enjoying contrasts.