| Very interesting, thanks! When I was in Paris, most of the French that I met were very agreeable. On the other hand, I found aspects of Paris disturbing. For example, in Washington, the main sights are the Capitol, the White House, the Smithsonian museums, the Washington Monument, and, right outside the city, Mount Vernon, which is heavily visited by tourists. In Paris, they barely mention public buildings, like the National Assembly, and instead one goes to see Napoleon's Tomb, or his Arc de Triomphe. Go to the Louvre, and a large section is taken up with Louis Napoleon's living quarters. Go to Notre Dame, and one of the attractions is a room filled with Second Empire memorabilia. Go to the Musee D'Orsay, and it is the mid- 19th century, approximately the time of the Second Empire, that is represented on the ground floor (ostensibly due to chronology), while one has to go to some trouble to find the Impressionists on the top floor........ |
