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Post by tod2 on Jul 14, 2015 11:28:48 GMT
Great going Bixa! Looking forward to much more.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2015 11:34:39 GMT
A bit of patience may be required unless Bixa is able to start a new report called "I'm in the Orly departure lounge!"
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Post by htmb on Jul 14, 2015 11:35:25 GMT
Bixa is now headed for the airport and, for me, her visit has been delightful. I enjoyed Bixa's company and certainly admired the way she hit the ground running. And, as you will see from future posts, Kerouac continued to awe us by knowing the right places to go and things to do. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, he would come up with yet another interesting plan. I'm feeling pretty darn lucky to have been with the two of them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 14, 2015 12:35:42 GMT
A bit of patience may be required unless Bixa is able to start a new report called "I'm in the Orly departure lounge!" I'm in the Orly departure lounge. Thank you Mich, Tod & Lagatta for the kind wishes. But words can never ever convey all my gratitude to the two kindest, most generous and FUNNEST people in the world!
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2015 12:39:37 GMT
Yay! Now, I've been imagining the three of you (or at least two) around a table (or at a picnic spot). Do tell us where you took or what you fed Bixa, as Paris is also a moveable feast!
And Bixa, did you make it up to K2's hood?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2015 12:58:06 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 14, 2015 13:23:04 GMT
Soooooooo appropriate!
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Post by anshjain97 on Jul 14, 2015 13:46:51 GMT
Wow these photos are really amazing - making me see even the well-known places in a new light.
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Post by htmb on Jul 14, 2015 14:36:34 GMT
Soooooooo appropriate! Did you really think Tod's new title for you would last long.
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Post by Jazz on Jul 14, 2015 15:57:22 GMT
Virgin of Paris (love this!)…
I was stunned to find you in Paris! As I read through, the image of a beautiful meteorite …there for incandescent moments…kept coming into my thoughts. How special for you to have both Kerouac and HTMB there to enhance your time on so many levels. Kerouac is a remarkable guide and unique person. He certainly likes long, long walks.
An intense and beautiful few days. Great photos (of course), but I especially loved those of St. Eustache. The one of the empty wooden chairs with just 3 people means the most to me. Many a hot, sultry day I would wander exhausted into this sanctuary and rest in the cool moment. Well yes, time to confess that I have seen many of the churches of Paris for rest, quiet and to escape the heat. But always, they were momentary spiritual sanctuaries as well.
Not sure, but I think that you are headed to Spain? Maybe you will visit onlyMark’s gorgeous Villa! Why not, since you are there? Enjoy, mon amie, and I look forward to hearing more of your trip.
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Post by lugg on Jul 14, 2015 19:43:24 GMT
Just grinning as I read this - such a fabulous, inspiring thread in so many ways , happy onward travel Bixa and may the fun continue K2 and Htmb.
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Post by mossie on Jul 14, 2015 20:00:30 GMT
Some great photos Bixa, just right for you to have good weather and to have two such great companions to assist you.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2015 22:11:50 GMT
Virgin or Bitche... There was an old film, La Maman et la Putain, not that this has anything to do with any anyport poster.
This is such fun, and I can't wait to read what bixa thinks of her ancestral Sicily.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2015 7:25:01 GMT
Thanks, Ansh! Htmb, now having known me in real life, I think you know which title is the more appropriate. Absolutely lovely to hear from you, Jazz, & especially gratifying to know you're enjoying my report on one of your favorite cities. Thank you! I left Paris yesterday for Palermo, where I managed to acquire a volcanic hatred for their patron saint. It was her big day yesterday, so they celebrated by abbreviating train & bus service. Thank you, Lugg! I'm a little embarrassed about the spareness of this thread (although I have zillions more pics to add), so your kind words mean a great deal. Ain't that the truth, Mossie?! Yes, it was a dream of a trip and Kerouac & Htmb truly wrote the book on generous hospitality. Ha ha, Lagatta ~ don't be so sure! Yesterday, all I could think about the ancestral homeland was, "No wonder they left." But today, after high-octane coffee & a very pleasant hotel breakfast, I may give the place another chance. Many, many thanks for all the good wishes from everyone. I hope you all will bear with me, as there will be additions to this thread, but not quickly.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 15, 2015 7:49:12 GMT
I've only just caught up with this.
Have great time Bixa! Give me a wave now and then....
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2015 9:50:24 GMT
Thank you so much, Mick! I wish I could give you more than a wave, perhaps a big hug. One of the great frustrations of this trip is that I will be in England ............. but in Heathrow, & only for @4 hours.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 15, 2015 10:00:09 GMT
Easy girl...
Who knows where that might lead.
Heathrow for connecting flight?
I'm in S.Spain in August - any good?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2015 11:09:00 GMT
Yes, Mick -- Heathrow is a connection on my way to the US. If all goes as the airlines promise (ha hahaha ha ha), I will be in Heathrow for four hours and 15 minutes on Friday, August the 14th. And now, because I'm hiding from the midday sun in Sicily, I will post some of the promised interior shots of Pierrefonds ~ There were several exhibits of opera costumes, well, of those operas which took place in ye olde settings. I was childishly resentful of them because they were taking up space that I felt could have been devoted to Merlin. I believe Htmb has some very good shots of the costumes. If she doesn't post them, you all should clamor for them. Everywhere you look, there are wonderful details. I snapped away furiously, as did we all. I believe Kerouac will have some specialty details to show, so be on the lookout for those. In the meantime, here are some fun bits & pieces ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2015 11:17:36 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jul 15, 2015 13:38:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2015 17:20:23 GMT
Bixa had left Paris before the fireworks began, but I'm sure she would have enjoyed them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 16, 2015 11:35:51 GMT
THERE * ARE * NO * WORDS * !!! "Spectacular" is too wimpy & inadequate to even touch on that display. Wow! How much did you get to see & from where? Thank you for that!
LaGatta, thanks for the links. My goal is to continue this thread, although I was treated to so many fabulous sights & activities I've barely made a dent so far. Then of course there will be those other boards to address.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 16, 2015 16:53:09 GMT
Hello again. I have to go out pretty soon, but let's see if I can't at least wrap up the castle. Although this next part was something that had knocked me out in Kerouac's thread about Pierrefonds, somehow I was unprepared when we came upon it. In fact, after going down some stairs I at first thought we'd wound up in some boring part of the building where there was nothing to see. Then we turned & came into this ~ Back in the land of the living,this nifty model affords a bird's eye view of the premises ~ c Crossing the courtyard to see another section ~ The carvings over the arches are sometimes charming, sometimes bizarre. I'll leave it to Kerouac to show what's on the other sides of these arches.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 16, 2015 17:07:39 GMT
There was a display of the leadworkers' (<-- don't think that's the right word) art -- all those wonderful bits of fretwork or fantastic creatures or cupolas, etc. that are usually far too high up for us to fully enjoy. They were dispersed nicely in various rooms and hallways ~ Can't get enough of this place! We had lunch in the village. The view was nice.
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Post by tod2 on Jul 16, 2015 17:18:18 GMT
My O my Bixa - you certainly took some really fabulous photos!! So nice to know the 'place' was just up your ally. I am intrigued about Scicily.... Are you Italian like my son? Are you related to the ..... "chosen ones" Ha Ha! Can't wait for your new thread on this island!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 18, 2015 22:55:38 GMT
Tod, thank you so much! I think you can imagine how reluctantly I left Paris. All of my mother's grandparents came from Sicily in the late 1800s. I am already at my 2nd destination on the island, but am a terminally slow thread-maker. In my defense, the old-world relatives took me to their bosoms, so I spent a good amount of time at the 1st destination socializing & eating (& eating & eating & eating).... Kerouac continued to awe us by knowing the right places to go and things to do. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, he would come up with yet another interesting plan. Yes -- SO true! And here was the next cool thing we did. Don't just look at my pics, though. Absolutely check out Htmb's coverage of this cruise at #136 here and Kerouac's New faces of tourism in Paris thread. Oh -- and all joking about tourists aside, the cruise is a very very worthwhile & enjoyable thing to do!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 18, 2015 23:15:34 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 18, 2015 23:20:48 GMT
Nice pics, Bixa! I'm surprised you managed to capture a few without our shipmates cluttering up your photos. Congratulations! That took a lot of effort on your part.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 18, 2015 23:26:03 GMT
I'm a vicious lil picture cropper!
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Post by htmb on Jul 18, 2015 23:44:44 GMT
I seem to remember Kerouac hoisting you up on his shoulders a couple of times, too.
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