Day 5 - 21st March - Paris (Part 11)
I then moved on to the Korean objects in the Musée Guimet. Generally it was quite ugly.
Celestial Messengers
Yamaraja, the Fifth Judge of the Hells. 1795.
Painting of Ambrosia or Amrta Raja. 1755.
Series of Masks. 18th c.
Present (?) Buddhist (Tongja), taking in his arms the "Lion of Korea" (hae-tae). 18th c.
Ugly figurines: Kafun artefacts from the 6th and 5th centuries.
(this may be a transcription error as "kafun" seems to be a Japanese word)
I scribbed "thank god for chinese" but I'm not sure what this refers to.
1000-armed Avalokitesvara. 10th-11th c.
This is the only known hollow cast iron Korean 1,000 armed Buddha. The 1,000 arms are to fend off dangers.
Many Korean Buddhas have facial hair, unlike Japanese and Chinese ones.
The Paradise of Amitabha. 1795.
Guardian-King: Gandharva, celestial musician, Being of 8 categories. 10th c.
There was actually a Third Storey to the museum but it was quite small and I was very sian by them. Also I had a 6pm appointment so I decided to leave early since my timing was neither here nor there (I couldn't do anything before my appointment). In any case I asked a staff member and IIRC he said it was Chinese ceramics, which I felt I could miss.
I then (finally) finished the Musée Guimet, after more than 4 hours. For those who don't like museums, it will be comforting to know that the rest of my France/Spain and Australia travelogues will not have more such extensive reviews of museums.
Place Iéna
"Offert pas les femmes des Etats Unis d'Amérique en mémoire de l'amité et de l'aide fraternelle données par La France à leurs pères pendant leur lutte pour l'indépendence"
("Dedicated by the women of the USA in memory of the friendship and brotherly aid rendered by France to their fathers during their war for independence")
Hair was screening in Paris. Too bad I couldn't go due to my appointment and a need to rest before yet another early day the next day.
Ad for Indiana Teller, a book by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian. She is "the only French lady to play in the league of the giants of adolescent literature with J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer"
The fact that more-or-less no one outside the Francophonie has heard of her (her Wikipedia page is only available in French, Korean and Russian) is testament to the sad failure of French writing for teens.
Le conseil d'Etat (Council of State)
There was a guy from a certain demographic selling Pirated DVDs in the métro for 2€. I asked for a recommendation and he suggested Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Nanny (The Spy Next Door in English and L'Espion d'à côté in Québec).
For dinner I went to Le Jardin d'Ivy (Ivy's Garden), which again the Cock and I had been to in 2006. As previously noted it was in a touristy spot, but it was great. Now I knew why - it had been recommended by Routard over many many years. TB.
I had the 14€ menu (2 courses).
Salad with prawns, grapefruit and orange and an apéritif (Kir)
The place defied the bad bread rule. It wasn't excellent but it was good.
Gratuitous shots of my main course and the diners in the restaurant
Mix Grill (beef and ???) and vegetables in cream sauce
The guy who served me (Ivy's husband/PACS partner, I'm guessing) told me the meats in English but his pronunciation was very bad so I thought they were both pork. Later I asked the woman (Ivy, I guess) and she told me it was duck and duck sausage.
My dinner was cheaper and better than the shit I'd had the previous night. No wonder I was the only weirdo dining alone.
I was still a bit full so I didn't have dessert: double chocolat in a soup bowl.
I forgot the full name of my digestif (it was something St Jacques) but I asked for the sweetest one. It had mint in it. And tasted a bit like mouthwash.
Interestingly the Kir was 3,9€ and the mouthwash was 9,8€. So my alcohol cost 30 euro cents less than my meal. I was speculating that maybe digestifs cost more than apéritifs because you don't look at the price when half-drunk.
When I returned to the hostel I discovered why the digestif cost twice the apéritif, since I had problems walking and the guy at the hostel didn't understand my French, so I had to switch to English (I wonder how good my Mandarin would've been).
In Europe the Chinese have a reputation like the Jews. So they're not just the Jews of the East but now the Jews of the Whole World.
Actually if one visits Paris in a group a hostel is not a good idea. Youcan get a serviced apartment or B&B for 90€ for 2 people a night (friends going after me consulted me). This wasn't much more than my 27€ per bed per night.
Some guys do exchange bisous (kisses).
Lodging in a building with many girls and only 2 toilet-bathrooms is a disaster.