Saturday, March 29, 2008

Paris Unit

La Place de la Concorde:
Largest square in all of Paris, Next to the American Embassy, Thousands of people were guillotined here.
La Musee d'Orsay:
Was originally a train station, Art from La Louvre was moved here, 19th century art located inside.
Hotel des Invalides/Dome Church:
Has a gold top, Napolean's tomb is located here, Now is a veteran's hospital.
L'lle de la Cite:
Where the city of Paris started (With Parisii tribe), Ceaser once visited here, There are underground streets and artifacts here from Ancient France.
Le Pont Neuf:
Oldest Bridge in Paris, Started in 1578, 1st stone bridge without houses on it.
La Tour Eiffel:
Built by Gustae Eiffel, Has three levels, Can fit 800 people on top, uses 60 tons of paint when repainted.
La Conciergerie:
Oldest prison in France, Marie Antionette was held here, Businesses are now located inside.
La Sacre Coeur:
A catholic cathedral, on top of a hill, Two business men who built it "put their hearts in to it" - Their hearts were cut out and placed in the walls of the church, Summer nights on the steps host parties and music scenes.
Le Moulin Rouge:
Can-can was rumored to originate here (wasn't - just made famous here), It's in the 9th District, or the red-light district, It is a dance hall.
Le Grande Arche de la Defence:
Built for the bicenntenial in 1989 (along with opera house, and louvre pyramid), All the three arches of france line-up, Rock concerts are held underneath.
Versailles:
Built by Louis the 14th (almost made France go bankrupt), Angry mob stormed this place to capture Marie Antionette and Louis the 16th, Largest palace in France.
Les Halles:
Outdoor mall, No ceiling, Has shops, fountains, and restraunts.
La Sorbonne:
University of Paris, Oldest in France, Has lots of riots/strikes going on at the moment.
Une Epicerie:
A grocery store, Spend here instead of tourist markets, Every neighborhood has one.
Le Louvre:
Pyramid was put here for 200th anniversary of the revolution, Houses the Mona Lisa, Largest museum in all of Europe.
Beaubourg/Pompidou:
French hate this building, Museum for modern art, The building was built "inside-out"
Les Bouquinistes:
You can buy, sell and trade books here, Permanently attatched next to the river, Good place to buy postcards.
La Place Vendome:
Ritz Hotel, Collumn in front has Napolean's statue on top, Princess Diana spent her last night here.
L'Opera Garnier:
The "phantom" lives here, there is a lake located underneath, Mostly used for ballet.
Les Arrondisements:
20 districts, 1-4 expensive, 5-7 cheaper, 9 red-light, 18 hill and church.
Jardin des Tuileries:
Formal garden/park, Was the king's garden, Has a large pond where children place boats.
La Bastille:
Once was a prison (rumored once in, never came out), A mass of people burned down the building which started the French Revolution, A monument is put in to place in memory of those who died.
Le Palais de Luxembourg:
French Senate works here, Built originally for Marie de Medicis, Luftwaffe (German air force) stayed here, under the gardens are bomb shelters.
L'Eglise de la Madeleine:
Built by Napolean, A church built for Mary Magdeline, Amazing pasty shop across the corner from it.
L'Assemblee Nationale:
Louis the 14th built it for his daughter, WWII Nazi Headquarters, French Parliment is here.
L'Hotel de Ville:
City council meets, Mayor of Paris lives here, originally had public hangings and people were quartered and drawn here.
La Sainte Chapelle:
Louis the 9th built and brought pieces from the Crusades back here, lower level was for the peasants, while the upper level was for the rich, Surrounded at the top with stained glass with 1,200 stories from the bible.
L'Opera Bastille:
Built for the bicenntenial, Can seat 2,700 people, much like Spokane's Opera house.
L'Arc de Triomphe:
Napolean built this for his troops, Tomb of the unknown soilder is located here, Hitler marched under to show French that they were triumphed over in WWII.
Le Pantheon:
Famous dead people are here, Victor Hugo, Madame Curie.
Montmartre:
The "mount of marders", It is the artist hang-out, You can get self-portraits done here.
Notre Dame:
Built high to be closer to god, Gargoyles are there to scare away evil spirits and are also water spouts for when it rains, Victor Hugo wrote the hunchback of notre dame to make church popular again.
Le Palais de Chaillot:
Has 4 museums and a theatre, Built for French exhibition in 1937, Is a good place to take a picture of the eiffel tower.

Just a little information on famous french monuments. I have this unit in French class, and this helped me study. Hopefully some of this was interesting to all of you.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Iron and Wine

Makes me think, hard//
Please remember me, fondly.

First Post

Blogging: It's a first for me.
I want to shout out to the world, and become a better writer. I thought it would be a nice attempt.