Thursday, January 26, 2017
My Tattoo!
My tattoo is an original drawing, inspired by photos that I had from Korea and some Chinese style painting me and the artist liked. It is a stone temple marker surrounded by nature, with a mountain in the misty background. I did not want a tattoo of a temple, I wanted to leave a little mystery. Obviously, this whole idea was inspired by Buddhism (something near and dear to me). The temple marker is telling me that I am on the right path, but I am not there yet. Somewhere out there, something sacred waits. Perhaps nature is the temple and the path is mine to follow. Maybe one day I will know what is at the top of the mountain.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
3 Days with Dad
December 27****
Dad moved in to my apartment for the last few days of the trip. I had asked him what he wanted to do, and there were only two things on his list: The Catacombes(1), and the Arc de Triomphe(2). After a long breakfast full of coffee and bad stories I took him to the area by Montmartre where the Catacombes are, but the line was so long that we ended up decided to take a nice walk. On out promenade through Paris we wandered through some shops, cute streets, and ended up at the Montparnasse Cemetery(3). This is a popular/famous cemetery which I had planned to take him to later. We walked around and admired the ornate, beautiful, and powerful images and statues which surrounded us. We also, in a very Parisian manner, ended up having a wonderful conversation with a complete stranger. After that we decided to go back to my apartment to hide from the cold, and had a horror movie marathon. Staying up late and sleeping in, talking about all the old things brought back a certain sweet nostalgia...
December 28****
This was a big day! I had it all perfectly planned the night before as well. It started with the Arc de Triomphe, where me and my dad got to talking about history. This is one of my favorite Parisian monuments for how beautiful it is and the long history it represents. Standing underneath the arch, you realize just how big it is. I tried to take a lot of photos of my dad standing underneath the arch. I won the battle but lost the war, with a whole camera roll to prove it. Next, I took him to the Saint Paul(4) church. This is also a very beautiful church with a history, and is right by the Marais(5) (my favorite area of Paris). We had falafel on the street and walked around the cute shops, saw street art, and admired the historic buildings. After this excursion we went to Bastille(6), to see the monument and to walk around. There are some very unique cafes, and even a vinyl shop that we went to. After a quick coffee, we went to Republique(7) to get tattoos. My dad's appointment was that day- mine was the next. We met the artist and I sat on the table opposite my dad while he got his 4 hour long tattoo of Celtic zoomorphic hounds. Once it was finished we were all very happy, and I discussed with SoFi what I wanted for my tattoo. That night we ate and drank a bit, and went to bed a little earlier.
December 29****Last Day~
I had my tattoo in the morning. Since it was original artwork, it took a little longer at first for her to draw. I just put on my headphones and zoned out the whole time (also 4 hours...). I had encouraged my dad to go and see the monument at Republique, but he came back and sat with me for the last two hours. I took him for a walk by the Seine, and we had dinner at a café before I took him to a Gregorian Chants concert at Notre Dame. It was a wonderful concert, and he enjoyed being back in the cathedral. It was so cold outside that we took a taxi back to my apartment. He packed and I gave him directions to get to the airport the next morning*. After everything was ready and I had cleaned my tattoo we posted pictures and then went to the Latin Quarter for a night out. The night began with him telling me that the next time I saw him would be in Oregon instead of Paris, and ended with me shouting goodbye to him from my balcony at 4 in the morning. In between then we wandered along brightly lit cobbled streets, had gyros with french fries (I told him it was good) and enjoyed the last night of the trip.
Thanks dad, I'll see you in the states!
1) http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121025-exploring-the-history-of-catacombs
2) http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/arcdetriomphe.htm
3) http://www.travelfranceonline.com/montparnasse-cemetery-facts-and-graves/
4) http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/saintpaulsaintlouis.htm
5) http://www.aparisguide.com/lemarais/
6) http://next.paris.fr/english/heritage-and-sights/squares/place-de-la-bastille/rub_8276_stand_34629_port_19146
7) http://www.travelfranceonline.com/place-de-la-republique-and-statue-paris/
Notes: The tattoo parlor was Tribal Act Tattoo and Piercing in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
*Dad: Did you read the note on the back of your directions?
Dad moved in to my apartment for the last few days of the trip. I had asked him what he wanted to do, and there were only two things on his list: The Catacombes(1), and the Arc de Triomphe(2). After a long breakfast full of coffee and bad stories I took him to the area by Montmartre where the Catacombes are, but the line was so long that we ended up decided to take a nice walk. On out promenade through Paris we wandered through some shops, cute streets, and ended up at the Montparnasse Cemetery(3). This is a popular/famous cemetery which I had planned to take him to later. We walked around and admired the ornate, beautiful, and powerful images and statues which surrounded us. We also, in a very Parisian manner, ended up having a wonderful conversation with a complete stranger. After that we decided to go back to my apartment to hide from the cold, and had a horror movie marathon. Staying up late and sleeping in, talking about all the old things brought back a certain sweet nostalgia...
December 28****
This was a big day! I had it all perfectly planned the night before as well. It started with the Arc de Triomphe, where me and my dad got to talking about history. This is one of my favorite Parisian monuments for how beautiful it is and the long history it represents. Standing underneath the arch, you realize just how big it is. I tried to take a lot of photos of my dad standing underneath the arch. I won the battle but lost the war, with a whole camera roll to prove it. Next, I took him to the Saint Paul(4) church. This is also a very beautiful church with a history, and is right by the Marais(5) (my favorite area of Paris). We had falafel on the street and walked around the cute shops, saw street art, and admired the historic buildings. After this excursion we went to Bastille(6), to see the monument and to walk around. There are some very unique cafes, and even a vinyl shop that we went to. After a quick coffee, we went to Republique(7) to get tattoos. My dad's appointment was that day- mine was the next. We met the artist and I sat on the table opposite my dad while he got his 4 hour long tattoo of Celtic zoomorphic hounds. Once it was finished we were all very happy, and I discussed with SoFi what I wanted for my tattoo. That night we ate and drank a bit, and went to bed a little earlier.
December 29****Last Day~
I had my tattoo in the morning. Since it was original artwork, it took a little longer at first for her to draw. I just put on my headphones and zoned out the whole time (also 4 hours...). I had encouraged my dad to go and see the monument at Republique, but he came back and sat with me for the last two hours. I took him for a walk by the Seine, and we had dinner at a café before I took him to a Gregorian Chants concert at Notre Dame. It was a wonderful concert, and he enjoyed being back in the cathedral. It was so cold outside that we took a taxi back to my apartment. He packed and I gave him directions to get to the airport the next morning*. After everything was ready and I had cleaned my tattoo we posted pictures and then went to the Latin Quarter for a night out. The night began with him telling me that the next time I saw him would be in Oregon instead of Paris, and ended with me shouting goodbye to him from my balcony at 4 in the morning. In between then we wandered along brightly lit cobbled streets, had gyros with french fries (I told him it was good) and enjoyed the last night of the trip.
Thanks dad, I'll see you in the states!
1) http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121025-exploring-the-history-of-catacombs
2) http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/arcdetriomphe.htm
3) http://www.travelfranceonline.com/montparnasse-cemetery-facts-and-graves/
4) http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/saintpaulsaintlouis.htm
5) http://www.aparisguide.com/lemarais/
6) http://next.paris.fr/english/heritage-and-sights/squares/place-de-la-bastille/rub_8276_stand_34629_port_19146
7) http://www.travelfranceonline.com/place-de-la-republique-and-statue-paris/
Notes: The tattoo parlor was Tribal Act Tattoo and Piercing in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
*Dad: Did you read the note on the back of your directions?
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