Obamas enjoy artistic pleasures of Paris

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i9oCMEjlooETla9teCLa1B0CEbLg

<snip> The US first family took a long ramble through the Pompidou modern art museum in Paris on Sunday as President Barack Obama stole a few hours of private time at the end of a breakneck diplomatic tour.

After the president had left to return to Washington, first lady Michelle Obama took their daughters to the Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa, to cap off the day with some more traditional paintings.

The Obama family received a rock star welcome during their weekend stay in Paris, touring some of top attractions, shopping and a visiting a typical French restaurant.
<snip>

<snip>
On Saturday night the family were cheered by huge crowds as they visited the Gothic splendour of the Notre Dame cathedral, and then went to dine in a Paris bistro.

Thousands of Parisians and tourists lined bridges over the River Seine as their motorcade headed for the traditional French eatery complete with red-chequered table-cloths and red-and-white awnings.

One waiter told AFP that "the atmosphere was very relaxed ... they said they had a wonderful meal and the president was extremely nice to the staff".
<snip>
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i9oCMEjlooETla9teCLa1B0CEbLg

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Very enjoyable article to read.

[BlooInBloo]

1. Man, what an opportunity for the girls.

[CakeGrrl]

2. True. *I* need to get myself to The Louvre! n/t

[Nedsdag]

23. I was at the Louvre two years ago.

In fact, I was there on the first Sunday of the month when it's free. The place was mobbed.

I never saw the Venus de Milo, and I nearly missed the Mona Lisa. I joined a wave of people and I eventually saw it.

Man, it's small.

My hotel was across the street from it.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

4. Cultured and graceious...Not a bad combination....

It's really hard not to love this guy, and his beautiful family.

[donco6]

10. Yes.

I wish we could afford to send all US kids to Europe for even just 1 week during their school career. It would go a long way toward eliminating some of the ignorance.

[marmar]

3. There are great cities.....and there is Paris.

I'm completely smitten. It's not just a place to be visited - it is to be savored.

[JerseygirlCT]

6. I feel that way about London, myself

But Paris is beautiful!

[marmar]

7. I love London too.....but there's just something about Paris.

And I'll take Cote d'agneau over fish and chips anyday!!! :)

[JerseygirlCT]

8. The English (and the Irish, for that matter)

do NOT do food nearly so well as many other things, I'm afraid! I ate a lot of cheese sandwiches in pubs. The one nice restaurant we went to ended up giving me food poisoning, lol.

When I was a HS kid, visiting Paris, we went off with some stranger to a little cous cous place - THAT was good! (We were idiots, but it turned out ok).

[marmar]

12. Yup. When I'm in London I always eat international foods - which London has plenty of.

Some of the best Indian, Middle Eastern, African, Caribbean and SE Asian food I've ever had has been in London.

[JerseygirlCT]

13. It was the history that grabbed me

I've been an Anglophile since I was a small kid. Finally getting there, years ago, was just a wonder. Unfortunately, I haven't been back in many, many years.

[BlooInBloo]

19. Bangers n mash for me plz!

[inna]

18. exactly! i miss Paris so much,

i feel like i left a part of my heart there...

:)

[Clio the Leo]

5. Remember, in one of the books, talking about being able to...

.... sit at a cafe and just watch the people stroll by?

Or maybe that wasn't in the book, but he's said it ..... hopefully SOME of those folks strolled without freaking out. :)

[Cha]

9. The Obamas are all about education,

including the Arts, and are doing a lot to promote this on the Planet.

[phoenixriz]

11. Seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre

is the result of thousands of French citizens who hide the greatest treasures of art as the German advanced toward France. Hitler was a failed artist who methodically stole art out of Jewish homes. His prize though was the Louvre.

Movie "The Rape of Europe"
Some of the most interesting stories in "Europa" have to do with how Paris' Louvre reacted to the impending invasion of France. Almost everything that could be moved, including the large and fragile Winged Victory of Samothrace, was carted up and sent out of town in a convoy of some 300 trucks. Specific curators were assigned specific works of art to look after, and the daughter of the couple assigned the Mona Lisa tells of how it was transported in a specially sealed ambulance.

To me that is the story of the Louvre. That the French risked their lives to protect their art, including the Mona Lisa, from Hitler.
Any web search will give you an idea of this very interesting part of history.

So happy the Obama's had time to see the some of the beauty of France.

[CTyankee]

17. Simon Schama tells the saga of "Guernica." Picasso had it secretly taken to London

where, in 1939, it was taken to NYC and was mounted in the Museum of Modern Art, where it remained until Franco's death in the mid 1970s, per Picasso's instructions.

If Franco had been able to get hold of "Guernica" he would have destroyed it.

I saw the masterpiece, now returned safely to the La Reina Sophia Museum in Madrid, just last fall. It was a transformational experience for me...

[AtomicKitten]

14. "I want to see him because he has made us love America again."

:thumbsup: x 1,000

[alsame]

22. That pretty much says it all. n/t

[grace0418]

15. This is when I actually feel a little sorry for the Pres and his family.

One of the best things about Paris is walking around it's amazingly beautiful streets, ducking in and out of market stalls, boulangeries, cafes, galleries, shops, etc. The Obamas can never experience that ever again. They will be guarded and mobbed with press and fans wherever they go for the rest of their lives. Every visit will be mapped out and carefully planned for them with little room for spontaneous pleasures. That's when I'm even more grateful to him for giving up a big part of himself to serve the American people.

Of course, they also get to experience things that no other people get to see, so I suppose that helps make up for it a little bit. :)

[rosesaylavee]

16. Well, you don't know that.

I think Bill Clinton gets out more than we hear about. It may take a decade or two but I think they will be able to have something close to that freedom again.

[grace0418]

20. Well, maybe to an extent. But he'll never enjoy anonymity ever again.

Not like you or I do (well, maybe not you, you could be really famous for all I know.) :)

[rosesaylavee]

21. I am famous in my own mind... :P

I know what you mean, but I think of what Clinton and Carter can do now that they weren't able to do right after they served. I think the Obama's will enjoy a certain degree of freedom from the crowds eventually - may take a decade after he finishes his 8th year but I see that happening.

* will be the one hounded unmercilessly all the rest of his life. That will never change. He will followed and hissed/booed until he is charged and imprisoned or leaves this plan of existence.

[SoCalDem]

24. NO FAIR !! The Bushes enjoyed famous cities too

Waco, Crawford, Dallas, Austin :rofl: