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Notre Dame de Paris

I was thankfully able to explore the Notre Dame de Paris on my recent trip to the city. Before entering, I had lunch at one of the side-walk cafes facing the cathedral, and was able to admire the exterior in between eating lunch and reading "Women in Love".

As I walked through the main entrance, I was struck by the size and beauty of the building. The cathedral is filled with many Christian icons portrayed through paintings, sculptures, glass windows, etc. I spent a good portion of my time just staring at the designs on the ceiling of the church. Before I left, I was able to watch the children's choir perform a few songs....pure, high-pitched voices, accompanied by an organist.

Here are some quick facts on the Notre Dame

• Notre Dame de Paris, often known simply as Notre Dame in English, is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in Paris, France, with its main entrance to the west

• It is still used as a Roman Catholic cathedral and is the seat of the Archbishop of Paris

• Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It was restored and saved from destruction by Viollet-le-Duc, one of France's most famous architects. Notre Dame translates as "Our Lady" from French

• Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction spanned the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, giving them a more secular look that was lacking from earlier Romanesque architecture

• Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress. The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward

• At the end of the 18th century, during the French Revolution, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The statues of biblical kings of Judea (erroneously thought to be kings of France) were beheaded. Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby and are on display at the Musée de Cluny. Only the great bells avoided being melted down, and the cathedral was dedicated first to the Cult of Reason, and to the Cult of the Supreme Being. The church interior was used as a warehouse for the storage of forage and food
  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_de_Paris


http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/index.php

I Saw Her Smile

I entered the Louvre, searching for her. I warmed up on fantastic sculptures and historical paintings from Italy. The anticipation was building. Where was she?

Signed arrows told me she was close. I entered her sanctuary. There. She. Was.

Anticlimax.

Wonderful painting, but the hype was bigger than she was. Then, I remembered her history, the relevance, the fact that she was probably the most famous painting in the world. I allowed myself to experience a moment of awe.

I got up as close as I could and just stared at her. I Saw Her Smile.

Market

Market

15 Avenue Matignon

75008 Paris

After a long, fruitful day of recruiting, the team went out for a fun dinner in Paris at the Market restaurant. Fun atmosphere, good food, nice location.

Grilling after the Red

Gauchos Grill Restaurant, Damstraat 5, Amsterdam

http://www.gauchosgrill.nl/

After my 10-minute exploration of the Red Light District in Amsterdam, it was time for...you guessed it...a late lunch!

I decided to eat at Gauchos Grill Restaurant - The Ultimate Steak from Argentina. As a pescatarian, I entered not because of the thrill of eating meat (Sorry, Donald! http://kerijam.blogspot.com/2007/07/interview-with-meat-eater.html), but because the restaurant looked classy, clean and was near-by.

The food was pretty good. I enjoyed a leisurely lunch of Ceviche Tiger Prawn & Tuna (appetizer), Fish (can't remember any other details!), Corn on the Cob, French Coffee and Red Wine. Yum!

Yes, I would recommend the restaurant. Not a must-visit, but definitely way above just being edible.

Bateaux Mouches - Cruising the Seine River in Paris

One night in Paris (sounds romantic, right?!), I went down to the Bateaux Mouches pier near the Pont de L'Alma and took the 9:30pm sight-seeing cruise - an hour-long excursion along the Seine River.

The boat was crowded with tourists. We had an automated voice navigating us along the river and providing historical information in French, English, Japanese and Chinese (I think?!). I sat on the upper deck and enjoyed a wonderful view of the city - including the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, the Orsay Museum and much, much more.

We also cruised past several evening activities along the river: groups of people enjoying dinner with wine, salsa dancing, friends playing instruments seated on blankets near the water, and pockets of people standing on the bridges above the river, gazing out into the beautiful night sky.

I love Paris!!!!

Nappy Poo

Feeling the effects of jet lag...must take nap...not able to take nap....must not take nap...mercy me!

Oh, Hi Big Brother...no, I am alert, sir... productive as always, sir!

Seeing Red or Doing Green

Quick - first two things that come to your mind when I say Amsterdam?

I had a few hours to explore the city and the first two that came to my mind were Red Light District and Dope. Of course, of course, the city has much more than that, there's the Anne Frank museum, bicycle tours, etc. - but I did say the first two things.

Red Light District and Dope. Hmmm. Well, given that I still plan to truthfully tell the future kids that "Mama said no", doing the green was not on the list. Giving in to the stereotype for a sec., if while living in Jamaica for so many years I didn't do ganja, why start now? Well, that left seeing the Red. Should I? It is a well-known landmark...ok, I am convinced.

The night before my trip to the Red, a business colleague mentioned that he had explored the district with his wife and daughter. I asked him what life lessons he imparted to his daughter during the trip, and he said that the only life lesson was that if she ever ended up there, something had gone seriously wrong with her life.

At first walking through the district, I felt a bit self-conscious. I would not be trolling through this type of place anywhere else in the world. Does it seem weird for me, a woman, to be walking alone around here? A few glances to the left and right, assured me that I definitely was not standing out - this was tourist central, although you did have the expected shady men grinning in corners. I walked quickly past them.

As part of my exploration, I walked through several narrow alleys and on either side saw girls wearing little to nothing in rooms with glass doors that you could clearly see through - some curtains were drawn closed. Some rooms housed more than one girl, all in suggestive positions. Some girls were eating their lunch, some were chatting to potential customers. In one room a woman customer was walking out. As I walked, I got a catcall or two - don't these guys realize that we on the outside are harder to get?

I also saw a lady on the street going around to each of the rooms, handing out individual white roses, and telling the girls that they were special and loved. All of these sights, combined with a pungent smell of pot! I was there for about 10 mins in total and then decided to leave for more carefree environs.

The extreme nonchalance regarding the Red is something that still stands out in my mind.

de Silveren Spiegel, Amsterdam

http://www.desilverenspiegel.com/

One night in Amsterdam we had a team dinner at de Silveren Spiegel, the self-proclaimed "most famous Dutch restaurant since 1614". We were seated in the private dining hall upstairs and had a pre-fixed menu.

Before dinner, our waiter gave us an overview of the history of the restaurant, including rationale for the architecture and the sloping of the building. The restaurant has a very rich history - it was a popular haunt for German soldiers during the war, but also hid several Jews. There are not many glass windows in the building, because the more glass windows you had, the higher the tariff. Owners typically built houses with deep interiors. The floor upstairs sloped to the left - this was more due to age than anything else. The front of the building slanted forward, it was intentionally constructed this way to enable packages to be lifted up to the upper rooms without destroying the front of the house. You can click on the link above for more details.

We then proceeded to enjoy a wonderful meal, which included warm fish-based pureed soup served in a glass cup with sealed cover (you could use a small spoon to eat or drink directly from the glass), cold cucumber based broth(?) with shrimp, veal and potatoes, fish and potatoes, profiteroles with raspberry sauce and red wine.

All in all the dinner took about 4 hours. Kudos to the team for making it a fun night even though almost everyone had arrived on overnight flights from the US that morning.

Scenes at Cafe' de Flore, Saint - Germain Des Pre's

Lunch at Cafe' de Flore on Saint-Germain Des Pre's, Paris

Cafe de Flore is a historical landmark in Paris. See http://www.cafe-de-flore.com/htma/histo.htm for more details. I had the pleasure of lunching there before I left for New York. I had a great lunch and wonderful time observing....

The Scenes at Cafe de Flore

• Man wearing a pearl necklace


• Barking dog under the table


• Two waiters running up and down narrow, winding staircase


• Artist sketching scenes of restaurant in pen in her notebook


• Under the table exchanges of caresses


• Jamaican reading D.H. Lawrence's "Women in Love"


• Woman in a pearl necklace


• Aristocracy


• Ladies who lunch


• Man on cell phone for long time finally being reprimanded by wife to get off. He wraps up and does hand holding with wife for a while


• Blackberry searches to ensure "crevette" salad was something I could eat


• Patiently waiting for bill - trying not to think of sprint to airport


• Waiter throwing salt on ground - this is after he spilled liquid on floor and wiped up with napkin


• Ladies with ostentatious jewellery


• Dejected barking dog lying under seat with head on paws. After each bark his collar is tugged and he is pulled closer to owner's feet and under the seat


• Lady in ostentatious jewels gazing hard at me - did she know I would write about her on blog? The jewels look good - even though a bit over the top. Good, she stopped looking


• Man with pearl necklace moving even closer to dining partner


• Crowded rooms upstairs and downstairs, bustling waiters, yet leisurely dining atmosphere

Monique, thanks for the recommendation! I had a great time :)

Amsterdam and Paris On Speed

Thank God for a fantastic week, last week!!!

I left for Amsterdam on Sunday night for some important business meetings. The meetings went really well - our diligent, sometimes sleepless preparation, paid off. High FIVE!!!

I was scheduled to return to New York on Wednesday, but was asked to help out with company recruiting in France, so I ended up spending the week in Europe. Ooh la la!

I had never spent any time in Amsterdam or Paris and thanks to timing, I was able to get 24 hours or less of "non-work" time in each location. I will share with you my adventures of sprinting through these great cities - my journeys through Amsterdam and Paris on speed.

More to come...

Country mouse re-converts to city life

Kingston, Jamaica
Bridgetown, Barbados
Northampton, MA
Scotch Plains, NJ
Brooklyn, NY
Los Angeles, CA
London, UK
Jersey City, NJ
Plainfield, NJ

Next Stop....New York, NY

I have had the good fortune to live in many wonderful cities since birth. Now, after 4+ years of suburbia, this country mouse is moving back to New York. However, this time I decided to take it all the way, no more Brooklyn for me, I am moving to Manhattan!

Craig, thanks for a fun run in Plainfield. No one does suburbia like Jamaican singles from the Smith and Crisp clans! Our annual pool parties are the stuff of legends. No one can buy wholesale like we can. I will miss our Blockbuster/Netflix movie marathon jam sessions. Whose food will I borrow when I get back home late from work and didn't have time to shop? Whose raisin bran muffins will you eat when I am not there to buy them anymore? I guess I can still call you to share life stories and we can encourage each other via email- better yet, Craig, you are more than welcome to visit anytime. I look forward to the fun we crazy Jamaicans will have in the city. After all, you will be working near by!

As way of background, my sister and I moved into my cousin Craig's pad in Plainfield when he bought his crissas house (crissas is Jamaican for very impressive, sophisticated, posh, etc). Nuff respec' to Craig on being a homeowner for over 5 years. Tessa left us and moved back to Jamaica a few years ago (congrats on the wonderful life you are having in Jamrock, Tess!) and now it is my turn to return to the islands - not Jamaica *yet*, but Manhattan.

I have thought about moving to the city for a while now, but when balancing the rich church and family life I had in NJ with the easier commute, more active social life and high rent in NY, I was never quite convinced that I should move. However, after a couple month sabbatical last year, I decided to take the plunge. Since this was not the first time I had mentioned moving, my family made sure I followed through on my commitment by scheduling a trip to visit me this year but only on the condition that I had a NY apartment. Thanks, fam!

The good news is I have made a lot of progress. Much to the excitement and surprise of my jaded friends who thought I would never move - Sejal and Anjali I am talking to you - I found a studio apartment in downtown, NY. It's located in a very nice complex near the water, squash courts, running and bike paths. Oh, and of course it is the the same building that my awesome friend Sejal lives in (sorry for the delayed mention, Sejal!).

My life is usually exciting (I think challenges are exciting), and this situation doesn't disappoint. Remember the family who is visiting? Well that will be in about 2 weeks, and given that I haven't actually moved in yet, I have a big sprint to get my soon-to-be apartment ready for the parents and sister(s). Wonderful!

Keep me in your thoughts and I will let you know how it works out. Mum, Dad, Tamii- you are OK with sleeping bags, right? I hear couches (with pull out beds) take a while to be delivered, particularly if you haven't ordered them yet!

Watch this space.

Making the Flight - God is good (again!)

Well, first off I agree with you that pulling an all-nighter the day before I have to catch an early morning flight to Minneapolis probably wasn't the best idea...but you have to remember what I said earlier about passion and my intense focus and all that jazz (See "Setting Up My Blog" post for details)

I was supposed to leave the house at 5:30am for a 7:15am flight out of Newark airport. I went to sleep at 3:30am, no sweat...ever heard of an alarm? I set the alarm for 4:15am so I could do some work before I left , but decided that I could actually sleep some more and work on the plane. I told myself to reset the alarm, and kept telling myself that until I woke up again at 5:33am. Oh, 5:33am? I mean that's good, right? That's considered early morning in most situations....wait!!!, in this panic-ridden situation I am actually 3 mins late for the airport car service. After a couple seconds of more panic, I call the driver who is waiting outside the house - on time as usual - and let him know I am late. Alright, now I dash to the shower (thank God I already packed and had put out 3/4 of my clothes to wear...the remaining 1/4 were downstairs in the dryer). Proud to say, I am out the house in 20 mins flat, with 100% of clothing on.

In the car, I simultaneously

• cuss myself for oversleeping (I mean it is day 2 of the new year...sheesh!)
• put on lipstick and watch
• fix hair
• zip up boots
• check time on the clock in the car and on my watch
• pray to God that I make the flight
• calculate the impact of not making the flight

while my wonderful driver is carefully speeding to Newark. (Oh yeh, I of course apologized to him for being late - he was so cool about it)

We arrive at Newark airport in 25 minutes, at around 6:34am (typical travel time: 35-40 mins). I have not checked in, the lines are looong, so I walk to the ticket booking desk to try and get on the next flight. Oh ye of little faith! Next flight is fully booked. I spin my wheels for 45 seconds and then decide to do self-check in for my 7:15am flight. It is now 6:45am.

For self-check in you are only allowed carry on luggage. No problem - I quickly trash every drop of liquid in my suitcase, probably somethings I didn't even need to trash. Goodbye lovely hair lotion from Cape Town, South Africa!!! I run to the security line - liquid free - and get through that mob by 6:53am. My gate is C130, I run passed C123...*pant*, *pant*, I think I can, I think I can. I hear the announcement reminding all passengers for my flight that you really must be on board 20 mins before the flight or else you risk...I couldn't hear the rest because I was still running to my gate.

I make it to my gate and there are 3 passengers still with the agent. THANK GOD. Wow. I calmly show my crushed boarding pass to the agent and walk to the plane doorway. My suitcase can no longer hold on the plane so I check it at the door and walk to seat number 20E, a middle seat behind already crying young kids. I sit, put my bag under the seat, zip my boots (which had to be unzipped during security clearing) and thank God again for helping me to make the flight. I am so grateful, and happy and sleepy...ZZZZZZZZZ