in which we crammed as much as we can in one day, much to the chagrin of our feet

(Leaves are turning in time for fall!)

We’ve finished our Italy leg, and are now in Amsterdam (which is currently my favorite place, despite spending less than 24 hours here), so obviously I am quite far behind. I actually have not been taking a lot of digital pictures (or at least less than usual), so you and I have to wait for the film to be processed. I hope they turn out nice.

Monument near the Catacombs.

Anyway, back to Paris! After the Sunday flea market, we tried going to see the Catacombs. Upon arriving, however, we were met with a very long, disgruntled line of people due to some difficulties in the Catacombs’ operation. We decided to forego it, not wanting to risk getting stuck underground, and just visit the Centre Georges Pompidou, which houses Frances’ modern art.

There was a special exhibit on Gerhard Richter when we went, but I’ll get into that later.

A lot of people in Paris read on the train. I suppose people in Manila would do the same, if it weren’t so crowded all the time.

I am the annoying stranger who takes pictures of everybody and everything.

I didn’t bring a wide enough lens that could take Pompidou’s side view (it’s the famous metally one that has the impression of steps outside), so here’s the view from the top. If you look really closely, you can see Sacré-Coeur and Notre Dame, I think.


Here, you can see the Tour Eiffel.

A beautiful Calder piece outside.

A Pollock that I actually like.


Outside, the street was equally busy.


A tarot-reading session.

An artist making some pieces on the sidewalk.

The day was still early, so we decided to go see the Eiffel Tower, which is a whole other animal altogether. Which means that it warrants another post.

In other news, it’s my birthday in the Philippines! In an hour and a half, it will be my birthday here, too.