So i'm sitting out on the street in a café in Paris, and i've just walked through the biggest church i've ever seen in my life. It was so big that I understand how catholics happened. That's the main thing I take from here- I understand how we, America, came from here and got to start over. In some way we're a continuation of something, mapped onto supposedly empty land. The grid here dates back to Rome. People have built layers and layers on top of one another and seem to have more of an anchor on an older "reality." They don't wear logos on thing, even a small logo feels garish and tacky. I bless my old french teacher in elementary school, mdme Nicole Charon, for her insistence on my accent... I get this feeling of acceptance here which I understand to be no easy thing. An unspoken "you are clearly American but you have actually bothered to learn at least a fair bit of French, so you get the benefit of the doubt." I am 39. I am married. I am going to be father. I have never felt so sure of my purpose in the world. I look forward to all of this. I want to apply the machinelike determination I feel in Detroit to simple things, like getting thin. Café de crème instead of mochas, no more cokes, big breakfasts rather than dinners. I want to see my bride succeed and come into her own. I want to grow Memetech into a real self sufficient enterprise and let my father retire and enjoy life more, to take up the load. Later in the day, we've been to an even bigger church and it was full of tourists but whoa. It's hard to describe it without swearing to emphasize the descriptions.
It's several days and four huge churches later. Went up to the tourist traps, saw the same roma team of pickpocket scout girls. Went up on top of the Arc de Triomphe, saw the world war museum at les invalides. More than ever I am a peace through strength pacifist. I see a sad country, repeatedly laying down her bravest, only now finally with the EU able to breathe a sigh of relief. I keep hunting the fleur de lys everywhere, but have a hint that the royal era is like bring up slavery in the states. It was there and a reality but we'd like to think we've moved past it. I am going to look up books with pictures of fleurs on amazon.fr and do a line tshirts with fleur de lys from paris. My bride is in the room, not feeling well, and I wish I could share this with her but i'd rather share versailles. The style here is quite cool, it's muted bu smart. There's so much that's gilded who cares about a bright shirt? The metro is amazing. If I was a billionaire, I'd buy louisville a subway system as thanks. Recaffeinating and getting ready to dive back into the Louvre. Hope the shop is ok, trying to let go. I want to come back here someday with my kids and Nancy, which means a whole new level of kicking ass at business. There was a guy on the Champs Elysees doing perfect birdcalls at the passing women. Got to get away from the tourist crap and back to the real city- it's amazing enough. Now we're in Reims, next to a roman arch dedicated to Mars- which means they must have won. We picked a random café and it's full of locals betting on standardbreds. There's a channel and kiosks and a human cashier. The dude at the table next to us bet on a horse that broke right after the race started. It's clearly a developed industry here. Now I'm Luxembourg, and I finally understand why it exists... It's got a lot of money, and it is very defensible, forts built by peoples going back more than 2000 years. We spent some time in Trier, and drove over a 2000 year old bridge. It's ridiculous how old everything feels here compared to home. I see why the Europeans feel all wise and knowing- they are constantly reminded of the layers we lack. At javascript:void(0)the same time we benefit from having had a new start. I think Europe under the EU can finally look around at themselves, surrounded by fortifications, and maybe relax and enjoy the peace.