I took this picture when I visited France in 2005 but this is the first time I've posted this pic. I chose this particular gargoyle overlooking the city of Paris from the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral because I bought a black and white photo print of this very vista when I visited in high school.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Photo Sunday Dark Light
A dark picture of a very light painting, both in mood and color, that I liked in the art museum in Nantes.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Photo Sunday Castle!
I don't recall which one but somewhere in France.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Info Thursday The First King of France
Since last time I told you about the last King of France, this time I thought I'd tell you about the first King of France, Clovis. Clovis is supposed to be a precursor to the name Louis. Don't ask me how. Sometimes I think linguists are just crazy. Although, they do sound similar at the end. Maybe people just got tired of saying the C and sorta slurred the V. I guess they did drink a lot of alcohol in those days.
Anyway, Clovis, according to the legend, is the reason the Fleur de Lis is the symbol of the French monarchy. He was hiding in this body of water from his enemies and came across this water lily and used it to breathe. So the Fleur de Lis is famous for being a snorkel for the first French king.
Source: My French History class
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Info Thursday The Last King of France
So due to John Green's terrific recap of the French Revolution (the first video of which is posted below) I was spurred to look up the last actual King of France. Because French history gets really murky, confusing, and bloody between 1792-1870. Basically Kings get killed, people revolt, they try to set up alternate governments, those fail, more people get killed, and then, before you know it, everyone's shouting--"Vive le Roi!"
So the last man to call himself King was Louis-Phillipe I, but the last monarch of France was Emperor Napoleon III. And, let's face it, an Emperor is just a King on steroids.
What I was shocked to discover is there are STILL people who are pretenders to the French throne. I mean, even if it was restored, seems like it wouldn't be the safest gig. Don't they know what happened to those other guys?
Sources: John Green--as many times as he's been listed here it's probably safe to say I learn a lot from John Green. Although, I already knew a lot about the French Revolution, he rekindled my interest.
Wikipedia--but I'm reasonably confident it's true as they're simple facts and not conspiracy theories.
