Paris and Aphrodite Greek Mythology

Paris and Aphrodite Greek Mythology 

Paris was the third and final mortal who was blessed with seeing Aphrodite naked. This happened when he was tasked with judging who of the three goddesses – 

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Paris Under German Occupation During WW2: Color Pics By Andre Zucca

France had a relatively easier time under German occupation during World War Two. That is because Hitler did not consider West Europeans as 'Untermenschen'. The infamous German brutality was reserved for the Russians.

It shows in the following images of Paris under German occupation.

“These images were taken in Occupied Paris during WWII by André Zucca for Nazi German propaganda magazine Signal using rare Agfacolor film supplied by the Wehrmacht. Zucca was arrested after the 1944 liberation but never prosecuted. He worked until his death in 1976 under an assumed name” When exhibited in Paris in 2008, Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, ordered a notice to accompany the images stating that the pictures avoid the “reality of occupation and its tragic aspects”

From New York Times

Controversy about the exhibit began building shortly after it went up in mid-March at an annex to the Paris Historical Library, in the Marais district, and escalated sharply last weekend, when Mayor Bertrand Delanoë's chief aide for culture, Christophe Girard, told Le Journal du Dimanche, a leading Sunday newspaper, that when he first saw the display it made him want to vomit.

Girard ordered posters around Paris advertising the exhibition to be taken down, while Delanoë - no stranger to controversy - went into damage control. He acknowledged at a media lunch that the way the exhibition had been organized left plenty to be desired but said it would stay up, declaring that he did not wish to add "a wrong" - censorship - to the errors already committed. He added that debates about the photos would be organized.

Even before Delanoë spoke out, organizers of the exhibition began making small changes after complaints from historians, visitors and groups like the French Human Rights League. On April 2, a panel headlined "Warning" went up, and a few days later leaflets reprinting the warning began being handed to visitors as they entered.

The leaflet describes the photos as exceptional: "The only color pictures taken in occupied Paris by a French photographer" who was not only accredited but also used German Agfacolor film - "almost impossible to get hold of at the time."

It adds: "What André Zucca portrays for us is a casual, even carefree Paris. He has opted for a vision that does not show - or hardly shows - the reality of occupation and its tragic aspects: waiting lines in front of food shops, rounding up of Jews, posters announcing executions."

A French women with two Luftwaffe officers at Paris' Longchamp race course

Showcase with a portrait of the French Marshal Petain-collaborator in occupied Paris.

Cinema for German soldiers in occupied Paris.

Poster exhibition at the corner of Rue Tilsit and the Champs Elysees.

The German commandant's office on the corner of September 4th and Avenue of the Opera in occupied Paris.

German soldiers at the Longchamp racetrack

French women at the Longchamp race course. Who says there is a war going on?

This couple is enjoying life at Luxembourg garden in Paris

A German soldier browses books at a Paris street book stall

German propaganda poster at Champs Elysees

A German band in Paris

These German soldiers do some shopping on a street in Paris

An advertisement inviting to go work in Germany

An elderly Jewish women in Paris. See the star on her dress? Yeah. There was a war going on. 

A Parisienne on the waterfront. She is happy.

A rickshaw taxi on the streets of Paris

Belleville neighborhood in Paris

Parisiana Cinema in Paris

Place de la Concorde in occupied Paris

Pont du Carrousel bridge in Paris

Rue de Rivoli in occupied Paris.

German soldiers at Paris' Vincennes Zoo

Central market in 1942

A German Panther tank at Arc De Triomphe

German signboard pointers in a Paris street

German soldiers at a street cafe with Parisians

Lux Cinema in German occupied Paris

Roller-skating at the Eiffel Tower

German officers at a Paris sidewalk cafe. Things were different in a Russian city.

A Paris street under German occupation. Normal life goes on.

German women from the Wehrmacht at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arc De Triomphe. Site seeing.

German military band in Paris at Republic Square

Bicycle taxi at the famous Paris Maxim's Restaurant under German occupation

 Fashionable french girls at the Luxembourg Gardens. De Gaulle would have foamed at the mouth.

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Riding the Rails: Paris to Barcelona

July 23, 2011 -- After a brief one day visit to Paris, I hopped on a TGV high-speed train heading south from Gare de Lyon railway station to Spain through the French countryside and Mediterranean coast via Nimes, Montpelier-Saint-Roch, Sete, Agde, Beziers, Narbonne and Perpignan . After a transfer at Figueres-Vilafant to a Renfe high-speed train, I headed to my last destination in Europe -- Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia.

It is hard to describe the feeling of speeding past vineyards and palm tree-lined coastal villages at nearly 200 miles per hour. It is amazing. I hope one day Americans will be able to experience true high speed rail like what the citizens of France, Germany, Spain, China, Japan and other nations enjoy.

And I hope that on that beautiful day in the United States of America when our trains travel over 200 mph, that we can look out the window and see wind turbines like these near the France-Spain border powering our country with clean, domestic power.

Here are more photos and video of my train trip from Paris to Barcelona. Click here to see the photo set on Flickr. The 30-minute video shows scenes of the spectacular French and Spanish countryside and Mediterranean coastline.

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Summer 2011: Paris, France

July 22-23, 2011 -- Paris was the fifth city I visited on my summer trip to Europe after London, Brussels, Berlin and Prague. It was a very brief visit to the City of Light, but with a rented bicycle I covered a lot of ground in one day. And since the Tour de France would wind its way to the finish line along the Champs-Elysees the next day, it was appropriate to tour Paris on a good old-fashioned bicycle.

Like Brussels, Paris' bike sharing system only accepts European Smart Cards with embedded microprocessor chips. That means with my old-style American credit card I could not take advantage of the largest bike sharing system in the world, called Velib. Thankfully, there was a bike shop a few blocks down from Absolute Hostel where I stayed along the Canal Saint-Martin. For ten euros I rented a beat-up old mountain bike which did the job.

I biked down Canal Saint-Martin to Bassin de l'Arsenal to the Seine River and then along the Seine to Île de la Cité and Notre Dame Cathedral and other sights on the natural island where the medieval city was refounded. Then I crossed the Pont du Carrousel bridge to The Louvre Museum and explored the palace grounds before biking back to the hostel near Place de la Republique.

Click here for more observations of Paris on Green Center Blog.

Here are some photographic and video highlights of my brief bike ride around Paris. Click here to see the photo set on Flickr.



Here is video of the Seine River, which runs through the heart of Paris.

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Riding the Rails: Prague to Paris

July 21-22, 2011 -- After two days exploring Prague, I took an overnight Deutsche Bahn City Night Line train to Cologne and then transferred to a Thalys high-speed train that took me to my next destination on this summer's rail trip through Europe -- Paris, France.

Prague's modern train station is attached to the historic early 20th century Art Nouveau booking hall, which is now a cafe named after the Czech architect who built the station -- Josef Fanta. The station hall is well-preserved and is an excellent example of Art Nouveau architecture.

At the cafe you can order Mattoni mineral water from the spa town of Karlovy Vary, which is famous for its health benefits.

There is a memorial plaque to former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson with his quote that "the world must be safe for democracy." From 1945 to 1953 the Prague railway station was called Wilson station (Czech: Wilsonovo nádraží).

On Oct. 5 a memorial statue to Wilson, who helped the Czechs gain independence in 1918, will be rededicated in front of the railway station seventy years after the original statue was destroyed by the Nazis.

The couchette cars of the overnight train feature four beds and there was a fun group of Americans on their way to Amsterdam which helped pass the time to Cologne -- a college student from North Carolina, pictured left, and two friends from Texas touring Europe. We drank the original Czech Budweiser Budvar (called Czechvar in the U.S. and Canada) and had a great time into the night as we rolled through the German heartland.

After transferring to a Thalys high-speed train at Cologne, I finally arrived at Paris Gare du Nord railway station the next day and was ready to explore the City of Light.

Here are photos and video of the train trip from Prague to Paris. Click here to see the photo set on Flickr.

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All Glamour & the Bests in Paris

As of the writing of this article, the artistry tennis grand slam in clay is just around the corner, so I’m inspired to enumerate the best sights and attractions in Paris before sitting inside the box of Court Philippe Chartier.

As you all expected; every inch of square in Paris is bounded with rich history and exquisite beauty. Apart from Eiffel Tower, there are still various aesthetic attractions you need to explore while on Paris.

The first on this list is The Louvre.

Have you watch The Da Vinci Code? If yes, I’m sure you have recognized this pre-20th century museum. The Louvre is the home of the most appealing paintings, sculptures and other art collections in the medieval era. You can also find the undying smile of Mona Lisa here. Traveling to this classic and contemporary building is easy. While in Paris, just ride a bus with any of the lines in 21, 34, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, and 95 and the driver will directly take you in front of the glass pyramid. Physically challenged people are openly welcomed inside this majestic museum as wheelchair can always be rented upon permission at the front desk.

The second a-must-visit scene in Paris is the Boat Tour in Seine River. Coming down to see the overwhelming beauty of Seine River is truly an unforgettable experience. The feel of the chilly wind of the place is miles different from what you have inside your home. Especially if you are going for a boat ride, you can witness the unparallel network of canals, bombastic bridges, awestruck monuments and other mythical spots. Many people suggest the best time for boat ride is May to the mid days of September. There are various travel companies near the site that offers both daytime and nighttime tours throughout the year, especially during Valentine’s Day. 

With its marvelous gothic architecture, the Notre Dame Cathedral is surely one of the dramatic hotspot made of stained glass, situated just blocks away from Seine River. As a matter of fact, it took a century before the overall construction is completed. The Cathedral is the “Notre Dame of the Hunchback,” that’s how Victor Hugo penned it out. The most thrilling part during your visit is when you dig deeper in the archaeological crypt going to the North Tower. Touring Notre Dame is convenient in October till March, ideally in the mornings and in the evenings to see the views of the stained glass. Free guide tours in English are also available upon request.

Opened to everyone to honor the French-President Georges Pompidou, the Center Gorgeous Pompidou is considered to be the cultural heart of the city. The gigantic architecture houses performing plaza, public library and art museum of 20th century masterpieces. The galleries are open daily from eleven in the morning till nine in the evening. Tickets are available at the counter’s area. The three-floor public library is free and for everyone to use. You can find an array of books, magazines, periodicals and multimedia resources here. There are also food and dining in the second floor, reservation-only restaurant at the rooftop, bookstores at the ground, 4th and 6th floors and Parisian Boutique at the ground floor.

The last but not the least is the Sorbonne University. This is the oldest and the intellectual hub of Paris and was once the home of the world’s philosophers and writers like Rene Descartes and Jean-Paul Sarte. Getting here requires you to ride Metro Cluny-La-Sorbone in Line 10 or RER Luxembourg in Line B. Enjoying a cup of coffee with a friend in café before walking around the incredible squares and gardens is surely a grand.

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