Break Dancers In Paris Have Mad Skills

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Schwingen In Switzerland

I was intrigued when we’d seen break dancers in Nice. Of course, I had to stop and take some pictures we saw some talented guys in Paris. Of all the street performers we saw in Paris, they were my favorite. They were amazing.

The hill of the Trocadéro (officially named Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, although it is usually simply called the Place du Trocadéro) is the hill of Chaillot, a former village. Today, it is home to the site of the Palais de Chaillot, and in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. We went to the Trocedero for a great view of the Eiffel Tower from the other side of the Seine River and for some people watching, but I think I ended up taking more pictures of the b-boys than of Paris.

The Trocedero has several museums including: the Musée National de la Marine (Naval Museum), the Musée de l’Homme (Ethnology Museum), the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (City of Architecture and Heritage), including the Musée National des Monuments Français (The Museum of French Monuments), and the Théâtre National de Chaillot (National Theater). I’ve commented a bit on the large number of French monuments and can only imagine how much that museum could cover.

Top Ten Reasons Why We Aren’t Going To The Olympics

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

We like to watch the Olympics. When my sister and I were kids, we used to pretend to be Mary Lou Retton. She (my sister, not Mary Lou) asked me if we were going to the Olympics and was surprised when I told her we weren’t. Here’s why:

1. Crowds. I hate them. I can’t see anything. Being short, my face is usually in someone’s armpit. If someone is going to be trampled, it will probably be me. The more personal space I have, the better. Plus, London is such a great city that I want to experience it. I don’t want to spend it waiting in line.

Olympic Games Message (Photo credit: chooyutshing)

2. The marketing. Brands pay tens of millions of dollars to be associated with the Olympics and use its values to burnish their own. While not a reason to avoid the games, it isn’t exactly a selling point for me. I guess I can’t blame them though. Ask Greece if they would have liked to have had more corporate money?

3. I’m turned off by news stories about the greed that surrounds it. For example, landlords are evicting tenants in east London from their homes in trying to cash in on the Olympics.

4. HDTV.

5. The prices. London isn’t cheap. When they jack up their prices higher than Swiss prices…

Cropped transparent version of Image:Olympic flag.svg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

6. Tickets aren’t easy to get, especially for some of the sports that I’d really want to see. Heck, you have to buy a ticket just to visit the Olympic Park. We didn’t apply in the initial balloting process so we would have to get lucky to get some at the general sale. If we had to resort to other means to get tickets, I would probably gasp at the prices. Just yesterday, Volodymyr Gerashchenko, the general secretary of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee, resigned after being filmed offering tickets for sale. It’s a crime to sell Olympic tickets on the black market.

7. He works… a lot. He probably couldn’t take the time off.

8. There are so many other wonderful places to visit. It’s not as though we won’t have anything else cool to do.

9. The London games and their “legacy” has been so hyped that it seems impossible to live up to it.

10. Doping. My disappointment was enormous after I learned of Marion Jones‘ steroid use. I don’t know how the games can stay one step ahead. Wondering whether the person who is killing it and ends up on the medal stand will later test positive takes some of the excitement out of it.

We’ll be heading back to London…after the Olympics. We love the city and there’s still tons more to see and do.

London Hacked Its Own Traffic Lights to Make Sure It Got the Olympics [Olympics] (gizmodo.com)

The Circus

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Schwingen In Switzerland

I can’t remember the last time I went to the circus. Elementary school? First grade? While I was in Belgium last week, I went. It is definitely better to go with a kid and see it through their eyes.

“To me, clowns aren’t funny. In fact, they’re kind of scary. I’ve wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.” – Deep Thoughts With Jack Handey. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

She hit the target shooting with her feet.

My favorite part was the acrobats. I may want to be an acrobat when I grow up.

There were horses, but they weren’t as big a hit with the kids as the lions. They also had dogs, miniture poodles. They were are too small in the pictures.