You Smilin' At Me?

Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ You Smilin' At Me? ~

You Smilin' At Me?, originally uploaded by Paris Set Me Free.

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What hasn't been written or read about this little painting and even littler lady. Or is it Da Vinci in disguise? You see, I can't help the craziest stuff from coming to mind just by looking at the Mona Lisa, or La Joconde as the French know her.

As a school boy I always assumed that 'Mona' meant 'moaning', and found it a particularly cruel way to become famous. Now I realise it's something like 'lady' which isn't quite so bad.

Now the anecdotes continue. How do we know it's actually the real Mona and not one of the several skillful copies used as a security measure?

And then there's the Japanese phenomenon. I'm not being funny, I'm simply reporting the situation as I experienced it.

The Japanese make little 'V' signs with their fingers whenever they get their photos taken in front of anything famous on their travels. I don't know exactly why, but they love doing so, that is quite clear.

Of course westerners also do what might be called 'strange' things, given half a chance. One of my clients did a cartwheel in front of the Eiffel Tower as well as swinging from it, and quite spectacular it was too.

Then there's the curious enigma as to just what it is that makes the Mona Lisa the most famous painting in the world. It is, after all, just a painting of some chick, right? It must be some sort of combination of the half-smile, plus it was painted by the genius Leonardo plus it was famously stolen plus it has a special wall and security guards all to itself in the Louvre. In fact the entire room is uniquely surrounded by thick sliding fire doors - you don't get any more prestigious than that.

In case you hadn't noticed, I've been to the Louvre recently, and a bunch of other famous places I'll be bringing to you here, for the first time in years. This was all the very pleasant fault of an incredibly dynamic family who wished to not just 'do' Paris, but I mean really DO PARIS. And do Paris we did, on foot, up stairs (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame towers...) and through gardens. By the end of three days my feet were crying out for mercy. That'll do, more monuments soon. And stuff.

And why not...

J è  GRAB MY 20 AMAZING PARIS CURIOSITIES FREE NOW!  ç J

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