02/04/2024 – BONUS POST Homeward bound!

I took another tumble today: stepped into a pothole on a zebra crossing and went down. I fell heavily enough for my watch to ask if it should call the emergency services (a feature that clearly evidences America’s well-known penchant for litigation). It was a thump, but, as Carey always says, it’s mostly about knowing how to fall. My practice? Go with it, and roll. There’s definitely a life-lesson in there! Before this trip, I can’t tell you the last time I fell. Here, it’s been twice in three weeks. That’s what happens when you are more interested in watching the scenery than your feet. It’s a trade I am (clearly) willing (if not entirely happy) to make.

The weather was bad over Easter, so we defaulted to our pre-arranged strategy: go to the Louvre. That is, after all, why we bought our membership.

Yesterday we found ourselves in the “Ancient Near East” section, which includes many Egyptian treasures looted by Napoleon. After his defeat, the European powers made sure to get their own treasures back, most notably, the bronze horses of St Mark’s (pace their being stolen from Byzantium by the Venetians…) But, the “Near East” got no such consideration in the age of colonialism. It is definitely Europe’s gain.

What really mesmerized us were the Sumerian and Babylonian treasures – vibrant carvings, mosaics, even frescos that are over 4,000 years old. The great Bull-men guardians and Eagle-headed daimons of the royal palaces tower in the galleries, just as they did, in situ, in the third and second millennia before Christ. It is humbling and exhilarating to be in the presence of made things so old. When they are still fresh, immediate, it is a little shocking (in a good way). I recently heard 2 excellent podcasts with the translator of a new version of Gilgamesh, so this world was already on my mind.

However, I sped through the Egyptian rooms. They seem disrespectful, even sacrilegious to me. Their cosmology and theology are fascinating. That reaction is well reflected in the many explanatory texts provided, which I spent ages reading (mainly from interest, but partly because they are in French, which takes me a while). But, the disregard of these beliefs, evident in the displays of robbed tombs, stripped mummies, empty sarcophagi presents a queasy challenge (to me at least). I prefer the charms, amulets and faience glass.

We are off to the UK tomorrow on Eurostar. Although I travel on my Irish passport, we need to ensure Carey complies with Shengan visa requirements.

It is also a chance to be with some of my found family – Gareth, my brother from another mother, well into our second decade of relationship, and my sister Linda, whom I have loved for thirty years. I dearly hope to coordinate a visit with my actual sister. She is a busy working mum of 2 talented, sporty children. The logistics may prove just too much. Nevertheless, I travel hopefully.