The Da Vinci Code Trail-L’Eglise Du Saint Sulpice Wednesday, Jun 25 2008 

Wanderlust pierreleloup 7:43 pm

Yes, we did our Paris exploration during the Holy Week and have visited three gothic churches gracefully aged by the centuries;  the exquisite Sainte-Chapelle which was built to hold the crown of thorns that the French King Louis IX believed Jesus Christ wore during the crucifixion, the monumental Notre Dame Cathedral made famous by a hunchback and the church’s gargoyles  and the mysterious Church of Saint Sulpice which is time and again, linked to the mystery of the Holy Grail.   But no, we’re not doing a visita iglesia which is done by devout Catholics in the Philippines during the sacred Holy Week.   In the first place, Beck is a Baptist while I’m an agnostic.  Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame Cathedral are some of the finest examples of medieval artistry and craftsmanship.   Napoleon Bonaparte once said about the Cathedral in Rennes ”  The Rennes Cathedral makes an atheist to feel uneasy”.  These two churches has the similar effect.

Since we are on the trail of the Da Vinci Code, the next stop after Notre Dame is L’Eglise Du Saint Sulpice, the church mentioned in the novel The Da Vinci Code,  where Jacques Sauniere tricked the Monk Silas by telling him that the keystone is hidden in the Church of Saint Sulpice underneath the obelisk that lies on the ancient rose line.  Actually, what is buried is just a box containing a reference to the bible passage in the Book of Job “Hithertho shalt thou go and no further”.    This church is just one metro station away from the Notre Dame Cathedral so off we go.

The fountain of the Four Bishops- this fountain is found in the Place Saint Sulpice, a peaceful park with flowering chest nut trees that belies the mystery and intrigue surrounding the church beside it.   

 

The nave of the church.  This church was linked to the Holy Grail mystery, when a real life Sauniere, who is a humble parish priest discovered coden documents hidden in one of the pillar of his church.   When he showed this documents to his superiors, he was instructed to bring the documents to Saint Sulpice.  When he returned to his own church, he suddenly have inexaustible funds at his disposal that enabled him to enlarge his church and build a huge mansion.   

 

The church’s pipe organ, which is one of the largest pipe organs in the world. 

 

Near the high altar of the church

The white marble obelisk mentioned in the book The Da Vinci Code

 The gnomon and the brass line of the church.   The brass line is the “ancient rose line” referred in the cult classic book.   This brass strip marks the original zero-longitude line which originally passed through Paris, before the the said line was relocated to Greenwhich, England. 

 

 

 

 

The Da Vinci Code Trail- The Musee du Louvre Friday, Jun 20 2008 

Wanderlust pierreleloup 5:20 pm

Ahh, Paris, the city of light, the city of my dream.    I’m determined to accomplish several items on my Bucket List, or 101 things to do before I die.   First is to visit the Louvre and see the actual Mona Lisa.  I intend to walk the streets of Paris with the spirit of exploration and discovery.  So I vow to accomplish another item in my Bucket List; that is to explore a foreign city without any tour guide and without asking for any direction with just a map to help me around (not even a GPS).  

 Conspiracy theories is always a fascination of mine and one of my favorite subject is the divinity of Jesus Christ and the supposed history of the different churches and religion.    I’ve been meaning to read the novel The Da Vinci code but decided to read other books such as The Templar Revelation, Holy Blood Holy Grail and The Sion Revelation.  But fortunately, I was able to watch the movie adaptation and decided to visit the Parisian landmarks shown in the film.   So first, stop, one of the largest and famous museum in the world, the Musee du Louvre, where the movie started. 

 

At the courtyard of Musee du Louvre.   I didn’t know Beck is taking my picture while I’m busy taking shots of the glass pyramid.  This giant pyramid serves as the entrance to the museum and was designed by the renowned architect I.M. Pei, he’s the same man who designed the Essensa Tower at The Fort, Taguig City, Philippines.    There are several controversies surrounding the building of this pyramid, including the urban legend that the pyramid is made from 666 glass panes, which is the number of the beast, according to the bible.    This led to the calculation and actual counting of the panes which resulted to 673 glass panes and not the mythical number. The 666 legend again resurfaced in Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code. 

 Some  Arago Medalions, the bronze markings that Robert Langdon followed in the last scene of the movie The Da Vinci Code, can be found in the courtyard near the pyramid. These medalions were placed to commemorate Francois Arago, the French mathematician and physicist, for his work on calculating the meridian of the Earth. 

Here I am trying to copy Tom Hank’s pose in the last scene of the movie The Da Vinci Code, only in my version, its daytime. 

Me standing beside the famous statue, Winged Victory of Samothrace, a statue of the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike (not the shoes). It is displayed at the stairs leading to the Denon Wing of the museum.  In the movie, this was shown during the scene wherein Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu are leaving the museum to escape the police. 

The main hallway of the Denon Wing.  In the novel and movie The Da Vinci Code, Jacques Sauniere’s body is found here and also the coded messages or a series of clues that leads to the location of the Holy Grail.  The paintings of the great and renowned artists of the Renaissance are displayed here. 

 The famous painting, The Madonna of the Rocks a.k.a The Virgin of the Rocks.   There are two identical copies of this painting, one is found in Louvre and the other is in the National Gallery, London, both attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci.   In the book, The Templar Revelation, the authors observed that the image of the baby Jesus (the one at the left, with the Madonna/Virgin Mary) is shown praying to the Baby John the Baptist (with St. Elizabeth).  The painting also shows that the infant John the Baptist seems to be giving his blessing to the infant Jesus.    This is one of the basis to the hypothesis that Leonardo da Vinci implies the superiority of St. John the Baptist over Jesus Christ.   In Dan Brown’s novel, behind this painting is where Jacques Sauniere hid a key to a vault.   Yup, I looked really haggard. 

RP doing the Da Vinci pose (the pointing finger of the right hand is pointed upwards) in front of the painting “David”. This pose is often repated in several of the paintings by Da Vinci.  In Raphael’s painting “The School of Athens” which is a fresco in the the Vatican, Leonardo the Vinci is potrayed as Plato and he’s doing this pose. 

Beck, RP and I posing in front of the Mona Lisa, arguably, the most popular painting in the World and for all time.    The enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa has inspired, songs, poetry, movies, even conspiracy theories and urban legends.   In the novel, Robert Langdon theorizes that this painting is both an image of a man and a woman.     I’m not fat, I’m wearing four layers of clothing to protect me from the bitter cold.

To protect the painting, it is secured by a bullet proof and shatter proof glass.    The victim has been a victim of theft and vandalism during the last century.   Another crossed item in my bucket list, that is to see the real Mona Lisa in Louvre.

The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most secured art work in the Louvre.  Nobody can get close to the painting and is manned by several security personnel on both sides of the panel where the painting is displayed. 

 

Memoirs D’un Sejour Court En France-TGV Tuesday, Jun 17 2008 

Wanderlust pierreleloup 12:56 pm

There’s always an irony in maintaining a journal (either a diary or a blog),  when you have so much to write in your journal, you have so much to do that you have no time to write in it.  When you have the time to write, its because nothing is happening to you that is worth writing in your diary. 

The past three months has been very hectic, and events (travels, competitions, family reunions and work) and happenings really caught up with me and I failed to finish my entries about my family’s short sojourn in Rome and Paris.   As if to remind me, last weekend, HBO aired Mr. Bean’s Holiday and The Da Vinci Code , all which were shot in France.   And every scene of those movies reminded of the trip to the country that I’ve always wanted to do ever since I learned that the origin of my  name is French and ever since I started reading about Napoleon Bonaparte (I was 7 years old, so in essence the trip is 25 years in the making) 

One item in my bucket list is to cross two European countries via the Eurorail or TGV.   There’s a certain appeal for me in riding a train wherein you can get to see the the countryside and the common people of a certain place in their everyday lives, even if you’re traveling at 300 kilometers per hour.   

The security at the Rome Termine and Milano Centrale are very lax.  No security check nor inspection were made.   Small handcarry bags can be put on the overhead bin but larger luggages must be placed in the storage rack.   No tags were placed on the bags and the security at the train station doesn’t check if the bag that you are carrying really belongs to you.   Its disheartening to think that if this is being done in the Philippines, you have to say goodbye to your luggages forever.  

From Rome, we made a one hour stop-over at Milan.  Then we boarded a TGV for the 12 hour journey to gay Paree.   Quickly I observed the difference between the French and the Italians.   The train to Milan is of course, has mostly Italian passengers.  They are very warm and would greet Bon Giorno to complete strangers.   Whereas the French, I’ve observed, are more detached that borders on being a snob. 

We arrived in Paris around 12midnight. I am only wearing an office jacket that is only good for keeping you dry during rains.  Beck teased that everybody in the train are wearing extremely thick jackets and overcoats as if they will be climbing Mount Everest.   Will I be able to survive the biting cold of Paris?  Serves me right for underestimating the climate and the season and overestimating my tolerance for cold weather.   Remember, we made the trip last March, and in Paris and in other parts of Europe and the Western Hemisphere, its just the end of winter. 

RP waiting at the Rome Central Termine for the TGV to Paris

Beck and RP inside the TGV

Crossing the French-Italian border.  At the background is the Alps mountain range that forms the natural boundary between France and Italy.

Home along the Riles-French style.    Who says that only in the Philippines you can find houses located beside the railroad tracks?

 

Philippines is 11th in World Quiz Championship Tuesday, Jun 10 2008 

Philomath pierreleloup 5:49 pm

Another reason to be a proud Pinoy:  The Philippines ranked 11th in the 2008 World Quizzing Championship.    UK got the top honor by having the highest aggregate score of 500.  Belgium is in second place with 485 points and Finland a distant third place with 420 points.  The Philippines scored higher than Canada and Germany.  The aggregate score is computed by adding the scores of the top three individual scores from each country. 

The Philippine’s champion, Mr. Ramon Lorenzo garnered a score of 113 points and this enabled him to be ranked 90th in the world.   2nd placer Leo Gapol ranked 142nd, 3rd placer Wilfred Ritona ranked 215th, 4th place finisher Dave Oriel earned the rank of 259th and yours, truly, Pierre Cantillero garnered the rank of 304th.   The World Quizzing Championship was participated by 622 quiz champion and quiz enthusiasts around the world. 

For the complete results and ranking, follow this link from the website of the International Quiz Association-Great Britain:  http://www.iqagb.co.uk/trivia/viewtopic.php?t=7048&sid=b9d210962725a97bce99871d1fc46c4b

 

World Quizzing Championship-Philippine Leg Tuesday, Jun 10 2008 

Philomath pierreleloup 5:35 pm

There’s only one reason why I joined the Philippine Leg of the World Quizzing Championship last June 7, 2008, that is to have a reunion with my fellow quizzers some of whom I haven’t seen for more than 3 years.    I have no pretension of winning or placing in the Top 5 of the said competitions because I haven’t attended a quiz gathering or read a quiz book for the past 3 years.   Because of my sport (muay thai), several megabytes of memory have been erased due to the repetitive blows I would receive on my head whenever I compete or spar.   Moreover, I just arrived a few hours before the quiz competition, from Baguio City wherein I had a business trip.  And in my 4 day business trip, I subsisted on only 3 to 4 hours of sleep every day.    Needless to say, I didn’t took the competition seriously. 

The World Quizzing Championship-Philippines is held in Murphy’s Bar, an Irish pub located in Esteban St. Cor. Rufino, Makati CBD.   Ahhh, an Irish pub, have I mentioned that I have the conviction that its the Irish and not the Brazilians who are the most gorgeous race in the planet?  I will be in my element.

Some of the best Filipino quizzers showed up for the competition.  Ramon Lorenzo, the famous author of the series of quiz books (Brain Blitz),  Dave Oriel, a known quiz competitor in the ’80s and recently ranked 16th out or more than 1,000 competitors in a quiz competition held in Chicago, Leonardo Gapol, a bemedalled quiz champion back in the ’90s and Richard Pante, 1995 Grand Champion of Battle of the Brains and Atty. Ramon Delas Alas, also a quiz champion and author of several quiz books.    It will be a tough slugfest of the best quizzers in the country.  There were a total of 16 participants from the Philippines.

The World Quizzing Championship was held on the same day all over the world with the participants answering the same set of 240 questions in 8 categories in 2 hours. 

For two hours, electrical firings from the neurons of 16 quiz champions continiously sparked.  When the smoke has cleared, Mr. Ramon Lorenzo emerged as the Philippine Champion of the World Quizzing Championship.  For this achievement, he received a handsome crystal trophy. 

The following are the top 5 of the Philippine Leg and their corresponding scores:

1st  Ramon Lorenzo-113 points

2nd Leonardo Gapol-103 points

3rd Wilfred Ritona- 92points

4th Dave Oriel-86points

5th Pierre Cantillero-80 points

My 5th place finish is a pleasant surprise.  I haven’t done any quizzes for the past 3 years and I’m honestly surprised to still manage to be in the top 5.   The long abscence in the quiz scene and the resulting fatigue from my business trip both contributed to my poor performance.   Mental block has played a big detrimental part in my performance.   Everybody was surprised when I failed to answer this question: Who is currently the longest reigning monarch, having assumed the throne in 1946? The answer is King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.  I do a twice yearly pilgrimage to Thailand for my muay thai training and I was in Bangkok and even wore a yellow t-shirt when King Bhumibol celebrated the jubilee of his ascension to the throne.  Two words… mental block.

Here are some of the questions that were included in the quiz competition:

1.  Almost always starting inin fancy or childhood, this genetic disease causes skin cells to accumulate in thick flakes that adhere to the body and sometimes resemble fish scales.  Which term, describes severe, persistenct problems with dry skin?

2. This literary character sparked the first recorded copycat suicides.  Late in the 18th century, over 2,000 ended their lives in imitation of a character in one of Goethe’s best-known novels.  Unhappy when his love for the already engaged Lotte goes unanswered, who killed himself?

3.  Which Nobel Peace Price Winner was shot in the stomach at his home in February 2008?

4.  What did the Northern Democrats, Whigs, Abolitionists, Free Soldiers and Know-Nothings do after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill?

5. In 1806, some 284 years after the first person of any nationality had done it, Adam Johann Von Krusenstern became the first Russian to do what?

6. The defining measure for a kilogram is ‘Le Grand K’.  Held in a bank vault in Paris, it is a cylinder made of iridium and which other metal?

7. In business, DJIA is better known under what name?

 If you can answer the above questions, then you have what it take to participate in next year’s Philippine leg of the World Quizzing Association. You can join our quiz group who meets every month to do battle…quiz battle that is, to further hone your “quiz skill”.   We call this monthly gathering “InQUIZition”.   There are no fees to be paid and the only requirement to join is the love for quiz bee.