Monday, November 7, 2011

DC vs. Paris: Part V

When making comparisons about history, DC doesn't stack up very well against Paris.  On the one hand, you've got a town that had its origins long before the Romans and on the other, well let's just say that when Washington, DC was created as the capital of the U.S. in 1791, it was little more than a wide spot in the road.  True, there had been Native Americans in the area for thousands of years prior, but today, precious little remains of their dwelling in this area. 

In Paris, it's not unusual to run across an inscription like this:


(In case your French and French history are in need of refreshing, the event noted here took place in 1610.)

And though there's no shortage of more recent history that's marked in and around DC, these two markers are more in keeping with the American notion that history doesn't matter.



But don't think this is the last word on the subject from me.  DC's short history has plenty of great stories and I look forward to sharing some of them with you.

5 comments:

  1. I get most of the French inscription, but what's "intronisé"?

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  2. Enthroned. Made king. Make sense?

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  3. Got it. Thanks. I see, by the way, that one of the other "American in Paris" bloggers (An American Mom in Paris) is heading back to the states (Seattle). And one of the web sites I followed for several years (Bill & Nancy barging through the canals of France) will be ending: they have sold their barge (after spending the last couple of years in the Arsenal marina in Paris) & are moving back to San Francisco. It seems that we can only take so much of life in France ;-)

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  4. Or in the case of MJ and myself, when the employer-provided expat package ends, so does the party.

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  5. As a French citizen having to follow the hubby around the States, I would love to be back in DC (since it can't be France for now), but I cannot, so I will just have to see and live it through your posts :)

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