BigWeather's Blog

October 1, 2018

Walkabout Paris

Filed under: Travel — Tags: — BigWeather @ 11:59 pm

Woke up closer to 7a and went down for breakfast at the Hotel Prince de Conti in the basement, a charming space.  While they had eggs and bacon I opted for just doing croissants and pain au chocolate (chocolate-infused croissants) with strawberry jam and tea, though Michelle did have some eggs and bacon.  Headed back upstairs briefly before heading out for the day’s sightseeing.

We walked the short distance to the Seine.  There were several boats parked (berthed?) next to each other.  We were surprised to see that they had plants and small trees to create patio spaces complete with tables and chairs.  Crossing the Seine via the pedestrian-only wooden plank Pont des Arts we saw a large collection of locks surrounding a lamp post.

Institut de France on the Left Bank near our hotel

Institut de France on the Left Bank near our hotel

Boats -- complete with patios -- berthed on the Seine

Boats — complete with patios — berthed on the Seine

The Louvre seen from the Pont des Arts

The Louvre seen from the Pont des Arts

Locks around a lamppost on the Pont des Arts

Locks around a lamppost on the Pont des Arts

As the entire bank of the Seine at this point was dominated by the massive Louvre we were there immediately.  We still had a decent walk, however, to the famous glass pyramid that was the entrance to the museum.  From there we could clearly see the Carrousel Arc de Triomphe, not to be confused with the much more famous one on the Champs-Elysees.  There was also a bride getting photographed adjacent to one of the nearby fountains.

Exterior of the Louvre

Exterior of the Louvre

Another view of the Louvre's exterior

Another view of the Louvre’s exterior

A rainbow in one of the Louvre's fountains

A rainbow in one of the Louvre’s fountains

The glass pyramid and fountain at the Louvre

The glass pyramid and fountain at the Louvre

Carrousel Arc de Triomphe adjacent to the Louvre

Carrousel Arc de Triomphe adjacent to the Louvre

A long line had already formed but after about thirty minutes standing in the chilly morning air we got in and past the security check then… got to stand in another line for about thirty minutes to get our tickets via automated kiosks.  Sadly only two of the four were working so it took a while.  I passed the time chatting with a gentleman from Melbourne, Australia who was traveling about Europe (Ireland, UK, France, and Denmark) with his family.  In the lobby was a circular staircase with an elevator that rose in the middle core area — really neat.

Spiral staircase elevator

Spiral staircase elevator

Tickets in hand we actually entered the museum proper a little past 10a.  We started on the top floor as it was blissfully quiet due to not having any of the major works housed in the Louvre.  Room after room was filled with Medieval art and objects such as helmets, swords, shields, religious objects, and the like.  There was a huge banner thanking the public for contributing to buy King Francis I’s “Book of Hours”.  Wow, we thought, that must be spectacular!  We wandered about the floor trying to find it, complicated by on-going renovations (a common theme on this trip) that blocked direct access.  Still we persisted and there it was — all couple of inches by couple of inches of it.  Despite its size it was still really beautiful.

Courtyard of the Louvre

Courtyard of the Louvre

A blissfully empty gallery

A blissfully empty gallery

Amazing art on a shield, couldn't imagine taking that in battle!

Amazing art on a shield, couldn’t imagine taking that in battle!

The very, very tiny Book of Hours of King Francois I

The very, very tiny Book of Hours of King Francois I

The crowds increased as we went down a floor and went through some Persian and Greek antiquities.  Next up was Winged Victory (Nike of Samothrace), a Hellenistic original (rather than Roman copy) marble statue, which stood prominently over the grand staircase.  After a few more large rooms (one containing a beautiful marble statue of Athena) we came upon the gallery displaying the Louvre’s star attraction — Mona Lisa (or de La Jaconde as the French call it).  It was, predictably, quite crowded.  Rather than wade to the front Michelle decided seeing it in the distance was enough for her and we moved on.  I’ll say this, though — the new gallery is a lot better than the one it used to hang in when I saw it in 1988, allowing for far more people to view it at once.

Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory)

Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory)

A striking marble statue of Athena

A striking marble statue of Athena

The Mona Lisa was dwarfed by its gallery

The Mona Lisa was dwarfed by its gallery

A beautiful woman with a mysterious smile... and the Mona Lisa

A beautiful woman with a mysterious smile… and the Mona Lisa

We wandered through a few more galleries packed with paintings we recognized (like The Coronation of Napoleon or Liberty Leading the People) in search of the last major attraction, the Venus de Milo.  Despite (or due to?) lacking arms the statue is quite beautiful.  As we were at peak people saturation we decided enough was enough and we still had quite a bit to see during the autumn-shortened day.

The Louvre's galleries are works of art unto themselves

The Louvre’s galleries are works of art unto themselves

The disarmingly (har har) beautiful Venus de Milo

The disarmingly (har har) beautiful Venus de Milo

A view from inside the Louvre's iconic glass pyramid

A view from inside the Louvre’s iconic glass pyramid

A bit after noon we left the Louvre through the underground shopping mall adjacent to it.  Michelle stopped by the Fossil store (as ours all closed) but nothing interesting was to be found.  We emerged onto Rue de Rivoli and walked east to Cafe Musee where we ate lunch at a little past 1p.  Michelle had a ham and cheese panini while I had a “mixte” — basically a baguette (in this case a very long one) with ham, cheese, and butter (yeah, I know — though not that bad!).  We also shared an order of fries.  Michelle had a scoop of vanilla with chocolate sauce while I had a scoop of strawberry (sweet) and lemon (very tart).  Plastered all over the news was the death of Charles Aznavour, a French singer, at 94.

About 1:45p we continued on down the road until we got to the park with Tour Saint-Jacques, a tower from a sixteenth century church that was destroyed during the French Revolution.  I took some pictures before we moved on through the park (Michelle even saw a giant rat) and turned south, crossing Pont Notre-Dame onto Ile de la Cite.  It was here that we got a good look at some gorgeous round towers of the Conciergerie — a fourteenth century royal palace turned Revolutionary prison for a bit — and the very top of the Eiffel Tower way off in the distance.  We emerged in the courtyard before the Cathedral de Notre Dame.  Not the most impressive cathedral in my mind (heck on this trip alone Bayeux had it beat) but the imposing facade of the two Gothic towers never fails to impress.

Tour Saint-Jacques towering over the neighboring buildings

Tour Saint-Jacques towering over the neighboring buildings

Tour Saint-Jacques, remains of a sixteenth century church

Tour Saint-Jacques, remains of a sixteenth century church

Gargoyle spouts and statuary on the tower

Gargoyle spouts and statuary on the tower

Tour Saint-Jacques

Tour Saint-Jacques

A street corner cafe in Paris

A street corner cafe in Paris

The round towers of the Conciergerie, a fourteenth century royal palace

The round towers of the Conciergerie, a fourteenth century royal palace

Notre Dame on Isle de la Cite, Paris

Notre Dame on Isle de la Cite, Paris

The intricate doors to Notre Dame

The intricate doors to Notre Dame

Inside is where Notre Dame wows, however.  In addition to an interesting series of sculptures depicting the life of Jesus as well as the normal altars, relics, etc. Notre Dame has the amazing Rose Windows.  It is hard to capture just how beautiful they are, particularly when the sun filters through them and splashes parts of the cathedral in color.  I tried to capture it, however, taking picture after picture.  Very beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Notre Dame makes a great first impression on entering

Notre Dame makes a great first impression on entering

Interior of Notre Dame with neat blue painted ceiling

Interior of Notre Dame with neat blue painted ceiling

One of the famed Rose windows

One of the famed Rose windows

Close-up of one of the Rose windows

Close-up of one of the Rose windows

More stained glass in Notre Dame

More stained glass in Notre Dame

Yet more stained glass

Yet more stained glass

Soaring arches and intricate stonework accented by amazing stained glass

Soaring arches and intricate stonework accented by amazing stained glass

The lighting of the chandeliers and the purple glow of sunlight through stained glass windows was astounding

The lighting of the chandeliers and the purple glow of sunlight through stained glass windows was astounding

We left Notre Dame right at 4p and headed south again, via the Petit Pont – Cardinal Lustiger, to the Latin Quarter.  After a short distance we arrived at the Musee de Cluny, home of the Musee National du Moyen Age (National Museum of the Middle Ages).  The museum was built in the 1500s on top of the ruins of a Roman bath.  As the museum was being extensively renovated so the entrance fee was greatly reduced to four euros each.  There was a small room displaying seventy items or so from their collection, mostly ivory or gold including a gorgeous rose done in gold.  There was also an exhibition on the evolution of the mythology around unicorns.

Exterior of Notre Dame

Exterior of Notre Dame

Notre Dame looming over the Seine

Notre Dame looming over the Seine

I really liked the stone roofs in the Latin Quarter

I really liked the stone roofs in the Latin Quarter

A Latin Quarter bistrot

A Latin Quarter bistrot

Ivory and gold chest in the Musee du Moyen Age

Ivory and gold chest in the Musee du Moyen Age

Rose d'Or in the Musee du Moyan Age

Rose d’Or in the Musee du Moyan Age

The crown jewel of the museum was also on display, the six tapestries known as “The Lady and the Unicorn” that were made around 1500.  The first five tapestries related to the five senses with the last (and most famous) one showing the lady, her companion, the lion, and the unicorn in front of a blue tent.  All six tapestries had a red background and were covered with animals such as foxes, monkeys, and rabbits.  It was amazing how great the color was.

Gallery containing the famed Lady and the Unicorn tapestry

Gallery containing the famed Lady and the Unicorn tapestry

Closer look at one of the tapestries

Closer look at one of the tapestries

After buying a magnet and a pillow case we left the museum at about 5p and headed for the hotel.  Along the way we passed a used bookstore and a grocery store with its basement dedicated to wine.  There was a small place (plaza) with an old-timey metro sign, one of the newspaper stands, and a cart selling candies.  A short distance later we were back at the hotel where I lined up a taxi to the airport for 8:30a and we napped a bit until just past 8p.

Delight in the unlikeliest of places, the center of a bench in the Musee du Moyen Age

Delight in the unlikeliest of places, the center of a bench in the Musee du Moyen Age

As iconic as the London Underground signs are Paris' Metro has them beat for style!

As iconic as the London Underground signs are Paris’ Metro has them beat for style!

We dithered between multiple restaurants but finally settled on Pizza Cesar on Rue Mazarine.  It was fairly small with tables close together.  A lady next to us was speaking French a mile a minute.  Michelle and I ordered bruschetta for an appetizer — it was excellent.  For our main course Michelle had a four cheese pizza and I had a ham, cheese (mozzarella), and egg (though I never found it…) calzone.  Not bad.  For dessert we each had a slice of lemon meringue pie that was very good.  Could’ve been a little tarter, perhaps.  They had a drizzle of caramel that had been fire-hardened that was both impressive visually and tasty.

Sam and Dean Winchester eyeing our lemon meringue pie

Sam and Dean Winchester eyeing our lemon meringue pie

Left just before 10p and headed back to the hotel to off-load pics (but not save to the cloud as the upload speeds were total crap), blog a bit, then bed around midnight.

 

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