Second Trip to Paris

Morning started off bright and early with Caroline driving Virginie and me to the train station. There we caught the train and rode it into Paris. Unlike the last trip, Virginie dropped me off at metro stop where I got on the subway to go see the Notre Dame Cathedral. Unfortunately I got a bit confused in the metro station - there are so darn many ways to go with tunnels and stairs everywhere - ended up taking the subway to the north of the Seine River rather than the south. But Paris has tons of fun sites to see every-which-way you go so it really doesn’t matter what part of the city you’re in. In my case I was near the Hotel de Ville (pronounced just like Cruella de Ville from 101 Dalmations). Before going to the Hotel de Ville I went and visited a little cathedral next door called Diocése de Saint Denis en France. I know it was “small” because it wasn’t listed on the map, but it looked huge to me! It was gorgeous inside and out (see pics). Inside the morning sermon was taking place but it wasn’t too crowded so I was able to take some pictures without disrupting anyone or being rude. Another tourist couple also happened to be viewing the cathedral at the same time and took a picture of me inside the building as well as standing on the front steps.

After leaving the Saint Denis Cathedral I rounded the bend to the backside of the Hotel de Ville and snapped a few shots. I went inside to see but there were people coming in and out for information as well as construction workers. Just in front of the Hôtel de Ville was an outdoor market. It was marvelous and such a familiar sight (having been to many farmers markets in California) with numerous booths and stands crammed together and lots of people milling around the different vendors. Unlike the farmers market I have been to at home, this one was more of a wares market with vendors selling everything from shoes and garments, to beach towels and traveling luggage bags. There were a few food stands of well - these tended to be located on the outside of the market and sold mostly veggies but there were a few fruit vendors too. I stopped at one and bought a small bag of cherries and two apricots - so amazingly delicious for my morning snack!

From the corner of the outdoor market I took a few photos and then visited the Hôtel de Ville from the other side where I took a few more pictures (the day was filled with tons of picture-taking opportunities and I was happy to oblige). I had thought that “Hôtel de Ville” was a hotel, but actually when translated it means “city hall”. Apparently the present edifice is a 19th century replica of the original medieval structure, and was the meeting hall for the cartel that controlled traffic on the Seine (this from my amazing guide book :-).

Then I wandered down the av. des Champs Elysées where I saw the Grand Palais Museum on one side and the Petit Palais on the other - took many pictures (of course) and then crossed the Seine River south by way of the Esplanade des Invalides (bridge that runs from the Hôtel to the Pont Alexandre III). The bridge has gilded lampposts and a gorgeous view of the Hôtel des Invalides (it’s the building with the gold dome on top). Everything was simply gorgeous - the Seine River view, the gold dome roof of the Hôtel des Invalides, the lampposts - it was a perfect day for sightseeing and taking photos (hopefully mine captured the moment for you).

The second cathedral I was lucky enough to see was a major one - the Madeleine. Like the cathedral in Saint Denis, mass was being conducted and they asked that pictures not be taken. However, I did manage to buy a couple postcards at the souvenir shop inside the cathedral so I can remember how gorgeous the ceiling, glass windows and religious display was. Outside the Madeleine I took a picture from the steps overlooking the city and then had my picture taken in front of the church flowers.

I got lunch at a swank little place called Fauchon. After the fact, I found out that I ate at the “to-go” part of the Fauchon. Nearby-by there was a full-service restaurant of the place. However, given my financial and time budgets, it was best that I ate here anyway. It was such a cute spot - right on the corner from the Madeleine. The pink and gold colors of the place were everywhere, from the outside window shades to the gold plastic spoons and gold-dusted (edible) desserts. On the left side of the café was the meat and vegetable portion and on the right side was the dessert, bakery and sandwich portion. For lunch I bought a veggie-tart and a glass bottle of water (none of their waters were cheap either). I think I paid more for the water than my tart! For dessert I bought a bright pink ball atop a honey-glazed crust made of cookie pieces and a dark chocolate cake. The cake was a bit rich but the pink ball was delicious, with an inside made of a light sponge cake and fruit filling. Before leaving I went upstairs to use the restroom and had my picture taken outside the café entrance.

After lunch I wandered around the Seine River trying to find my way to the Musée D’Orsay. Along the way I passed by the Musée Du Louvre which disappointingly was closed in Tuesday. However, I still managed to take lots of beautiful shots of the outside of the building which in my opinion is almost as good as going inside I like the idea of just “being there”. I bought a sorbert cone outside of the Louvre - melon. And oh boy was it utterly delicious! Not only was it perfect weather for a cold ice cream, but it tasted exactly like canteloupe. Wandering in and out of the Louvre arch ways I saw the three pyramids and the Jardin des Tuileries with the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc was totally cool and presented some great opportunities for pictures from a variety of angles. From the Arc de Triomphe I trekked to the Musée D’Orsay. Outside the Musée were two giant sculptures of animals (I took a picture of the horse one - the most important one as far as I was concerned). The line seemed long but moved quite quickly. After bags and purses were checked I bought my ticket (billet) inside. The inside of the museum included a variety of art pieces and highlighted the work of Corinth from April to the end of June. The artwork was of a wide spectrum including sculptures, paintings, decorative art, woodwork and photographs from 1848 to World War II. Built in an old train station, the Musée D’Orsay contained “reject” pieces including many paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin and Seurat (obviously not reject pieces by my standards, but who am I to judge?).

Once out of the Musée D’Orsay, I had to find my way back to Virginie. (We had agreed that one of us would call when I was about done. Knowing this was my last trip to Paris in quite a while, I made the most of this general arrangement and probably pushed a bit on the time casual time of 4:30ish but it allowed me to see a few more sights along the way to meet Virginie). I passed by the Place de la Concorde which (according to my trusty guidebook) is Paris’s most infamous public square. The square had been the site of the guillotine but had been replaced by the Obélisue de Luxor (a gift to Charles X by the Viceroy of Egypt). I met Virginie at the Madeleine metro station but not before enjoying a chocolate and coco (coconut) crepe at a small, snack stand.

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