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Published: June 27th 2009
I struggled out of bed before six this morning and checked my luggage and tickets with bleary eyes. We arrived at the train station to find it deserted bar two members of staff and I grew increasingly anxious as we waited on a deserted platform with no sign of the train being ready to depart. Finally three minutes before departure the driver strolled up and let us on the train.
We eventually arrived at St Pancras International, made our way through security (which is none too strict as I got through with a nail file shoved in my handbag). We bought some seriously overpriced sandwiches for lunch before boarding the Eurostar. It is the first time I've used it and I was pleasantly surprised. Very efficient - we were in Paris a couple of hours later. We successfully navigated the metro to our hotel, checked in and collapsed in our room for a while before heading out to get our bearings.
We took the metro to Place de la Concorde and stood in the stifling heat trying to orientate ourselves. We walked through the Tuileries gardens stopping en route to buy a drink and rest in the shade. The Tuileries Gardens
are the oldest in Paris. Originally the grounds of the Tuileries Palace, built by Catherine de Medici in 1564, the 63 acres of gardens survived where the palace did not. The Tuileres Palace was used as the royal residence by Louis XIV while Versailles was under construction and later during the revolution was used as a prison for Louis XVI and his family. When Napolean I came into power he made Tuileres his chief residence and had much of it redesigned. After the restoration the palace reverted to being a royal residence until the second empire when it once again became a presidential residence. In 1871 supporters of the Commune torched the building and although the linked Louvre was saved, Tuileries was left a gutted ruin. The ruins remained on site for eleven years before finally being demolished by the French National Assembly. Despite its turbulent history the Tuileries Gardens remain a peaceful haven in the midst of the city and are filled with neo-classical sculptures depicting scenes from mythology, ponds with water fountains and small cafes.
We left the gardens and walked across the river, getting our first view of the Eiffel Tower as we did so. We walked
along the far side of the river, past the National Assembly, and then crossed back over via Pont Alexandre III. I spent some time admiring the beautiful sculptures on the bridge and then we walked all the back along the opposite side of the river until we reached Place de la Concorde again.
Place de la Concorde is the largest public square in Paris. Its construction was begun in 1754 and completed in 1763. Several decades later Place de la Concorde was renamed Place de la Révolution as hordes of revolutionaries tore down the statue of Louis XV and replaced it with a guillotine. Between 1793 and 1795, more than 1300 people were beheaded in public executions, including Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Danton and Robespierre and it is even said that the scent of blood was so strong here that a herd of cattle once refused to cross the grounds. The square has undergone several name changes since and today the place de la Concorde looks much as it did in the 1700s.
Dominating the centre of the square is Obelisk of Luxor, a pink granite monolith which was given to the French in 1829 by the viceroy of Egypt,
Mehemet Ali. The obelisk used to mark the entrance to the Temple of Luxor and it wa sstarnge to see it standing in the middle of a European city - even more so as I have seen the place where it used to stand in Egypt! The obelisk is more than 3,300 years old and is decorated with hieroglyphics portraying the reigns of the pharaohs Ramses II and Ramses III.
Gilded images on the pedestal portray the monumental task of transporting the monolith to Paris and erecting it at the square. Installed in 1833, the Obelisk — weighing 230 tonnes and standing 22.83 meters high in the center of the Place — is flanked on both sides by two fountains constructed during the same period. Having survived more than 33 centuries, the Obelisk has suffered the greatest damage during the past half-century by air pollution from industry and motor vehicles.
I found the fountains very beautiful with the whimisical statues of gods and water nymphs splashing in the fall of water. We attempted to get a photo together standing by the fountain and while a fellow tourist was more than happy to oblige us his daughter mad eit somewhat difficult
as she was filling her water bottle in the fountain and then running around creating moats around peoples feet! We finally got our picture only to realise the fountain had stopped flowing. As we stepped away the water began flowing again so we jumped back for a second attempt only to have the same thing happen again!
We returned to the Tuileries and walked almost as far as the Lurve before deciding to leave it for another day and we'd already walked quite a distance.
Back at the hotel we decided to explore our local area and find somewhere to eat. We located a pizza/pasta restaurant and a supermarket so after buying packed lunch food at the latter we went for a hot meal at the former. We got impressively large portions which only I was able to finish and which the waiters found amusing. As we were about to leave we were presented with free shots, a handful of sweets and a very cheerful goodbye... we may be returning there!
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Maisondubonheur
Pierre-Alexandre
Great entry!
I love your pics of Paris....and on top of that you had no strikes and great weather! Great writting too. Peter