Ticking The Boxes

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The Things You Just Have To Do When In Paris.

The last day in Paris was spent doing all those things that you have to do when here. Bright and early, I was off to the Eiffel Tower to try and beat the crowds. On arriving all I could think was epic fail! as the line stretched from the corners of the tower around the plaza and out to the bridge over the Seine. Thankfully, that was the queue for all the fatties that wanted to pay more for taking the lifts to the first and second levels. The queue for the stairs on the other hand only had about six people in it and was only four euro instead of ten. At the halfway point between the first and the second levels they have put up signs illustrating some of the statistics for the tower like it takes 60 tonnes of paint to give it a make over, that they used 22,000 rivets in it's construction, that three times the population of France goes up it every year, and that you climb over 1600 steps from the bottom to the top. That last one was put in just for pure sadism I think because by this point you've already climbed over half of them (and you've got to go back down them yet too!)

From the Eiffel Tower, it was off to The Louvre to see what all the fuss was about. I'd been told, when visiting the Louvre, don't try and conquer it, just see what you can and leave the rest for another day. I had no plans of trying to conquer it all in a day as the place is enormous, covering three palaces on four floors. The path to the Mona Lisa is well beaten and sign posted from the entrance, as is the Venus de Milo by Michelangelo. Out of everything I saw though, I'd have to say my favourite was the Rodin Hall. Not that busy and beautiful works covering the walls. I could have sat there for hours.

The Louvre is only a short walk to Ile De La Cite where the Concergerie and Saint Chapelle are both located. The Concergerie was the original residence of the monarchs of France and also housed the courts, jails and parliament. Now days it is still used as the law courts but all the rest have moved to other locations around the city. This was the place that held Marie Antoinette before she was beheaded in Place de la Concorde during the French Revolution. Saint Chapelle was built in the 1200's as the royal place of worship but was also open to citizens. It was joined to the palace by a walkway so that the monarchs could enter on the upper level and not have to mix with the crowd below. It also is the place where there are the largest stained glass windows in Europe.

On the other side of the city is the Pantheon, a church that was built to honour the patron saint of France. The crypt houses some of the biggest names in French history including Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola and Marie Curie. An imposing structure who's dome can be seen from all over the city, the insides are covered in paintings depicting Joan of Arc and Constantine to name a few.

Down the road from the Pantheon is the Jardin Du Luxemberg, a 23 hectare estate featuring manicured gardens and fountains in a peaceful location. With the sun out, the gardens were packed with people reading and picnicking and generally making the most of the sunshine.

Crossing the city once again, I headed out to Pere Lachaise Cemetery which is notable for a number of it's occupants. Foremost on most people's lists of headstones to see is Jim Morrison, the lead singer of The Doors. Although not French, he died in Paris of a drug overdose and was buried here. Other famous people occupying some ground here are Edith Piaf, Chopin and the mausoleum of Oscar Wilde, which has been smothered in lipstick marks from the many fans who have kissed the memorial and even a bit of graffiti stating "here lies the greatest man who ever lived."

And so after five full days in Paris, I leave to head North for the coasts of Normandy to continue my journey through France.

"Only dead fish go with the current. " - Anonymous

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Comments

[liliram]

Great photos, Mark
Nice one. Thanks for sharing , Mark.

[Elaine]

MONA LISA
Hi Mark, You actually got to see the Mona Lisa. I say this because when I was there you couldn't get within 10ft of the painting. I could just see the top of the frame and said that was that! And just look at your picture, not a sole around. Perhaps if I ever get to go to Paris again I might spend a lot more time looking over the Louvre, and other places.

[RTW adventures]

Mona Lisa
Hey Mum, It wasn't that there was no one around the painting, I just used my elbows a little and then held the camera above everyone else's head. They did have a barrier about 10 ft from the painting that helped too so no one could get close and block the shot.