USA-Cruise-Europe-Day 31

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Day 31

We took the train to the Notre Dame railway station. We went inside Notre Dame just after 10am. We stayed inside for about 30 minutes. Saw a Statue of Joan of Arc & sitting on he floor was the Crown of Light (also know as the Great Chandelier).













Then we walked along the Seine River where we had our first view of the Eiffel Tower.







We made our way to the Louvre Museum. It is the largest national museum in France. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings. These days nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres. We arrived at the Louvre around 11:15 am.













You enter the Museum via the Pyramid. Luckily the queue was not too long & we were inside by 11:40 am. Not far from the entrance we saw a number of statues including the Winged Victory-a headless statue that was found on the island called Samothrace off the coast of Greece.







We made our through halls of Paintings of all shapes & sizes. We reached a hall containing the Mona Lisa just before noon.













After viewing the Mona Lisa, we split into family groups for the rest of our visit to the museum. We saw an artist copying a painting, then we moved into a hall with very large French Paintings, including the Raft of Medusa by Gericault & Eugène Delacroix's 1830 painting Liberty (used as the cover on Coldplay's album Viva La Vida).













Next we went into the Apollo Gallery, built in 1661 under the direction of architect Le Vau and painter Charles Le Brun, the gallery was not fully completed until 1851. The Gallery contains 105 works of art - 41 paintings, 36 sculpture groups (118 pieces in all) and 28 tapestries on its walls and ceilings. It notably serves as a showcase for France’s crown jewels.













We continued on passing through Pharonic Egypt, Chronological Cricuit. Saw all sorts of Egyptian artefacts including some mummies.





















Next we moved onto the Greek Antiquities Hall & saw the Venus De Milo.







Then we went down to the Medieval Louvre. This area features a Moat, model of a Castle, a medieval Helmut & some jars.













Later on we went into a Hall of Norhern European Sculptures, where we saw a statue of St. Mary Magdalene.













We left the Louvre just after 2 pm & passed by the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. It was commissioned in 1806 to commemorate Napoleon's military victories of the previous year. It was finished in 1808 by Napoleon I following the model of the Arch of Constantine in Rome. A liitle bit further on our right, we could see Musée des Arts Décoratifs, a museum of the decorative arts and design. Located in the Louvre museum's western wing, known as the Pavillon de Marsan, the museum was founded in 1905 by members of the Union des Arts Décoratifs. It houses and displays furniture, interior design, altar pieces, religious paintings, objets d'arts, tapestries, wallpaper, ceramics and glassware, plus toys from the Middle Ages to the present day.







We continued on walking through the Jardin des Tuileries. It is is Paris's most central garden. It connects the Louvre with the Place de la Concorde and forms a part of the large central axis between the Louvre and La Défense. The Tuileries Garden covers about 63 acres (25 hectares) and still closely follows a design laid out by landscape architect Andre Le Notre in 1664. It features a very large garden pool with a fountain in the middle. Dotted around the pool were many people relaxing in deck chairs.







At the end of he garden we reached the Place de la Concorde. It is major public square in Paris, France. In terms of area, its 86,400 square metres make it the largest square in the French capital. The Place was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 as a moat-skirted octagon between the Champs-Élysées to the west and the Tuileries Gardens to the east.

The center of the Place is occupied by the giant Egyptian Obelisk of Luxor decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramses II. The place also features two fountains designed by Jacques-Ignace Hittorff. The fountains are both based on martime themes, because of their proximity to the Ministry of Navy on the Place de la Concorde, and to the Seine.







We continued on along the Champs-Élysées, passing museums, theatres & shops, on our way to The Arc de Triomphe. Before we went to to look at the Arc, we stopped at a cafe to have something to eat & a well deserved rest. We moved on to the Arc just after 4 pm.







The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the "Place de l'Étoile". The triumphal arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I .













We stayed for a while at the Arc as it looked like there was going to be a ceremony, but after 15 minutes nothing had happened so we went on our way. We took the train to Montmartre. At Montmarte we walked up past the shops to climb the stairs that lead to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica.

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a Roman Catholic basilica, is a popular landmark in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. We were all a bit tired by the time we reached the summit around 5:15 pm. The view over Paris was quite spectacular.







After having a rest at the top of the hill we went past Le Petit Train de Montmartre & took a walk around the Montmarte village just beyond the Basilica. Most of us bought ice-creams for our afternoon snack.







We walked down the hill & around 6:15 pm we reached the Moulin Rouge. We took some pictures of the Moulin Rouge & then headed for the station.







We rode the train to a station near the Eiffel Tower. On the way to the tower, we passed the Australian Embassy & stopped to take photo's.







The Eiffel Tower was built during 1887-1889 on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River. Including the 24 m antenna, the structure is 324 m high. At the time of completion in 1889, it was the world's tallest tower. The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes.

We arrived at the Eiffel Tower by 7:15 pm. As soon as we arrived we were approached by illegal sellers of souvenirs who basically never give up trying, they kept bugging us all the time we were in the area. They have souvenir towers hanging from their arms. Whenenever a policeman appears with a whistle they run away. We walked around for a while, went over the road near the Seine River & took some more photos & then we decided to have dinner nearby & then come back to see the sunset & the tower by night.



















We ate our dinner at a Pizza restaurant not far from the railway station. We returned to the tower around 9 pm - it was not really dark yet, but already the lights had been switched on.







Joan, Riza & Sarah decided to join the queue to go up the tower. Once they were inside we did not see them again for nearly 2 hours. Once inside you take a lift part way up & then you have to queue up again to take a second lift to the top.

















Twice a night the lights on the Eiffel Tower sparkle for about 10 minutes which makes a spectacular sight. After 10 pm when the girls finally came down from the tower, we headed back to the railway station to go back to the Hotel.

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