Paris

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We arrived at Paris on the East side at the main bus station. From there we took the metro to Anvers, near Sacre Coeur. The first thing I noticed was that these metros were no longer on the “honor system”. Not only did you have to go through a turnstile, but a door after the turnstile as well. The doors didn’t lock like the turnstile, however, which allowed people to hop the turnstile and still make it through the door. And hop they did. This system received a lot of abuse, though I can’t tell if it was any more than in the “honor system” cities.

Our hostel was right near the bottom of Sacre Coeur in a district referred to as Montmartre. This was home to Picasso and Van Gogh as well as others. We walked around Montmartre the first evening in search of food. We soon noticed that this was also the red light district of France. There were lots of restaurants and other types of eateries lining the streets. We stopped at a pizza place where I ordered a bacon and egg pizza. It did not come sliced, but with a fork and knife. The pizza was excellent, and not too pricy compared to the rest of the items on the menu.

The next day we took a guided tour through the main stretch of historic Paris, right along the Seine. The Louvre is huge, covering about 3 square blocks with about 6 floors from the basement to the top. The glass pyramids in the middle were supposed to be “invisible” according to the ruler who built them. The people were apparently a little upset when they could clearly seem them, but not enough to tear them down. According to Dan Brown, the Holy Grail lies just beneath the largest pyramid, and this is true… if you like shopping. A large shopping area stretches across the basement level just below the pyramids, including a Starbucks. People in Paris seem to love Starbucks. I guess it does fit in well with their general style. However, not as much as they like to smoke. Everyone in Paris smokes, even the kids. I heard something about being able to buy cigarettes that do contain less nicotine, but since I don’t smoke I didn’t pay too much attention. Anyway, the next stop was the Jardin du Tuileries. This was a highly manicured park full of statues, cherry blossoms (in bloom!), a fountain. There was no walking on the grass. I guess that is the difference between a jardin (garden) and a park. I remember taking pictures of just about every statue I saw in Brussels, but there were way too many statues to do that here. If I followed that trend, then all I would be doing is taking pictures! We were then introduced to the building that housed the French preservation board. A board dedicated to preserving the French culture. They were known for coming up with alternate names for such American influenced words as computer and internet, although French people still call computers computers and internet internet. The latest resolution was over whether the ipod should be masculine or feminine. They decided the ipod should be masculine, and the joke was, “because its so easy to turn on”. A bridge leading from the Louvre to the board had chain-link guards on either side. Many padlocks were hung locked in various places in the chain link. It was common for couples to come to this bridge, lock their lock to the chain link, then throw the key into the Seine. Sounds romantic, but occasionally you find a combination lock… for those who aren’t so sure they want to be locked for eternity. The walk from the Louvre towards the Arc de Triumph led us to the an old square with an Egyptian obelisk. This was the square where many were beheaded by the guillotine, including Marie Antoinette. An old palace that is now the most expensive hotel in Paris sits right on the square. The winner of the Tour de France may stay there for free for however long after the victory, and is allowed to fly the flag of their country. Which is why when Lance Armstrong won he flew the flag of Texas. Wait, what? From there to the Arc de Triumph was a long stretch of some fine shopping establishments. I’m not a big shopper, but I’m assuming that giant Louis Vutton stores aren’t in just any strip mall. The tour guide said H&M was not allowed to put a store down this corridor, whatever that means. The tour ended at the site of the World’s Fair in 1900. Two palaces were built there, aptly known as the big palace and the little palace. During the World’s Fair in 1900 you could see a human zoo, a caged environment for a tribe from Madagascar that were asked very nicely to come to Paris… or not. Really guys, in 1900? We continued down to the Arc de Triumph, which was surrounded by a roundabout, but no crosswalk led to the center. I figured this meant you just had to make your own, but then discovered a couple underground walkways leading in and out of the center. From there we ventured south to the famed Eiffel Tower. I can see why many are drawn to this massive structure. You could have a 10-lane highway running underneath it! Many gathered in the square below, which is where we first saw soldiers armed with fully automatic weapons. Better not get caught peeing the bushes by these guys. From there we walked to the Hotel of the Invalids and Napolean’s tomb before we were worn out enough to call it a day. The Hotel of the Invalids was an interesting structure. The name suggests a place to put people you don’t really like, and the moat around it was consistent with this. However, the building was beautiful. A bright golden dome sat atop the center, and statues adorned the entrances. Never did figure that one out.

Sacre Coeur was first stop the next day. Sacre Coeur is a bright white basilisk sitting on a large hill in Montmartre which overlooks the city of Paris. Even though we were only staying a couple blocks from Sacre Coeur, the hike up to the basin was no joke. From there, you could already see most of the city, but of course that wasn’t enough. A narrow spiral staircase of some 300 steps led to the top of Sacre Couer, and there you could see everything. We walked around the dome to get a view of all sides of Paris. We didn’t go up in the Eiffel Tower, but I would find it hard to believe the view rivaled this one. The main level opened up into one big sanctuary , while the crypt in the lower level housed many smaller sanctuaries.
From there we walked to Notre Dame, a cathedral that took 200 years to build! A mass was being held as we entered by not one priest, but an army of clergymen. The walls were lined with stained-glass and large paintings. The ceilings must have been 30 feet high at least. The outside was filled with carvings of stone and statues. A statue of Charlemagne on a horse stands right outside the entrance. Charlemagne is wearing a crown, has long flowing hair, and looks to be much taller than his assistant beside his horse. Very World of Warcraft. However, apparently Charlemagne was actually short and bald.

We met Belle the next day at the Louvre. Belle had been a student studying at the Louvre for the past couple semesters, and her work included reproduction of a painting in the Louvre. She was an excellent guide being able to take us straight to the good stuff, pointing out details many miss, and explaining the history behind certain pieces. The Mona Lisa was a must see, but after that we didn’t spend much time looking at the medieval to renaissance paintings. We found the art of the ancient cultures of America, Africa, and Egypt to be much more interesting. Seeing such detail in stone carvings from a time when only rudimentary tools existed is quite fascinating.

The Catacombs were the last big thing to explore in Paris, and this proved to be exactly the opposite of what I expected to find here. Long ancient mining tunnels stretch all over underneath the city of Paris. One particular stretch has been opened to the public as an exhibit of sorts. We were told there are other sections that only the locals know of and explore. Raves and other parties are known to be held deep in these sections. A full movie theater was found by police not too long ago. A narrow spiral staircase that led to the entrance convinced me that this would be exactly the opposite of Sacre Coeur. Eventually I would find that I was right. This was the final resting place of many people that had originally been buried in the main cemetery. Stacks and stacks of femurs formed walls and were encrusted with skulls in decorative fashion. This is why there were signs warning of bringing children down here. I’ve definitely never seen anything like this in person. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear we were on the set of the Goonies. These bone hallways stretched for probably about a mile, before the exit led you back to the surface.

That night we brought a couple bottles of wine to the basin of Sacre Coeur. There we sat on the steps with a small crowd overlooking the city, listening to music played by the natives, and watching fire dancers! This is definitely the place to hang out at night in Paris. The cops came by occasionally, but just to hand out parking tickets and disperse the swindlers.

At the end of our stay, I decided Paris was a nice city to visit, but would not want to live there. There is so much to see that I’m sure we didn’t even see 1/10 of all the city has to offer. However, everyone smokes and there are many places that smell like urine. Paris is also big on charging for the bathroom. Now I don’t want to make any definite statements about a city charging for the bathroom and smelling like urine, and a city that doesn’t charge for the bathroom and not smelling like urine, but you’re free to draw your conclusions.

Now we’re on an overnight bus to Berlin. We saved money by not having to get a room tonight, but I wonder if we will actually get enough sleep to not waste tomorrow sleeping anyway.

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Photos

Chain Link Bridge
Lovers lock their lock on the chain link, then throw the key into the Seine

...
Oh come on do you really not know what this is?

City of Paris
View from the top of Sacre Coeur

uhhh....
Take your children to the red light district, and don't hold their hand?

Sacre Coeur
is the place to be at night

Mummy
Inside the Louvre

Sunset
View from the lawn at the Louvre

Comments

[Lacey]

The Sign
I believe that sign says only local vehicles beyond that point... at least that's what my 3 semesters of French at UMKC tell me.