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Published: August 10th 2013
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Paris
Entrance to Musee Du Louvre Well we've now been in Paris for just over two days and we have mixed feelings. Is it beautiful? No we don't think so. Don't misunderstand, much of what we have seen is beautiful but the city itself, no. For a city to be beautiful it has to have more going for it than just magnificent historical buildings. It has to be warm and welcoming and that is something we have not felt. The people are somewhat indifferent, not unfriendly but not friendly either. I expected aloof and that's what we have received. 'That' part of me has at times wanted to mention on occasion that if it were not for tourists then France would be in a much worse economic predicament than it is currently in. A smile goes a long way . . .
Our first two days sight seeing have been big, big days. The huge amount of walking we did in Holland pales into insignificance compared to the walking we have done the past two days. We started the day yesterday at Les Arts Decoratifs, which we thought was part of the Musee du Louvre but is in fact a museum in its own right. It
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The Mona Lisa holds historical collections of furniture, fashion and textiles, china, silverware, tapestries, the list goes on.
Next the Musee du Louvre. Originally a royal palace it has a collection of over one million works of which approximately 35,000 are on display spread over three wings. It is, in a word, massive. Did we get lost? Absolutely. How many times? Too many! Its collections are diverse ranging from antiquity to the mid 19th Century. It's very difficult to fathom that so much history and beauty could be in one place. Incredible. To be able to see in person the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo is a surreal experience.
We left the Musee du Louvre and moved on to nearby Musee d'Orsay which houses the world's most famous collection of impressionists paintings. We saw the paintings of Vincent van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, Cezane . . .
We want to see as much as we absolutely can in the four days we are in Paris so we decided that we would walk the 3.5 kms to the Arc de Triomphe. Not a big ask under normal circumstances but we had been on our feet all day. Common sense eluded us
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Venus de Milo and off we went up the Champs Elysees. We were challenged I can tell you but walking the Champs Elysees was wonderful. There were so many beautiful sights along the way and oh the stores! Tiffany and Co, Louis Vuitton, Citroen, Peugot . . . yes that's right, luxury car dealerships on the main shopping strip! The Arc de Triomphe was quite overwhelming. You have to pinch yourself to believe that you're standing in a place built by Napoleon and where the Nazis entered Paris when they occupied France during WWII. So much history. Not to be defeated by age and exhaustion we climbed the 284 steps to the top. We felt like we were in the last stages of a marathon . . . the pain. All worth it though because the view from the top was breathtaking. You can see Paris as far as the eye can see, la tour Eiffel, Notre Dame Cathedral . . .
Walking back to our hotel we stopped for dinner at a cafe on the Champs Elysees. Seafood risotto and a glass of sauvignon blanc. Ahhhhhhh . . .
Day two and we were off to Notre Dame. We are
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A statue or two . . . or three . . . having a little difficulty navigating the maps here but we got there eventually. First the Crypte Archeologique du Parvis Notre Dame which is on the plaza in front of Notre Dame Cathedral and is the site of archaeological remains dating back to Roman and medieval times. Fascinating. Next Notre Dame a Roman Rite Catholic Marian Cathedral and the most famous example of French Gothic architecture. It is very, very beautiful.
The Pantheon was our next stop. It was originally a church but now functions as a secular mausoleum and contains the remains of distinguished French citizens including Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Louise Braille and Marie and Pierre Curie. Another surreal experience to be at the resting place of these brilliant people.
When we stopped for dinner on the way home we experienced our least pleasant waiter to date. He was a joy . . . not.
As an aside I will say that if you visit Paris you absolutely must have a Paris Museum Pass. Rikki, Reece and Pippa gave it to us as a Christmas gift and it has been absolutely magnificent. No waiting in line for tickets (and some of the lines have been
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Arc de Triomphe huge), you're straight in. There is no way we could have seen what we have seen these last two days if we hadn't had the Pass. We'd still be waiting in line to get into the Louvre . . .
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Thelma
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Paris
You have had an interesting walk around Paris, haven't you !! You'll need another holiday to get over your holiday when you arrive home !! Glad to hear your seeing so much.