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Published: June 16th 2005
New Love of My Life
I could spend days lost in there.The 24 euro night's sleep was definitely better than the 13 pound's night's sleep. I actually felt rested this morning....
I wouldn't say I'm in love with Paris, but I'm definitely loking this place. I got a bit of a late start today (walked out at 8:50). The first stop was the Louvre. Now that place I am in love with. Just the building alone. If it was initially built as a fort, it doesn't show. I especially like the Apartments of Napolean III. The fellow knew how to live. Burgandy walls, what I presume to be gold-leafed moulding, elaborately painted ceilings, etc. I won't even get started on the paintings. It was interesting to see the one of Napolean's coronation up close. It doesn't look like much in textbooks, but the thing's massive.
Lunch was at Café Marly (in one of the wings of the Louvre). Yes, having lunch in a high-end place located
inside the Louvre is a bit pricey, but hey, how often am I in Paris?
The rest of the day revolved around the theme of surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. After visiting Notre-Dame (don't think it's that impressive, but to be fair, my
Mona Lisa
I guess the museam hasn't heard of anti-reflective glass. definition of "impressive" isn't adjusted for the age of the place), I got the bright idea to walk to the Pantheon. All I can say is that it looked close on the map, and that I now know the cheap map the hotel gave me is
not to scale.
Surpise #1 was that the Pantheon, as imposing as it is on the outside, is somewhat bland on the inside. The Foucault's Pendulum was nice to see though. Surprise #2 was that the Faculte de Droit of the Université de Paris is right across from the Pantheon. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité? I helped myself to a tour of the place. Not bad looking, but the seating looked uncomfortable - good for staying awake in class.
Surprise #3 was that while the Metro is what you'd expect of a subway in such a large and busy city, the RER is much, much worse. Hot, humid, way overcrowded, and the trains look like they're about to fall apart any minute. Charming.
Surpise #4 was pleasant. My original plan was to visit the Sacre-Coeur (built from donations flowing from the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870), and I did indeed do
Botticelli
Up close and personal. I almost gave in to temptation to touch it. so. It was interesting to see that unlike Notre-Dame, Sacre-Coeur staff rigourasly enforced modesty standards. Quite a few girls in tanktops were forced to improvise modesty. Back to the point, it seems that there's quite a market scene on Butte (hill) Montmartre. Heavy tourist trap? Definitely. Still kinda charming? Yes. Surprisingly, there's some cheap eats there. I ended up in this one unassuming corner place called La Pétandière. The prix-fix menu was 3 course (salad, chicken, desert) at 8 euros. Met an Irish family vacationing in Paris inside. Really nice people. Their one and a half week vacation, they told me, was going to cost them 3000 euros. Damn - that would almost pay for my one and a half
month trip.
It's 10pm, so I should probably turn in. I need an early start tomorrow to beat the tourist rush since Le Tour Eiffel and L'Arc Triomphe are on the list. As case in point, it took me 5 minutes to get the picture of the Mona Lisa today. About 10 minutes later, I estimate there were 200 tourists swarming the picture (in it's new massively accomodating room). As they say in French, mon Dieu!
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Jon L
Bienvenue à Paris!
Cher Andrew: Bonjour! Ça va bien, non? So you are love with Paris... good. The "air-uh-air" (RER) I saw in Paris was a double-decker train with air-conditioning.. looked very nice for me though.. As for the metro, la carte Orange is a good deal indeed. I still got one in my posession heehee.. As regard to Basilique de Sacre-Coeur, I am pleased to no that tank-top girls are denied entry into the Church because it a sacred place for Divine worship after all. I hate to see tourists in revealing clothing in churches. Talk to you soon! -- Jonathan