Ville de Paris
I asked Jessica what she wanted to do for her birthday, and she said what any other red blooded girl would say. "Paris please". Usually completely out of the question, going to Paris for her birthday was actually a feasible and affordable option because we are in Europe, she had a "study break" from school (or what she called a break from studying), and there was an online promotion for the Chunnel where she scored, incredibly, two first class tickets with meals for around ₤50 a person. So she got her spoiled girly way, but I also threw in a request to see Rome while we were at it, which she shrugged her shoulders and said "o.k, deal!"
The first impression I had of Paris was at the train station. Currently, I'm used to the British engineering where everything is very simple, bulky, and rugged, I noticed the Paris station to have more of a thin and approachable look to it. The railings on the stairs were smaller and prettier, as opposed to a solid iron mass that you lean up against. The metro check in booths have a flimsy block which I noticed homeless people simply forcing themselves through to illegally get on the trains. The ticketing system is not very well thought out; you buy a ticket, which is this tiny little tab thing, and you check through the gate and are to hold on to it the duration of your journey. The only thing really keeping people buying tickets is a fine if you're caught without one. After the ride, the ticket is trash, and then they are dropped, littering the streets around the station and elsewhere. You will see them on the ground all around town. They are more littering and more prominent than cigarette butts, which is too bad.
The metro stops are very short and fast between stations so you have to keep your head up, plus the doors don't open automatically. If you're stuck in the back you have to shove through and hit the latch, diving out of the train. You have about three seconds. Some stations are so close to the next, that you can look down the tunnel and see it. The train's length can actually reach the next station at a stop.
The first view of the Eiffel tower made me say "wow" out loud. We were a little under a mile away when I caught the first real life look. At the time I was trying to find my bearings on the map looking the wrong way, when I turned around and there it was. It’s a huge structure and odd looking, visible from almost anywhere in town. In the evenings, it lights up and has a spinning beam shooting from the top. You can take a ride up the structure for 20 euros a head late into the night. We went to stand under it the first evening out (what else to do your first night in Paris?) and enjoyed the lights the sights and the cold. It was frikkin' freezing, but great fun none the less.
Our days were packed, thanks to Jessica's feverish thirst to see anything and everything the city had to offer. We stayed in the 'Opera' section of town, so we either had to bus or metro much of the time, but it allowed us to unwind at the end of the day in a very nice area that wasn't overrun with horrible tourist prices or tourist crowding. Jessica had been before, so she wanted to retrace her steps with me, and then see even more. Paris has wonderful art and landmarks about town. The arc de triumph in the middle of town is a giant arch built the celebrate a victory for Napoleon, with wonderful art decorating it. I also enjoyed seeing the big fountains and random mythological creature works around town.
Much of my interests were peaked in the gothic, religious, artistic, and macabre tones the city had to offer. Undoubtedly, Paris is a romantic city full of breathtaking beauty, colors, and culture which makes it very appealing to the ladies. Music fills the air, the colors of vibrant flowers and gardens are at every step, local artists display their talent, and bread is baked fresh on every street. But there is a dark side to Paris. A gloomy, suppressing nightmare that simultaneously makes you feel worried but also safe and relieved. Interested at the very least, and for me, revitalized.
Scary movies usually depict large gloomy religious buildings worn with age, inhibited by a character with a dark past. I couldn't help but think that the gothic era, bringing forth its overwhelming real life depiction of good versus evil, and wonderfully crafted structures and artwork was a big influence on the "horror" movie culture. Walking through these grand, cold, overbearing churches with intricate stained glass windows and sculptures was pretty scary stuff. I could only imagine what it’s like at night *shudders*.
The Notre Dame de Paris was very interesting to see because it is the epitome of the gothic structure, complete with flying buttresses (look it up) and its world famous gargoyles. Yes, I saw the Notre Dame gargoyles. Jealous? We walked the circumference of the building, complete with creepy looking dead trees and moss growing from the gargoyles mouths. I noticed that drainage was built into the sides of the building to allow water to run down a slope and shoot from the gargoyles mouths. I'm very curious how that looks in action. The inside of the church is very big and impressive, and is continually packed with tourists, but I enjoyed seeing all the wonderful gothic art on the exterior the most.
Sainte Chapelle is another old chapel, having what is considered the finest gothic architecture in the world (see Jessica's blog above for more) found inside a government compound, so there is always a line to get in. It has one of the largest and arguably the best stained glass windows in the world which was really worth the visit in itself. The building also supposedly holds one of the spikes used in the crucifixion of Christ, and the actual crown of thorns worn on his head, both of which cannot be proven authentic, and are only displayed on Easter day each year. Also in the complex was a structure used for holding prisoners before their execution, most notably Marie Antoinette and Robespierre. The prisoners were held there, sometimes hung inside, but usually publicly outside. It was interesting to walk through an read of its history.
We heard that the Louvre museum has a terrible wait for entry throughout the day, so we decided to get up extra early to be first in line. This proved to be beneficial in more ways than one. We arrived to the museum after catching the very first train running in the morning, before the sun even rose. We had a time of being in solitary (as a couple, ha!) with the structure while the sun came up. It was very pretty and fun. We weren't the first in line because we were walking around checking stuff out, but we were in with the first wave of people. I made a b-line for the Mona Lisa. We got the tickets; I went in and followed the signs. Walking quickly through the halls of one of the world's finest museum, passing timeless art left and right, hearing only the sounds of two peoples foot steps bouncing off the walls was great. Actually, I think the lights were still being brought up as I hurried to the DaVinci masterpiece.
When I got there, I wasn't the first, but the sixth person to arrive. The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting and the most published image in the world, and is considered priceless. The painting itself has its own wall, set in the middle of a huge room, with four guards watching it behind a thick bulletproof glass, and a security laser system. It isn't very big (about the size of your forearm) you can't get very close to the glass, plus it's dark. I read that it's dark because it's so filthy, but nobody has the guts to clean it. Photography was strictly forbidden anywhere near the painting. All you can do is look, and say to yourself "there it is. The Mona Lisa". The crowds slowly came, and filled the space in front. But I had my time. Just me and Mona L., early that morning in the Louvre. I had my taste of truly priceless art.
*(Added by Jessica) But the Mona Lisa, although the most popular attraction along with the Venus de Milo, was far from the best work of art in the vast museum. It was so big, and we had so much to do that day, that we decided to look only at the French and Italian paintings wing. Several from Delacroix and contemporaries (including Liberty Leading the People), as well as Death of a Young Martyr by an artist unknown to me, were my favorites. I literally sat and stared open-mouthed at their stunning beauty. It was easy to spot the famous ones, what with huge amounts of tour groups in every language crowding in front of them. Because of Dave’s interest (and I felt bad he didn’t get to see the gargoyles up close the day before), we spent another hour or so going through Pacific/Aboriginal/African art, to the ancient Egypt section. It was amazing to see 5000 year-old relics (my favorite being the musical instruments) on display. We passed through Roman antiquities as we left, a mere 3 hours after our entry. (End of section)*
One of the most frightening and eye opening tours I've ever had was when we went underground to the catacombs. You wouldn't guess while walking on the streets of that part of town that there are very deep and very long tunnels running underground. In fact the only way you would know of it is from hearing about it, or seeing a long line of people coming from the front of a small church-like structure and wonder what's up.
The line to get in isn't long, but it takes time, because they only trickle people in slowly due to the nature of the tour. You must realize that there is no emergency exit once you're down there, you will get lost if you don't follow the designated and lit path, it is very long going underground, walking through, and coming back up, and there is a very high amount of mortality involved, meaning lots and lots of bones. Real human bones. And it isn't a fake attraction, so there is always the chance of a tunnel collapse, electrical failure, gas leak etc etc. Do not do it if you are claustrophobic in the slightest.
After getting in the building from the street and paying the admission, you immediately begin a descent deep underground in a very tight and very dark spiral stone stairway. It goes on and on and on, and after a while you think you are going insane and there is no bottom to the stairs. It's probably three hundred steps straight down into the void. Upon reaching the bottom, you find yourself in a small room with displays describing the history of the catacombs. There are pictures of tourists from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century going through it with candles. Talk about freaky (going through with only candles that is). From there, you take a long walk through slippery wet uncarved stone tunnels dripping with condensation. You finally reach a room that has a pillar in the middle and a stone-block passageway with a carving above saying "STOP! - HERE IS THE EMPIRE OF DEATH" From there, you walk through a passage of human bones, piled shoulder high. The catacombs were an overflow of bodies from local cemeteries, and they only used thigh bones and skulls for the walls. Along the way there will be tablets with life lessons pertaining to death, and information on what cemetery the bodies come from for the particular piles.
It is overwhelming. How many real human bones have you seen? Now, place yourself directly next to a wet wall of human bones deep underground. Jessica started gagging, psyched out to the fact that she is "breathing in bone dust". That is pretty nasty. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing first hand. Thousands upon thousands of human beings, fully decayed, and piled on top of each other in pieces. Each person had a life, a family, a favorite food, a social comment on life etc, and now they are just small pieces of a wall comprised of probably millions of bones. The tour is only open to a section of the catacombs, which stretches for miles. It blew my mind right out of the water. I am curious of bones, kind of a interest and fixation on death, but after one tour of the catacombs, I'm done for a while. A long while. After trudging back up the stairs to the top, catching your breath, security personnel does a quick look over making sure you didn't take any bones. It's terrible that people desecrate the shrines. And what's even worse, is that there was a skull and a couple femur bones on the desk from that day.
From the low, we went up high to one of Paris' highest points, which has a great view of the city. At the very top is the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) church, loaded with tourists who are to be quiet inside with no photography, which seems like an impossible task to enforce. It started raining as we made our way down, passing by the Lapin Agile, a small bar that was a constant hang out for Picasso and Dali who lived in the area. It was closed, but no bother.
I really enjoyed the food there. I took Jessica to a birthday dinner that was one of the most enjoyable I've ever had, and the wine was really great. It was more flavorsome and smoother than what I've tasted before, and didn't have that hard, dry, rough bite that most wines have. The restaurant was a very good place, not fancy, but good, and what they served was authentic. I'm glad we got to do that. The French food is simple but flavorsome, and the waiters really try hard to please you which adds an extra special touch to your meal.
On the way back to the hotel, we visited the Moulin Rouge the famous cabaret in the red light district. The recent film of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor is Jessica's favorite movie, so seeing the real thing was a big kick for her. The red light district is nasty, with pushy street hustlers, drunks, and naked advertising everywhere. Not a pleasant place to spend the evening, but worth going for what it was. I saw the prices for the show, and they were outrageous! Upwards of two hundred euros to see the show, and there were people lined around the block and across the street.
The first impression I had of Paris was at the train station. Currently, I'm used to the British engineering where everything is very simple, bulky, and rugged, I noticed the Paris station to have more of a thin and approachable look to it. The railings on the stairs were smaller and prettier, as opposed to a solid iron mass that you lean up against. The metro check in booths have a flimsy block which I noticed homeless people simply forcing themselves through to illegally get on the trains. The ticketing system is not very well thought out; you buy a ticket, which is this tiny little tab thing, and you check through the gate and are to hold on to it the duration of your journey. The only thing really keeping people buying tickets is a fine if you're caught without one. After the ride, the ticket is trash, and then they are dropped, littering the streets around the station and elsewhere. You will see them on the ground all around town. They are more littering and more prominent than cigarette butts, which is too bad.
The metro stops are very short and fast between stations so you have to keep your head up, plus the doors don't open automatically. If you're stuck in the back you have to shove through and hit the latch, diving out of the train. You have about three seconds. Some stations are so close to the next, that you can look down the tunnel and see it. The train's length can actually reach the next station at a stop.
The first view of the Eiffel tower made me say "wow" out loud. We were a little under a mile away when I caught the first real life look. At the time I was trying to find my bearings on the map looking the wrong way, when I turned around and there it was. It’s a huge structure and odd looking, visible from almost anywhere in town. In the evenings, it lights up and has a spinning beam shooting from the top. You can take a ride up the structure for 20 euros a head late into the night. We went to stand under it the first evening out (what else to do your first night in Paris?) and enjoyed the lights the sights and the cold. It was frikkin' freezing, but great fun none the less.
Our days were packed, thanks to Jessica's feverish thirst to see anything and everything the city had to offer. We stayed in the 'Opera' section of town, so we either had to bus or metro much of the time, but it allowed us to unwind at the end of the day in a very nice area that wasn't overrun with horrible tourist prices or tourist crowding. Jessica had been before, so she wanted to retrace her steps with me, and then see even more. Paris has wonderful art and landmarks about town. The arc de triumph in the middle of town is a giant arch built the celebrate a victory for Napoleon, with wonderful art decorating it. I also enjoyed seeing the big fountains and random mythological creature works around town.
Much of my interests were peaked in the gothic, religious, artistic, and macabre tones the city had to offer. Undoubtedly, Paris is a romantic city full of breathtaking beauty, colors, and culture which makes it very appealing to the ladies. Music fills the air, the colors of vibrant flowers and gardens are at every step, local artists display their talent, and bread is baked fresh on every street. But there is a dark side to Paris. A gloomy, suppressing nightmare that simultaneously makes you feel worried but also safe and relieved. Interested at the very least, and for me, revitalized.
Scary movies usually depict large gloomy religious buildings worn with age, inhibited by a character with a dark past. I couldn't help but think that the gothic era, bringing forth its overwhelming real life depiction of good versus evil, and wonderfully crafted structures and artwork was a big influence on the "horror" movie culture. Walking through these grand, cold, overbearing churches with intricate stained glass windows and sculptures was pretty scary stuff. I could only imagine what it’s like at night *shudders*.
The Notre Dame de Paris was very interesting to see because it is the epitome of the gothic structure, complete with flying buttresses (look it up) and its world famous gargoyles. Yes, I saw the Notre Dame gargoyles. Jealous? We walked the circumference of the building, complete with creepy looking dead trees and moss growing from the gargoyles mouths. I noticed that drainage was built into the sides of the building to allow water to run down a slope and shoot from the gargoyles mouths. I'm very curious how that looks in action. The inside of the church is very big and impressive, and is continually packed with tourists, but I enjoyed seeing all the wonderful gothic art on the exterior the most.
Sainte Chapelle is another old chapel, having what is considered the finest gothic architecture in the world (see Jessica's blog above for more) found inside a government compound, so there is always a line to get in. It has one of the largest and arguably the best stained glass windows in the world which was really worth the visit in itself. The building also supposedly holds one of the spikes used in the crucifixion of Christ, and the actual crown of thorns worn on his head, both of which cannot be proven authentic, and are only displayed on Easter day each year. Also in the complex was a structure used for holding prisoners before their execution, most notably Marie Antoinette and Robespierre. The prisoners were held there, sometimes hung inside, but usually publicly outside. It was interesting to walk through an read of its history.
We heard that the Louvre museum has a terrible wait for entry throughout the day, so we decided to get up extra early to be first in line. This proved to be beneficial in more ways than one. We arrived to the museum after catching the very first train running in the morning, before the sun even rose. We had a time of being in solitary (as a couple, ha!) with the structure while the sun came up. It was very pretty and fun. We weren't the first in line because we were walking around checking stuff out, but we were in with the first wave of people. I made a b-line for the Mona Lisa. We got the tickets; I went in and followed the signs. Walking quickly through the halls of one of the world's finest museum, passing timeless art left and right, hearing only the sounds of two peoples foot steps bouncing off the walls was great. Actually, I think the lights were still being brought up as I hurried to the DaVinci masterpiece.
When I got there, I wasn't the first, but the sixth person to arrive. The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting and the most published image in the world, and is considered priceless. The painting itself has its own wall, set in the middle of a huge room, with four guards watching it behind a thick bulletproof glass, and a security laser system. It isn't very big (about the size of your forearm) you can't get very close to the glass, plus it's dark. I read that it's dark because it's so filthy, but nobody has the guts to clean it. Photography was strictly forbidden anywhere near the painting. All you can do is look, and say to yourself "there it is. The Mona Lisa". The crowds slowly came, and filled the space in front. But I had my time. Just me and Mona L., early that morning in the Louvre. I had my taste of truly priceless art.
*(Added by Jessica) But the Mona Lisa, although the most popular attraction along with the Venus de Milo, was far from the best work of art in the vast museum. It was so big, and we had so much to do that day, that we decided to look only at the French and Italian paintings wing. Several from Delacroix and contemporaries (including Liberty Leading the People), as well as Death of a Young Martyr by an artist unknown to me, were my favorites. I literally sat and stared open-mouthed at their stunning beauty. It was easy to spot the famous ones, what with huge amounts of tour groups in every language crowding in front of them. Because of Dave’s interest (and I felt bad he didn’t get to see the gargoyles up close the day before), we spent another hour or so going through Pacific/Aboriginal/African art, to the ancient Egypt section. It was amazing to see 5000 year-old relics (my favorite being the musical instruments) on display. We passed through Roman antiquities as we left, a mere 3 hours after our entry. (End of section)*
One of the most frightening and eye opening tours I've ever had was when we went underground to the catacombs. You wouldn't guess while walking on the streets of that part of town that there are very deep and very long tunnels running underground. In fact the only way you would know of it is from hearing about it, or seeing a long line of people coming from the front of a small church-like structure and wonder what's up.
The line to get in isn't long, but it takes time, because they only trickle people in slowly due to the nature of the tour. You must realize that there is no emergency exit once you're down there, you will get lost if you don't follow the designated and lit path, it is very long going underground, walking through, and coming back up, and there is a very high amount of mortality involved, meaning lots and lots of bones. Real human bones. And it isn't a fake attraction, so there is always the chance of a tunnel collapse, electrical failure, gas leak etc etc. Do not do it if you are claustrophobic in the slightest.
After getting in the building from the street and paying the admission, you immediately begin a descent deep underground in a very tight and very dark spiral stone stairway. It goes on and on and on, and after a while you think you are going insane and there is no bottom to the stairs. It's probably three hundred steps straight down into the void. Upon reaching the bottom, you find yourself in a small room with displays describing the history of the catacombs. There are pictures of tourists from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century going through it with candles. Talk about freaky (going through with only candles that is). From there, you take a long walk through slippery wet uncarved stone tunnels dripping with condensation. You finally reach a room that has a pillar in the middle and a stone-block passageway with a carving above saying "STOP! - HERE IS THE EMPIRE OF DEATH" From there, you walk through a passage of human bones, piled shoulder high. The catacombs were an overflow of bodies from local cemeteries, and they only used thigh bones and skulls for the walls. Along the way there will be tablets with life lessons pertaining to death, and information on what cemetery the bodies come from for the particular piles.
It is overwhelming. How many real human bones have you seen? Now, place yourself directly next to a wet wall of human bones deep underground. Jessica started gagging, psyched out to the fact that she is "breathing in bone dust". That is pretty nasty. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing first hand. Thousands upon thousands of human beings, fully decayed, and piled on top of each other in pieces. Each person had a life, a family, a favorite food, a social comment on life etc, and now they are just small pieces of a wall comprised of probably millions of bones. The tour is only open to a section of the catacombs, which stretches for miles. It blew my mind right out of the water. I am curious of bones, kind of a interest and fixation on death, but after one tour of the catacombs, I'm done for a while. A long while. After trudging back up the stairs to the top, catching your breath, security personnel does a quick look over making sure you didn't take any bones. It's terrible that people desecrate the shrines. And what's even worse, is that there was a skull and a couple femur bones on the desk from that day.
From the low, we went up high to one of Paris' highest points, which has a great view of the city. At the very top is the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) church, loaded with tourists who are to be quiet inside with no photography, which seems like an impossible task to enforce. It started raining as we made our way down, passing by the Lapin Agile, a small bar that was a constant hang out for Picasso and Dali who lived in the area. It was closed, but no bother.
I really enjoyed the food there. I took Jessica to a birthday dinner that was one of the most enjoyable I've ever had, and the wine was really great. It was more flavorsome and smoother than what I've tasted before, and didn't have that hard, dry, rough bite that most wines have. The restaurant was a very good place, not fancy, but good, and what they served was authentic. I'm glad we got to do that. The French food is simple but flavorsome, and the waiters really try hard to please you which adds an extra special touch to your meal.
On the way back to the hotel, we visited the Moulin Rouge the famous cabaret in the red light district. The recent film of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor is Jessica's favorite movie, so seeing the real thing was a big kick for her. The red light district is nasty, with pushy street hustlers, drunks, and naked advertising everywhere. Not a pleasant place to spend the evening, but worth going for what it was. I saw the prices for the show, and they were outrageous! Upwards of two hundred euros to see the show, and there were people lined around the block and across the street.
posted by Dave | 3:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home