Days: 19 - 22
Oct 4-7, 2006
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our visit:
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Paris
                            
       
What We Had
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Page Index
What We Learned
•  This and That
What We Saw
•  Notre Dame
•  Deportation Memorial
•  Sainte-Chapelle
•  Louvre Museum (1st night)
•  Louvre with our group
•  Hotel Des Invalides The Army Museum - Nepoleon`s Tomb
•  Eiffel Tower
•  Versailles (The French Royal Palace)

  Overview A Summary of Paris


After our brief but very relaxing stay in Beaune, we left the hills of Burgundy for a fairly short ride to Paris. Paris, GASP, our first glimpse was the Eiffel Tower. The we drove into the city we passed the Arc de Triumph (there are no lane markers for the 4 lanes at the round about), the Alexander Pope III bridge and the Hotel National des Invalides (home of the Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb) on our way to our hotel. Paris was a large city of congested streets with small cars, people walking everywhere, and many buildings close together. However, the city gave you an open feeling similar to Rome unlike the closed in sensation of Venice. This was because of the wide boulevards and parks.

First stop, our hotel drop off our bags. Don't forget the one person elevator and the spiral staircase around the elevator shaft. Our room was on the third floor and overlooked both the front street and a side street which led to a bunch of shops and restaurants. Not being familiar with the area, a small group of us decided to head over to the restaurants and grab some lunch. We chose the Ulysse Traiteur for some crêpes. As we found in so many of the restaurants in Europe, the seating was VERY tight (once in...there was no way to move), but the food was good!



Our group came back together to start our tour of Paris. First, we received a lesson from Lisa on the Paris metro. It basically operated the same as the one we rode in Rome and those we've ridden in the States. From the route map we received, we also learned that the Paris system was extensive. In fact, there doesn't seem to be much reason to have a car in Paris. We all graduated from the "Friend" school of metros by getting on the correct train, transferring at the right time and ending up on the Île de la Cité (island in the middle of both the Seine and Paris) TOGETHER. This was one of two islands in the Seine, the center of Paris and the place where it was founded. On this afternoon we visited Notre Dame, the Deportation Memorial and Sainte-Chapelle. There's more about each of these under What We saw, below.





Linda & Rosetta Stone
Our group split up for the remainder of the day. We went for an early tour of the Louvre, specifically the Egyptian exhibit. The display covered 1/3 of two floors. One was by date, the other by topic. We spent 2 hours going through the exhibit by date (left). Imagine...it took us two hours to cover 1/3 of one floor which is only a portion of one wing (see Wow!). We followed that up with a quick walk to see the Mono Lisa. We hoped the crowds would be less in the evening than during the following day. That turned out to be true. What a magnificent painting! (see Wow!)




One of the real treats of the evening (we're embarrassed to admit) was dinner in the shopping mall at the Louvre. It could have been any of the food courts in the hundreds of malls across America! The American style burger and fries were a tasty reminder of home. The second treat was after our tour...outside the main entrance...after dark (right)!




Our next day in Paris was spent in museums. With the Museum pass (provided by RS Tours) we had admission to a bunch of different places. Of course, we had to start with the crown jewel...the Louvre. Our tour guide, Janice (left), gave us a good over view of the museum with just a little too much emphasis on the da Vinci Code! I'm proud to say that our group wanted nothing to do with that and Janice stuck to the important information.

Continuing the use of our Museum Pass, we walked across the Seine to the Orsay Museum. Again...it was outstanding (see What We Saw below). We also had lunch in a restaurant on the upper floor. Great service, great food...good lunch.



But we weren't done for the day yet. Instead, we headed over to the Army Museum to see Napoleon's tomb (right) and the tombs of several other French heroes. The display and the building that housed it showed how the French feel about one of their greatest heroes. Even though he ultimately lost, they did not betray their feelings for him. Were it so simple today! (see What We Saw below).


Eiffel Tower
We left our small group and went to see the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel was so massive. When we walked toward it the Tower seemed so close but took forever to reach. As we rode in the elevator to the middle observation platform we imagined the workers riveting this erector set together. The view was spectacular and one could see for a very long distance! It was fun to pick out the sights we had gone to.

For dinner we came back together as a group and had our final meal with Lisa and as a group. We had all chipped in to get Lisa a present. She was touched and appreciative. The food was great and it was truly a bitter-sweet moment to know our group was splitting up. However, Lisa (as she always did) had one more "trick" up her sleeve. After a 5 minute walk, we stood in the "shadow" of the Eiffel Tower (try the MOVIE to the left...and be sure to turn up the volume), drank champagne and said our good-byes to everyone in our tour group. It was truly a great way to end a WONDERFUL tour!

Thanks Lisa and thanks to you too Rick!!

That wasn't the end of our stay. We had another day and wouldn't even think of doing anything but seeing Versailles. There were about eight of us that made our way (via metro and train) out to the former palace. You certainly don't have to wonder why the French Revolution took place...what you HAVE to wonder is what took them SO LONG!
  WOW Moments
We clearly had a number of Wow Moments in Paris. We'll cover the highlights:




The Eiffel Tower - Wow it's huge, complex and absolutely beautiful at night. Wow it was sooo cool.








The Louvre - Wow it was huge (sorry if that's repetitive) and housed in a U-shaped, 16th century palace. At some later time in our lives we'll definitely make a return trip to Paris and will spend days (not hours) covering as much of it as possible. Wow what a wonderful museum. It was hard to comprehend the Eygptian artifacts that dated back to 6000 B.C.





Mona Lisa - Most people say they were surprised how small the painting was. We thought just the opposite. It was actually larger than expected. Yes, by the way...the eyes DO follow you around the room. It was sort of sad that it was behind the protective glass, but even so, it was just as outstanding. Wow...the Mona Lisa!  (BTW this isn't our picture they weren't allowed).







The Orsay - A fabulous collection of art of the 1800's. Art we have all seen in pictures was so alive right in front of us....Wow!






The Deportation Memorial - 200,000 crystals and 200,000 souls...Wow, what an enormous tragedy!







Napoleon's Tomb - What's can be said...NAPOLEON...you know the short guys, hand in jacket...NAPOLEON...Wow!!






(From Linda) I have to add the many fabric stores in the Montmartre district with the rows and rows of fabric. I am a quilter and thought I went to quilter heaven.
  What We Learned This and That
Oct. 4, 2006
The Paris metro is very easy to negotiate. All you had to remember was the name of the last stop in the direction you were heading...the same as ever other subway system we've been on. It's a great way to get around Paris.

Train Tickets allow you to ride on the metro as well...as long as you don't leave the system.

Taxi Meter - The taxi we took to the airport cost WAY TOO MUCH. When we got into the taxi, the meter already read €20. We suspect that the driver started the meter when he left the barn. No way we can prove it of course, but we felt ripped off. Be careful!

Deportation Memorial - We often forget that the Nazi terror spead beyond the Holocaust. While the horror of what Germany did to the Jews must not be overlooked, it must be remembered that many of the 200,000 deported from France were simply citizens the Nazis decided to enslave (as forced labor) in Germany.
  What We Saw Notre Dame
Oct. 5, 2006
A magnificent church that took more than a 200 years to build. Sitting next to the spot that marked the center of Paris (Linda's standing on it in the first picture below), it was built on the ruins of a Roman temple. There are so many things to tell you about the sculptures. The priest holding his head in his hand, the statues that were mistaken for the French royalty so they lost their heads during the revolution, the series of statues showed that even high level ministers will be judged, etc. Inside, the building was just as elaborate (a picture below). Finally, the fact that the buildings that once stood in front of Notre Dame have been cleared away (foundations of the previous buildings are marked with light-colored stone). The last picture below was taken from the outer edge of the cleared area.
 
 
 
  What We Saw Deportation Memorial
Oct. 5, 2006
 

On the east end of the same island that houses Notre Dame, there was a memorial to all the people (200,000 French victims) deported from France to concentration camps during WWII. The pictures above illustrate how the memorial tells a story of the terrors. The first picture is of the entrance. As you enter through the very small opening, you're completely cut off from the outside world. The next picture (the bar that Debra is front of) gave you a sense of living behind bars. Also inside (sorry the picture didn't come out) there was a SMALL alcove which gave you a real sense of being in a small cell. Finally, the last picture is of the hallways containing a lighted crystal for each of the victims. At the far end was a small flame that represents Hope.
 
The memorial was touching. They only allowed a small number of visitors at a time and asked that you treat the memorial with dignity.
Deportation Memorial
Square de l'Ile-de-France, 7 Quai de l'Archevêché
75004 Paris
      
 
  What We Saw Sainte-Chapelle
Oct. 5, 2006
Sainte-Chapelle is a wonderful cathedral build by King Louis IX in 1242. The upper chapel (Chapelle Haute) is its most outstanding feature due to the stained glass, two thirds of it 13th century original. We could go through a lengthly description of how it looked (beautiful!) but instead we've included a movie of the interior. To start it, click on the picture to the left, but only if you have a HIGH SPEED Internet connection AND you're running Windows. Breath-taking! We got to the chapel by climbing a spiral staircase at the back of the cathedral.

There are a couple of other things to note while you're upstairs. First, be sure to check out the altar at the front of the chapel. The cathedral and specifically the altar was built to house the Crown of Thorns Christ wore when on the cross. It's believed that King Louis paid three times the cost of the cathedral for the crown. PT Barnum would have been proud! The crown wasn't there, since it's only shown on Fridays during Lent and is housed at Notre Dame.

The second thing to notice was the small window on the wall to the right of the altar (as you face it). The window was there for the King to "attend" church (as Rick says) in his jammies. Most importantly, of course, in that it also allowed the king to avoid the "common man" when attending. It's a must see!
      
 
  What We Saw Louvre Museum (1st night)
Oct. 4, 2006




We visited the Louvre twice. On the afternoon of our first day in town we visited it on our own and the following day as a group. Our interest the first night was to see the Egyptian exhibit. But before heading up to that part of the Louvre we decided to take advantage of the food court that is part of the shopping mall at the museum. it has to be said that after three weeks of trying new foods all over Europe, it was great to have a hamburger and fries!. Yum!



There was actually two Egyptian exhibits in the Louvre. The one we visited was in order by date (newest to oldest). The second one contained much of the same type of artifacts, but was in order by theme. Each exhibit was housed in 1/3 of one floor of the Rivoli wing. That was a very small portion of the total museum. It took us two hours to cover the very extensive collection. We saw things that dated back over 6,000 years (way before the usual items you see from Egypt).



Louvre ceiling decorations
It also dawned on us that we were not paying attention to another very important artifact...the building we were walking through. Starting as a fortress around 1200, the Louvre later became a palace and more recently the museum we know it as today. We realized we had both the Egyptian exhibit AND the building to absorb!



Not actually our picture
When we finished the Egyptian exhibit we decided to stop to see the Mona Lisa (sorry no pictures hey aren't allowed and it's tough to sneak them when you're the only ones in the gallery). Even though our group would be back the next day to see it as well, we thought there wouldn't be as many visitors, so we'd be able to get closer. It worked out exactly that way. Anitial reaction? It's BIGGER than we'd thought it would be. We've always heard that it's a lot smaller than you'd think. We've heard that so often, we thought it would actually be smaller than it is. Wow!

Finally, since we were at the museum at night, we had the opportunity to take some night pictures that we wouldn't otherwise have seen. The picture to the left is the glass pyramid that identifies the main entrance of the Louvre.

Louvre Museum
Louvre Museum (1st night)
      
 
  What We Saw Louvre with our group
Oct. 5, 2006


Our tour as a group was lead by a tour guide named Janice. She gave us a good overview of the content of the museum. There was SO much to see, however, that we barely scratched the surface.

Why the Venus from behind? That was where you could see that it is NOT made from one piece of stone. There was clearly a line where the two pieces came together that was only visible from behind. In addition, you can see the 'S' shape of the statue that was also not clearly visible from the front.



After leaving the upper part of the museum, we went back to the main entrance and then on to an area many people don't see...the foundations of the original Louvre structure. As we noted in several locations of Paris, the current level of the city was well above its original height. This was not noticed at the Louvre until they start digging to create the new main entrance. As they dug down they realized that the base of the building was buried! The pictures show the lowest level of the original fortress forgotten for centuries.

 
 
  What We Saw Hotel Des Invalides The Army Museum - Nepoleon`s Tomb
Oct. 5, 2006

After leaving the Louvre, a small group of us walked over to the Army Museum, the location of Napoleon's tomb. What an amazing display. As you walk into the southern most entrance (under the gold dome), you're on the upper floor of the exhibit. In the center (immediately under the dome) you look down onto Napoleon's tomb from above. It sits by itself on the lower level clearly the center of your focus and just as clearly the place of honor. There were several other tombs (in small rooms off the main bridge). Fosh (WWI French General) and Napoleon II were just two of the others. There was also a display of Napoleon's coat and hat, (just like you've always seen) and the Medalion of Honor, Napoleon awarded himself. A well done presentation and a clear message that Napoleon was clearly in the heart of the French, even today!
 
  What We Saw Eiffel Tower
Oct. 5, 2006

Many of our group had gone to see the Eiffel Tower while we were at the Louvre. We walked over to the Tower as the finish of our second afternoon. Starting from our hotel we walked over to the Le Champ de Mars. At that point we had a very clear view of the tower. Actually, the Tower is SO large, you think you're closer then you really are. As we walked to the Tower we started to think we'd never get there. It grew larger and larger. When we finally reached the base, our impressions...?

We couldn't believe the size. No picture of the area under the base can do it justice. It is huge! The area under the footprint was larger than two football fields.

As you look up into the Tower you see thousands of pieces that come together to make the it. Imagine that Eiffel (and his engineers) figured out all the pieces needed and how they were to be put together.

We took the ride up to the first observation deck. A wonderful view. Those that went to the top told us it was well worth the ride. The view...the time we spent in Paris was all within a VERY small portion of the city. Paris was huge!

As with so much of our tour, the Eiffel Tower was an ABSOLUTE must see!
      
 
  What We Saw Versailles (The French Royal Palace)
Oct. 6, 2006

A number of people on our tour decided to stay one or more additional days to see more of France. Eight of us decided to spend our extra day seeing the Royal Palace at Versailles. As noted in the Overview of Paris, the question that must be asked is not why the people of France overthrew the King, but what took them so long. A visit to Versailles clearly reinforces this belief.

First, the size of the palace was unbelievable. The palace housed hundreds of people doing the work of the French government. To give you a sense, there were 2,000 horses in the Palace stable.

Unfortunately, most of the furnishings were destroyed during the French Revolution. But what remained gave us a good feel for how extravagant it must have been.

We were told that Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette didn't wake themselves or dress themselves. There was only one person (amongst those who helped the King and Queen from their beds) permitted to speak to them. Then the mob stormed the palace and the King and Queen were running for their lives. While they stayed in power for some time after that, it had to be the SHOCK of their lives. Imagine how the King and Queen must have felt.

The gardens behind the Palace are just as overwhelming. We're taking about a number of ponds on hundreds of acres of manicures beauty. To give you a sense of the size of the gardens, they offered a tour using golf carts. It was simply to large to walk around.

Versailles was not part of our tour. We spent an extra day in Paris specifically to see it. Well worth the time.