The Lonely Planet book says that if you have just one day in Paris (what were you thinking??) you should be able to see most of the Parisian sights and attractions: Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, walk along the Champs-Elysees and go to Montmartre for dinner. In two days, you can add a few more museums like Musee d'Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette was held before they chopped off her head), the Museum of the Middle Ages (the Musee de Moyen Ages), Rodin and the area called the Marais. In three, take a cruise, visit the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise (where all the famous dead Frenchmen - along with Jim Morrison - are buried), do a park or two and take in a ballet. In a week they say you should be able to visit places "outside the walls" meaning not in Paris central like La Defense (where the high-rises are), St. Denis (the most incredible first of the Gothic churches) and maybe Versailles.
Unbelievably, we managed to do most of this in our week. We substituted some of the museums and added a few others, but mostly we were on the move all day every day. Notre Dame is as amazing as we had expected. We climbed to the top and saw all the gargoyles up close. What we did not know, is that the original city of Paris was the island - Ile de la Cité - that includes not only the famous church of the Hunchback wth its flying buttresses and Rose windows, but also the beautiful Sainte-Chappelle, a lovely chapel with tall spire and enormous stained-glass windows that will knock your socks off. They are rich in colors of deepest blue, reds, golds and pinks and tell the story of the Bible - literally from beginning to end as far as we could tell, eavesdropping an English language tour that seemed to be describing each and every scene depicted - 1000 religious scenes in all!
The Eiffel Tower was just such a kick to see. We stood right underneath it; it is surrounded by a beautiful green space and the details in the metal are such a surprise. You know that it is intricate work, but up close you can see all the little curly-kews and details that are too hard to see in photographs. Its appearance is quite brownish - bronze in color, not black as I expected and just breathtaking and elegant. On Friday night we sat on the lawn and watched the light show - a wonderful twinkling of lights, the golden lights still shining and these little white lights dancing all over the surface, it looked like a giant sparkler, so dazzling we couldn't take our eyes off it. Around midnight we walked back to our hotel, knowing we were moving into the apartment on Saturday, having said our goodbyes earlier to Shawn, Kristen and Rachel. We send kisses and hugs to them all and once again express our appreciation for the gift of Paris they so generously offered us and which I am thrilled we were able to accept.
Sacre Coeur and the area of Montmartre were a delight! Montmartre has been associated with artists for many years. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the Bohemian lifestyle of this area attracted a number of important writers and artists, including Corot and Picasso. We were quite familiar with the famous black and white photographs of the area, as well as the sweet little film "Amelie" that was filmed here. To say that it is charming is an understatement - the cascading steps, cobblestone streets, windows with wooden shutters, the last of the old vineyards. We walked around the area behind Sacre Coeur, a surprise to find Place du Tertre, a tourist center filled with outdoor cafes and portrait artists, a bit too touristy for Bob but I thought it was delightful! We searched for and found one of the last remaining windmills in the area, the famous nightspot "Au Lapin Agile" with music spilling out the windows of the obviously intimate little place. Walking further, we proceeded to the area just adjacent to Montmartre, Pigalle and along with the throng of tourists took our photos of the Moulin Rouge! It really is quite a ridiculous scene, all of us taking photos of this place we can't afford to go into. It costs about 150 euros a head for dinner and the cancan show!
The Louvre is as amazing as everyone says. Too huge to take in in one day or 10 or probably a lifetime! We hit the highlights that interested us - like the statue "The Victory of Samothrace" which, alone would have been reason enough to stop here. The sheer elegance of this ancient winged piece of sculpture from around 190 BC was originally situated on a rocky terrace in Greece, overlooking the sea - and its placement at the top of a staircase, at the end of a hallway, under a shaft of light is simply brilliant. Mona Lisa attracts the big crowds, with many people asking each other "What's the big deal anyway" and one entire hallway devoted to other Leonardo works, equally impressive and amazing like the Madonna of the Rocks, which has always been a favorite of mine. We knew we were going to see the Impressionists at the Musee D'Orsay so we wanted to see some of the artists that preceded them like David, Delacroix, Watteau, Chardin, and Ingres. We also had to see the Dutch guys - Durer, Rubens, Rembrandt and of course Vermeer. The building itself is worth the trip - it's enormous and quite impressive. I did not find the pyramid at all disturbing as I thought I might, it seems a perfect addition and so exciting the way it reflects the sky and you can view the fancy palace that is the Louvre through it. We thought we might return for another visit but unfortunately, there were so many other things to see, we did not manage to do that and will just have to go back again someday!
Bob really loved the Rodin Museum. It looks like they are adding a wing or restoring another adjacent building because there is a part of the museum visible from the sculpture garden that houses several of his sculptures which we were surprised to find not very well maintained. It was difficult to see the sculptures through the dirty glass and the work inside seemed neglected and in need of a good cleaning. The sculptures in the garden were magnificent: The Burghers of Calais is incredibly moving, the larger than life Balzac and Victor Hugo and of course, The Thinker and The Kiss are breathtaking in their size and texture and the emotion they convey.
The Picasso Museum turned out to be a real favorite of mine. I have always admired his creativity and imagination and sheer chutzpah (sp?) but I have a whole new appreciation for him, seeing his work in the context of his life and the evolution of his art. I still must admit that I don't like everything he did, nor claim to understand it all, but I was totally blown away by his sculptures - made into bronzes, but seeing the originals, made of all sorts of found materials like baskets and pieces of metal, turned into goats and creatures fantastic, with so much whimsy and joy, I fell in love with them.
And of course, one of my favorite things was our trip to Giverny, the home and gardens of Claude Monet. The gardens are a trip - rows upon rows of flower gardens, each its own color palette of yellows, golds and oranges or pinks, reds and purples, every species known to man I think and of course seeing his house and where he worked, breathing in the air he breathed...OK I'm getting carried away, but it was inspiring. We had to walk under a tunnel (because a road now cuts through his property) to see the Japanese bridge and the hanging wisteria, where the water lilies are and the weeping willow trees. I stood and sketched a bit while we were there, nothing special but just the joy of painting where he painted. I ran out of water at one point and Bob scooped some up out of the pond where the water lilies were - it was like Holy Water and we laughed and I had to say "Bless me Monet, for I have sketched" - I still have the bottle of water and I'm not sure I can use it! The sky grew dark as I was sketching and then the heavens opened up and it poured down rain. We stayed as long as we could, but hadn't brought along an umbrella so we had to leave, reluctantly! We went to see a show of American Impressionists who had painted in Paris and that was pretty good and actually took a nap during a film about William Merritt Chase. By that time the rain had stopped we had about an hour before the last bus back to Paris so we just wandered around the town of Giverny, which is incredibly lovely and picture perfect as you might imagine. We saw the little chapel and Monet's grave so I guess the day was complete.
Traveling together is never without some tension and we always do manage to have our little arguments - always difficult to remember what they were all about after it's all over. I wish it didn't happen but it always does. Many of you remember us talking about our "argument" in front of St. Peter's in Rome. We didn't get to that point but we did squabble a bit here and there, more than I would like. For two people who love each other dearly, we can be overly sensitive and hurt each other's feelings over stupid things. I don't know why but I find myself being touchy over little things he says and does and I'm sure he would say the same thing. I think it must be too much togetherness when we travel and not enough time alone. We always say we should, but we hardly ever do just go off separately. Probably afraid I'll get lost! I didn't do as much sketching as I thought I would and I will probably regret that. Again, I took a lot of photos, so hopefully they will provide reference for me when I'm "home" and have lots of time on my hands. Who knows? I do know that I had a wonderful, wonderful time in Paris. It is one of the most special places we have been. Not inexpensive, I think it would be difficult for us to live there on our pension but definitely somewhere I would love to go back to. There is so much to see and do, it would take many visits to see it all.
In Conclusion
Walks along the Champs-Elysees; sitting on the banks of the river, sharing a glass of wine with the tourists from Bolivia whose photo we took for them; watching the sun set over the bridges of the Seine, while we chatted with a young woman from Ohio and I sketched; walking through the area called the Marais with all the beautiful, high end shops, so lovely; admiring the details on all the beautiful architecture in Paris, the art nouveau metro stations and newsstands, the circular poster boards, the rooftops and window gardens, the fancy metal work on the balconies; getting caught in the rain by the Eiffel Tower and taking shelter beneath it; seeing all the families in Paris - the dads and the moms sharing this responsibility together, playing in the park; watching little kids with their brightly colored sailboats in the fountains of the parks - the little boy who said "Ooh La La!" in joy over it; all the carousels and places for children to play; having lunch at an outdoor café while the rain pounded down around us, sipping a glass of wine and doing a little painting; catching a taxi to see the sunset from the Arc de Triomphe - the taxi driver was playing music we liked - from Breton, but with a Celtic sound, so he turned it up very loud as we drove past the Seine and saw the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the night and all of Paris spread out before us like a feast; buying a fresh loaf of bread every day from the bakery; watching the Parisians line up to get their loaf - a happy bread line - and carry it home with a simple piece of paper tied around the middle to carry it; seeing all the flowers in the parks and gardens, glorious explosions of color and form, delightful combinations I would not have dreamed of; finding a broken piece of ceramic tile from a subway station and taking it home with us; buying a sweet, sweet little doll for Kyla at a wonderful little toy shop; waking up in the middle of the night to rain pouring down and getting up to look out the window and go out on the balcony; sunny, dazzling, blue-sky mornings that turned cloudy and sometimes rained and sometimes didn't; Paris Plage - a "beachfront" created on the banks of the Seine with beach chairs and sand and umbrellas, music and play areas for kids; riding the escalators at the Pompidou Center and the views from the fourth floor; the exhibit there of all forms of arts from the 20th Century - incredible; watching the Tour de France from the windows of the Musee D'Orsay; all the coffee, all the wine, all the pastries, all the art, all the architecture, all the little streets, all the wide boulevards, all the bridges, all the lights, all the monumental places and palaces, the grandeur, the people, climbing up all the steps to all the views, these are my memories of Paris and the ones that will stay with me for a long time to come.
Au revoir Paris!
Rosemary & Bob
photos to follow
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