Bob in Europe

Not a single wasted minute

I am exhausted, and coming down off of the adreline rush of a day in Paris, so here goes. Much thanks to Frommers for laying out the 1-day in Paris recommendation, it worked well.

Set the alarm for 8am in case my body wanted to sleep in, and that's what my body ended up wanting to do. Set out immediately for the Louvre, grabbing a croissant before I got into the Metro.

Louvre opened at 9am, so arriving at 8:45, I'm not that far back in the line. A few minutes after 9, I'm in and walking to the second floor to see the Mona Lisa first thing.

First impressions of the Lourve are it's big. Really really big. It takes quite a while to walk up to the 2nd level and back to the Italian/Spanish paintings. The Mona Lisa is prominently displayed in the center of a large room, and really is quite fun to see. The Louvre has placards in place in several languages that you take at the room entrance and dropped back off at the room exit. On it, it describes the pieces of art in the room, the artist, etc. Reading about a painting while you're actually staring at it is damn cool. The famous smile is worth the 8 Euros in of itself. (Side note - that's about 10 bucks. 10 bucks! How much does the Joselyn charge an adult? Talk about value for your money).

Wander around the Lourve for about an hour and a half. See many paintings and sculptures that are immediately recognizable. The Venus de Milo is beautiful. The Mesopotamia section is stunning. The Greek scupltures are amazing. On and on and on.

Exiting the Louvre, I make my way to the river Siene and walk back upriver. It's a beautiful day in the 70s, all the trees and flowers are in bloom, and the city is alive with people. I cross the Siene on Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in the city, and wander through a small park, the Vert-Galant Square. Walking again upriver, I walk through another pretty park, Place Dauphine, where I watch a group of folks get pencil sketching lessons.

Moving upriver, I hit the gothic chapel, Sainte-Chapelle. 13th century church famous for it's upper chapel's stained glass. 10 or so panels of stained glass, maybe 10 feet wide and 40 feet high. Huge. Each panel has 48 individual panels, those made of tiny pieces of colored glass, and each telling a story from the old and new testament. In fact, walking west to east, they are in chronological order from Adam and Eve to Jesus. Since it was a sunny day, the room was filled with an eerie glowing light.

Walked across the river to the left bank, and stopped for a beer (yes, it was only 11:30 or so, but what the hell) at a busteling square - Place St-Michel. Great place to sit and watch people - lots of shops, etc.

Walked back across the river to the island and visited Cathedrale Notre-Dame. Incredible gothic architecture on the outside. Tomblike on the inside. Neat to think that Paris started in this very spot, on this very island.

Jumped on the Metro and made my way to Place de la Concorde, an Egyptian obelisk that is the oldest object made by humans in Paris (1200 BC). This was the spot that the guillotine was used during the French Revolution.

Walked up Champs-Elysees all the way to Arc de Triomphe, about 2 miles. No wonder it's the most famous walk in Paris - wide street built for prominading, park after park after park along it's banks, shopping, cafes, etc. As you get closer to the Arc de Triomphe, the streetscape turns pretty upscale, with granite shopping malls on both sides. Love the fact that both the French and German army have marched down that street in victory.

The Arc de Triomphe is, of course, beautiful. I purchased a ticket to walk to the top, and that I did. Awesome views of Paris from the top, especially looking back down the street I just walked up. Good view of the Eiffel tower as well.

Speaking of, I jump on the Metro and make my way to the Eiffel tower. Quite a thing to see for the first time. Arriving at it's base, I have the further benefit of some great people watching, as a large crowd as gathered under the tower. Evidently there is some world cup soccer stuff going on, because several groups of fans from the national teams have gathered for an impromptu rally. The italians sing their national anthem for a while, and chant and stomp and jump and sing, all the while everyone else is booing. Then the french fans will sing ans jump and stop and chant, and the other teams' fans are booing. It's an awesome site.

I purchase a ticket, and start climbing. Reaching the second level, I purchase yet another ticket that I believed would take me all the way to the top. Arriving on 3rd level, I get in yet another long line to the elevator. After about 40 minutes, I arrive at the elevator only to be told that I needed to by a third ticket. Damn damn damn. I have to then exit the "special" door, evidently just for dumb americans. Oh well, the view from the 3rd level was spectacular.

Make my way back down, buy a hotdog and pop, and sit in the park and watch people. By the way, in France a hotdog is a sliced piece of french bread with 2 links.

Wander through the park, back to a metro station, and go back to the hotel to rest up before dinner. After about an hour, I head back out to Isle St. Louis, the other of the 2 islands in the middle of the Sienne. This island is a little more upscale. I stop and eat at a cafe right between the 2 islands, and have a very nice, long dinner. I made a point to order food I've never had before, and was mostly successfull. The snails were good, the duck entrails where bad. Trust me, it didn't say "duck entrails" on the menu.

It's now dark, so I decide that my last stop will be the Eiffel tower again. I've read it's stunning at night. Metro over, and holy crap, stunning isn't the word. I've got a small video I took that I will post. Not only is the tower completely lit up, but every hour they turn on thousands of little lights that twinkle, making the entire tower sparkle. I really can't do it justice with my words. I work my way back over the Siene to get a good view of the tower. Amazing stuff.

After I stair (yep, just stairing) at the tower for a while, I slowly wander back through the park and to the Metro, where I head back to the hotel. Tomorrow I pack and leave.

Overall, my impression of Paris today couldn't have been more positive. I've not seen a more beautiful city. You could spend a year in the inner city, and not find every street. There are 10 cafes on every block. History at every corner. Love it, love it, love it. The only negative was not having Heather with me, especially felt wandering around at night. Paris is a city made for 2, and it was kind of empty not getting to share such amazing sights with her.

Tomorrow is the travel home, so I bid farewell to the blog. Pictures will come soon.

posted by Bob @ 2:49 PM