Paris, finally

Well it is very clear that when I am traveling with others, my blogging takes a beating.  So sorry it has taken me until now--when I am in St. Fraimbault, Normandy--to tell you about Paris.

I picked Ada and Meredith up on Tuesday afternoon--it was just after noon that they finally emerged from international arrivals.  They had both gotten no sleep on the plane and Meredith especially was already exhausted by what sounded like a 36-hour birthday party.  So we rode back to the flat on the train and made the arduous trek up the four flights--no fun at all with luggage.  I have been told by my sister-in-law Ceci, who has a lot of experience in international travel, that the best way to fight jet lag is to get a short nap on the afternoon that you arrive and then stay up as long as you can before getting a good night's sleep.  So Ada and Meredith both tried to nap.  Meredith was successful with the help of an Advil PM; Ada less so.

I thought the least taxing way to get your bearings in Paris is to take the boat tour of the Seine.  But first we had to get to the Eiffel Tower, near the boat landing.  Surprisingly, there is no Metro station (subway) that stops really close to the Eiffel Tower, so we walked about six blocks before we saw it.  

The lines to get to the top were long--or at least we thought so at the time--so we went right to the boat.

A trip down the Seine makes it clear right away that the French love pomp.  Every building along the river is monumental.  And the bridges are the same.

Gold leaf is everywhere.

You can see most of the tourist hot spots from the boat, including the Louvre.

And Notre Dame

On the way home, we stopped and had a meal at a restaurant that we had seen on our way to the Tower.  Every time we ate out--except the last night when it was raining--we were at a sidewalk cafe.  Virtually all Paris eateries are open to the outside.  I love it.  That first night, Meredith was introduced to steak frites--steak with french fries, which was to become our meal of choice.  Ada wasn't as enamored of it, but Meredith and I could not get enough. It's a great choice if you are something of a picky eater.

The next morning, we took the Metro to the place de la Concorde,one of the largest squares in Paris.  We did not know this at the time we were there, but Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were guillotined on the site during the French Revolution.  Ironically, at least two of the leaders of the revolution, Danton and Robespierre, also met their deaths by guillotine on the Place de la Concorde--along with over 1,300 other people between 1789 and 1795.

Here is what it looks like now.

We walked through the Tuileries Gardens toward the Louvre. 

And, of course, there are more monuments to see.

I still don't like the pyramid that the Louvre has erected in front of the gallery as an entrance, but Meredith looks good in front of it.

When we saw the lines to enter the Louvre, we were very concerned.

But the line went very fast and soon we are inside looking at Winged Victory with thousands of others.

Sorry it is blurry, but there was not a lot of light and no flash photography allowed.  I still can't believe that everyone is allowed to take pictures in the Louvre.  When I was first there, and I think until relatively recently, no photography was allowed at all.  Now you can get a portrait with Winged Victory....

The Mona Lisa

And Venus de Milo

There is truly an embarrassment of riches in the Louvre.  From great paintings, to ancient sculptures...

to hieroglyphics that you can reach out and touch--though I didn't...

To my favorite painting of all time.....the coronation of Empress Josephine by David.  

And apparently only 8% of the treasures owned by the Louvre are actually on display.

From the Louvre we went to Notre Dame.

And we all wondered about all the craftsmen it took to build the church--it took 187 years to complete.

Then we headed toward the church of Saint Chapelle, one of the most beautiful in the city--and that is saying something.  But Meredith was not feeling good, having had a reaction to the pizza she had for lunch. So she went searching for a bathroom in the Palais de Justice, a sort of court building.  She had to travel so far within the building and then got a little lost coming out that she was gone about 20 minutes.  I'm afraid Ada and I were a little panicked at that point, but we found her and vice versa and it all turned out OK.

Chapelle is beyond description.  The stained glass is unbelievable  and where there is no glass, the walls are painted with red and blue and gold.  And the whole things was built starting in the 13th century.  It's just spectacular.

We were all pretty tuckered out after our first full day of sightseeing, so we went home and had a ham sandwich for dinner and went to bed.

More to come in a short while.