This is the first actual blog post by Bev (me, myself). Tracy and Eric have been teaching me how, so here goes!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007. Our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral. It may look small from the front, but it extends back very far. It is glorious to behold on the inside, elaborate and elegant.
We arrived at almost exactly noon. A ceremony was just beginning on the inside. Even though there were thousands of people milling around, the ceremony seemed to proceed normally. The priest read passages and there were monks off to the side singing or chanting at various intervals.There were people participating in the worship service sitting in the front of the cathedral. The congregation joined in singing with a couple of songs also. It was a thrilling atmosphere.
Beautiful stained glass windows extended almost the full height of the walls in several places.
Seated on a bench in front of the cathedral was a man feeding sparrows bread from his hand. He would hold the piece of bread in his fingers, then several sparrows would land on his hand to eat the bread. It was perfect entertainment for the occasion. (Notice the girl to the right watching him.)
This is a smaller chapel area tucked right behind the main huge chapel area. People could light candles here and sit to say a prayer.
These two photos may give you a better idea of how high the ceilings are vaulted and the vastness of the room.
We climbed the bell tower, 380 stairs one way!! This is a view of the city from the top of Notre Dame. You can see the Eiffel tower in the distance. It is very hard to see, but Napoleon's tomb is under the gold dome behind the steeple on the left side of the picture.
One of the many charming gargoyles atop the cathedral. We learned that "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was actually written to try and raise funds for a renovation of the cathedral which had fallen into sad disrepair. Of course, the book successfully raised the much needed funds and then some. The gargoyles were added to hide the many drain spouts needed around the building. Creative ingenuity, no? (Zoom in on the photo and you will see the Basilique de Sacre Coeur on the hilltop in the background.)
We made it to the bell tower!! And, we are even smiling. Now we just have 380 narrow stairs back down again! We looked for signs of Quasimoto and Esmerelda but didn't see any. If you ever do this, beware of the metal handrail along the stairs. We couldn't tell if it was from years of grimy hands grabbing onto it or oxidation on the metal,(or gargoyle droppings) but the railing had a THICK orange sticky grime all along it which stuck to our hands disgustingly and was HARD to get off. Yech! Luckily, Lindsey had hand sanitizer in her purse and we had some kleenex.
After our grueling walk up and down the stairs, we had to have a little relaxation and do some shopping on the famous Champs Elysees street .
We stepped into the Louis Vuitton store which was an experience! There were huge muscular security guards every ten feet watching people like hawks. I may be a little strange, and unfashionable, but really, how could a PURSE possibly be worth $500-$2000?!! I'll take one from Shopko for $20 and not have to worry about getting it scratched up or dirty. (Me 'n Minnie Pearl would have been great friends!)
The Arc de Triomphe is at the end of the Champs Elysees shopping street. It is encircled by a huge roundabout which has twelve streets feeding into it. You have to take a tunnel under the street to get to it. They were having a special memorial service that day. There were veterans decorated with many medals but I wasn't able to get a picture of any of them.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007. This is a photo (in front of the Louvre) of me with our dear, sweet friend Chrystelle Jain, who we met in Germany just 3 days before we left for Paris. Chrystelle lives in a suburb of Paris, was just visiting family in Germany and returned to Paris the same day we did. She very generously offered to guide us around Paris and interpret for us. We had so much fun together! The girls and I loved shopping with her, we ate yummy food together (including Tiramisu (sp?), Creme Broule and bagettes) and just had a great time visiting. This photo has the underside of the large glass pyramid in front of the Louvre.
And now we have the top of the glass pyramid. The building itself is U shaped and huge. If you spent just 3 seconds in front of each exhibit, it would take you three months to see the entire museum!
Tracy in front of the Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa has one entire wall to herself and is encased in glass for safety. She still can't quite compare to my daughter though - Ha!
There were several painters set up around the museum painting copies of the originals.
Chrystelle in front of ? (I don't remember, sorry)
The Basilique de Sacre Coeur which sits atop the highest hill in Paris. It was built with contributions from Parisian catholics after the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. It is breathtaking inside and out.
Fountains at the bottom of the Sacre Coeur.
A young man performing on the steps leading up to the Sacre Coeur. He sang American pop songs and was quite good. We loved it. There are street performers EVERYWHERE around Paris earning money.
Thursday, October 4. We visited the Luxembourg Palace, now used to house the senate but formerly used by royalty. It was a favorite summer home for Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. It is surrounded by spacious gardens with beautiful sculptures and fountains.
Fountain in Luxembourg Palace Gardens.
Here we are, jumping for joy in front of the EIFFEL TOWER!! Now what will we do with the rest of our lives - we have finally visited the Eiffel tower?!
Friday, October 5. Versailles - the grandest and most famous palace in France. It was built in the 1600's to house a court of 6,000 (yes, six thousand) people! This is from where Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were dragged by revolutionaries and eventually executed.
Ornate chapel in Louis' palace. Commoners below on main floor and royalty above in the balcony.
Marie Antoinette's bedroom
Bust of Marie Antoinette which may be purchased for about 1,000 euros (about $1,400). Do you think we could fit it in our luggage?
A small portion of the vast and gorgeous gardens surrounding the palace. You could spend hours just touring the gardens, lakes, fountains, grottos, and sculptures!
Lindsey, Bev and Chrystelle.
Chrystelle took us shopping in the afternoon, we kept her busy guiding us to the right shops, interpreting and asking questions. she is an angel! After dark, we took a final boat cruise down the Seine River to see the lights of Paris at night. Breathtaking!
Our parting photos overlooking the Seine River.
On our Saturday outing we visited a pristine forest right in the heart of this city of 500,000 people. The forest seemed to go on and on with no evidence that there was a city surrounding it.
Concrete evidence that Fairies have definitely been here! (There are little fairy dolls and statues all over Germany and Paris.)
We found the "little house in the big woods."
Tracy took this picture. Doesn't it look like it came right out of Fern Gully? Aren't the many colors amazing? We knew there had to be fairies everywhere; they were just hiding very well!
The market place right next to us has many street performers. This "Marble Statue" is a man who can stand as still as this picture and really does look like a statue. If someone drops money into his cup, he begins to move, makes gestures, shakes your hand, then once again becomes very stiff. Even with all of the people milling about him or staring at him, he remains composed and stiff. Very intriguing to watch!
