Our Trip to Paris

L'Arc de Triomphe   We began our visit at the Arc de Triomphe. It is in a large roundabout on the Champs Elysee, about a mile up from the Louvre. The architecture is very striking. There is a small model of the Arc de Triomphe at the Louvre, and recently they have built a building fashioned just like the Arc de Triomphe at La Defense (France's equivalent of the Pentagon). They are arranged so that if you look straight up the Champs Elysee from the Louvre you can see all three arches nestled in each other.

Le Pont Neuf   This is the Pont Neuf, which is a bridge across the Seine River at L'Isle de la Cite. On the left side of the picture is the right bank of the Seine (la Rive Droit) and the Palais de Justice. On the right side of the picture is the left bank of the Seine (la Rive Gauche) where the Latin Quarter and our Hotel is. :-). In the center is the Isle de la Cite, where la Cathedral de Notre Dame is located.

 The picture on the left is the side of the Cathedral of Notre Dame from the Left Bank side. Note the large rose window on the side of the building. The picture on the right is the rose window from the inside.

 

Le Pantheon   Le Pantheon is another of Paris's great religious monuments. But, in this case, the religion is not Catholicism, but Science. Inside the building is housed Foucault's Pendulem, which was used to show, without reference to the heavens, that the earth revolved around it's own axis. At the time of the Revolution, when Frenchmen were throwing of the monarchy, this science was used to dispute the authority of the Church, which continued to claim the Earth was the center of the universe. The Revolution and French Atheism went hand in hand at this time.

 

Les Invalides   Frenchmen in general, and Parisians in particular, are almost as compulsive about their fallen heroes as they are about their language, history, and religion. Les Invalides is at the same time the head of the French equivalent of the Vetrans' Administration and the tomb of their greatest fallen hero, Napoleon Bonaparte. Paris is full of such monuments.

 

La Tour Eiffel   This picture shows Monika standing in Le Champ de Mars, (the Field of Mars, a historical military exercise field) a short distance from the Eiffel Tower.   The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustav Eiffel for the 1898 (?) World's Fair. At the time, it was the tallest structure in the world, and it is as much a monument to 19th century engineering as the Pantheon was a monument to science. It was constructed with a pair of hydraulic elevators which could take visitors to the top if the tower. They were replaced only in 1986 with electric elevators. Msr. Eiffel had an office at the top to receive visitors.

The Museums and the Paintings

 You cannot visit Paris without seeing the Museums, with their paintings and other works of art. We visited La Louvre, which has by far the largest and most extensive collection of works. We also saw L;Orangerie, which has a smaller collection of impressionist works from the 18th and 19th centuries, and Le Musee d'Orsay, which also has a smaller, but more varied collection. Plan at least two full days for visiting museums. Here are a few of the more famous works we saw during our visit.

 

Left:  Leonardo da Vinci  "Mona Lisa"   Right: James McNeill Whistler "The Artist's Mother"

 

Top  Renoir  "Deux Jeune Filles" Right  "Venus de Milo"

Having spent our two days worth of time in the Musees, we were now ready (and rested enough) to go back out and see the sights of the city. We had two agendas: the first was to see any of the famous landmarks we might have missed in the first few days, the second was to get some flavor of the city, even if it wasn't the usual tourist fare.

 

Montmantre: La Basilica de Sacre Coeur   Montmantre is the most substantial hill overlooking the city, and the Basilica is one of the most imposing edifices that could have been built there! It was built in the 19th century, as a sign of devotion to God and the Church after the godless excesses of the Revolution and the 18th century. Even in this respect it is a wonder. From the outside it is one of the most beautiful and powerful structures in Paris. But on the inside it is a mishmash of architectural ideas without a theme. None of the beauty of the rose windows of Notre Dame. A clear study in paradoxes. Still, a must see.

 

The Tourists at Le Jardin des Plants   OK. So with all this sight-seeing we had to take some time for ourselves. Le Jardin des Plants is the park for Le Musee de L'Histoire Natural. Before coming here we stopped by the market to pick up some French cheese, a baguette, some tomatoes, and fresh fruit. The Jardin was an excellent place for a picnic lunch. I definately recommend picnic lunches in Paris! :-)

 

Gare de Lyon   Our final shot of the city is of one of the many train stations. This photo is a typical study in contrast for the modern city of Paris. Sights such as this traditional building between two modern highrises in not an uncommon sight. In some cases, the modern city has encroached on the historical city, but an effort is made to preserve not only the memory of the past, but also the look and feel of the historical city.

Well, that's it. These photos represent only a fraction of what we saw in Paris. And I can truly say that we only scratched the surface. It is a beautiful city, and there is much to see and do. If I have not whetted your apetite at least somewhat for seeing the city, I would recommend waking up and taking your pulse! :-) I, for one, am looking forware to returning!

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