After three days of walking and riding the Metro all over one of the most famous cities in the world, I had to ask myself if it was all just a fairy tale! Paris- a city full of history, grandeur, dreams, lights, and yes- tourists too. I fulfilled my dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower as well as so many historical and monumental sites that I have learned about since my first French class- L'Arc de Triomphe, Musée de Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Moulin Rouge, L'Opéra, Notre Dame, Place de la Concorde and La Seine.
I arrived in Paris last Saturday morning by train to Paris where I was meeting up with Heather, a friend from UT. She is studying there and her host family was kind enough to let me stay with them for the weekend. Even the early train ride couldn't limit the full agenda we had for my first day there. Of course, the first stop was the Eiffel Tower! While we didn't file in with the massive lines of tourists going to the top of it, I got some amazing pictures and admired it from the ground!
Next it was off to the Musée d'Orsay- home of many works by van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and others. The building is actually a converted train station and from the upper floors provides great views overlooking the city. We spent a few hours admiring impressive paintings and sculptures in one of the most famous museums in Paris.
Then we grabbed a baguette on our way to L'Arc de Triomphe and arrived just as the sun was setting in the background. The Arc honors all of those who have fought for France, particularly during the Napoleanic Wars. Names of generals and wars adorn the stone arch and beneath lies the tomb of the unknown soldier from WWI. While we were there, they were preparing to hold some kind of ceremony at the Arc with soldiers and veterans around the tomb.
From L'Arc de Triomphe, we took a walk down the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysées. It is known in France as "la plus belle avenue du monde" (the most beautiful avenue in the world) and is the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe. On one end, the avenue is lined with clothing stores, boutiques, cafés, restaurants and cinemas. At the other, it is bordered by greenery and buildings such as the Grand Palais as it runs to Place de la Concorde. We finished the night with dinner and a visit to the Latin Quarter.
My second day in Paris began with a visit to Notre Dame. While I didn't make the trip up the tower to see Quasimodo's bell tower, I saw the gargoyles grimacing down from thir perches lining the sides of the cathedral. I toured the inside of the grand cathedral while Sunday morning mass was being held. I marveled at the stained glass, intricate wood and iron designs, vaulted arching ceilings, and ancient statues. I strolled through the park behind it and went to visit the Mémorial de la Déporation. The underground memorial honors the 200,00 French citizens who were deported and killed in concentration camps during WW2. The memorial was emotion evoking as it made a powerful statement with lighted crystals for each individual lining a dark narrow corridor and quotes describing the devastation of the time.
I met up with Heather and Veronica and two of her friends for lunch. We explored and visited some shops as well as Centre Pompidu (a modern and contemporary museum), Forum des Halles, Galeries Lafayette (a 10 story department store), and L'Hôtel de Ville (which houses the City of Paris's administration). Veronica and I also went to the Paris Opera (most known by Phantom of the Opera) and through the Jardin des Tuileries. The 63 acre park stretches from the Louvre palace to Place de la Concorde and has great views of many of the sites of Paris. In fact, I caught my first glance of the Eiffel Tower as it twinkles at night!
Opera
Pompidu
L'Hôtel de Ville
We walked to Place de la Concorde which contains several statues and is also where Marie Antoinette was executed. At the center of Place de la Concorde stands a giant Egyptian obelisk that was given to the French government in the nineteenth century.
At the opposite end of the Jardin des Tuileries is the Museé du Louvre, known for it's glass pyramid entrance and housed in the Palais du Louvre. The pyramids and courtyard of the palace is lighted at night and makes for a stunning sight!
On Monday morning, I toured the massive Louvre Museum with more than 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art. Most notably, I saw the Code of Hammurabi, the Mona Lisa, the apartments of Napolean III and many works by Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Michealangelo and others. By lunchtime, my feet were already tired but I still had two more wings of the museum to explore. After a day in the museum, Heather and I went to La Marais (the Jewish Quarter) to check out some neat shops.
On my last night in Paris, Heather's host dad took us on a night tour of Paris by car! It was amazing and a completely different perspective seeing the city lit up and all in one night! He followed a route he had planned that took us right up to all of the most significant sites while he shared a little history about each one. It was the perfect ending to my first time in Paris.
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