Day 5 - Notre Dame, Saint-Chappelle, Marais District

Phew, there's no end to this truly wondrous city.  First stop today  --  Notre Dame.  Arrived in time to hear the organ playing during Mass, but it wasn't great music.  None of the full, rich sound that massive organ can produce.

In the square in front of Notre Dame, you will find Point Zero.  This is the point from which all distances in France are measured.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame made a rare appearance ...

We then walked past The Prefecture of Police - even this building has gold-plated gates!

We were on our way to Sainte-Chapelle, which we missed seeing during our last visit.  It's referred to as a "jewel of light".  No wonder!  The upper chapel is surrounded by stained glass windows and your breath is taken away the moment you step inside.  It's a Gothic masterpiece which was started in 1244 or thereabouts  --  one of Paris's oldest and most significant monuments. The photos convey nothing of the magic of the chapel.

The upper chapel was King Louis IX's private chapel and was connected with what was then the royal palace.  The lower chapel was for palace servants ...

We then went to Place de la Bastille. During the revolution, the prison that stood here was totally destroyed. The Colonne de Juillet (July Column) commemorates the events of the July 1830 revolution.  Was that France's third revolution?  They love revolutions!  Vive la revolution!

From Place de la Bastille, it's a very short walk to Place des Vosges -- one of the wealthy areas of Paris.     

The square is one of the oldest and best-preserved (just like the subject of the photo below). There are 9 townhouses on each side of the square, all still intact. Victor Hugo lived in one of them.

We then walked through the Marais District on our way back to the apartment.  This district is full of wonderful little cafés, pâtisseries, bookshops, small art galleries, etc.

 In this pâtisserie, we bought some seriously sinful cakes and slices...

We ended another perfect day with a ride on the Hop-on Hop-off Bus, followed by a cruise on the River Seine.  Again, we saw the amazing effect of thousands of flashing lights on the Eiffel Tower at 9 pm (when the river boat left for the cruise) and 10 pm when the boat returned. 

This still photo will have to do for now.  When we can shorten the video, and reduce its size, we'll post it on here as well.  It's a spectacular sight.

Day 4 - Versailles and the Pompidou Centre

Everyone says, "Go to Versailles," and now we know why!  Trés magnifique!!!  More formally known as Musée National des Château de Versailles et de Trianon.  Every year, Versailles has 10 million visitors.  It was a royal residence, last occupied by Louis XIV and Marie-Antoinette  --  both of whom lost their heads during the revolution.  Democracy was born in France!  

No wonder the people revolted.  The royals were living in luxury while the people were starving.  

We can certainly be impressed by the grandeur and the 'glitter of gold', but we are also revolted by the obvious greed for power and possessions.

The chapel

One of the minor rooms ...

When we read the sign, 'Galerie des Glaces,' we thought we were off to buy an ice-cream!  

('Galerie Lafayette' is the huge Lafayette shopping complex and 'glaces' is ice-cream. Well, you put those things together  --  wouldn't you come up with 'Ice-cream shop' too?

Well, we certainly didn't get an ice-cream.  Turns out the translation is 'The Hall of Mirrors' ... 

The king's bed is in one huge room, and ...

the Queen's bed is in a separate huge room.

How did they ever have 10 children???

The gardens around the palace are also magnificent:

No photographs can do Versailles justice ...
                                  you just need to go yourself.

A change of pace and place ...

On the way home from Versailles, we decided to pop into the Pompidou Centre, the museum for modern art.  It wasn't a high priority on our list, but boy, are we glad we went.  It was a very pleasant surprise.

I dropped my computer mouse and keys ...

and they ended up as an exhibit.  Expecting a cheque in the mail any day soon.



This wonderful creation is in the Stravinksy Square right next to the Pompidou Centre.

From Google:  "The Stravinsky Fountain is a whimsical public fountain ornamented with sixteen works of sculpture, moving and spraying water, representing the works of composer Igor Stravinsky."

Day 3 - Eiffel Tower

After a little break - no, it wasn't a nanna nap, we set off to view the Eiffel Tower at night - wow, what a sight !

(Of course, we planned the full moon as part of the itinerary.)

At 10 pm., we found out one of the reasons why Paris is called "The City of Lights".  We were going to put a short video clip here to show you, but .... technology doesn't always behave as one would wish.  When we work it out, we'll let you know.

Day 3 at the Louvre Museum (31 August)

The Louvre.  Well, what can we say.  It is SO big, SO overwhelming, SO incredible  --  and that's just the building itself!

So yes, the building is amazing ... but how do we describe what's inside?

... and here are a couple of very well-known ladies:

The first person to comment on this entry and name the famous ladies shown will receive a special gift from us after we return home.

And I found this fossil in the depths of the Louvre where you can still see parts of the original building that stood here ...

Time to head off for another day of discovery.
See you all again soon.

Day 3

The plan for today was to visit the area around La Madeleine Church and to walk the Grand Boulevards to the magnificent Opera Garnier building.

All started well.  We emerged from the depths of the underground Metro system and voilà  --  there was the wonderful church dedicated to Mary Magdalen.  It looks more like an ancient Greek building as it's surrounded by 20 metre high Corinthian columns:

The Madeleine Square is famous for it's up-market food shops.  Fauchon is known as the millionaires' supermarket, so Daryl went straight there.

We walked out empty-handed because we wanted to keep our wallets fat, not our waists!  (We know what you're thinking ..... fermé la bouche!)

After leaving Place de la Madeleine we walked, with great expectations, to the Opéra Quarter  --  it's like a combination of Toorak and the Arts precinct in Melbourne.  The Opéra Garnier is a magnificent building reflecting the opulence of the day.  It's promoted internationally as a tourist attraction and is open to the public every Friday.  We planned our itinerary accordingly.

You might notice that we have no photos of the magnificent interior with marble and chandeliers, etc.  Why?  Because, on a tatty piece of cardboard on a gate blocking the entry was a notice reading:
"Closed Today."  When we inquired, we were told that it was closed for a wedding.  A wedding!!!  When they advertise it as a major tourist attraction open every Friday, it should be open every Friday!  People from all around the world come to visit this incredible building.  The rich bitches can have their weddings on Saturday or Sunday or Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday. Friday is for the tourists!!!  (And can you imagine how much it cost to hire this venue for a wedding?)

What to do after such disappointment?

Well, the Galeries Lafayette (Lafayette shops) are right behind the Opéra Garnier building, so we trudged over there.  Took some photos of the incredible stained glass ceiling, but not in the mood to shop.  (Come to think of it, we're never in the mood to shop.)

But here's a picture of the inside of this building ...

and the outside:

Mid-afternoon, we set off for the Louvre Museum, knowing that it was open until late on Fridays. Well, it's a challenge to do the Louvre in anything less than a week, but the next post will show you what we saw there.

See you at the Louvre (next post).

The rest of Day 2

We thought we'd better finish some notes about Day 2 before we tell you about Days 3 and 4!  It's been rather busy.  When we get back to our apartment, we are too stuffed to add to our blog.  It has nothing to do with age ... it's all about spending our waking hours being tourists!

So ... we got as far as the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais.  After that, we walked across the Pont (bridge) Alexandre III  --  reputedly the prettiest bridge in Paris.

On the other side of the River Seine is the area called Invalides.  The Hôtel des Invalides was built in the 1600s by Louis XIV for wounded soldiers  --  and for Louis' own glorification!  

Under the golden dome is the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.  

Just over the road, if you pop your head over the fence, what do you think you'll see?

Daryl knocking on the Gates of Hell ( ... but he couldn't get in ... too virtuous!)

Now let me think about that!