Awake early and down to the hotel basement (-1) floor for breakfast of bread, ham, hardboiled egg, cheese and coffee or tea. Hop on the Metro - yellow #1 toward La Defense, jump out at St.Michel and you come out exactly where you planned (Paris’ metro is color and number coded - all you need to know is the end of the line to figure out the direction you need - so easy!). Followed Rick Steves’ three mile walking tour that begins where Paris began - on the Ile de La Cite - an island in the Seine River. First stop is Notre-Dame Cathedral devoted to “our lady” Mary, mother of Jesus.
Next stop is the Deportation Memorial created to remind us of the 200,000 French that were sent to concentration camps during the Nazi occupation from 1940 - 1945. You go down the steps and the whole city disappears. You only see the sky and feel like you are trapped in a hole - you are the prisoner. You go into a small dark hallway and you can see 200,000 lighted crystals and at the far end a light that signifies an eternal flame of hope. The phrase on the wall says “ Forgive but never forget”
We cross Pont de l'Archevêché and walk up and down the traditional core of the left bank. We stop at Place St. Michael in the more artistic, Bohemian area that is full of restaurants and cafe’s. Next on the walking tour is Sainte Chapelle back on Ile de La Cite. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns—one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom. Right next door is the Conciergerie the prison where over 2700 people spent their last days before they “lost their heads” including Marie Antoinette. The tour ended at Pont Neuf (meaning new bridge) is actually the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine.
After the walking tour we went to the Louvre - “THE” art museum. We saw the big 3 in the first hour - The Mona Lisa along with the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. A few hours later we finished with Napoleon III apartments in all of their over-the-top grandeur.
If that weren’t a full-enough day, we wanted to see Eiffel Tower at night so we hired a bicycle taxi and 20 minutes later we were there - at the eiffel tower - pinch me!
The north transept rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris was installed c. 1250-60 when Jean de Chelles was architect. It features the Virgin and Child enthroned in the centre, surrounded by images of kings and Old Testament prophets.
View of the south side and the south rose window of Notre-Dame.
The church broke ground in 1163 and took 200 years to complete - dedication mass was in 1345. It is a gothic church with pointed arches and flying buttresses that allow greater interior spaces. The famous gargoyle rain spouts represent souls caught between heaven and earth.
This square is a historical gathering place. In 1830, 1848 and again in 1871 the citizens fought against the royalist oppression and in WWII people stood up against the Nazi’s. The area is fun to explore but now has a lot of tourist flooding the cafe’s.
Along with the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. It has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collection anywhere in the world.
The Louvre - Second Empire meets 20th Century.
Yes, we saw the Mona Lisa - it was under heavy fortification and had mobs of people squeezing in to get a photo. The funny thing is that we saw 4 other Da Vinci’s that people were just walking by.
Napoleon III's apartment (hard to call this an apartment really) was so unbelievably opulent - just dripping with gold, crystal, velvet, carvings, ornamentation - way more excessive than anything I have seen so far - It’s hard to even believe.
This large drawing room typifies the taste of the period for opulent interiors. There is so much eye-candy it’s hard to even know what to look at.
The big wheel at the end of the Champs-Elysées. It has a height of 70 metres (this is the world’s largest Ferris wheel)
The capper of the evening - the eiffel tower. Dave and I were in awe - we couldn’t believe we were there - it is really quite stunning. We sat on a park bench drinking heineken’s and eating chips with one of the best views in the world - life is good!