I want to live in Paris! Paris, Day 2

Day 2 begins with absolutely beautiful weather.  It has been so incredibly hot in Barcelona that the moment I walk out the door I'm drenched in sweat.  I know that to all that are reading this at home and suffering thru one of the hottest summers in years, you have no sympathy there.  But regardless, the weather in Paris was pretty much perfect! 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hotel before setting off on our day of sightseeing.  We probably should have grabbed the croissant and banana (for me) and the eggs and bacon (for Josh) somewhere else though because at the end we were 52 euros poorer (yes this is what they mean by Paris being very expensive).  Thankfully I managed to get that one taken off our hotel bill!! 

Our goal for the day - see as much as we can and then decide which places we want to revisit in more detail for Sunday.  With only 2 full days we were cramming in as much as possible but also wanted it to be a relaxing and romantic weekend away.  We of course wanted to see the big ones - the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees and the Louvre. 

We started off with the Louvre and the Palais Royal since it was just around the corner from the hotel.  It's weird because I thought it would be more on the main thoroughfare than it actually was.  For some reason in the movies it looks like this area is much more highly trafficked than it is.  But this was a pleasant surprise!  The gardens surrounding the Louvre are actually the largest city garden in Europe and I believe it.  It was so nice to be in a city and see grass! Luxurious grass!! 

   

The Louvre actually dates back to 1200 - so it's close to 1000 years old which is amazing! It started off as a fortress next to the Seine River. By the mid-1300s it had become a royal residence for Charles V. It is Catherine of Medicis who decides to link the Palace to the Tuileries which is the park that extends out from the Louvre. Several other additions were made over the centuries by various kings. The palace was converted to a museum in the late 1700s and held just over 500 works of art. Today the Louvre currently houses more than 35,000 works of art dating back to the BC times thru present day. The Leoh Ming Pei Pyramid which is the most modern part of the Louvre was added in 1989 amongst a bit of controversy for it's "futuristic" appearance compared to the rest of the Palace. However, the pyramid has now become a landmark of Paris.

   

Arc de Triomphe de Carroussel

We considered going into the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa - there was no line at this early hour. However, we had other items on our list of places to see and we quite honestly are not big into the museum scene, so we decided to save this for later.  Unfortunately we didn't make it back to see the Mona Lisa.  Next trip!
We continued walking from the Louve towards Notre Dame.  I can't help but be in awe during our entire walk because the city is just amazingly beautiful.  I thought Barcelona was beautiful and it is, but this is stunning in a whole other way and I'm not sure how to describe it.  I think it is mainly because Paris has managed to have an "old" city and a "new" city - so everything in the center is truly historic and flows in a way that I haven't seen in any other city.  If you look down beyond the Arc de Triomphe you can see the newer parts of the city where I assume most businesses are located. 

As we walked towards Notre Dame we got to see just how huge the Louvre really is.  We had to walk around the back in order to get to the river Seine.  I hate to say I don't know what a lot of these pictures are so if you do know what they are, please let me know so I can re-label them accordingly!

Walking along Rue de Rivoli

Side view of the Louvre

Not sure what this is (on Rue de Rivoli) but if you know feel free to tell me...

View of St. Germain L'Auxerrios

Closer view of St. Germain L'Auxerrios

View across the river Seine

I believe this is the Institut de France - this is such a stunning view!

Another view across the river - not sure of the building

Getting closer to the Ile de la Cite.  Pont Neuf

 - the oldest bridge in Paris, completed in 1607. 

This is where the street vendors set up shop.  Most of the items they sell tend to be "antique" type items and souveniers.

View of the Eiffel Tower as we head towards Notre Dame

Closer view of the Eiffel Tower.  Can you see why I want to live here?   It's gorgeous!!!

Palais de la Cite -  former royal palace and prison.  It is part of the larger complex known as the Palais de Justice, which is still used for judicial purposes.

Not sure of this building either...

or this one....

I believe this is the Tour St. Jacques

Pont au Change - the N is for Napoleon

More of the Palais de la Cite

Not sure of this building either :(

Palais de la Cite

Gate at the Palais de Justice

Palais de Justice

Liked this because it looked old :)

In the center of the river are two natural islands, one of which is called the Cradle of Paris or Ile de la Cite.  This is where Notre Dame is.  The Ile de la Cite is considered to be the heart of the city and it where Parisians believe the city was founded around 52 BC by the Parisii, a small Gallic tribe.  All road distances in France are calculated from the "zero kilometer" point located in the Place du Parvis de Notre-Dame, the square facing Notre-Dame's west end-towers.

Coming upon Notre Dame

Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement.  Construction began in 1163, during the reign of Louis VII and was not completed until 1345 (reminds me a bit of Sagrada Familia here in Barcelona that has been under construction for over 100 years!).  According to what I have read, Notre Dame is widely considered one of the best examples of French Gothic architecture in Europe. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture.  It was also one of the first buildings in the world to use flying buttresses (that brings back memories of that Humanities class again!).  A beautiful cathedral, it was jam packed full of tourists so we did not go in.  Next time!

Views of Notre Dame

Scary looking statue by the Notre Dame

Closer up view of the entrance to the Cathedral

Detail work above the entrances

Gorgeous window!

I really loved this building right next to the Cathedral - buildings like this are how I now see Paris - just beautiful!

After Notre Dame we decided to hop on a bus tour.  As we learned in Rome this is a great way to quickly see the sights and determine what we want to see more of, especially given our limited time in the city.  Most of the tours offer a hop on, hop off option which we did. 

Don't know what this building is :(

Institut de France

National Assembly

Place de la Concorde

Eventually the tour took us down towards the Arc de Triomphe via the famous Avenue des Champs Elysees.  Hmmmm... Champs Elysees...what can I say?  More shopping here and on the surrounding streets than I have ever seen!  Store upon store of fabulous shopping and dining.  It was Newbury Street, Waikiki Beach, 5th Avenue and more all together!  Of course most of it was way out of my range (telltale sign being the 5 Ferraris I saw in a 10 minute span) but I did see one place stand out amongst the rest - the GAP!  Yes, the Gap... sad isn't it, that it was my favorite store to go into?  We don't have a Gap in Spain and I've missed my old friend.  I didn't get a chance to go in til Sunday but it made my day on Saturday to know it existed here!  Another cool sight was the Louis Vuitton flagship building - it stood out from the rest on the Champs Elysees.  Actually the guy next to me on the bus and his 2 kids got off at the stop closest to it so they could go in.  There was a line outside the door to get into the store!  I now understand when people say if you want to shop you should go to Paris!

Louis Vuitton flagship store!

Down the Champs Elysees we could see the Arc de Triomphe looming in front of us.  Michelle had told me it was significantly bigger than the Arc in Barcelona and she was absolutely correct!  It stood out from the rest and was a stunning sight to see.  I wish I had the opportunity to see it lit up at night.

The arch was built to honor those who fought for France.  It was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806 and so as far as monuments in Europe go, it's relatively "new".  On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.  The arch is magnificent and is 160 feet high, 148 feet wide and 72 feet deep.  To access the arch, we had to walk thru an underground tunnel because there is a rotary that surrounds the arch with no traffic lights.  We had the ability to climb to the top of the arch but it looked to us like it would be all stairs and it was already pretty hot outside, imagine a tiny stairway???  However, this is one of the things I really wish we had gone back to do - an absolute must for the next time as I believe the views would have been stunning!

View from the side of the road before going in the tunnel to get to the actual arch

View of the ceiling and the inscription of the generals who fought in wars

There are 4 sculptures on the arch - one on the front and back of each "leg"                                      

Le Départ de 1792                            La Résistance de 1814

Each of us standing under the La Paix de 1815 - it will give you an idea just how enormous these sculptures are!

After the Arch de Triomphe we hopped back on the bus to get to the Eiffel Tower - essentially our last big tourist spot for the day as we had a spa appointment in the late afternoon.  Of the almost 400 pictures I took over the weekend, I can say that probably close to half are of the Eiffel Tower.  It was just such a great backdrop for so many pictures!  The bus took us right underneath the Tower which was cool, though it did look like it was undergoing some routine maintenance!

The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 and is constructed of iron using a lattice type pattern. It is the tallest building in Paris at 1063 feet tall and millions of people ascend it every year (sadly we were not two of them - it was PACKED!). It was built as an entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair.

We noticed a number of river boats that looked like they might be house boats - they were super cute!

At this point we were hungry and needed to grab lunch before heading off to our massages that afternoon.  We walked and walked and walked some more - we hit a district of shopping that apparently does not want you to stop and eat hence you stop shopping.  Finally near our hotel we found a small cafe where we encountered our only not so great meal.  But hey it can't all be perfect and now we're heading a for a massage.

I believe both of these shots were of where the President lives - but not sure.  I think it's the Palais de L'Elysee.  There were a lot of guards in this area.  If anyone knows, it was on the way to the Vendome on Rue du St. Honore.

Vendome - view # 1

Vendome View # 2

Vendome View # 3

The massage was like that in the US but I must point out that unlike the spas I go to in the US, they don't allow you to keep your own underwear on here.  Instead they provide you with a paper-like thong to wear.  What amused me the most is that Josh, too, had to wear this thong.  Josh who prides himself on his boxer shorts and unlike his European counterparts, wears long board shorts rather than banana hammocks to the beach... was wearing a thong.  Yes, I thought you would get a good laugh out of that.   Now to convince him to wear one to the beach... just kidding!!!

After a fabulous dinner at Chez Flottes where despite the heat we both went for some traditional French Onion Soup (super yummy and OMG there was soooo much cheese!), we went out for yet another walk.  Of course we went back to the fair that was going on by Rue de Rivoli and Josh made me do the Flume this time much to my chagrin. 

I found this statue so disturbing I had to take a picture of it.  It is a rhino eating a tiger and it dates back to the1800s.  You can actually see the intestines of the tiger right under the rhino if you click on the picture to enlarge it.  Gross!

End of the Jardin des Tuileries with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower - we were nearing sunset at this point.

We decided to head over towards the Eiffel Tower to see what would happen right around the time the sun goes down.  Unfortunately the sun went down later than we anticipated so we stood around for quite a bit.  The plus to this is we got some great shots with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop :) 

Arc de Triomphe at sunset - beautiful isn't it?

Le Grand Palais - Built for the 1900 World Fair

Le Petit Palais also built for the 1900 World Fair and sits across the street from Le Grande Palais

After the Palais we head to the Pont Alexandre III bridge - the largest bridge in Paris.  This was also built for the 1900 World Fair. 

Built in the late 1600 at the other end of the Pont Alexandre III, is Les Invalides where the remains of Napoleon are buried.  These buildings also contain museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose.

View heading in the direction of Notre Dame from Pont Alexandre III

View of the Eiffel Tower as sunset approaches

The only picture that we had someone take of us while we were in Paris... and what better picture than one with the Eiffel Tower in the background?

Wow!  What a day!!  As I type this (a week later - and 3 days to do this post), I can't get over how much stuff we covered in just a day.  Sure we didn't get to go in most places, really did the outdoor touring, but what an amazingly beautiful city!  And for those that say the French are rude and don't speak English, I didn't see that.  Yes, they have terrible service in restaurants for the most part, but they do here in Spain too and I think (my opinion) that it's because tipping isn't customary here and so there's not a whole lot of motivation to be nice.  So that aside, we didn't interact with that many locals anyways.  But seriously, I would live here in a heartbeat.  The city took my breath away with it's beauty, it's history and it's food!  It's just too bad it's sooooo incredibly expensive on so many different levels.  We'll just have to make another trip here... soon to post, our final day in Paris.

Julie