The Beginning of the End; Paris

I can’t believe that four of our six days in Paris are gone already! We have done so much in so little time and still have so much to go. Here is a glimpse into the past couple wonderful days. 

Our first evening we wandered around the district called Le Marais. We’re staying very nearby and this is quickly becoming a booming area in Paris. Originally it was where the working class lived, but now with its lively nightlife it’s become an area where young people live and hang out. Then we went to see the Seine and Notre Dame. Wow. I’m not afraid to say that I cried several times! We ate an excellent dinner complete with wine and chocolate mousse for dessert. Mmmmm :) 

The second day we woke up early and got a baguette for breakfast. We headed to the Louvre and spent 4.5 hours in there! It is a marvelous museum. There’s so much more to see than what we got to, but we made it to the sections we were interested in. We actually followed the Rick Steves pocket guide tour through the museum and he takes you to all of the major works and gives plenty of information about the work and the artist. We also went to see several sections that he didn’t cover in the tour and were not disappointed by any of it! We spent the rest of the day walking about the city aimlessly and enjoying every little bit of it.

Yesterday we started by getting crêpes and eating them on the side of the Seine. Only in Paris can such a simple act be so wonderful! Then we decided to do the Rick Steves self-guided walking tour from our book called Historic Paris. It took us to many sights including Notre Dame, Point Zero, the Deportation Memorial (which unfortunately was closed for renovation), to several other small churches, through the Latin Quarter, and finally ending at the Pont Neuf. My favorite part of yesterday was either going up to the top of Notre Dame and having one of the best views in Paris or actually going into the cathedral itself. It has such a mysterious look to it that instantly makes you feel a sort of contemplative quietness. It’s magical!

Unfortunately yesterday couldn’t be completely perfect. I have been working up a nasty cold for a few days and Josh suddenly caught it as well. It got so bad that we returned to our hotel by 7 and fell asleep immediately. With fevers of over 100 degrees, we were both knocked on our butts! Luckily, we woke up this morning with much more normal temperatures and less aches and pains. We got medicine at the pharmacy and as I write this we are both feeling so much better! Thank God!

Today was a darn near perfect day. We began the day at Sainte-Chapelle, a church built for King Louis IV. He’s the only king to be given sainthood. In addition, the church was built at the price of 150 million euros (nowadays) to house the crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the cross. This was supposedly found in Constantinople (present day Istanbul) and was bought for 500 million euros! The church is small, but stunning. In my opinion, it can rival Notre Dame. The 15 separate panels of stained glass that make up the walls tell the Christian story. Sadly, the rose window is being renovated so we didn’t get to see that part of it, but we certainly weren’t disappointed!

Next we continued on to the Musée d’Orsay admiring the many unbelievable paintings. We again followed the Rick Steves tour. If you travel to Europe any time soon buy the Rick Steves pocket guide for your chosen city. They’re excellent!! Kate and Eric Wolf insisted that we go to L’Orangerie museum as well and boy are we glad we did! There are two circular rooms that house 8 of Monet’s Water Lillies paintings. The giant paintings go around the circular walls and there’s a seat in the middle. As you sit down you are completely surrounded by these masterpieces. It’s the most overwhelming feeling. Monet intended for them to be displayed like this so that the viewer could feel as if they were sitting by his pond in Giverny. If you allow yourself to separate mentally from the room and become immersed in the painting then you can absolutely accomplish this goal. It’s an experience like none other!

After L’Orangerie we walked along the Champs-Elysées starting at Place de la Concorde and the famous Obelisk and ending at the Arc de Triomphe. Our museum passes that we purchased allowed us access to the top of the Arc for free, so we took advantage of that. We had the best views of the Champs-Elysées, the other streets that stretch out like the spokes of a bicycle, and of course, the Eiffel Tower. We concluded the evening with a lovely meal with creme brûlée for dessert. Tomorrow we see Versailles - I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!

P.S. Our pictures aren't uploading very well, so we will leave them for our next post. :)