After watching the weather, and our experiences yesterday in the Louvre, we decided to leave our coats in the hotel and hope we didn't get too cold throughout the day. It turned out to be great not having all that weight to lug around.
We took the subway near the Eiffel Tower, and slowly walked toward it taking pictures every now and then. As we got close, we could see huge crowds, and the tower hadn't even opened yet. We asked someone how long it would take, and he said it would take the whole morning to get up and back down. After talking a bit we decided to skip the tower, and not even climb the stairs to the first level.
We walked to the Seine river and crossed, then a little further on we came to a Palace and fountains. After walking a bit more, we decided it would be too far to walk to Notre Dame, and waste too much time.
Once we left the subway and crossed to the island Notre Dame is on, we again saw huge lines to climb the spires of the cathedral and decided to skip that. We paid and went inside, and again got the audio tour. It's a huge and magnificent building, but not quite as built up as Westminster. There were the same little chapels along the sides, but few were stuffed with statues the way Westminster was.
After Notre Dame, we headed for Sainte-Chapelle. Mike explained that Notre Dame was where the common people went to worship, but Sainte-Chapelle was where the royals and nobles worshipped. It was built using a new techniqu that allowed the walls to have much larger stained glass windows. We were lucky it was such a sunny day because the stained glass was bright and very striking. Without the bright sunlight, the years of smog and soot have somewhat dimmed the glass.
It was a much smaller chapel, but much more stained glass than Notre Dame.
It was getting near noon, so we headed for a small cafe Mike had found in the travel guide. It was on the same Island as the cathedrals, but down an alleyway.
The cafe seemed very small and was packed with tables and chairs so people had to get up and scoot around as you made your way to your table. We got a tiny table with 2 chairs near one wall. I ordered Cock-au-vin with a salad, and we each got died coke. The bottles were tiny, maybe 8 ounces. My salad was really good. As we were eating, a french couple came in and sat near us. They saw my salad and the lady ordered the same thing. They talked about us a bit, and Mike translated. I don't remember exactly what they said, but part of it was "Typical American Tourists".
The chicken I got was fantastic. The sauce was really good, and the chickn was tender but not turned to mush. It also had roast potatoes that were very good. When I later learned that Cock-au-vin meant Chicken in wine sauce, I asked Mike why he let me order it and didn't warn me. He said "Everything on the menu had alcohol in it, and most everything in every restauraunt in Paris is the same." I don't remember what I had for desert, but Mike got a cheese tray as his desert. I'd never heard of a cheese assortment for desert, but he let me try some. They were all very good, including the stinky ones.
After lunch e headed for the Louvre again. This time we went through allot of Greek statues. We split up a bit and just kind of wandered through the area. I was especially struck by a statue depicting a man being attacked by a lion. The audio guide said the statue depicted Milon, a 12 time Greek hero of the Olympics. As he tries to prove his strength by splitting a tree with his bare hands, his hand gets stuck and a lion attacks and kills him while he stands there defenseless.
We looked at statues for about 2 hours, then started down a wing with allot of furniture and decorations. Some of it contained the apartments and furniture that Napoleon used. The throne was not very elegant, but after seeing the English throne and all the graffiti on it, I guess it was much better after all.
We ate dinner in the Louvre, then headed down some of the back passages. We saw the foundations of the original castle that makes up the Louvre, and some of the Egyptian obelysks.
We did leave a bit earlier this time, and took the underground out to the Champs-Elysees. We spent a while shopping for gifts for my daughters an wife. We found a "designer coat" for my daughter Kadi, and some facial masks and lotions from a famous french beauty shop.
We walked down the Champs-Elysees for a while, then found an open air cafe with heaters outside. I ordered an omelette, and Mike got some more cheese. We just sat people watching and talking for a couple of hours. I called home again. Finally near midnight we made our way to the underground and headed for the Hotel.
At the hotel we asked for a cab to pick us up early, and one that could take Visa.
The cab arrived on time the next morning, and we headed for the airport. This time there was no waitin for a shuttle or anything, The cab let us off right by our terminal. We checked in and walked to our gate.
I went looking for something for breakfast, and in their little convenience store I found big bags of the white chocolate malted milk balls that we had found in Bath. I'd given up on finding them again, so I bought several bags to bring home to my daughter.
We flew back from Paris to Atlanta. When we arrived we checked into getting earlier flights home, but nothing was available. We started looking for somewhere to eat, but the air conditioners in the terminal were out. We found a mexican restaurant with a table out in the open and got a little something.
Mike and I chatted about what we'd seen and done, then talked about doing another trip like it a year later. It was very sad to say godbye and see such a great time come to an end.
Me in front of the Eiffel Tower
The crowds under the tower trying to get up, and the reason we decided not to
Looking down the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower
Me in front of the famous fountains and palace (I think)
Inside Notre Dame
Carvings on the side of the Chapel in Notre Dame
A scale model of Notre Dame
Stained glass in Sainte-Chapelle
Inside Sainte-Chapelle
More Stained glass in Sainte-Chapelle
Cafe where we ate lunch near Notre Dame
A typical Paris street
Me outside the Louvre
A bronze lion
Large bronze statues depicting France's defeat of 4 nations.
This sculpture really touched me. Milon was an Olympic champion who in his old age tried to prove his strength by splitting a tree with his hands. Instead gets his hand stuck and a lion kills him..
Perseus, Andromeda, and the head of Medusa
Napoleon's bed
Napoleon's throne
The entry to the Louvre
Me by the inner pyramid in the Louvre
The typical tourist picture of the Arch du Triumph while standing in the middle of the Champs-Elysées
Mike in front of the Arch du Triumph
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