A Whirlwind Tour: Paris

(Sat. March 14)
My parents came for a visit and they had decided that Paris was a great place to start. It was! We only had to meet them in the airport. Ben and I were able to catch a cheap flight into Paris and once we got there we saw that all the planes coming in were radically on time. So we found the only flight coming from Cincinnati, luckily it was not far from where Ben and I picked up our bags and got off our flight. Then the waiting begun, it seemed to take awhile, but I kept reminding myself that they had to go through customs because they had come straight from the U.S. . After what was a truthfully a long, impatient wait, they came out! We gave them hello hugs and got situated. We all wanted to get a taxi and head into the city and drop our bags at our hotel. We found a taxi driver who dropped us quite near our new doorstep, at the Hotel St. Dominique. Our hotel had started off as a monastery, so the rooms were all unique and the stairs old and worn, but it was comfortable. Soon we were all ready to go out and see what there was to see of this famous city.
From the beginning I thought it would be good to start on the island where the Cathedral Notre Dame was. So we took several small metro trains to the "la cite" stop. The island was hopping with tourists and after figuring out which direction to head on the island, we ran into some people from Cyprus wondering where the cathedral was as well. So they walked with us asking where we were from and what brought us to Paris. We told them we were from Iowa and were just as curious about what Paris had to offer. The Cathedral of Notre Dame was quite majestic in the darkening sky, I kept wanting to peak up and see if I could see Quasimodo peak from the bell towers. One thing that did take me a bit off guard was the statue of Charlemagne that was prominently riding his horse into some battle next to the cathedral. Immediately all our eyes gazed on the statue wondering who it was and we forgot about the great cathedral that was before us. So after some debate as to who it was we took some pictures and headed inside. Another thing that took me off guard is that Notre Dame is still very much in use! We entered the cathedral listening the voice of a priest. I admit I do not know what sort of Mass he was giving but it took me off guard because it still is hard to get used to that some historical buildings in Europe are still in use. Behind the priest was a large statue of Jesus and Mary, it looked quite beautiful, but one was not likely to get a very close look at it. The things in the cathedral you could look at were amazing. It held quite a bit of fabulous stained glass. Just enough windows to let some light shine into building. Like a typical cathedral there were elaborate chapels that lined the way around the altar. Some chapels even held places for confession. The inside, like the outsides was everything that I had imagined. It had domed ceilings and bright cheery stained glass throughout. The choir blind also still stood in the cathedral. The outside of the blind was lined with stories of Jesus and his works in the world. They were ornate little pictures of those events. After we were done exploring the inside of the cathedral we headed out to the place area of the cathedral, we took a few more pictures of the spectacular sculptures that were on the outside of the building then we headed to the little archaeological museum that was below Notre Dame.
Inside the museum was the Romanesque history of Paris. It showed the Roman baths as well as where certain people of high rank used to live and why. It also explained the logic of some the the Parisian roads, some of them still exist to this day. It is amazing what the past can tell you about the present! The museum was interesting, seeing the ruins firsthand and imagining what they looked like when they were new. We soon headed back up to the world of present Paris. Present Paris was still bustling like it had when we left it. But there were still a few more things to see on the "La cite". There was one particular thing I wanted to see that didn't do much with medieval Paris but with booming nineteenth century Paris. It was the Shakespeare and Company bookshop. While we have been here I read the book A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. It is about Hemingway's experiences as a young married writer living in Paris. He frequented the Shakespeare and Company bookshop when it still lent books out to people. But now it is just a nice antique bookshop still lending itself to selling English books. If anything, visiting there made me feel like the book I read had come to life and I was in Hemingway's shoes looking for my own English book to pass the time and improve my writing. As he was trying to perfect his style when he moved and lived in Paris.
Our tummies were grumbling and we were all ready to eat, there was a rather large cafe right next to the bookshop that we stumbled into. We shared two pizzas, a Salmon one and a regular ham pizza (I think). They relinquished our appetites and we were ready to step out again. Ben and I had heard that Saint Chapelle was a wonderful sight to see, so we all headed in the direction of the chapel. After going through bit of security we entered a court yard which led to the chapel's entrance. When we entered into the chapel you just see a few stained glass windows and painted walls, somewhat disappointing, but once you climbed the stairs you entered into a room with a very high ceiling and huge stained glass windows. One cannot fathom each picture that was made into the glass because it reaches so high above you. I know each of us stood there in awe trying to decipher each one of the dramatic scenes that the stained glass artisans decided to create. The chapel was built to house the supposed crown of thorns. Which was displayed on a high altar above every one's heads. It also was quickly built, only taking five years to build with one architect (As Rick Steve's comments in his book). It was a fascinating sight to behold and one certainly not to miss if they are in Paris.
We went back to our hotel then, to comprehend what we saw and to rest our eyes from the tremendous amount of beauty that creeped into them. After our legs had had a rest and our eyes had closed for a few minutes, we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. The walk to it was rather slow, one expects to see it just around the corner, because it can so easily be seen above one's head! But when we finally reached the park in which it stands, one cannot help to look up! I was taken aback for sure and in my ear Mom was saying "Can you believe we're in Paris?" At that moment I certainly couldn't. I kept my eye on the thing hoping it wouldn't go away, but reluctantly I turned my back to have a couple of pictures taken. As we neared the tower, it seemed as if a party was going on. I could hear music playing. As we neared I realized it must have been entertainment for the people waiting in the long line to even climb the massive tower. Once we got in line it didn't seem to take long to get up into the lift and watch the steel rivets go by. We soon were on the second floor, if you will, of the tower. I could just hardly make out the Arch de Triumph and possibly the Louvre. According to our guide book you should be able to see them from that spot on the tower. But it was dark and I was concentrating on not being cold. For it was windy and quite chilly being about 200 feet up into the air, suspended by the steel body that is the tower. Before we had even reached that level, we had seen the tower glisten with powerful strobe lights in the night sky, as we waited for the line to progress. Soon we were ready to eat again, for dinner time was near. So we reluctantly headed down the tower to the ground level. Heading away from the Eiffel Tower, we took it in again. Its lights gleaming in the night sky. It was still beautiful.
On the way back to the hotel we found a Toulousain restaurant and we tried our first foie gras. I thought it was rather tasty. This particular foie gras was peppery and smooth to taste. No bad after taste, just an enjoyable little bite of something splendid. I also ate a Toulousain tradition and favorite, Cassoulet. The beans were wonderful little treats and the meat was OK. I know I am not used to the sausage here so that might have spoiled me a little bit. But despite the interesting flavor of the sausage, it was a good dish. Our day was busy, but it was wonderful.

Sunday, March 15 marked the day when we entered the Louvre. What can one say about it? First of all, the property in itself is incredible! I could've got lost in its gardens and towering arch statue. It also amazes me how much beautiful artwork is in its space. So much done by popular artists taught in schools all over the world. We started our Sunday there to a great crowd. All there to see what treasures were available to see with wide eyes.
One of the famous paintings I saw was the Feast of Canaan, I probably only remember it from High School art class, but we had to memorize it for the class. It was a large painting that took up the entire wall that it was displayed on. I must say the picture I saw in art class did not do its immensity justice, for one could feel like they were in the feast and took part in it. In fact I took a picture that looked liked all the tourists that were captured in it were there. This painting happened to share a room with the Mona Lisa, which was on a different wall behind glass. I could see why it would disappoint some people. You could not even get close to it to examine its little details. I would've liked to do that, but it was not worth it to shove past the people all trying to take a picture of it. We stood next to it for a little bit and then continued on into the other rooms that the museum held. Before we knew it were next to more famous paintings, but this time by French artists. One particular painting I do remember from High School art class it was the Crowning of Josephine. It is such a dramatic, fascinating picture. On the right of the picture is Napoleon, holding the crown above his wife's head and all of the French bureaucrats and political powers looking on. It is one painting to take in, to look for something fun, or something to make it even more fascinating. We saw some famous sculptures as well, but alas they are hard to describe. One that I am sure most people have heard of is the Venus de Milo who is a woman posed in such a way that she is an artistic and unique triumph for the unknown artist. She was actually holding a crowd as big as the Mona Lisa, but she is just famous for the fact that an ancient artist had a knack for carving out beautiful lines in stone.
Our walk through the Louvre was complete and we headed toward the Champs-Elysees and the Arch de Triumph. Both famous in there own right one for being the greatest road for shopping and one for being Napoleon's great dedication to his soldiers. The Arch de Triumph was a splendid arch, names covering its inside and the dramatic sculptures beaming on the outside. It was fascinating to see all the cars around it deciphering which way to go on the Arch's many roads leading from it. It was also neat that from the arch you can make out the Eiffel tower in the city distance. Admittedly, we were quickly done with the arch and were soon back on the street headed toward the Champs-Elysees. We hit some souvenir shops on our way down the Champs-Elysee where we picked up some great Parisian things for our families at home. We also ran into a huge Louis Vuitton store. I suppose it deserves the right to be huge being the original store. Things there were ridiculously priced. You could not even buy a key chain without dropping 200 euro. It was also crazy how many people were buying it as well. We were all awed at the fact people could afford it. Because the average American definitely could not. It was neat to see the range of things you could buy though. You could buy Louis Vuitton shoes, ties, billfolds, shirts and much more. But I suppose you expand so you can reach as many customers as possible, especially if they are able to pay the prices. We soon tired of the prices and found ourselves in the Swatch store, which seemed to have fairly reasonable prices. They also had some great watches as well! So many different creations one could wear on their wrist. One last stop on the Champs-Elysees was the Peugeot store. It showed off its newest cars and an assortment of memorabilia. It was interesting but we did not find anything worth buying. The Champs-Elysees, despite its steep prices at a few places was a great experience, it certainly made you feel like a Parisian, if even for an instant.