Paris – Day 2
We were up bright and early on Wednesday to take the trip down to Versailles. We wanted to get there before the crowds and it proved to be a good thing – even first thing in the morning, there were quite a few people out and about! But we were lucky – I think we were easily among the first 50 people let it. And my goodness – what an amazing place!
Walking through Versailles was just incredible – and made even more so by the fact that this time, I had a working audio tour. The opulence was astounding and reminded me very much of the old Newport mansions my mom and I used to tour when I was a child. But it was so much more than that – the history of the place is practically alive. Just seeing the Queen’s chambers as decorated by Marie Antoinette is enough to take your breath away. And the art work is stunning. I was amazed, walking around, to see all of the statues and busts of famous politicians and advisors to the royals. It was weird, in a way, to know that these men were so famous and important during their time, but many have been banished from even the French history books. It made me wonder, what did these men do to deserve such honors?
By the time we had finished touring the main palace, the crowds had arrived. We stopped briefly in the gardens (although truth be told, as beautiful as they were, they weren’t as impressive as the Generalife) and of course, the gift shop. Then it was time to head back to Paris, as the day was getting on and we still had a lot more to see. But first, Starbucks! That’s right, there’s a Starbucks right across from the train station at Versailles, so we stocked up on caffeine and caught the next train into the city.
(Starbucks note: There were more Starbucks in Paris than in any other city we visited. We saw at least 4 Starbucks in Paris, 2 in Barcelona (worst of the Starbucks, by the way), 2 in the Malaga airport (one outside of security, one inside), 1 in the Amsterdam train station (which I didn’t get to sample because we were going to miss our train), and none anywhere in Belgium that I could find (of course I looked). Just an FYI.)
From Versailles it was on to another great Paris site – the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Just walking up to this grand building was breathtaking. Because the line to enter the Cathedral was so long, however, we decided to start with the crypts first. Attached to the Cathedral is the Crypte Archeologique de Parvis de Notre Dame – the Archeological Crypts. I have to admit, I was pretty excited – I was hoping we’d get to see bones and places where deal people were buried. I approached the steps that would bring us under the Cathedral with great anticipation, only to walk in and discover: no remains whatsoever and a bunch of stone foundations. The Crypts are not my kind of Crypts; instead, they contain the foundations of ancient Paris, some enclosure walls, and a couple of interesting looking structures that could pass as modern day dog houses. Needless to say, it’s a great place if you’re an architect. It’s not so fun if you were hoping for dead bodies.
When we finished with the Crypts, we decided to take our chances with the line to walk through the Cathedral. The line moved quickly and soon we were within the impressive church. It was absolutely amazing; noon mass had just started and I have to admit that just the act of walking through Notre Dame took my breath away. You don’t have to be religious to be impressed by its artistry, but I was raised Catholic and walking through Notre Dame, I felt a spiritual connection that I don’t know how to explain. It was as if I was walking through a place where all of those who believed before me had walked, making it more than just a place of wood and stone. I felt my breath catch more than once and it was hard to tear myself away from the magnificent place. Indeed, there is a solemnity above and beyond what I’ve ever felt in a modern church. It truly felt like a spiritual place.
But we couldn’t stay all day, so once again it was off into the wilds of Paris. We decided to take advantage of the bus tour portion of our Paris Pass. The bus pulled up at exactly the right moment and cameras in hand, we headed up to the top floor, totally enjoying our role as tourists in one of the world’s greatest cities. The bus stopped at a variety of places, so I snapped pictures along the way, including this one, in honor of Voltaire.
The bus also stopped at the Musee d’Orsay, so we decided to hop off and check it out. It contains many amazing paintings by the Impressionist masters, including quite a bit of Degas’ work (I have to admit, he’s my least favorite – I think all of his dancing girls look like they have rat faces), as well as several Renoirs (his work, I like), Monets, Van Goghs, and Manets (another artist whose work I like). I think by the time my trip was over, I had seen every Monet displayed in Paris! The Musee d’Orsay is spectacular (and unlike the Louvre, does have English explanations of a lot of its artwork), but by then, I think I was all finished with museums. I realized that I like the museums, I just don’t like the people who go to museums. Is that bad? Between the touching of the art, the taking pictures (again, they sell the postcards in the gift shop), and the people who have no awareness of anyone else, it’s a lot to deal with. And while we’re on the subject, why do people take pictures of themselves standing next to the art? Is it to prove that they were really there? Do they think their baseball caps and manpurses are an improvement over the artist’s original vision? I really just don’t get it.
So we hopped back on our bus, with the intention of seeing more of the city and finding a place to do some shopping (hey, the museum gift shop isn’t the only place to pick up a souvenir). We saw many beautiful buildings, including the Catherdral of Ste. Marie Madeleine and the Opera House. I found the Opera House to be especially fun, given that the building is decorated with the busts of several famous composers, including Beethoven and Mozart.
After the Opera House, we decided to hop off and attempt some shopping. There is a huge shopping plaza right by the Opera House, so we figured we’d find lunch and do some damage. Except that this several story building, connected to others by overhead walkways, was completely overwhelming. We could not figure out how to navigate it! We found a floor that appeard to have food, but there was no real place to eat any of it. We finally decided to grab some Greek takeout and walk over to the Opera House to sit on the steps and eat our lunch. I could just imagine living in Paris, working downtown and sneaking out of the office to do the same thing on my lunch break. And the best part? The chocolate éclair I chose for dessert:
For those of you who are wondering, yes, I ate foods with gluten in Paris. It was either that or starve to death – seriously, all the French eat is bread and cheese. After some deliberation, and based on conversations I had with my doctors before I left, I realized that the only way to get any food was going to be to eat the bread, so if I was going to eat bread, I was definitely going to have an éclair! And it was well worth it!
After lunch, we started wondering around looking for fun shops. I found a couple of pairs of shoes, J. found some shoes and a cute purse, and we decided it was time to head back to the hotel. After all, we had a Champagne Cruise to get ready for! The cruise, run by the same company as the wine tasting we had gone to the day before, consisted of learning about 3 different types of champagne while cruising down the Seine. How could it not be a good idea? And the best part – you weren’t allowed to leave until you finished all the champagne!
We arrived right on time, to find ourselves on a cruise with…8 other Americans, including two from Philly. That’s right – out of all of the tourists in the city of Paris, only Americans were interested in the Champagne Cruise. So much for expanding our horizons! But despite the fact that no one had an exciting accent (well, I guess the couple from Iowa kind of sounded funny), it was still a really fun time. The other cruise-goers were a lot of fun, several bottles of champagne were shared, and our sommelier was very informative (turns out, I think extra dry champagne is pretty tasty!). And once again, I was too busy drinking champagne to remember to take pictures, but here’s one of our cruise ship.
Once we had our fill of champagne (i.e. once we got kicked off the boat because the group was getting a little rowdy and they were trying to let new people on), it was off to find a place to watch the Spain game. It was still the World Cup quarterfinals and this game could not be missed! Unfortunately, we were armed with some bad information and ended up in a part of town, while nice, was not a hotbed of World Cup activity. So we ended up in a small bistro that, at the very least, had good food and wine, if a fuzzy TV. But it’s okay, because the Netherlands won!
(Side note: in terms of travel and being in the correct World Cup country at the right time, boy, did I mess that up! We were watching the Netherlands play while we were in Paris, Spain play while we were in Amsterdam, and finally, Spain and the Netherlands play while in Brussels – I clearly need to re-assess that in four years!)
Oh, and despite the language barrier, Paris was really easy to navigate and people were incredibly nice. If anything, I was sort of disappointed – I was hoping to have funny stories about rude French people, but instead, all we got was great service and a wonderful experience. I can't wait to go back!
By the time we had finished touring the main palace, the crowds had arrived. We stopped briefly in the gardens (although truth be told, as beautiful as they were, they weren’t as impressive as the Generalife) and of course, the gift shop. Then it was time to head back to Paris, as the day was getting on and we still had a lot more to see. But first, Starbucks! That’s right, there’s a Starbucks right across from the train station at Versailles, so we stocked up on caffeine and caught the next train into the city.
(Starbucks note: There were more Starbucks in Paris than in any other city we visited. We saw at least 4 Starbucks in Paris, 2 in Barcelona (worst of the Starbucks, by the way), 2 in the Malaga airport (one outside of security, one inside), 1 in the Amsterdam train station (which I didn’t get to sample because we were going to miss our train), and none anywhere in Belgium that I could find (of course I looked). Just an FYI.)
From Versailles it was on to another great Paris site – the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Just walking up to this grand building was breathtaking. Because the line to enter the Cathedral was so long, however, we decided to start with the crypts first. Attached to the Cathedral is the Crypte Archeologique de Parvis de Notre Dame – the Archeological Crypts. I have to admit, I was pretty excited – I was hoping we’d get to see bones and places where deal people were buried. I approached the steps that would bring us under the Cathedral with great anticipation, only to walk in and discover: no remains whatsoever and a bunch of stone foundations. The Crypts are not my kind of Crypts; instead, they contain the foundations of ancient Paris, some enclosure walls, and a couple of interesting looking structures that could pass as modern day dog houses. Needless to say, it’s a great place if you’re an architect. It’s not so fun if you were hoping for dead bodies.
When we finished with the Crypts, we decided to take our chances with the line to walk through the Cathedral. The line moved quickly and soon we were within the impressive church. It was absolutely amazing; noon mass had just started and I have to admit that just the act of walking through Notre Dame took my breath away. You don’t have to be religious to be impressed by its artistry, but I was raised Catholic and walking through Notre Dame, I felt a spiritual connection that I don’t know how to explain. It was as if I was walking through a place where all of those who believed before me had walked, making it more than just a place of wood and stone. I felt my breath catch more than once and it was hard to tear myself away from the magnificent place. Indeed, there is a solemnity above and beyond what I’ve ever felt in a modern church. It truly felt like a spiritual place.
But we couldn’t stay all day, so once again it was off into the wilds of Paris. We decided to take advantage of the bus tour portion of our Paris Pass. The bus pulled up at exactly the right moment and cameras in hand, we headed up to the top floor, totally enjoying our role as tourists in one of the world’s greatest cities. The bus stopped at a variety of places, so I snapped pictures along the way, including this one, in honor of Voltaire.
The bus also stopped at the Musee d’Orsay, so we decided to hop off and check it out. It contains many amazing paintings by the Impressionist masters, including quite a bit of Degas’ work (I have to admit, he’s my least favorite – I think all of his dancing girls look like they have rat faces), as well as several Renoirs (his work, I like), Monets, Van Goghs, and Manets (another artist whose work I like). I think by the time my trip was over, I had seen every Monet displayed in Paris! The Musee d’Orsay is spectacular (and unlike the Louvre, does have English explanations of a lot of its artwork), but by then, I think I was all finished with museums. I realized that I like the museums, I just don’t like the people who go to museums. Is that bad? Between the touching of the art, the taking pictures (again, they sell the postcards in the gift shop), and the people who have no awareness of anyone else, it’s a lot to deal with. And while we’re on the subject, why do people take pictures of themselves standing next to the art? Is it to prove that they were really there? Do they think their baseball caps and manpurses are an improvement over the artist’s original vision? I really just don’t get it.
So we hopped back on our bus, with the intention of seeing more of the city and finding a place to do some shopping (hey, the museum gift shop isn’t the only place to pick up a souvenir). We saw many beautiful buildings, including the Catherdral of Ste. Marie Madeleine and the Opera House. I found the Opera House to be especially fun, given that the building is decorated with the busts of several famous composers, including Beethoven and Mozart.
For those of you who are wondering, yes, I ate foods with gluten in Paris. It was either that or starve to death – seriously, all the French eat is bread and cheese. After some deliberation, and based on conversations I had with my doctors before I left, I realized that the only way to get any food was going to be to eat the bread, so if I was going to eat bread, I was definitely going to have an éclair! And it was well worth it!
After lunch, we started wondering around looking for fun shops. I found a couple of pairs of shoes, J. found some shoes and a cute purse, and we decided it was time to head back to the hotel. After all, we had a Champagne Cruise to get ready for! The cruise, run by the same company as the wine tasting we had gone to the day before, consisted of learning about 3 different types of champagne while cruising down the Seine. How could it not be a good idea? And the best part – you weren’t allowed to leave until you finished all the champagne!
We arrived right on time, to find ourselves on a cruise with…8 other Americans, including two from Philly. That’s right – out of all of the tourists in the city of Paris, only Americans were interested in the Champagne Cruise. So much for expanding our horizons! But despite the fact that no one had an exciting accent (well, I guess the couple from Iowa kind of sounded funny), it was still a really fun time. The other cruise-goers were a lot of fun, several bottles of champagne were shared, and our sommelier was very informative (turns out, I think extra dry champagne is pretty tasty!). And once again, I was too busy drinking champagne to remember to take pictures, but here’s one of our cruise ship.
Once we had our fill of champagne (i.e. once we got kicked off the boat because the group was getting a little rowdy and they were trying to let new people on), it was off to find a place to watch the Spain game. It was still the World Cup quarterfinals and this game could not be missed! Unfortunately, we were armed with some bad information and ended up in a part of town, while nice, was not a hotbed of World Cup activity. So we ended up in a small bistro that, at the very least, had good food and wine, if a fuzzy TV. But it’s okay, because the Netherlands won!
(Side note: in terms of travel and being in the correct World Cup country at the right time, boy, did I mess that up! We were watching the Netherlands play while we were in Paris, Spain play while we were in Amsterdam, and finally, Spain and the Netherlands play while in Brussels – I clearly need to re-assess that in four years!)
Oh, and despite the language barrier, Paris was really easy to navigate and people were incredibly nice. If anything, I was sort of disappointed – I was hoping to have funny stories about rude French people, but instead, all we got was great service and a wonderful experience. I can't wait to go back!
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