Well we made it. After a relatively uneventful and smooth journey to Paris on the awesomeness that is the Eurostar, we set about finding our hostel. This proved slightly more challenging than expected as we werent entirely sure what metro station to get off at, but we ended up having a nice walk around the city in our search. We eventually found our hostel in a great location, right next to the Louvre Museum and proceeded to check in and get ourselves organised for the days sightseeing. Our first priority was to find a Tourist Information Centre so we could get a decent map of the city. Having completed this, we decided to explore a little more and meander our way around the city in the general direction of the Arc de Triomph. On the way we randomly ran into some very beautiful churches that werent in either Rishi's or my guide books. The Church of Sainte Madeleine and Sainte Augustine proved a great introduction to the rich and diverse architecture of the city, and served as great rewards for our explorations. The Arc De Triomphe soon appeared in the distance, and it didnt seem very far away at all. Unfortunately, due to its size, this was deceiving and it tended to stay 'in the distance' for a good half an hour. However, we were not dissapointed when we arrived. It really is a spectacular site, rounded by the huge Charles de Gaul traffic circle. All I could picture in ,my mind was a young Bernard and Brenda Hale nearly killing themselves while attempting to navigate the gigantic traffic nightmare. Cheers to you Mum and Dad. We then walked down the famous Champ del Elysses to arrive at Concord Plaza, and a large Egyptian Obelisk given to the French as a present in the 1800s. Not satisfied with having completed this massive trek, we decided to hike to the Eiffel Tower as it was soon to be sunset. Our legs were soon protesting violently, and even more so when they discovered much to their horror, that we were going to climb to the top. It was worth it though, as the views of the city at dusk were breathtaking. the Eiffel Tower is truly a wonder, especially when it is all lit up at night. Limping our way home, we decided that day & was a success, and declared the Euro Trip OPEN!
Day 2 found us wanting to visit the Louvre Museum, only to discover that it is closed on Tuesdays. Reverting to Plan B, we headed to the centre city and the Ile de Cite in the middle of the Seinne River. Our first stop was the Conciergerie, housed in the old Royal Palace of which not much has survived. It is now the seat of the French Law Courts and functioned as a prison during the French Revolution. There we discovered the place where Marie-Antoinette was held prisoner before her execution, along with other casualties from the Revolution. Next we headed to the Saint Chappel in the old courtyard of the palace. We were told that this was Paris' finest example of Gothic architecture, and were not initially overly impressed. It was beautiful of course and the colours were quite startling, but other than that it wasnt anything special. UNTIL we headed upstairs. It was truly jaw dropping. The stain glass windows were so unbelievable. It just left us speechless for AGES. Definitly one of my favourite sites so far. We could not put off going to the Notre Dame Cathedral any longer. I had high hopes for one of the worlds most famous Cathedrals, and was certainly not dissapointed. The detail on EVERYTHING was fantastic. It was also quite beautifully symmetrical and extremely large, easily one of the biggest I have been to. However it was also extremely beautiful to match. I havent really found anything that balances this quite as well as Notre-Dame. Unfortunately, we couldnt find any sign of any hunchbacks.... We then had a bit of a trek to go to our next site, the Pantheon. This is much larger than the one in Rome, but a lot more modern. Originally functioning as a church, it has been used as a sort of French National Temple since the 1800s. The whole place demonstrates one of the qualities that I really love about the French. They are EXTREMELY proud of their heritage and culture, and for good reason! Today the Pantheon houses some beautiful artworks dedicated to important events in French History. Underneath, it contains the burials of some of the greatest and most prolific French men and women including figures like Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. Concluding this solemn visit, we wondered towards the Palais de Luxembourg, a large building and garden complex. We didnt stay long, but decided to head to the underground Catacombs of Paris, its solution to overpopulated graveyards. Unfortunately we arrived too late and it was shut, so we wondered back to the hostel, taking in the Hotel Invalides, which contains the burial of Napolean, and a light show on the Eiffel Tower.
Day three saw us finally managing to get to the Musee Louvre. We had walked past this gigantic complex many times and each time we were freshly astounded by its size and beauty. Now THIS is a museum! It used to be a fortress before being converted into a museum, which explains its sheer size. Inside, the dizzying map gives testament to the truly awesome task of taking in the Louvre in one day. It cant be done. We quickly cancelled all other plans for the day and resolved to get as much done as possible. Exploring all the sculptures, paintings and other objects from literally every corner of the Earth, and every time period imaginable was an opportunity not to be missed. Our highlights consisted of:
The Glass Pyramid at the entrance
The Sculpture: The Winged Victory of Samothrace
The Sculpture: Venus De Milo
A Statue from the Levant which is dated to 7000BC, if I translated the French Label correctly. 7000BC!!!!!
The hilariously named 'Rishi' coffins from Egypt
The Painting: The Mona Lisa
The Painting: Wedding Feast at Cana, A truly GIGANTIC piece
The Painting: David and Goliath, a double-sided masterpiece
Most of the French Sculptures
and many other paintings by Da Vinci, Louis David and Delacroix in particular.
The visit was truly epic. We managed to get through about 2/3rds of the museum before going home for a break. We then headed out to a pub crawl, which proved a much needed break from site seeing. We met some other Australians, some Canadians and some Swedes. A very diverse group indeed!
Time is almost up so stay tuned. Next stop, BRUSSELS. We are leaving in the morning. Au Revoir Pari!
Day three saw us finally managing to get to the Musee Louvre. We had walked past this gigantic complex many times and each time we were freshly astounded by its size and beauty. Now THIS is a museum! It used to be a fortress before being converted into a museum, which explains its sheer size. Inside, the dizzying map gives testament to the truly awesome task of taking in the Louvre in one day. It cant be done. We quickly cancelled all other plans for the day and resolved to get as much done as possible. Exploring all the sculptures, paintings and other objects from literally every corner of the Earth, and every time period imaginable was an opportunity not to be missed. Our highlights consisted of:
The Glass Pyramid at the entrance
The Sculpture: The Winged Victory of Samothrace
The Sculpture: Venus De Milo
A Statue from the Levant which is dated to 7000BC, if I translated the French Label correctly. 7000BC!!!!!
The hilariously named 'Rishi' coffins from Egypt
The Painting: The Mona Lisa
The Painting: Wedding Feast at Cana, A truly GIGANTIC piece
The Painting: David and Goliath, a double-sided masterpiece
Most of the French Sculptures
and many other paintings by Da Vinci, Louis David and Delacroix in particular.
The visit was truly epic. We managed to get through about 2/3rds of the museum before going home for a break. We then headed out to a pub crawl, which proved a much needed break from site seeing. We met some other Australians, some Canadians and some Swedes. A very diverse group indeed!
Time is almost up so stay tuned. Next stop, BRUSSELS. We are leaving in the morning. Au Revoir Pari!
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