Final Night in Paris

On the Champ Elysees in front of the Arc de Triomphe

Our final day in Paris was spent just soaking in the city and experiencing Parisian life.  One of the things we really hadn't done is be out late and experiencing the City of Lights at night.  It's not been getting dark until almost 9:30, so we were usually back in our own neighborhood by then.  I suggested we stroll the Champ Elysees and go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe which would give us nice views of the City and the Eiffel Tower.  We didn't leave the apartment until after 8:00 and took the Metro over to the Champ Elysees.  We strolled along the wide boulevard and did a little window shopping at Louis Vitton, Mont Blanc, Cartier, and other ritzy stores we couldn't begin to afford.  We went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe about 9:15.  Our museum pass came in handy again as we didn't have to pay an entrance fee.

In order to get to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, you have have to climb about 300 steps up a relatively narrow spiral staircase.  The Arc is about 165 feet tall so it provides excellent views.  It also sits in the middle of a huge traffic circle in which 8 or 10 streets converge so traffic is non-stop.  Because of this, you access it through an underground tunnel off of the champ Elysees.

We didn't tell Mom about the steps as she likely would have balked at going at the top.  She was like a kid the whole time asking is it much further, is it much further?  She did a great job getting to the top and was glad she made the effort.  I wanted to take a great photo of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night and the top of the Arc de Triomphe provides an excellent vantage point.  While I have a great camera (a Canon Digital SLR), I'm still a complete novice when it comes to the manual settings so I tend to rely on the automatic ones.  Fortunately for me, I found a perch next to a guy who was much more of an expert and he gave me a crash course to help me take a better picture as a lot of my shots were somewhat blurry.  This was due in part to not being able to use my tripod after toting it all the way there (the tripod police was out in full force).  I never did catch his name, but I give a big thank you to him as his advice helped me get a great picture.

The Eiffel Tower is nicely illuminated in the evening and has a sparkly light show on the hour.  We stayed through the 10:00 show, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the City of Lights at its best.  It's hard to believe our time here is ending, but we had a great finale to a fantastic stay in Paris.

Stained Glass

Rose Window at Notre Dame

If you're a fan of stained glass and cathedrals, then Paris is a great place to visit.  Probably the two best places to see are Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle.  Both are located on the Ile de la Cite--the other island in the middle of the River Seine.  Most folks visit Notre Dame as it is more well known and there is no admission fee.  While there is an admission fee for Sainte-Chapelle, it is covered with our museum pass.  Both cathedrals are designed in the Gothic style.

Sainte-Chapelle -- each circle depicts a scene from the Bible

Sainte-Chapelle was specifically built by Louis IX in the 13th century to house precious relics, including the purported Crown of Thorns worn by Christ.  Much of the stained glass still dates to that time period and is currently in a 5 year restoration project.  Sainte-Chapelle has 15 large panel windows that stretch some 45 feet high, each representing various books of the Bible.  In a sense it's actually two churches in one, as it is two levels--the lower level sans stained glass where the servants and commoners could worship, and the grand upper level replete with stained glass--reserved for the king and whom he chose to allow in.

Seeing the Mona Lisa........Worst Photo Ever?

Today was Art & Culture Part II.  We started our day at the Louvre.  After learning our lesson yesterday at the Musee d'Orsay, we arrived at the Louvre 15 minutes before it opened and queued through the side entrance and were able to gain entrance immediately once 9 o'clock arrived.  Mom & Pop wanted to take the guided introductory tour in English, so we bought their tickets and bid them adieu while we explored on our own with the audio guide.

Without a doubt, the two most popular pieces in the Museum are the Mona Lisa and the statue of Venue de Milo--so popular that they have their own signs within the museum pointing the way.  Everyone tends to make a mad dash for these and the areas are extremely crowded, especially the Mona Lisa.  I'm convinced that trying to take a picture of the Mona Lisa is a terrible idea and you end up with the worst photo ever.  First, the Mona Lisa is surprisingly small (although large for the time period in which it was painted).  Second, it's on a wall by itself behind glass which creates glare and light reflection.  Third, unlike all of the other paintings, you're kept a good distance from the painting by a railing and rope line.  Finally, although you're allowed to take pictures in the Louvre, its supposed to be without flash.  Yet flash bulbs constantly are going off, so everyone is ruining everyone else's pictures.  So unless you can have the room all to yourself, it's simply not possible to take a good picture of the Mona Lisa.  Since everyone has seen the Mona Lisa, I instead give you the best photo you can take in the room.....

Futile efforts to capture a good photo of the Mona Lisa

Viewing Monet at the Musee l'Orangerie

We also went to the Musee l'Orangerie which is at the other end of the Tuileries Gardens from the Louvre.  This is where some of Monet's Water Lilies are displayed.  The entire upstairs is dedicated to Monet and his paintings take up entire walls which are slightly curved.  I had no idea these were so large.  The galleries downstairs have more paintings including from Renoir and Cezanne.  After four fantastic museums in two days, I suspect that will be it for museums for this trip.  Paris has so many cultural institutions, it's difficult to cover them all in a single trip.  You could likely spend several days in the Louvre yet not see everything.  We'll just have to make another trip here to see the rest.

Musee d'Orsay and Rodin

After a long day traveling to Normandy and back, we've started the art and culture part of the trip.  The Louvre is what most people want to see with the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo (which we will certainly see as well), but there are so many other great museums in Paris.  We purchased a Museum Pass which not only saves us a little money, it more importantly allows us to bypass the long lines waiting to purchase tickets and get in the entrance queue.

Interior of main hall of Musee d'Orsay

Today, we started a little later and our first stop was the Musee d'Orsay.  This museum is in a restored former railway station and the architecture of the building interior is spectacular.  The art focus is after the periods housed in the Louvre, specifically from 1848 to 1914.  This was the time of Impressionism and Neo-impressionism, so we saw the works of Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Van Gogh to name a few.  We also saw Whistler's Mother, athough I know that's not the correct title.  Because the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, it was especially crowded.  Although our museum pass allowed us to go straight to entry, it still took an hour to get in.  However, my guess is that the line to buy tickets was at least three times as long as ours.  They did not let us take pictures inside at all and there were numerous signs reminding us not to; however, somehow my camera accidentally went off and I ended up with a nice picture of the interior.

The Thinker

The second half of our tour took us to the Rodin Museum.   We are both fans of his sculptures and the museum didn't disappoint.  It of course has the famous works he's known for such as The Thinker and The Gates of Hell, but it also has many more works of his from through out his life.  These are displayed both outside in exquisitely maintained gardens and inside the museum, which is actually the former Hotel Biron (not actually a hotel but a large manor house) built in the early 18th century.  The museum also included works of art personally owned by Rodin including paintings by Monet and Van Gogh.  I particularly enjoyed a painting of The Thinker by Edvard Munch, who most well known for his painting The Scream.

Painting of The Thinker by Edvard Munch