You can trust me that it was great because we started with a morning tour of the Eiffel Tower. Yeah... and it was also sunny and beautiful today. Whoever was not too *sleepy* from last night's shenanigans was invited to join the group in the lobby at 9a to begin the walk/métro trek to the Tower. Once there, as you can probably imagine, we had to wait in quite a line to get on the elevators that take you from one floor to the next. The Eiffel Tower has three levels, the first one being big enough to hold an open-air café. The top level sits at the very top of the Tower, so it is sometimes closed due to weather or wind. But as I mentioned, it was a gorgeous day and all three levels were open! If you'd like to spend an entire day experiencing the Tower, you can always take the 1,652 stairs to the second level. The third can only be accessed by elevator, but all three can be accessed that way. We all wanted to still be breathing when we were done with this tour so, we took the elevators. (Though someday I would really like to climb those stairs).
GOOD MORNING!! =D
A beautiful, gorgeous day!
Bonjour! :)
On the first floor! Unfortunately, the higher we got the more we realized that there was a layer of fog laying over the city today. We didn't notice it on the ground but higher up our views were covered with clouds. Bummer :(
See those curved, arm-like walls? The flat square in between them is Trocadéro: the best spot for taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower in all of Paris! Ironic to be taking pictures of that from the Tower. ;)
See what I mean about the fog? This is the second level
We made it to the top! It was much chillier and even a little breezy up here, but it was so neat to have the completely opposite perspective from what we had last night: see that green oval in the center of this park? Two or three squares of grass above it is where we were sprawled out looking in this direction last night. :)
My "made it to the top" pose :)
Given that the Tower is much, much narrower at the very top and it was chilliest up there, we were all feeling pretty squished and cold. So Aleca, Tyler, and I started our way back to the first floor where it was warmer and where we could actually SEE things.
I thought this was a neat angle from the first level...
Dear friends, when you decide to come visit this spectacular monument for yourself one day, don't say I didn't warn you about the lines.... -_-
The first floor café. I've heard two things about the food here: it's expensive and it isn't especially tasty. I decided not to spend more money here.
I parted ways from Aleca and Tyler for about 15 minutes to take a lap around the first floor. Along the outermost walkway there are plaques describing the various monuments one can see from a distance. I walked around reading those and soaking in the wonderfulness of where I was for a time...
Then it was time to get back to the ground and find the rest of our group. Thankfully the three of us ran into some other USAC girls who were also trying to find the group in the masses. The six of us formed a human chain and rather successfully pushed our way through the throngs of tourists. With a gasping breath we finally saw them waving their arms at the back right leg of the Tower. Phew! After a quick headcount we started on foot along the sanded path next to OUR park. We walked past the spot where we sat last night, all the way to the back of the park where Napoleon's École Militaire (Military School) sits unused. This great park where people now sit peacefully to have a picnic and stare at the Eiffel Tower used to be closed off, because the military students used to practice there. I think it is going to much better use now. :) Imagine if there had been an accident on the field and they destroyed the Tower?!
Right in front of the military school there now stands a monument to Peace. The monument consists of glass and metal sculptures with "peace" written in what seems to be almost every language all over them. It is actually a very beautiful monument; compounded by the fact that one can see the Eiffel Tower through the glass and words. Plus, that it stands right in front of the military school is quite a profound message.
The rather large Peace monument and the École Militaire behind it
I found English :)
What I think is a magazine-worthy shot of Aleca and I sitting with the flowers of Paris just behind the Peace monument
The main building at Les Invalides- it would appear that many of our US government/capitol buildings were inspired by the architecture here
Napoleon's sarcophagus- notice the size of the people next to it? They say he had a larger-than-life ego even in death, and I can see why!
A stunning altar marking the home of these many important military figures
This was a nice place to walk around and cool off for a few minutes. It is also quite an honor to have seen the resting place of these men. But we were all getting pretty hungry by now, so it was time to head towards lunch. Our group walked from Les Invalides all the way over to the beautiful Pont Alexandre III (Alexander the Third Bridge)- my favorite bridge in Paris! This is that bridge you hear about that has real gold leaf just sitting on the decorations along the bridge, and Parisians don't try to nick it off. Cool huh?
Walking along the beautiful bridge
Once across, we walked a few more minutes to our lunch spot and point of dispersal from one another: the grounds leading to Le Musée du Louvre. =D
Our first stop was a picture-taking opportunity at the infamous Place de la Concorde- the renowned sight of many historic beheadings including Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. An Ancient Egyptian Obelisk now stands where the guillotine used to be.
I like this shot because you can not only see the Obelisk, but if you look closel,y I captured the Arc de Triomphe in the background.
After a few pictures of this famous spot, we were let loose for lunch. Fortunately, we found ourselves in a tourist hot spot (with the Louvre within sight), so there were a few food stands serving baguette sandwiches, Croques Monsieur, etc. I tried a new sandwich today: a Brie baguette. Basically- thick slices of soft, creamy Brie in lettuce and put in a baguette. It was absolutely one of the most sinful 5euro sandwiches I've ever had. Aleca and I took our lunch on a concrete bench, under some shade trees and watched the tourists who weren't moving too fast to notice how lucky they are to be in Paris. Particularly, we enjoyed watching this one couple who were sunbathing on public chairs and kept laughing every time the wind blew fountain water in their faces. It was a very sweet little lunch.
With my sandwich...and my nice view. :)
And then it was time for our tour of the Louvre Museum. Since we had all parted ways before lunch, Aleca and I were able to take our sweet time touring the Museum. We still had our fancy museum passes with us so we didn't have to pay to get in (though we had paid for the passes in our program fees). Unfortunately, it is still the Easter rush in Paris right now; so there were some sizable crowds inside the museum today. Fortunately, not as bad as in Versailles, though.
Walking up to the Museum! This is one of three arches (including the Arc de Triomphe) that when connected, form a straight path spanning 5.5 miles (known as the Axe historique- "Grand Historic Axis").
My second visit to the Louvre in my life!!
You bet I took hundreds of pictures in just these few hours in the Louvre. But I'll spare you and just share a few summarizing shots. :)
Some photos from our afternoon at the Louvre:
Premier secret confié à Vénus ("First Secret Confided to Venus)- by François Jouffroy, 1839
The apartments of Napoleon III
The Salon
The Royal Jewels: Napoleon's Crown on the left, Marie Antoinette's on the right, and a brooch/other jewels on display
Portrait présumé de Gabrielle d'Estrées et de sa soeur la duchesse de Villars ("Presumed Portrait of Gabrielle of Estrées and Her Sister, the Duchess of Villars")- by unknown, 1594. This is an awkward painting, in that it appears to be portraying an obscure sexual/sensual relationship between the two sisters. However, the painting was actually created to announce the coming of Gabrielle's (the sister on the right, and the mistress of Henry IV of France) and Henry IV's son César de Bourbon. Her pregnancy is displayed by the sister pinching the source of the new mother's milk, the woman in the background knitting for the baby, and the fire in the fireplace signifying the fire in the furnace ("bun in the oven").
Portrait de François Ier, roi de France 1494-1547 ("Portrait of François the First, King of France 1494-1547)- by Jean Clouet, 1530
Le Tricheur ("The Cheat With the Ace of Clubs")- by Georges de La Tour, 1620
The Winged Victory of Samothrace- by unknown, 200 BC. Sculpted after the Greek goddess Nike ("Victory"), it is ironic that it has lost both arms, its head, and stands in a way suggesting an onslaught of fierce winds... yet, She stands victorious after all.
Me with La Joconde =)
Portrait de Lisa Gherardini, épouse de Francesco del Giocondo, dite "Monna Lisa, la Gioconda," ou "la Joconde" (Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, Wife of Francesco of Giocondo, known as "Monna Lisa, la Gioconda," or "la Joconde")- by Leonardo da Vinci, 1503-1506. Enough said. :)
(So that you can visualize it, Mona Lisa is directly behind me in this shot)
Les Noces de Cana ("The Wedding Feast at Cana")- by Paolo Caliari ("Véronèse"), 1563
Le Radeau de la Méduse ("The Raft of the Medusa")- by Géricault, 1819
We studied this painting in my art history class last year. It's a depiction of a real-life event where 147 men who survived the crash of their ship The Medusa formed a makeshift raft and floated at sea for 13 days. Obviously, most have died or been subjected to cannibalism by this point. You can see that the men towards the front of the picture are beginning to succumb to death and starvation, while the men in the back are beginning to notice a ship on the horizon. The men form two pyramid-like shapes with the mast and the waving arm of the highest man being the tallest points. The pyramid closest to the viewer shows death, starvation, agony, and despair with a large wave coming towards the raft on the left. The farther back pyramid is metaphorically of hope in that these men have seen the ship on the horizon, and they're reaching forward and away for salvation.
La Liberté Guidant Le Peuple ("Liberty Leading the People")- by Delacroix, 1830.
La Mort de Sardanapale ("The Death of Sardanapalus")- by Delacroix, 1827. Here is depicted King Sardanapalus ordering the destruction of his possessions and murder of his prostitutes before killing himself, after learning of his military defeat.
This is my personal favorite statue; I find it incredibly sensual, wistful, and romantic without being too sexual.
Psyché ranimée par le baiser de l'Amour ("Psyche Revived by the Kiss of Love (Cupid)")- by Canova, 1787
Eventually we made it out of the Louvre feeling pretty accomplished about everything that we had seen. I know that I'll be coming back in a few days with Roshanna, but I was so happy to be with Aleca as she saw these masterpieces for the first time today! A few escalators and staircases later and we were back up on the ground and ready to head back to the hotel. At our room, we freshened up and changed for a chilly but wonderful evening on.... the Seine River! Tonight we had a final group dinner at a restaurant in the heart of Paris and then meandered over to Les Bateaux Mouches for an evening cruise along the famous river. Our entire group met outside of our hotel and fell into disarray a number of times (there were a lot of intersections from the hotel to the dinner spot) before meeting back up outside of the restaurant.
On our way to the restaurant we passed by a very recognizable figurine: an exact replica of the torch of La Liberté éclairant le monde ("Liberty Enlightening the World," aka: The Statue of Liberty). The flame sits above the exit of the tunnel where Diana, Princess of Wales died in that fateful car accident. Many people think the flame was put there in her honor, but it was there before the accident. A fitting tribute, though, regardless of which came first.
While it was a large space for a Paris-located eatery, our group took up nearly the entire dining room once we were seated. We spread from one end of the room to the other and had fun shouting at and poking each other through the artificial plants and screens that separated one table from another. I sat with almost all of my ladies for this last meal: Aleca, Allie, Chantalle, and Selene; all of whom I will be saying goodbye to in two days. =( It was a great hour enjoying a delicious meal and a carafe of wine with some of the greatest people I have ever known...
Our smoked Salmon salade
Chicken and rice in a curry sauce
The one and only: Crème brulée ("Burnt Cream")
Friends =)
After dinner, it was a short stroll to the famous Bateaux Mouches river boats! I had the pleasure of being on one of these boats back in 2007 with my high school French class and I remember it being one of the highlights of the trip. These boats are long and flat with rows of plastic sight-seeing seats covering the deck. They cruise slowly down and back a section of the Seine river, taking tourists past many of the best sights of the city: Notre Dame, Musée d'Orsay, Musée du Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower.
We're on our way! (Isn't it gorgeous all lit up?)
The famous Pont Alexandre III ("Alexander III Bridge")
Notre Dame!
I think this is the coolest shot of the lights of the cathedral
The back of Notre Dame
=D
Not a bad finale eh?
The tour was spectacular (as you can probably imagine) but was made all the better by the sense of impending "au revoir" that hung around our group. It was like any remaining walls came down and we were one big family- there were so many buddy pictures, inside jokes, girls doing funny Australian accents (who knows why), and hugs. Tonight I think we all realized how precious we have become to one another, and we all recognized how much we'll miss each other when the time comes to say goodbye.
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