Paris, Part I

Our four day trip to Paris was supposed to be a slow and relaxing time of strolling along by the river and lingering at cafes.  But then we got there and realized we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see everything that Paris had to offer us.  So we crisscrossed the city on the Metro line and made the most of it.

The downside to the whole experience was the time of year.  The sun didn't set until well after ten o'clock, so we never truly got to experience the City of Lights when the lights were on.  Oh well.

Notre Dame

The cathedral of Notre Dame was smaller than I expected, but had an excellent atmosphere.  No hunchbacks in sight, but there were lots of interesting gargoyles.  Notre Dame sits in a great location, on an island in the river Seine at the heart of the city.  The place definitely had a different feel than the Roman cathedrals, but I can't put my finger on why.

 Sainte Chapelle


Built by Louis XI in the 13th Century and subsequently restored to its current state in 1855, faithful to the original plans.  This was a two-story chapel built as part of the royal palace.  The ground floor held a smaller and less glorious chapel for the servants while the ethereal upper floor was for the royal family and nobility.  It was regarded by those who saw it as "a gateway to heaven," due to its glowing, colorful stained glass windows, stretching high up onto an arched ceiling.  The windows depict scenes from the entire Bible, with a rose window featuring the book of Revelation at the back.  The chapel was built to house relics obtained from Constantinople (the crown of thorns and a piece of the True Cross, allegedly), which cost three times as much as the chapel itself.  This was one of my favorite parts of the trip--truly spectacular.

A fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens

Inside the Pantheon.  This building jumped between religious and secular use for a long time, finally settling as a public building commemorating the heroes of France.  Voltaire, Rousseau, and the Curies are buried underneath.

 Montmartre
Named after the martyrs who died here, this hill is a rather unique neighborhood of Paris.  It feels like a village rather than a part of the city, and has a much more rustic and quaint atmosphere.  Montmartre was our favorite part of the city; we loved the small roads filled with cafes and boutiques.  Painters abound in this area as well.  

The Sacre Coeur Cathedral, on the Montmarte hill.

A famous site once frequented by the literary elite, now a nightclub.  Pity.

Not in Montmartre.  Still cool.

The Seine River

The river Seine is the lifeblood of Paris.  No other European city is so tied up with a river.  All of the public buildings, monuments, bridges, and mansions line the banks.  We took a boat cruise down the river, and while it was quite chilly it was still enjoyable.  This was our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower.  See a bit of the cruise below. 

 

Continued in Part II: The Louvre, the Arc du Triomphe, and More!