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Now that I've
briefly touched on the wild nightlife of Paris, it's time to get
to the good stuff. This is a very long page.
Before I left Oregon, I
purchased this really nice map of Paris for about 8 bucks.... it was
waterproof and everything.
The map pictured above
is the one I actually used. I think I cracked my "nice"
map open a grand total of... once, and when I did, it was just to see what it looked
like. The map above was free from the hostel I stayed at.
There was some company custom-printing tons of these for different
touristy destinations all over the city, and the lady with the
Eiffel Tower strapped to her head was kind of their one big
promotional image. Eiffel Tower lady was all over the place.
Her face was plastered x5 on all of the city's various tour busses
and stuff.
One of the reasons this
was such an awesome map is because of the little illustrations all
over it depicting the buildings and attractions that one might want
to see while in Paris. It also shows every Metro stop.
Now that I really look at it, it seems pretty obvious that the
company that put this together was "Galeries
Lafayette." Duh. Unluckily for them, I didn't visit
their little shopping destinations even once. Take that,
blatant promotional material.
The other reason this
was such an awesome map was because of the included diagram of the
Paris Metro system (the subway). Of all the underground lines
I've ever used, the one in Paris was by far the simplest and most
efficient. It was even easier for me to understand than New
York's, despite the fact that almost everything Metro-related is
only printed in French.
I have about 5000
of these little used Metro tickets now. I only brought one
coat with me to Europe, but somehow, these devils have somehow
managed to weasel their way into every coat pocket, pants
pocket, purse, and filing cabinet in my house. I'm
practically pooping them.
On one of the first
days of my stay in Paris, I went on a grand 4-hour walking tour of the city. The weather was somewhat miserable that day, and on top
of that, I forgot to bring my camera. However, I returned
again to
the same locations on later days, camera in tow. The rest of this page will detail my
journeys around Paris in more or less the same order that I visited
these sites on the walking tour, although the pictures themselves
were taken on many different days.
From the hostel, it was
practically essential to take the Metro in order to get out and
see the main parts of Paris, unless you felt like spending an
additional hour walking (which I did a couple of times,
actually).
Some of these platforms were
significantly older-looking than others. The Metro line opened
for the first time in 1900. 1900 was a big year for Paris for
other reasons, too, as the World's Fair and first modern Olympic
Games took place there all at around the same time. The
pictured platform has kind of a 70's flair to it. "Sortie," by
the way, means "exit."
If you see Art
Nouveau, chances are you're close to a metro entrance.
This is a photo of some
fine Parisian lens flare. Also, this is the fountain
of Saint Michael. Although it's partially famous just for
being a cool looking fountain, it's also famous because its been
used as a "meeting place" for tourists, families, veterans, and
other sorts of folks for a very long time. In other
words, Facebook flings start here. The imagery of the fountain
is pretty cool, actually. Saint Michael,
the patron saint of war, is shown here trampling the devil as he
holds his sword aloft in victory.
This is one of the
two similarly-crafted creatures that adorned the sides of the
fountain. I didn't take a very good picture of its wings,
but the wings were fantastic. I was inspired enough by
these wings to use them in a few of my ink drawings, which I'll
get to later.
Only a few paces from the
fountain is the entrance to the Greek quarter of the city.
This is where the first universities in Paris were built, and the
university students used to snub the less educated members of
the population by only speaking Greek here. Hence the
name. Note the beautiful detailing on every railing of
every window here. As someone I met in Amsterdam (more or
less) put it, every inch of Paris is covered in lace.
As my tour guide so
affectionately told us, "This is where restaurant owners compete
with other restaurant owners to whore out their restaurants."
This is inside one of the narrow streets of the Greek quarter.
It was pretty hilarious, because no sooner had I snapped this
picture than the guy on the left with the white shirt started
trying to pull us inside. "You want Coke? Chicken?
Steak? We have American food! Cheaper than anywhere
else!"
This picture was taken
in the Greek Quarter again, and a couple of friends and I ate at a
restaurant very similar to this near the hostel. We went there
at least 3 times, and the food was fantastic. By the last time
we went there, the guy who ran the place liked us so much he had us
pick his lottery numbers for him. Dead serious.
The funny thing
about Paris is how much establishments try to capitalize on
merely their proximity to some sort of famous tourist attraction or
monument. This picture was taken as I approached the
cathedral of Notre Dame, and everything surrounding the
cathedral
was called "Notre Dame" something or other. Notre Dame
Restaurant. Notre Dame Smoke Shop. Notre Dame
Souvenirs (x500). It was the same with the Eiffel Tower,
and pretty much everything else that's even remotely noteworthy
in Paris.
On my original walking
tour, this would have been my first real view of Notre Dame. I
think I took this picture because of the bus, which is one of the
things I had tickets for in Paris. I didn't actually use
the tour bus service, and I should actually really think about
trying to get my money back. Seeing Paris on the back of a bus
would have been no way to do it at all. Seeing a foreign city
is totally all about the smells, the people, and the tactile
qualities of everything that surrounds a person. Plus, the
weather was so bad that somebody on the bus might have been tempted
not to get out, and that really would have been a shame.
There is nothing I have
ever wanted to see more in my life than the cathedral of
Notre Dame in Paris. I don't have a very long checklist of
"things I have to do during my lifetime," but this was at the very
top of that list. As such, seeing it, standing in it, and
breathing the air in it were all experiences that were literally
dreams come true for me. Maybe it sounds sappy, but there
really is no other way to express just how wonderful this visit was.
The day I really committed myself to seeing it was probably the
greatest experience of my whole trip, and certainly one of the most
memorable experiences of my life, as well. In retrospect, I'm
tempted to say that fate stepped in, because the weather was so
unbelievable during the few hours I spent at the cathedral. In
fact, half of my pictures look like they've been Photoshopped.
None of them were, the sky was really just that amazing.
Hopefully I don't bore
anyone to death with my rant about how fabulous Notre Dame was.
Feel free to skim through to the next attraction if it turns into a
snoozefest.
Here's the rose window
in more detail.
I did a sketch of the
window, as well (from a slightly different angle).
Here's another bad
photo of me with a "Take that, nonbelievers!" look on my face.
In case you wanted proof, yes. I was really there. No, I
don't really look like that.
There was no fee or
waiting line to get into the cathedral itself. The inside of
the Notre Dame smells vast and old, if you can imagine that.
Sort of like an old library where all of the books are made of
stone. The above picture is the inside view of the grand rose
window, the same one featured in an earlier photo (and in the
drawing).
The cathedral was
generally constructed in the Early Gothic style, just as High Gothic
was breaking onto the scene in France. The distinctive round
windows pictured along the corners of the transept here are one of
the features that makes the Notre Dame truly unique. It was
really hard to take decent photographs inside, because flash
photography was not allowed and it was generally pretty dark in
there, despite the glorious windows.
Yet another picture.
You can see just how packed the place was. This is still a
very holy place, so you weren't supposed to talk loudly or take
flash photography, but people were breaking that rule right and
left. I'm not religious or anything, but it was driving me
NUTS.
There is a tour that
goes to the top of the Notre Dame, and I knew that I HAD to take
this tour sometime, otherwise I'd regret it forever. The first
day I attempted to take the tour, the weather was miserable and I
stood in the rain for about an hour without a coat before finally
deciding to leave (I'll touch more on that day later). The
second time, the line was just as long, but the weather was FABULOUS
(as previously stated). To make
standing in line somewhat humorous, that man in the middle of the
photo with the creepy flesh-colored mask and the striped shirt was a
street performer. He harassed people and tried to startle
them, much to the amusement of everyone else.
Finally, I was able to
get in. It's sort of hard to make yourself believe that the
stairs you are climbing were built hundreds of years ago, in the age
of knights and castles and poor hygiene.
This is a
somewhat-confusing picture of the inside of one of the bell towers.
The bell in the lower right corner is the large ceremonial bell, and
it only rings on Catholic holidays. The bells in the other
tower chime out every fifteen minutes.
Here are several more
pictures of the ornamentation around the top of the cathedral.
They are probably the best pictures, quality-wise, that I took
during the entire trip. Enjoy. Also, this is probably a
good time to remind everyone again that these pictures are available
much larger, so you may request a larger version from me if for some
reason you would like to set one as a desktop background or
something.
Now, it is time for a
fun fact: The following figures are actually called
"grotesques," not "gargoyles." A gargoyle is an apparatus
specifically designed to funnel and drain out rain water from the
roof, and it earns its name from the gurgling sound that water makes
rushing through it. The following grotesques of Notre Dame are
more specifically known as "chimaeras," or fantastical hybrids
between two or more different kinds of animals. Each one was
different.
Pictured above is the
spire of Sante-Chapelle, which was to be the next big stop on my
grand tour. I'll get to it later.
Keep in mind here
that everything is hand-carved:
Above: A view of
the hill of
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, or the
Basilica of the Sacred Heart, a magnificent church in Paris that I
never actually got to see during my stay. Next time, next
time.
I love this picture
because of the gargoyle on the right, where you can actually see the
channel built into it for channeling rain water. Also, check
out those awesome flying buttresses.
Very nearby the Notre
Dame is the all-famous river Seine. Although this is just a
canal, it's close to the actual river.
A few blocks away from
the Notre Dame is Sainte-Chapelle, a magnificent little high gothic
gem that I absolutely recommend seeing. To get some
perspective, straight ahead in this photo you can see the fountain
of St. Michel, and Notre Dame is a few blocks to the right. As
you can see, the line to get into Sainte-Chapelle was absurdly long.
Sainte-Chapelle was
built specifically to safe-house what is supposedly the crown
of thorns that Jesus Christ wore. Is this true? Who
knows, but it makes for a pretty interesting story. The
cathedral of Notre Dame is where they display it apparently,
although it wasn't on display while I was in town. I am
tempted to say that it's only displayed on Catholic holidays, but I
can't really remember. I was told that when they move it the
mere three blocks to Notre Dame, it is accompanied by a full armed
guard and about 9 armored trucks, which is pretty insane. It
also makes for very tight security getting into Sainte-Chapelle.
After a thorough strip
search and background check, I was allowed into Sainte-Chappelle.
The building really has no walls, just windows, which is part of
what makes its construction so fantastic. You can also see in
this photograph the elaborate painting and decoration of the wall
and ceiling elements. During the Gothic era, it was customary
to paint the entire inside of a structure like this. In many
cases, you don't see this in old cathedrals anymore because the
paint has all come off with age. The stars painted upon the
blue are meant to represent the canopy of heaven.
Most religious carvings
and stained glass represent scenes and/or stories from the Bible.
Back when these cathedrals and holy structures were built, the
majority of the population could not read. For this reason,
stained glass and sculpture were not only fine art... they were also
educational tools. Medieval communities were structured
closely around the Church, both physically and politically, so most
folks would know these stories and be able to follow them in the
decoration of a religious building. That said, I have no idea
what any of these stories are.
Sainte-Chapelle is surrounded by the
very old Parisan police building. I don't know why it was, but
for some reason there were policemen EVERYWHERE the week I was in
Paris. There was almost certainly at least one policeman on
every city block, and it was not uncommon to see an entire train of
police cars, vans, and motorcycles roaring through city in a row,
sirens blaring. This bridge is nearby as well, crossing the
famous river Seine. It might be hard to see, but that black
bridge behind it in the distance is the "Sex in the City" bridge,
from the movie. I don't actually know this, but a bunch
of girls on the walking tour went nuts over it and couldn't leave
until they'd taken like... 50 pictures.
These stands, mostly
present along the river, fold up into neat little units that almost
look like dark green metal dumpsters when they're closed.
Here, vendors selling paintings, knick knacks, postcards, and any
number of goofy toys that say "I <3 Paris" on them try to ensnare
passers-by with their wares. These little vendor boxes were
originally installed after World War II and rented to veterans, so
that they might provide themselves with some extra income right
after the war, if needed. I am not sure how one acquires a
license to operate one today.
Another interesting
note: All buildings in Paris (pretty much) are five stories
high. However, when counting the floors of a building in
France, one does not count the first floor. That is the
"ground" floor, and the floor above it is 1. It is confusing.
If one walks for long enough down...
uh... various roads in Paris, one ends up at the Louvre. I
want to reassure everyone who received a forwarded version of a
particular e-mail I sent during my trip that yes, I do know how to
spell "Louvre" correctly. I did not take many pictures of the
Louvre, which I sort of regret now. I'll get into that more
after the next picture.
The big pyramid (main entrance to the
Louvre's enormous lobby) is sort of a point of argument for art
admirers and tourists alike. Some people love it, others
loathe it. It, along with the rest of the Louvre, was featured
in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. I have sort of mixed
feelings on the pyramid, myself. Personally, I'd seen pictures
and I thought I would hate it. Actually, it's not that
bad. It's so starkly different from the rest of its
surroundings that I think it actually looks kind of nice.
This is the "longest hallway in the
world," and it is also part of the Louvre. It continues
further on, but this is a lousy picture. The inside of the
Louvre is rather entrancing and maze-like, and I am relatively sure
that I did go down the world's longest hallway at one point
during my visit, but I guess I'll never be sure. I walked down
something that was relatively long and hall-like, but I wasn't 100%
convinced. It just didn't seem impressive enough to be the
"world's longest," but I guess they have a very specific definition
of "hallway" or some crap.
All that aside, I do not not
NOT want to verbally dilute the beauty and entrancing history
contained within the Louvre with humorous anecdotes. The
Louvre is otherworldly; like nothing I've ever seen before. It
is is a beautiful, mesmerizing spectacle of human history,
imagination, and craftsmanship. I took only a couple of pictures of the
inside, because in the presence of these masterworks, it felt like a
cheap imitation of the real experience, serving only as a futile
attempt to capture some proof of the reality of my actually
being there. As I'm relatively sure that everyone reading this
believes me when I say I've been to the Louvre, there's
really no need for pictures. If you want to see works of art,
better to look them up on Google than look at blurry tourist photos,
I think.
That said, here's a photo.
Here's another photo. The
Classical sculptures were my favorite part of the museum.
In many cases, the architecture of the
Louvre is nearly as impressive as the art contained within it.
Here
is some other stuff from around Paris:
As practically everyone knows, I love
burgers. It doesn't get any more straightforward than this,
although I didn't actually stop in to test the validity of this
claim.
I saw this building in the distance and
thought it looked neat, so I went over and inspected it closer.
It is known as the Pantheon.
This building is pretty incredible, but
I remember being strangely underwhelmed. Looking at my photos,
I don't know how it's possible that I could have been.... it was
pretty fantastic.
I've already touched on the Louvre, and
I'm going to backtrack to it for a few minutes.
So; if you in the courtyard at the
Louvre and start walking Northwest, the first thing you encounter is
the Arc Du
Carrousel, the smallest of Paris' three aligned arches.
Weirdly enough, I was told that the sculpture at the top of this
arch was stolen at one point, and later returned. How
does one manage to steal a remarkably heavy statue from the top of a
national monument? I have no idea!
After walking through the arc, one
arrives at the beautiful Jardin des Tuileries, or garden of tiles.
It's called that because way back in the day, it was big pit of mud
where roofing tiles were made (or so I am lead to believe).
Curiously, it looks as though I did not take any pictures of the
garden, which is very sad. There is something weird about
people and grass in Paris. Grass is everywhere, but it's
like... against the law to come in contact with it in any way.
In Paris, grass is meant to be looked at and admired, not stepped
on.
The garden, the arc, and the Louvre all
fall along the main axis that runs through Paris. Many other
significant objects align with with this axis as well, such as this
monolithic monument; a gift from Egypt to France. In the
distance is the building where... uh, some type of political
activity takes place, I forget which. Opposite that building
is a church. It's funny, because the church (not pictured) was
originally built simply for symmetry's sake. It wasn't until
later that it was finally turned into a church, for lack of any
better ideas. "Just like everything else in Paris," my tour
guide mused.
Further down, the axis turns into the
Avenue des
Champs ÉLysees, the most prestigious avenue in all of Paris, and
second most expensive to live on in the world (second only to New
York's 5th Avenue). I didn't take any pictures of it, but
there was some kind of celebration/festival going on involving
airplanes.
This is just some more proof that
everything in Paris is fancy. Also, this street lamp looks
like a cactus.
Here is the Grand Palais (or Large
Palace), which is now an exhibition hall. The grand glass
ceiling of the Palace collapsed a while back, killing several
tourists. It has only recently re-opened, with the reassurance
that the ceiling is now more well-made.
Le Petit Palais, or small palace,
opposite the large palace. Its gates are magnificent!
The Arc de Triomphe, around which
circles the world's largest traffic disaster. It's actually
the world's largest traffic circle, but I cannot imagine why anyone
in their right mind would use it to travel anywhere if haste was
part of the plan. It's an 8-lane, unmarked, swirling mess of
honking and angry drivers. The arc itself is pretty neat, but
I didn't get any closer to it than this. There are actually
three arches along the main axis of Paris, and the third is a cool,
modern one called the
Grande Arche
in the business district.
As I was walking back from the Arc,
trying to find a Metro stop that would get me back to the hostel, I
bumped into a.... uh, "parade?" I'm not sure exactly what this
was. It looked way too well organized to be a protest, and it
looked not organized enough to be a real parade. It was a
bunch of different workers, from what I could tell, from various
organizations.
That van in the right side of the
picture was blasting tacky disco music, and a lot of people were
dancing. It was awesome.
Okay, that's enough of that.
After spending a day at the Louvre, I saw the
Eiffel Tower in the distance and thought, "Hey, if I can see it, it
must not be too far away from here!" and proceeded to walk in the
general direction of Paris' most famous tall thing. As it
turns out, judging distance on the basis of "I can see it from
here," reasoning does not necessarily mean that something is
particularly close by. I spent probably 2 hours wandering
through the beautiful, off-the-beaten-path, and narrow streets of
Paris. There were bakeries everywhere, little restaurants, and
fashionable ladies walking little dogs. Just like the
movies.
The tower would fade from my sight for
a while, but soon it would re-emerge and assure me I was going the
right direction. At last, after a refreshing walk, I arrived
at my destination. My self consciousness about my bum-like
appearance in fashionable downtown Paris slipped away.
One fascinating thing about the Eiffel
Tower (if I had to pick one just one) is how WIDE it is across the
base. Sure, it is tall, but it spans an enormous space,
as well. It's absolutely breathtaking. Since my first
visit to the Eiffel tower, it has appeared in a few of my dreams.
This first day that I visited the
tower, it was really windy. I opened my map and it was torn to
shreds!
Later that night, a couple friends from
the hostel and I returned to the tower with single-serving bottles
of wine, crackers, and the best dang brie (cheese) I've ever had.
We watched the tower's light show and marveled at the wonders of our
travels, and how fortunate we were to be sitting beneath the Eiffel
tower at night, drinking wine, and eating the best dang brie we'd
ever had.
Stage 7 - Paris - Versailles |
