Dave the Nomad

I had a couple must-see places in Paris, and within hours of arriving I was checking them off. I arrived late Friday afternoon and knew the Louvre was free after 6 pm on Fridays for anyone under 26. I convinced a couple of people at my hostel to join me with ease and we were off to start the culture indulgence. I found the Mona Lisa to be underwhelming, it seemed to exude an aura of the spoiled little brat compared to the grandiose and intricate pieces housed with it. I was told that if you look at every painting in the Louvre for 3 seconds, it would take three months to do. With this thought in mind, I decided to what I wanted to see, without running around like a chicken with its head cut off and a camera in its place. I found their Picasso exhibit to be quite exceptional, but unlike other museums and galleries, the Louvre itself is magnificent and holds it own impressive friezes and gilding to add to the collection found here.

After a day of being jilted on a river cruise that pointed out monuments and museums which you could hardly see over the high river banks and a poor English translation, I took a sun nap at Pont Neuf at the point of Ile de Cite. This is a small island in the Seine where Paris was first started. The island is home to the famous Notre Dame, Conciergie, and the amazing Ste Chapelle. I decided to hold off on visiting these sites until the next day, and headed towards my hostel in Montemarte before heading up the hill to Sacre Couer to watch the sunset. Upon returning to the hostel, I found out there was a wine festival at the top of the hill, and bands have been processing up all day long. Naturally, we headed up to check out the excitement.

Most of the booths had free tastings, and I certainly learned a lot about wine. It is definitely good that I have to carry everything on my back, otherwise I might have bought some of the better fare. The crowd was bustling and cheery with live music and fireworks at midnight. One of the vendors told us it was the 75th year of this festival, and it takes place for 10 days (today being the last). Usually, the steps of the Sacred Heart church are filled with people enjoying a bottle of wine, cheese, and bread watching bustling Paris below. It is the geographically highest point in Paris, and free, and tonight I felt like a sardine packed onto the hill.

The next day, I decided to enjoy a bit of a splurge and had brunch at Les Deux Magots. This restaurant is famous for its historical client el including Picasso and Hemingway. I was told the hot chocolate was superb…and I couldn’t agree more. The terrace view of Parisians and tourists out for a Sunday stroll was relaxing even with some noses being stuck a little too high in the air.

I wandered over to the Ste Chappelle. If you only visit one place in Paris, go here. The Chapel was built inside the then Royal Palace and was home to the Christian Relics bought by the King at great cost until being moved to Notre Dame. Like many churches, the stain glass windows were a way of presenting the Bible to the illiterate, but these windows are eloquent, massive, and if a picture is worth a 1000 words, maybe longer than the bible itself. You walk into the chapel via a small winding staircase and come out right into the small chapel. As you start to process what exactly is here and its awe you quickly understand why they have chairs lining the room. Sitting and processing this magnificent place was well worth the admission.

Feeling awe inspired I decided to head into Notre Dame, I happened to be there in time for the Sunday evensong service. This began with a half hour of organ music that filled the high ceilings with powerful notes, and light melodies that were washed away at times by the murmur of the crowds walking around. The service following it was high Catholic, and I gave up on trying to take it in as the people walking around seemed to forget it was a place of worship and continued with their tours and random conversations, and headed outside for the approaching sunset.

By this time the hostel crowd had been growing as we met each other, talk about where we are going, where we’ve been and such and ended up forming a good size group. Each evening involved eating, drinking, and chatting on the terrace, going out for a pastis, etc. After a bit of talking we decided it would be nice to watch the sunset from the Eifel Tower and then watch the light show that ensued each hours after. It was nice to do things with a group, if you are in the romantic cliché that is Paris without a partner then best to go with a fun group and not wallow in misery. The views were outstanding, and friends refreshingly fun.

My last day in Paris was actually in Versailles. I headed out to the Palace with some Aussies from the hostel. The palace was extraordinary, but the more impressive work was the modern art littered around the Palace by Jeff Koons. Each piece paired the room it was in, and they were tasteful with excellent craftsmanship. We wandered the gardens, and I had to laugh every once and a while thinking of Mel Brooks’ – ‘A history of the world,’ and the ‘Its good to be the king’ segment. I managed to talk the group into renting row boats and talking a nice paddle around the canal. It was a great end to Paris, and now its time to head to the Basque region and Bayonne, famous for its smoked ham.

Thanks to all the people I met in Paris, there are too many of you to name!

Tags: Efiel Tower, Les Deux Magots, Paris

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 12th, 2008 at 12:12 am and is filed under Friends, History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.