Finally arriving in Paris, we wondered where to get the bus. After numerous conflicting directions, we finally found a bus that brought us to the hub of the Paris, Metro Opera
The Paris metro is a city of its own, with lots of oddly maze-like curving alleyways and small entrepreneurs selling wares in obliging crevices. Over the next five days, we witnessed the culture & Parisian people more intimately than an average tourist. You feel a little drunk after rushing through the melee of bodies to find your point of departure. Unfortunately, many of these alleyways include stairwells, which was tiresome for two people with heavy suitcases. After charging through five stops (with many flights of stairs) we finally reached our destination. At one crowded metro bus, a sandaled French femme’s foot was accidentally crushed when my suitcase shifted and lurched in her direction. Side note: my back pocket was picked on our first trip ~ the thief was surely disappointed with a complimentary subway map.
Then, when we finally found our stop, we couldn’t find Marriott Rive Gauche because of confusion with Rue or Blvd St. Jacques.
April 24 ~ After a restful night in Room 1506 and a delicious buffet breakfast of outstanding yogurts, breads, egg dishes and sausage, we were unaware of the overwhelming climb to Basilique de Sacre Coeur on the top of Montmartre ~ we were on our hands and knees by the time we reached the last flight of steps! The view at the top was gorgeous while we tasted the most sublime pistache glace (ice cream). Near this spot is Van Gogh’s Paris residence and the Moulin Rouge.
Starving, we scrambled back to the executive lounge to devour delicious evening appetizers ~ wine, Cantal & other cheeses, bread, fruit, & meat entrée; A selection of teas with “lavande” honey; and, of course, the superb cappuccino machine with French roast coffee. Cantal is one of the oldest French Cheeses, Pliny the Elder mentions Cantal in his “Historia Naturalis” written in the 1st Century AD. Cantal was originally produced by putting the curd into “le formage”, a wooden cylinder, which is believed to be the origin for the French word for cheese.
The coffee and wines were never bitter ~ strong, but not distastefully so. We then braved the evening to the 56th floor of Montparnasse Tower to view the sparkling Eiffel tower & city lights.
Europeans don’t share our Qwerty keyboards ~ and the single British-made board at the Paris hotel was in high demand because it is similar.
Here is a short History of Ancient Paris:
May 52 BC. BC Battle of Lutece . Lutece is an Anglicized form of the name used by the Romans :Lutetia Parisiorum
Between 100 and 200 . Lutece construction of three thermal baths , a 17,000-seat amphitheater and a theater of 3,000 seats, among others.
250 . Martyrdom of the first bishop of Lutetia, Saint Denis . This was one of seven bishops sent to Gaul to evangelize. He was beheaded on the hill of Montmartre and according to legend, picked up his head and walked to his burial place.
300 . Lutetia is renamed Paris.
451 . St Genevieve’s intercession is said to have saved Paris by diverting Attila's Huns away from the city.
457 . The Merovingian dynasty begins. Traditionally the tribal leader of the Franks wore his hair long, so were referred to as the "long-haired kings" for their symbolically unshorn hair.
Our next day was an adventure to Ile de St. Louis & La Cité ~ the ancient residence of the Parisii people and home to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Here we visited Sainte Chapelle, a beautiful chapel that once held twenty-two relics from the Passion of Christ ~ but now holds only a part of the crown of thorns. While we were standing in line before lunch, the site workers broke for lunch! We had an hour to kill, but didn’t want to lose any more time, so Andy & I picked up snacks while we remained at the queue. Then, to add insult to injury, 15 French speaking visitors pushed in front of us! Offended, I directly explained that they were "impolis." The adjoining building is the Palace of Justice where the court officials & lawyers wore very old-fashioned black robes with stunningly white collars.
Sorbonne University and Luxembourg Palace (where the French Parliament meets) has beautiful public gardens and water fountains. At the Louvre Museum, we were overwhelmed by the enormous collection of ancient artwork to be found at the end of maze-like passages. We only stumbled on the exit with help of the museum staff.
The Eiffel Tower was a melee of enormous crowds waiting to ascend the structure. When mailing our postcards at the Eiffel Tower, Andy & I needled our way through and were approached by a young man with blood streaming from his nose even though he was surrounded by a group of peers. Suspecting a potential hustle scheme, we quickly escaped by joining an hour-long Seine river cruise explaining the highlights of the city and its bridges along the way. Not far away, a group of young recruits with menacing automatic rifles patrolled the perimeter.
We saw Arc de Triomphe and stores on the Champs Elysees, including the Medicis candy store where we bought almond “dragees.” In 1533, at the age of fourteen, Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici married the future King Henry II of France and her chefs dazzled wedding guests with these candy coated almond confections. A revolution to the gastronomy of France began at that time because she brought with her the finest chefs, pastry makers, and gardeners from Florence, inspiring the French people to mirror the excellence enjoyed by the royal court. (http://www.food-links.com/countries/france/french-gastronomy.php) To this day, French people spend about 40% of their income on food. Virtually every corner, Paris boulangeries have managed to withstand globalization and mass production, by continuing to produce reasonably priced quality pastries and cakes that are eye-catching, sumptuous, and often downright decadent. The decor is rustic, with the breads and cakes appealingly presented. The almond and apricot bread is sublime, and the chocolate tarts are second-to-none.
On the sidewalks of Champs Elysees, we occasionally witnessed begging Muslim women, including one who was pregnant, prostrated on the ground with donation receptacles before them. On the subway ride home, we were regaled by an unemployed hunchback (escapee from Notre Dame?) ranting on and on about his life woes. At the first stop, he jumped off to entertain another group of captive subway-riding listeners.
On Thursday, we visited the Musée d'Orsay which holds mostly impressionist and post-impressionist art dating from 1848 to 1915 such as Degas, Manet, Renoir and Van Gogh. At each museum we visited over the week, we witnessed visiting schoolchildren undergoing lectures upon the premises. At the richly decorated military history museum, Hotel des Invalides, we saw Napoleon Bonaparte tomb made of red quartzite and resting on a green granite base. Napoleon was initially interred on Saint Helena, but his body was moved to Paris in 1840.
We had to thread our way through a worker’s demonstration & three dozen policemen arrayed in riot gear to our most enjoyable visit to Musée Rodin, a Papal hotel in the 1700’s. Among Rodin's creations, including The Thinker, The Kiss and The Gates of Hell, we irreverently poked fun and took photos of the artwork found in the rooms and beautifully manicured gardens surrounding the location. Rodin's aim in his work was to be absolutely faithful to nature; he had an uncanny ability to convey movement and to show the inner feelings of the men and women he portrayed.
Les Bourgeois de Calais is one of Rodin’s most famous sculptures which captures a mix of defeat, heroic self-sacrifice, and willingness to face imminent death.
A monument to an occurrence in 1347 when Calais was under siege by England's Edward III. King Edward offered to spare the city if six leaders would surrender, demanding that they walk out almost naked, wearing nooses around their necks, and carrying the keys to the castle. One of the wealthiest of the town leaders, Eustache de Saint Pierre, volunteered first, and five other emaciated volunteers followed him to the city gates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burghers_of_Calais
En route to our next destination we are rewarded with another delightful subway ride with an accordion man.
Originally a Jewish synagogue site before 1182, L'église de la Madeleine was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to be designed as an antique Roman temple. Although the worship space is richly decorated, many of the simple caned chairs seemed worn and needing repair. This is located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.
On Friday we saw the St. Paul neighborhood which is sometimes known for its gay and Jewish communities and ate some delicious freshly made strawberry marshmallows over here. We saw a sleep-deprived rabbi nodding off during a long subway ride who we thought was completely oblivious to his surroundings until he suddenly became alert and rose to disembark. An interesting cross-dressing fellow self-consciously tossed his shoulder length curls, while anxiously casting glances left and right.
In 1627, L'église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, replaced L'église Paul l'Ermite (St. Paul the Hermit, of the Desert Monks) where an organist was practicing sacred hymns. King Louis XIII laid the first stone of the church & its first mass was said by the infamous Cardinal Richelieu.
Place de Vosges , built in 1612, is the oldest planned square and the prototype of all the residential squares of European cities that were to come. Originally it was the site of Hôtel des Tournelles, however, when Henry II, husband of Caterina de Medici, became wounded and died from a tournament here, she had the Gothic hotel demolished.
The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris, where the Bastille prison stood until the 'Storming of the Bastille' and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution; no vestige of it remains. In the center of Place de la Bastille is the Colonne de Juillet, the remains of 615 victims are interred here.
Andy saw the “Art of the Automobile;”seventeen of the world's finest classic sports cars from Ralph Lauren's legendary personal collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The result is a show of some of the rarest and most beautiful cars —among them Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz,
Jaguar, Aston Martin, Porsche and Ferrari, including four (a '31 Alfa Romeo Monza 8C 2300; a Jaguar XKSS from 1956/1958; a '60 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Scaglietti and a '64 Ferrari 250 LM) that have never been exhibited before.
Part II ~ The Chunnel from Paris, France to London, England Saturday, April 30, 2011.
In French, it is called le tunnel sous la Manche. The Chunnel had to our best train ride ever! One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Ideas for a cross-Channel fixed link appeared as early as 1802, the eventual successful project, organized by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. Seeing a blur of red roofs, mustard yellow, and blue lavender French countryside whizzing past, Andy& I were treated like royalty, enjoyed a seven course meal of salad, cheese, mousse, beef, wine, custard, chocolate, coffee and, to celebrate our anniversary, a bottle of champagne. While Andy was snoring “Au Revoir” to France, the train sped underwater for 20 minutes.
Part III ~ London. May 1, 2011
We stayed in room 726 of the Grosvenor House, JW Marriott Hotel , (the French words Gros Venor, Great Hunter). On our journey to our hotel, we noticed that the air was constantly filled with furry seed particles and pollen that plagued our eyes, clothes and hair, and almost everything else. We saw an abandoned beautiful black wool sweater on the sidewalk that was ruined by having a plethora of seedlings in its nap; I was tempted to pick it up, but didn’t think I could salvage it. I was glad to escape inside buildings even though the days were sunny and mild.
Day two: We boarded our first Big Bus at Marble Arch square. A continuous announcement: "Don’t forget your headphones." The tour bus was overly sluggish, so we debarked quickly at Victoria Road to finish sprinting to Westminster Cathedral in
time to have communion and witness beautifully haunting Latin chants from the improvising locals. We were stunned by the life-size Stations of the Cross and spectacular mosaics for which the Cathedral is renowned, using over 100 different varieties of marble.
With British flags draping many London streets, Prince William & Kate’s wedding took place at Westminster Abbey, so we visited it the following Sunday. Andy bought souvenir spoons & mug of the couple. Westminster Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs. According to a tradition, the Abbey was founded in 624, because a fisherman saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. The rest of the & the British walkers stay to the right on sidewalks and most of the world favors right-handedness, while the British auto traffic pattern is opposite ~ To guide people who are confused or unfamiliar with it, the sidewalks are brightly painted “Look Right (or Left)” with corresponding arrows.
Founded towards the end of 1066, the Tower of London, is the most important historic medieval castle and where the British Crown jewels are kept. The White Tower, which
gives the entire castle its name, was built as a royal residence by William the Conqueror , because he “realised that it was of the first importance to overawe the Londoners” who were a brutal and restless people. Also used for prisoners, the tower chapel is haunted by the ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536, carrying her head under her arm. Other ghosts at the tower include Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole, and the Princes in the Tower.
Although Madame Tussaud was from France, the original Madame Tussauds museum is in London. She learned wax modeling from a physician in Switzerland, and created her first wax figure of Voltaire, in 1777. Other famous people she modeled at that time include Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. In her memoirs she claims that she searched through corpses to find heads of executed citizens, from which she would make death masks which were paraded through the streets of Paris as revolutionary flags. One of the main attractions of her museum was the Chamber of Horrors which included victims of the French Revolution and newly created figures of murderers and other criminals.
Two retail places to visit are Hamleys & Harrod’s. Hamleys is a great experience because it is the largest toy shop in the world; it began as a toy shop called "Noah's Ark" in 1760. Harrod’s is one of the world's most famous department stores, established in 1849 as a humble grocery store employing two assistants. Services include piano tuning and fitting saddles. Must-see sights include the Food Halls, the Egyptian Hall and the Pet Department. The week we were there, the small street
display windows showcased wedding silverware, dishes & photos from past royal weddings. Both places are like visiting a museum because there is a lot to see from around the world. We visited a few museums too, especially the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
We walked through James and Regents Park, saw gorgeous flowers and many types of waterfowl, including swans, short beaked and strange paddle footed ducks (they have ninety species there) floating and diving in the jambalaya water of pollen and seedlings. Most parks in London were originally used for hunting, but Piccadilly Greene Park was additionally used for gentlemen’s disagreements / dueling.
Black cabs are the only taxis allowed to ply for hire in London, great amenities and leg-room, allowing two benches to face each other similar to the old fashioned horse carriages.
On May 1, 2011, Osama bin Laden was shot and killed inside a private residential compound in Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs and CIA operatives. Shortly after his death, bin Laden's body was buried at sea. Because of this feat, the US Department of State issued a global travel alert to all citizens, creating a lengthy sojourn at Dulles airport security with about 458 other sweaty passengers and crying toddlers on our return there.
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