Paris Trip
Dec. 19th, 2008 12:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99So the trip to Paris. Which took place from the 22nd to the 27th of July this year. I know I take a long time to write about things.
Eurostar is actually reasonably comfortable, although when the 5 foot 3 shortarse thinks it could do with more leg-room, it could do with more leg-room. We managed to make it on time despite Alex being a little late due to a delayed train from St. Albans.
The blurb for our hotel said it was near La Defense, so that's the tube stop we got off at.
Now unfortunately, it's actually nearer to Esplanade de La Defense, but only the hotel staff know the route and their phone wasn't working. And La Defense is actually secretly a rat maze designed for humans with no way out. So yes, we were trapped up there for about three hours. Part of the problem is the hotel was in a little suburb of Paris called Puteaux, but they've named a lot of their streets and parks after famous streets and parks at the other end of Paris. So there was a lot of confusion.
But we got to the hotel in the end.
Thankfully the restaurant next to the hotel was open late. It was North African cuisine, so I was finally able to introduce Naomi to cous-cous, without me cooking it, because cous-cous always goes wrong when I cook it. And the red wine we had with it, 'Abou Nawas' if memory serves me well, was spectacularly good.
- Eurostar = yay
- La Defense = giant rat maze for humans from which there is no escape
- The tourist Metro 5 day ticket = great value for money
- Moroccan wine is fantastic
Got to the Eiffel Tower (
), Stu got viciously attacked by street painters. We tried to rescue him. He did not help in the rescuing. We left him to get fleeced. There are some people you just can't help. The Eiffel tower is a fantastic piece of engineering, but it's also a tourist trap of the lowest order. I wouldn't recommend going up there, although the little figurine history at the top is fun.
Once we escaped its evil clutches I made it clear that if I didn't get to see Les Invalides I would cry. So I got to go and see it.
Totally worth it as it was by far the prettiest thing we visited in all of Paris, and so much of it was just so beautiful (
). My photos don't do it justice. The tomb of Field Marshal Foch made me cry. I think it was the soldiers carrying it. Then there was the entry into the actual crypt of Napoleon, and I've never been through such a foreboding entry way. It was dark black/green stone of some kind and you're heading down a slope and it's all quite eerie. Two of Napoleon's generals have monuments at the entry way (Duroc and Bertrand) and there's two figures guarding the way down. At the bottom of the slope there's two reliefs, one of Louis-Phillippe's son getting the body back from St. Helena, and one of it arriving in Paris, and one of Napoleon's generals weeping next to it, and well, I'm a very soggy mess quite often when it comes to Napoleon and his times.
Around the tomb there's a series of 12 reliefs all about Napoleon's works and laws, and one that has his battles on one side and the buildings in Paris he ordered on the other. They're done in mock-Roman style avec toga and classical motifs, and I'm not sure if I'm more touched or amused by the vanity. The tomb itself looks like a Roman chair.
As I came up, the sun was shining through the side windows and, well, I lack the word for what it looked like, especially coming through the stained glass and compared to the dark passage.
Sadly, because of this it was now 6, maybe 6.30 and, after a row, those of us who wanted to go to the Pompideu Centre went. Sadly it was closed, contrary to what the guide book said. Our guidebook was fond of lying, as became increasingly apparent as the week went on.
Eiffel Tower = evil
Les Invalides = beautiful
Guidebook = lying liar that lies
I really liked the area round Monmatre - it seemed like real people lived there, and it wasn't just a tourist trap. We decided to take the stairs up, once we found them. Finding them was a different matter altogether. We managed to find Aussies though, somehow I always find Aussies. A group of ~ 3 men looking for the Moulin Rouge, so I directed them that way. I got some very funny looks from my companions, mostly on the principle that I'd told them not to look like tourists. I tried to explain that it was a matter of politeness that if asked, and you have a guide book handy, you help.
It was a gloriously sunny day, and the Cathedral looked magnificent.
I must say that I really liked the possibly cubist stained glass windows, and it's as pretty inside as expected. We then did the tour of both the tower and the crypt. If you're scared of heights, claustrophobic or don't like spiral staircases I have to un-recommend the towers. The crypt was nice, and the chapel of the Virgin Mary was beautiful. There were statues of two of the previous bishops of Paris, and they were wonderful, because you know how official statues tend to give off a sense that they could be anyone. Well these didn't, these were specifically certain people, and they were kneeling, one holding a book, and the other Monmatre (I think he was the bishop in charge of it's building), as offerings to God. There was another statue, of the unknown soldier and he was this terribly young looking boy and you'd think he were asleep in his sleeping bag, only he's too still and it's a body bag and ... it gets across that war is bad very well. I can't remember if it was in that chapel or in the other chapel that had a rather magnificent pieta. There were also statues of various saints dotted around and I had fun playing guess the saint. Stu and I also had to quickly try to teach Naomi about things like the stations of the cross and what we meant by a saint's attributes. And this is a girl with a degree. /ranting about the UK education system.
From there we walked to the Musee D'Orsay. It was in a lovely building. The ground floor contains most of the sculpture, including one that was a magnificent set of four women (I think for the four corners of the Earth) holding up the world by Carpeaux, who, were it not for a few things later on, would probably win the prize for artist who impressed me the most. Because his sculptures were marvellous and fierce and wonderful.
I got to see most of the "required" pictures, "Le dejeuner sur l'herbe" (I don't get it) http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/luncheon-on-the-grass-7201.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=c7c0c0411d, the one of a woman's genitals (which gives you quite a shock when it's the first thing you see when you go up the stairs - Link not safe for work - http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/the-origin-of-the-world-3122.html), the Renoir one with the dancing at the Moulin whatever (he does magnificent, wonderful things to make the light play on leaves you could swear were moving) http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/dance-at-le-moulin-de-la-galette-7138.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=648dca6d59, Whistler's Mother (who looks severely disgruntled) http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/portrait-of-the-artists-mother-2976.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=237ef8c554, the original of the Tiger one that Theroux painted that we had to do an 'in the style of' at high school, the dotty people and the dashy people (both schools have proper names, I have no idea what they are), the one that isn't Romeo and Juliet (http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/the-death-of-francesca-da-rimini-and-paolo-malatesta-8935.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=36b04cd140), Gaugain and Cezanne and so on.
Quite often it was the lesser known works that interested me more (familiarity breeding a lack of shock or awe), like the Romans during the Decadence (http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/romans-during-the-decadence-2105.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=5fcd4c9bef) and the Studio at Les Batignolles http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/a-studio-at-les-batignolles-2059.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=d80b5b251d). I especially liked "By the Table", which features various important French literary types looking far too real for anyone's comfort, http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/by-the-table-2950.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=ef3b406e04) and a lot of the stuff by the Orientalists.
Now, you'll notice I haven't mentioned Van Gogh. Because I really didn't expect to like his stuff, but pictures and photos and so on don't do justice to his pictures. It's like someone took a cartoon of the real world and then threw magic dust over it. I really can't explain it any better than that.
After our allotted time at the D'Orsay (which was nowhere near enough), we headed towards the Bateaux Bus, because people were complaining that they were tired. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours cheaply, and it was very relaxing, to give the others their due. It also helped me figure out where everything was in relation to each other in Paris, which is bound to come in handy eventually.
Notre Dame from the Bateaux Bus -
Sunset -
- one of the best shots I got all holiday.
We got off at St. Germaine, and made our way to Le Petit Benoit, a cheap, very local restaurant that the guide book recommended. Definitely worth it. The food was exceptional, not too expensive given (~£25) and the experience was a one off. The staff were lively, flirty, mildly insane, shouted at us, took pity on us and threw crockery and teatowels at each other. Everyone should go there.
We finally got home around 11.30.
Monmatre is worth a visit.
So is the Musee D'Orsay. Van Gogh is 500x more awesome when seen in reality.
The Bateaux Bus is nice and relaxing.
And there are some places that you could only get in Paris.
Notre Dame is nice, and a lot less landscape dominating than expected. The carving and statuary round the outside is fantastic though.
Also, given that it's the Notre Dame, it wasn't too touristy and they let you do things at your own pace. The insides and their features were well documented, the outside, less so. So if anyone knows why statues of what I'm guessing are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are climbing down from the bell tower, I'd be obliged if you'd tell me.
Unfortunately, it was the start of the two days of the Virge. Going round it and the Louvre, I can see where certain Mary-related confusions occur.
We also went to the Crypt Archeologique, which is great if you're into your history, less good if you speak no French. Somehow, mine managed to pass that acid test. It was also the only day I managed to have tea and cakes at a cafe.
We tried to get to the Pantheon too, but sadly we were too late, because the guide book lied to us. Again!
Which was a shame because I want to make a pilgrimage to Voltaire's tomb and so on and so forth. But I got to see the outside of it and we visited the Quartier Latin, even if for nothing like long enough.
And although it was the Latin quarter, we seemed to be in the Russian speaking part of it, passing book-shops selling Tintin in Russian and eating at a restaurant with decided Russian influences. It was good food though. Less impressed by the wine, but everyone else liked it. They have no taste.
The guidebook, it lies.
My French is better than I expected it to be.
French wine - not for me
We decided to split up when we went to the Louvre, to meet up every few hours, so we could all look at the things we wanted to look at - like I was more interested in medieval stuff than the others were, and less interested in paintings.
The Egyptian gallery contained wonders, both expected and unexpected. The were lions and huge great monuments, but there were also a lot of day to day things, and little frog ornaments as small as the tip of your little finger whose paint still gleamed., and I learnt things about Ancient Egypt that I hadn't learnt before. (The ducks were new to me). The actual decoration of the rooms they were stored in where spectacular too.
I then spent some time in the European medieval to 1600 sculpture section. Which was when I hit the problem of 2 out of every 3 statues from the earlier time periods being the Virge et ... sometimes it was quite interesting to see how different sculptors showed the same central part, for instance there were lots of Madonnas and Child but the one I liked best had the boy Jesus wriggling in his mother's lap and playing with a toy ball http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226334&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226334&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500825&fromDept=true&baseIndex=81&bmLocale=en#. There were also a few really sweet touch ones of him and John the Baptists playing as young boys.
I was far more interested in the early, Gothicy stuff. But I prefer that style so that's not unexpected.
Some of the later ones were interesting too. I found myself entranced by one sculpture, so well designed and so alive. I ought not to have been surprised that it was by Michaelangelo. I managed 3 out of 4 Turtles because I couldn't be bothered with the queue for the Mona Lisa.
The outside statues, brought over from one of Louis the Sun King (XIV, I think) were remarkable and the areas were they had been put were wonderfully light and airy places. Great for sitting down, chilling out and thinking in (http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226406&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226406&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500822&fromDept=true&baseIndex=36&bmLocale=en). This is one of them, chosen more to show the place than for the sculpture.
Sadly, I only just made it into the near Orient antiquities department when the museum closed. I did manage to see my favourite work of the whole trip there though. http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225242&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225242&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500800&fromDept=false&baseIndex=15&bmLocale=en
His name is Ebih-Il, and apparently he was a high priest of something. But he had the most wonderful contented face and I could have spent hours looking at him. I'm not sure what it was about the sculpture, but I must say, he was adorable.
From there we went to the Arc de Triomphe (again on the principle that I would sulk if we didn't.) Totally worth it. There's something about it. We were also late enough in the day to see the Eternal Flame being lit.
I took far too many photos, mostly because you probably got a better view from the top of the Arc than you did from the Eiffel Tower:
A memorial to a student uprising during WWII -
Monmatre from the top of the Arc -
The Louvre from the top of the Arc -
La Defence, living up to the nickname of 'Minas Tirith' that it got given -
On the inside of the arc are engraved the names of the battle Napoleon fought and his generals. I confused the rest of the group by taking many photos of these, but then again, I'm the one with an interest in Marshall Ney, Admiral Villeneuve etc. There was one name I was looking for in particular, and I found it -
We also saw baby pigeons, being looked after by mama pigeon. They are disturbingly cute. It made for an interesting end to what had been a most interesting trip.
There is a limit to the number of pictures you ever need to see of the Virgin Mary.
There is no limit to my interest in the Ancient Egyptians.
I may have gained an interest in Ancient Mesopotamia.
The Arc de Triomphe is just ... yeah.
Baby pigeons are cute.
I really liked Paris, because it wasn't too touristy and there's something about the pong of old stone that I find extremely comforting. The Metro was fabulous, and the whole thing goes down as an experience I'm glad to have had. I may well plot another holiday for this summer. I'm thinking Brussels or Amsterdam.
Eurostar is actually reasonably comfortable, although when the 5 foot 3 shortarse thinks it could do with more leg-room, it could do with more leg-room. We managed to make it on time despite Alex being a little late due to a delayed train from St. Albans.
The blurb for our hotel said it was near La Defense, so that's the tube stop we got off at.
Now unfortunately, it's actually nearer to Esplanade de La Defense, but only the hotel staff know the route and their phone wasn't working. And La Defense is actually secretly a rat maze designed for humans with no way out. So yes, we were trapped up there for about three hours. Part of the problem is the hotel was in a little suburb of Paris called Puteaux, but they've named a lot of their streets and parks after famous streets and parks at the other end of Paris. So there was a lot of confusion.But we got to the hotel in the end.
Thankfully the restaurant next to the hotel was open late. It was North African cuisine, so I was finally able to introduce Naomi to cous-cous, without me cooking it, because cous-cous always goes wrong when I cook it. And the red wine we had with it, 'Abou Nawas' if memory serves me well, was spectacularly good.
- Eurostar = yay
- La Defense = giant rat maze for humans from which there is no escape
- The tourist Metro 5 day ticket = great value for money
- Moroccan wine is fantastic
Got to the Eiffel Tower (
), Stu got viciously attacked by street painters. We tried to rescue him. He did not help in the rescuing. We left him to get fleeced. There are some people you just can't help. The Eiffel tower is a fantastic piece of engineering, but it's also a tourist trap of the lowest order. I wouldn't recommend going up there, although the little figurine history at the top is fun.Once we escaped its evil clutches I made it clear that if I didn't get to see Les Invalides I would cry. So I got to go and see it.
Totally worth it as it was by far the prettiest thing we visited in all of Paris, and so much of it was just so beautiful (
). My photos don't do it justice. The tomb of Field Marshal Foch made me cry. I think it was the soldiers carrying it. Then there was the entry into the actual crypt of Napoleon, and I've never been through such a foreboding entry way. It was dark black/green stone of some kind and you're heading down a slope and it's all quite eerie. Two of Napoleon's generals have monuments at the entry way (Duroc and Bertrand) and there's two figures guarding the way down. At the bottom of the slope there's two reliefs, one of Louis-Phillippe's son getting the body back from St. Helena, and one of it arriving in Paris, and one of Napoleon's generals weeping next to it, and well, I'm a very soggy mess quite often when it comes to Napoleon and his times.Around the tomb there's a series of 12 reliefs all about Napoleon's works and laws, and one that has his battles on one side and the buildings in Paris he ordered on the other. They're done in mock-Roman style avec toga and classical motifs, and I'm not sure if I'm more touched or amused by the vanity. The tomb itself looks like a Roman chair.
As I came up, the sun was shining through the side windows and, well, I lack the word for what it looked like, especially coming through the stained glass and compared to the dark passage.
Sadly, because of this it was now 6, maybe 6.30 and, after a row, those of us who wanted to go to the Pompideu Centre went. Sadly it was closed, contrary to what the guide book said. Our guidebook was fond of lying, as became increasingly apparent as the week went on.
Eiffel Tower = evil
Les Invalides = beautiful
Guidebook = lying liar that lies
I really liked the area round Monmatre - it seemed like real people lived there, and it wasn't just a tourist trap. We decided to take the stairs up, once we found them. Finding them was a different matter altogether. We managed to find Aussies though, somehow I always find Aussies. A group of ~ 3 men looking for the Moulin Rouge, so I directed them that way. I got some very funny looks from my companions, mostly on the principle that I'd told them not to look like tourists. I tried to explain that it was a matter of politeness that if asked, and you have a guide book handy, you help.
It was a gloriously sunny day, and the Cathedral looked magnificent.
I must say that I really liked the possibly cubist stained glass windows, and it's as pretty inside as expected. We then did the tour of both the tower and the crypt. If you're scared of heights, claustrophobic or don't like spiral staircases I have to un-recommend the towers. The crypt was nice, and the chapel of the Virgin Mary was beautiful. There were statues of two of the previous bishops of Paris, and they were wonderful, because you know how official statues tend to give off a sense that they could be anyone. Well these didn't, these were specifically certain people, and they were kneeling, one holding a book, and the other Monmatre (I think he was the bishop in charge of it's building), as offerings to God. There was another statue, of the unknown soldier and he was this terribly young looking boy and you'd think he were asleep in his sleeping bag, only he's too still and it's a body bag and ... it gets across that war is bad very well. I can't remember if it was in that chapel or in the other chapel that had a rather magnificent pieta. There were also statues of various saints dotted around and I had fun playing guess the saint. Stu and I also had to quickly try to teach Naomi about things like the stations of the cross and what we meant by a saint's attributes. And this is a girl with a degree. /ranting about the UK education system.
From there we walked to the Musee D'Orsay. It was in a lovely building. The ground floor contains most of the sculpture, including one that was a magnificent set of four women (I think for the four corners of the Earth) holding up the world by Carpeaux, who, were it not for a few things later on, would probably win the prize for artist who impressed me the most. Because his sculptures were marvellous and fierce and wonderful.
I got to see most of the "required" pictures, "Le dejeuner sur l'herbe" (I don't get it) http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/luncheon-on-the-grass-7201.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=c7c0c0411d, the one of a woman's genitals (which gives you quite a shock when it's the first thing you see when you go up the stairs - Link not safe for work - http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/the-origin-of-the-world-3122.html), the Renoir one with the dancing at the Moulin whatever (he does magnificent, wonderful things to make the light play on leaves you could swear were moving) http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/dance-at-le-moulin-de-la-galette-7138.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=648dca6d59, Whistler's Mother (who looks severely disgruntled) http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/portrait-of-the-artists-mother-2976.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=237ef8c554, the original of the Tiger one that Theroux painted that we had to do an 'in the style of' at high school, the dotty people and the dashy people (both schools have proper names, I have no idea what they are), the one that isn't Romeo and Juliet (http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/the-death-of-francesca-da-rimini-and-paolo-malatesta-8935.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=36b04cd140), Gaugain and Cezanne and so on.
Quite often it was the lesser known works that interested me more (familiarity breeding a lack of shock or awe), like the Romans during the Decadence (http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/romans-during-the-decadence-2105.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=5fcd4c9bef) and the Studio at Les Batignolles http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/a-studio-at-les-batignolles-2059.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=d80b5b251d). I especially liked "By the Table", which features various important French literary types looking far too real for anyone's comfort, http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/by-the-table-2950.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=509&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=841&cHash=ef3b406e04) and a lot of the stuff by the Orientalists.
Now, you'll notice I haven't mentioned Van Gogh. Because I really didn't expect to like his stuff, but pictures and photos and so on don't do justice to his pictures. It's like someone took a cartoon of the real world and then threw magic dust over it. I really can't explain it any better than that.
After our allotted time at the D'Orsay (which was nowhere near enough), we headed towards the Bateaux Bus, because people were complaining that they were tired. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours cheaply, and it was very relaxing, to give the others their due. It also helped me figure out where everything was in relation to each other in Paris, which is bound to come in handy eventually.
Notre Dame from the Bateaux Bus -
Sunset -
- one of the best shots I got all holiday.We got off at St. Germaine, and made our way to Le Petit Benoit, a cheap, very local restaurant that the guide book recommended. Definitely worth it. The food was exceptional, not too expensive given (~£25) and the experience was a one off. The staff were lively, flirty, mildly insane, shouted at us, took pity on us and threw crockery and teatowels at each other. Everyone should go there.
We finally got home around 11.30.
Monmatre is worth a visit.
So is the Musee D'Orsay. Van Gogh is 500x more awesome when seen in reality.
The Bateaux Bus is nice and relaxing.
And there are some places that you could only get in Paris.
Notre Dame is nice, and a lot less landscape dominating than expected. The carving and statuary round the outside is fantastic though.
Also, given that it's the Notre Dame, it wasn't too touristy and they let you do things at your own pace. The insides and their features were well documented, the outside, less so. So if anyone knows why statues of what I'm guessing are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are climbing down from the bell tower, I'd be obliged if you'd tell me.
Unfortunately, it was the start of the two days of the Virge. Going round it and the Louvre, I can see where certain Mary-related confusions occur.
We also went to the Crypt Archeologique, which is great if you're into your history, less good if you speak no French. Somehow, mine managed to pass that acid test. It was also the only day I managed to have tea and cakes at a cafe.
We tried to get to the Pantheon too, but sadly we were too late, because the guide book lied to us. Again!
Which was a shame because I want to make a pilgrimage to Voltaire's tomb and so on and so forth. But I got to see the outside of it and we visited the Quartier Latin, even if for nothing like long enough.
And although it was the Latin quarter, we seemed to be in the Russian speaking part of it, passing book-shops selling Tintin in Russian and eating at a restaurant with decided Russian influences. It was good food though. Less impressed by the wine, but everyone else liked it. They have no taste.
The guidebook, it lies.
My French is better than I expected it to be.
French wine - not for me
We decided to split up when we went to the Louvre, to meet up every few hours, so we could all look at the things we wanted to look at - like I was more interested in medieval stuff than the others were, and less interested in paintings.
The Egyptian gallery contained wonders, both expected and unexpected. The were lions and huge great monuments, but there were also a lot of day to day things, and little frog ornaments as small as the tip of your little finger whose paint still gleamed., and I learnt things about Ancient Egypt that I hadn't learnt before. (The ducks were new to me). The actual decoration of the rooms they were stored in where spectacular too.
I then spent some time in the European medieval to 1600 sculpture section. Which was when I hit the problem of 2 out of every 3 statues from the earlier time periods being the Virge et ... sometimes it was quite interesting to see how different sculptors showed the same central part, for instance there were lots of Madonnas and Child but the one I liked best had the boy Jesus wriggling in his mother's lap and playing with a toy ball http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226334&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226334&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500825&fromDept=true&baseIndex=81&bmLocale=en#. There were also a few really sweet touch ones of him and John the Baptists playing as young boys.
I was far more interested in the early, Gothicy stuff. But I prefer that style so that's not unexpected.
Some of the later ones were interesting too. I found myself entranced by one sculpture, so well designed and so alive. I ought not to have been surprised that it was by Michaelangelo. I managed 3 out of 4 Turtles because I couldn't be bothered with the queue for the Mona Lisa.
The outside statues, brought over from one of Louis the Sun King (XIV, I think) were remarkable and the areas were they had been put were wonderfully light and airy places. Great for sitting down, chilling out and thinking in (http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226406&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226406&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500822&fromDept=true&baseIndex=36&bmLocale=en). This is one of them, chosen more to show the place than for the sculpture.
Sadly, I only just made it into the near Orient antiquities department when the museum closed. I did manage to see my favourite work of the whole trip there though. http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225242&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225242&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500800&fromDept=false&baseIndex=15&bmLocale=en
His name is Ebih-Il, and apparently he was a high priest of something. But he had the most wonderful contented face and I could have spent hours looking at him. I'm not sure what it was about the sculpture, but I must say, he was adorable.
From there we went to the Arc de Triomphe (again on the principle that I would sulk if we didn't.) Totally worth it. There's something about it. We were also late enough in the day to see the Eternal Flame being lit.
I took far too many photos, mostly because you probably got a better view from the top of the Arc than you did from the Eiffel Tower:
A memorial to a student uprising during WWII -
Monmatre from the top of the Arc -
The Louvre from the top of the Arc -
La Defence, living up to the nickname of 'Minas Tirith' that it got given -
On the inside of the arc are engraved the names of the battle Napoleon fought and his generals. I confused the rest of the group by taking many photos of these, but then again, I'm the one with an interest in Marshall Ney, Admiral Villeneuve etc. There was one name I was looking for in particular, and I found it -
We also saw baby pigeons, being looked after by mama pigeon. They are disturbingly cute. It made for an interesting end to what had been a most interesting trip.
There is a limit to the number of pictures you ever need to see of the Virgin Mary.
There is no limit to my interest in the Ancient Egyptians.
I may have gained an interest in Ancient Mesopotamia.
The Arc de Triomphe is just ... yeah.
Baby pigeons are cute.
I really liked Paris, because it wasn't too touristy and there's something about the pong of old stone that I find extremely comforting. The Metro was fabulous, and the whole thing goes down as an experience I'm glad to have had. I may well plot another holiday for this summer. I'm thinking Brussels or Amsterdam.
