Not wishing to hurry, we booked seats on the 9:55am bullet train.
Fat guy on train...sitting in my seat!
You can click on any picture to enlarge it...however I would consider it a favor if you resisted on this one.
Raj
Through the French countryside
Some of it closer than one might like.
We exit the station at Montparnassse...and there it is.
After checking into our hotel we jump on the 6 tram, get off at Bir-Hakeim and head to the Eiffel Tower.
A bucket-list picture
Look up from below.
There is beautiful work on buildings whereever you look.
Statue on the bridge crossing to the Trocadéro opposite the Eiffel Tower.
The Seine
The Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro
The best deal in Paris - Free Toilettes accross from the Eiffel Tower.
Raj in the square directly across from the Hall of Justice.
Standing in front of Notre Dame Cathedral
Didn't see Quasimodo, deaf bell-ringer in Hugo's famous Hunchback of Notre Dame. He may have been inside and in the bell tower. The line for going inside was second only to the line to take elevator up the Eiffel Tower. As an ex-GI I don't do lines. Been there, done that. But the building is beautiful.
Check out the detail of the Saints built into the facade of the building.
Outside, a statue of Charlemagne, the famous 9th century king of the Franks who expanded the Frankish kingdom into empire.
Not all beautiful things are large. A bed of tulips on the grounds of Notre Dame.
 |
| The Seine adjacent to Notre Dame |
Notre Dame from the back. More beautiful than the massive bell towers.
Left Notre Dame and headed up the street back toward the Hall
of Justice. A little rain shower drove us into the Hôpital-Hotel Dieu,
one of the first hospitals in Paris.
The interior courtyard was breath-taking.
The gateway to the Hall of Justice
It was getting late so we returned to the area of our hotel looking for a good dinner. We stopped into this great little jazz bar named "Smokes" for a nice drink, then had a great dinner near the hotel. The French influence is taking hold; by the time we'd finished dinner it was 10:30 pm.
We are staying at the Hotel Apollinaire, about one metro stop from the large railway station at Montparnasse. The roome are very small, but comfortable and well kept. And, given room rates around this town, the 105€ per night is appealing to me. Raj checked out of his hotel so his room is covered by the company. Mine isn't, so I picked the place. Frankly, the rankings on this one were the same as the Mercure nearby and it would have been another 50€ per night. So...we're saving the company money. Hey...you guys back there get that?
Lazed around upon waking this morning and we finally hit the metro about 9:30 am. A quick café and a crossiant at the Hall of Justice square and back to seeing the sights.
The Chappel of Saint Chapelle
Just out of words here. See for yourself.
Pictures shot without flash
Left Saint Chappelle and caught the RER 'C' line heading for the Basillica of St Denis, the patron saint of Paris. All but three Kings of France were buried in this cathedral, beginning with Clovis I (511) to Louis XVIII (1824). The remains buried here include Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, though theirs was a tortuous route to this spot.
During the French Revolution the bodies were dug up and buried in two mass graves. Later, intending to
put them back, they could not determine who was who so they remain together in perpetuity.
Okay, latin scholars, translation needed.
There was an Easter Mass being celebrated when we arrived. It ended shortly after and we were able to get around the cathedral though they were, I guess, preparing for the next service because they kept herding people out toward the exit.
The tombs were saved from the anti-royalist hate of the revolutionaires by an archaeologist name Alexandre Lenoir by claiming them as artworks for a museum project. Such are the tenuous strands of history. It is sad no Afghan Lenoir came forward to thwart the religious fervor of the Taliban in their destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas 2001.
This is really a fascinating piece of history and architecture. I would have like to have had more time to study it, but they were hustling us out as fast as they could.
This is a predominately Muslim area with the majority of the population being African or near-Eastern. Didn't bother me, but Raja made a couple of remarks about it being a little scary. Given the way a Taliban-looking dude looked at Raja at one of the tram stops I can't say I blame him. There isn't a lot of love lost between the Muslims and Hindus. I became a little nervouse when three young guys boarded the train about two stops from St. Denis. Wouldn't have cared except two of them were wearing obviously new backpacks of the same color and design. That sort of got my attention.
They left the bus to be replaced by the Easter bunny.
Returned to the hotel, took a little nap, then went out looking for lunch. Stopped at this very nice upscale place hoping to get a good meal. It was packed last night and again today. Figuring that many Frenchmen can't be wrong we entered and asked for seating for two. I was told it'd be five or six minutes.
They did something neat here. Instead of taking your name, they gave you one. They had cards printed up with the names of famous composers. During the time were were there we heard Mozart, Beethoven, and several others paged for their tables. I was Puchinni, though I can't play a lick of violin.
In any event, after a wait of about forty minutes I was ready to leave, but they called us. We took our seat and then left after sitting there another twenty minutes without being served. Didn't do anything to alter my opinion of restaurant service in France. But, what the hey, nothing is perfect.
Later, taking a little walk I came upon the following bike. This is for my favorite BMW riders, Fleeter and Runner, followers of this blog.
A 'doorless' car?
Out tonight looking for something quick and good, I found a great little Kurdish/Turkish restaurant just down from the hotel with fabulous lamb.
Paris is really something special.
I can't think of a better place to spend Easter in early April! My late husband and I were married April 4 and flew to Brugges for our honeymoon. We arose very, very early one morning and took the bullet train from Brussels to Paris and spent 20 hours doing a whirlwind tour of the high spots, mostly the same buildings you've described here in your blog. Brings back some very fond memories.
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures!! Paris looks magical and I'm so glad you are enjoying it!!
ReplyDelete