Bonjour!
Seventy years on this earth is a LONG time! A special gift was in order to celebrate Richard's big day. A trip to Paris seemed like a fun present (and I got to go, too!)
Seventy years on this earth is a LONG time! A special gift was in order to celebrate Richard's big day. A trip to Paris seemed like a fun present (and I got to go, too!)
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We left Casa on Saturday and arrived at France's Orly Airport after an uneventful (thankfully) three hour flight via Royal Air Maroc. Our friend, Carol Combs, had recommended the quaint Hotel du Champ de Mars where we stayed, located on a park by the same name. The "Field of March" is in the center of Paris, and both the hotel and park proved a relaxing respite from our daily excursions around the city.
Champ de Mars is a large green site that was originally used for a market garden, but it was found that the ground was not particularly fertile. Later, the Ecole Militaire was built there, and the school used the grounds for military drills. Now it is simply a long park expanse where we saw people running, folks walking a wide variety of dogs, and children playing. I can see why the park has been chosen as the site of various festivals and expositions over the years. Interesting fact . . . the James Bond movie "A View to a Kill" was filmed at the Champ de Mars in 1985 (I love James Bond!)
Our hotel was a quick walk from the Eiffel Tower, arguably the most famous monument in the world. In 1889, Gustave Eiffel and his company beat out over 100 other artists and won the privilege of building this attraction. In actuality, Eiffel was not the main designer of the structure, which was originally supposed to be a temporary exhibition at the World's Fair. In fact, it was the concept of Maurice Koechlin, a structural engineer under Eiffel's employ. Standing at 984 feet tall, it was impressive to visit in person; we especially loved staring at it at night, with all the twinkling lights.
On our first full day in Paris we took a boat tour on the Seine River. We cruised a loop starting at the Eiffel Tower, went around the Ile de la Cite and back again. It was interesting going under 22 bridges, some designed for pedestrians and others for vehicles. Many were so close to the boat we could almost touch them; in fact, sometimes the upper deck of the boat is closed when the water level is too high. It was fun to see the various materials used in bridge construction up close, including steel, large blocks, bricks, wood and stone. Along the way, we saw some beautiful architecture and famous sites such as the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Grand and Petite Palaces, the Louvre Museum, Pont Neuf (the oldest Paris bridge across the Seine), National Assembly building, and, of course, the Eiffel Tower.
One of the most impressive cathedrals I have ever seen is the Notre Dame de Paris, Our Lady of Paris. We chose our second full day in Paris, a rainy and windy day, to visit this cavernous, medieval Catholic cathedral. Construction of the building took from 1163 until the beginning of the 14th century, and it replaced St. Stephen's Cathedral which had become too small.
The cathedral is Gothic in style, with flying buttresses supporting the structure and preventing it from collapsing under enormous weight. The nave is huge and there are many monuments and statues contained within its walls. There are also numerous stained glass windows of all sizes, including three rose windows, which are truly masterpieces of Christian art. In addition, many relics of the church are contained in the treasury room.
We finished our second full day in Paris meeting up with some GWA friends for dinner. Happy 70th birthday, Richard and Caroline!
(Part 2 to be continued on another post.)
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| Hotel duChamp de Mars |
Our hotel was a quick walk from the Eiffel Tower, arguably the most famous monument in the world. In 1889, Gustave Eiffel and his company beat out over 100 other artists and won the privilege of building this attraction. In actuality, Eiffel was not the main designer of the structure, which was originally supposed to be a temporary exhibition at the World's Fair. In fact, it was the concept of Maurice Koechlin, a structural engineer under Eiffel's employ. Standing at 984 feet tall, it was impressive to visit in person; we especially loved staring at it at night, with all the twinkling lights.
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| We like the way the tower sits among the city buildings |
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| Postcard-beautiful! |
On our first full day in Paris we took a boat tour on the Seine River. We cruised a loop starting at the Eiffel Tower, went around the Ile de la Cite and back again. It was interesting going under 22 bridges, some designed for pedestrians and others for vehicles. Many were so close to the boat we could almost touch them; in fact, sometimes the upper deck of the boat is closed when the water level is too high. It was fun to see the various materials used in bridge construction up close, including steel, large blocks, bricks, wood and stone. Along the way, we saw some beautiful architecture and famous sites such as the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Grand and Petite Palaces, the Louvre Museum, Pont Neuf (the oldest Paris bridge across the Seine), National Assembly building, and, of course, the Eiffel Tower.
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| The Grand Palace/Alexander III Bridge |
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| Man about town |
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| Boats of all sorts moored along the Seine |
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| There are two islands on the Seine, dividing the river into two parts |
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| Richard gazing at the bridges |
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| Facade to hide construction is both artistic and whimsical |
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| We got to pass under 22 bridges on the Seine River tour |
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| If the water level of the Seine gets too high, they close the upper deck so folks don't hit their heads! |
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| The Cathedral of Notre Dame (taken from the Seine River) |
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| Twin towers that can be accessed by walking up 387 steps |
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| The west facade; kings and Christian icons |
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West Rose Window |
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| Some of the many relics in the treasury room |
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Wooden models of the cathedral were built in the year 2000
One of the headless martyrs/saints, depicted here in a sculpture carrying his own head. He suffered martyrdom by decapitation; this causes a problem for the artist/sculptor...where to put the halo?
 Quasi Modo and friend, another statue imitation, at a nearby restaurant |
(Part 2 to be continued on another post.)
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| Happy Birthday, Richard and Caroline! |
