October 29th - Last Tango in Paris

Our last day was a chillin kind of day. We slept a little late (because we have to get up at 6am tomorrow to get ready for the airport) and then headed to Montmarte - the beatnik capital of Paris. This area of Paris is on a butte and was technically outside the city limits of Paris for much of the time so it has attracted all sorts for its cheap rent, low taxes, and cabaret nightlife. Monks lived here in the 1200's and then were replaced by farmers and windmills (moulins) in the 1600's. It was the home to underground gypsum mines (the white component in plaster of paris) in the 1700's, Parisian liberals in the 1800's and Modernist painters such as Renoir, Picasso, Vincent van Gohn, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

We got off the Metro and found ourselves in what seemed like a street that is a permanent flea market - shop after shop of fabric and cheap clothes in boxes that you have to rifle through. Also lots of con men playing the shell game. At the top of the hill we even found con men doing something I had read about in our Rick Steves guide: they grab your wrist and start to tie a yarn friendship bracelet on it. You can't get it off and they expect you to pay them for your work of art. They didn't hit us but we saw them hit some other girl.

The most obvious site in Montmarte is the Sacre Coeur Basilica. From up here at 420 ft you get a really nice view of Paris as well. Our camera was running out of battery again so we don't have a ton of pictures. This basilica was built in the wake of the Prussian seige of Paris which took place over four months in 1870. The French had literally had to eat dogs, cats, and rats and were thoroughly humiliated. Also in 1871 there was a group of Parisians, the Communards, who held out in Montmarte in protest when the French government capitulated to the Germans and the French government shot them.

The French Catholics thought they were being punished for the liberal sins of their country (sounds like some of the rhetoric-filled e-mail I still get from my former neighbor!) and raised money to build this basilica. It took 44 years to build (1875-1919) and stands on 83 pillars that are sunk 130 feet deep in the ground (to anchor it lower than the honeycomb of gypsum mines beneath it).

After touring the church, we walked all around the neighborhood seeing various sites suggested in the Rick Steves guidebook.





This is the infamous Moulin Rouge cabaret - the home of the cancan (actually Le Quadrille but named cancan by a brit). There are still nightly shows







Final stop today was the Museum of Erotic Art on the boulevard de Clichy (a raunchy area known as Pig Alley) where sex shops and peep shows abound. I was underwhelmed by the museum - basically a warehouse of weird sexual statuary from Africa and India. One floor had an installation of artwork made from models of skeletons. I did enjoy the floor that had the history of the Paris brothel with pictures and descriptions of the brothels.




After the museum we returned to the Champs-Elysees. Along the Champs, there these stores I don't really know how to describe - they are car stores that have the history of that line of cars and show either classic cars or program cars - Mercedes has one, Toyota has one, and today we wandered into Renault because it has free WiFi and a restaurant/bar.





We used Yelp to find a close place for dinner and checked up on e-mail. The weird thing about WiFi in Europe is that it may be free but you have to register for it. So, at Renault, you have to check into the front desk, give them your name and where you are from andthey give you a code that will allow one hour of free access.






The place we went to dinner was just around the corner and was quite unique. It got great reviews on Yelp and we were warned that it gets very busy. We arrived at 1915 - early by French standards and were seated right away. We knew from our research on Yelp that it is a steakhouse and all the waitresses want to know when you walk in is how you want your steak and what wine you want. All the servers are women who are in the same outfit - a one piece black deal with a short skirt and a little white collar - almost like a french maid without the apron. They are no muss, no fuss. They bring a salad and bread and the wine you ordered. When you are done with that, they bring out entrecote (literally "between the ribs" which I think is a sirloin cut) that is cut into strips and really good French Fries. There is a sauce that they spoon over the top and it is really quite good. When you have cleaned your plate, they bring out another serving and place it directly on your plate. They offer you dessert but we were way too full for that after all that food. It was flaming hot in that place - I think it's the first time I was actually too warm! When we left, the line was out the door and into the middle of the street. What a way to end our Paris adventure!

October 28th - Museums

This is Place de la Concord which we walked by last evening. This was the site of the guillotine during the Revolution. 2780 French citizens were beheaded during the Revolution and about 1200 lost their heads here. In the 1830's, Charles X (the brother of Louis XVI) became King when the monarchy was restored after Napolean and he had this 3300 year old obelisk of Luxor brought from Ramses II Temple of Amon in Luxor and placed on this spot to honor the executed. It took two years to move the 72 foot 200 ton red granite structure. Ahhh the history.


Today was museum day. We slept in a bit, had a late breakfast and then headed out to the Louvre. Here is the glass pyramid that serves as the new entrance. We just hit the highlights at the Louvre - the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, and the Mona Lisa. We saw some other things as well along the way but I don't remember what. Afterwards we shopped for trinkets for the kids. There is an endless line of tourist shops on the outside and Ryan was looking for the cheapest Eiffel Towers he could find. We also got Drew a little purse and Trevor a baseball hat. We toyed with the idea of getting silly souvenirs for the rest of the family but it is one of those things where you can buy a scarf that says Paris and then look at the Made in China tag. It seemed silly so we came back empty handed.

Then we made our way to the Centre de George Pompidou - the museum of Modern Art at Ryan's request. We ate a toastee across from the museum and then entered bizarro world. Sorry but I don't have an appreciation for Modern Art. I tried to get Ryan upstairs to see the Picasso works and such but he was more interested in the truly wacky stuff on the lower level - performance art (on video) of a naked woman holding a chicken who had just had its head chopped off until it died. There were also pictures and video of a woman who gets on her hands and knees and drips hot wax out of her mouth onto a dead bird and then cuts the bird out of the wax with a knife. They even had all the little wax-encased birds in a decorative box for you to look at. It was supposed to be about liberation or some BS like that. The least impressive part for me was the little room you could walk in that where they were showing a video of a woman exploring every orifice on her body (and I mean every orifice) with a tiny camera - since when is endoscopy of your nose, ear, esophagus, belly button, vagina, and rectum art?

Remember the American/French couple we met at Le Bureau in Blois? We went to the restaurant that they recommended called Zephyr. It was a good meal. Ryan started with a shrimp salad seasoned with vanilla. I started with a little pot of goat cheese, tomato, and balsamic vinegar that I spread on bread. I got some sort of fish (again) and Ryan got a pork tenderloin dish that was quite good.

Versailles October 27th

Versailles : The town of Versailles is 30 minutes southwest of Paris. The original portion of the chateau was the central portion which was a hunting lodge where a young Louis XIV spent a lot of time. When he became king of France in 1643 he expanded the lodge to a royal palace and moved from the Louvre in Paris out here to the suburbs so he could rule more absolutely. It is the most extravagant palace in all of Europe and was built to glorify Louis the "Sun King" who was the most powerful ruler in Europe and ruled until 1715.



This gold gate, the Royal Gate, is 260 feet long and decorated with 100,000 golden leaves. The original one was destroyed after the Revolution. This replacement was installed in 2008 at a cost of 5 million euros!

In the 1700's this courtyard would have been filled with people - as many as 5000 nobles were at Versailles at any given time and the palace and its grounds were considered public property.






Because Louis XIV ruled for 72 years, his great-grandson was the next to rule (1715-1774) was Louis XV. He didn't have the power or flair of his great grandfather and the power of the monarchy began to falter. Then came Louis XVI who married Marie Antoinette and ruled from 1774-1792 until he and his queen were beheaded by the revolutionaries.









The most famous room in Versailles is the Hall of Mirrors. Mirrors were a great luxury at the time and this 250 ft long hall contained 17 huge ones mirrored by 17 arches on the opposite wall that overlooked the spectacular gardens. The hall is lined with candelabra and 16 busts. Sorry that there aren't more pictures of the inside but it is really hard to capture the glory of such a grandiose place - you just have to see it.








Almost as impressive as the chateau is the gardens. Well, you could imagine that they would be really impressive when it isn't cold and desolate. The grounds are elaborate and Louis XIV presided over them until his last days. He threw grand parties out here and led VIPs on tours. He even had a thousand orange trees in containers that he would have wheeled out when the weather permitted to impress his visitors.


The grounds originally had 1500 fountains and 300 remain. The theme of Versailles is Apollo (the God of Sun for the Sun King) and this fountain shows young Apollo and Diana at the top with their mother Latona. As an unwed mother, Latona was taking a lot of flak from the locals. She called on Zeus (her baby daddy) and he turned all the peasants into frogs and lizards which surround the fountain.

We continued to walk down down these expansive grounds and then turned right to the Domaine of Marie Antoinette...

On the grounds of the Versailles are the Grand Trianon, Petit trianon, and the Hamlet of Marie Antoinette. Versailles began as an escape from the craziness of Paris but soon was just as crazy itself. So, Louis XIV built himself a much more modest set of houses at the far reaches of his grounds. He spent 2 to 3 nights per week out here but the following Louises spent more and more time here as the world continued to press in on them. The Grand Trianon was the King's quarters and this is the pretty little portico.



Louis XV was interested in botany and wanted a home closer to the gardens so he built the Petit Trianon at the urging of his mistress. When Louis XVI because king, he gave it to Marie Antoinette to use as her home base.

Marie Antoinette wanted a proper dressing room so she had a study next to her bedroom fitted with mirrors on chains that could be pulled up to obliterate the windows completely so she could see herself in 3D. We also saw our first indoor toilet at Petite Trianon. Again, not many pictures - Ryan was tired and getting a little castled out.







My favorite part of the Domaine de Marie Antoinette was Le Hameau - the Hamlet. Marie Antoinette was a young girl from the Austrian Royal Family when she married Louis XVI and she longed for the "simple life" of a peasant - well not the actual work part. She built a complex of 12 buildings patterned after a Normand village with thatched roofs. This was an actual working farm with a dairy, crops, a water mill, and domestic animals.















The whole area was so picturesque and pretty...

























This was Marie Antoinette's personal residence at the Hamlet.








We got done at Versailles a little early and returned to the hotel. I think we had a little wine and watched the final episode of The Sopranos. Then we went for a walk and ended up finding a little Italian place to eat. By little I mean tiny - we were seated at a banquet elbow to elbow with other people. Ryan ordered a pizza and I had a really good pesto fettucine. It was an utterly exhausting day.

Paris Day #2 Oct 26th

Today was hard core sight seeing but we had a few missteps. First, we went for a two for one special with Sainte Chappelle which is known for its beautiful stained glass windows and the Conciergerie (the prison that was the last stop for people on their way to the guillotine at Place de la Concorde during the French Revolution. They are housed in the same area where the Supreme Court of France meets so security is a bit tight and it takes a little while to get through. Sainte Chappelle is also gothic architecture and was built in only 6 years (1242-1248) by Louis IX (who went on to be St. Louis) to house the crown of thorns (yes, it is supposed to be the actual crown of thorns worn by Christ but being a protestant I can't quite believe in all that relic stuff). King Louis paid 135,000 pounds for the Crown, 100,000 pounds for the jewel encrusted shrine to keep it in, and only 40,000 pounds to build the cathedral. The shrine was destroyed during the French Revolution and the crown of thorns is kept in the Treasury at Notre Dame and is shown on Good Friday and the first Friday of each month at 1500. Areas of stained glass are currently being renovated and the whole of the stained glass is a little overwhelming.

Next we were to go to the Conciergerie where they focus on the prison stays of famous people during the French Revolution – Marie Antoinette in particular. Unfortunately, it was closed until 10/28.

Next stop was the Paris Catacombs which was one of Ryan's favorites. We waited in line for close to an hour and a half but Ryan kept himself entertained with his i-phone and with trips to find a bathroom and hot chocolate... In 1786, the city was becoming crowded and city officials thought that emptying out the graveyards that surrounded all the churches would free up valuable real estate. There was a series of underground limestone quarries just outside the city (back then) that seemed like the perfect new final resting place for the bones of 6 million people. So, for decades, they dug up the bones of

the dead, wheeled them to the catacombs, stacked them 5 feet high and 80 feet deep (with mostly skulls and tibiae and femurs on the outside) and then placed a plaque that designated the cemetery and the date moved. It was a mile long walk underground in a dark and somewhat wet place filled with bones. Ryan was fascinated and I “got it” after about 10 minutes.

By the time we emerged it was well after one. Ryan was craving a “toastee” which is his current lunch obsession so we walked to the Metro station without seeing a place that had to go toastees. A toastee is basically a hot ham and cheese or chicken and cheese that is on soft french bread and pressed on a panini maker. We took the Metro back to our hotel and walked up the street to the Arc de Triomphe, grabbing a toastee at Brioche Doree.

The Arc de Triomphe is situated at one end of the Champs-Elysees while Place de la Concorde is at the other end. It was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate his victory at the battle of Austerlitz. It is a massive monument that has the eternal flame and tomb of the unknown soldier and a huge French flag flying underneath. We were planning on climbing the stairs to the top for magnificent views but it was closed for what seemed like a private party. I wonder how you get an invite to a private party at the top of the Arc de Triomphe!

After Ryan watched some street dancers we walked a very long distance towards La Defense (sort of the Manhattan of Paris) to go up to the top floor of a hotel for a very expensive drink and to enjoy the view before making our way for our 1800 appointment at the Eiffel Tower. It supposedly opened at 1600 and we arrived at around 1620 to find out that it opens at 1700 now. When we looked at the posted menu and found out that “expensive” in the guidebook meant that drinks were 20 euros apiece, I'm not sure if we were disappointed or not... So, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower (for the second time). We arrived early so we walked toward Trocadero to see all the street peddlers with their little metal Eiffel Towers and little squeeky toys and the guys running a version of the shell game with what looks like really large checkers.

The Eiffel Tower was amazing. When I had been to Paris before, we had only gone up to the second level and not the third and it had been dark – which was a different experience. It was really windy up on the top deck but the view was amazing.

The Eiffel Tower was designed and built by Gustav Eiffel, a bridge builder who also designed the internal supports of the Statue of Liberty in NYC. It was the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair and it was built by 300 workers over 1.5 years (compare that to the Washinton Monument which is only 555ft and took 36 years to build. Including the tower it is 1063 feet tall, contains 7300 tons of metal, 60 tons of paint and 25 million rivets. The observation decks are at 200ft, 400ft, and 900ft. The original plan had been to take it down when the fair was over but they decided to keep it and it has seen 245 million visitors.

After the Eiffel Tower we made our way to a restaurant that was highly recommended in the Rick Steve's guide – Cafe Constant. I had a delicious pumpkin soup and then some fish, I think. Ryan started off with the sea urchin appetizer (pictured) and then had the quail.

We covered a lot of ground today. Tomorrow we hit Versailles and have to get up pretty early in the morning to catch the 800 RER train.

Paris Day #1

Paris Day #1 – Train from Blois to Paris had a little hiccup too. Our original train straight to Paris was canceled and we had to take a train in the opposite direction to St Pierre des Corps in Tours and then catch the TGV back to Paris. Things were less hectic and we had seats on both trains – yeah! Checked into the Marriott Champs Elysees in Paris – it is a very subtle hotel next to a VERY busy Sephora store on the main shopping drag in Paris. Very spacious and beautiful room. Very expensive breakfast included with the room which is nice – it is a traditional European buffet but also has made to order eggs and omelettes.

We didn't get in until late afternoon so after dropping our bags at the hotel we headed out into the cold weather to see some sites. First stop was supposed to be the Eiffel Tower. We made our way there but it was windy and cold and the line was outrageous. Then while we were waiting there were lit signs saying that the top was closed due to congestion (like too many people). I didn't know how long that would last but didn't want to wait in line for an hour and then not be able to go all the way up. I remembered reading in my book that you could reserve a time online so we decided to do that and walked to Notre Dame because admission is free (going to pick up a 4 day museum pass while we are out and don't want to blow one of our “days” at 1600! )

Notre Dame cathedral is 700 years old and is a very impressive example of gothic architecture. It took almost 200 years to build (1163-1345) and most of the labor was done for free by the medieval parishioners – hauling stones from quarries, digging a 30 foot trench for the foundation and lifting stones to build the 200 ft towers. Very pretty, nice flying buttresses – I remember learning about those in junior high.

Right across from Notre Dame was a kiosk to buy the museum pass which was convenient. From here we rode the metro back to our hotel and walked the Champs for a little while before eating outside at a little cafe next to the hotel. We had a caprese salad and a pizza with ham and cheese or something.