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.