European Exercise XII: Paris In A Day

Notre Dame, swiped from williamnyk on Flickr.

Early the next morning, we headed to Notre Dame de Paris, the famous cathedral. An exquisite example of French Gothic architecture located on Île de la Cité, one of two natural islands in the Seine within Paris. No lines going in, so after taking a few photos at the plaza out front, we waltzed in. It was quite dark inside but all the more better to admire the magnificent stained glass. There were many vocation candles around, but at E15 a pop, we gave it a pass. Other than the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the real 'monster' to look out for at Notre Dame is the gargoyles. For that, we had to head out and queue in cold. KH and I took turns. While he waited in line, I went to the back of the cathedral to view the flying buttresses at the back and a beautiful garden by the Seine with box-shaped trees. When we finally ascended to the roof, we were greeted by the famous gargoyles. Monsters in all sorts of poses, looking contemplatively at the horizon. Being very narrow, at certain intervals we would be ushered to another part of the roof. The view was spectacular and we could see The Eiffel Tower and Sacre Couer in the distance. Back down, we visited The Crypt. Rocks and foundation stones before Paris was Paris. Boring! Luckily it was covered by our museum pass. Next, we walked to Le Saint-Chapelle. Joined the queue and found that we had wasted our time. They were closing for lunch and I had no intention of returning to see the famous stained glass there. Sigh.







We walked over to the adjacent attraction-- La Conciergerie. Was quite awed by the large Salle des Gardes with its pillars and vaulted ceiling. The lighting showed it off to good effect. Inside, one could see the history of the place-- it was the "antechamber to the guillotine", a prison. Marie Antoinette was among the famous prisoners there. Inside, KH pointed to a pillar with the words:

INONDATION 28 JANVIER 1910

I replied, "What about it?". He rolled his eyes. Opps. It was our anniversary. I immediately placated him and we took a picture together there. Hehe. It was to mark the level of a flood in 1910. Shoulder level! With hothing much to see, we strolled back out and did some strolling along The Seine. Aspired to be a flâneur —- that of "a person who walks the city in order to experience it". However, our aching legs did not make it easy. Haha. We were lucky enough to catch Marché aux Fleur, the Flower Market, but half of the stalls were not open. Ended up at Hôtel de Ville, the MPSJ of Paris. Took some pics near the ceremonial doors under the clock which are flanked by allegorical figures of Art, by Laurent Marqueste, and Science, by Jules Blanchard. And we took a quick nip into Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville to buy SK's Longchamp Planètes. Cheaper by nearly half in Paris. Lunch was at Brioche Dorée. A quick bite of a quiche and a sandwich.





with our tummies filled we moved on to Musée Rodin. Among the manicured gardens were the famous bronze sculptures of "The Thinker", "The Kiss", and "The Gates of Hell". The museum used to be a hotel and the surrondings were beautiful. Bumped into three gay couples there, from all sorts of nationalities. spent quite some time there really admiring all the sculptures. Lots and lots of nudes. Huhuhu. Really making the best out of our Paris Museum Pass, next up was Musée de l'Armée. Located at Les Invalides, it houses the Tomb of Napolean. Very grand indeed. The giant red quartzite sarcophagus rests inside the Église du Dôme, a very ornate domed chapel. The altar looked much like the one in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. As it was near closing time, we did not manage to visit the other parts.









Before heading to the Eiffel Tower, we had coffee and an apricot sable (giant biscuit) at a nearby cafe. Was waiting for it to get darker. But there was still plenty of light out. So we just sat and reviewed some of our photographs. The cafe was quite interesting as it used a change dispenser machine. The woman behind the counter takes your money and the machine autmocatically dispenses your change. How novel. With nothing left to do, we took the long walk over to the tower. Ended up at the other end, we should have approached from L'Arc de Triomphe. The grounds were lurking with souvenir peddlers whoe prices start at E5 and quickly plummet to E0.20. Lotsa people lounged on the grass drinking wine. Being at the 'most romantic' spot in the world, we did not really feel any different. I just felt cold! Had to cuddle close to KH and share a scarf to protect ourselves from the wind. We even trekked all the way to base of the tower only to find that all the hot drinks were sold out! Took very long to get dark before we could see the night lights. Upon seeing that, KH gave me a kiss. Then hand in hand we walked back.







Dinner was had at a French restaurant below our apartment, a recommendation from our landlady-- Le Rez de Chausse. Our waitress brought the giant blackboard over to our table. It was scribbled in French. She tried her best to explain things to us, but it was obvious that her vocabulary was limited. Chancing it, we ordered baked escargot (wonderful cream sauce), duck magret (super rare duck breast, but it was delicious) and a bottle of their vin du moment. The whole bottle was really too much. Walked out of the restaurant giggling like schoolgirls and frequently listed to one side. I guess wine and The Eiffel Tower do mix because we had intoxicated sex that night and I screamed my lungs out in bed. Forgot to do laundry. Forgot to charge our cameras! But it was worth it! I want more of that wine!