I don't like to hurt...: Paris: A week in review (with pictures)…

I had hoped to update at the end of each day, but that obviously didn’t happen. Late nights and late mornings interfered with that, along with full days. So, I’m writing this as we are on the train from Paris to Toulouse (more on that city in posts forthcoming). Let’s take a look back at our week in Paris.

On Tuesday (07/13), we headed out early to Versailles in hopes of getting ahead of the crowds at the Palace. Due to a minor train snafu on our part, we were slightly delayed, but otherwise got there without difficulty. The crowds and tour buses lined the gate already. Thankfully, armed with our Paris Museum Pass this time, we were able to slightly minimize our time in the queue. In an attempt to avoid jumping right into the crowds initially, we previewed the less busy South Wing of the palace, which was filled with lavish furniture and old paintings. We then joined the masses in the North Wing. I have to admit that I was slightly underwhelmed as we went through the ground floor of the palace at first – more furniture and artwork. It wasn’t until we went upstairs (which housed the king’s and queen’s bedchambers among other rooms) that you really got to see the magnificence of the Palace, in my opinion. Large-scale paintings on the ceilings, gilded rooms, large chandeliers, beautiful textiles and furniture, and massive fireplaces. The royal gardens behind the estate required a tour in their own right. Everything about the estate was grand. Truly a setting fit for kings.


Palace of Versailles


The King's bedchamber


The Queen's bedchamber


Hall of Mirrors


Royal Chapel

Royal Gardens

After we finished our tour of the Palace, we ventured over to a quaint street nearby filled with shops and restaurants for a quick lunch before heading back into Paris. Our overall trip didn’t take quite as long as were anticipating, so we decided to head over to Sainte-Chapelle (Holy Chapel) in the center of the Ile-de-la-Cite. The stained glass windows, which tell the story of mankind from Genesis through Christ’s resurrection, were a sight to behold. Since we were nearby, K then wanted to get a glimpse of Notre Dame, although we would be visiting it more thoroughly later in the week. While we were there, we headed down into the crypts under the site that had remains from previous churches that were built there. After a long late afternoon nap that continued into the early evening, we had a late dinner at Republique. K was feeling adventurous that night, so he went out for a stroll to the local fire station to check out the fireman’s balls that are held at each arrondissement’s fire station on the night before (and sometimes of) Bastille Day. People everywhere!

Sainte-Chapelle

Stained glass windows at Sainte-Chapelle

View of Notre Dame heading down into the crypts

Remnants in the crypts at Notre Dame

On Wednesday (07/14), we got a late start to our day, but started it in a wonderful way with lunch at the Orsay. Sadie had suggested eating at the restaurant there, and we were treated to a nice meal in a beautiful setting. The Orsay was a highlight of a previous trip to Paris, but what I remembered about it was the sheer volume of Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings. This time, however, what stood out most to me was the beauty of the former train station that houses the museum. Due to renovations, the paintings were also organized in a different way than I remembered, as they lined each side of the main hall. Always a treat to see that many works of Van Gogh in one place.

K in front of Orsay entrance

Orsay Museum

We then headed over to the Palais-Royal for a stroll. These gardens were a nice serene spot to regroup amid all the hustle and bustle of the tourists everywhere. Little did we know that we were going to be in the middle of throngs of Parisians and tourists alike in just a few short hours. To celebrate the national holiday of Bastille Day, the place to be is watching the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. In our naïve attempt at avoiding the worst of the crowds, we headed to the Trocadero for dinner then found a spot at the Place du Trocadero to settle in for a couple of hours. Since it doesn’t get dark until 10:30pm, the fireworks didn’t start until 11pm, but it was worth the wait. The French definitely know how to do fireworks! The display was quite spectacular and surreal, with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop. After the 30-minute show, it was time to make our way back to the hotel. Easier said than done. The nearest metro stations were closed due to the massive crowds, so we joined in the throngs of people coming from every direction and started walking. We ended up having to walk back to the Tuileries before narrowly making it onto an already packed subway car. What an experience though!

Palais-Royal

View of Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero before the fireworks

Fireworks at the Eiffel Tower

Happy Bastille Day!

On Thursday (07/15), we had intended to spend the day at the Louvre, but I was in no mood to go back there with K, especially given how tired I was from the day/night before. So, we ended up making a spontaneous change as we were on the metro, and we went to Hotel de Ville to check out the “Jamaica Party” featuring Usain Bolt that we had seen advertised on huge signs everywhere all week. When we arrived, he was nowhere to be found, although they had a short course set up where you could race against a cardboard cutout of him attached to a mechanical track. They were also setting up for the concert that was to be held later in the afternoon/evening. Bolt was actually in town and had a book signing on the Champs-Elysees that afternoon before racing at the Stade de France on Friday.

Who's faster? Usain Bolt vs. K

From there, we headed to Notre Dame. The previous time that I was there I was put off by the long lines so I didn’t go inside. But, this time we did. The cathedral itself is enormous. Did you know that it took over 200 years to build?!? We then had a nice lunch of crepes in the garden behind the cathedral, Square Jean-XXIII. K wanted to brave the lines to go up into the towers (since he wasn’t feeling too impatient that day), so we waited in line to climb the 387 stone steps, most of them in a spiral staircase of the north tower. Then we walked across the platform between towers to view the great bell in its belfry. Finally we climbed another winding staircase in the south tower to reach the very top with its panoramic views. And, it was worth it. The views of the city were amazing (better than the Eiffel Tower, in my opinion).

K in front of Notre Dame

Garden behind Notre Dame

Silly gargoyle

View of Paris from Notre Dame

We then went over to the Left Bank to check out the famed Shakespeare & Company bookstore. It is a well-known English (American, actually) establishment just across the Seine from Notre Dame that was frequented by Beat poets and serves as a repose and inspiration for aspiring writers. After a quick stop back at the Hotel de Ville to check out the concerts and see if Mr. Bolt had arrived, we then headed over to Centre Georges Pompidou. The Stravinsky Fountain with its colorful mechanical figures initially caught our eye before we went to the Modern Art Museum. The building itself stands out among all of the other Parisian buildings with its industrial Lego-like exterior. The infrastructure is color-coded: water pipes are green, air ducts are blue, electrics are yellow, and elevators and escalators are red. The museum had a nice selection of works by Picasso and Matisse. Wanting to take advantage of all the museums possible, K then ventured over to the Arts and Sciences museum near our hotel for a quick visit on their late night opening. We were adapting to the Parisian standard for late night dinners at this point.

Shakespeare and Company bookstore

Stravinsky Fountain

Pompidou

On Friday (07/16), it was time to visit Champagne country, so we made a short train trip to Reims, which is about 100 miles northeast of Paris. Upon arrival at the gare (train station), we picked up a map at the car rental agency outside (thanks for the tip, Sadie) and made our way across town to where several of the champagne houses are located. Apparently, we took a fairly circuitous route and missed seeing the main, lively part of the city (which thankfully we saw on our way back). We had been surprised that several of the main champagne houses were already booked when I had tried to make reservations a couple of weeks before our visit. I was happy though that the one that I was most excited about visiting, Pommery, had availability so that’s where we started our day. The tour started with a spectacular descent of 116 steps into the chalk pits with regulated temperature of 50 degrees. We walked through the cellars and learned how champagne is made then concluded our visit with a tasting of course. As we were headed to lunch, we stopped in at Taittinger to see if they had any openings for the afternoon, which they did and fit perfectly with our schedule. After our tour at Taittinger, it was time to see the area’s historical sites. We started out with the Basilique St. Remi then went to the Cathedrale Notre-Dame, which is where the coronations of the French kings were held. To my surprise and somewhat my dismay, this week was filled with religious and political history. This suited K quite well, however.

Pommery

Staircase down to the caves

Look how dusty the bottles get

Some very old champagne

K at Taittinger

Different sizes that Taittinger bottles

That's a lot of champagne!

Notre-Dame (in Reims not Paris)

On Saturday (07/17), I couldn’t bring myself to go back to the Louvre with K for a full day of taking in all the glory it has to offer. All of the walking and climbing up/down stairs from the week had taken its toll on me and my surgically repaired ankle, and I needed a low-key day that didn’t involve a lot of time on my feet. So, we went our separate ways. I had a leisurely mid-afternoon lunch and made a quick visit to the Arts and Sciences museum since it was near our hotel then relaxed a bit while waiting for K to get back in the evening. Then, it was time to cross the last thing off K’s must-do list in Paris. Visit the Eiffel Tower. Mind you, it’s a Saturday night at this point since we didn’t get around to this sooner. And, we paid dearly for it in terms of time spent in lines. To make matters worse, there was apparently some kind of security incident as we were waiting in line that resulted in them clearing a large area under the tower (where the lines are) and not allowing people to go up temporarily. When we arrived, the top of the tower was closed anyway due to congestion, but it eventually re-opened while we were still waiting to go up so it all worked out. I had been up to the top before, so I didn’t have a huge need to do it again. But, it was something that K wanted to do, so we did. And, it took hours to get up then get down. We didn’t get down until a little before midnight (and we first queued up about 8:30pm). It was a very late night, as we hadn’t eaten dinner before going to the Eiffel Tower (although that had been the plan) and needed to get our things together since we had an early train out of Paris on Sunday.