Today was our first day visiting Paris and it was pretty cool! First we stopped by a patisserie and got a couple pastries for breakfast - delicious as usual. Then we walked about one and a half hours to make our obligatory stop at the Eiffel Tower. It was cool and everything but nothing more than what we expected. Of course, we didn't go to the top because the elevator has a long line and costs money (and no way am I carrying Henry up 4 million steps), so we didn't experience it as much as we could have. But we did give some change to lady who said she needed it, because we are good like that.
The Hotel Des Invalides is crazy. We saw it right before The Tower. A palace for the poor that is covered in gold and surrounded by a moat?
We then took a stroll along the Seine River and looked at a photography exhibit that was set up with stuff from around the world. It was interesting to see all the houseboats along the river. Dantzel says she wants to live in one. I'm not so sure. A house that is constantly rocking back and forth? No thank you.
The Place de la Greve was pretty sweet, if only because the King and Queen were guillotined right there under the Obelisk of Luxor. So much crazy history everywhere.
Also, there are a lot of really unique and ornate bridges--complete with gold statues and sculptures galore of course. We walked by all the other palaces along the river but didn't go in them or anything. The Louvre seemed to be a never-ending building. We will go inside tommorrow hopefully! We plan on taking a tour so that Dantzel doesn't look at every single thing. Hopefully they will accept our visas as proof that we are residents of Europe so that we get in free, because we don't have our residence cards yet.
We crossed the Pont Neuf onto the island and went in the Saint-Chapelle, what should be called the "Stained Glass Cathedral". It isn't very big, but there is tons of stained glass - enough for 1,113 scenes from the Bible! Unfortunately most of the apse was covered up because it is being renovated for 5 years. Nevertheless, it was still an amazing site. And then we learn that only King Louis IX and his family used it! I'm realizing more and more why the French revolution happened...
After Saint-Chapelle, you guessed it, Notre Dame baby. In a word: huge. We each lit a candle for Joan of Arc, because... I...believe in women's rights? Yeah, that's it. I decided not to give to the Little Sisters of the Poor (that one's for you Dad). We wanted go to a mass, but didn't make it on time and listened to a free organ recital instead. Luckily we sat next to a pillar and Henry was fascinated with a little crevice on the pillar base.
After being in Notre Dame for several hours, something terrible happens. Two overly nice African men who obviously (at least to me) wanted our money came up to talk and Dantzel actually stopped instead of just walking by like a normal person. So they proceed to twirl multi-colored string around our finger and tell us that the baby's beautiful and pray over blemishes in our hands and eventually put bracelets on our wrists and take our money. They said they usually charge ten Euros but since we had a baby "they totally respected that" and we could pay whatever. So we gave them some loose change. Dantzel understands now that she isn't supposed to talk to strangers.
All in all it was a really good day and we love Paris. We didn't get majorly lost or mugged (unless you count that subtle mugging at the end) and I felt very safe. After a quick visit to the Pantheon and getting some sushi takeout we are now back at our hotel. Can't wait for tomorrow!
1 comment:
I seriously doubt that Dantzel has learned not to speak to strangers. I'm betting it will happen again.
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