*warbles* I
loooove Paaaaaris in the
spriiingtiiiiiime...
As you may have heard, my mother and I met for a brief stay in Paris during my school's spring break week. We only had three full days in Paris, which was an appallingly short vacation to the French we talked to, and yet an enviably long vacation to most Japanese people I know. (Now let's compare
GNPs, shall we?) Despite the fact that I seem to actually be taking fewer pictures as of late, I still had quite a pile to digitally
rummage through. I decided not to post some of the nice-but-boring photos of, say, a distance shot of the Eiffel Tower. (Google it if you feel the need.) Instead I'm only posting photos I actually like.
Saturday morning I awaken and go downstairs for my complimentary breakfast. In Japan, when you get a free breakfast, it's usually
vinegared rice and pickled fish, so I guess my expectations were kind of low. But there was bread! Not just any bread.
Real bread. I just don't get this stuff in Japan. It was pure bliss. I could have stayed in the hotel feasting on bread all day...
However appealing that thought was, I knew I'd come to regret it, so I met my mother at her hotel, and on our first full day in Paris we went to the
Arc de Triomphe (凱旋門). It was a bit drizzly, but it never did really rain on us. I knew the Arc was big and impressive, but somehow I wasn't expecting all of the ornate stonework on the sides. I guess you can't see it that well in most photos that show the whole thing. I also didn't know that you could go up to the top. There was even an elevator! Unlike everywhere else we went... Anyhow, after appreciating the view of Paris from the top, we made our way down and got a couple of Japanese tourists to snap our photo. I scared the crap out of them. Clearly, they were not expecting a white girl in Paris to speak to them in Japanese. After the guy took one, they practically ran in the other direction.
After the Arc de Triomphe, my mother and I headed over to la Tour Eiffel. It was a pleasant walk, nice weather, about 10 minutes. And then there it was. The symbol of France to the rest of the world.
The crowds at the base were unreal. It was like Disneyland, without the themed waiting area and crowd control techniques. We wanted to walk up to the first stage. Ok, I wanted to climb. Sorry, Mom. But you did great! This photo was taken a bit below the first stage.
On a tour Monday night, we wound up back at the tower. Apparently, it's all lit up at night. Pretty.
After the Eiffel Tower and lunch, we took a cab up to the Sacré Cœur Church in the Montmartre area. Beautiful church, with a view to rival the Eiffel Tower's. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed inside, and most of my exterior shots are marred by the swarms of people.
We walked around the Montmartre area a bit. It was the kind of artsy area where there are hundreds of portrait artists latching onto unwary tourists like barracudas. I could see buying a locally done painting if not for the hassle of transportation, but I don't quite understand why I would want one of myself. Do you hang it in your own home? Isn't that a little vain/creepy? Regardless, this is where my pound worth of souvenir keychains was purchased. On our way back to my hotel, we passed the three remaining windmills (moulins) in Paris, including the infamous Moulin Rouge, which is in the heart of the red light district. (By the way, my pic of the Moulin Rouge is almost identical to Wiki's.) We also passed this statue in front of a park. It had no explanation, but I thought it was cool.
And thus ended the first day.
Day 2 started bright and early with a visit to Notre Dame. My exterior shots of the front were nothing special. At that time in the morning the sun was directly behind the church. But I thought this guy was capturing the moment pretty well.
That day was actually Palm Sunday, and yet, amazingly, they let in non-parishioners to look around. And they allowed photography, which I had mixed feelings about. Of course I was glad for the chance to get some nice photos, but taking photos with a mass in session, even if everyone else was doing it, felt wrong somehow.
As per my grandmother's instructions, my mother lit a candle for her at every church we visited. Is this considered hedging her bets?
Next, onwards and upwards!
Ok, actually next was waiting in line for an hour. But then up, up, up! To the top of the tower! (Sorry, Mom. But you did great!) Here I am
standing in the (tiny) doorway of one of the bell towers.
And here are just two of the zillions of chimeras that "protect"
Notre Dame. I thought they were amazing. A visually stunning reminder of the many pagan traditions infused into early (and not-so-early) Christianity. Also, didn't they come to life in the Disney movie?
The afternoon was spent walking around the
Île de la Cité and seeing
Sainte-Chappelle.
The third day we visited the
Louvre. I always knew the Louvre was big, but like the Grand Canyon, it wasn't until I went that I really grasped the scale. Every other art museum I have ever been to could fit into the Louvre at once with room to spare.
C'est magnifique!
Outside the Louvre we walked through the
Jardin des Tuileries. Funny side-note. I asked a man at the information counter just outside the Louvre which way the gardens were. I asked in English. He replied something along the lines of, "Non, non, madame. No English," so I repeated the question in French. He then gave me directions in perfect English. My mother and I found this to be a fairly typical attitude during our stay.
On Saturday when we explored
Montmartre, we got to the famous
Montmartre Cemetery too late in the day to be able to go in. However, Tuesday morning, before my airport shuttle came, I had about an hour to spare, and the cemetery was about a 20 minute walk from my hotel. So I went and got a quick look-see before leaving for the airport.
Then it was back to Charles
de Gaulle. On the way there, I had an interesting conversation with the shuttle driver about immigration issues. He was originally from Cambodia but had been in France since age 10. It's kind of funny. The first day, although I could understand what people around me were saying, I could scarcely get out a sentence in French to save my life. Yet by the end of the trip, though I still felt a little awkward, the driver remarked on my
pas d'accent. {insert comment about human beings remarkable capacity for language here.}
~
le fin~
Labels: vacation
