Final day in Paris

It was finally here, the day I was dreading. Our final day in Paris.


We began by getting up and skipping breakfast again. This had become the norm when we would get started earlier than the restaurants would. We hopped on to the metro bound for the Eiffel Tower and most importantly, with a full camera battery.


When you get off of the metro and come out on to the street, you see it. I do not care how many times I had seen the tower, it always made me tear up. All my life I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower in person, and for the first, and maybe only, time I will get to go to the top. The best part is that I was going to the top with my best friend!

We waited in line underneath the Eiffel Tower for nearly two hours. When ticket office finally opened, we noticed that there were soldiers walking around with these huge machine guns. We had seen these guys before on the Versailles stop and sometimes during rush hour in the metro stations. Snoopy told me that I probably should not take a picture of them, but I did anyway.

We finally purchased our tickets and we were herded through a security line, then again herded into a little area where we waited for our elevator. When the elevator arrived, I tried to get a good view from the windows on the way up.

We went through more lines at the second level, and waited even longer for the much smaller elevator that took us all the way to the top.


There are no words to describe what we saw at the top!

Me @ Top of Eiffel Tower!! (and it was very cold!)

Arc de Triomphe

After our time admiring Paris from the top of the tower had finished, we took the elevator back down and continued our journey.




Our next stop was to see the Arc de Triomphe and the nearby Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The arc was huge! It sat alone on this grand intersection - which Snoopy grew to despise simply because they are a complete nightmare to cross! - and to walk right up to it, you have to take an underground tunnel. We finally found the tunnel and made our way underneath the steady stream of cars and came out right in front of the arc. The Arc de Triomphe was built to honor those who fought in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. It was completed in 1840 and the remains of Napoleon himself had passed under the arc on the way to his final resting place at the Invalides.

Names of soldiers inscribed inside the arc

Joan of Arc, pointing her sword towards Freedom

Joan of Arc, "Freedom this way!" 

ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANÇAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914–1918

Underneath the arc lies the tomb of the unknown solider. The text reads "ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANÇAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914–1918" - English: "Here lies a French soldier who died for the fatherland 1914–1918"


We went to many places that honored the unknown soldiers who did not get proper burials and died fighting for the good of their countries. In Europe, they use a lot of poppies to adorn the tombs. An eternal flame burns in memory of the dead. In 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy requested an eternal flame be placed next to her husbands grave, which was inspired by her trip to France. 


Next, we backtracked through the noisy tunnel and prepared for the shopping trip of a lifetime! Or so we thought.


We walked over to begin our shopping adventure on Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the most famous streets for shopping and entertainment in the world. Snoopy actually was going to let me purchase what I wanted and had pulled out some extra cash so that I could purchase something truly French. Unfortunately, lining Avenue des Champs-Élysées was a Gap, Old Navy, Louis Vuitton, Mercedes, American Eagle and 4 McDonalds. I was very upset. Everything that I saw on Avenue des Champs-Élysées are the same stores that I can walk across the street to the Galleria and see any day if the week. I was truly disappointed. I wanted to walk into a French store and purchase a French dress or something that I could not purchase during any other day. What was worse was Snoopy was even going to allow it! We walked away from Avenue des Champs-Élysées empty-handed and made our way to the Invalides. 


Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides did not disappoint and my spirits rose at the site of the giant golden dome and stone courtyard filled with cannons.

Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides

Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides

Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides

Pigeons standing guard

Snoopy and I made our way through the stone courtyard filled with cannons. Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides houses the Tomb of Napoleon and Snoopy and I were determined to find it! But first, we had to check things out. 

Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides

We found Napoleon's tomb which was marked by the oversized gold dome and we had to venture through the hallways of Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides to find it. 

Napoleon's tomb is big. Wait, not big, oversized and possibly suffering from little-man syndrome!

Napoleon's tomb

Using the people in the picture as perspective, you can gain an idea of how large the tomb was. Napoleon is buried inside 27 coffins and resting eternally right here. I had the same sense of awe coming here. I had heard about Napoleon and had read about his accomplishments, but it always felt like it wasn't real to me because it happened "over there." Now I was "over there."

After seeing Napoleon's tomb, Snoopy and I made our way back to the lovely Marais to see if the Holocaust Museum, or Mémorial de la Shoah, was open. It was.


Walking in, we had to go through unusual amount of security including metal detectors and had all of our items searched. We were then permitted to enter the museum and were guided downstairs. The place was quiet and cold. I had seen many holocaust museums in my life, but absolutely nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Out of rules and respect, I did not take any pictures at all. 


Inside, we walked slowly through the timeline of how events came to pass. It was nearly unbearable to begin with, but I owed it to all of the victims and their families to hear their stories. I made every attempt to understand their pain, but I couldn't even bring myself to think about my friends, family and neighbors being in a similar position. I couldn't imagine myself being on a train bound to my own final destination. The sentence where I couldn't hold back the tears any longer was when they discussed how mothers with infants, pregnant women and little children were gassed immediately. I knew this, but to see the pictures of women holding their sweet little children, I couldn't take it. I had to keep going for them, I had to read through the timeline and see the pictures. 


I came to a video testimony from an elderly woman who survived. She spoke nothing but French and I didn't understand a lot of what she said. I didn't need to understand the words. Sometimes, it's the message in the eyes, the tone in the voice and that some messages are greater than language barriers. Everyone knows a friendly smile, a hateful visage, and tears of unimaginable sorrow. No words are really necessary. 


I had to hold on to Snoopy as I watched videos from the Allies coming in for the first time. I saw the excitement that was only muted by malnutrition. I watched as the American and British soldiers came in and saw the mass graves. To this day, those videos give me nightmares. I could ask myself over and over about how someone thought it was all right, but I have to remind myself that sometimes, people do things that I cannot understand. I will never understand this one thing. 


The last thing that Snoopy and I gazed upon was a tiny flame. Underneath that flame rested ashes of victims. Nearby, the words Pardonne, n'oublie pas, "Forgive, but never forget." I can honestly say that I left that museum changed. I think about it nearly everyday. I think about the woman telling her story in French an the tiny flame of eternal life. I think about the people who journeyed to the end of the world and never returned. 


That night, Snoopy and I finished our final evening in Paris by looking for the things that we wanted as souvenirs. We made our way to Pasha, our favorite Turkish restaurant down the street from our hotel. Snoopy actually watched Turkish   football (soccer!) with the other Turkish who were in the cafe with us. I enjoyed the camaraderie, the schwarmas with french fries, and the lovely French wine for one last sunset and one last night in Paris. 


Even today, I miss Paris and the electricity in the air. J'laime. 


The next morning, we made our way back home. Back to life as we knew it. But neither of us have been really the same. 

Day 5 - Paris

The second morning in Paris we learned that Parisians living in the Quartier Latin do not wake up very early and do not serve breakfast before 8:00am. We had to forget breakfast if we wanted to make it to the metro stop before rush hour. Around 6:30am, we made it to the RER en route to Versailles. It was about an hour long commute and the temperature had dropped significantly since the day before. Luckily, in my bag I had extra scarves and mittens. As we exited the RER and on to the platform, the first thing that I noticed were the soldiers carrying huge machine guns. I had been told about these guys, but it still was a little freaky.

We made our way out on to the street in search of the great palace of Versailles. At first, we were afraid that we wouldn't find it and we wondering if we were going the wrong direction. We saw an elaborate fence and building along the way. It wasn't Versailles, but it was still a cool looking building.

The front of the building said that it was the Hotel de Ville, but it was definitely not the famous Hotel de Ville because we saw that one closer to Notre Dame. The architecture on the buildings in Paris just amazes me every time I looked at them.

Louis XIV

After passing the Hotel de Ville, we saw the street that lead to Versailles and we realized that you can't miss it. You can see the golden fences from several blocks away.

The first thing that Snoopy told me about was that every room (except the chapel) is dedicated to Louis XIV. We saw him first atop a horse just before entering the courtyard of Versailles.

Louis XIV was the first king to settle in Versailles. He also moved the government away from central Paris and forced nobility to spend time there each year in an attempt to keep them from forming regional power against him. He worked very hard to distance himself from the regular Parisians. Louis XIV spent most of his time expanding the palace and shaping what we see today.

We made it to the front of the ticket office and met up with a few fellow Americans who were also waiting in line to see the historic palace.

Exterior courtyard of Versailles

Exterior courtyard of Versailles

Golden Gates of Versailles

Chateau de Versailles

Interior courtyard 

Once we made it inside, we could clearly see that Chateau de Versailles was the epitome of the extravagance.

Chapel - only room not dedicated to Louis XIV

Staircase - Versailles

Every staircase, every hallway and every room was enormous and was by far the biggest structure I had ever been in. All of the hallways floors were marble and the ceilings were covered in cherubs rolling in the clouds.

Luckily, Snoopy and I had gotten there so early that we avoided a lot of crowds and were able to snap pictures without people's heads.

Louis XIV

When we first began the tour, there was a sitting room which contained paintings from wall to wall. Each painting was of Louis XIV in a different color wig. Sometimes he was with his wife, but most of the time it was just him.

The furniture was made of solid gold and wood with extremely detailed embroidered upholstery.

The only room in the entire palace that was not dedicated to Louis was the chapel and rightly so!

Chapel - view from second floor

Closed side door to chapel

Ceiling in one of the rooms in Versailles

Versailles Fireplace

King's Bed chambers

Even the ceilings...

Huge Windows 

Queen's bed chambers

The biggest wall painting that ever existed

The longest hallway that has ever existed

Beautiful gold trimmed columns

Hallway of statues

After we finished wandering through the palace, we made our way out to the gardens. The gardens were built to be like a playground for the French royals complete with canals meant to feel like Venice. To say the gardens are expansive is an understatement. We couldn't even see the edge of the property! We did know that a 45 minute drive would take us to Marie Antoinette's cottage and where we could find King Louis' hunting cottage.

It is plain to see that the gardens usually have more flowers but since we came in October, most of the flowers had been replaced with greens for the winter. I was a little bummed out about that, but it was all right.

In the picture on the right, you can see the people walking through the gardens for a perspective on size. We were at the top of a hill near the palace looking down on the entrance to the gardens.

Walking down to the gardens, view of Versailles

Venetian Canals in Versailles! 

Snoopy and I did take a few minutes to wander through the maze of hedges. The hedges were about 15 feet high and 2 feet thick. We sat down on a bench simply to admire the peaceful gardens after spending days in the hustle and bustle of the big cities.

I have to admit that I was sad to leave the gardens at Versailles only because we barely scratched the surface. We still had a lot to see in Paris.

We hopped back on to the RER and made our way back into the big city.

We had skipped breakfast that morning since the residents of the Latin Quarter do not like to get up early, so we were famished by the time we made it back into Paris. We stopped at this great little cafe in Montmarte that we immediately fell in love with. I mostly fell in love with their ham and cheese panini. To this day, I long for that simple ham and cheese panini.

After our lunch, we began our Montmarte walk. Montmarte is a neighborhood of Paris that I fell in love with immediately and I felt like I belonged there. It was much more quiet than the rest of Paris and it had the beautiful cobblestone streets and steep hills. Our mission was to make it to the top of the hill and I was more than happy taking my time just soaking in Montmarte.

We climbed stairs, walked a block over and climbed more stairs. Then there were even more stairs! When we reached the top of the hill, we meandered through a crowded street market with artists painting pictures of curious tourists and waiters aggressively making their way through the crowds with trays of delectable desserts.

Snoopy guided me to a quaint little church called St. Pierre de Montmarte. This church was the first church that I saw that had pews instead of chairs. Still, even after visiting many grand churches, walking into the nave of the churches still filled me with awe.

St. Pierre de Montmarte is the lesser known of the churches on this hill, but it has a bigger claim to fame. It was founded by Saint Denis (remember the guy who carried his own head?) in the 3rd century. Also, the church is the location at which the vows were taken that led to the founding of the Society of Jesus. 


This was not our main sight to see so we did not spend a lot of time inside this church. 

We walked out of the St. Pierre de Montmarte and turned around the corner to another crowded street. To the right, we could see all of Paris off into the distance. We were at the highest point in all of Paris. To our left, we came across our main sight, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, or better known as Sacre Coeur.

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur was beautiful. It was breathtaking.

Sacre Coeur was strict on its no photography rules so when we went inside, I put my camera inside my bag just to make sure I kept the peace as much as possible. Inside the basilica was just as a grand as Saint Paul's in London with the high chapel donned with Jesus Christ and the sacred heart for all to see. I made Snoopy sit down in full view of the high chapel just to take it in. When you visit Sacre Coeur, you do not just go to look, you experience it.

View of Paris from Sacre Coeur

Paris from Sacre Coeur

After we left Sacre Coeur, I just could not stop looking over at the view of Paris. Paris was better than I had ever imagined and there is an electricity in the air that cannot be described. I felt like I belonged there. I felt like I was home.

Snoopy had to make a pitstop at the nearby public toilets, so I made friendly conversation with a local with an adorable cocker spaniel. I was flattered when he asked if I was from Spain and the gentleman's mother was stunned that I spoke Spanish. They insisted that I was of Latin descent and when I told them I had family from Mexico, they said that they knew it and were finally satisfied. My Spanish is not that good, but I guess it was good enough! I ended up getting water at a discount rate because I did not speak English.

We left the lovely neighborhood of Montmarte, down all those stairs, and made our way to Jewish neighborhood of Marais.

On our way to Marais, we visited the Bastille. The Bastille was once a prison and was torn down during the French Revolution. All that is left is a single column in the middle of a very busy street.

After we gazed upon Place de la Bastille, we continued over to Marais. Marais is a sleepy neighborhood that Snoopy fell in love with immediately. Marais was the old Jewish quarter and current holds a strong middle-eastern influence. When you walked through the alleyways, you could smell fresh kabobs and schawarmas filling the air. This neighborhood was, as expected, targeted by the Nazi's during World War II. We stopped by the Holocaust Museum in Paris, but it was closed on this afternoon so we made plans to return the next day.

We did make another trip to see the Eiffel Tower, but when I realized that my camera had no battery left, I told Snoopy that we had to wait. There was no way I was going to go to the top of the tower without my camera.

We wandered through the city back to our hotel and called it a night. One more day in Paris left.