Day 4 - Paris

Day 4 actually began in London and the journey to Paris is worth the read. 

I was smart enough to pack everything except the clothes for travel and my toothbrush the night before so I could be a zombie for the most part. The wine from the night before was definitely still with me! Snoopy  and I check out of our hotel and start walking to the nearest Underground station. We soon learned that the Underground station was not going to open until 5:00am so I suggested we grab a taxi. I am not sure who else knows about the London taxi drivers, but to ride in a London taxi is an experience all in itself. Those taxi drivers are wild on the road! We made it to King's Cross with plenty of time for Snoopy to grab some breakfast and coffee. I was still nauseated from the wine and the taxi drive over so I tucked my croissant in my bag for later. 

We were finally called to board the train bound for France. I was just ready to sit down and go to sleep but Snoopy was too excited to see Paris to consider sleep. The train ride was a couple of hours long and I dozed in and out until we got about half an hour outside of Paris. I really woke up when I peeked out the window and saw the Eiffel Tower from a distance. Snoopy couldn't see it from his seat unfortunately so he had to wait a while longer. 

The train stopped and we hopped off and went straight over to change our British pounds to Euros and take bathroom breaks. This is where we met our first gypsy, but we didn't know it yet. As I came from the bathroom, a woman frantically asked me if I could speak English. When I said that I could, she asked me to sign a petition for the Deaf Mute Association. I started signing until I reached the "amount" column where I was supposed to donate money. I didn't have much money, Snoopy had most of it, which was a good thing. I gave the gypsy my 2Euro coin and she demanded the rest of my coins. I told her no and tried to walk away. She grabbed my arm and started yelling at me in the station demanding my coins. I just walked away looking for Snoopy. It is very frightening to be yelled at in another language and especially when your travel buddy is not in sight. Luckily he was only hiding behind a column nearby. Turns out, another gypsy had gotten to him, but he didn't give the gypsy our money at all. 

Our first impressions of Paris were not good so it was getting to be depressing. We had looked forward to Paris and seeing what it had to offer. We held up our heads and went to the nearest Metro station to make the quest to our hotel. After we figured out how to read the Metro maps and learning which trains to board, we made it to our stop and stepped out into the stop closest to our hotel. That is where Paris became magical. 

We walked to our hotel and dropped off our backpacks. The hotel was beautiful and the staff was very friendly and even offered to speak English voluntarily. Everyone had warned me to expect Parisians to be rude, but I didn't see it at all.

We left the hotel with our bags and started to see the great Notre Dame. Notre Dame is the finest example of French gothic architecture. I wasn't thinking about that. I was wondering how it wasn't sinking the island it was sitting on since it is so big! 

Notre Dame

Notre Dame de Paris

The Notre Dame is officially called Notre Dame de Paris or French for "Our Lady of Paris". Official beginning of construction of the cathedral was in 1163. The first completion was in 1345 including initial renovations.

Notre Dame has had just as a rough of a history as Paris itself. The church and its relics have been destroyed and plundered only to be rebuilt and repurposed each time.

The architecture is intricate and awe-inspiring. To date, I have not seen a church in the United States to have the detailed work that I have seen in London and Paris. The Notre Dame had some of the most intricate work that I have seen. The statues and reliefs told stories in pictures, or messages to the people.

Notre Dame

Here you can see Saint Denis. How do you know which one is Saint Denis? He is the one holding his own head.

Notre Dame, with Saint Denis holding his head

Notre Dame, with goblin putting souls into a cauldron

 The legend around Saint Denis is that he was martyred in 250AD by beheading (in case you couldn't figure it out) in connection to Decian persecution of Christians. It is said that after Saint Denis' head was lopped off, he simply picked it up and walked ten kilometers preaching a sermon the entire time.  The location of where Saint Denis actually stopped preaching and died is up for debate. Some say that his body was thrown into the Seine river, and some say that he was buried at Saint Denis Basilica along with the French kings. Either way, Saint Denis is the patron saint of Paris.





Sometimes the messages for the people are not good but are warnings. Here you can see a goblin putting souls into a cauldron of boiling water. To his right, there were the souls of people who suffered the fate. It is a terrifying image.

Sometimes, pictures are worth a thousand words: 

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Snoopy and I found it fascinating that these churches all over London and especially Paris had little to no electricity. The Notre Dame was no exception. It felt very dark and cold. 

Rose of Stained Glass facing West - Notre Dame

Infamous Pipe Organ - Notre Dame

Chapel - Notre Dame

Joan of Arc - Notre Dame

A statue of Joan of Arc resides in the Notre Dame. Joan of Arc led many victorious battles in France until she was captured, tried and burned at the stake at the tender age of 19. 25 years later, Pope Callixtus III examined the case and declared her innocent. She was beatified in 1909 and is now a patron saint of France. Here, she is facing the western rose of stained glass. In the evenings, I bet it would be beautiful to have all of the colors shining down on her.

In the courtyard just in front of Notre Dame, there were hundreds of pigeons that were funny to me. There was a  man was standing out in the courtyard and throwing bird seeds out for the pigeons and also for these adorable little birds that were fluttering all around the bushes. For 2 Euro, he would give you a handful of bird seeds so the little birds would fly over and eat out of your hand. Unfortunately, I had given my only 2 Euro coin to the gypsy in the train station earlier that morning. 

We strolled around the Notre Dame to see it from the sides and back. I believe Snoopy had a plan, but I was playing tourist and taking pictures of the beautiful church. The Notre Dame is the best example of the flying buttress - or external support beams. The gothic structure is so massive that without the flying buttresses, it would come apart from the weight. 

Notre Dame

Cross outside Notre Dame

"First round draft picks" - Snoopy, just outside of Notre Dame

Charlemagne - outside of Notre Dame

Just outside of Notre Dame, there is a statue of Charlemagne atop a horse. Of course, the pigeons were everywhere. It was a shame that the statue was covered with pigeons because they also covered the statue in bird poop. There is no real way to accurately describe the history of Charlemagne in such a short amount of space, but his rule helped define Western Europe and the European Middle Ages. 

"Pardonne, n'oublie pas..."  - Deportation Memorial

Just behind the Notre Dame was the Deportation Memorial. The memorials and museums to the Holocaust and World War II were very powerful in France. When walking to this memorial, everything around it was made of simple but rough stone. On the outside, a plaque in French read "They descended into the mouth of the earth and they did not return." 


Every bit of writing on the wall looked as if it were scratched by human nails, and was the color is of dried blood. It was very cold and creepy to me. I remember my history teacher in high school giving me nightmares by describing the scratches on the ceiling of the gas chamber at Dachau. Each window was barred. Upon entry, we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Deportee, and long hallway behind bars. The hallway sparkles with thousands of tiny lights, each representing the 200,000 victims deported from Vichy France to Nazi concentration camps. At the end of the hallway was a single light - the flame of eternal hope. Above the hallway entry, in French, an inscription "Dedicated to the living memory of the 200,000 French deportees sleeping in the night and the fog, exterminated in the Nazi concentration camps." 


Upon exit, we saw the words engraved "Pardonne, n'oublie pas..." which translates to "Forgive but never forget". These words are found at every site memorializing the victims of the Nazi's. 


Enough of the serious stuff for now!


We left the memorial and began walking through historic Paris. We came across a bridge that had locks covering the rails the entire way across. I had to stop and look at a few. Some of them had marriage dates and some had what appeared to be dates of births and deaths. There were hearts, keychains, scarves and ribbons. I wasn't sure what they meant. Later, I learned that they are Love padlocks. By putting a Love padlock on a public structure, you are symbolizing your everlasting love for someone. This is the most romantic city in the world! (But of course, Snoopy rolls his eyes.) 

Love Padlocks - Bridge over Seine River

From across the Seine River, I took one more snapshot of the Notre Dame. From this spot, Snoopy let me know that this was one of the best places to take a picture of the historic cathedral.

Notre Dame

We walked through some of the most historic areas of Paris which reside in sight of the Notre Dame. Just across the river, we saw a little bookshop called "Shakespeare & Co. bookstore which was frequented by Snoopy's idol Ernest Hemingway. We also stopped by another church called Saint Severin. Saint Severin is located in the Latin Quarter and is one of the oldest standing Catholic churches in the Latin Quarter.

Saint Severin

Columns - Saint Severin

Altar - Saint Severin

Votive Candles - Saint Severin

Inside each church we had been to on our European excursion, we saw the candles in each chapel or in front of statues. I even lit one in Westminster Abbey! 

Each candle is to represent a prayer for a person. There was something deeply spiritual about lighting a candle while saying a prayer especially in Paris with its grand churches. 

Prayer Candles - Saint Severin

On our way out of Saint Severin, we did stop by to check out the skinniest homes in Paris! 

We continued through the Left Bank, or Latin Quarter and passed by Saint Michel. This site became very familiar to us over our few days in Paris. Every time that we walked to and from the Metro stop, we saw the fountains of Saint Michel. At this particular time, we were not going to or from the hotel.

Saint Michel is the heart of the Latin Quarter and has a colorful history. This is the site where the French came to protest the occupying Nazi's and also the riots of 1968. This was once a square filled with hippies, artists, writers and poets and even when we were there, it was filled with all kinds of people performing. I really remember the man making the giant bubbles and the break dancers.

Fountain at Saint Michel

At this point, we actually did swing by the hotel and do a formal check in and were able to catch our breath for only a moment before we were right back out the door again.

This time, we were headed to see Sainte-Chapelle, or the Holy Chapel. Snoopy had told me that this was going to be a sight to see and it was hard to convince me to wait in such a long line! Sainte-Chapelle is inside the courtyard of one of the legal buildings in Paris which meant that we had to wait for security to check us but only after they had lunch. While waiting in line, we at least had the entertainment of a street performer in a mask teasing pedestrians as they walked by.

After making it successfully through security, we saw the church up close finally. It seemed much like other churches we had seen before at first. Snoopy began telling me the history of the church. 

Sainte-Chapelle - entrance

Mary and Jesus - Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle was built by King Louis IX to house precious relics from Jesus. It was believed by King Louis IX that he had the original crown of thorns worn by Christ during his walk to be crucified. Other relics that King Louis IX is said to have collected include fragments from the True Cross and the Holy Lance. The True Cross is the name of the cross that Christ was crucified upon and the Holy Lance was the spear that pierced Jesus in his side.


When we first walked in, the church was beautiful but Snoopy seemed to be distracted. He was looking at his Kindle and looking around the church as if he was looking for something in particular. When he finally found what he was looking for, he guided me quickly to a narrow stairway and told me that upstairs had the surprise.




I didn't expect this...

Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle

Altar built to hold the Crown of Thorns - Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle

Stained Glass - Sainte Chapelle

Each of the tall panes of glass told a story of the bible from the first Testament through Christ's crucifixion. Though Sainte-Chapelle was heavily damaged in the French revolution, nearly 2/3 of the stained glass is authentic. 

Ceiling of Sainte-Chapelle Nave

After we finished checking out Sainte-Chapelle, we continued through the Left Bank and Snoopy seemed to be on his usual mission and seemed to have another idea in the works. I had seen the itinerary, but at this point we were bouncing around from all of the things that we had planned to do while accomplishing everything.

Snoopy patiently looked for street signs and worked out where to go and I followed along until I could see something tall over the trees. We had reached a white building that seemed plain on the outside but contained thick wood doors. When we continued alongside the white building, I realized that it had Arabic writing on the outside and realized that we had come across a mosque. Of course, I wanted to go inside but wanted to make sure that we were going to be respectful about going in. Most of the women wore head coverings but since we had seen some without and I felt all right.

Courtyard - Great Paris Mosque

The Great Paris Mosque is the largest mosque in France and the third largest in Europe. It was built after World War I to thank the Muslim colonies for assisting France in their fight with Germany. 100,000 area Muslims died during the war. The mosque also provided a refuge for Jews during World War II by providing fake Muslim names and birth certificates for Jews in hiding.

When we first walked in, I was surprised to find a beautiful courtyard of vegetation with running fountains.

Courtyard - Great Paris Mosque

I had never been inside of a mosque before and I was very curious. Most of the churches, mosques and synagogues in the states seem to be closed to the public. The biggest thing that I noticed is the lack of pictures. In the churches we had seen, there were always pictures, statues and other significant relics. The mosque did have words in Arabic but the decor was some of the most beautiful and color mosaics that I had ever seen. I also could not get over how light and airy the mosque felt in comparison to the gloomy and dark churches.

Great Paris Mosque

We would have gone into the prayer room, but we could see that there was a service being conducted so we quietly left the mosque in peace.





Before we left, I was able to snap some beautiful pictures of the mosque including the cloister just before entering the prayer room and of the mosaics that cover the walls.

Mosaic - Great Paris Mosque

Outside of the prayer room - Great Paris Mosque

Great Paris Mosque

Minaret - Great Paris Mosque

While Snoopy was contemplating our next move, I was looking at the minaret just outside the great mosque. Minarets serve multiple purposes for a mosque. One of the purposes is the notable call to prayer. The most simple simple minarets provide a shaft to the gallery where either a man or a speaker is placed. The call to prayer happens five times a day: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night. Minarets also provide a natural ventilation by providing hot air a place to escape. Either way, the mosque was beautiful and the people were gracious and friendly.

Of course, when I found a pigeon crossing at the crosswalk, I had to take a picture of him too.

The next place we ventured to was only a few blocks away from the Great Paris Mosque and was even in a famous movie! Saint-Sulpice is only slightly smaller than the Notre Dame and remains the second largest church in Paris.

Saint Sulpice

The Saint-Sulpice is actually the second structure to stand on this site and this one was completed in 1732.

The Da Vinci Code featured the Saint-Sulpice when Silas (the monk) goes in search of the keystone and breaks the tile near the altar only to find a decoy. The "Rose Line" that was spoken of in the movie does not actually exist inside the church.

Saint-Sulpice

Fountain in front of Saint-Sulpice

Fountain in front of Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Germain des Pres

Walking from the Great Paris Mosque, we had one more stop before we had our grand finale at the Louvre. Snoopy and I meandered through the busy Parisian streets over to Saint-Germain des Pres. The Abbey was founded in the 6th century and remains the oldest church in Paris. The social elite would attend services here and the lower class would stand outside the church to see the who's who coming and going.

As with most churches in Paris, Saint-Germain des Pres has a turbulent history of being plundered, destroyed by fire, and being re-built.

We went inside to check it out. Based on the warm temperature and the fresh smell of myrrh, it was obvious that services had just ended. We did not want to be disrespectful to the faithful who remained in silent prayer.

Cobblestones in front of Saint-Germain des Pres

Finally, our last stop of the day was to visit the Louvre. We hightailed it to the nearest metro station and hopped out at the Louvre stop. It felt like we were being herded by cattle as we walked across the street and through the buildings until through the opening we could see the great glass pyramid.

The pyramid wasn't quite as big as I expected, but it was still a sight to see. Surrounding the glass pyramid is the Louvre which was probably the biggest structure I had ever seen. I was amazed as I tried to find the end of the building! The Louvre has three stories and is 652,300 square feet. It contains about 35,000 pieces of art. Arriving there at 7:00pm with only two hours to conquer, we knew we would not see it all but we would make an honest attempt to see as much as we could.

Pyramid in front of the Louvre

The Louvre

View from the courtyard in front of the Louvre

The Lourve - it is probably impossible to get the entire Louvre in one picture

Winged Victory - circa 190 BC

We were power-walking through the Louvre, and Snoopy had the guide of the sections and trying to decipher the top things to see. Some of the art I was able to see and some had too many people in front of it. If it was not something that I absolutely had to get a picture of, then I tried to just look and move on. We did not have a lot of time.

Not surprisingly, most of the things we saw were items that I had seen from my art history class and had been educated about by one of my best friends who sat with me during my one and only art history class. I was proud when I was able to identify Etruscan as opposed to Roman artwork.

There were entire halls dedicated to paintings that varied between great and small. There were ceilings that were painted with as much detail as some of the artwork we were looking at. It was very amazing to see the years on some of the artwork with some dating as far back as 2000 B.C.

My favorite were the rows of Greek, Roman amd Etruscan statues as well as the Ancient Egyptian art.

The Mona Lisa

We finally found the Leonardo Da Vinci room that contained the Mona Lisa. I had been told that the Mona Lisa was smaller than I would think but it was about the size that I had expected. The Mona Lisa rests behind protective glass and always behind an excited crowd of people with their cameras out.

Also in the room were some of the most grand wall paintings I had ever seen. It was hard to imagine the work that one artist would put into each piece of art.

Venus de Milo

Hammurabi's Code

Hammurabi's Code

We didn't actually finish going through our top list of what to see in the Louvre but we were at peace with that. Some people can spend weeks at the Louvre and then they might see everything. There was no doubt that we did not appreciate every article in the museum, but it was overwhelming.

As we were herded back outside of the Louvre, we sat down for a few minutes to gaze at the Eiffel Tower. Snoopy looked at his clock and suggested that we go see it that night. We hopped on to the nearest Metro and took it to the Eiffel Tower stop. When we saw the line, we realized that we would not be able to go up and enjoy the view. I asked that we come back another day so that we would not be at the top and forced to go back down. I nearly cried because of how the tower sparkled late at night. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was Paris. Simply Paris.