Paris Day Two

Day two started off a little rough.  Our camera battery had died the night before and our extra battery that we brought (just in case) was actually dead.  So, Hyrum set off early Tuesday morning in search of a charger for our camera.  Two hours and €30 later he came back to the hotel with a charger...I was still in bed asleep.  I got in the shower to get ready for the day and when I came out Hyrum had set out the most wonderful birthday breakfast anyone could ever ask for.  He had bagettes with brie and mandarin oranges and chocolate croissants.  What a way to celebrate turning 34 years old.  In Paris with the man I love.  How did I get so lucky?

My birthday breakfast, did I forget to mention he brought me fresh flowers too?

We started our day at Notre-Dame Cathedral.  They broke ground for this Cathedral in 1163 AD and held it's dedicatory Mass in 1345 AD.  It must have been so hard for the early masons to spend so much time working on a Cathedral that they knew they would never see completed.  The gargoyles were fun to look at, it's interesting to imagine what the carvers were thinking as they made those strange looking creatures that were meant to adorn their Cathedral.

One of the rose windows inside Notre-Dame.  This particular window is the only remaining window in the church with original glass.

We were very lucky to have such beautiful weather.  It was also nice to have all the flowers and trees with new leaves in the gardens.  The whole city was fresh and green.

The windows of Sainte-Chapelle.  When you walk into Sainte-Chapelle you enter on the ground level into a small room.  You look around and think, well I guess this is an interesting Cathedral.  Then you notice a small sign directing you up some very narrow winding stairs.  When you come out at the top of the stairs...BOOM, this amazing room hits you.  The light coming through these windows is incredible.  Everywhere you look you see light and color and height.  You can't stop turning in circles to be sure you have seen all the windows.  This Cathedral was built to display the "crown of thorns" worn by Christ at his crucifixion.  An interesting bit of information, the relic that was to be displayed cost FOUR times as much as it cost to build the Cathedral.

Our next stop was the Conciergerie, the famous prison that housed those destined for the guillotine.  This was the "ladies courtyard" where female prisoners were allowed to get some fresh air.  Those are the same spikes that Marie-Antoinette would have looked up and seen.

 The Orsay museum was not originally on our list of "must sees" in Paris because neither Hyrum nor I particularly enjoy impressionist painting but, as Rick Steves puts it, "If you like Impressionism, visit this museum.  If you don't like Impressionism, visit this museum."  This museum is housed in what once was the train station for Paris, so just walking around in this building was worth our time, all though we ended up really enjoying the artwork as well.

Dance at the Moulin de la Galette by Renoir

My favorite piece at the museum was La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans by Degas.  I remember learning of this sculpture in my Humanities class and I loved it for the simplicity of the pose and look on her face. 

Unfortunately the museum was under renovation and so we missed out on seeing Van Gogh but we did see Monet, Manet, Cézanne, Rousseau and Gauguin.  I highly recommend brushing up on your art history before a visit to Paris, it truly makes the entire experience more meaningful.

The weather turned rainy and made for a sloshy walk around rue Cler.  This pedestrian only street is lined with shops for everyday Parisian living.  The essentials: wine, cheese, chocolate and bread!  The mixture of smells as you walk down this street is truly an experience.

We got sidetracked on our walk through the Jewish quarter.  A man came up to us and told us we had to eat one of his falafels, that they are the best falafels in the whole world.  There were newspaper clippings on the outside of the restaurant claiming they were the best falafels, so we gave it a shot.  Mmmmm, I will agree with the New York Times, really the best falafels!

The Pompidou museum was closed when we got there but the outside architecture is almost as famous as the art inside the building, so we took a picture.

The altar of Notre-Dame at night.  Oma gave me some money for my birthday and told me to spend it on something I wouldn't normally get for myself.  As we walked around Notre-Dame that morning I noticed there would be an organ concert that night.  The tickets were kind of pricey but I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday money than sitting inside a 700 year old Cathedral listening to organ music.  What a treat!

A picture of the organ situated in front of a rose window.  Even at night the windows were beautiful.

It was pretty late when the concert was over but I just had to see the Eiffel Tower one more time at night.  

Day two of our trip was busy and full of memorable experiences.  I think 34 will be a pretty good age for me, it sure started off wonderful.