TicTacTalks ForumPosted by Milan
October 7, 2006 - 11:28PM cet
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Email : asanovicmilan@yahoo.com
With an immediate view of Jardin du Luxembourg a public park and the largest in the city we had a perfect starter to our archeological discovery.
Luxemburg is the garden of the French Senate which itself is housed in the gardens…
…surrounding the pond is a series of statues of former French queens (how appropriate as I was going to meet Nicolas & Antoine that night!) ;-) LMAO
I have to admit that this setting made for one of the most memorable park walks I ever had – I must have gotten that Paris romance bug by then ;-)
Next up was a fantastic party night with my Parisian friends but that’s a whole other part ;-) You know what they say I am saving best for last!!!
The next morning we walked down Saint Michele Blvd. towards the Seine up to the Metro station…
...over the Pont Saint Michele …
…yup we really liked this bridge…
… destination the mighty Notre Dame de Paris.
No wonder it is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture it is absolutely breathtaking with grandiose presence & ancient attention to detail that my tiny camera was just unable to capture.
We even made a pit stop to a near by Archeological Crypt.
Next up was nearby Hotel de Ville which is French for City Hall :-)
This huge ornate structure serves multiple functions, housing the local administration as well since 1977, the Mayor of Paris, also it is a venue for large receptions (which was the case this time as well).
…ahh Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ou la mort! ;-)
We spent the next few hours enjoying the beauty of Le Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements) a trendy Right Bank district. With large gay and Jewish populations it is a very culturally open place that some of you say my-ponytailed-self would fit in nicely (Right Wilson!) ;-)
Continuing to Les Halles (1st arrondissement) It is named for the large central wholesale marketplace, which was demolished in 1971, & replaced with an underground modern shopping precinct, the Forum des Halles.
Right next to it is majestic church Église Saint-Eustache.
Situated at the entrance to Paris’ ancient markets (Les Halles) and the beginning of the famous rue Montorgueuil, the Eglise de Saint-Eustache is another Parisian gothic gem.
Being that it was Saturday in Paris of course we crashed a wedding …
…it was a pleasure to join in the festivities that thoughts of wedding crossed our mind …
….Yeah right!
Although that didn’t go well in front of the chapel of the innocents! ;-)
Next up was what I thought was the Bourse, but actually it was the stunning Beaubourg (Museum of Contemporary Arts), which should tell you something about my knowledge of French & reading maps ;-)
After quick coffee break we had a quick peek at the majestic & huge west side of Louvre.
North of the Louvre stands the Palais-Royal. It contains a palace and garden screened with columns ….
…since 1986 containing Daniel Buren's site-specific art piece (Buren's Columns- those various height columns in the ground - integrating contemporary art with historic buildings) …
& faces the Place du Palais-Royal. A truly fantastic place to take a moment, relax & reflect in this ancient surroundings.
After a little pause & some excellent Chocolate boutiques along the Avenue L’Opera we were finally reached the end of destination – Palais Garnier. Paris Opera house is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time. It was built in Neo-baroque style, it is the thirteenth theatre to house the Paris Opera since it was founded by Louis XIV in 1669.
L'Opéra (9th arrondissement) is a home to the capital's densest concentration of both department stores and offices. A few examples are the Printemps and Galeries Lafayette which I would rather classify under shopping if it wasn’t placed in such majestic setting.
After the 8th hour walk through Paris we finally made it to see Place Vendome.
Famous for its fashionable and ultra deluxe hotels (Hotel Ritz and Hôtel de Vendôme), but to me even more for its amazing watch & jewelry boutiques.
Including many famous fashion designers who have their salons in this grand square.
Unfortunately we were to beat to further explore the particular Palace Vendome points of interests so we decided another more focused future exploration visit is in order ;-) Although our feet were tired we had time to join in the Nicolas solidarity protest spanning down the Avenue L’Opera.
Feeling rejuvenated after speaking our mind ;-) we decided to stop by the Louvre – again. This time we checked out the beauty from both side – gorgeous!
Finally the famous yet controversial Louvre Pyramid which covers the Louvre entresol and forms part of the new entrance into the museum.
I was surprised as it looked quite small compared to the surrounding structure, but really enjoyed walking past it @ night.
Opposite the Louvre is the Arc de Tromphe du Carrousel and in the background Jardin des Tuileries.
The Louvre Museum is definitely one of the largest, oldest, most important & famous in the world. Not going to lie to you we didn’t even attempt to “breach the wave” of weekend tourists & attempt touring this thing unless we had at least few days to spare.
Finally it was time for some R&R as well to catch up on some much deserved ZZZZ’s .
Continued in Part 3B >>>>
