Paris, Day 17: Les Jardins des Tuileries, Le Petit Palais and Le Louvre

Between walking around several major sites in class and visiting exhibitions in the Louvre, this class wins for the most amount of walking our group has done in one day.

We started the morning in class at Pont Neuf, then worked our way through Pont des Arts, Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, le Louvre, les Jardins des Tuileries, la Place de la Concorde, le Petit Palais, and le Grand Palais. We also stopped at the beginning of les Champs-Élysées to talk about l'Arc de Triomphe, but to the relief of our feet, we didn't walk down one of the longest roads in Paris.

Pont Neuf

Pont des Arts

Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois

Le Louvre

Les Jardins des Tuileries

Musée d'Orsay

Pont Alexandre III

Le Petit Palais

Like I had said earlier about Versailles, it's hard to imagine how large some of the museums and monuments are in Paris until you visit them in person.  Because it was my first visit to the Louvre, I decided to wander freely through the exhibitions to fully appreciate the museum--the imagination doesn't quite capture how rich and beautiful every corner of the Louvre is.

Also, there is so much to see that it would be a shame to ruin the spectacle by rushing through everything. I made sure to see the major artifacts and paintings--the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo,etc.--but for the most part, wandering was the best strategy. 



Coming back to the Louvre to see the exhibitions

I would have posted the picture I took of Mona Lisa, but someone else's green flash reflected off the protective glass, so there's a green speck on the picture

Paris, Day 15: Place de la Concorde and La Madeleine

On Monday, we went to the Place de la Concorde and La Madeleine, was originally a church built by Napoléon I dedicated to the glory of his army.

From the Place de la Concorde, you can see La Madeleine, l'Arc de Triomphe, the French National Assembly, the Louvre, and the Tuileries Gardens. The Place de la Concorde has a lot of history and I'm going to attempt to give you the highlights:

• The name of this place was not always Place de la Concorde. This was place was where the guillotine--the contraption responsible for beheading thousands of people during the French Revolution--once stood. The square earned its name as we know it today uears after the French Revolution in an effort to leave behind the bloody memory. In case you were wondering, the translation of "concorde" means friendship...
• The obelisk in the center of the Place de la Concorde was a gift from Egypt, not stolen (although Napoléon would take plenty of treasures from Egypt and bring them to Paris). The details of how the obelisk came to Paris are inscribed at its base--essentially it was brought on a barge from the Nile to the Seine. There were supposed to be two obélisks, but the process to bring in the first one was so arduous the second one was left behind.



Place de la Concorde

The lamp posts in Place de la Concorde are unique and only seen here. The double light fixture at the middle of each lamp post is supposed to look like a boat.

There are eight statues of ladies sitting in chairs bordering the Place de la Concorde, each one represents one of the major cities in France. The rumour is that there was a black veil on Strasbourg for a long time, because she is now part of Germany...

As far as La Madeleine goes, it was going to be converted into a train station, but the idea was dismissed. It still serves a church and a monument to Napoléon I and his army.



La Madeleine

If you look at this wax painting on the cupola, you can see Napoléon and his symbol, the falcon, on the bottom center.

Historical tidbits aside, it's hard to ignore the beautiful display windows passing by Chanel and Dior....

One last bit of history--the place where the Lumière brothers made the first movie is now a Gap Kids store...

We also stopped by Opéra Garnier and discussed the architecture outside, but I was already well-versed in its history from the tour last week.

Paris, Day 4: City Sight Seeing Tour and Angélina

On Day 4, our professor took us to three different cathédrales: Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, the only Roman style church left in Paris; St. Severin, a Gothic style cathedral; and Saint German des Près, another Gothic style cathedral. For the sake of easy identification, I have described each cathédrale in one specific style, but in actuality, each one is made up of a mix of various different architectural styles because of invasions and wars over the centuries.

The oldest tree in Paris is in front of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre

Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre

St. Severin

St. Germain des Près



After class and lunch, we went on a sight seeing tour of Paris on a Cityrama bus. Some of us managed to sit in front of the double-decker bus, on the second level. I won't really bother going into detail about the tour, since it's just more interesting to look at the pictures...

When we were looking for a place to eat lunch, we came across this goat. As small as this goat is, it's not a baby goat--unless I misunderstood the owner's explanation, she uses the goat to make dairy products... Now that's fresh food.

My first croque monsieur in Paris

We started facing the Opéra

I think this was a part of a palace Napoléan wanted to build, but ran out of funds, so the only trace of it is this pillar...

La Comédie Française

The Louvre. It started to rain during the tour, hence the Impressionist looking photo

I forget what this is... There's a carrousel in front of it that's not in the picture if that's interesting...

... The Panthéon? Clearly I didn't pay attention enough ...

... No idea. At least it's easy to identify it as un cathédrale ...

Les Deux Magots is one of the three main ex-pat cafés in Paris. Located on Boulevard St. Germain (?), Hemingway, Wilde, etc. would often come to the café for drinks and discussions

I don't remember the specific name of this plaza and the fountains, but the obelisk on the far right is a gift from Egypt. It's amazing how it was transferred up the Nile River, up the Seine, then placed in the square.

Les Champs-Elysées and L'Arc de Triomphe

The Louis Vuitton flagship on Champs Elysée

*It figures that I can remember a luxury store, but not important historical French monuments that I'll be studying...

Yes, I know what this is...

A view of Le Grand Palais et Le Petit Palais. There's a Cartier exhibit in the Grand Palais I want to visit.



I remembered reading in Paris My Sweet about Angélina and her famous hot chocolate, so naturally when one of our group study abroad advisors suggested us to go there after the tour, I was very determined to go. When we arrived at Angélina, we didn't have to wait that long for a table. I don't think it's uncommon for people to go to Angélina just for a cup of chocolat chaud and not an entire meal.

If you identify yourself as a chocoholic, you must order the hot chocolate. Once the chocolate touches your lips, you will never forget its light, silky, luxurious taste. It might be impossible to find a better hot chocolate anywhere else.