Today is Gwyn’s birthday! Our first full day in Paris promised to be a great one. We had an extended tour set up through our Viking ship to see famous Paris landmarks and visit the Palace of Versailles. We met our tour guide, Janice, in the hotel lobby meeting area. Our group had 27 people and we had a big luxury bus all to ourselves. Being Saturday morning at 9am, we were lucky that Parisians were not yet up nor out on the streets.
First stop, Eiffel Tower. Michele was so happy to finally see it in person! Apparently each time it gets painted the paint adds 6 tons in weight. Janice also said there are special pads designed in the tower’s feet that capture the weight of the tower so that it is “no heavier than a man sitting in a chair” in any one spot.
The Arc de Triomphe. In 1806, Napoleon signed an imperial decree ordering the erection of an arch in honor of himself and his Grande Armée.
A couture shop on the Champs d’lazy, as Rob calls it.
The Grand Palais built for the Universal Exposition of 1900. The building was designed to be a large-scale venue for official artistic events. A pediment on the building refers to this function with an inscription that reads, "a monument dedicated by the Republic to the glory of French art." Designed according to Beaux-Arts tastes, the building features ornate stone facades, glass vaults and period innovations that included iron and light steel framing and reinforced concrete.
The oldest monument in Paris, the Luxor Obelisk, is 3000 years old and a gift from Egypt. It is one of a pair, and its twin remains in Egypt.
Crossing the Seine. There are 37 bridges in Paris that cross the Seine.
St. Etienne du Mont church. There are more than 160 churches in Paris, but 80% of people don’t regularly go to church, which is a shame because the buildings are beautiful.
We stopped at a small park next to Notre Dame for 45-minutes on our own. The weather was very chilly this morning and both Gwyn and Michele underdressed. They found a souvenir shop across the street and bought a sweatshirt and hoodie. Then we got delicious strawberry crepes at a creperie. We got them to go since we had to be back on the bus.
After the highlights tour, we got on the beltway out of the city towards Versailles. The palace resides in the city of Versailles, about 10 miles southwest of Paris. We arrived in the parking area at 12:30. We were on our own until 3:15 when we would meet Janice for a guided tour of the inside of the palace. She gave us our garden tickets and we opted to catch lunch onsite at the very busy cafe. Despite the mob-scene, we got ham and cheese on baguettes with chips and soda. Rob muscled his way over to a table for four and we refueled for our Versailles visit. After lunch we went to the gardens.
The orangery parterre. Over 1,000 trees are here in numbered boxes. The trees are housed inside for the winter to protect them from the cold. Michele noticed that Versailles has the same spring weeds as in our yard.
Fountains.
The Grand Canal view in the distance. It is so vast it doesn’t even seem real. During the French Revolution the canal was filled in and used as a wheat field.
Rob raced over to the Neptune Fountain with just 20 minutes left before our tour meetup. Can you spot Michele in the picture walking up towards the palace?
Back with our group, we were allowed inside at 3:30. A second tour guide, Pernille, took half of the group to keep our group size small. We were warned that the palace sees 10+ million visitors a year and 30,000 visitors each day! It certainly was the case inside. Shoulder to shoulder crowded, stiflingly so. We’ve been using audio devices to hear our tour guides over the past week. It allowed our guide to transmit to us clearly even in a crowded room. We saw 20 rooms and learned the history of Louis the 14th, 15th, and 16th—all of whom lived there.
Louis XIII built a hunting lodge at Versailles in 1623. His successor, Louis XIV, expanded the château into a palace that went through several expansions in phases from 1661 to 1715. It was a favorite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles. This was continued by Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, who primarily made interior alterations to the palace. It is often said that Louis XIV built Versailles, Louis XV enjoyed Versailles, and Louis XVI paid for it (Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette met their end by guillotine during the French Revolution)!
Michele liked the Hall of Mirrors, completed in the early 18th century. The Hall of Mirrors’ 17 windows open in the direction of the park. On the opposite inside wall of the hall are 17 equally large mirrors that are composed of more than 350 individual mirror surfaces. The mirrors had an aesthetic function and also conveyed the king’s wealth. Mirror glass was an expensive luxury product in the 17th century and could only be produced with great effort.
We learned about Marie Antoinette, who lavishly spent money on herself (250 new dresses a year) while the French people starved. She did not travel to visit with people, and became despised by them. Here is a portrait of her and her children as well as her bedroom.
All the rooms were over the top even for the Rococo period.
We finished up the tour and drove back to the hotel, arriving at 6pm. On our way back we saw the “small” Statue of Liberty. Michele snapped this picture from the bus with Lady Liberty in the center and the Eiffel Tower in the background.
For dinner we walked next door to a cafe. We learned some of the quirks of ordering in European restaurants. Such as nothing may happen quickly. Typically the first greeting is to ask you for your entire order, not just what you want to drink or have for an appetizer. Request your salad and meal at the same time, if given the option. You have to request water for the table and fill your own glass. You do not tip waiters in France. You ask for the check/bill since lingering in cafes is the norm and encouraged. Everyone enjoyed their meals.
Here’s Gwyn enjoying her Brownie desert.
She even shared it with Roy.
Tomorrow we are on our own for the first time without a guided tour. We plan to attempt entry into the busy Notre Dame cathedral in the morning, then see how the day unfolds.
No comments:
Post a Comment