Paris: Incroyable

Before I headed to Paris I had always heard people murmur in low voices about the city and how wonderful, even magical, it is. Other people, in on the secret, would murmur back, "Oui, oui - Paris." I never understood this. I thought, yes I really want to go and yes it's such an iconic, historic city, but I don't know why I'll come away thinking of it the way the murmurers do. Yet come away with that perspective on Paris' magic I did. It was a whirlwind couple days, interrupted in the middle (wonderfully) by a day trip to Versailles and a three-day excursion through the Loire Valley.

After some terrible difficulties with travel I finally arrived and made my way from Charles de Gaulle to the local area of my hotel. Immediately I was greeted by the Notre Dame as soon as I stepped out of the metro system. I could not have asked for a more impressive, iconic greeting welcoming me to the city of Paris. As it turned out, Hotel Henri IV was ideally located on the Isle of Cité at the very heart of the city. My first day was spent wandering the city. This was a (great) recommendation when I went to Venice but not one I would advise anyone in London. In Paris it worked out well, though I did not expect it to. My feet were in pain (actually my feet were in a great deal of pain by the end of my time in Paris). I walked through and around Notre Dame, went through the Tuileries Gardens/Park, by the Louvre, took in the vistas of the city, saw the Eiffel Tower at a distance, and walked around the Arc de Triomphe. It was a good start, especially on a day when I was tired. Dinner that night was a sandwich from a local stand that I frequented often during my stays for wonderful sandwiches, pommes frites, and crepes. A few more pictures from the day follow:

My second day was up early to take a more detailed tour of Notre Dame. This effort first meant taking more time in the cathedral itself. It was wonderful to explore, but nothing would compare to my first visit inside on my first day when I actually witnessed the end of a communion service and heard the organ place a gorgeous, moving recessional. After looking through the inside of the cathedral, I waited in the pouring rain for quite a long time for the opportunity to ascend up to the tops of the towers and walk the bridge between them. It was a good experience, I was glad I did it, but it was rather miserable weather for it and honestly the views weren't so great from a photography perspective (especially compared to later opportunities). Notre Dame itself, though, is truly exceptional, and it's easy to understand how it stands out even compared against so many other amazing cathedrals.

This was also the day when I wandered trying to do various activities that I ultimately ended up unable to do. I tried to visit the Rodin museum but it was closed. I also tried to tour the opera house but the house was dark for various reasons so I figured it wasn't worth it. My day did include a tour up Montmarte to Sacre Coeur, however, which was really nice because it was a different part of the city. Not my scene so I didn't stay long, but Sacre Coeur was beautiful and completely different from Notre Dame. The vista out over the city was also quite impressive although few monuments are visible. I did run into quite a bit of trouble with people trying to take my money on the way down, though. More of a problem in Paris than anywhere else I've ever been. It was on the way back from Montmarte that I stopped by the opera and took some exterior photos. Before stopping by the Pantheon, which was under heavy construction so I decided not to go inside.

The conclusion of this busy day was a trip to, around, and up the Eiffel Tower. Some friends recommended not to do it because it's not "worth it." While I respect that opinion, I feel like it's the sort of thing I had to do once, while I was in Paris, and I did appreciate the magic of seeing the sunset over Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Indeed, I stayed up there quite a bit longer than I might otherwise have done on account of wanting to be up there when it was day, dusk, and then dark. I got some good shots from each stage (first, second, and top) but mostly during the day. My night photography didn't come out, probably because of the elevation, and simply didn't compare with the night photography I took from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. I walked as much of the Tower as it was possible to do (to the second level - you have (basically) to take an elevator to the top). The thing that struck me most, especially reading the stories from the time period, was how impressive a tower it still is and how mind-blowing it must have been to the late-19th century viewers who first witnessed it when it was built.

Oops... He got inside... 

My third day was largely taken up by my visit to Versailles, which I picked to do that day because the Louvre and several other museums were closed. That will be in a separate post because it's a different geographical location and so much a place of its own. Still, before I headed over there I had the opportunity to visit the opera, with the lights up on the house this time, so I actually toured the inside of the building. I would love to see a production there, sometime, but it was great to just be there. As a fan of the Phantom of the Opera (what got me started on my journey toward my love of real opera), which takes place in the Palais Garnier, it was kind of like visiting some sort of pilgrimage site. In any case, the house itself is exquisite as an architectural masterpiece, both in the auditorium and throughout (and outside). It's also just great as a lover of opera to tour a variety of houses and note the differences (for instance comparing against the Coliseum and the Royal Opera in London, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Budapest opera house, and U.S. venues.

If this were the Phantom of the Opera, that sucker would be comin' down

After returning from Versailles I made the journey to the top of the Arc de Triomphe at night, supposedly a "must-do." It was great to see things up there (I listened to the French aria on which I'm working while I was up there) and feel the Parisian air (quite brisk, at this time). I mostly took the opportunity, though, to take a plethora of pictures of the Parisian skyline, especially focusing on the Eiffel Tower, trying to see if I could get artful shots, not just touristy ones. I'd like to say I succeeded.

The final day of my first stay in Paris (I would return for less than 24 hours after my trip to the Loire Valley (which was great because it allowed me to cram in a few more things) emphasized museums. I naturally don't have a lot of photography from this. Though I used to take more photography in museums that allow non-flash photography, I've realized that it rarely comes out very well and that I should just focus on enjoying the museum. I will thus throw in here the photos I have and otherwise describe my experiences and reactions in text.

My first stop was the Orsay, a heaven of 19th and 20th century painting, particularly in Impressionist and post-Impressionist styles. It was here that I made the discovery that, while I still consider Monet one of the most impressive masters in the history of art (something about which I am learning more and more but in which I have no formal training), Pissarro is the most striking of the Impressionists for me. The museum used to be a train station, which is a great setting, and as Wikipedia notes, contains works Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to be in the presence of such masters, and I really do feel it improved my growing knowledge of art history.

The walk over to the Orangerie was quite pleasant, although a woman tried the old, "I found a gold ring" trick on me, along the way. It seems this is the lock area for the city, where all the couples have attached their locks and thrown the key into the Seine. Nevertheless, once I arrived at the Orangerie I was surprised to discover just how small it is. I had been warned of this, but really the main attraction here is the two rooms of Monet's waterlilies (which are much bigger than I realized). There are some related paintings on the lower floor from approximately the same time period, but these paled somewhat in comparison to the collection at the Orsay I had just seen. I was in luck, though, because a temporary exhibition on Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo was housed on the lower floor. Because of my study of Spanish I've read and heard a lot about these somewhat enigmatic artists. The exhibit was very well designed and there are truly some famous pictures there, especially ones of Frida (many of them self-portraits). I took a couple tours through the waterlilies just because they're such seminal works, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise to have this special exhibit available.

The Louvre was the end of the day (for many hours - something like 5 hours in total), largely because this was one of the days that it has extended hours so it made the most sense to do it then, when other museums had already closed. Now they say the Louvre is impossible to do in a day, or in a week, really. I came in armed with this knowledge, but wanted to be as comprehensive as possible, hoping that one day I will return. I also wanted to focus on art because I've had some exposure to artifacts from the British Museum (not that I ever tire of that kind of thing). This meant I was mostly focused in the Denon Wing of the museum, one of its three major wings. The bulk of what I saw was therefore Spanish, Italian, and Northern European sculptures from ~11th century to ~19th century. Then there were some artifacts, mostly Etruscan, Roman, and Greek, though I didn't see everything there was to see from those cultures and I also dipped into Middle Eastern and Arabic regions. Finally, I spent the bulk of my time on Denon's top floor, seeing 13th-18th century Italian paintings as well as Spanish paintings.

It was here, on Denon's top floor, that I had my contact with the art of Leonardo da Vinci. It really was amazing seeing so much of his masterful yet relatively small body of work. I had two major reactions. The first was that I actually preferred his St. John the Baptist to the Mona Lisa, which I had a bit of a scare about because I thought they might have been closing the room. The second observation was that it's no wonder people find the Mona Lisa to be "small" or "smaller than expected" because they have it mounted on a massive wall of stone, all on its own - a completely unnatural way to hang a portrait (because really, how big could a portrait be?). Still, it was great to see that painting, almost certainly the most famous in the world, and to see his other work. I was later informed that there was a remarkable painting of Francois Premier in the same room, which I do recall seeing, but I did not study it as much as I would have had I know he would be such a central character in the Loire Valley. I spent the rest of my time in the Museum traveling to the highlights, such as Hammurabi's Code, winged bulls not unlike those in the British Museum, the statue of Ramesses II, and paintings by Dutch masters including Vermeer. I had already seen Michaelangelo's The Dying Slave and Canova's Psyche and Cupid. Finally, I also toured around some of the structure itself, seeing the medieval moat that is a part of the foundation and, of course, the inverted pyramid, which I was amused to note lines up pretty perfectly now with the Apple logo of the Apple store across the way and, of course, Starbucks is just down the hall (thanks for the wifi, Howard Schultz).

Upon returning to my hotel that evening my feet were quite literally black, yellow, and red, and hurt more than any time in my life, including intense periods of ski racing with ground out boots two sizes to small. Still, Id done all the major things I would've kicked myself for not doing, and then some. Now at this point I got up early the next day and spent my time in the Loire Valley, which will be in a separate post, after Versailles. But I did have the evening when I returned from that trip and the next day before my afternoon flight to explore a little more. In this short interval I went to the Rodin Museum (also something I was warned against, and an opinion I respect, but really, really glad I went), and the Cimetière Père-Lachaise. The Rodin museum is fascinating. His style is so notable, and it's amazing how almost everything he did is incorporated in The Gates of Hell. Of course The Thinker is remarkable, but pretty much all the statues were fascinating to see. I paid particular attention to Celle qui fut la belle heaulmiére because of the somewhat unusual reference to the figure in Stan Rogers' Lies.

Cimetière Père-Lachaise was great to walk around in. Beautiful, haunting, and a great photo opportunity. I certainly would love to spend more time there and really hunt for the graves of famous people like Rossini, Maria Callas, and Pissarro. I did, however, see Oscar Wilde's grave. As a great fan of the famous writer, this was really quite the experience, even if it has to be protected against vandalism (by the family - I did not know he has descendants or family).

Of course there are plenty of things I could still do in Paris, not to mention the rest of France. And, as people have often said to me, one of the amazing things about Paris is simply being in the city and almost living there. I would love to do more of that, especially now that I do have so much of the touristy stuff out of the way. Still, one more thing I got to do before I left was take some pictures of Notre Dame at night. They didn't come out as wonderfully as I expected, but it was still great to book end my experiences with Notre Dame. And when someone asks about Paris, I can now say, in a hushed voice, "Ahhh, oui, Paris."