Day 31 Visiting the BIG 3 in Paris

 11 January 2023 

Paris Day 2!!!

 Who can sleep late, if you've got so much to see??? The streets of Paris were calling!!

Luckily it was dry today and the girls dressed in their long-planned-for Paris outfitts.. They were all set to take cute photo's at prominant landmarks. 

We were using Nina's day 2  itinerary as our guide - starting point Il de la Cite. The litlle island in the middle of River Seine, is home to Notre Dame Cathedral (under construction since the devastating fire in 2019). The very ambitious project to rebuild the cathedral by using traditional woodcrafting skills and ancient stone maisonary crafts, is hoped to be done in December 2024....unfortunately not in time for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.

We meandered around the Notre Dame, over the Pont de l'Archevese (the narrowest roadbridge in Paris) to the SORBONNE district. The search was on!! Pastries and books! We read that no visit to Paris is complete, without a visit to the Shakespear and Co Bookshop and Cafe Odette.

Unfortunately, Cafe Odette was not open, but Shakespear and Co did not dissappoint! This English language bookshop was founded by George Whittman(and American) in 1951 at Kilometer, Zero (the point where all roads in France begins). It quickly became the centre of expat literaly life in Paris. In George's attitude of creating a community, more than 30 000 young travelling writers have stayed overnight in the bookstore. (benches during the day, beds at night, amongste the shelves!!) He named his guests 'tumbleweeds'. In 2002 his daughter Sylvia, took over the business and is still in charge today. We had such a special time, indulding our sences in this crookety little book store - creeky floorboards, rickety wooden stairs and the smell of books....Theron family content!!

Our legs could not carry us any furter, unless they were energised by a french patisserie...We followed Nina's directions to a little street bench opposite the Concergerie, the 14th century royal palace and prison. Here we made a propper Paris-picnick.

Our French pastries accompanied  with South-African hot-flask redbush tea. Yummie!! We were looking out for our next landmark, but totally not saw it, untill we were standing right underneath it: The Tour de l'Horlage (Oldest clock in Paris - 1370)

 Up untill this moment, the streets were still pretty devoit of other tourists - must have had something to do with the temperatures...but small groups were starting to trickle down our quiet picnik-bench street. We still had half an hour left before our booked time at the Saint Chapelle church, so we made a quick stop inside the Concergerie. This building is one of the oldest remains of the Palais de la Cite, residence and seat of power of the kings of France in the Middle Ages. At the end of the 14th centurary it changed from residence to prison - holding it's most famous inmate - Marie Antoinette during the revolution years (She ws detained here from 2nd of August to 16th October 1793, whereupon she was executed on at the Palace de Condcorde...the square where we started our Paris-day-1 walking tour)

Enough of the gruseome history...we carried on to the entrance to one of the most visited sites in Paris: the sweet illuminous Sainte Chapelle. The 1131 stainded glass windows did it's nick-name justice: The jewelry box. We were absolutely mesmerized with this beautiful chapel. The recent years restauration of the windows took 7 years and was completed in 2015. We had to tear ourselves away from this magical room.

Time for a late lunch!! Nowhere more apt that a little sit -down on the green garden chairs of the Luxenbourg Gardens, with a view of the Luxenbourg Palais. Seemingly a popular spot with the Prarisian locals too. In 2022 6,2 million peeps visited this 25 ha city gardens...and we were 6 of them!! The sun was out, but not hot, still we enjoyed the hour or so of resting our feet! We still had a few stops to be made, before the end of day 2.

Our next stretch took us through the Pantheon. Here we were mesmerized by the Leon Fauccalt's pendulum. An 28kg brass spheer, suspended from the roof on a 67m steelwire. This experiment proofs that the spheer stand still, but the earth is moving...

Now for the much anticipated visit to the Louvre on the right bank of the Seine. We did not have to que up, since our Paris fast-pass took us right to the door!! So let the big exploration of the 39 000 objects in 8 curatorial departments, streatching over 72 000m² begin!!The Louvre opened it;s doors in 1793 and are still welcoming millions of visitors every year (highest number of visitors in 2018...10.1 million!!)  Works on display span from pre-historic ages to the 19th century.

For the rest of the afternoon we walked and marvelled and read and walked and marvelled and walked some more.... (Nina recorded and 8km walk inside the museum!) We started with the big staircase leading up to the Egyptian department. The wide-spread-winged Venus de Milo welcomed us into the most visited and largest musuem on earth. Advise we got, was to earmark our must-see-highlights, and be purposefull to find them. This ws a bit easier said than done, but but mid-afternoon we were successful in finding the small Mona Lisa at the end of a very long winding que. Most people report back that they were underwhelmed by the artwork. For me.... I was blown away!! I know the painting was not massive, but the historical beauty of the almost-but-not-smiling Lisa just warmed my heart. I will defo go back to pay her another visit, if I ever get another chance . 

Our other favorite part was visiting the halls of the Imperssionists (19th century). The finer brushwork and lighter lines of Monet and Manet, Degas en Renoir told the stories of the times gone by. I wanted to linger, but we were moving onto the Napoleon III apartments. (So called after Louis Napolion comissioned the extention of the Lourve in 1852) It was a 'trek' over to 'the other side'... Everyone was now h-angry and footsore, BUT we still had to get ourselves back to the underground line that would take us back to our accommodation. 

   

I actually had one last item on my tick-list. As dusk was settling, neadless to say, I was not the popular tour-leader anymore.... It ws a great relief, when I eventually dragged the clan into the courtyard of the Palais Royale. Our eyes could not really fathem what we saw there... I can tell you though, it was just the best ending to a long, but amazing day in Paris!!

                                            Colones de Buren (in Palais Royale)