“I Love Paris in the Springtime”
Yep, Cole Porter said it best. The end of my trip is fast approaching with only two full days left. I’m making the most of it, albeit alone now that Randy has left.
Let’s see, we arrived in Paris last Saturday. Mark had us join him as he went to various produce stands and markets to acquire food for that evening’s dinner. And what a dinner it was! As he’s done with my previous two visits, he hosted an incredible meal. It started with foie gras (which he purchased at a nearby foie gras shop….a shop that sells only that item!!!). That was followed by cold tomato soup with avacado, a main course of pork, salad, cheese, bread, and finally chocolate mousse. Not a bad way to start the Paris portion of the trip!
The next day we joined Mark on a trip near the Arche de Triumph, then separated from him and walked/shopped in le Marais. That night we ate at a lovely little restaurant on the Ille St-Louis (just around the corner). It was a prix fix meal and came with a delicious molten lava cake (which I’m already craving again).
We visited the Centre Pompidou on Monday (my second time, Randy’s first). By the end of the afternoon, however, we were both museumed out (the place is enormous). Unfortunately, this was Randy’s last night in Paris. We all got dinner from a place in le Marais, then Randy and I went for a late night walk – ultimately ending up getting a drink at the Bear’s Den (drinking outside overlooking the street scene).
Since Randy’s departure, I’ve been taking things more slowly. On Tuesday afternoon I visited le Defense (a 30+ story grand arch built in the late 1980’s). It’s a complete waste of time – don’t do it. The signs say there’s a “”panoramic view”….but all you get is the view in one direction….but you’re separated from the edge of the building by a tall 3 foot thick wall, then a “moat” type thing of a few feet, then another 3 foot wall. Basically, you can look straight out, but not around. Useless.
On Wednesday, I went to Vincennes Castle (or, Chateau des Vincennes in French). It’s a fortified castle built in the late 1350’s just outside of Paris. This was pretty cool. Unlike the Palace of Versailles (which is immaculate), this place is MUCH older and has had many lives. For a spell, it was once a prison (I even got to visit the cell of the Marquis de Sade).
Nowadays, it’s a historic landmark and you can explore the castle (the tallest in France, apparently) and the grounds. Unfortunately, the church building was having a new roof put on so I wasn’t able to enter it.
Today I visited the Catacombs. I’m probably getting some of this wrong but here’s what I could gather from the brochures: In the 1700’s, the city was having problems with over-crowding cemeteries. Bones were actually sticking out of the ground (I’m not sure why, but that’s what they said). Meanwhile, the city was excavating tunnels 60 meters under the city to obtain limestone to use in constructing buildings. What they did was take all of the bones from the city cemeteries and line the walls of miles of tunnels that flow underneath the city.
You enter at one subway stop and exit two subway stops later (the catacombs go below the subways and sewers…it’s very deep). And these tunnels are chock full of bones and skulls stacked in various formations. They’re literally lining the walls (and there’s no glass protecting you from touching them). It’s obviously very dark down there so my photos came out crappy (and you’re not allowed to use a flash). However, I did manage to get a few.
On that note – here are the Paris pictures!
First, one wall of the catacombs. Now imagine being 60 meters underground with low ceilings, no natural light, and dark nooks and corners. COOL! This is what you see.
And here is some French graffiti – found near le Defense.
Here’s a church near Forum des Halles (I’m sure I’d spell the church’s name incorrectly so I’m not even going to attempt).
You’ll find this statue (among many) inside the church.
Here is Chateau des Vincennes, amazing it’s nearly 700 years old.
Finally, a shot of a room inside the castle.
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I love the catacombs. Dank, creepy, and fascinating.
I see I leave and you go about having fun with out me. I wish I could have joined you for these other sites. The bones look cool. When you get back i want to do a photo montage of all the together pics we had people snap of us too.
Snarl, that is so damn cool – I effing love those pics.
Where the hell is my postcard?
. . . and here is the history professor. You are correct in your information about the catacombs . . . and the “church” that you took pics of at the “Forum des Halles” is “Saint-Eustache” . . . and best of all, I’m so glad you got to see Vincennes. It’s pretty terrific, eh? Did you also go to the zoo? The history behind the chateau is incredible. If you ever get to read the entire saga of the Three Musketeers (all five books), you’ll read about it and when it was a hunting lodge and a very exciting place to be. Enuf of being a history professor. I’m just happy you’re having a terrific time.