Jour Deux
On the second day, we slept in a little bit, and we made plans to eat out for breakfast. I felt like I wanted to take a little bit more time getting dressed and I actually combed my hair. We made our way out to eat and I sat near a fountain outside in the Saint Michel area of Paris which is otherwise known as the Latin Quarter. It is right next to La Sorbonne which is like the Harvard of France. It was funny because we took our food to a table which we thought was for the place we ordered, however, that particular fountain was the domain of another restaurant altogether and next thing we know this guy is yelling at us in French and we figured he was gesturing something along the lines of the universal hand signals for “Get outta my section and you can’t sit here!” So we moved. Bonjour Paris!
If You Only Have Four Days in Paris, You Do this Next
It was a bit of a trek to the Louvre which is ground zero or the be all end all of art history in the world and we were about to experience it. At the onset, and not being much of a visual artist, I was struck by the grand and ornate architecture and to my surprise, the modern glass pyramid’s entrance to the entire thing where you go below the street level via many escalators. Once inside, you realize you have entered caverns, upon caverns of football field sized areas filled with magnificent works of art. We were excited, but the walk burned off our breakfast and so while we wanted to get to it, we were hungry but curiosity ruled out and we would have to wait until lunch to eat.
I was most intrigued by the Revolutionary period in France, the paintings of the Napoleonic era, pottery, sculpture, and the Egyptian section. And Ronan, actually being an artist, couldn’t wait to see the Mona Lisa. I have to say the more interesting the time period in history, the more interesting the art. For example, many iconic pieces were made during WW2–why because the artists were passionate about their feelings and had strong opinions about life at the time that they were able to convey through their art. Here are a few pictures of my time here, there are more in the Gallery under that section, but here are a few highlights:
When we were finally ready to leave this art history haven, we went to the restaurant within the Louvre. I ordered vegetable soup and some more frites.
Pets and Plants of Paris, along with the Arc de Triomphe
This would also be our first time on Le Metro where we saw many vendors underground selling birds of many colors, cute little rabbits, and some stunning plants.
At one point my dad would attempt to pet the rabbits but would be swiftly refused by one of the workers. I also very much wanted to pet them, but I resisted the call. Once we made it to the metro we were a bit confused and out of sorts as to where and how to get there, but eventually, we would make it to the Arc de Triomphe. It was interesting to note that the artist, Christo had covered the famous landmark with cloth and ropes for a new outdoor, large-scale exhibition.
Lime App Scooter Shenanagins and Such
This feels kind of like a sponsor but there were scooters and bikes placed in certain areas throughout all the European cities, also they had little charging stations. This made getting around a lot easier when you had the app, however, I can’t ride a scooter, and it’s a bit embarrassing, my balance just shifts to nothingness when I get on that thing, but thankfully I can run pretty fast while Ronan and my dad were driving around, I was running and running after them.
Jour Trois
Today would be a day with a lot of action. The Louvre adventure from the day before wiped us out. I felt different when I woke up. There was a sense of enlightenment and awareness taking hold in me from soaking up all of the culture since the moment we got here. Like someone injected me with a massive amount of new knowledge to ponder and process. I was loving it. We decided to take the Bateaux Mouches, the famous boats that float along the River Seine to see the city from the water. Touristy, yes, but it really is a must when one is in Paris. Apparently, the Seine was a lot dirtier in years past and there have been efforts to clean and rehabilitate it, so I have to say it looked healthy and clear. Next stop, the ultimate tourist destination, La Tour Eiffel. Something funny happened on the way to La Tour Eiffel during our little bite to eat, a typical example of humanity–a young child kindly attempts to feed a pigeon some baguette and leaves, and then two moments later one of the restaurant owners kicks the pigeons and bread away in anger and disgust. Probably some metaphor can be made here, but I’m not sure.