Paris, Day 5

Well, after reading the comments I see we are catching some flack for our eating discretions… J So, you’ll be happy to know that we have only eaten at three “American” places so far. KFC, Burger King (this was all Jenni, and as you’ve read before we didn’t actually eat that food—I tried with no success), and of course (I know, I know) McDonalds (a quarter pounder with cheese really does taste just the same, even when you are paying 4 quin for it—or about $8). The rest of our meals have been at local places, including sausages (hot dogs on French bread) and French fries! And before Jenni slaps me, the other two times were all me! :-)

That being said, some of London’s local food was a bit…. unappealing. However, the sandwiches which you can pick up at any little store (pre-packaged) were great! End of that. :-)

Today, we started off (a la the Metro from Porte d’Italie) at the Place de la Concorde—Paris’s largest square, and the site where a guillotine was built to execute King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (there is now an obelisk on that site). From there, we headed into the Jardin des Tuileries, which are the gardens which lead up to the Louvre. These were amazing, with dozens of statues, ponds, and places to sit and enjoy the beautiful weather.

From there, we headed across the Seine to the Musee d’Orsay. This is an old train station, which has been turned into an art gallery. Among the more famous works housed here are: Degas’s tiny ballerinas, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and many, many more paintings and sculptures. After the museum we sat down at a café beside the Seine and had a couple of delicious tuna salad sandwiches with eggs and tomatoes on French bread; belle!

After lunch we strolled along the Seine via the “ille de la cite” to the Pont Neuf, where we cross over to the island in the middle of the river which is one of the oldest parts of the city. There we went to La Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette among others were imprisoned) which dates back to the 12^th century, and Sainte-Chapelle, which was built by Louis IX in the 13^th century to house relics brought back during the Crusades which include a crown of thorns thought to be the one worn by Christ. La Conciergerie was the center of the Revolution, and became a site that invoked terror for anyone of the upper class during that time. (A point to note about this, go to La Conciergerie first; then decide whether you want to go to Sainte-Chapelle—you must pass through a security check for it because it is inside the Palais de Justice which is a police station and a courthouse.)

From there, it is a short walk to Notre Dame (the hunchback was on holiday…;-) ), where we spent a couple of hours. The cathedral is free, and packed (including outside with beggars who constantly ask “do you speak English?”). The cathedral is beautiful, and is still a working Catholic Church. One of the most interesting things to me was the modern confession booths, which were enclosed by soundproof glass (so you could see who was inside) and included a TV w/DVD player and a computer! (Not sure if you were supposed to bring in a video of your sins so you didn’t have to recite them? Or maybe you can email them? :-D) A short (ha!) climb up the spiral staircase of 400+ stairs will bring you to the top of one of the towers; this does cost €7 (Euro’s), but is definitely worth it.

As you can imagine, we were a bit…what’s the word?...Exhausted? So, we headed to the nearest Metro station and went back to the hotel. While Jenni took a snap (not fair right?), I headed up the street to find a café l’internet.

Finally, once I had found the internet and returned, we headed out for some dinner at a restaurant near the hotel (not an American one…an Italian one—only thing open!).

For now, Au revoir!

P.S. Sorry there are so few pictures, but the upload speeds are pretty slow here, and I am paying by the ¼ hr! Look for more when we hit Rome, as that B&B has free wifi (according to there website anyway!)