Saturday morning walk through Paris

Arenes de Lutece is a Roman amphitheater constructed in the 1st century AD. It is one of the longest ever built by the Romans, and it's estimated that it once held between 15,000 and 17,000 spectators. It would have originally been used for gladiator fights, and there is evidence that several animal holding cells were located in notches below parts of the seating area. Although significant portions of the arena have been lost over the centuries, what remains has been restored and now serves as a public park.


The best part of the walk, led by Professor Reuter and his Russian nuclear physicist friend Dimitri, was that we got to see many of the quaint backstreets of Paris. While the grand avenues and boulevards are great, it is on these small streets that you get closer to the French people and the true culture of Paris.


One of the great features of Paris is it's numerous sidewalk restaurants and cafes. They have these in London too, but with a more modern twist with metal chairs and bright lights. Places likes these seem stuck in a previous time, where life was slower and it was nothing to spend time eating outside enjoying each other's company. Late at night and early in the morning you can see the owners of restaurants and storekeepers sweeping up in front of their shops. They take such pride in the businesses they keep, and their hospitality is evident as you walk by.


On each trip I tend to be drawn to a certain theme when taking in pictures. In Cambridge, for example, it was bikes. In Paris it seems to be windows. There are so many old buildings that have so much character. Aside from being fascinating architectural features, windows are symbolic of the building's history. When you think about all of the people who looked out of them for hundreds of years...you try to imagine what they saw. What did the city look like to a person looking out a hundred years ago? There will be more window pictures coming up. I also liked this building in particular because of its texture - the peeling paint on the shutters and the varying colors of the stone blocks in the wall especially.


This is a courtyard at one of the Paris Universities. Norman and Dimitri told us that the French educational system is much different from education in England, and that there is a huge emphasis on math and science. This is one of the reasons that Dimitre lives in Paris as a nuclear physicist. In fact, on Sunday we passed a massive complex that was designed as a sort of science museum to teach the public and children from an early age about fundamental scientific principles.


The Pantheon in Paris is in the city's Latin Quarter. It is an example of Neoclassical architecture and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Originally it was a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, and since has also served as a famous burial site. Construction began in 1758 and, after delays due to financial difficulties, it was completed in 1789. Certain design flaws led to significant structural problems with the dome, and the iron reinforcements that help hold it up have started to corrode. Several measures have been taken over the years to stabilize the dome and ensure the safety of visitors below it. Among the famous people that rest here are Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Victor Hugo.


As we walked into the entrance to a park, we looked to the left and there was a bride and groom posing for a picture. It was really funny as half of our group stopped to take pictures of our own. What a great souvenir to remember how romantic Paris is.


This is the path that took us into the park that surrounds Luxembourg Palace. The bride and groom were up and to the right from where this picture was taken. It was so nice to finally see leaves on the trees - they haven't fully come out in London yet, only the blossoming trees. The interesting thing is, because different avenues were planted with different types of trees, some streets have all of their leaves out while others are still completely bare.


Luxembourg Palace is the seat of the French Senate. It was finished in 1631, and is surrounded by large gardens full of statues and fountains. Today the gardens are open as a public park, and there are lawn chairs for people to sit, read, and relax. And below, as promised, are pictures of more windows:





I was reading in the New York Times this fall about this unique public bike sharing program that Paris has implemented. All around the city there are these bike renting stations. The bikes are locked into a post, and released when you put a deposit in the machine. The bike is then yours for the day until you return it to any other nearby bike station. I'm pretty sure that you get your deposit back. The program has been well received, and the bikes are immensely popular. Indeed, we saw them all over the place. There are certain problems though - several of the bikes have been returned damaged, and many not returned at all. The article mentioned that the program was starting to run out of money, and planners are looking at ways to keep the service viable. There is at least one major east coast city in the US looking to follow this example and start a service like this of their own.


Like in London, musicians in Paris set up anywhere from the metro to public squares. We came across this accordion player in one of the squares. I was surprised at how early he was out playing - it must have been a little after 11 am. There weren't even that many people out on the streets yet. Usually you see musicians during rush hour and in the afternoons. Not that I'm complaining - it's nice to have music any time of the day!


A little further down from the accordion player was a couple out enjoying the nice weather. It was a little colder though on Saturday, not like Friday where we were roasting in the afternoon sun in the gardens at Versailles. I personally enjoyed the cool breeze during our walk.


I don't remember what this building was...I want to say it was a museum, but I couldn't find it when I did a search online. Maybe it's just a church. Either way, we saw it for the cute little garden in the back. There is a steel sculpture in the middle of some of the plants that was pretty interesting too.


Something I've noticed in London, that's even more apparent in France, is that there are a lot more older cars on the road than in the United States. In Paris there are tons of cars that I would place from the at least in the early 90s. Obviously not as old as this Mini Cooper in the picture, but still it is very noticeable. I think that the reason for this might be a more temperate climate (being from upstate NY, I personally am used to the salt used on the roads in the winter eating through cars and preventing them from lasting too long). Also, I think the European countries have less of that "disposable society" mindset that is so prevalent in the US.


This church is distinctly French. You can tell by looking at the large window over the front door. We learned in my "history through architecture" class that windows with that flame-like design in the windows are unique to French designs. There some examples of this in London, and they are much different from the straight rectangular windows used by the English.


I have a feeling that this is near where we would have dinner later in the day. This wasn't too far from Notre Dame Cathedral, which I know we were near at dinner. There were a lot of nice narrow little streets in this section that were full of shops and places to eat.

Fun and frustration on the Metro

The Metro is the subway system in Paris. Compared to London's Tube, it's a much more extensive system, less crowded, and filthy! There was a prominent smell of sewage in many parts, litter all over the place, and it was generally not clean looking. But, there was no way around it, so we were given 2-day passes to make our way around the city. After dinner Friday night was our first encounter. We went to the station just down the street from the restaurant, went down the stairs and through the stalls, and were immediately confused! So there we stood, against the wall with the big fold-out map of all of the different lines and stations. After a good minute of staring with little still little success at figuring out how to get back to the hotel, a nice young Frenchman stopped and asked if he could help. He apologized for his "crappy English" (which was far better than our French) and showed us which lines to take and where we had to transfer. We thanked him and went to the platform.

Once on the platform, we noticed some other major differences from the Tube in London. With the Tube, we are used to separate tunnels for each direction (with some exceptions - like the older district and circle lines have dual tracks and platforms on both sides of the tracks, and separate outside of the station. In Paris, the two tracks for each direction are side by side within one large tunnel. The trains are different too. The doors of the trains on the Tube all open automatically at each station. In Paris, you have to either push a button or pull up on a lever to open the door. One of the trains that we were on in Paris had no doors between each car - you could walk the entire length of the train with no doors. The cars were attached like the center of a bendy bus.

The worst part of the Metro - and the whole trip - was getting my wallet pick-pocketed on Sunday morning. We were starting the day with a walking tour of the Latin Quarter, among other areas, and needed to take the Metro to get to our starting point. I had put my pass in my wallet that morning, so I knew that I must have had my wallet when I entered the first station. We had been warned at the beginning of the semester in London that pick-pocketing is a big problem in European cities, and that it was better for guys to keep their wallets in their side pocket. I followed this advice and have never had a problem in London, but Paris does have a particularly bad reputation for this sort of crime. After we had transferred to another train, I was reaching for something and noticed things didn't feel right...that's when I noticed that my wallet wasn't in my pocket. I checked my other pockets and my messenger bag, and it was nowhere to be found. I knew that it was gone for good, and called home to get my card canceled. I wasn't thrilled, but I was determined not to let it ruin Paris. In the scheme of things, it wasn't that much cash, and my friends covered me for the rest of the weekend. The bank confirmed that the last time my card was used was when I had taken cash out of the ATM the day before. So that's my wonderful introduction to the Paris Metro!

First dinner in Paris

After we got out of the architecture museum, we were all starving and looked for a place to eat in the area. We assumed that this was a tourist area, seeing as we were right near the Eiffel Tower, but were too hungry to care. We found this nice place on a street corner that had outdoor seating. There were 5 of us: myself and Jessica, and our new friends Kayli and Sarah (who are our upstairs roommates in London - Sarah is the one the picture), and Diane. The food was really good and we had a great time. We would have an even better time later that night at an Irish bar down the street from our hotel!


After dinner we headed for the Metro (the Paris subway) to go back to the hotel. Not too far from the restaurant we came across this mess. Paris is known for the rows of beautiful trees that line both sides of its wide boulevards and avenues. Well, I guess in this case beauty comes at a price! All of the these trees seem to attract lots of birds, and where there are birds and cars together, we all know what happens. Usually this wouldn't phase me, but never in my life have I ever seen a car that has been bombed this badly! I just had to take a picture and share.

Cite de l'architecture & du patrimoine (architecture museum)

This was our last organized group stop on Friday. The museum was completely redone inside and reopened in 2007. The picture above is part of the permanent collection of French architectural casts from the 12th to 18th centuries. These casts wonderfully preserve samples of the country's best historic architecture all in one place where people can go see them together. After the destruction of WWI and II, these casts helped in the rebuilding process in instances where the originals were damaged or destroyed.


The museum also has an excellent collection of detailed architectural models. This one is of Notre Dame Cathedral. Upstairs there were many more models (that we were not allowed to photograph) of modern buildings. There was also a full-scale replica of an apartment from one of Le Corbusier's mixed-use residential buildings. It reminded many of us of the student apartments on Syracuse University's south campus - which are also built with concrete.

Napoleon's Tomb at Les Invalides

Our next stop after Versailles was to see Napoleon's tomb. It is located within a complex called "Les Invalides" that contains several museums and a burial site for French war heroes. The dome was completed in 1708 and is one of the best examples of French Baroque Architecture


Napoleon's sarcophagus is directly under the dome and sits one level below the main floor. It is the most famous attraction of the complex, and visitors can view the tomb from both levels.


This is the main level looking under the dome. Napoleon's tomb is in the center of the circular opening in the floor. The natural light coming in from the windows above creates beautiful dramatic lighting that highlights the distinctive architectural features as well as the tomb itself.


As mentioned before, there are several war heroes also buried here. This is the tomb of Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929). He was a general in the French Army during WWI, and was later made commander of the Allied armies. He famously remarked after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles: "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years". He died before the start of WWII proved him right.


Here is a view of the inside of the dome, where you can see one of the several paintings that adorn the edge. It was inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Palace of Versailles

The Palace is located in the suburb of Versailles, about 20 kilometers southwest of Paris. The Palace itself began as a small (relative to its current size) hunting lodge for King Louis XIII in 1624. When Louis XIV came to power, he took a great interest in this lodge. Starting in 1669, he began a major expansion project that would turn it into one of the largest palaces in the world. The court officially moved to the Palace in 1682.


This is part of the original chateau before it was enlarged by Louis XIV. The expansion was seen as a symbol of the monarch's absolute power. It became the center of all power in France, and housed all of the government offices. It allowed Louis to keep close watch on the nobility, as he required many of the nobles to spend a significant part of the year at Versailles. This prevented them from gaining too much regional loyalty that would threaten Louis' scheme of centralizing power.


The chapel is one of the first things you see when you go through the visitor's entrance. There was such a crowd around the doorway on the first floor you could barely see in. This picture was taken from the second floor where there were less people and you could get a better view. The organ was playing and filled the adjacent hallways with music.


Even the smallest details of the Palace are interesting, with the most insignificant features being incredibly ornate. This is a window latch on the second floor. If you click on the photo and enlarge it you will see how amazing the detail is for an object with such a simple function as latching a window.


The Hall of Mirrors is one of the most famous rooms in the world. It serves as the central gallery of the Palace and is lined with an impressive array of chandeliers and mirrored arches. In addition, on each side are sculpted "gueridons" that are gilded and support additional light fixtures. The ones here were made to replace the originals that had been solid silver. Louis XIV had them melted down in 1689 to pay for a war.


Connecting two sets of state apartments, this space was well used by the king. Louis walked through it everyday as he made his way from his private apartment to the chapel. Mirrors were one of the most expensive things you could own in the 17th century because the art of glass making was just starting to allow large clear pains to be produced. What better way to show off your wealth than filling an entire room with them! Each arch along the wall holds 21 mirrors. This room would have been much more impressive when it was lit by candles, with the hundreds of flickering flames being reflected in the mirrors to dazzle anyone walking through.

The Hall of Mirrors, like many other rooms in the Palace, has an impressive painted and gilded ceiling. Below is a collection of pictures from several other rooms in the Palace with painted, carved, and sculpted ceilings. They are truly remarkable.










This is another one of the Palace's large halls. On the walls are huge paintings of battles - presumably French victories. The scale of these works is immense, and as you look at the picture you can see that the room continues on for quite a way. One can only imagine how long it must have taken to complete all of the paintings in this room.


Throughout its history, the Palace has seen many renovation and restoration projects. The most recent restoration effort began in 2003 and is called the "Grand Versailles". It will continue for the next 17 years, and has a government endowment of 135 million euros for the first seven years. One of the visible parts of the renovation that we saw was the application of new gilding along the roof of the building. In the picture above, you can see the difference it makes on the left hand side of the roof. The section opposite this (behind where I was standing) is covered in scaffolding as they work on that side.


The gardens of Versailles are just as impressive as the Palace itself. They are massive. Just to give you an idea, there are 200 thousand trees, 210 thousand flowers planted each year, 50 fountains, and 620 water jets.


There are two large reflecting pools that are immediately behind the central portion of the Palace. There are large gardens on either side, and a large section that is on a lower elevation beyond the pools.


This is the view from when you reach the end of reflecting pools. Unfortunately, we were on a time crunch and had only a little over 2 hours to see the Palace, the gardens, and to get something to eat for lunch. This was as far as we got, but still it was a great view.


Here is the view looking back the other way toward the Palace, with the reflecting pools in the foreground. This gives you a good idea of how huge this place is - especially considering that you still can't see either end! From here we walked back through and out the front entrance to go search for some food in town.


By the time we exited the Palace and crossed the parking lot to the large street, we had about 20-25 minutes to get lunch. As much as we hated the idea, Norman had told us that there was a McDonald's two blocks down and to the left. Given that Jessica and I don't know French at all, we decided that would be the fastest and easiest way to go. As it turned out, someone there spoke a little English and understood our order of two chicken sandwiches. We had ten minutes to make it back to the bus, and I snapped this picture on the way.