Okay, we have found our Internet cafe... it is just down the block from our hotel.
Today, Jackie and I discovered that you can buy a Museum/Monument card for 30€, which we could have used at the Arc de Triomphe yesterday. Doh! Better late than never. So this morning we decided to go to the Conciergerie, and we were able to buy our passes there.
The Conciergerie is part of what was originally the Palais de la Cité, and was where prisoners (including famous people such as Danton, Charlotte Corday, and Marie-Antoinette) were held during the Revolution before their trials. Very impressive building. Very heavy gothic architecture, and I think it would have been quite dark and oppressive in its day. The lighting now highlights the overhead archways, and there are giant fireplaces in the main hallway. You walk through the building, and there were interesting displays throughout, including several videos (with English and Spanish subtitles). There were pictures of Desmoulins, Danton, and several of Robespierre and Saint Just. In the chapel, there was a special marker in memory of Louis XVI.
After that, we got in line for Sainte-Chapelle next door, which Hazel had recommended for the stained glass. You can't see the church; there's just a sign outside the building indicating "Sainte-Chapelle" access. It was a long, slow-moving line. When we got closer to the entrance, we realized it was because there were security checks. You use the same entrance to get into the Palais de Justice (a courthouse, I think) as Sainte-Chapelle, except that on the Palais de Justice side, visitors were having to put their bags through an x-ray machine, whereas ours just got the visual look-over by a police officer. I show the policeman my camera and purse, and he asked "Francais?" I said, "No, Anglais." "Do you have a knife in there?" he asks, pointing to my purse. I said, "What?" He repeats, "A knife?" So I told him, "No... should I have?" (I thought it was a weird question.) Jackie figured he was thinking I might have one of those swiss travelling knives. But even if I did, why would he just take my word for it?
Anyway, once we were inside the courtyard, we could see the exterior of Sainte-Chapelle, which is mid-13th Century, I believe. The interior was blue and gold, with many arches and some stained glass windows. I muttered to myself, "What's Hazel talking about? It's very nice, but those aren't whole walls of windows." Then Jackie discovered the stairs leading upward. Upstairs were the entire walls of stained glass windows. Everyone literally gasped when they stepped out from the stairwell. Amazing huge walls of stained glass. You have to see them to believe it.
When exiting, we got a closer look at the exterior of the church and could walk up to the Palais de Justice, which is behind a huge iron fence. When you're leaving, again you pass by policemen. This time they didn't seem to think I was packing anything. Or maybe they didn't care, because I was leaving!
After that, we found a Boulanger (bakery!) and ordered some bread and Coke and decided to eat it by the fountains at the Hotel de Ville. Immediately, a million pigeons decided I was their new best friend - they were right. I ate half the loaf, and they ate maybe a quarter of it (and I saved some for later). Jackie kept making ominous comments about the Hitchcock movie "The Birds". I guess she was right too, because my pantleg got 'le poo de pigeon'. Le Doh!
We walked around the Hôtel de Ville to take a closer look at it. There are statues of many statesmen and persons of importance on the building. On the front of the building, they had pictures of the two journalists who were kidnapped in Iraq, with signs calling for their release.
After that, it was across Pont de Notre Dame, where we got in line for the bell towers. Another long-ish line, which moves quite slowly. This is because they only let one group go up at a time. We went up a spiral stone staircase to the gift shop, and then were exceedingly puzzled because that seemed to be the end of the road. Who would pay to go to a gift shop? Helpful Frenchman says no, you just have to wait here for five minutes.
So then he gets the go-ahead to send us up. We walk up and up and up and up a stone spiral staircase. The stone is quite smooth and worn away from people walking on it. Paris is like one giant exercise machine. You walk for hours, and then you spend hours on the stair-climber. The staircase got narrower and it is quite steep - I did not like walking up without holding onto the railing - and then finally you step out onto the upper balcony to the "chimeras gallery". This is 46 metres above the ground. There is an amazing view of the city, and it was quite windy. The balcony around the top of the belltowers is very narrow. Of course, we all wandered around taking pictures of the gargoyles and the city below.
You also get to go in to see one of the bells - there's a small door to the belfry and some ancient rickety wooden stairs (all quite steep), and the bell (named Marie-Therese) weighs 13 tonnes, with an extra tonne for the support and some for the clapper. All in all, over 15 tonnes. Makes you a little nervous about adding your weight to the area! There's a guard making sure that you just stand there and get your picture taken and don't try to do something goofy (like try to ring the bell).
To get to the topmost level of the south tower, you again have to again go up and up and up. By that time Jackie and I were feeling a little bit woozy from all the climbing. But it is a spectacular view of the city, and you can look down on the church roof of Notre Dame, which is also quite ornate.
After that, we headed off to find the Musée de Cluny. It has a lovely medieval garden and houses a collection of ancient and medieval artworks, as well as some remnants of Roman architecture from Paris. There were statues and tapestries and even some medieval armour. You can see the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestry there. Jackie noted that this was the only place in Paris that has air-conditioning.
When we left, we found that it was raining, so we ducked into a few shops on the way back, until I found a souvenir shop that had umbrellas for sale. That made the long walk back to the Internet cafe much much drier. Not sure what's on the agenda for tonight, but I will let you know!
Today, Jackie and I discovered that you can buy a Museum/Monument card for 30€, which we could have used at the Arc de Triomphe yesterday. Doh! Better late than never. So this morning we decided to go to the Conciergerie, and we were able to buy our passes there.
The Conciergerie is part of what was originally the Palais de la Cité, and was where prisoners (including famous people such as Danton, Charlotte Corday, and Marie-Antoinette) were held during the Revolution before their trials. Very impressive building. Very heavy gothic architecture, and I think it would have been quite dark and oppressive in its day. The lighting now highlights the overhead archways, and there are giant fireplaces in the main hallway. You walk through the building, and there were interesting displays throughout, including several videos (with English and Spanish subtitles). There were pictures of Desmoulins, Danton, and several of Robespierre and Saint Just. In the chapel, there was a special marker in memory of Louis XVI.
After that, we got in line for Sainte-Chapelle next door, which Hazel had recommended for the stained glass. You can't see the church; there's just a sign outside the building indicating "Sainte-Chapelle" access. It was a long, slow-moving line. When we got closer to the entrance, we realized it was because there were security checks. You use the same entrance to get into the Palais de Justice (a courthouse, I think) as Sainte-Chapelle, except that on the Palais de Justice side, visitors were having to put their bags through an x-ray machine, whereas ours just got the visual look-over by a police officer. I show the policeman my camera and purse, and he asked "Francais?" I said, "No, Anglais." "Do you have a knife in there?" he asks, pointing to my purse. I said, "What?" He repeats, "A knife?" So I told him, "No... should I have?" (I thought it was a weird question.) Jackie figured he was thinking I might have one of those swiss travelling knives. But even if I did, why would he just take my word for it?
Anyway, once we were inside the courtyard, we could see the exterior of Sainte-Chapelle, which is mid-13th Century, I believe. The interior was blue and gold, with many arches and some stained glass windows. I muttered to myself, "What's Hazel talking about? It's very nice, but those aren't whole walls of windows." Then Jackie discovered the stairs leading upward. Upstairs were the entire walls of stained glass windows. Everyone literally gasped when they stepped out from the stairwell. Amazing huge walls of stained glass. You have to see them to believe it.
When exiting, we got a closer look at the exterior of the church and could walk up to the Palais de Justice, which is behind a huge iron fence. When you're leaving, again you pass by policemen. This time they didn't seem to think I was packing anything. Or maybe they didn't care, because I was leaving!
After that, we found a Boulanger (bakery!) and ordered some bread and Coke and decided to eat it by the fountains at the Hotel de Ville. Immediately, a million pigeons decided I was their new best friend - they were right. I ate half the loaf, and they ate maybe a quarter of it (and I saved some for later). Jackie kept making ominous comments about the Hitchcock movie "The Birds". I guess she was right too, because my pantleg got 'le poo de pigeon'. Le Doh!
We walked around the Hôtel de Ville to take a closer look at it. There are statues of many statesmen and persons of importance on the building. On the front of the building, they had pictures of the two journalists who were kidnapped in Iraq, with signs calling for their release.
After that, it was across Pont de Notre Dame, where we got in line for the bell towers. Another long-ish line, which moves quite slowly. This is because they only let one group go up at a time. We went up a spiral stone staircase to the gift shop, and then were exceedingly puzzled because that seemed to be the end of the road. Who would pay to go to a gift shop? Helpful Frenchman says no, you just have to wait here for five minutes.
So then he gets the go-ahead to send us up. We walk up and up and up and up a stone spiral staircase. The stone is quite smooth and worn away from people walking on it. Paris is like one giant exercise machine. You walk for hours, and then you spend hours on the stair-climber. The staircase got narrower and it is quite steep - I did not like walking up without holding onto the railing - and then finally you step out onto the upper balcony to the "chimeras gallery". This is 46 metres above the ground. There is an amazing view of the city, and it was quite windy. The balcony around the top of the belltowers is very narrow. Of course, we all wandered around taking pictures of the gargoyles and the city below.
You also get to go in to see one of the bells - there's a small door to the belfry and some ancient rickety wooden stairs (all quite steep), and the bell (named Marie-Therese) weighs 13 tonnes, with an extra tonne for the support and some for the clapper. All in all, over 15 tonnes. Makes you a little nervous about adding your weight to the area! There's a guard making sure that you just stand there and get your picture taken and don't try to do something goofy (like try to ring the bell).
To get to the topmost level of the south tower, you again have to again go up and up and up. By that time Jackie and I were feeling a little bit woozy from all the climbing. But it is a spectacular view of the city, and you can look down on the church roof of Notre Dame, which is also quite ornate.
After that, we headed off to find the Musée de Cluny. It has a lovely medieval garden and houses a collection of ancient and medieval artworks, as well as some remnants of Roman architecture from Paris. There were statues and tapestries and even some medieval armour. You can see the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestry there. Jackie noted that this was the only place in Paris that has air-conditioning.
When we left, we found that it was raining, so we ducked into a few shops on the way back, until I found a souvenir shop that had umbrellas for sale. That made the long walk back to the Internet cafe much much drier. Not sure what's on the agenda for tonight, but I will let you know!
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