Cathedrals and Palaces
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2004
1
7
34
Trip End
May 09, 2004
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Paris,
France
Saturday, May 1, 2004
Cathedrals and Palaces
We stroll west along the riverside quais towards The Louvre past the fragrant flower market. The green stalls of the bouquinistes, who offer old posters, watercolours, magazines, postcards and other second hand and new literary memorabilia, line the riverside parapets. After passing the ornate Hôtel de Ville, http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/hoteldeville.htm the City Hall of Paris, and stopping for some Kodak moments on Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge over the Seine http://www.paris.fr/EN/ASP/SITEs/SITE.ASP?SITE=10003, we arrive at the eastern end of the massive Palais du Louvre. The building, which now of course holds the world famous Musée du Louvre, is enormous. This is just one of the huge royal palaces that were maintained by the people's taxes during La Belle Époque. Fortunately most of France's great palaces were saved from the mobs, and now we all can visit them, ohhing and ahhing at the excesses of the 18th
01. The River Seine
. century nobility. Is it any wonder that when Louis XVI and his entourage were captured during the Revolution, the mob shouted "off with their heads". Poor Marie Antoinette still didn't understand what was going on as her head rolled into a basket. She had earlier asked her courtiers why, if there was no bread, the peasants didn't eat cake!Emperor Napoleon finally restored the Louvre Palace as a museum of art and history open to all citizens. http://www.paris.org/Musees/Louvre/.
Miryam and I had visited The Louvre back in 1978, and little had changed except the entrance covered by the controversial glass pyramid designed by renowned Chinese architect I.M. Pei. http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Pyramide_du_Louvre.html. Miryam, Bryan and Rocio were planning a visit tomorrow to view the principal attractions. We asked the guard at the entrance advice on entry, keeping in mind that being a Sunday, there was no admission charged. He recommended we should arrive by 9:00 am, as the majority of people turned up later from 10:00 am onward. He also pointed out that there were several entrances to The Louvre that most people were not aware of. He pointed out the obscure Porte des Lions by the Arc du Carrousel in the Tuileries Gardens, a diminutive copy of the Arc de Triomphe
02. Ile-de-la-cite
. This entrance is usually free of queues and leads straight to the Mona Lisa. http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Carrousel/. Well prepared for the morrow, we continued our stroll past the elegant Rue de Rivoli to the Palais Royal, built in 1632 for Cardinal Richleau and eventually occupied by Louis XIV. The palace was transformed to state offices and the gardens were enclosed by elegant apartments in the late 18th. Century. Today, the gardens draw Parisians on weekends and during their lunch hours, and of course, flocks of our fellow tourists. http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Palais.Royal/.
We now turn back heading west. We approach the beautiful cathedral of St. Eustache and are fortunate to arrive just in time for mass. http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Eustache/. Just beside the church is the impressive Bourse du Commerce, which once was Paris' grain market. http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Bourse.Commerce/. The park in front of the building is thronged with Parisians getting the most out of the late afternoon sunshine. It is now 6:00 pm and the sun is still high in the sky.
