Paris
- Day Two
Wednesday May 27 2003
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After covering a great deal of ground the day before May 27th was planned as a more relaxed day. Again the weather was hot and sunny. There was a bit more of a breeze this day, however, to take the edge of the temperatures.
A Metro ride took us to the Louvre. Perhaps I am naïve but I would have thought one of the top tourist in Paris would be open seven days a week. But no ! Being France the Louvre is shut on a Tuesday so any thoughts of seeing the Mona Lisa etc were rapidly extinguished. Instead we had to be content with looking at the outside !
The Louvre - fermé. May 27 2003 © Brian Bane
So from the Louvre we walked the short distance to Île de la Cité to visit the Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle. However we were not to be 100% successful here either. France was partly on strike over pension reforms on May 27. The Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle are very close to each other and sell joint admission tickets. However on this day whilst the Conciergerie was open the sign said, in French and English, that Sainte-Chapelle was shut due to the strike over pensions. So yet again we were denied one of the top attractions in Paris. Now a little more hacked off we carried on to visit the Conciergerie.
Inside the Conciergerie. This is the Hall of Men-at-Arms, built between 1302 and 1313. It was used as a royal banqueting hall and as a general dining room for royal staff. At the time of the revolution the Conciergerie became a prison with a fearsome reputation. May 27 2003 © Brian Bane
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This
was about as close to Sainte-Chapelle as we could get. The very ornate
church stands next to the impressive entrance to the Palais de Justice.
May 31 2003 |
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From
here we decided to walk out to the Jardin du Luxembourg. However on the
way, having entered the Latin Quarter, we came across a bookshop. I wasn't
interested in the English language books, rather I wanted to see what
French language railway books they stocked. Most of the selection was
very disappointing, but one, 'Paris ferroviaire' (Paris railways) caught
my eye and I end up buying it. It covers many interesting aspects of the
railways around Paris and I have learnt a lot from it despite not reading
much French. |
From the bookshop we made our way out towards Le Jardin du Luxembourg, stopping on the way to get a baguette and piece of cake for lunch.
Le Palais du Luxembourg in Le Jardin du Luxembourg, a very popular park in Paris. May 27 2003. © Brian Bane
Having eaten lunch in the gardens, and cooled down a bit as it was rather warm, we headed back to Île de la Cité and Notre-Dame. This time we went inside, and were happy to find it was actually open and not on strike. Built between 1163 and 1345 Notre-Dame currently looks in superb condition after extensive conservation and restoration.
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The
stained glass windows of Notre-Dame are superb. Strong sunlight outside
helped to get some lovely photographs of them from the inside. May 27
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One
of the exquisite Rose windows of Notre-Dame. May 27 2003 |
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A
close up of one of the smaller windows that is no less impressive despite
its size. May 27 2003 |
Leaving Notre-Dame we walked across to the other island in the Seine Île St. Louis. From there we started the walk back towards the hotel via Place de Bastille, with its rather ugly modern opera house, and Place des Vosges.
Place des Vosges is probably the best preserved square in Paris. It dates from 1612 and is very symmetrical in design. It is named after the first district in France to pay taxes after the revolution ! May 27 2003.
From this quick detour to Place des Vosges we resumed the long walk back to the hotel. Heading up towards Place de la République we passed along what seemed to be the photographic shop section of Paris. The selection of new and second hand cameras and equipment was very extensive.
The eastern side of the lengthy frontage Paris Gare de l'Est, the station from which the Orient Express used to depart. This was to be our departure point with 231G558 the following day at the start of 'The Alsace Lorraine Express.' May 27 2003
With another successful day more of less completed we were ready to embark on the next bit of the holiday. That would take us to eastern France and western Switzerland. Click here to go on to day one of 'The Alsace Lorraine Express'