Paris Icons (Tues July 10)

This morning we left Amsterdam.  As Americans we just can't used to the idea that you can go anywhere without a whole body cavity search, so we arrived at the station way too early.  There is no security, in fact the conductor didn't even check our tickets this time.

The fares are cheap (the kids were 15 Euros each to Paris), it's fast, and it's convenient, but the Thalys system seems a little like "Going Greyhound" at 180 MPH.  Amsterdam was the beginning of our train's journey but the bathroom was already dirty and in disrepair.  Another annoying thing is that they sell last minute tickets without seat assignments to anyone who walks up to the station and you are always having to chase these people out of your assigned seats.  Scott had a less than pleasant exchange with a obtuse French woman who got on in Brussels--we will spare you the details but it did not improve Franco-American Relations.  Fortunately, his 100 word vocabulary does not include the French version of "you stupid idiot."

The station in Paris, Gare du Nord, was a filthy mess and the layout was totally non-intuitive.  We needed to to get on the metro but the ticket machines at this stop seemed to be inside the station.  Scott ultimately jumped the turnstiles (he saw someone else do it first) bought tickets and then got the family through.

The subway in Paris is crowded and a bit decrepit.  It looks like it hasn't had much work since 1965.  But it's punctual, very fast and relatively easy to negotiate.  Unfortunately, when we got out at our planed stop near the apartment we found the large park that we were expecting completely dug up and turned in to a massive construction site.  We weaved our way through to the rental office which is just east of the Louvre among some very narrow streets.

We got checked in to our apartment.  We deliberately went with the small, but centrally located, option.  However, it really is small and the iron prison bar doors that you have open to get to the 2 person elevator are a little off-putting.  It took two trips to get everyone and the luggage upstairs--and we just have carry-ons.  We do have a view though:  a little patch of sky and the side of a building.

Despite all this we were not yet in foul humors, although to be honest we were beginning to question our decision to include Paris in our itinerary.  All that changed after we walked down to the Seine....wow!  What a gorgeous city.  We hit quite a few Paris icons today:

We started with Sainte Chapelle, the "little" church Louis XIV built to showcase the "Crown of Thorn" (a good case for Caveat Emptor if there ever was one!). 

The Lower Chapel

Upper Chapel.  Scaffolding at left is part of an ongoing restoration
project for the stained glass.  You can see a big difference in the
sections that they've already completed.  They are doing a great job.

Then we headed over to Notre Dame.  The line to get in the sanctuary and to climb the towers were both several hundred people long, so we just stood outside with everyone else (we'll come back later).

We did duck into the adjacent "Archaeological Crypt."  Directly beneath Notre Dame Square are ruins of the city dating back to Roman times.  They built a roof over them and built the square on top--most tourists never realize that there is another attraction just below their feet (not us, we are robo-tourists).

We wandered over to the adjacent island, Ile de St. Louis, and had fantastic gelato--it was a work of art!  Then we wandered up the Left Bank, stumbled into the botanical gardens and explored a couple of small parks.  (The boys are still trying to re-live their Victoria Park experience in London but struck out in the playground department today).

Notre Dame in the background.

The used bookstands along the Left Bank.

Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Gardens).  Extremely nice.

A small park called "Arenes de Lutece."  Dates back to the Lutecian tribes that
inhabited Paris before the Romans, ~ 1st century AD.
Modern citizens found this amphitheater when building
the subway and turned it in to a park.  How cool is that?

We jumped back on the Subway and shot up to the Arc d' Triomphe.  What a view!

Davis and Mom stayed at the bottom.

The Arc sits at the top of the Champs Elysees, the boulevard that runs from there all the way back to the Louvre.

285 steps to the top

People on top of the Arc d' Triomph taking pictures of people on top of the Eifel Tower,
who are also doing the same thing.

We topped our evening off with a chinese dinner at a place just off Champs-Elysses.  The floor was made of glass and there was an aquarium beneath your feet.  The food was fair, but it certainly was an experience!  

We took our tired boys back to the apartment and put them to bed.  They didn't complain.  Tomorrow we will conquer the Louvre, the largest museum in the world (or so they say).  :)