Paris - Day 2

A bit of a crazy night/morning - around 5:15 AM, someone tried to open our main door - luckily locked.  Then they opened the connecting door between rooms.  Evidently our side was not locked and folks were starting to come in - again luckily my huge suitcase was in front of that door.  Bridget heard it and started yelling - at them and to wake me up...of course I was sleeping through it.  I got up, locked the doors.  We both had a difficult time returning to sleep.

We started the day with me waking up at 6:55 AM, showering.  And then we were both out the door by about 8:55 AM.

A quick walk to the subway and we were on our way to the Louvre.  The line was already incredibly long - we saw a sign that referenced at least a 45 min wait from one point.  We found a guard and they explained where we could go with "the boot".

We had to walk the entire line, directly to the front.  Another security guard then opened the gate and in we went....very nice!

Once inside, it was another mad house.  The tickets are mostly at self-service kiosks.  We grabbed maps and tried to determine our course for the day.  The museum is enormous, seemed very overwhelming, especially for the 3-4 hours were were planning to stay.  We started in ancient sculptures and carvings.  The detail that was created hundreds of years ago was amazing and spectacular.  The number of people in this area was manageable - which seemed surprising after the insane lines.

Even the architecture of the room was incredible:

We continued our exploration and enjoyment of the Louvre, covering multiple time periods and movements.  The floor plan map was somewhat helpful, especially in finding the most iconic pieces of the Louvre collection...and I think we found most of them - Mona Lisa, The Coronation of Napolleon, others...

A ceiling of the room near the Mona Lisa:

What I fought through to get the picture above:

Me finally taking a break:

While several rooms and areas of the Louvre offered a pleasant experience, most of the public areas as well as particular rooms and works of art were absolutely insane with the number of people - huge tour groups with one guide trying to explain the art or time periods in the tourists' native language. 

In general the large groups of tourists were not considerate of other people's space nor showed common courtesy.  They would walk right in front of pictures, would refuse to move to allow you to walk through, would literately push you out of the way....essentially no regard for anyone else.  Bridget and I both had our theories for this behavior, but both thought it may be related to the over-crowding of their home countries and that their displayed behavior was perfectly acceptable there.

The "fights" and often great struggles to view some of the art was tiring and disappointing.

A shot of the Lourve building as you looked out and the line that had formed by mid-morning:

A few last pieces:

When we were both exhausted and ready for a very late lunch, around 2 PM, we headed to the main gift shop.  After much browsing and considerations, I bought just a postcard book of the iconic works of art.

From the Louvre we headed out to find lunch.  Within a few blocks, we found a clustering of small cafes and picked one.  We both ordered a much deserved Coca-Cola Light and water.  I ordered a bacon quiche with salad and Bridget ordered a Croquet Monsuier.  I headed off to the restroom to wash my hands - there were several folks in line for two uni-sex restrooms.  I soon discovered the cause for the long delay - the lights in the either bathroom did not work!  I left the door open for a few seconds to see the "lay of the land", then closed and locked it - complete darkness, interesting experience.  I have a feeling that I should be grateful that I couldn't see anything in that restroom.

After about 10+ minutes for the bathroom experience, I made it back to the table and lunch had arrived.  My quiche was wonderful with just a few bites of bacon a bit more fatty than I prefer.  

We had planned to explore Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise (a cemetery for many famous French people); however, after the exhausting day at the Louvre, Bridget decided that she could not continue touring for the day.  It was already 3:30 as she headed back to the hotel to rest and I changed plans and walked to Notre Dame. 

I crossed the Louvre area to the Seine River banks.  I walked along the Seine until reaching the Pont de L'Archeveche (aka. Love Lock Bridge).  This is the bridge where lovers will write their names on a lock and then attach it to the bridge.  The sheer number of locks and the resulting sight was phenomenal.  I actually started to wonder how often sections of the bridge must be replaced since there is very little room left for any more locks.  Of course street vendors were present, capitalizing on the romanticized notion of Love Lock Bridge - they were selling locks and permanent markers, just in case you didn't think of commemorating your love in advance...perhaps Paris' equivalent of Vegas' wedding chapels, but with a much lower investment and fewer consequences.

From the Love Lock Bridge, I walked on the Left Bank of the Seine, onwards to Notre Dame.  Bridget had warned me about the line to enter Notre Dame since she had visited before my arrival.  The square in front of Notre Dame was packed with tourist and the line to enter stretched the entire length of the square.  Bridget had offered a tip - there are two entrances on the right-hand side of the building - on the right is for tourist to go in for pictures.  On the left is for church and prayer entrance.  Bridget had attended Mass and suggested that I try entering on the left, saying that I was going in to pray.  Not being Catholic I was a bit nervous, but thought what's the worst that could happen?  It worked perfectly.  I walked up to the guard on the left, said I wanted to go in to pray and he immediately opened the gate and I walked right in.  I was funneled directly into the tourist line at that point.  Wow, that was simple enough.  I did have a wave of guilt, so I did go to the seats and sat down for a few minutes for silent prayer.

The outside:

The inside was just as magnificent as the outside.  The cathedral was built over hundreds of years and added to many times.  The stained glass, the architectural details, the overwhelming sense of spirituality is incredible. 

After finishing the self-guided tour, I walked outside with intentions of waiting in line to climb to the top of the towers - and see the Gargoyles close-up.  I assumed the line would be about a 30 min wait.  I walked along the long line, only to find a guard and a sign at the end indicating that the line was closed for the day and no one else was allowed to wait.  I immediately thought this was my punishment for lying to get into the church, but then I remembered that my camera was down to only 1 bar of charge, so it might have been a blessing...I would have hated to climbed 300+ steps to have my camera die.

As I circled the outside:

After loosing out on the option to go to the top of Notre Dame, I continued along each side of the cathedral, taking many more pictures, zooming in on many of the Gargoyles.

Once back to the front, I decided to head towards the subway.  Since it was only about 6 PM, I slipped into a table at a small cafe, ordered a small crafte of wine and started to journal.  I was already several days behind and starting to feel stressed about it.  I really enjoyed the time by myself at the cafe.  After a few weeks in South America I was really used to setting my own schedule, so sitting at the cafe, drinking wine and reflecting on the day was quite nice.  

I had learned yesterday that a very good friend's father had passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer.  I used this quiet time to also think about my good friend, the struggles his family have enduring during his father's fight with cancer and praying for much peace for them as time passes.  

Around 7 PM I headed back to the hotel.  Bridget was feeling better and ready to head out.  We went down to the lobby to ask about directions and dinner suggestions.  We wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at twilight, which based on sunset, would be around 9 PM.  

The concierge called for a Mercedes car service with a driver - Madi.  Madi was fantastic, very informative and took us to a perfect place near the Eiffel Tower to walk towards it with views the entire time.  I was shocked by the park and green space in front of the Tower.  I assumed it would sort of be sitting amidst the city...and while it is, it is also somewhat surrounded by wonderful green space and fountains for many blocks.

The lawn was filling up with groups of young people, but also lovers, families and singles.  There were wandering vendors selling beer, wine, champagne and water.  There were also many vendors selling small replicas of the Tower.  We took so many pictures, from different angles, different filters, different lighting.

With a blue-only filter:

In Black and White:

After many, many pictures and much admiration of the Eiffel Tower, we were quite hungry and headed to dinner around 9:45.  A friend of Bridget's who visits Paris annually had provided a list of many restaurant recommendations, so we headed to a nearby suggestion - Cafe Constant.  Owned by a somewhat renowned chef in Paris, this is his flagship restaurant.  Surprisingly there was a 15-20 min wait by the time we arrived around 10 PM.  We were seated at a rather odd table under the staircase and Bridget had to tolerate the sounds of servers and patrons running up and down the stairs throughout most of the meal.

We ordered a spectacular calimari appetizer that had significant butter, garlic and fresh herbs.  For entrees, I ordered veal medallions with a wonderful white Tuscan bean side.  Bridget ordered a shrimp dish with rice.  We had a Pinot Noir half-bottle for wine.  

The tables were very close together and we ultimately started talking to the one next to us.  It was a couple - David and Eva - from LA.  David was from Paris, but moved to NYC where he'd met Eva.  They moved to LA about two years ago and had a very cute daughter - Chloe.  To be honest, as soon as they said LA, I was turned off and expected extreme attitude of well-dressed Americans from LA visiting Paris.  However, they were very down-to-earth and very enjoyable dinner conversation.

After shutting down the restaurant, we walked a few blocks to the taxi station to get a taxi back to the hotel.  The metro was much further away.  A taxi arrived within 5 min and we were whisked back to "Middle-Eastern central".  Our hotel is the Marriott Champs-Elysées, a very nice American hotel in a very nice area of town.  However, we are about the only caucasian people in the place.   At least 90% of the folks staying at the hotel are Middle Eastern.  We have learned that this time of year is when many Middle Eastern people leave the desert to see mountains, water and cooler temperatures.  In Paris, they also engage in great amounts of shopping at very high-end shops.  We always see them returning with large shopping bags from Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Cartier and many other nearby shops.

A full day 2 in Paris and time for bed.