Paris When it Sizzles - Part 2

Boat trip along the Seine

Day three started with a boat tour up and down the Seine, pointing out the main sights of Paris. It was nice to admire the grand building of this city, without having to push past hundreds of other tourists to get a good look, and it was the perfect way to see a lot of landmarks for people who are only visiting for a few days, like us. We departed from Pont Neuf, where I first noticed the trend for attaching padlocks to the bridge. The idea is that if you lock a padlock to the railings and throw the key into the river, your love will last forever.
The tour took us past many tourist spots, such as the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. We were also told lesser-known facts about the many different bridges along the Seine. I think the most spectacular of the 37 bridges is the Pont Alexandre III, as it is highly decorate and guarded by golden figures atop four pillars, located at each end of the bridge.

Notre Dame

After the boat, we headed to one of the two original river-islands on which Paris was founded, to the ever popular Cathedral of Our Lady. The square in front of the cathedral was taken up by a temporary viewing platform, which detracted from the flowerbeds but did provide the luxury of less pesky tourists getting in your photos. One you begin to look at the building, you realise just how many statues are present. We looked for a café off of the tourist trail, but it turns out that you can't actually go far from the tourist trail on the island, so we settled for a café next to a gift shop selling Eiffel Tower keyrings and other souvenirs in many guises. As we wandered down the Seine back to our hotel, the heavens opened. A drizzle of rain quickly turned into a deluge so we ran for the nearest metro station and got the train back.


Paris by night

For the evening, we headed out to see Paris by the rosy evening glow and the landmarks lit up. The only problem was it gets dark pretty late in July! Nevertheless, the Eiffel Tower was much quieter in the evening and people were lying on the grassy boulevard with champagne picnics. I went up to the second floor of the tower to take in the fantastic panoramic views. From that high it suddenly becomes obvious that Paris is laid out in dramatic broad boulevards and I could see the 'star' of the Place Charles de Gaulle.

 As we were clearly too early to see the Eiffel Tower lit up, we found lunch at a riverside market then carried on walking to the Arc de Triomphe, to appreciate it without the Tour de France barriers. The sunset cast a lovely orange light on to the Arc, as well as giving the Paris skyline a spectacular glow. One top tip for Paris - do not walk over any grates whilst wearing a dress. I didn't realise this was ventilation for the Metro, and the whole of Paris got more than a glimpse of my underwear! Only once you stand underneath the Arc de Triomphe can you truly appreciate it's size. Every sculpture is at least three times life-sized. Unfortunately, it wasn't dark enough for the Arc de Triomphe to be lit up either. By the end of our evening stroll down the Champs Elysées, it was definitely dark enough, but clearly the Parisian authorities didn't think so! The only downside to Paris is the number of tourists. But then, it is a beautiful city, which draws people in from all over the world. After all, I was one of those tourists.

Paris When it Sizzles

Last time I visited Paris I was eight years old. Whilst I LOVED the main part of our trip (Disneyland), I didn't really appreciate the Parisian charm; the art and the culture of this European gem.

We are staying at the Hotel Palm Opera, conveniently located 10 minutes walk from the Sacré Cœur and about 15 minutes walk from the Louvre. It's small but perfectly formed, with retro 60's décor and free snacks and drinks in the lounge for the afternoons. The rooms aren't exactly spacious, but breakfast was delicious, with a range of meats, cheeses, cereals and pastries.

...and it was all yellow
The day we arrived was the finale of the 100th Tour de France, so we made our way to the Champs Elysee to soak up the atmosphere. There were people of all nationalities lining the streets to cheer on their cyclists. A range of inventive cars and floats paraded down the boulevard, advertising everything from tyres to washing up liquid, blasting out tunes and beeping their horns. Then the crowd started buzzing and an excited energy filled the air, as the cyclists made their way down the boulevard. I expected them to be tired and slower after weeks of cycling, but they sped past the crowds, revitalised by knowing the finish line was within reach. It was great to see such an iconic race, and the patriotism for every country was evident.

 Musée du Louvre

Our first full day was spent exploring the Louvre. Just the outside is impressive; a grand old palace, converted into one of the largest and most famous art galleries in the world. Somehow the clash of classical architecture and huge glass pyramids could only work in the stylish setting of Paris. But they say it's what's on the inside that counts and the inside did not disappoint! Seeing such fantastic artwork was enhanced by being in such a wonderful building. Among the paintings and sculptures were modern curiosities, such as mirrors with a scene stuck on so that the viewer could be part of the art. The Louvre is so huge that our guidebook claimed it would take 9 months to go around the entire thing, so we arranged our trip around certain artworks. Naturally, we made sure to visit the Louvre's most famous resident, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. She was a popular girl, with her own guard and huge glass case, with an eager crowd filling up the room in which she was housed. The fuss created by a surprisingly small painting raised two questions in my mind. Firstly, what would Leonardo think if he saw all of those people queuing to see his work? Secondly, what is it that makes so many people desperate to see one painting (although it is unarguably a great work)?

Sacré Cœur
That evening we walked from our hotel to the Sacré Cœur Basilica. From the butte Montmatre (the highest land point in the city) you can see Paris stretching out in front of you, as though it goes on forever. However, whilst the view was clearly special, it did no justice to the grand architecture on the ground. Although the grassy slopes and cool inside of the church were busy, the advantage of going in the evening was a nice, relaxed atmosphere. We explored the incredible building inside and out, before wandering around the streets of Montmatre, which were cute but mainly tourist shops (although Paris does do some pretty tourist tack!).