The Markets in Europe are awe inspiring to me. They are almost as interesting as the museums. The displays of food are very artistic.
Surprisingly it wasn’t fishy smelling, so obviously all the fish were VERY fresh.
Meat hung in the markets, where you could buy the whole leg or portions.
Sainte-Chapelle – a gem of high gothic architecture in the centre of the Ile-de-la-Cite’
Built between 1242 and 1248 to house the relics of the Passion of Christ. The most famous of these relics was the Crown of Thorns, acquired in 1239 for a sum that greatly exceeded the cost of building the Chapel itself. The Holy Relics had belonged to the emperors of Constantinople since the 4th Century.
Sainte-Chapelle consist of two levels, the lower chapel and the upper chapel.
Visitors are greeted by a statue of the Virgin Mary, the sanctuary’s patron saint.
The low vault is held up by openwork struts linking the aisle column to the lateral walls. These walls are decorated with blind trefoil armatures and 12 medallions featuring the apostles. The vaults’ flour-de-lys on an azure background are also found on the columns, alternating the towers on a purple background which were the arms of Queen Blanche of Castile, Louis IX’s mother.
And then you found yourself in the far back corners of the sanctuary where spiral staircases led you to the upper chapel.
This is a truly monumental and sumptuously decorated reliquary. Sculpts and windows combine harmoniously to glorify the Passion of Christ and created a feeling of entry into the Heavenly Jerusalem.
The 1,113 scenes depicted in the 15 stained glass windows tell the story of mankind from Genesis through to Christ’s resurrection. Fourteen of the windows, depicting episodes from the bible, should be read from left to right, from the bottom upwards.
Many, if not all, of civilization could not read and the stories of the bible were taught by pictures. You could literally read the bible by looking at these beautiful stained glass windows.
The Western Rose (the round window) illustrates the prophetic Apocalypse of St. John, symbolically represented opposite the Passion of Christ in the choir’s central stained glass window. In the center of the rose, Christ returns in glory at the end of Time to judge the dead and the living.
The center of the Museum which had five floors of beautiful art. The building was originally a railway station built for the World Fair of 1900 and housed a luxurious hotel and a grand reception room, but with the modernization of travel the station was gradually abandoned. In 1977 the French Government transformed it into the Musee d’Orsay
This is a huge clock work that had a glass front so that you could see through the clock onto the city of Paris.
One of my favorite finds in the very top floor of the musuem.
Paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, photography, drawings….
So many pieces of art that I was so excited to see. No way could you see everything in one day. I took the map and literally ran from exhibit to exhibit trying to see all of my favorites. I think I failed! – no way to get them all.
Van Gogh – Monet – Degas – Gauguin – Signac – Cezanne -Renoir just to name a few!
The Musee d’Orsay presents art in all its diversity covering the evolution of the western world art from 1848-1914
What a day what a day! At least we started with a good nights sleep, a great cup of French coffee and first time in Paris excitement. So much history to see. But the adventure was the subway! So many different lines and stops and keeping it all straight, thank goodness for Tom, our tour guide. He even planned for contingency. You literally had to run, jump, push, and pull to secure your place on each car. But who knew some took that so literal, we were boarding yet another car when a fight broke out, a real blood beating, fist punching, foot kicking fight. Of the 28 travelers in our group it was obvious that we couldn’t stay together at all times. Boarding the subway cars in such a hurry we had to divide and conquer to all get on in the split seconds that you have to board. I personally did not witness the chaos but fellow travelers related the incidenct to the rest of us. It seems a disagreement broke out between three gentlemen in the car as the door opened and our group was boarding, one gentleman (I use that loosely) pushed the other out of the car as the doors were closing. Thereby preventing a couple of our group from getting on board. One passenger, possibly one involved, pushed the emergency button stopping the train suddenly. Let me clarify, stopping the train very suddenly! Physics came into play as the train was traveling in one direction and then suddenly stops put the many bodies on that train continue to travel in the previous direction. One traveler from our group was holding the pole as we suddenly stopped and she decided to entertain everyone as she did a very artistic rendition of a pole dance all the way around the pole! As the cops escorted the fighters off we were once again on our way to see the sights of Paris.
Back on the subway we headed back to the hotel, backtracking our previous routes with two stops on the green line and then five stops on the yellow line. Like I said earlier it was a good thing our guide went everywhere with us. As we stepped off the train to change lines again the strangest looks are received as the doors shut and three fellow travelers are still on the car. At least they were together and we had previously said if this should ever happen to go to the next stop. That was fine except we weren’t going to the next stop we were changing lines! Tom, our fearless guide, made sure the remaining group was secure and told us to stay put. He then got on the next train and caught up with our runaways. They had to catch another train running in the opposite direction to make their way back to us.
Finally we made it to the Louve to only wait in more..long…lines. 28 of us mixed and mingled as we made our way to the ticket counter. While in line we were witness to a shoplifter. The little guy brazenly picked up perfume from La’Occidental and put it in his back pack, another woman brought him yet another stolen package and he hid it in the pack. We stood there and watched in amazement at the bold brazen acts that were being carried out in front of us. After the shock wore off the law enforcement backgrounds of some of our group kicked in and two of the guys in the group apprehended and held the culprit until security could step in. When the heroes returned to the line we broke out in applause. Even waiting in lines are an adventure for our group.
France was amazing!
Notre Dame
The streets of Paris
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Paris in three days…is virtually impossible. We started from the Little Rock airport at 10AM and arrived in Paris at 9AM the following morning. Time changes and turbulent flights led to NO sleep. Once in Paris we hit the streets running. Notre Dame and the Museam de’Orsay were stops along the way. Seeing works of arts by Monet, Rembrandt, Toulouse-Lattrece and many more was a bucket list checker for sure. 30 plus hours and more than 6 miles logged in steps we were quickly draining any energy that the excitement might have produced. I believe that we could have been given a cardboard box to sleep in and would have slept just as well.
Rejuvenated and refreshed we met for a European breakfast of espresso and croissants. Boarded the bus and began a city tour of Paris. So much history and interesting stories to be seen and heard. After many years of traveling I can finally say that I have seen the Eiffel Tower, and will go up in it later. Morning bus tour along the Seine and of Ile de la Cite’, where we saw the Notre Dame Catherdal and passed the Arc de Triomphe, We traveled down the Champs-Elysses to the Place de la Concorde, dedicated to King Louis XV. We visited the site where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed during the French Revelotion.
I’ve seen hundreds of photos of the Eiffel Tower, in fact it is such an iconic symbol of Paris, that it is recognised world wide. But seeing it in person is awe inspiring. The shear massiveness of it is overwhelming. With the recent terrorist attacks the lights of the tower were representative of the Belgium flag. Security was heightened and the general atmosphere was security minded. 
There are three levels of the tower. Ground, second and summit. Going up was pretty easy and fast. Once at the top the wind was powerful and pretty cold but there were so many people up there that movement was limited and slow. Step by step we made our way around the top seeing Paris in all directions and snapping photos along the way. 
Little did we know that the line to descend the tower was wrapped around the top three times and wound zigzagging forever. It took approximately 5-10 minutes to make it to the top but it took 45 minutes to get back down. Strange facts about the tower is that it was built in 1886 as a temporary structure for the World’s Fair. There is an apartment on the top floor. And several kings and queens from around the world were among the first visitors. 
If ever in Paris you must visit the Eiffel Tower and if possible do it twice, once in the day and once at night.
Adventures with Cindy 