The theme of the day is death

Friday, May 22, 2009

Thanks to our early night on Thursday, we were up and clean by the time Alyce arrived off the 830 train. We quickly found our way for breakfast and used our cafe time to plan our itinerary for the day. We wanted to check out the Parisian catacombs, a subterranean bone yard filled with 19th century Parisians, so we headed for the cemetery to which they were supposedly connected. We wandered around the cemetery, stumbled upon the grave of Simone de Bouvoir and Jean-Paul Sarte, renowned French philosophers and lovers, and finally found an attendant to tell us we were in the wrong place and needed to go back to where we'd come from. Laughing all the way, we headed back to the "little green building" alleged to mark the entrance to the catacombs but on arrival were confronted with such a long line we immediately began to decide where to go next as there was no way we were waiting.

(Headstone of Simone de Bouvoir and Jean-Paul Sarte)

Leaving the catacombs we intended to take the most direct route to the Pantheon, an historic church and the final resting place of many famous Parisians. But meandering a little bit seemed to serve our purpose better when we found another outdoor garden worth walking through - complete with a fountain we managed to make asses of ourselves playing around.

Eventually we did make it to the Pantheon. But took one look at the 8€ entry fee and opted to take some lovely photos of the ceiling and depart.

(Ceiling on the Pantheon)
(One of the closed but cool looking entry doors to the Pantheon)

After the Pantheon we meandered our way back to the Island on which Notre Dame sits, hoping the morning line would be more manageable than the afternoon's before. And it was. We waited about ten minutes to enter the world famous cathedral. Having lived through the claustrophobia caused by all the tourists inside once, Alyce opted to rest on a bollard outside while Ben and I went in.

(The face of Notre Dame)
(The cathedral's rose window)

Leaving Notre Dame we made our way through the city in pursuit of a little Bistro Alyce had tried before and enjoyed and as usual, her recommendation was exactly right. We each enjoyed delicious French fare, Ben even trying another French specialty of sirloin steak with charred thyme. After our yummy lunch we headed back to the Centre Pompidou and rode the elevator and many escalators to the top to enjoy a lovely view of the city. While the museums here boast an impressive collection of art, we opted to just enjoy the view.

(Sacre Coeur, the highest point in Paris, as seen from the top of the Centre Pompidou)

After descending the many escalators again we made a quick stop in the square outside to decide where to next, ultimately choosing to visit hôtel des invalides, home to the French military museums and Napoleon's tomb. Busy and tourist filled like every other site we'd seen, we decided to see Napoleon's tomb first and then make our way into the museums. Ornate and austentatious, Napoleon's coffin is designed as six individual coffins that fit inside one another like a set of Russian dolls.

(A tiny Alyce and Ben in front of the entrance to Napoleon's tomb)
(Napoleon's tomb)

Our visit to Napoleon's tomb led naturally to visiting the French military museum. It was weird. And dark. The whole museum was set up in a long aisle with doorways extending off every so many feet. The central hallway was littered with swords, muskets and revolvers. Each room held relics of 17th and 18th century French warfare, with special emphasis on textiles.

After Invalides we decided it was time for a rest and headed back to the hotel for a nap. An hour and a half later we were back on the street headed for La Coupole, a restaurant every guidebook we had between us recommended. Unfortunately, the place was a bit too touristy and overpriced, but as always we enjoyed the company so much it didn't matter. We laughed and ate well into the evening until we were too full and sleepy to do anything but meander back to the hotel and pass out. But it seemed that knowing we wouldn't see each other again for a while kept us awake and we chatted and laughed until well after midnight and occassionally at a volume that we worried might get us yelled at by the hoteliers!