Paris was much more incredible than I was expecting. I was there for a Mayan Hieroglyphic conference which was RIGHT outside the Eiffel Tower. It was kind of shocking at first to walk right outside our class room and see the Eiffel Tower. This picture is at the museum I was studying at. Those are Mayan Glyphs.I started my week by doing a free tour took me all around Paris. It was put on by the hostel I was staying at which was, by far, the best hostel I have stayed at anywhere. I made a lot of really good friends and we hung out most of the week. I think I met mostly Australians than anyone else (and a few New Zealanders that I was told are called Kiwis). At one time there were 15 Australians and me at a table talking.
The free tour took us to Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre Museum (where the Winged Victory, Venus De Milo, and The Mona Lisa are all kept), around central Paris, and to a few other notable sites. The tour guide had some interesting stories to tell during our walk. Most were about history and so I listened very closely.
So throughout the week I went back to the places I saw on the tour and at the suggestion of my parents, I went to several other places. I have to say I was most in awe of the Louvre, Sacre Couer, and Versailles Palace.
At the Louvre I spent all day long walking around. That place is incredibly huge. I can't even fathom how many actually pieces of art and artifacts are in there. I was told by one person that if you stood in front of every work that they have on display (because that have another 30,000+ in the basement) it would take you 4 1/2 months! Thats a long time and a lot of art. So because time was pressing on me, I had to do a "quick" walk through of about 5 hours. The Egyptian stuff was great. But the Winged Victory statue and the Mona Lisa are just SO impressive to see with your own eyes. They really are just incredible works of art.
I got to see the Paris Opera house where the Phantom of the Opera book and musical are set. I have to thank my mom for telling me to try to get to this. What a beautiful building! I have been told so many times that you can really feel some sort of "Phantom" lurking in the shadows. Its very strange. I can't imagine designing a building like that. Its beautiful both on the outside and inside. I'd love to hear an opera in there. I looked into it but time (and money) prevented me from even thinking about trying to get an opera in during my trip.My last full day I made my way out to Versailles Palace which is about 45 mins on the out skirts of Paris. A nice German couple sat next to me by chance and we spoke for a long time in German. It was actually kind of relieving to be able to talk a language I know (at least a little). They were very nice though.
Versailles has a long history. Many of France's kings and queens lived there including Marie Antoinette, Louis XIV, and Napoleon. This place was decked out from head to toe. Gold everywhere. The size of the palace was just insane. Living in a place like that would make a person feel like the master of the world. The Hall of Mirrors is a incredibly beautiful room with hundreds of mirrors making it seem like that room is endless. The gardens outside seem to go on forever and ever as well. Finally I just gave up trying to conquer them and went back to the train.Another thing I saw that just was kind of awe
inspiring was Napoleons tomb. Sure.....he was a dictator, and a tyrant, but whew.....what an incredible person. He took over nearly all of Europe and tried to invade Russia. He also took over Egypt. I just finished a book 2 weeks ago about Napoleon in Egypt. It was so interesting. Here is a story that I read about when Hitler visited Napoleons tomb. Because of the way that Napoleons tomb is situated below the viewing point, you have to look down on it and in essence "bow" to Napoleon the Emperor. Since Hitler was....well.....Hitler.......he refused to bow to look at the tomb and so he got several of his men to hold mirrors angled down to look at the tomb but they couldn't get the angle right from where they were standing. He started yelling at them and in the excitement of it all, he knocked his own hat off. Quickly, and without thinking, he stooped down to pick it up and before he realized it, he had gotten on his knee and bowed to Napoleon. The two men that were holding the mirrors were then shot. Insane huh?
So thats about it. I could go on and on about Paris, but you'd really have to go there to see it all and experience it.
