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david
and carol
Our Magnificent
Journey | Chapter 1 | Europe 1999 | London, Paris, Venice, Florence |
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Another good night's sleep and a delicious
French breakfast in the hotel dining room, then up the narrow
street and around the corner to the Musee de Rodin. We are blessed
today with beautiful sunny skies. Took photos of each other thinking
at the foot of The Thinker, with the gold-covered dome of the
Hotel des Invalides sparkling in the background. The gardens
at the Rodin are exquisite, and we took our time slowly wandering
amongst the various works of art. |
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Then we were on our way past the massive,
grand Invalides. Across the huge, green lawn of this old hospital
are cannon, relics from the Revolution. |
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We walked along the expansive Esplanade des
Invalides, the wide boulevard that runs from Les Invalides, crosses
the Seine and intersects the Champs Elysee ("Fields of Heaven.")
Along the way we crossed the Pont Alexandre III, an ornate gold-gilded
bridge, and passed some large, lavish palaces with huge, elegant,
marvelous doors. |
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We decided to walk up the Champs Elysee to
the Arc de Triomphe. It is Sunday, so a lot of shops are closed,
but the boulevard is full of people enjoying a Sunday stroll
or, like us, off to see the magnificent Arc. This monument to
Napoleon (built by the never-humble Napoleon) is the largest
of its kind in the world. Its sides are decorated with statues
and scenes commemorating the various successes of the great "emperor."
Its scale is enormous. Beneath the Arc is France's memorial to
the Unknown Soldier. |
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We often wondered during our trip how the
various architects and builders devised their methods of construction.
How did they achieve the scale and detail of these unique monuments
with the tools of the time? Everywhere you look in Paris, on
every boulevard, there is incredible and timeless beauty, art
and architecture. Every building, every door is a work of art.
It seems as though Paris herself is a monument to the potential
of Man, an eternal magnum opus commemorating Man's civilized
and social potential. There are lush gardens and green parks
everywhere. Cathedrals and spires reach for the sky. The scale,
scope and grandeur of buildings such as the Louvre are breathtaking
and unlike any architecture we have accomplished in the "young"
culture of the U.S. |
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We spent some moments at the Arc reflecting
on thoughts such as these, and then had to walk several blocks
to where we had arranged to take a bus tour of this magnificent
city. I had decided to take photos of the extraordinary doors
that can be seen throughout Paris, and along Rue de Friedland
I stopped to take another photo. A fellow saw us and came up
to us to inquire as to why we were interested in photos of doors.
His name was Ibrahim Moussa, an Egyptian decorative painter who
often did "faux" work, and showed Carol how this technique
is applied to doors. He was very interesting, and I took some
photos of his demonstration with Carol. After recording his address
and promising to send him the pictures, we were back on our way
to catch the bus. We rushed down Boulevard Haussman, made the
obligatory toilette stop for Carol and finally got situated on
the bus. |
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Christina, an Italian multi-linguist, was
our tour guide. We sat in comfort as the bus wound its way down
the tiny streets and busy sprawling boulevards of Paris, past
the Louvre, the Place du Vendome, and back to our beloved Notre-Dame
where we parked. Carol and I walked around to the cathedral's
north side, which we hadn't seen yesterday. This is where the
magnificent Dor Rouge is located. Back on the bus, across
several of Paris's wonderful bridges, one paved with stones taken
from the Bastille after it was stormed and torn down by the People
following the Revolution. At the Place Vendome we saw the tall
obelisk made out of cannon melted down after the War. Saw the
Ritz, where Princess Diana stayed prior to her tragic accident.
Drove through the Latin Quarter, along Rue St. Honore (down which
Marie Antoinette was led in a cart to the guillotine in the courtyard
of the Palais,) then over to the majestic Tour Eiffel,
which was being readied for the Millenium. We got out and took
several photos of Eiffel's famous landmark. Terrific spot for
people-watching. No matter how many photos you see of these monuments,
cathedrals, towers, palaces and museums, it is never as magic
as seeing "the real thing." We were sad to leave the
huge erector-set tower, but we had to board the bus. The tour
let some folks off at the Seine for a boat cruise, and then we
found ourselves on Boulevard Haussman where our tour had begun. |
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We thanked Christina, who was much fun, and
walked past the Ritz and the nearby "cannon" obelisk
to the grounds of the Louvre. Many people milling about the large
and grand ex-palace. Then we strolled down Rue St. Honore, by
today's standards a tiny street. In Marie Antoinette's day it
was the largest street in all of Paris. We found an outdoor café
where we had wine, beer, pommes frites, fromage
and herring. A delicious snack, and more wonderful people-watching. |
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Afterwards we walked all the way to Rue St.
Denis and found ourselves in the porno district. Walked quickly
through and towards the Marais and ended up in the gay part of
Paris, where the streets were full of men. Lots and lots of men.
We found a busy outdoor café where we sat among dozens
of men and had more beer, wine and cigars and enjoyed some very
incredible and memorable people-watching. |
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Later we walked down the Rue des Archives
to the Seine and across the Pont Louis Philippe to Isle de St.
Louis, where we found an interesting restaurant called Café
Med. It was small, and we had to wait a bit, but its candle-lit
tables looked invitingly romantic. Our table-neighbors were a
Venezuelan couple, both physicians now living in Boston. They
were Bartolome and Doris Celli, and we enjoyed an hour of great
food and stimulating conversation. I had yummy smoked salmon,
shrimp and chocolate mousse, and Carol had a savory avocado and
shrimp salad, steak au poivre and profiteroles.
The bottle of wine was delicious, and it was truly a memorable
dinner. We were sad to say farewell to our new friends, the Cellis,
but dinner was over and we were off to the very lively Latin
Quarter. Many Greek restaurants. Strolled the entire way home
arm-in-arm, window-shopping along the way. Paris at night is
a sight to behold, to be experienced… |
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copyright 1998 / david
and carol lehrman / all rights reserved |
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email david@davidandcarol.com |
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