Spring Break 3

Okay even though I am now back in Rome, I am still going to write as if I were on break. Our last full day in Paris was very enjoyable. The weather was nice, and I got to do a lot of sightseeing. We woke up not too early and took the Metro to the Jules Joffrin stop, which is near Montmartre. We had no idea where we were when we got off the stop, so we just started walking up a street with an incline. We knew there was a panoramic view of Paris at the top of a hill in Montmartre (we are pathetic tourists, I know). So we finally come to a very large staircase that we figure is our best bet at getting to the see the view. When we finally get to the top, a large tower comes into view, and then more a a huge church that turned out to be La Basilique Sacre-Coeur. We still have no idea where we are or where the magical view is, so we sit in a lovely little French park and relax. We finally decide to walk around the church and see the front. And behold! the amazing view we were looking for was on the other side of the church! The front of the church is amazing and symmetrical despite the many layers of domes and towers that comprise the church. There are steps down the front that many people were sitting on. We joined in and listened to a violinist play very well as we took in the Parisian landscape. It was a very memorable experience...probably one of a kind. I took a video of the scene in an attempt to save the moment.

We eventually tore ourselves from the steps and went down a little street to grab some crepes in a little pub (one nutella and one ham&cheese split between Julie and me). I did a little souvenir shopping, which I am really going to have to start doing more of, and we headed back down the hill. 

We then took the Metro to Notre Dame. My first impression was that it is a lot smaller than I expected, and that the cathedrals in Venice and Prague are more impressive. The front does make the building look small, but from the side, Notre Dame is massive. As I got closer, the very elaborate statues that cover the front of the building became clear. The statues were all of Catholic figures through history, so not one was the same. It is very impressive. Flashes on cameras are unfortunately prohibited inside the cathedral, so I did my best to photograph the stained glass and candles and such using makeshift tripods (pews, walls, etc.). Okay so the stained glass was reallly cool and there was a lot of it. It was a lot less crowded than San Marco in Venice, which was definitely a plus. Other than that, I a little wish we had gone to Sainte-Chapelle by Montmarte. I only say that because the walls pretty much entirely consists of stained glass. That is definitely something to look forward to for next time! And I am glad that I got to see the famous Notre Dame cathedral.

SOOO the busy Parisian day concluded with a wonderful trip to the Louvre. These crazy people in our hostel (more on them later) told us that admission is free after 6 pm on Wednesdays. Turns out they lied. The cost was reduced though. We headed straight for the Mona Lisa, which took us through Greek and Roman statues and busts and heads and such. We also walked through the Italian art section, which consisted of many religious paintings and mythological statues. My favorite part of the Louvre, that I saw, was in the Roman mythology part. There were statues made out of regular statue material, but then they were "clothed" in marble. They were absolutely amazing, but I unfortunately didn't take any pictures. Here is one that I found online:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Minerva_onyx_Louvre_Ma2225.jpg/300px-Minerva_onyx_Louvre_Ma2225.jpg

That is Minerva, the goddess wisdom, one of my favorites. 

I kind of wish I had taken an art history course at some point so I could have appreciated all the Italian religious paintings a little more. They all looked similar to me, so it was hard/tedious/tiring to try to look at everything and appreciate it all. We saw the Venus de Milo statue. She was all alone in a room. She is very broad and not very attractive. (Those are my two sophisticated reflections of the statue) 

We finally arrived at the Mona Lisa, who was surrounded by a huge group of tourists. She is very small and covered by glass to protect against the flashes and everything. I looked at the painting while eavesdropping on various English-speakers commentate on the mystery behind Mona Lisa, how she is just famous for being famous, all the hype is for nothing, etc. I took all the odd comments into consideration and realized that I really like it. I like that there are so many conspiracies about who Mona Lisa actually is, and I like that although it is said that da Vinci spent tons of time on the painting, it is still not perfect (as far as the background being uneven on both sides of her). I wish I had read The da Vinci Code again before going to the Louvre so I could have re-enacted the action! Okay, probably not.

We got some expensive hot chocolate, strolled the museum a little more, realized we were exhausted and left. By then, it had gotten dark out and the pyramids looked amazing. They were lit really well and reflecting off the fountain water beautifully. 

We took the Metro back to our hostel (off the Laumiere stop on the 5 line)(...that was for Shelly) and went to bed. That day wiped us out! We had to wake up early to check out of the hostel and catch our train to Amsterdam. The train station was just a couple Metro stops from our hostel, which was convenient. I was sad to leave Paris because there is so much to see, but I was encouraged by the idea that I will definitely be returning at some point in my life.  Paris comprised my favorite leg of spring break...yay!