A Better Day In Paris

Well, since my last post, it seems like a million different things have happened, so I have lots to write about. Yesterday, after my last post, I headed out into the city to see what I could get into. I was still completely poor, as I'd lost my bank card and hadn't yet secured a replacement. Thus, I had zero cash to spend. I still ended up seeing some of Paris’ most impressive sights, so I’m really happy about that.

Wednesday, June 4 --- First, I took the metro just a few stops north, to the small island in the middle of the Seine, called Ile de la Cite. It is where the first settlements developed, which eventually branched out into the massive metropolis that is now modern-day Paris. That was a few thousand years ago, however. Now, Ile de la Cite is still the location where all distances in Paris are measured from, as indicated by a spot with a bronze plaque called “Point Zero.” However, the Ile de la Cite is also home to something that most will find much more familiar – the surreal Notre Dame cathedral. Named after “Our Lady,” the virgin Mary, the first bricks were laid for this mammoth construction in the 1160’s. That’s right – it’s been standing for the better part of a millennium. It took more than a century to finish, and is known for its gargoyles, flying buttresses, and mind-boggling stained glass. The interior is just as impressive as the façade, with vaulted ceilings that seem miles away. I snapped some great pictures of the cathedral, and spent some time observing its intricacies up-close.

Leaving Notre Dame, I went to the nearby memorial for the more than 200,000 French citizens that perished under Hitler’s reign during the holocaust. No pictures were allowed, but it consisted of 200,000 individual round crystals, covering the walls of a long chamber, with all the crystals lit from behind so they would glow. One for each person lost.

Also nearby was the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore, which was a popular English-speaking shop that was run by an American in the 1920’s. It served (and still serves) as a haven for artists, authors, and free-thinkers. Ernest Hemingway, among other greats, was known to borrow books frequently. And I was told that it's currently owned by a relative of the famous poet Walt Whitman. Pretty cool stuff – I found some old medical books from the late 1800s and read those for a while.

After Shakespeare, it was back on the metro, in the direction of that most infamous of landmarks – La Tour Eiffel. As I exited the train, I couldn’t see the tower, but after a few blocks of walking, I turned a corner to stumble upon this view, the metal giant dominating the skyline. Seeing it for the first time takes your breath away. Don’t be fooled by the pictures; it is indescribably huge. Even in today’s world where the sky’s the limit architecturally, it still commands a presence unlike anything else. One can only imagine what the people of Paris thought in the early 1900s when the tower was first built to showcase the World Fair. I spent a great deal of time here; I chose not to go up to the top at this point, as the lines were outrageously long. Instead, I walked underneath and around the tower, getting many different perspectives in the process. I got numerous pictures of me with the tower, and after some careful camerawork, one of my favorite pictures of the trip so far.

Next, it was off to another staple of Paris – the Arc de Triomphe, which was built by Napoleon as a tribute to the bravery of his army. It’s nowhere near the size of the Eiffel Tower, but it’s still deceptively big. Paying my 5 Euro for a student ticket, I climbed the 200 steps or so up the spiral staircase to the very top. It offered amazing views of Paris in every direction. Boulevards radiate straight outwards from the Arc de Triomphe in every direction, so it would basically look like an asterisk on a map. I got a number of impressive shots here as well.

Next, it was time for lunch, and I remembered a friend telling me about a place where you can go that overlooks the entire city – the Butte Montemarte. It’s essentially a giant hill in the middle of Paris; a bubble of land that rises from the otherwise flat terrain. On the bubble has been built the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, another awesome basilica, this time commissioned to atone for France’s sins of the Franco-Prussian war. I’m not sure if it worked, but the Sacre-Coeur, as well as the view from its gates, is amazing. I ate this delicious thing there and soaked up the views. It was here that I also ran into the most unlikely of people – a group of girls that I went to University of Maryland with. We weren’t good friends, but I’m pretty sure our paths had crossed a few times over the years. I talked to them for a few minutes, and it was kind of bizarre to run into something close to home while so far away. Pretty small world, eh? After touring the inside of Sacre-Coeur, I headed back to the hostel, tired after a long day in Paris.

When I returned to the hostel, I found that there were things on my bed that didn’t belong to me. Upon further inspection, I realized that they were actually gifts, along with a note, from the three girls from Iowa that I had met the night before. There were chips, popcorn, batteries, and a few other little things. They were flying back home in a day or two and I assume they didn’t have the extra room in their luggage. It was a nice gesture, and I’m really glad they wrote the note, as I was regretting not getting their contact information before we parted ways. They were a lot of fun, and I’m happy that we’ll be able to keep in touch.

However, now that the Iowa girls were gone, I noticed I had a new roommate, who woke up as I came in the room. Her name is Amy, from Canada, and she’s here on a whim for about a week. Her and her boyfriend live in New Brunswick, I believe. I had been planning on visiting the Eiffel Tower that night to see the light show, and since I had spent the entire day alone and she was unfamiliar with the city, I asked if she wanted to go. She agreed, and we set off around 9:30.

As soon as we came to the Champs de Mars (the large expanse of green grass that stretches away from the tower), we knew we were in for a great time. By day, the Champs de Mars is full of camera-toting tourists and crying babies, but at night it’s pure magic. Young people from all over the city come out and sit on the Champs de Mars to socialize, drink wine, and catch a glimpse of the tower as it stands elegantly over the city. Luckily, I still had my cheap wine that I had bought at the grocery store the day before, so we found an unclaimed spot and hung out for a bit. After the first light show (they happen every hour), we decided it might be fun to join a crowd and see what everyone else was up to. After taking a look, we approached a group that were singing and playing the guitar, and they were more than happy to have us. There ended up being two American girls, as well as one Parisian girl and a few Parisian guys. They were a blast to hang out with. We talked, drank wine (straight from the bottle of course), and played music into the night – all with a view that would make your jaw drop. After a few hours of this, Amy and I realized that we should probably get back to the hostel. We both had things we wanted to do tomorrow, so we packed up shop and took the metro home. However, those few hours spent on the Champs de Mars were incredible, and will probably be one of the best moments of my trip. I guess this town ain’t so bad after all…