Trips

Paris on our Own
June 12 - 16, 2022

Sun., 6/12/22 - Paris on our Own: Montmartre, Sacre Coeur

This morning we said goodbye to the rest of our group and headed out on our own for five more days in Paris.

After a nice Metro ride, we found our way to the Montmartre area and Sacre Coeur - formally, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris. The funicular took us up the last hill after climbing several stories up out of the Metro. We now know why so many people waited for the one elevator.

There were already throngs of people up on the hill. We walked around Place de Tertre, where the usual artists were all at work, and looked in a number of shops but didn’t find another wallet like the two purchased on other trips to Montmartre. The line to go into the church was very long, but moved fairly well, and we entered at the beginning of the 11 AM high mass. It was amazing that they let us in to walk around the sides and back of the altar during the mass. The church was almost full and we sat and listened until the homily (in French of course). It is a beautiful place.

Artist hard at work	Sacre Coeur
Sacre Coeur	Dome over the main altar
The organ	Somewhat modern window
Carousel below Montmartre Hill	Next, we walked down the stairs to a different Metro line and rode to the Parc de Villette where the new Philharmonie de Paris is located. We decided to have some lunch at a Brasserie before tackling the park. The park was created in the 1970s when three large slaughter houses (veal, sheep, and beef) ceased operation. The cow house was converted into an event center. A balloon event was currently going on and kids were coming out with balloons and balloon animals. The Philharmonie building is ultramodern, looks like a space ship, and people on tours get to walk up and around on the roof. It is just a stunning building. It would be wonderful to attend a concert there!
	Philharmonie de Paris
Doves on the stainless steel walls
Mon., 6/13/22 - Paris - The Louvre Our reserved tickets for the Louvre today were for a 9:30 AM entry. The Metro brought us close to the museum. One of the main objectives for today's visit was to see the extensive, and very good, Egyptian collection held at the Louvre. (Read this very interesting article concerning the world-wide trade in antiquities: "Egypt Wants Its Treasure Back." Also very interesting are the articles detailing the number and location or Egyptian antiquities throughout the world: "List of Museums with Egyptian Antiquities." - it is comforting to know that the largest number are found in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.) The Louvre's collection is stunning. We spent a lot of time browsing through the many rooms. Many items were small things from graves but also stele with hieroglyphs, blocks taken out from temple walls, several sarcophagi and coffins (one mummy on display), and much more. Many of he things are in perfect shape but nothing is clearly labeled or identified even in French. After we had seen most of the Egyptian collection, we followed the crowds to the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, and the Mona Lisa. Having seen the later before, we made no attempt to enter the gallery where she is housed. By this time we were pretty exhausted but did take the time to look at the other DaVinci paintings and a couple by Caravaggio, etc.
Typical Metro statio	The Pyramid entry at the Louvre
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel at the Louvre	Venus de Milo
Winged Victory	The following photos taken of the Egyptian collection are mostly presented without identifying labels - there were few to be found. Just enjoy some of the gorgeous treasures the Louvre has on display.   Great Sphinx of Tanis (may be as early as the 26th c. BCE)
	Musical Instruments
Mummy case
Mona Lisa from a distance - too many people to fight our way in	After leaving the Louvre, we found a nice place to sit down and rest for lunch and then walked to the Ile de la Cite to look at Notre Dame under reconstruction. We got pictures of Notre Dame and then found the entrance to Sainte-Chapelle Church that we wanted to enter. We were not allowed in because we hadn’t booked in advance. That was a bummer. The church is known for its magnificent stained glass.
Palace of Justice	Ornate gates of the Palace of Justice
Notre Dame	Notre Dame with scaffolding and cranes
Another Metro ride took us to the Pantheon. Louis XV wanted it to be a church to St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Before it was finished, the architect and Louis XV had died and the French Revolution was underway. The National Constituent Assembly voted, in 1791, to transform it into a mausoleum for some of France’s great people. In the crypt are the graves of Victor Hugo and Emile Zola, Jean Moulin, Marie and Pierre Curie, Alexander Dumas, and the Moulin Rouge dancer and resistance fighter, Josephine Baker, among many others. A Foucault Pendulum swings from the central dome in the empty first floor. The Pantheon was a relative disappointment.	The Paris Pantheon
Model of the Pantheon	Interior
Foucault Pendulum	The National Convention, a sculpture by Siccard
Louis Braille	The Curies, Pierre and Marie
Memorial plaque to Antoine de Saint Exupery, the author of "The Little Prince"	Building decoration

We were too tired to go out to dinner and ate a Casino (supermarket) sandwich in our room accompanied by rose wine from our winery Day in the Life and macarons from the cooking lesson.

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