84-0, "Let them eat cake..." (Part II)

My parents were to arrive in Paris on Wednesday, February 18th at Charles de Gaulle. My father had arranged a business trip that allowed him and my mother to make a holiday out of it, ... the first part being in Nice on the southern coast of France, and the end of it in Paris watching their son's American football team in La Courneuve.

Note on sight-seeing: With my parents and Victoria in town, the touristy bits swung into full effect, and this I did not all mind. It seems to me, when you live in Paris you tend not to go to many of the must-see places, but I guess that is what happens in any place you live. It is funny and weird to me, that the majority of the guys on my team have only seen a fraction of Paris the way I've seen it my first two months here. I am truly what I strive not to be, ... a tourist.

Wednesday, Victoria and I met my parents near Notre Dame, and climbed all 440 steps to the amazing views from the top of the south tower. We saw all of Paris from up here, as well Quasimodo's infamous bells.

The day's visits continued on to the Crypte Archeologique, which is the beneath the courtyard infront of the famous cathedral, and houses blocks of unearthed medieval buildings.

A block further west we visited the stunning La Sainte-Chapelle. It was built orginally to house the holy relics of the Royal Archives, most noteably Christ's Crown of Thorns. The most visually beautiful aspects of the chapel, and considered the best of their type in the world, are its stained glass.

Attached and surrounding La Sainte-Chapelle, is the Conciergerie. The Conciergerie is a former royal palace and prison. It is part of the larger complex known as the Palais de Justice, which is still used for judicial purposes.

Note on the Conciergerie: Hundreds of prisoners during the French Revolution were taken from La Conciergerie to be executed on the Guillotine at a number of locations around Paris. The most famous prisoners (and victims) included Queen Marie Antoinette, the poet André Chénier, Charlotte Corday, Madame Élisabeth, Madame du Barry and the Girondins, who were condemned by Georges Danton, who was in turn condemned by Robespierre, who was himself condemned and executed in a final bout of bloodletting. So, the gist of this place was a lot of people lost their heads so modern day Frenchmen and women can work 35 hours a week, and go on strike whenever they feel like it.

After quite a full morning, we met a co-worker of my father's, and native Parisian, Sophie Tacchi for lunch. Across from the Georges Pompidou Centre, at Cafe Beaubourg we had a bit of a pricey for lunch, but it was worth it. Lamb burger for lunch? Yes, please!

After lunch we explored the Pompidou Centre. Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou was the brainchild of President Georges Pompidou who wanted to create an original cultural institution in the heart of Paris completely focused on modern and contemporary creation, where the visual arts would rub shoulders with theatre, music, cinema, literature and the spoken word. 6 million people pass through the Centre Pompidou's doors each year, a total of over 190 million visitors in its 30 years of existence.

Note on the Pompidou Centre: The Pompidou Centre is an immense complex, that could be easily confused with a factory or power plant. The design of the Centre is inside out, meaning all functional structural elements of the building are on the exterior. This leaves wide-open corridors and exhibition space on the inside. Even the accoridion-esque escalator system runs along the exterior of the structure.

The musuem touring went into full gear from here on out. My father purchase a three-day All Access Musuem Pass and was determined to take full advantage of it. A short Metro trip and we arrived at my favorite museum in Paris.

The Musée d'Orsay is housed in the former railway station, the Gare d'Orsay. It holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography, and is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces by such painters such as Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne. The Impressionist wing was a bit crowded but it was amazing to get so close these masterpieces.

With the Orsay closing at 6, we then hopped over the Seine for a short stop in the Louvre Museum, which remained open until 9. Nearly 35,000 objects from the 6th millennium BC to the 19th century AD are exhibited over an area of 652,300 square feet. But the builiding itself is enough for a visit to the Louvre. We only stayed in the musuem for a short visit, because of everyones aching feet from walking all over Paris. It being my third visit, I gave my folks and Victoria an express tour of the Renaissance sculpture hall, keying on the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Dinner was a guidebook selection of my father's, Cafe Du Marche, near the Effiel Tower. Cafe Du Marche was by far the most reasonably priced quality meal I've had out to eat in Paris (Thank You, Rick Steve's). Proving the fact the world is a tiny place, we ran into my teammate, Arna, and his wife at the cafe, and they invited us to see their apartment, directly behind the restaurant. Although very small, I stuck my head out the window and looked up to see the sparkling Tour d'Effiel. Perfect apartment.

Thinking we could make it to climb the Arc de Triomphe before it closed at 10, we all hopped on a bus and rode to the Champs-Elysees. Unfortunately, the last group was allowed to ascend the Arc at 9:30, so we were out of luck.

Note on the Arc: The Arc de Triomphe is a colossal structure, much grander than it appears in photos. It stands at the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile and meeting places of 12 avenues. Noteable for armies marching down and thru it, it symbolizing the conquering of Paris, as the Germans did twice in both World Wars, and then the Allies in return when liberating the city.

I am sorry for all this educational nonsense, I try to be more funny from here on out. Read on please.