To Paris

Paris, beautiful Paris. It seems so clean and orderly after Rome, which is quite funny really! Anyway, I won't write so much about Paris as someone (Jess) said I write too much and people would get bored. I think she's wrong, but will try and curb my enthusiasm!
It was colder still in Paris, so although we went on a hop-on hop-off bus trip, there was no way I was going onto the top deck, which was a pity really. The bus was good value, and took us to where we wanted to go, although the commentary was ordinary. One of the first stops was Notre Dame, where we discussed flying buttresses and Charlemagne! Proceeded by a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter, a Christian basilica, and a Romanesque church, construction of Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII. It was completed in about 1250.

Jess had read in the tourist stuff about the Church of San Chappelle, which had a ceiling of stars, so we went to find it. It was part of the Palais de Justice complex. Walked into a church which was very small and seemed mainly closed off and scaffolded, and not nearly as picturesque as you would imagine - then found out we were in the under-chapel... walked up a flight of stairs and there it was in all its glory! Wonderful stained glass windows and fantastic ceiling, and an animated and very knowledgeable art history student talking about the frescoes. She really brought the whole history to life for us. The church was built in 1246 for Louis IX. Suposedly, above the alter, are thorns from the crown of thorns worn by Jesus, as well as a part of the true cross. We didn't see anything.

Next, a visit to the Conciergerie. It was built on the Ile-de-la-Cité between 1284-1314, and now makes up much of the Palais de Justice complex. Its history as a place of imprisonment, torture, and death is is significant. It has some beautiful features, in particular the Salle des Gardes - the room of the guards with elegant vaulting - the colonnaded Salle des Gens d'Armes - 69m long and 27m wide now sometimes used for concerts - and the Cuisines with its four large fireplaces, each large enough to roast an entire ox.

Among its more famous prisoners was Marie Antoinette.

We walked around the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, which was, pardon the pun, quite insane. It was down to around 4 degrees, and started to rain as we got there. It was also, although only around 5pm, quite dark, and by the time we got our tickets for entry, dark and raining lightly- very close to snowing. Anyway we got tickets to go to the top, which scared the bejesus out of me, but where the kids go, I go - no wussing out!

It's a BIG tower.

Very high.

Like 300m high. Two platforms, two different lifts, one on an angle and one straight up to the top.

Ye gods what was I thinking?




Insane thoughts obviously.. but I made it to the top - even climbed the stairs to the open area at the top, which was absolutely freezing!














When we had frozen enough, we went down to the bar on the second level. Well it's not every day that you go to the top of the Eiffel Tower is it? Jess and I had a glass of champagne each, Daniel a coke.... and for that we paid 23Euros!!!! HAHAHAHA what a rip off! At least the restaurant was full so we didn't get stuck with that!