This was a very busy day of sightseeing. We started by going to the Notre Dame Cathedral, where Victor
Hugo situated his famous play the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Construction of the cathedral began in the 12th
century. The Cathedral is a good example
of French Gothic architecture and was one of the first buildings to use arched
exterior supports know as Flying buttress. Unfortunately the lineup to go up to the roof
to see the gargoyles was too long, so we had to skip it.
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
We then walked through the Latin Quarter, past the Sorbonne
University to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a
national monument to the great French artists and thinkers, such as Victor Hugo
and Voltaire. It was built in
the 18th century by French king Louis XV.
The exterior is based on the Pantheon in Rome. The inside is very
impressive with huge arches and beautiful paintings depicting French history. The dome is under construction, which is why you got that strange looking background in the following picture.
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| Pantheon |
We then went to the Hotel des Invalides. In 1670 Louis XIV initiated the project as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers. This is where all the French military heroes
are buried, next to the military hospital.
The most famous tombs are that of Napoleon Bonaparte and Marechal Foch. Napoleon's tomb is monstrous and reflects a desire
of the French people to be once again a powerful nation in Europe. The dome on
the Hotel des Invalides is spectacular.
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| Hotel des Invalides |
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| Napoleon Bonaparte tomb |
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| Marechal Foch tomb |
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| Hotel des Invalides |
During the day we travelled with a hop-on / hop off bus tour called Big Bus Tours. I would not recommend them as their route did not have a lot of stops and when they did stop the bus would wait for up to fifteen minutes, even though there were no new passengers.
After our visit to the Hotel des Invalides, we then took a break for some wine and a snack. Marg had smoked Salmon and a cocktail called Sex on the Beach.
After our visit to the Hotel des Invalides, we then took a break for some wine and a snack. Marg had smoked Salmon and a cocktail called Sex on the Beach.
After this we went to the Eiffel Tower. The tower stands more than three hundred meters tall and offers an outstanding view of Paris. It was built for the 1889 World's Fair.
We stood in line for at least ninety minutes in order to get to the summit of the tower. Just as we were about to enter the elevator to the top there was an alarm and everyone was asked to leave the tower. Luckily for us it turned out to be a false alarm. I don’t know if we could have walked down the stairs.
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| Eiffel Tower |
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| Arc de Triomphe |
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| French Military College |
Video of views from the Eiffle Tower
On the Eiffel Tower are engraved seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in recognition of their contributions. Eiffel chose this "invocation of science" because of his concern over the protests against his tower. The engravings are found on the sides of the tower under the first balcony and include the family name of our good friend Gilles Seguin, who will be visiting his ancestral home with Annie in the fall.
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| The plague is in recognition of Marc Seguin |
After the Eiffel Tower we walked across the Seine River to the Trocadero and went for dinner at very exclusive restaurant
call Le Coq. We didn’t eat until
10:30pm. Marg had veal and I had lamb stew. Again we had a wine variety call Gravies, which we both really like.
In the Trocadero there was an electronic music concert going on. The crowd seemed to be really getting into the groove and were having a great time.
In the Trocadero there was an electronic music concert going on. The crowd seemed to be really getting into the groove and were having a great time.
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