Walking Around

On Saturday we got up and went toward downtown Paris where we were supposed to meet a guide for a walking tour of the city. Since we had over an hour before it started, we took the chance to sit outside at a cafe and try some of the food and coffee. Both were amazing - the bread there was incredible and the coffee is definitely some of the best I've had. I had a plate with bread covered in ham and melted cheese that had a salad on the side, while Ken and Sara tried out some baguettes with different cheeses on them. It was a great way to relax and it was so fun watching people walk by. We were sitting across from a fountain that marks the beginning of the Roman quarter - so named because it's one of the oldest parts of the city originally occupied by its namesake.

In the picture above, Gabriel is dealing the final blow to Lucifer before banishing him to hell. The creatures in front were half-lion, half-dragon and the sculpting was amazingly detailed.

We soon started our tour and began walking toward the river, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful parts of the city. Boats drifted along under the countless bridges spanning the Seine and we walked along the water for a while, during which time our guide talked about French history and pointed toward a building with bullet holes at the top - some of the very few marks left on Paris during WWII.

In the background below, Notre Dame overlooks the river before it.

We soon came to a park where Louis IV often spent time. By the park was a building with elaborate heads carved into the top, each of which represents a Templar knight. As we stood on the steps, our guide told us it was in that spot that their leader had once been burned at the stake and with his dying words cursed the then king and pope, who both died within the year. Since the place was considered haunted, Louis often went there to meet up with the numerous women he was having affairs with. His wife, Marguerite, was having similar affairs with two lovers of her own, but when the king found out about the men he had them skinned alive. (Yet he was still called "good king Henry".)

On top of the wall was a large statue of Henry IV. While looking at it, our guide continued his story by saying that after surviving 18 assassination attempts, the king was finally killed by François Ravaillac, who stabbed him three times in the heart. An article online best describes how he was punished for regicide: "Before being drawn and quartered... he was scalded with burning sulphur, molten lead and boiling oil and resin, his flesh then being torn by pincers." Our guide said that the only thing left of Ravaillac was a shirt soaked in blood.

We crossed another bridge and ended up where I had been looking forward to going the most: the Louvre. An entire other post is necessary to describe this building; all I can say briefly is that it is magnificent. Massive, ornate, and full of some of the most beautiful treasures in the world, the Louvre was one of my favorite sights. Across from it we saw one of Paris's famous American Cathedral, where not only kings have been married, but also Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria. (So you know it's got to be good, haha.) After so much of the German architecture, it was fun to see some new styles and more of the Gothic theme appearing.

We walked through the plazas of the Louvre and into the city on the other side, where we took a short break to enjoy something very Parisian: more McDonald's. (Hey, the city was really expensive and cheap food with plenty of calories is absurdly appealing.) The wealth in that area was pretty apparent, as evidenced by the Rolls Royce parked casually outside a restaurant.

After an awesome lunch, we continued walking and ended up in the parks that lie in front of the Louvre. I say park very loosely, since they might as well be considered forests. Apparently the area was originally used for smelting ore, but Marie Antoinette got sick of looking at the poor people working and had it turned into the lavish gardens that still remain.

There were so many statues, gardens, and meticulously groomed trees that the parks were slightly overwhelming. When we rounded a corner, ahead was a huge obelisk which seemed very out of place. This is the place where the guillotine once sat that took so many lives during the French Revolution, and today is marked by the massive 6 thousand year old egyptian monument.

Some other interesting sights in the area included the hotel where winners of the Tour de France stay, fountains which were placed throughout the city to provide fresh water when it used to be hard to find, and the Arch de Triumph.