Paris, Normandy, and Brittany July 2017 Tuesday, July 4, 2017 Paris, France We left from O’Hare Airport at about 8:30 PM yesterday (after a 2 hour delay!) and arrived in Paris today about noon local time. Of course, because of the 7-hour time difference, our bodies thought it was 4:30 AM. We’ve found the best way to deal with jet lag is not to give in to the temptation to take a nap, but to soldier on until darkness falls wherever we happen to be. However, since Paris is farther north than most of the United States, sunset here is much later than in the Chicago area – about 10 PM. So it felt like we went without sleep for about 18 hours. Gary & Karen at Notre Dame Fortunately, Paris is as beautiful a city as everyone says it is, so it was worth it after all! We met up with our friends, John and Yvonne, at the apartment that Yvonne had rented for us all on Rue Charlot, in the Marais district. It’s one of the older sections of Paris (more pre- Revolutionary structures and streets than any other area in Paris), so of course the buildings are also older. Our apartment is in a 500-year-old building that has been renovated with modern amenities – sort of. I say sort of because the renovations did not include air conditioning or elevators, which is not unusual in Europe. The older the building, the less likely it is to have air conditioning. View of Rue Charlot from our apartment Unfortunately, the apartment is on the top (fourth) floor, and Paris is currently going through a heat wave of close to 90 degrees (F). Luckily, the apartment has really thick stone walls and came with plenty of electric fans! We all went out for an exploratory walk around the historic Île de la Cité section. Some of the sights included the Sainte-Chappelle, the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), and Notre Dame Cathedral (my first look at flying buttresses!). Then we went back to the apartment to meet up with Yvonne’s friends, Tim and Peggy, who are renting the apartment across from ours and will be going on the VBT cycling trip with us. Their friend Bernard, who was married to a French woman, is staying in their spare bedroom for a few days so he can see one of his daughters perform in a music recital at the conservatory she attends. The five of us went out to dinner at some local restaurant that I was too tired to remember the name of, although I do remember the duck salad with goat cheese, which was delish. South side of Notre Dame. Note the flying buttresses! And the statue of Pope John Paul II. Wednesday, July 5 Paris, France Busy day today. Gary and I got up around 9 AM local time, which is late for us, but of course we’re still recovering from jet lag. We wandered down to a little bistro on the corner called Café Charlot and split the most delicious ham and cheese omelet I’ve ever tasted in my life. You could tell it had been cooked in plenty of real butter. And of course it came with crusty bread and creamy café au lait. Then we met John and Yvonne back at the apartment and the four of us took the Metro to the Musée d’Orsay (Orsay Museum). It’s a former train station which was constructed in the Beaux-Arts style for an early French railway company and finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. During World War II it became a mailing center, and in the 1960s it was used as a set for several movies, including Orson Wells’ “The Trial.” It was scheduled to be demolished in 1970, but the French government instead decided to convert it into an art museum that would bridge the gap between the Louvre and the Museum of Contemporary Arts. It reopened as the Musée d’Orsay in 1986. And yes, the huge clock in the main alley still works. Here, I finally saw in person the masterpieces of the Impressionist artists such as Renoir, Monet, and Van Gogh. (And also one of the most famous works of art by an American artist outside of the United States – “Whistler’s Mother.”) Water Lily Pond (Blue) – Claude Monet Bal du moulin de la Galette – Pierre-Auguste Renoir Starry Night Over the Rhone Arles – Vincent Van Gogh Arrangement in Grey&Black #1 – James Whistler After several hours at the museum, we walked down to Paris’ oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf (which ironically means “new bridge”), to take a one-hour scenic cruise up and down the River Seine on an excursion boat. After the boat cruise, we made our way over to the Eiffel Tower on Champs de Mars. This, of course, is the 1,066-foot wrought iron lattice tower that was built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Fair and has since become an iconic symbol of France. The obligatory Eiffel Tower picture – just to prove we really were in Paris We didn’t climb all 704 steps to the top of the tower. (The uneven stairways to our apartment already give us a good work-out every day.) We took the elevator to the second floor, which is open to the public, then we used the tickets we had purchased several weeks before to take another elevator up to the very top. We met up with Tim and Peggy here and spent several hours taking pictures of the panoramic views. We did take the stairs down from the second floor, which is a lot easier but with just as spectacular a view. It was a really distinctive experience of being inside and outside at the same time. It was after 10 PM when we left the tower, and sunset was finally falling. As we walked away from the tower in search of a restaurant, the nightly light show started. A really beautiful sight! Thursday, July 6 Paris, France Today we took the Metro to the west side of the city for another sight that we just had to see on our first trip to Paris: the Arc de Triomphe. Another very recognizable symbol of Paris, this monument honors the victories of Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as all soldiers who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I lies directly underneath the main arch, although it now represents the dead who were never identified from both world wars. The arch has been the site of many famous victory marches, parades and ceremonies: Napoleon’s posthumous homecoming in 1840, before his remains were permanently entombed in the Invalides the Germans in 1871 (Franco-Prussian War) the French in 1919 (World War I) the Germans again in 1940 (World War II) the French and the Allies in 1944 (the Liberation of Paris, World War II). The arch is also the focal point of the annual Bastille Day Military Parade and (on a lighter note) the culmination of the annual Tour de France cycling event. Ever since the interment of the Unknown Soldier in 1919, however, these parades and marches have avoided going directly through the main arch, out of respect for the tomb and what it represents. Instead, they usually march up to the arch and then around its sides. Even Hitler honored this custom in 1940. You can also go to the top of the arch (for an extra fee, of course). It supposedly has a great view of the “historical axis.” This is the perfect alignment of the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysées, the Obelisk on Place de la Concorde, the Louvre, and more recently, the Grand Arche de la Défense in the far distance. We already had a birds’- eye view of Paris yesterday from the Eiffel Tower, though, so we passed. Traffic on the giant 8-lane circle around the arch is as crazy as it looks on TV. Supposedly, it’s the only place in Paris where traffic accidents are not judged; insurance companies routinely split the costs 50-50, no matter what the circumstances. (If you decide to rent a car in Paris, you are offered a special insurance package to cover any accidents on the Arc de Triomphe roundabout.) Cars entering the circle are supposed to have the right-of-way; those inside the circle are supposed to yield. Traffic cops are stationed at each entrance to try to control the madness – but it still looks pretty chaotic to the uninitiated. Thank God there are underpasses that pedestrians can use so they don’t have to risk their lives getting to the arch. The traffic in the Arc de Triomphe roundabout (stock picture) Then we took a long walk down the Champs-Elysées (French for “Elysian Fields,” which was the paradise for dead heroes in ancient Greek mythology). It’s one of the most famous streets in the world for upscale retail shopping. Of course, all of the famous French luxury boutiques, such as Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, and Guerlain, are here. (Lots of bling in the windows, but nothing we could afford.) But we also saw lots of global chain stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Benetton, the Disney Store, The Gap, Nike, Sephora, and Zara. We almost thought we were back home again! Our next stop of the day was the Louvre, which used to be a fortress and then later a residence for the French kings.