Today began with bright clear skies and warmish temperatures and an early wake up time. The plan was for the entire group to meet at Notre Dame at nine a.m. to beat the crowds. The plan worked and we walked right in (but it was still quite crowded). Since it was Sunday, they were having mass and a sort of battle ensued between the "docents" of the cathedral who were trying to maintain order and the tourists who didn't want to follow rules and the squabbling dampened the more religious experiences for me. However the interior is stunning and humbling. I don't think I had ever been inside of a building that old and it made me wonder what buildings in the U.S. would still be standing 900 years from now. It was neat to see all the little quirks in the walls and ceilings where things were no longer quite straight or perhaps never were. I was definitely glad we got a chance to get inside and see Notre Dame from the inside.
Afterwards we sat out on the plaza out front and listened to the bells toll and watched the people while we waited for some of the people who were browsing the gift shop. Ingrid (who had joined us again today) took a picture of Kirsten and I in our Eskimo Joe shirts in front of the cathedral for my Mom who wants to try to get us in their catalog. So if you want to see us begin our modeling career, make sure you get on their mailing list!
After Notre Dame we walked across the plaza to the Concierge which is one of the original castles/palaces of Paris and is now used as their Justice Department headquarters and visiting now requires inspection by the French gendarmes. However, the main attraction here is Sainte-Chappelle which is buried within the Concierge walls. It was built by King Louis IX (St. Louis) to house his collection of holy relics including the Crown of Thorns which is now held at Notre Dame. Today the chapel is known for it's amazing stained glass windows. Sixteen windows surround the sanctuary stretching more than 100 feet high and depict over 1,100 different scenes from the bible. Definitely look at the pictures when Kirsten puts them up, it's indescribable!
From there the group split into several factions with one group heading up to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur and another went somewhere else. . . So Ingrid, Kirsten, and I went walking over to the Left Bank to go visit the Rodin Museum and Garden since the weather was nice. On the way though, we stopped in at the Flower Market that takes place on Ile de la Cite (where Notre Dame and the Concierge are located). Not so many flowers were being sold that we saw but there sure were a lot of birds for sale. Little budgies to cockatoos, grey parrots, and chickens and a giant rooster. The whole operation seemed to be run by gypsy types and it was a bit creepy so we didn't stay long.
Along the way to the Rodin Museum we stopped for a little breakfast at a little cafe called Malongo which seemed to be way off the tourist radar and provided a perfect place to sit and drink delicious tea and coffee with pastries and breads for dirt cheap prices (Edit: Apparently it's a European chain but still great and quiet). Moving along from there we also poked our heads into Ste. Germaine des Pres which is even older than Notre Dame. We weren't able to see much of it as they were also having mass but what we did see was quite beautiful looking. The bells outside also sounded very nice and the cafes that lined the little square out front were all packed with people who were listening to them - probably because they couldn't carry out a conversation without shouting.
Eventually we finally made it to the Rodin Museum and it was great. They had the actual Thinker, the Kiss, the Burghers of Calais, and the Gates of Hell, plus countless other statues, sculptures, and paintings in all sorts of mediums. The museum is mostly a garden with Rodin's larger works scattered around in a formal garden setting. The smaller pieces are housed in an old central building that looks like it was once a very lavish mansion. It's a great stop if you like Rodin's eye for detail. His hands and feet in particular are very expressive. This was my favorite museum.
Our last stop was the Marmottan Museum which was way out on the west side of town almost to the Peripherique. They're known for having one of the largest collections of Monet paintings anywhere, although it seems to be unknown or unvisited by most - probably because it is so out of the way. There was a line outside but it seemed only to be locals, I didn't hear anyone else speaking English the entire time I was there. The paintings were very nice and they had several that I recognized and there were a lot that I liked. Most interesting though were the more unusual Monet paintings that appeared not quite finished or actually had a lot of texture like Van Gogh which I hadn't seen before. It was fun trying to figure out the correct distance to stand away from the painting to see exactly what the tableau was that he was trying to convey.
We rode the metro back into the center of town and parted ways to change into our fancy pants for a nice dinner. Kirsten and I stopped in at Quick - a French fast food burger place that's sort of like Burger King. . . sort of. It was just alright but took the edge off the hunger. Dinner with Ingrid was at Le Grand Colbert which apparently is featured in a major scene in the movie Something's Gotta Give. The restaurant is very 1920s with fastidious waiters with perfect postures in tuxedos. However there was none of the surly attitude that sometimes accompanies places like these, everyone was very engaging and spoke such good English that I forgot where I was at times. The food was delicious, I had the spicy fish soup, braised beef with au gratin potatoes, and baked alaska flambe. We also polished off a bottle of wine and ended up staying there for over three hours!
Many thank yous to Ingrid for another great day!
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