The Top Floor Flat

Right, well, we’re going to start moving through this Paris trip at a bit of an increased pace – mostly because I’ve got so many other things to talk about that have happened in the last three days (for a stay-at-home weekend, this weekend became incredibly busy!).

Wednesday in Paris was the unofficial Museum Day. I spent most of the day at the Louvre which, according to my tour guide the day before houses so much artwork that should you attempt to view each piece for 25 seconds, you would spend a total of six months in the museums (by which time they would have changed or added an exhibit and you’d have to start over). Opting for the three hour tour over the six month one, I followed the audio guide through French artistic and architectural history. One of the most stunning parts of the tour was the Napoleonic chambers. While Napoleon himself never lived there, they were decorated in a style associated with his rule and were private residences as recent as a few decades ago. The opulence and glamour was stunning.

I was also, of course, impressed by some of the early Northern Renaissance art which I had studies in school and saw on the tour. Before leaving I did make my way to the hideously crowded Italian masters wing where I got to glimpse Da Vinci’s work, including the Mona Lisa, and the works of the rest of the crowd who got Ninja Turtles named after them. Now I am as much in awe of these great works as the next art history dabbler but it was a little off putting to see them along with so many tourists who effectively viewed the entire exhibit hall through the lens of a camera, snapping pictures just to say they had.

Wednesday afternoon brought me to the Picasso museum which was small but very impressive. I think it’s surprising for many people just how much of a range Picasso had – he’s so often associated with the post-impressionism and cubist paintings from somewhat later in his life but he worked over such a long period of time and in so many different medias (there were a number of his sculptures on display as well) that it’s impossible to characterise his work by that style.

Having already spent a good deal of time on my feet, I grabbed some food to take back to the hotel and had an early night in anticipation of Versailles the next day.

Versailles was indescribable – I had been looking forward to this part of my trip perhaps most of all and it definitely didn’t disappoint. After the simple train ride from Paris to the chateau (about 40 minutes) I started off with the tour of the actual palace, including the famous Hall of Mirrors. This turned out to be a good move because even though the tourist crowds had been relatively light throughout my trip, Versailles turned out to be particularly crowded and even just after opening I found myself shuffling through the gorgeous rooms with huge groups of people.

After the palace I wandered out into the gardens and towards Marie Antoinette’s private areas (which included the working farm where she was said to enjoy pretending to be a milk maid). The entire thing was exquisite and what was particularly nice was that as I moved farther away from the main palace, the crowds thinned out and finally I found myself walking for up to half an hour at a time through the gardens without seeing another person. I actually ended up almost completely lost and turned around (not exactly a laughing matter on the huge estate) but couldn’t be much bothered as I kept coming across new gardens, grottos hidden behind fountains, paths to new buildings and more. It was near the middle of the afternoon and when I was the most lost that I happened upon an open building labeled the theatre. Inside was the most beautiful miniature theatre (probably just a few dozen seats) but with a full stage and set. I can’t even imagine living a life like the one the inhabitants of Versailles must have had and am glad I planned to spend the entire day there so I could truly explore the area.

When I arrived back in Paris, I was quite tired but happened to notice as I was walking back to the hotel that my museum pass (which I had purchased for Wednesday and Thursday as it included Versailles) included a tour up the Notre Dame tower which offered an amazing view of the city. I was very glad that I found that as it offered a completely different look at the city than from the Eiffel Tower.

On Friday morning, I got up early to beat the crowds to that famous tower but the weather wasn’t really cooperating. It seemed a bit misty and overcast at ground level but by the time I had made it to the second platform on the tower (about 1/3 of the way up) I realised that misty at ground level is proper rain and high winds when you’re very high up. Of course I went to the top of the tower, and admired the view from the open air platform but couldn’t take the weather for long so after not too long returned to the second platform for a hot coffee and then walked the stairs all the way to the ground.

After the tower, my plan had been to continue through the art museums but realised I was right next to the Hôtel des Invalides, which was a hospital established by Napoleon for veterans and soldiers which still acts as a veterans hospital today. It also houses the tomb and remains of Napoleon and has a wonderful war history museum that explores French and European history. After the tour of Napoleon’s tomb, I wandered into the World Wars I and II exhibitions and ended up spending nearly two hours going through the truly fascinating exhibit.

For my final afternoon and last morning in Paris on Friday and Saturday, I wandered back through the areas of the city that I had become most familiar with; specifically the islands, Rue de Rivoli which is the main road that runs next to the Louvre and Champs Elysees and the Tuileries park in front of the Louvre. Before leaving Paris I made one final stop at Angelina’s for hot chocolate and brunch before heading back to London on the Eurostar.

Of course I couldn’t end my trip without one final bit of drama, however. I had been waiting nearly an hour in the train station waiting for information about my train, which just wasn’t coming up. Finally, with only 15 minutes to go until the train was supposed to leave the station, I realised something was wrong – in fact I was in the wrong place and had to get through baggage check and customs, and make the train in 15 minutes. Thankfully I made it on board with approximately 30 seconds to spare (I was still making my way to my seat when the train left the station).

Over all it was a fantastic trip. I’ve learned about a lot of places I’d like to visit when I return to Paris in the future but for a first pass of the city, I think I did quite well. Enjoy the pictures, but don’t think things are going to be boring now that I’m back in London and not travelling for a while. Just wait until you hear what I did this weekend….