Last Visits In Paris

To wrap-up our week-long visit to Paris, we took the short walk from the Pantheon to Luxembourg Garden, a beautiful sixty acre garden and then a very short visit to the Church of Saint-Sulpice.

The garden was packed on this sunny Monday (do Parisians actually work, or do they just hang out in gardens?). 

There are beautiful flower beds, a large pond for toy sailboats, comfortable green chairs to sit in and soak up the sun.  The Jardin du Luxembourg was a hangout for Hemingway, where, being poor, he would strangle pigeons for dinner.

The center piece of the garden is the pond, but the home of the French Senate, the Luxembourg Palace, dominates the landscape in a classical French building kind of way.  All in all it was fantastic, relaxing way to end our trip (well, actually, whilst walking the nearly mile back to the hotel we stopped for a sweet crepe.  I had the banana sweet crepe, and it was so worth it.

Not all modern art is terrible.

This is interesting, even if

I have no idea what it

represents.

Big heads.

Luxembourg Palace.  Parisians

sunning themselves.  A perfect

ending to a wonderful trip.

The pond.  My only regret is 

that I didn't rent a toy sailboat.

Lots of statuary.

Just your typical park with a palace.

Thinking about adding this clock and

statuary onto the house.  Front or back?

The original selfie.

The Church of St. Sulpice.

Oh, I suppose I could write about Air France cancelling our flight while we were just 90 minutes from boarding, so we spent an extra 24 hours in France.  But since Charles de Gaulle International Airport is a long way from Paris and we were tired, we checked into our free Courtyard by Marriott hotel by the airport, went for walks and watched Netflix.  An extra day in Paris sounds ideal, or sounds like too much time, work, and expense so we chilled.

Thanks readers -- see you on our next trip. . .coming soon! 

The Pantheon Is Worth Visiting, Even If It's A Bit Strange

In 1744 King Louis XV was miraculously healed by Paris's patron saint, Saint Genevieve.  In thanks, he replaced her ruined church with a bigger, better one.  Except that by the time the church was completed in 1791, it was the middle of the French Revolution, and the revolution was more into secularism than religion.

It was turned into a mausoleum honoring the "Champions of French Liberty," including such folks as Voltaire, Rousseau, and others.  

The line to get into the Pantheon was quite long and moving slowly.  So I whipped out my phone, went to the website, and purchased two tickets while standing in line on the grand porch.  Having the two tickets allowed us to bypass the long line, join the short, rapidly moving line for people with pre-purchased tickets.

So, here's my question.  Many of the people standing in loser no-ticket line are younger (considerably so) than we are.  Why didn't these people who do everything on their phones whip out their phones, purchase tickets, and avoid the slow line?  If a couple of folks born during the Kennedy Administration could figure it out, why can't these children of the '80s, 90s, and even 00s get it done?

(Editor: Do I detect a bit of a self-satisfied air?  Writer: Yes, yes you do.  I just had to refrain from spiking the phone on the marble in celebration.)

Once inside, the murals on the walls depict St. Genevieve saving Paris from Attila the Hun, St. Louis, Joan of Arc's life arc, Clovis, and Charlemagne.  

Under the dome, there are statues to Rousseau, French Generals, Orators (kind of the late night TV show hosts of their day), and Diderot (sorry, I have no idea who he is and I'm not going to look him up.)

Okay, I gave in and looked him up -- Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer who was a moving force in the founding and writing of the Encyclopedia, representing the Enlightenment.

There was monuments to French writers and other French heroes, as well as the grand Convention Nationale Monument, which has "Live free or die" on its base.  I bet they didn't even pay royalties to New Hampshire for stealing their motto.

We went below and wandered the massive crypt, which includes Rosseau, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Marie Curie, WWII Resistance Hero Jean Moulin, American Josephine Baker, Louis Braille, Soufflot (the inventor of the souffle).  

(Editor: Soufflot was NOT the inventor of the souffle, but instead the architect who built the Pantheon.  Writer: Well, with a name like that, I had to scramble to come up with something!)

By the way, Baker was an African American singer-entertainer who moved to France and became a WWII spy for the Allies.

We did not go up the Dome, as the line was long, but apparently we missed out on some impressive views.

If you've got limited time in Paris, I wouldn't make the case to go to the Pantheon, but if you have the time, sure, why not?

Pictures Of A Pantheon To French Glory

 

This Neoclassical building was supposed

to be a church, but it was finally

completed during the revolution,

so it was converted into a non-

religious mausoleum honoring

the champions of French Liberty

It right by a Parisian university, given a

youthful and energetic feeling to the area.

Mr. Eiffel's Tower, always nice to spot.

Massive columns.

The mausoleum is replete with historic scenes.

The murals honor French heros, including

Genevievem Clovis, and Charlemagne.

While not the original Foucault pendulum,

this marks the spot where, in 1851, 

scientist Leon Foucault first showed the

rotation of the earth with his pendulum.

Part of the grand Convention

National  Monument, this 

represents the revolution,

including the soldiers who

fight for France. 

Here the citizens pledge their allegiance

to France and the ideals of liberty,

reason, and the nation of France (and

now all of Europe, as the flag implies?)

Columns abound.

The stately main dome.

So I'm No Opera Fan, But We Are Fans Of The Garnier Opera House

Upon its opening in 1875, a critic wrote: "Why the need to stage such fabulous performances when the building itself is the most dazzling of spectacles?"

Well, on my previous trips in Paris I had scoffed at the idea of going to the Garnier Opera House.  I mean it's opera, right?  Sticking sharp needles into my eye is more appealing to me than going to the opera.  Why would I care about some opera house (well, that rule certainly doesn't to the iconic Sydney Opera House, but I had never heard of the Garnier Opera House before).

Well, I read enough about the place that I realized I had been missing out on some fabulous architecture.  I procured tickets for the 9am morning opening and an audio guide.

As we walked from the hotel to the Garnier, it was probably the coldest morning of the trip -- our last full day in Paris.  There was quite a long line to get into the Opera House, and as we got to the gate, the line split into those with tickets (lucky us!) and those without tickets.  We had a nice chat in line with a young American woman who did not have a ticket -- I hope she's made it in by now (that was two weeks ago!). 

Do NOT go to these major sites in Paris (and Rome) without buying tickets in advance.  The idea of walking up when convenient and just going in sounds pretty cool and commitment-avoidance at its peak, but why waste time waiting in a slow-moving line?  Get your tickets well in advance!

Anyhow, we picked up our pre-ordered audio guide, which also had pictures for each part of the tour so you knew if you were in the right place (we often weren't, but we figured it out).

The place is stunning to say the least.  It's been called "unquestionably a masterpiece of the first rank."

(Editor: If that's the least you can say, what's the most you can say?  Writer: It is to opera houses what Sagrada Familia is to churches/cathedrals -- the peak.)

Built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 under orders from Emperor Napoleon III.  It was the setting of the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux -- "The Phantom of the Opera" which of course was turned into the renowned musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Despite his piece of dreck musical Cats, Webber had many successful musicals anyhow.

The story is that when Charles Garnier presented the Emperor and Empress Eugenie with the plans, she criticized it for not being any existing style.  He pointed out that it is in the "Napoleon III" style, thus both gaining her approval and proving that sucking up can be a successful strategy in life.

Part of the Napoleon III style appears to cram incredible decoration into every possible space, and it works.  The front facade was undergoing renovation, so we didn't get to see that, but there certainly was plenty of amazing works of art and design inside.  

The most famous aspect of the Opera House is the Grand Staircase, made of white marble with a balustrade of green and red marble.  It splits about two-thirds of the way up into two flights of stairs leading to the Grand Foyer, which is aptly named.  There are balconies all around the open square on the Grand Foyer level,  overlooking the Grand Staircase.  Taking selfies in one of the balconies is practically a requirement of touring the place (I'm not knocking it -- we sure took selfies from a balcony!).

There is not a part of the ceiling on the Grand Foyer level that is untouched by sweeping paintings of scenes including The Triumph of Apollo, The Enchantment of Music Deploying Its Charms, Minerva Fighting Brutality, and, how's this for ego, The City of Paris Receiving The Plan of the New Opera. 

There is another foyer known as the "Foyer of Mosaics," primarily because it has a bunch of mosaics.  (Editor: That's the kind of thought-provoking analysis we've come to expect from this blog.  Writer: Thank you!  I think?).  It's also got five big chandeliers designed by Garnier himself.

The Salons of the Sun and Moon are pretty cool, serving as entrance vestibules for the smoking room and Galerie du Glacier (ice cream parlor).  Both have mirrors set up across from each other and reflect the room's chandelier to infinity, which means they are like Marvel's Infinity Stones, but totally different.

The Grand Foyer itself is chock full of fabulous chandeliers and painted ceilings.  It's 59 feet high, 177 feet long, and 43 feet wide, which is why it's not just the Foyer, but the Grand Foyer.

The Auditorium itself is a brilliant red and has a huge stage.  The largest in Europe, it can have up to 450 artists on it.  Beyond that, there's not much reason to gawk (except for the massive chandelier).

Anyhow, it's quite a beautiful building.  No wonder people flock to it.

Garnier Opera House Photos

Okay, I look a bit goofy with my

audio tablet guide headphones on,

but you're not supposed to look

at my ears -- look at the opera house!

Floor selfie.  (The phone was

on the floor -- just to clarify, 

that's the ceiling above us.)

One of the many cool rooms,

and, yes, another floor

selfie.  This old dog learns

a new trick and beats it within

an inch of its life.

Infinity mirrors (one on each

side of the room) makes it look

like the chandelier goes on

forever.  It was the inspiration

for the song "the chandelier

goes on forever and the party

never ends."  

The grand staircase.  From

other photos, it is grander

when no one is on it, but

nobody heeded my requests

to stay off it till I was

done taking pictures.

The other infinity chandelier.

Another look at the

Grand Staircase.

Don't call me a lyre, but I

don't know the name of

this musical instrument.

So the beautiful front facade of the

Opera House was under renovation,

but at least this statue was not.

This is one of two gilded sculptures

by Charles Gumery on the top of

the facade.  Entitled "Harmony,"

it is similar to its sister

sculpture, "Poetry"