11th November Notre Dame & Hop on Hop off Bus

Today I got up early and went to 8:30am Mass at Notre Dame. It was a beautiful morning in Paris...and so quiet at that time of morning!  Notre Dame is located on the 'lle de la Cite' in Paris and building began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII. It was mostly completed by 1250 and is an example of French Gothic architecture, sculpture and stained glass. The church has had a colourful history. During the reign of Louis XIV and Louis XV many tombs and stained glass windows were destroyed during renovations, during the French Revolution many treasures and sculptures were destroyed and plundered and then in 1804 on the 28th MayNapoleon  Bonaparte was declared emperor and crowned at Notre Dame. The west facade of the cathedral is probably the most well known. At the centre of the facade is a large rose window which was created around 1225 and it forms a halo above a statue of the Virgin with Child between two angels. Mass was said in French but their bulletin had the readings and the gospel of the day also printed in English. Once Mass was finished I went for a look through the cathedral. As I was walking around the Lauds Service had begun and it added to the atmosphere in the church.

After Mass I wandered around and took photos of the outside of the cathedral and then went and had some breakfast at a nearby cafe...a ham and cheese croissant and cappuccino. Then I decided to take the hop on hop off bus around Paris to try and absorb as much of Paris as I could. I was able to see the Opera, Maxims, Chanel and the Ritz Hotel. Today is Remembrance day, when we remember the members of the armed forces who have lost their lives in the line of duty. I had seen the French setting up around the Arc de Triomphe for a couple of days, but it hadn't occurred to me to go up there for the ceremony, so I missed the military parade. The bus route usually goes up the Champs Elysee but it was closed for the parade, so I got to see this road lined with French flags and completely empty of cars...it was amazing! Just at that moment, the police signalled to the driver that they were about to re-open the road...so we were one of the very first vehicles to then drive up the Champs Elysee towards the Arc de Triomphe...it was AWESOME!  I decided to get off the bus at the Trocadero and take some daylight pictures of the Eiffel Tower. I wandered down underneath the tower...I can't help but marvel at this incredible structure. Nearby the tower is an international art exhibition called the 'United Buddy Bears' which has more than 140 two metre tall fibreglass bears representing 140 countries. They are promoting tolerance, international understanding and peace and harmony. The motto is "We have to get to know each other better, it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully. The bears stand hand in hand in a peaceful circle. Each bear is decorated by an artist from the individual countries and our Australian bear was decorated by Ken Done. The decorations/art work on each bear reflects the culture, history, people and landscape of each individual country. They were really quite cute!

Next I decided to take a daytime cruise of the river Seine with Bateaux Parisiens. There was a photographer on board taking our pictures before we left, and these were ready for purchase at the end of the cruise. It was a similar cruise to the one I went on last weekend...just during the day. Once we got back I jumped back on the hop on hop off bus which made its way back to Notre Dame.

From Notre Dame, I then walked to the Pantheon. I haven't explored much of the left bank before, so this was all new. The Pantheon is a neo-Classical church in the Latin Quarter and was originally an abbey dedicated to St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. It now is a burial place for famous French heroes. In 1744 King Louis vowed that if he recovered from a mysterious illness he would replace the ruined abbey of St Genevieve with an edifice worthy of the patron saint of Paris. He commisioned a most spectacular building! At the start of the French Revolution the new government changed it from a church to a mausoleum for the interment of great Frenchmen. Twice since then it has reverted to being a church, only to then again become a temple to the great men of France. It really is quite and impressive building! Some of the French heroes buried there include Alexandre Dumas (author of The Three Musketeers), Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo (author of Les Miserables), Marie Curie (the only woman) and Louis Braille.

I then headed off to the Montparnasse Tower via the Luxembourg gardens. They are the second largest public park in Paris and is the garden of the French Senate which is housed in the Luxembourg Palace. The garden is centred on a large octagonal basin of water where children sail model boats. You can see statues of former French queens and saints, an orchard of apple and pear trees and there is a theatre de marionnettes (puppet theatre). It would have been nice to have had a picnic lunch here and it would have been a nice place to sit and soak up the sun...but by now there wasn't much sun! Lots of families were enjoying the park on a Sunday afternoon. Sunday aftern. I then headed for the Montparnasse Tower, a 210 metre office skyscraper with 59 floors. The 56th floor has a restaurant which is currently closed for renovations but the viewing area is still open. The view from the tower covers a radius of 40km and aircraft can be seen taking off from Orly Airport. It was good to get a great view from a different perspective of Paris. I then caught the metro up to St Michel and found a restaurant for dinner. As it was my last night in Paris I decided to go with the 3 course menu and a glass of red wine. I have really enjoyed my time in Paris and am sorry to be leaving! I walked across to the Louvre to get a last glimpse of the Pyramid, then the Eiffel Tower sparkle one last time and then to see the street of rubies and diamonds...the Champs Élysées...a perfect last day in Paris!