PARIS, MY FIRST EUROPEAN VACATION (Part 3)

VISIT TO THE LOUVE MUSEUM, PLACE DE LA CONCORDE, CHAMP ÉLYSÉES & ARC DU TRIOMPHE

The Louvre Museum

At the entrance of Louvre

If New York has The MoMa or Museum of Modern Art and London has the British Museum, Paris of course has the famous Louvre Museum. If MoMa houses some of the famous modern and contemporary art pieces by artists like Picasso, Monet, Matisse and the likes and the British Museum acquired the largest collections of Egyptian arts, The Louvre has the Mona Lisa which is considered the most famous and most valued of all the art pieces in the world. Before, the Mona Lisa was only familiar to those in the know and those who has the interest about renaissance paintings or at least an avid art collector. But its popularity catapulted to the worldwide awareness when Dan Brown released a rather controversial novel which even irked the Catholic Church, The Da Vinci Code. So, when I planned this vacation, a visit to The Louvre was a must in my itinerary primarily to see the Mona Lisa upclose. But Louvre is not all about Mona Lisa because it contains 380,000 objects and 35,000 paintings. And believe me when I say, touring this huge museum completely in just a day is impossible. Well, if one intends to examine vividly the variety of artworks inside this museum, two to three days is necessary. 

I started my day early as I was anticipating a long queue of tourists trying to get inside this massive museum. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world so my fear of having to wait for hours to get inside was not farfetched. But to my big surprise, when I arrived at the main entrance, there wasn’t a long line. Even one local which I chanced upon informed me that during the summer time, it definitely tests one’s patience as one need to wait hours to get in. Luckily, my experience probably was one of those exceptional cases. The Louvre was actually a former palace of the King of France before it was transferred to Versailles. The main entrance of the museum is through the glass pyramid which sits right as the very center of the museum. Though seemingly odd contrast between an old renaissance style building and a modern glass structure, it actually provided a complimentary marriage and display of human ingenuity and artistry covering two entirely different era in human history. Odd looking as it may seem, the combination actually works. From the museum ground, I walked downward towards the spiral stairway and greeting me on my descend was this huge open space for visitors and different amenities such as the information desk, souvenir shops , admission desk for buying the ticket, etc. I had the Paris Pass so I don’t have to purchase one. The three corners of the pyramid base provided the three access way to the different wings of the museum such as the Richelieu, Sully and Denon Wings. The fourth corner is leading to the inverted pyramid. 

The Inverted Pyramid inside the Louvre

For visiting a huge museum as the Louvre, planning is important and keeping a map and pen or marker with you is an absolute necessity. I don’t intend to really examine every artwork in detail but instead focus in some of the must see pieces. Navigating inside this museum was like being trapped inside a maze. A couple of times that I kept on passing the same route as I try to find my way out to the next chamber. The Louvre “Plan Information” guided me well in locating some of the “MUST SEE” pieces. And so, I headed to the escalator leading to the Denon Wing and started my treasure hunt. The “Zero” or Ground Floor is dedicated to the sculptures and antiquities from different continents. As I pass by every hall filled of sculptures from Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Etruscan (or Ancient Rome) and Roman Antiquities, I can’t help but be amazed of the parade of these priceless treasures. The Code of Hammurabi, the Colossal Statue of Ramesses II, Aphrodite also known as Venus de Milo, Captive (The Dying Slave) by Michelangelo and who wouldn’t know the great story of love between Psyche and Cupid which was immortalized in a beautiful sculpture by A. Canova were some of the important pieces and definitely cannot be found elsewhere but just their imitation.

Sculpture Collections

Aphrodite also known as Venus de Milo

Captive (Dying Slave) by Michaelangelo

Psyche & Cupid by A. Canova

The Winged Victory of
Samothrace

The tour inside the Louvre was like a travel though time transporting me to different periods in human history from the early cradles of civilizations to the time of the Kings and Queens. As I make way to the 1st floor, right at the head of the Daru Stair standing tall and proud is the statue of the greek goddess of victory Nike or famously know as the Winged Victory of Samothrace. This marble statue is one of the important treasures of Louvre and described as the greatest masterpiece of the Hellenistic sculpture. It can’t be denied of its popularity as this is one of those art pieces always deluged of tourists. This is the same scene around the sculpture of Aphrodite. After taking some photos and appreciating this 8 feet sculpture, I went ahead to  the 1st floor. As I enter the first room, I was immediately transported into a Renaissance period where decorative arts and paintings by renowned artists takes the center stage. This floor of the Denon Wing is also very important for the very reason that the treasured painting of Da Vinci, The Mona Lisa is

securely displayed in a huge room in the company of Paolo Veronese’s piece, The Wedding Feast At Cana. Before reaching the “Mona Lisa” room there was a long hallway lined up with 13th to 15th century Italian paintings, and then the Mona Lisa room. As I enter  Mona Lisa gallery, the scene was something that I was't expecting. At first, I was surprised to see how tiny this portrait is. From afar, it was hardly recognizable. I just knew that the Mona Lisa was there because of the throngs of people trying to get closer and get that memorable selfie and second, the portrait is securely encased in a glass with metal railing approximately 1.5meters away. Seeing the Mona Lisa was one of the reasons for visiting the Louvre so I squeezed myself from the back and allowed the crowed to push me slowly towards the front. And there, at arms length, I was staring up close to the most famous and most expensive portrait in the world. I won’t be describing it since everyone knows The Mona Lisa. But looking at the real portrait was a surreal experience and never thought that I will have that chance. I only stayed for a minute or so as I need to let others get their chance as well.

The Wedding Feast At Cana by Veronese

Looking directly opposite the Mona Lisa, an exact opposite in size and covers almost entirely the wall is the massive oil painting by Veronese, The Wedding Feast At Cana. Everybody knows this episode from the Gospel of John where Jesus first performed his miracle by turning water into wine. Veronese' eloquent interpretation of the scene in a huge painting demonstrated the use of vibrant colors and the intelligent use of light. This painting is the biggest painting inside the Louvre with the size of 6.77m x 9.9m. With the limited tools during those times and coming up with this massive sized painting with great level of detail was truly a work of a genius. No wonder Veronese was one of the most important Venetian painters of his time. Some may have ignored this painting as many are drawn  to the Mona Lisa but this art piece was worth my time and appreciation. I can actually stay longer and spend sometime to examine the paintings inside this gallery, but I still had a lot of places to cover so I moved to an adjacent room where J.L David’s The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I was. If photoshop is a

common thing nowadays to enhance a photo, editing or dictating the artist what must appear in the final painting in the early days all depends to the person who commissioned it. And the one classic example is this painting by J.L. David. Though with great detail, it was not the reality of the actual event. For one, Napoleon’s mother Leticia didn't attend the ceremony due to her disapproval of Napoleon’s conflict with his brothers but she was painted in a position which appeared more important than the pope. David is the official painter of Napoleon. The painting is slightly smaller compared to Veronese’s but cannot be ignored of its size. The other paintings I was very curious to see were the other pieces mentioned in Da Vinci Code such as the John The Baptist and Madonna of the Rock.

John The Baptist by Da Vinci

Madonna of the Rock by Da Vinci

For diggers of arts and paintings, the Louvre Museum surely won't disappoint. I already accomplished what I needed to see, so I just took my time and enjoy before I decided to leave this former Royal Palace and went outside to take some photos and headed next to my destination, the church which is dedicated to Mary Magdalene, the L'église de la Madeleine. 

Taking the Metro from Palais Royal Musée du Louvre with a transfer at Pyramides bound for Madeleine (Line 7), I arrived at L'église de la Madeleine, a Roman Catholic church located at the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Though a Catholic Church, the Madeleine isn't a typical Baroque or Gothic style church. It is Neo-classical style building and a well preserved of the Roman temples in Paris. The 20 meter high Corinthian columns totally dwarfed me  as I explore the exteriors of this huge church. Inside the church at the rear side stands high in the altar is the sculpture of Mary Magdalene being lifted by the angels. I wasn’t able to freely move inside due to the ongoing service but from the chair where I was seated, I can see the grand interior of this church.

Place de la Concorde

Just a walking distance to the south of Madeleine is an open square known as Place de la Concorde. Standing right at the center of this square provides a very good vantage point of viewing Paris in all directions. To the west is the the famous high street of the Champs Elysées and the Arc du Triomphe at the further end; to the east is the Tuileries Gardens and further walking leads to the Louvre and not in far a distance is a visible view of the iconic Eiffel Tower. At the square are two fountains and right at the center stands an giant Egyptian obelisk with hieroglyphics inscriptions. Just looking at the huge fountains and doing the 360degrees turn  was enough to relax me of the long day’s walk. But this wasn't over yet as I still need to take

the long walk to the Champs Elysées leading to the famous Arc du Triomphe. This high street lined  with shops of very well known names in fashion will definitely make the big shoppers happy; Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, name it they have it hence, the large volume of locals and tourists alike are   populating this place. Good fine dining restaurants also abound this street to cater its clientele of very selective palate for gourmet and gastronomic meals. I took my time walking though my feet was already complaining. After almost 30minutes walk, I reached the Arc du Triomphe and headed to the entrance giving access to the top which was another labored climb in a spiral staircase. The Arc du Triomphe is monument constructed in honor of those who died during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Underneath the vault is the tomb of the unknown soldiers who died during the World War I. With the arc sitting right at the center of the dodecagonal configuration of 12 radiating avenues, standing at the top was indeed a perfect spot for photo enthusiasts like me. It was a difficult climb to the top but the view was all worth it. Indeed, a great way to end my Paris tour before heading to Greece. 

Champs Elysées

Arc du Triomphe

View from the top of Arc du Triomphe

I cannot say that I’d seen everything of Paris but I accomplished all what I needed to do and see except for one place which some may say you’d never been to Paris if you missed to visit the “Iron Lady”. I did visit the Iron Lady and actually not only once but twice. First was during my night photography session after a very long day tour of Versailles and the second was after my tour in Greece as I have to depart from Paris back to Texas, some sort of saving the best for last kind of thing. The view of the Eiffel Tower is already stunning during the day, but the beauty of the Iron Lady shines brightly at the strike of dawn. The Eiffel Tower is illuminated and sparkles like a diamond for 5minutes every hour. So the best time to visit the tower is when it is about glitter. From afar, this iconic monument is indeed like a sparkling diamond. It was already late fall season and the temperature was already chilly so staying outside for long was not a good idea. I just took my needed shots and head back to my hotel for the much needed rest.

One thing France is also famous for is its cuisine. During my almost 5days tour in Paris, my meals were the assortments of fast-food and some quick meals. I already anticipated this situation so to really experience the French cuisine, I made a reservation as a treat for myself in a fine dinning suffer. The only decent meal I had was during my tour inside the Versailles where my lunch at Angelina had given me the first taste of an authentic French meal. My sumptuous meal included a poached egg with eggplant caviar, virgin sauce (Oeuf Poche, caviar D-aubergines, Sauce verge) for my entree; Fillet of sea-bass, popped rice with comte cheese, virgin sauce (Filet De Bar, Riz Souffle Au Comte, sauce vierge) for the main and lemon tart (Torte de citron) for my dessert. It was full meal and I really enjoyed the food. A bit pricey but I  didn’t mind as I don’t get to experience an authentic French meal in Paris often as I want to and besides I was really starving. 

When I planned this trip, I also asked recommendations from my cousin who once stayed in Paris for several months to complete her Art History undergraduate studies. One thing she highly recommended was to try the macarons of Ladureé. So when I saw the shop at the Louvre,I bought few pieces to taste. Not a cheap macaron though but it tasted really good. I could easily consume a dozen of it in just one sitting if not for its price. Ladureé actually is a French luxury bakery and sweets maker established in 1862. It is also still one of the top markers of macarons in the world. Another macaron brand I tried was Pierre Hermé which I found during my visit to Galeries Lafayette. Both brands were delicious but probably for those with very sensitive palate for tastes, can easily spot the difference. 

View from 58 Tours Eiffel
Restaurant

For my dinner treat, I only had one place on my mind where I can enjoy good food, perfect ambiance and spectacular view of Paris, the 58 Tour Eiffel, a restaurant located at the 1st floor of the Iron Lady which is 57m above ground. I know I am a bit exaggerating because there are tons of places for dining in Paris but eating at the Eiffel Tower was indeed a once in a lifetime experience. For my dinner treat, I had duck “foie gras”, red onions marmalade, money and balsamic (Foie gas de canard mi-cuit, marmelade, miel et balsamique for starter; a pan-seared pike-perch river fish, raw and cook fennel with a confit of olives (Pavé de sandre poêlé, fenouil et cru aux olives confites) for the main and finishing off with baba with rum, whipped vanilla cream (baba au rum, crème légère vanillée) for my dessert.  The great ambiance and the spectacular view of Paris was indeed a worthy experience that I will forever remember. And that was the perfect way to end my first every European tour experience.

Starters

Main

Dessert

Je t’aime Paris!!!

PARIS, MY FIRST EUROPEAN VACATION (Part 2)

    

A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life. 

                                                                                                                            - Thomas Jefferson -

THE NOTRE DAME CHURCH

Notre Dame Cathedral

From the outside, the church shows a very obvious difference to the famous Gothic churches of Europe, but the Notre Dame Cathedral is the finest example of French Gothic Architecture. Apart from its very popular status, the church also houses some of Roman Catholism’s first class reliquary including the Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross and one of the Holy Nails. These relics were formerly housed at Sainte-Chapelle and later moved to the cathedral. The cathedral is also one of the first structures in the world which used the flying buttresses in order to resist the outward force from the church walls. Gothic churches are pretty much similar in design such as the vertical panels of glass stained windows but what sets Notre Dame apart is its three rosettes (rose windows). The “rosettes” are considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Christianity. Luckily, there was no church service at the time of my visit so I was able to spend sometime to explore the church more importantly in appreciating the rose windows. Recognizing vividly what are depicted on every panels was quite a challenge but from afar, it looks really massive and impressive. After staying for awhile, I headed outside and surveyed the equally impressive facade of the church and took some photos. It was already getting late and all the other access to the tower and crypt were already closed so I decided to wrap up my 2nd day in Paris and headed back to my apartment. It was already a long day and I needed to get some good rest for a much longer days ahead. For my dinner, I just dropped by a nearby Subway to order my favorite veggie patty sandwich. My second day in Paris didn’t disappoint. More so was the third day as it was all about extravagance and royalty. I headed to the opposite ends of Paris to visit the assembly of French Royalty on the northern part of the city and to the south, the grand palace which was once the home of the French Monarchs.

One of the Rose Windows of Notre Dame

Outside View of Notre Dame 

VISIT TO ROYAL NECROPOLIS OF FRANCE

Inside the Basilica St. Denis

Unknown to many, in the northern suburb of Paris stands another beautiful basilica. But this basilica is not just an ordinary church because the Basilica of St. Denis is France’s Royal Necropolis (or in common term, a cemetery). This basilica serves as the final resting place of all but three of the Kings of France. St. Denis Basilica wasn’t initially included in my itinerary, but based from my research, it is the place where Marie Antoinette was buried so I got curious of how the resting place of an extravagant queen would look like. Apart from the curiosity of seeing Marie Antoinette’s tomb, I actually had no expectations. To my surprise, the curiosity turned out to be a well deserved visit. Taking the metro from the nearest subway from my hotel to Basilique de Saint Denis, I arrived at the norther suburb of Paris at the city of St. Denis. A few meters away from the station stands this large medieval abbey church. The Notre Dame Basilica was impressive but I was more amazed by this church. As an architectural landmark, Basilica of St. Denis is one of the earliest masterpieces of gothic art and considered to be the first gothic church (its choir completed in 1144, almost four centuries before the discovery of the Philippines). This a massive church and on

both wings of the church can be found the tombs of the early monarchs of France. Underneath the church altar crypt are the final resting place of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Originally, the beheaded body of the former monarchs were buried in a church courtyard of Madeleine but later moved to St. Denis. No elaborate design but just a simple tomb covered in marble with name inscriptions on it. In a special corner of the church wing though, two life size marble sculptures of the former King and Queen in kneeling position were on displayed. As I go around church, some earlier monarchs before Louis XVI did have a much elaborate tomb which I can definitely say fits perfectly to a King or Queen. But it must be recalled that on last years years of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette reign were the darkest times in the monarchy of France which led to eruption of the revolution and their eventual execution. I stayed for a couple of hours inside this church and to its adjacent museum where the early history of the church’s construction were better curated and explained. This place was indeed a worthy place to visit.

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI Final Resting Place

Not wasting my time after completing my St. Denis tour, I hurried back to the train station and started my 1hour train ride down to Viroflay Rive Gauche, the nearest train station to Chateau de Versailles. 

THE CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES

The Royal Courtyard

My trip to Chateau de Versailles was actually one of the main highlights of my trip to Paris. This is one of those places I’d been wanting to visit and explore for the longest time and I was so lucky to have it done during my first vacation trip in Europe. If you haven’t seen the real essence of the word “extravagant”, the Palace of Versailles or simply Versailles will perfectly define it for you. From the golden gates, grand rooms & antechambers, its gilded furnitures, impressive paintings & sculptures and the massive garden at the back were some of the sights which totally blew me away. Located 20km southwest of Paris, this estate which used to be a country village and a place for hunting of the former king suddenly became an important symbol of French Monarchy when Louis XIV transferred the seat of power from Paris (currently the Louvre Museum) to Versailles. Taking the train from Paris requires a separate train ticket going to Viroflay Rive Gauche. At an approximately 10minutes walk from the station, I reached the palace grounds. To really enjoy and explore this huge estate, two (2) days at least is required. But since all my itineraries were already fixed, I had to stick with my plan and explore it in just half a day. I got lucky that there wasn’t a long queue of tourists. After taking some beautiful photos at the golden gate (I mean literally as the gates are covered with gold plating), I made my way to the entrance to get inside of the palace after going through the security checks. I headed first to the Royal Courtyard to capture the picture perfect view of the palace main facade and the marble courtyard.

View of Versailles Palace from Place D'Armes

Virtual Tour View of the Versailles

Upon entry to this grand palace, I was like transported back to the 17th century. An experience which allowed me to enjoy the impressive interiors of all the rooms and antechambers, each designed and decorated suited for its purpose. Every corner of this palace was indeed a work of art. The very first room which greeted me as I started my tour was the Chapelle Royale (or Royal Chapel). As I surveyed the inside of this chapel from the main door, the stand out were the gold plated altar and the painted ceilings. The white color of the chapel and marble columns highlighted the colorful paintings on the ceiling. It was also on this very chapel where dauphin of France (heir apparent Louis XVI) and Marie Antoinette got married. Right next to the chapel were the series of rooms known as the “The King’s Grand Apartments” where the king normally receives his visitors. The first of these apartments was the Hercules Drawing Room where one of the king’s priced possessions was on display, a gift painting from the Republic of Venice to honor their great alliance.  The importance of the painting “The Feast in the House of Simon” by the famous and most important Venetian artist Paolo Veronese was well manifested by the gilt wooden frame installed by the order of the king. And to match the large painting on the wall is a huge painted ceiling depicting the “Apotheosis of Hercules”, thus the name of the room. As per my research, this is the largest painted ceiling on canvas in Europe.

Apotheosis of Hercules (Ceiling) by Fraçois Le Moyne

The Feast in the house of Simon by Veronese

The Hall of Mirrors

Right next to the Hercules Drawing Room, I passed by six more rooms uniquely decorated inspired by different mythological Goddesses; the Drawing Room of Plenty which served as the private museum of the king with all his precious collections and in its wall hang the portraits of the king’s grandsons; the Venus Room where the king normally invites the members of the court for an evening of refreshments and entertainment; the Diana Room where the bust portrait of Louis XIV is the center most important artwork of the room commissioned to the Italian artist Bernini and this served also as the room where the king played billiards before the court; the Mars Drawing Room; the Mercury Drawing Room where everyone could see the king to hand-in their written request in the form of scroll on the condition that proper etiquette was well observed and finally to the Apollo Drawing Room  where the king’s throne stands. Though the throne was not on display during my tour, the grandeur of this room was best represented by the ceiling painted with Apollo emerging in the golden splendor of his chariot drawn by his four horses.The seven rooms were beyond imagination already but I never thought that there was something more that will make my jaw drop, a room that represents the great power the king possesses, the famous Hall of Mirrors. The room is named as such for the very obvious reason, it is composed of seventeen arcaded mirror-clad arches that reflect the seventeen arcaded windows

Hall of Mirrors

overlooking the gardens. The Hall of Mirrors is in the central part of the palace where most of the grand balls were held or the place of reception to foreign dignitaries. Describing this room in words will not give justice as to how grand it looked like. The photos speaks for itself. In parallel to the Hall of Mirrors were three rooms, the antechamber known as the Oeil De Bœuf Room lavishly decorated for the very reason that right next to this room and making it the center of the Chateau is the Kings Bedchamber. The Kings Bedchamber exactly points to the Royal Courtyard. Full access to the King’s Bedchamber was not open to general entry ticket holders but viewing it from the door, it is indeed the King’s Bedchamber. The every part of the room was covered with gold plating. After touring the King’s Apartments and the Hall of Mirrors, located on the south wing and exactly in complete symmetry with the King's Apartment are the Queen’s Apartments. Two of the main important rooms in the south wing are the Queen’s Bedchamber and the Grand Couvert Antechamber. The grand decors of the Queen’s chamber very well reflects the great importance of this room and at the same time the character of the queen occupying it. The Grand Couvert Antechamber on the other hand was the place where the King and the Queen take their supper in public. The chair at the back side of the fireplace were reserved for the King and the Queen while the stools are for their children. I spent the whole 3 hours touring the palace before I decided to take my late lunch. Luckily, there was good restaurant located inside the palace and happened to be one of must-visit restaurants in Paris, Angelina. I splurge bit for this lunch but the seabags meal was divine. 

Queens's Bedchamber

Grand Couvert Antechamber

THE GARDENS OF VERSAILLES

The Gardens of Versailles view from Apollo Ornamental Fountain

Covering the vast area on the west side of the grand palace is the 800 hectares of classic French landscaped garden. Standing at the center of the palace provides a panoramic view of the different parts of this huge but beautifully manicured gardens. Greeting me as I started my descent to the the garden was a beautiful fountain known as Latona depicting the legend of Apollo’s mother and Diana protecting their children. The other grand fountain which is hundred meters away from Latona and fronting the Grand Canal is the Apollo Ornamental lake adorned with sumptuous and celebrated fountain group in gilded lead depicting Apollo in his chariot, the Sun God and emblem of the King. The garden is divided into several sections and smaller fountains to enjoy and stroll around. Bringing the map of the garden is a must to avoid getting lost to its maze like tree formations. Indeed a greet place to relax and enjoy a good walk while appreciating the the sculptured trees forming artistic patterns typical of a French Garden. Taking a view using a drone could have been so perfect. Inside the palace, there was already a predetermined route, at the Versailles Gardens, there is a plenty of space to spread out and stay in one place as I like. Watching and listening to the classical tunes of the dancing fountain was indeed a relaxing way to enjoy the tour and end my third day in Paris.

Another places of interest inside the Versailles Gardens are the Grand Trianon and the Estate of Marie Antoinette. Because of my very limited time to explore the whole estate, I decided to forego the chance. I just used the remaining time to explore the gardens and end the long day’s activities and headed back to my hotel.


CONTINUATION (PART 3)