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)