Museums: Day 1

I got a late start this morning. I don’t know if I set my alarm clock and just didn’t wake up, or if I didn’t set it at all... both are very possible. So, I basically sprinted out of my apartment to my list of places to visit today: First on the list: Eiffel Tower.

I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to go to the top, or just go look at it... so I compromised... I WALKED to the 2nd floor. (This may explain why my legs hurt so bad right now.) Here’s a great view from the 2nd floor:So after that, I went back to the shop, figured out what I was supposed to do, grabbed a bike, and headed on for the rest of my list. First the Dome Church, then Les Invalides.The Dome Church is pretty incredible. It was built by Louis XIV and now is a tomb for Napoleon. Napoleon is buried in 6 coffins, and you have to look down over a railing in order to see him. We say that he had himself buried like this so that everyone who came to see his tomb would have to bow to pay their respects. It was at about this time that I met up with the rest of the crew: Dmitry, Kregg, and Andrew T. We cruised through Les Invalides (its an Army Museum... not that interesting in my opinion. The stories are what make it important.) And then on to the Musee Rodin.

Mom & Dad – I have found where I want my wedding to be sometime in the undetermined future. If its not in the Musee Rodin, it needs to be exactly like it in every way. Roses, gardens, house, sculptures, fountains... the works.Anyway, I think I may be obsessed with Rodin. Everyone knows “The Thinker” – but I think I fell in love with the rest of his work today – not just the famous stuff. In my opinion, his work is very romantic. It looks unfinished to the naked eye, but I think that just allows you to fill in the gaps with the emotion that he invokes. You feel the shame of “Eve”, the passion of “The Kiss”, and the sense of purpose in “The Walking Man.”

And then there are the roses. I really could have just stayed and hung out in the garden for the rest of the afternoon. But unfortunately, we had other places to be… Lunch on Ile St. Louis (we ate right on the banks of the Seine), then Notre Dame. (Here was where I got angry at the boys for leaving me while I finished my ice cream.)

I think Notre Dame became one of my favorite places in Paris. You can literally feel the weight of history around you. When you think of the amount of people who have walked on this same floor – the momentous events (Napoleon’s coronation, the wedding of Margot and Henri of Navarre, the mass after liberation day), it really makes you feel like you too are a part of history.

Another thing – you can’t help but look up. They built Notre Dame in such a way that you have to look towards the heavens – but by looking up and up, you also begin to feel your own smallness. In a way, Notre Dame magnifies the brevity of human life. It took 180 years to build this cathedral… just imagine being that person who began to work on the cathedral knowing that it would not be completed in your life time, nor your son’s, nor your grandsons… but many generations down the road – they would be the ones to see it completed for the masterpiece that it is.
But again, in a way, Notre Dame is also a testament to longevity – it has survived when many of the things around it have been destroyed. Through wars and droughts and famine and the French Revolution and the Commune of 1871 (that in itself is a huge feat) – this huge building really begins to grow on you after a while.

Sorry to wax eloquent – our last stop of the day was Saint-Chapelle (which is literally down the street). It was built in the 13th century to house the crown of thorns that Louis IX bought from the emperor of Constantinople for 3 times the amount of what it cost to build the church. The building itself is best known for its stained glass windows. So there you go… day 1 of museums… more to come tomorrow.